Escort

When Lu Yuan arrived.

Shi Yun hurried over to greet him.

Bao Tianbao and Bao Dibao, the two dim-witted constables, followed behind him.

"Brother Lu, you came really early!"

"I was just thinking of heading to Green Mountain Village to pick you up!"

Shi Yun's face was piled high with smiles.

As if the two of them had not fallen out in Great River Village yesterday.

"Don't mention it."

Lu Yuan smiled.

This fellow and Dou Chu, that smiling tiger, were complete opposites.

He simply could not hide his true emotions.

Lu Yuan saw through the trace of venom in his eyes at a glance.

But Lu Yuan did not expose him. After exchanging a few bland pleasantries, he swung himself onto the donkey.

"It's getting late. Let's set off."

Shi Yun waved his hand.

This mission was to travel to the neighboring Sea-Gazing County.

Aside from handing the two female prisoners over to the Sea-Gazing County yamen, they also had to deliver that demon beast corpse to a remote ancestral hall outside Sea-Gazing County City.

Before long, the group left Pingyang County City.

At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the yamen's rear courtyard.

It was Chen Kuang.

He stared thoughtfully at Lu Yuan's retreating back.

"When we recruited that kid, we really misjudged him."

"Could he truly be a hidden dragon lurking in the abyss?"

Chen Kuang shook his head and laughed at his own words.

"Captain, there's something strange about this guy. Before heading to Blackwater Village..."

"His performance was no different from trash."

"But there's no need to worry. This time, he'll definitely die in Pingyang County."

Dou Chu believed that with the killing formation they had arranged this time.

There was no way Lu Yuan could escape.

"If he is from the Demon Suppression Office..."

Chen Kuang shot Dou Chu a glance.

"N-No, impossible."

Dou Chu grew somewhat flustered.

"Don't be afraid. The Great Harvest Dynasty doesn't have only the Demon Suppression Office as a department."

Chen Kuang patted Dou Chu on the shoulder.

Then he changed out of his official uniform, put on ordinary clothes, and left the yamen.

After leaving Pingyang County.

During the day, they all kept their heads down and traveled.

Lu Yuan rode his donkey by himself.

Since Shi Yun did not take the initiative to stir up trouble, he was naturally happy to have some peace and quiet.

Only Bao Tianbao and Bao Dibao, those two fools, occasionally turned back to glance at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan did not actually care much about Shi Yun's group.

However, while traveling, Lu Yuan seemed to sense something following them, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

"If something really goes wrong, I can just pour all my experience points into Carefree Steps."

"If I can't beat them, can't I still run?"

Lu Yuan pondered it for a moment.

They traveled along the official road. It gave them a little more sense of security, but it was not absolutely safe.

Now and then, porters on the road and merchant caravans on horseback passed by.

But more often, beast roars drifted over from the wilderness and dense forests.

Fortunately, nothing happened during the day.

By evening, unless one was truly highly skilled and bold enough to match, a martial artist of extraordinary strength.

There were not many people who dared to travel after dark.

The wilderness was the domain of demon beasts.

Before the sky had completely darkened, Lu Yuan's group arrived at an inn beside the official road.

"Shopkeeper, food and lodging. Bring out your best wine and dishes."

Shi Yun swung down from his donkey.

Then he placed the escort documents before the counter.

Coupled with the fact that they were all wearing yamen uniforms.

The shopkeeper immediately understood that they were men from a government county yamen.

"Right away, right away. Esteemed guests, please wait a moment. This humble one will prepare the dishes at once."

The shopkeeper promptly arranged superior rooms and steaming-hot food for them, smiling ingratiatingly all the while.

Anyone capable of opening a shop beside an official road had some worldly knowledge.

Naturally, he could tell the real from the fake.

"A batch of imperial hounds has arrived!"

"If these dogs weren't all useless and lining their own pockets one by one, would we have to roam the four seas and five lakes?"

"Stop talking, lest you invite trouble."

It was mealtime, and the inn's main hall was quite bustling. Many wandering martial artists and merchants were drinking and exchanging cups.

Lu Yuan's group of government constables clearly did not have a very good reputation in the martial world.

Shi Yun opened the prison cart and dragged down the two female prisoners.

To make it easier for them to eat, he removed the wooden shackles from their hands, but fastened chains around their ankles.

"Come over."

Shi Yun led the two women to an empty table and seated them there. He sat grandly at one side and called for the waiter to serve the dishes.

The appearance of two female prisoners in ankle chains at the inn immediately drew many gazes.

"Tut, tut. Escorting female prisoners is quite a cushy assignment!"

"Heh heh, I wonder whether we can try out the services of beauty paper and foot-warming maidservants."

At the sight of the female prisoners, the wandering martial artists' eyes lit up.

They sized the women up from head to toe.

Their mouths began spouting lewd remarks as well.

Bang!

Shi Yun seemed long accustomed to such scenes.

He heavily slammed his saber onto the table.

"The yamen is conducting official business. Watch your words and conduct, everyone."

His tone was not harsh, but it brimmed with Killing Intent.

The wandering martial artists awkwardly withdrew their gazes and continued drinking and eating meat.

As for what they were thinking, that was impossible to know.

Lu Yuan sat at the neighboring table.

To his surprise, there was wine and meat on the table.

"No wonder they say escorting female prisoners is a cushy assignment."

"This food is far too good."

Lu Yuan did not stand on ceremony either. He picked up a slice of beef and put it into his mouth.

In these times, meat was not merely scarce for ordinary people.

Even martial artists needed large quantities of meat as dietary nourishment to repair their bodies.

As he ate, Lu Yuan also observed the two female prisoners.

The woman on the left was ordinary-looking and named A Xiu.

She wore a worn prison uniform, her hair was disheveled, and her expression was full of fear.

From the moment she entered the inn, she had kept her shoulders hunched, both hands clutching the corners of her clothes tightly.

The woman on the right, however, was completely different.

Her name was Shen Qingzhu. She had bright eyes and pearly teeth; even in a coarse prison uniform, her clear and refined beauty could not be concealed.

But what drew the most attention was the aura around her that kept people a thousand miles away.

"Eat."

"After this meal, who knows when you'll have food again."

Shi Yun pushed two bowls of coarse rice and several small dishes before the two women.

A Xiu froze in fright for a moment, but in the next instant, she picked up her bowl and rapidly shoveled the food into her mouth.

Shen Qingzhu merely glanced at it and did not move her chopsticks.

Shi Yun frowned, yet he did not dare make any move against Shen Qingzhu.

"A Xiu!"

Shi Yun suddenly spoke.

A Xiu stopped moving and answered fearfully, "M-My lord, it's me."

"Your family doesn't seem to like you very much!"

Shi Yun casually brought it up.

After all, when a woman committed a crime, her family would usually send clothes and silver to make her journey under escort more comfortable.

And to prevent her from being teased or even violated.

They would beg the escorting constables to look after her properly.

"A Xiu only has her elderly father and mother at home. They are weak and sickly, and her mother is blind... The two of them already struggle just to live on their own."

"I... I..."

A Xiu understood what Shi Yun meant.

With a thud, she dropped to her knees.

Her face was streaked with tears like pear blossoms in the rain.