Setting Out on Escort Duty

Duan Escort Chief himself practiced the Iron Body Skill.

So he naturally understood just how difficult it was for horizontal training arts to advance—the higher one went, the harder it became.

Simply tempering one's skin, flesh, and sinews required far more effort than ordinary Martial Masters had to expend.

Moreover, after using the Iron Body Skill to break through the Blood Tempering Aperture and becoming a Martial Master, money would flow away like water. If one wanted to cultivate faster, secret medicines for application were indispensable.

Though low-grade secret medicines for hard martial arts were not difficult to obtain, the demand was simply too great!

The consumption was far greater than that of ordinary martial arts techniques.

And even if one fortunately reached the Marrow Tempering Stage like him, other than a scant few peerless prodigies, advancing further was nearly hopeless.

"Jiang Jingnian's physique is exceptionally powerful, and his skin and flesh are extraordinarily tough. He is the sort of person born with uncommon gifts."

"When I see him, I think of my late elder brother. He had the same naturally gifted physique, but Heaven did not grant his wishes. What is too rigid is easily broken."

As Duan Escort Chief spoke, a trace of remembrance surfaced in his eyes.

His elder brother had possessed a physique similar to Jiang Jingnian's. Born suited to horizontal training arts, he had been a martial arts prodigy into whom the family had poured all its resources. At thirty, he had entered the Marrow Tempering Stage and was nearly invincible among those of the same rank. He had been just one step away from advancing into the Inner Qi Realm and becoming a true expert.

But the world was unpredictable.

While training abroad, his elder brother had offended an expert from a great sect. Not only had he died, not even his corpse had been left intact.

"Enough, enough. Don't think about that anymore. Those are old records from decades ago."

The Chief Escort waved a hand and glanced at Duan Escort Chief. "If you truly want to take him as a disciple, should the escort agency give that boy a little more care?"

"For example, Jiang Jingnian is heading to Cloud Harmony City on escort duty this time. We could replace the accompanying Escort Master Wei with Escort Master Zhou. Escort Master Zhou is a Bone-Tempering Martial Master and a seasoned veteran. With him along, the risk would be lower."

Old Duan had been his close friend for many years.

So long as it did not violate the escort agency's rules, making a little accommodation was nothing much.

"No."

Duan Escort Chief narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head repeatedly. "Cloud Harmony City is only two or three hundred li from Peace City. There are not many bandit dens nearby, and the route is an official road. There is no need to favor him so greatly."

"If anything truly happens, I believe Escort Master Wei and Escort Master Jiang are strong enough to handle it."

The escort agency's assignments and manpower arrangements had basically all been allocated already. How could they change their minds so easily at the last minute? Replacing one escort master would essentially force the whole team to alter its plans.

"Fine, then. Old Duan, you are still impartial as iron."

Hearing this, the Chief Escort nodded and said no more.

After finishing the match, Jiang Jingnian rested in a side room for a while. Once he had consolidated what he had learned from beating people up, he received notice that he would be leading an escort mission.

They were to depart around one in the afternoon.

Their destination was a city south of Peace City, a place called Cloud Harmony City.

The goods being transported were more than a dozen crates of furniture made from precious timber. The client had specifically requested that they be delivered to the largest trading house there.

Besides Jiang Jingnian, the escort master, the team included another escort master named Wei Yu, five porters, and three apprentices, ten people in total.

Jiang Jingnian had no experience with escort missions.

Thus, while eating lunch at the escort agency's dining hall, he took the opportunity to ask Escort Master Wei for some guidance.

The man was holding a chicken leg and eating it. Seeing Jiang Jingnian come over to ask, he merely said flatly, "If you encounter bandits, kill the bandits. If they flee, do not pursue them and do not enter dense woods. At night, just set up tents and rest on the official road. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter Demon Wraiths, then everyone can only leave it to fate."

"I understand the rest, but what are these Demon Wraiths?"

Jiang Jingnian had heard Fifth Uncle mention Demon Wraiths more than once.

Even the newspapers openly discussed them.

"All sorts of bizarre monsters, some corporeal and some formless. If they are weak, we need not fear them. If they are powerful—like the Stone Demon that has recently entrenched itself on Baobai Mountain—it could swallow our entire caravan in one bite."

When Escort Master Wei mentioned Demon Wraiths, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. "Still, don't worry. I have been on escort duty for several years and only encountered Demon Wraiths twice. Neither was strong. Ordinary Martial Masters could handle them."

"I see! I understand."

Jiang Jingnian nodded, then quickly thanked him. "Thank you for the advice, Brother Wei."

"No need. It is only a small matter."

Escort Master Wei waved a hand and continued eating.

After lunch.

Everyone rested briefly before gathering at the training grounds. By then, other escort teams had already departed ahead of them.

Every team had a different destination and different goods to escort.

One team was even escorting people.

There were five or six of them, men and women alike, all seated in a carriage.

Their expressions were somewhat dazed and frightened. Whether they had offended someone locally or something else had happened, they looked as though they were fleeing disaster. Given the conditions in the regions outside, no one would leave Peace City unless driven to the brink.

"The teams escorting people are clearly larger than teams like ours escorting goods. All five are escort masters, with no porters or apprentices. I suppose they are afraid the target is too conspicuous?"

As Jiang Jingnian passed by, he curiously glanced inside a few times before swiftly reining in his thoughts.

It was his first escort mission.

Everything piqued his curiosity somewhat.

After all, this was something he had never experienced in his previous life. Even the information he knew had come from books or film and television dramas.

Yet that material.

Did not necessarily fit what he was encountering now.

Outside the escort agency.

Five or six horse-drawn cargo wagons had already been fully prepared. This was work for the escort agency's stewards and servants.

The escort masters and porters only needed to protect the goods and hand them over upon arrival.

After Wei Yu completed the paperwork handover with a steward beside the carriages, he assigned tasks to the porters and apprentices. With a grave expression, he repeatedly instructed them on several taboos.

As for Jiang Jingnian.

He merely said simply, "Stay with me the entire time. Do not wander too far away. Except when you need to relieve yourself, but even then, remain within sight."

For a new escort master.

The greatest taboo on an escort mission was getting overly excited, wandering everywhere, and becoming separated from the group.

Especially when encountering bandits from mountain strongholds, charging forward blindly to fight and kill was exceedingly dangerous.

He was not giving such instructions without reason.

Tongda Escort Agency had previously lost many porters and even escort masters who had separated from their companions for only a moment, only to be immediately surrounded and ambushed by bandits stalking them in secret.

In Wei Yu's eyes, Jiang Jingnian was fairly steady in both word and deed, but he was still a young man full of hot blood. Moreover, he had knocked Qian Shiqi unconscious with a few punches in the arena that morning. His confidence was likely swelling sky-high.

He might not necessarily regard Wei Yu, his colleague, with much respect.

Jiang Jingnian merely nodded, looking very modest. "No problem. I definitely will not act on my own."

He truly was a novice.

But he was not foolish.

He knew the world was chaotic, and he understood even more clearly that every escort mission could bring danger.

At around one in the afternoon.

After a porter raised the "Tongda Escort Agency" banner, the caravan transporting the goods set out directly from outside the agency.

The porter carrying the banner walked at the very front. During the escort mission, he also had to shout the escort agency's call to warn passersby and potential bandits.

Two porters followed behind him to coordinate matters.

At the rear of the caravan were another two porters and the apprentices, keeping watch on the surroundings.

As for the two escort masters, Wei Yu and Jiang Jingnian, they remained in the middle of the team, watching ahead and behind, commanding the overall situation, and ready to provide support at any moment.