"You want Old Seven to go with you?" The young gentleman draped one arm around Old Seven's shoulders, but the ice-faced Old Seven showed not the slightest distaste.
"He only needs to hold off the Dragon Lord for me."
An expert at his own level, with another three hundred or so men in tow, would indeed be difficult for him to handle.
But as long as one of the two was held back, he was absolutely confident he could slaughter his way through them.
Mountain bandits were, at the end of the day, nothing but a disorderly mob.
Just hold off the Dragon Lord?
The young gentleman still did not believe Zhang Qingyuan. "How old are you this year?" he asked.
"Eighteen."
"Which Daoist sect did you come from?"
"I used to live at Three Purities Temple in Qinghe County. Then my master died, and my senior brother kicked me out."
"Uh..."
The young gentleman froze for quite a while. Rack his brains as he might, he could not recall what sort of Daoist sect Three Purities Temple was. He did not even know where Qinghe County was.
Although one should not judge people by appearances when traveling, still...
Wasn't this a little too unimpressive?
"You're neither a disciple of a major sect nor very old. Why should I believe you can take the grain back?"
"Believe it or don't!"
Zhang Qingyuan was in no mood to explain anymore. There were still countless disaster victims behind him. He could not waste all his time here.
Those parting words left the young gentleman somewhat speechless.
He thought it over, gritted his teeth, and gave Old Seven a pat.
"If this little Daoist can't do it, can you deal with that bullshit Dragon Lord?"
Old Seven nodded after hearing this and said proudly, "As long as he can keep the others occupied for half an incense stick's time, I will definitely find an opening and cut off the Dragon Lord's head to present to you, Young Master."
Old Five wore the same expression. The reason the two of them had not attacked on the mountain earlier was precisely that there were only two of them.
One would need to hold off the Dragon Lord, while the other cleared out the small fry.
That would leave the young gentleman in danger with nobody protecting him, which was why they had not dared act rashly.
Zhang Qingyuan also heard Old Seven's words and tipped his chin at the young gentleman. "Even your subordinate says so. If you're still going to chicken out, I'll go myself."
With this information, Zhang Qingyuan knew he might not be able to handle the people on the mountain.
But martial arts were not the only way to kill someone. There was poison, too.
Zhang Qingyuan had already thought it through. If worse comes to worst, I'll catch a few venomous snakes and put their venom in the water they drink.
As a transmigrator, although Zhang Qingyuan admired great heroes like Qiao Feng, he admitted he could not be as open and upright as Qiao Feng.
Smashing an egg against a rock, overestimating his own strength, was something Zhang Qingyuan would certainly never do.
Underhanded or aboveboard, any move that worked was a good move!
The young gentleman looked rather displeased and said to Zhang Qingyuan, "Who's chickening out? Do I look like that sort of coward?
"If Old Five hadn't insisted on stopping me, I'd have wiped them out just now."
Seeing his embarrassed anger, Zhang Qingyuan curled his lip and asked, "Then are we going?"
"Of course!"
The young gentleman patted Old Seven's shoulder and told him, "Follow this little Daoist. We're going to get revenge!"
"Yes."
Zhang Qingyuan stepped forward, and Old Five and Old Seven instinctively grew wary, their eyes fixed firmly on him.
This made Zhang Qingyuan even more curious about the young gentleman's identity. Just whose son was he?
Zhang Qingyuan walked ahead, with the three following diagonally behind him, Old Five and Old Seven flanking the young gentleman and guarding him carefully.
"My name is Zhang Qingyuan. May I ask yours?"
The young gentleman said, "My name is Zhu Zizhao. These two are my household guards."
His surname was Zhu, and he was this rich?
The imperial surname of the Great Qian Dynasty was Zhu, so Zhang Qingyuan instinctively read a little more into it.
"From the capital?"
"What of it?" Zhu Zizhao raised his eyebrows at him smugly.
"Imperial kin, then."
"Good that you know."
Zhu Zizhao was a chatterbox, even more talkative than Zhang Qingyuan. Their temperaments were very similar.
