All Settled

A day later.

Eighteen fine horses came galloping down the official road, menacing and aggressive, before stopping in front of the teahouse.

The middle-aged man at the head wore blue robes, a sword hanging at his waist. Sitting atop his horse, he lowered his gaze at the people in the teahouse. "Have any of you seen two carriages pass by? They were flying the flag of the Dragon Soaring Escort Agency."

The bald brute stood bare-chested with a towel draped over his shoulder. Smiling ingratiatingly, he said, "I saw them. They only left a short while ago."

At those words, the blue-robed man's eyes lit up. He hurriedly asked, "Were there a woman and a little girl in the carriages?"

How the hell would I know?

The bald brute cursed inwardly.

Then he took the towel from his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying warmly, "Sir, have some tea first. As for the details, you'll have to ask my nephew. I'll go fetch him."

Looking at the tea bowls laid out on the table, the blue-robed man called out, "Brothers, dismount. The people are just ahead. Let's finish our tea before we pursue them."

Once the group dismounted, the teahouse's four tables were instantly filled.

The burly man led a bald man over to the blue-robed man. "Sir, this is my nephew. He saw things the clearest."

The blue-robed man gulped down the tea in his hand and wiped his mouth with a raised hand. "Did you see carriages flying the Dragon Soaring Escort Agency's flag pass through here? Was there a woman and a little girl inside?"

"Yes, sir. I saw them clearly," the bald man said with a bow.

After confirming the information, the blue-robed man rose to his feet and picked up a tea bowl, filling it to the brim.

"Brothers, the target is right ahead. A hundred taels of gold are beckoning to us! Let us use tea in place of wine and wish for everything to go smoothly! I'll drink first!"

"Drink!"

"Drink!"

After finishing his tea, the blue-robed man took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table. "A reward for you."

All of a sudden, he collapsed straight to the ground. Immediately afterward, the entire group of blue-robed men fell unconscious one after another.

The bald brute picked up the silver ingot and weighed it in his hand. Looking at the sleeping blue-robed man, he said, "You're really too kind. I almost feel bad about doing this to you."

Half a month later, after braving wind and rain on their journey, the group finally left Jinzhou and entered Sealed Prefecture.

After crossing the border, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Yuexi County was the final destination of this escort mission.

Although the client had only said they needed to be delivered across Sealed Prefecture's border, things could not be handled that way. At the very least, they had to be escorted to Yuexi County, the closest county to the border.

The carriages moved slowly along the official road in Sealed Prefecture.

Escort Master Li smiled. "We've been on tenterhooks the whole way. Now my heart can finally settle."

"Thank you all for your help, escort masters."

The curtain over the carriage door was completely drawn aside. The beautiful woman, now changed into another set of clothes, sat openly inside the carriage and spoke softly.

The little girl was held in her arms. There was now a trace of color in her face, no longer deathly pale as before.

"Madam Lu, there is no need to be polite. Since we accepted the commission, this is simply our duty," Escort Master Li said with a smile as he drove the carriage.

Zhou Ming leaned against the carriage door and rolled his eyes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now that it's safe, it's simply your duty.

The carriages had barely gone any farther when a group of bandits sprang out to attack.

The instant Escort Master Li saw the bandits, he immediately raised a hand and pressed it onto Zhou Ming's left shoulder. "Escort Master Zhou..."

Before he could finish speaking, Escort Master Zhou of the Dragon Soaring Escort Agency emptied the magazine of the AK in his right hand in an instant.

That group of bandits did not last even one exchange. Even the Eighth-Tier Martial Artist among them fled with an arm severed.

Zhou Ming turned his head slightly and looked at Escort Master Li in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Just as Escort Master Li was about to speak, he saw Wang Quan on the neighboring carriage shake his head slightly at him.

"No, nothing." Escort Master Li released his hand from Zhou Ming's shoulder.

The two carriages continued side by side down the official road, leaving only the bandits' corpses lying silently upon it.

"Old Wang, with the kid Zhou here, this escort mission was completed smoothly, but trouble has come as well," the veteran Eighth-Rank escort master sighed.

Wang Quan's expression remained calm. "No matter. I'll deal with it."

They continued onward for eighteen days.

