Bullets

Whether in his previous life or this life after transmigrating, this was Jiang Jingnian's first time riding a horse.

But now that he had advanced to Martial Master, his body was strong and his reactions swift, far beyond those of ordinary people. He merely copied Escort Master Wei's posture, and in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, he had gradually gotten the hang of controlling a horse.

As for the speed of an escort agency's freight wagons—

That was on a completely different level from a lone rider.

A journey of two or three hundred li could be covered by one person on a well-trained horse at a normal pace—riding for a while, resting for a while, then stopping overnight—and they could arrive by the next afternoon.

If they traveled in haste, disregarding the horse's wear and tear and without resting themselves, they could reach their destination in just a few hours at the fastest.

Hauling cargo was different.

Even with good weather, uncomplicated and straight roads, and an official road beneath them, a one-way journey of two or three hundred li would still take several days. If they had to travel through treacherous mountain paths and rugged terrain, they might not arrive even after ten days or half a month.

They had set out from Miqiao District and completely left Peace City's urban limits in under two hours, but once they entered the official road from the outskirts, their pace slowed considerably.

The official roads laid by Chen State—

Were merely a mixture of stone-paved roads and dirt roads. Some stretches had even been damaged, riddled with muddy potholes, carrying the air of long disrepair.

It formed a stark contrast with the asphalt roads that covered Peace City.

"Try not to step in those muddy pits, especially the ones with muddy water."

Riding on horseback, Escort Master Wei Yu surveyed their surroundings as he cautioned everyone. "In the past, some bandits buried traps and mechanisms in muddy pits. If you accidentally stepped into one, at best you'd be poisoned; at worst, you'd lose an arm or a leg."

Not long after they had left the city—

They could still see scattered merchants and travelers on the road, all wary of one another. But once they reached the official road leading toward Cloud Harmony City—

There were scarcely any merchants or passersby here.

A young apprentice following behind heard this and could not help asking in puzzlement, "Escort Master Wei, when you used to escort shipments, did you encounter bandits often?"

"Not often when I first entered the trade. After all, our Tongda Escort Agency is a century-old establishment, and we still have some reputation in this region."

"Most bandits would not come near once they saw our escort banner. Only a small number were blind to their own doom."

Wei Yu paused slightly before continuing, "But things are different now. Never mind the war between the two prefectures two years ago. Just two months ago, several great warlords in the south launched some Defending Nation War, claiming they would drive out the foreigners, reforge the shattered Dragon Vein, and rebuild Chen State."

"Outside, the fighting has already turned heaven and earth upside down."

"Did any of you read yesterday's newspaper? Xu City, more than eight hundred li southwest of Peace City, is a thousand-year-old city of South River Prefecture. Now it has been burned to the ground by rebel troops. There are more and more refugees, and more and more wealthy Household Martial Masters taking to the hills to become bandits."

"They won't give our escort agency any face."

He said no more after that.

But everyone else in the convoy understood what he meant.

The situation had not been so chaotic before.

The local mountain bandits in the surrounding area generally would not target Tongda Escort Agency, and escorting shipments had been relatively safe.

But now the times had changed. Many of the bandits outside were wealthy Household Martial Masters whose homes had suffered military disaster, forcing them to flee.

Though ordinary wealthy households who fled their hometowns could usually find some way to make a living elsewhere, there were simply too many of them. Some would inevitably take to the hills as bandits and claim mountains as kings.

At that moment—

Jiang Jingnian, riding beside him, showed a trace of confusion in his eyes. "Brother Wei, didn't you say Demon Wraiths appear from time to time in these wilderness forests? How do those bandits survive, then?"

"Bandits live by the weather, surviving one day at a time. No one knows how many batches of weak bandits have died already."

"Only the strongholds built by wealthy households who have taken to banditry and joined forces can survive under the threat of Demon Wraiths and government troops."

"Of course, Chen State has no government troops suppressing bandits now. As for the foreigners, it depends on their mood. Generally speaking, they don't want to extend their sphere of influence beyond the concessions. That would increase their management costs enormously."

