No Longer What He Once Was

Chai Li had worked with Jiang Jingnian before. She knew that the reason Escort Chief Duan had taken Jiang Jingnian as his disciple was surely because he possessed extraordinary talent in hard martial arts.

As for exactly how extraordinary, she had no concrete idea.

After all, whether it was during escort runs in the past or when she had watched Escort Master Jiang spar with others at the training grounds, nothing had given her a particularly direct impression.

But at this very moment—

One man stood where he was, his deep-set eyes sweeping the surroundings. The dozens of Garden Celebration Hall thugs did not even dare meet his gaze before slinking away in disgrace.

Such extraordinary might.

Even a colleague like her could sense the blade-edge radiating from him, like a treasured saber long buried in dust, its frosty edge never tested, slowly sliding from its sheath at this moment.

Instinctively, she felt the pressure surge.

Even an experienced escort hand like Chai Li felt an inexplicable pressure, let alone the escort hands and apprentices beside her who had barely interacted with Jiang Jingnian.

They too lowered their heads without realizing it.

One male apprentice had, when he first joined the escort agency, wanted to watch Jiang Jingnian lose to Qian Shiqi and make a fool of himself.

But now that he looked again, he only felt both legs trembling. He was grateful that he had merely looked on coldly and had not mocked him aloud. Otherwise, if Escort Master Jiang bore a grudge against him, his days ahead would be hard indeed.

Inwardly, he also admired Escort Chief Duan. As expected of an old veteran—his eye for people was frighteningly accurate.

As for the two young girls, Qu Lanlan and Lu Zhishuang, they stood to one side looking rather dumbfounded. They had seen the black-clad young hall master's arrogance and swagger with their own eyes. Even after the Qu Household's name had been invoked, he had not taken it seriously in the slightest.

Yet such a fellow, with murderous might soaring to the heavens, had not even had time to shout a few more threats before his arm was broken by a collision and he fainted on the spot.

This scene—

For students like them, beyond their boundless shock, brought a strange thrill and novelty.

It was something they had never seen in their school days.

Though Su Wanzhi was equally shocked, she was not an ignorant schoolgirl like Qu Lanlan.

She understood the world of martial artists. Back then, she had even tried to begin martial training herself, but the hardship of it had truly been more than she could bear, and her talent was lacking as well. Within a few months, it had come to nothing.

And precisely because she understood martial artists—

She knew how difficult it was for someone who practiced martial arts to become a true Martial Master.

Thus, even after recognizing Jiang Jingnian, Su Wanzhi still studied him with uncertainty in her eyes, trying to find even a trace of the honest rickshaw puller from before.

"Miss Su."

Jiang Jingnian reined in his somewhat intimidating pressure, seeming to turn back into an approachable boy next door. "Earlier, I went to clear out the Su Family's general store and drive people away, which delayed me for a while. Those gang hooligans just now didn't hurt you, did they?"

He addressed her as humbly as he had when he used to pull her carriage. Yet his tone no longer carried the simple honesty and slight tremble he had possessed while straining at the cart; it held more calmness now, more unhurried composure.

"...No."

Su Wanzhi shook her head repeatedly. A trace of hesitation appeared on her lovely face. "May I ask how I should address you?"

Even though his first words had called her by name, she still did not dare confirm that this powerful Martial Master before her was the rickshaw puller who had once driven her around.

"Jiang Jingnian."

Jiang Jingnian cupped his hands in greeting, a slightly formal smile on his face.

He had no other thoughts toward Su Wanzhi, an old customer of his. He merely found it somewhat moving that they had met again under such circumstances.

"So it really is you! Little Brother Jiang..."

Su Wanzhi's eyes brightened, her voice carrying both disbelief and an inexplicable curiosity.

What exactly had happened to him?

How had he become an expert of the Tongda Escort Agency after only such a short time apart?

And when he went out, he was surrounded by attendants before and behind. One glance was enough to tell that his status was far from low.

"Jiang Jingnian?! Isn't that the cultured name Jiang Second Dog made up for himself?!"

Compared to the stunned Su Wanzhi, Qu Lanlan still had unshed tears in her eyes and looked utterly bewildered. The moment she heard that name, her expression froze, then she sprang up at once like a little cat with all its fur standing on end.

Qu Lanlan hurried closer and examined the white-clad youth from head to toe. His clothes were neat and fitting, and every gesture he made carried an elegant air.

The more she looked—

The less she felt he had anything to do with that country bumpkin. Yet his face was indeed astonishingly similar.

So similar that they seemed to be the same person.

There really were people in this world who looked incredibly alike, but... even their names could not possibly be exactly the same, could they?

"Impossible! You can't be Jiang Second Dog!"

"You just look a tiny bit like him, right? Right?"

Qu Lanlan's earlier terror and humiliation were instantly smashed to pieces by this unbelievable possibility.

If that possibility were true—

She simply could not accept it.

Because the destitute country bumpkin she had casually cursed and looked down upon for months had not only seen her at her most humiliating, but had also, in a roundabout way, saved her from that black-clad villain.

Like a great hero from a local tale, or a white-horse knight rescuing a princess in a Western fairy tale.

Seeing Qu Lanlan's sudden shift in mood, Su Wanzhi thought that the young girl might have been traumatized just now. She could not help walking over and tugging at her sleeve. "Yunyi, were you hurt just now? Let your big sister have a look."

She took her hand, wanting to see whether her arm had been pinched black and blue.

Lu Zhishuang also came back to her senses and walked over to Qu Lanlan's side. In a soft voice, she asked, "What's wrong, Sister Yunyi? If you're feeling unwell, let's go inside and rest for a while..."

Her temperament was much like Qu Lanlan's. At home, both were young ladies accustomed to ordering people about, which was why they got along so well.

But Lu Zhishuang knew to judge the situation and the person involved!

This delicate-looking white-clad youth was clearly one of the foremost heroes in the escort agency. Even that gang's young hall master had been turned into a dead dog in a single move. Before such a hero, even if they could not put on the manner of a delicate little bird clinging to a man, they still had to rein in their spoiled tempers!

Besides, if this hero had not appeared in time, it was not just Qu Lanlan—most likely all three of them would have been hurt.

Under such circumstances, how could they be so rude to him!?

Jiang Jingnian lowered his gaze at Qu Lanlan, who was jumping at every little thing and seemed somewhat possessed. There was not much emotion in his eyes. He merely let his smile fade slightly and said evenly, "Miss Qu, if you are hurt, I'll have someone take you to the nearest clinic."

He casually pointed at Chai Li beside him.

After saying that, Jiang Jingnian did not wait for Qu Lanlan to reply. Instead, he turned to Su Wanzhi. "Miss Su, your shop assistants were injured as well. I don't know whether their injuries are serious. Take them to a clinic for treatment first."

Miss Qu!

Qu Lanlan heard that familiar form of address, those familiar words.

Her little-cat-with-raised-fur posture instantly stiffened as though struck by lightning. Even the voices of the two women around her seemed to drift near and far, as if she could no longer hear them.