Including the bandits they had just encountered, they ran into nine groups of bandits in total. Zhou Ming had handled nearly all of them by himself.

There was no other reason. The AK's killing power at this stage was simply far too overpowered.

Even an Eighth Rank with a Perfect Foundation could not withstand an entire magazine.

During these days on the road, Zhou Ming talked a great deal with Escort Master Li.

Before Seventh Rank, one would hardly come into contact with any profound martial skills.

Even if one learned martial skills, one generally would not delve deeply into them, at most reaching Minor Mastery.

Because everyone was throwing their full effort into advancing their Martial Artist rank.

As for these bandits, most had taken up martial arts halfway through life. Nearly all had stepped into the ranks of Martial Artists at thirty, right at the threshold of their golden age.

Without money or talent, even if they were lucky enough to learn martial skills, their talent was limited. Minor Mastery was already their limit.

During an earlier chat on the road, he learned that Escort Master Li had also cultivated martial skills and had already reached Minor Mastery.

Seeing Zhou Ming's curiosity about martial skills, Escort Master Li had also revealed a little of his skill when they faced one group of bandits.

At the time, Escort Master Li's blood qi transformed into a long blade, and he slashed out.

It became three blade edges, wounding three bandits at the same time.

Zhou Ming had been green with envy at that sight. Even the AK in his hands no longer seemed so appealing.

The AK was powerful, but he already had one.

Whether in martial arts tales or immortal cultivation tales, such methods were carved into the bones of Longhua Earth people. They dreamed of possessing them even in their sleep.

Being handsome was a lifelong matter!

From that day onward, Zhou Ming asked Escort Master Li to teach him martial skills.

Being able to sell a favor to a prodigy, Escort Master Li naturally agreed gladly.

However, Escort Master Li also solemnly explained the stakes to him.

He absolutely could not let martial skills make him put the cart before the horse.

Zhou Ming leaned against the carriage door and looked at the panel.

[Dragon Glory Earth Human Transmigration Panel]

[Host: Zhou Ming]

[Rank: Ninth-Rank Martial Artist—Copper Skin (40/100)]

[Destiny: Double Results with Half the Effort]

[Analysis: Do half the work, reap a whole lot more.]

[Cultivation Method: Dragon Soaring Stance (Ninth Layer, Perfected)]

[Martial Skill: Eight Saber-Cutting Forms—Beginner (49/100)]

Looking at the panel, Zhou Ming asked with a smile, "Escort Master Li, if I convert blood qi every day during Skin Tempering and combine it with Blood-Qi Pills, how long will it take to reach Copper Skin?"

Escort Master Li thought for a moment. "For Ninth-Rank Skin Tempering, aptitude differs, and so does the efficiency of converting blood qi, so it is hard to say. But with the added effects of Blood-Qi Pills, given resources as abundant as yours, you will definitely reach Copper Skin within three months."

Three months?

Looking at the panel, Zhou Ming gained a more intuitive judgment. Setting aside the effects of the Destiny Double Results with Half the Effort, his own cultivation efficiency was not slow.

As the sun set, the group finally completed this silver escort commission.

Inside Yuexi County.

Madam Lu held the sleeping little girl in her arms and bowed to everyone. "Thank you, everyone!"

Watching the escort masters disappear into the county streets, her heart was filled with gratitude.

On the night when everyone had discussed matters on the first day of departure.

She had heard the escort masters' fierce argument clearly, especially Escort Chief Wang's words: they could simply abandon the escort mission.

At the time, she had been terrified. Yet throughout the journey, the escort masters had taken excellent care of her and her daughter, and none had made any improper advances toward her.

She had a superb figure and had only just turned twenty. Especially after becoming a wife, she had captivated her husband so thoroughly that he could barely move his feet.

It was precisely because she was too outstanding that she had drawn someone's attention.

This led to her husband being suppressed by his business rivals, who eventually sent Martial Artists to massacre their household in secret.

She was immensely fortunate that she had taken her daughter to a temple to pray for blessings that day, allowing them to escape disaster.

Lowering her head to look at her daughter in her arms, Madam Lu murmured, "Xiao Lu, from now on, it will be only you and me, relying on each other."