When Escort Master Wei mentioned the foreigners, a few ripples stirred in his otherwise calm tone, but they soon settled again.

Chen State had gone from a heavenly empire that once commanded the submission of all within the Four Seas centuries ago—

To its present state of accumulated poverty and weakness, concessions everywhere and chaos under heaven.

The foreigners could not be absolved of responsibility for it.

As a Martial Master of Chen State, it was impossible not to feel humiliated by this.

But after the humiliation—

What could they do?

Even the great warlords known throughout the land could not escape the shadows of Western powers behind them.

The only female escort hand at the rear suddenly spoke after hearing this. "If... if the Defending Nation War in the south truly wins, could the Dragon Vein be reforged and Chen State restored to its former golden age?"

"I've read those records in books at home. Centuries ago, Chen State was peaceful throughout the land—people did not even pick up things dropped on the road!"

The phrase "people did not pick up things dropped on the road"—

Had become an unattainable record found only in ancient books.

Even in a place like Peace City, where order still remained, never mind people not picking up things dropped on the road—if an ordinary person exposed even a little wealth, they could be swept into trouble.

"Unlikely!"

"Those warlords' goals aren't that lofty."

Wei Yu shook his head, unwilling to say more on the subject.

And with the topic raised—

The young people present all felt their hearts grow somewhat heavy.

Around dusk—

They circled past a hilly region thick with forests and entered the jurisdiction of Sun Copper County.

At the edge of Sun Copper County stood a village that served as a transit station for merchants and travelers. The local villagers specialized in doing business with passing merchants and travelers.

It was located near this official road, less than two li away in a straight line.

Whenever Escort Master Wei had escorted shipments to Cloud Harmony City before, he and his companions would stay there overnight and replenish their food supplies. The prices were all very fair, making it popular with passing merchants and travelers.

"On the first night, it happens to be on our way, so we can stay here."

"After this, we won't be able to deliberately detour to county towns or villages for lodging. We'll have to set up tents in the wilderness to rest. So anyone short on food must replenish their supplies here before we set off again."

Upon arriving within the bounds of this village, Wei Yu's gaze was no longer quite so vigilant.

After all, he had been here many times and was quite familiar with the rural dirt roads around the village.

Jiang Jingnian rode beside him, his nose twitching slightly. "Do you smell something?"

Wei Yu's gaze flickered. He also took a deep sniff of the air, then shook his head. "I don't smell anything. Does anyone else?"

"No."

The escort hands and apprentices beside them also shook their heads, confusion in their eyes.

"I just feel like there's some sort of strange stench."

Jiang Jingnian inexplicably felt that something was wrong, though he could not say exactly what. "...Maybe it's just my imagination."

No one said anything further, but several escort hands began surveying their surroundings with greater severity.

A hole in the ground did not necessarily appear without cause.

Though a Martial Master's instinctive warning could sometimes be mistaken, there was never any harm in being more cautious while escorting a shipment.

And just as the convoy crept slowly toward the village entrance—

"Everyone stop! Something's wrong here!"

Wei Yu's hairs suddenly stood on end, and he hurriedly pulled on his horse's reins.

From his vantage point, the muddy dirt road at the village entrance had been dyed red with blood.

More than a dozen corpses lay scattered haphazardly amid the weeds on both sides, their bodies a mangled blur of blood and flesh, their features impossible to discern.

Yet Escort Master Wei recognized the tattered clothes on those corpses at a glance.

They were all worn by local villagers.

So Escort Master Jiang had been right about the smell. It was a mixture of blood and corpse stench. For some reason, though, as they approached the village, it was as if something had masked and concealed their sense of smell.

"Turn back the way we came!"

At that moment, Escort Master Wei Yu's face was as dark as water. Before he had time to think further, he ordered the escort wagons to turn around.

But the instant he turned his horse around—

Bang!

A bullet—

Whistled past his ear.

Several strands of hair snapped and drifted down.