Joining an Escort Agency

As Zhou Ming walked down the street, the anger in his heart gradually faded, and he slowly calmed down.

Time waited for no one. It was impossible to earn the silver all over again from scratch.

But he could not put martial arts training aside.

If he wanted to train in martial arts, aside from joining a martial arts school, there were two other methods he knew of: joining the army, or joining an escort agency.

But the army had strict requirements. If a family had only one son, they would not recruit him.

So at this stage, joining an escort agency was his only path.

"Men of the mortal world must always be fearless and brave, facing life and work with calm composure..." Zhou Ming hummed a little tune as he headed toward the escort agency.

Xishan County had two escort agencies: Dragon Soaring Escort Agency and Tiger Leap Escort Agency.

Being an escort was quite profitable too. An ordinary escort could earn three to five hundred copper coins from a single trip. The money was not small, but it was work that licked blood from the blade's edge.

Ordinary escorts referred to those who had practiced martial arts but had not become Martial Artists.

Zhou Ming had seen plenty of such low-ranking escorts. There were heaps missing arms or legs. To put it bluntly, they traded their lives for money.

Before, he had wanted to live steadily and peacefully, relying on the silver he had painstakingly saved bit by bit to join a martial arts school and train.

But now there was no choice. That trash had spent all his money.

Twelve years had passed since he transmigrated here, yet the cheat ability supposedly granted to every transmigrator had still not arrived.

Whenever he thought of transmigration, Zhou Ming felt some regret.

At twenty-two, he had been enrolled in a combined master's and doctoral program and graduated early.

That same year, he had built his own company from nothing. A year later, at twenty-three, he possessed assets worth tens of millions and could have simply lain flat.

But if you drove, you did not drink; if you drank, you did not drive. It was a lesson written in blood.

Fortunately, Heaven had given him another chance and brought him to this different world.

Humming his little tune, Zhou Ming unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the Dragon Soaring Escort Agency.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward to knock on the door.

A man had to see his decisions through. Since he had chosen this road himself, he would crawl it on his knees if he had to.

A moment later, an old man slowly opened the gates.

After Zhou Ming explained his purpose, the old man brought him inside.

Normally, anyone wishing to join the escort agency needed to undergo a background check to see where they came from and whether they had committed any crimes.

But Zhou Ming often helped the escort agency with miscellaneous chores. Over the years, he had become familiar with this old man, so there was naturally no need for those cumbersome procedures.

After entering the escort agency, the old man led him straight to a reception room. After telling him to wait there, he left.

Upon entering the reception room, Zhou Ming chose a corner and waited quietly.

Aside from him, there were several others around his age in the reception room, all dressed in coarse hemp clothes.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming knew they had come, like him, to become escorts.

But for him, making money was secondary. His foremost goal was to obtain, through the escort agency, the stepping stone to becoming a Martial Artist.

Stance Training!

Whether it was an escort agency or a martial arts school, each had its own Stance Training.

At a martial arts school, once you paid and joined, you could learn it.

But if one wanted to obtain Stance Training through an escort agency, one had to sign a contract with the agency and work for it.

After the people ahead of him finished signing their contracts, Zhou Ming stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Chief Escort Wang."

Chief Escort Wang was considered an acquaintance of Zhou Ming's.

Chief Escort Wang burst into laughter. "You brat, I asked you to join the escort agency all these years, and you refused every time. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Seeing the bitterness on Zhou Ming's face, Chief Escort Wang did not press further. He took out a contract and handed it over.

"You brat, acquaintanceship is acquaintanceship, but rules cannot be broken. Sign it."

Zhou Ming picked up the contract and examined it carefully. There were no tyrannical clauses. It mostly stated what he needed to do after joining the escort agency, though the term of employment was rather long—fifteen years to start with.

After reading the contract, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He signed it directly and pressed down his thumbprint.

As for the employment term, it did not matter to him. If he had no talent for martial arts, then never mind fifteen years—even if he had to work at the escort agency for the rest of his life, that would be fine.

If he was talented and became a Martial Artist, once his strength grew powerful, the contract would naturally become void.