Zhang Qingyuan might have seemed weighed down by bitter suffering these past few days, unable to smile as he looked at the disaster victims every day.
But thinking back to how he had treated Chen Ling'er and Li Qiuran when he first came down the mountain, that was his true self.
Once he understood Zhu Zizhao's identity, having two guards like these at his side made sense.
There was nothing strange about imperial kin being able to afford experts like them.
The two chatted as they walked. Zhang Qingyuan asked, "Why would a young gentleman like you leave the capital and come to Kaifeng?"
Great Qian's capital was in Nanjing. This was Kaifeng, the former dynasty's old capital.
Zhu Zizhao said, "To outsiders like you, the capital is a sacred place. But to someone like me, who grew up there, it's a cage."
Great. Another man who doesn't know how blessed he is.
"I've been fascinated by the jianghu since I was little. My greatest dream is to learn peerless martial arts and spend my days roaming to the ends of the earth with a sword."
"Then you really are sick in the head," Zhang Qingyuan remarked.
Old Five's brow furrowed deeply. He glanced at Zhu Zizhao, then looked back at Zhang Qingyuan when he saw no outburst.
In their eyes, Zhang Qingyuan was insulting their young master and deserved to be beheaded.
But Zhu Zizhao rather appreciated Zhang Qingyuan's tone. He had grown up in embroidered silks, eating fine food, and everyone except his parents and elder brothers treated him with utmost respect.
Hearing such a tone not only failed to anger him, but actually felt quite comfortable.
Such disregard for formalities was what a relationship between equals should be, rather than meek subservience.
"Why would you say that about me?"
Zhang Qingyuan looked back. "You think those wandering swordsmen are born loving a life of roaming the jianghu?"
"Aren't they?" Zhu Zizhao asked.
"Of course not. If they had somewhere to live, would they need to roam the jianghu?"
Zhu Zizhao thought for a moment, then said in puzzlement, "From what I've heard the storytellers in the capital say, those heroes really enjoy that life.
"Fine robes and spirited steeds, roaming to the ends of the earth with a sword, drawing their blades to help whenever they see injustice."
"Of course storytellers only pick out the good parts. Would they tell you the bad?"
"Is that how it is?" Zhu Zizhao turned his gaze to his two guards.
Old Five said, "We don't know either. None of us twelve brothers has ever roamed the jianghu."
Zhu Zizhao nodded, remembering that they had all been trained by his own household.
"What about you? You said your senior brother kicked you out. Where are you staying now?"
"Me?" Zhang Qingyuan stopped, his expression yearning. "Once I save up a little more money, I'll find a famous mountain, establish a Daoist sect, and find two or three dao companions. Perfect!"
This was indeed what Zhang Qingyuan truly wanted.
In his previous life, bride prices had been so high that he could not afford a wife.
Now that he finally lived in a country that did not restrict how many wives he could marry, of course he would marry a few more if he could.
Zhang Qingyuan thought, I couldn't get a wife before transmigrating. If I still can't get a wife afterward, then didn't I fucking transmigrate for nothing?
Zhu Zizhao showed no particular attitude toward his ambition. Zhang Qingyuan could discern neither envy nor disdain on his face.
The landlord's foolish son, ignorant of the people's hardships.
They walked for another while. As they approached the mountainside, Old Seven said to Old Five, "Protect the young master."
"Don't worry."
With that, Old Seven shot out like a bolt of lightning and vanished without a trace.
Zhang Qingyuan paused. "What did he go off to do?"
Old Five explained, "There are twelve open guard posts and hidden sentries along this route. Old Seven has gone to deal with them."
"Oh."
About half an hour later, when Old Seven returned, fresh blood still clung to his sword.
Old Five looked at him. "All dealt with?"
"Yes."
"Let's go, Young Master. The weeds beside the road have all been cleared."
At this, Zhu Zizhao gave Zhang Qingyuan a smug look and raised his eyebrows. "It'll be your turn to show us what you've got in a moment."