This was also the unspoken rule of every escort agency. No one could possibly bind a powerful Martial Artist with a mere contract. If they truly tried, they would be offending someone to the death.

Besides, once a Martial Artist who came from an escort agency grew strong, the agency would naturally receive the rewards it deserved.

After everyone in the reception hall had signed their contracts, a servant led them toward the inner courtyard.

After passing through corridor after corridor, they arrived at a fork in the path.

The servant raised a hand and pointed. "The area on the right is where the escort agency's Martial Artist escorts live. Do not wander in there normally. If you anger them and get beaten to death or crippled, there will be nowhere to seek justice."

With that, the servant led them to the left and continued, "The courtyards on this side are where you will live. Of course, if you become Martial Artists, you can live over there as well."

Seeing the courtyard before them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Though it was not as imposing as the courtyards where the Martial Artist escorts lived, aside from being a little dirty and messy, it was more or less the same overall.

"One more thing. Although everyone here is a newly joined escort, some joined earlier than others. Do not start conflicts. Otherwise, if you get beaten, you will have been beaten for nothing."

Everyone voiced their agreement, mostly saying they had come to make money, not cause trouble.

The servant led them onward. When they reached Room Seven, he left.

A burly man among them stepped forward and pushed open the door, only to discover that several people were already living inside.

Zhou Ming entered the room and nodded slightly at its furnishings.

Single bunk beds. It had a bit of the feel of a dormitory from his previous life.

Zhou Ming chose the lower bunk by the window. Just as he was about to sit down, someone beside him smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm not used to having someone sleep next to me."

Zhou Ming glanced at him without saying anything, then turned and walked to another bed. It was also a lower bunk, but it had no window, and the lighting was somewhat dim.

The bed was bare, with only a bamboo mat on it.

Looking at his new lodging, he felt a trace of comfort in his heart.

Just as Zhou Ming sat down, he heard a voice from the upper bunk.

"Brothers, I'm Yang Shu. When do we start escorting shipments?"

"Hehe, escorting shipments? That is still far off. You have to train in Stance Training and meet the assessment standard before you can truly become an escort."

"Ah? There's an assessment too?"

"I never heard about that!"

"Brother, didn't we already sign the contracts? Why do we still need an assessment?" Yang Shu poked his head out from the bunk bed and asked curiously.

"You signed the contracts, but those are for when you become escorts later. Naturally, the assessment tests your strength. If your strength does not meet the standard, how can you escort shipments? Are you going to your deaths?"

"I know about the assessment. It tests the progress of your Stance Training."

"Yes, that's right. Stance Training has nine levels. As long as you reach the fifth level, you will meet the assessment standard. Then you can truly become an escort of the Dragon Soaring Escort Agency."

"What? Is this Stance Training difficult to practice?" the burly man who had joined alongside Zhou Ming asked.

Zhou Ming knew this man's name. The man before him had been the burly fellow who signed the contract. His name was Fan Daniu, and he truly lived up to his name—he was built as powerfully as a great ox.

"It is certainly difficult. Otherwise, people would not be eliminated. Stance Training is the doorway to becoming a Martial Artist, after all. Only by training Stance Training to the ninth level can one break through and become a Martial Artist."

"Forget becoming a Martial Artist. I, Daniu, am already twenty-five. I only hope to pass the assessment." Fan Daniu scratched his head and spoke in a booming voice.

"Don't worry. Before thirty is the golden period for training in martial arts. As long as everyone works hard, there is a chance."

"Yes. Everyone should work hard over the next half year. The escort agency will only give us half a year. Once the time is up, anyone who fails to pass will be eliminated."

Lying on the bed, Zhou Ming listened to everyone's discussion, and even his calm heart began to grow uneasy.

Training in martial arts and becoming a Martial Artist had always been his dream.

Becoming a Martial Artist was difficult. He had originally thought that joining the escort agency would let him settle down in peace.

But it seemed that if he wanted peace, he would first have to pass the assessment half a year from now.

He had been busy all day. Listening to the others talk, Zhou Ming's eyelids grew heavy, and before long, he fell asleep.