Chapter 25: Escort Team

In the original plot, one hard requirement for controlling the seven killing stele was cultivation at the sixth martial realm, the Ningzhen Realm.

The Ningzhen Realm could already transform True Qi into solid True Essence, with even greater power, enabling one to withstand the impact of Blood Fiend Force.

At the same time, the flow of True Essence within the body allowed for more perfect control over the Blood Fiend Force.

Chen Yuan had relied on the Divine Artifact Shifting Stars’ Incarnation to cleverly Master the seven killing stele, but now the side effects had arrived.

That Blood Fiend Force was too overbearing; whenever Chen Yuan slightly activated it, his blood and Qi would involuntarily begin to boil, growing faster and faster, eventually even starting to uncontrollably and madly burn his blood and Qi until it was completely consumed.

This was no longer Chen Yuan controlling the Blood Fiend Force, but the Blood Fiend Force controlling Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan had tried to suppress it, but unfortunately, it was useless.

Now, when he activated his killing intent origin and drew the Blood Fiend Force into his body, he could only last for five breaths.

After five breaths, he had to fully channel his Internal Energy to suppress the Blood Fiend Force and withdraw his killing intent origin; otherwise, the situation would become uncontrollable.

Moreover, the extremely powerful Blood Slaughter Calamity Hand was something Chen Yuan dared not use lightly.

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The Blood Slaughter Calamity Hand consumed an astonishing amount of Blood Fiend Force; after one palm strike, Chen Yuan had to fully suppress it, or his blood and Qi would inevitably go out of control.

Chen Yuan had gone to great lengths to seize the seven killing stele, certainly not to be a ‘five-second real man’.

He had to find a way to resolve this side effect.

After much thought, there really was one Cultivation Technique that could solve this side effect, located near the border of Youzhou, which he had a good chance of obtaining.

However, before going to obtain this technique, Chen Yuan still needed to seize a weapon, and the timeline for this plot development should be soon.

Previously, when fighting Murong Qing, Chen Yuan’s yanling blade was easily shattered by the opponent’s dragon-patterned azure gold sword, which really affected his combat power too much.

Apart from Divine Magical Weapons, ordinary weapons are divided into four Ranks: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.

Chen Yuan’s yanling blade was an ordinary Yellow-Rank weapon, the kind mass-produced.

Low Grade Yellow-Rank weapons are ordinary steel blades, while High Grade Yellow-Rank weapons are forged from Refined Steel.

Mysterious-Rank weapons incorporate various rare Materials to achieve different effects.

For example, they can increase Sharpness, or adding certain Materials can allow Internal Energy to extend into the weapon more smoothly, among other effects.

Moreover, each Mysterious-Rank weapon is uniquely crafted by a Weapon Forger.

Therefore, in the Jianghu, although Yellow-Rank and Mysterious-Rank weapons differ by only one Rank, their prices can vary by thousands of times.

Leaving the desolate mountains, Chen Yuan checked his direction and headed straight for the Yellow Dragon Post in southern Youzhou.

Youzhou is located in the north of Daxia, with several Official Roads leading to the Central Plains region.

The Yellow Dragon Post is a necessary stop on one of these Official Roads to the Central Plains, with many merchants, escort agencies, and Jianghu People passing through daily.

Chen Yuan bought a horse along the way, changed into a set of black short martial attire, wore a bamboo hat, and carried a yanling blade at his waist.

This appearance was that of a standard, ordinary Jianghu Person, completely inconspicuous.

After galloping for three days, Chen Yuan arrived at the Yellow Dragon Post.

The Yellow Dragon Post is situated beside the Official Road, covering a vast area and consisting of three parts.

One is a large hall for eating, drinking, and temporary rest, spacious enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

Behind the post hall are rows of brick houses available for lodging by Traveling Merchants.

Additionally, the Yellow Dragon Post has a dedicated horse farm, with some horses reserved for imperial use and others available for free trade.

Traveling Merchants wanting to change horses almost always do so at the Yellow Dragon Post.

Chen Yuan dismounted and handed the reins to a Waiter at the post entrance.

The Waiter handed Chen Yuan a wooden tag with a number, smiling and saying,’Sir, please keep this; when you leave, show the tag to settle the fodder fee with the horses.’

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly; this Yellow Dragon Post was truly prosperous enough.

This Waiter, in modern terms, was basically valet parking.

Chen Yuan pushed open the door to the post hall; the huge hall was like a noisy market, with sound waves almost lifting the roof.

People of all kinds crowded around rough wooden long tables, some eating, some drinking, and some gambling.

Southern and northern accents blended into a buzzing background noise, the air filled with the smell of sweat, the stench of livestock, and cheap alcohol, choking people enough to make them dizzy.

Seeing Chen Yuan enter, people in the hall instinctively glanced at him.

However, upon noticing he was just an ordinary Jianghu Person, everyone withdrew their gazes.

Chen Yuan found a secluded table, ordered a few small dishes, and waited for someone to arrive.

He wasn’t entirely sure of the specific timeline for this plot, but it should be within these few days.

Chen Yuan touched the table and suddenly noticed many knife marks on it.

Some marks still had dark red stains, clearly blood that had seeped into the knife marks and couldn’t be washed away.

The Yellow Dragon Post saw countless travelers daily, a mix of all sorts; fighting or even killing here was as common as daily meals.

Sometimes fights broke out over gambling losses, or over a single disagreement.

While eating, Chen Yuan saw three groups of people start fighting.

However, these people still had some rules.

The losers slunk away in disgrace, while the winners were responsible for paying compensation.

Chen Yuan waited at the Yellow Dragon Post for five days; after five days, a small escort team of only five people walked into the post hall.

Seeing these five, Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly; it seemed like this group.

This was just a minor, unimportant plot; when Chen Yuan watched the replay, he fast-forwarded, so he wasn’t entirely clear on the number, but it should be a small escort team.

If the subsequent developments were correct, it should be them.

Five-person escort teams were still rare in the Jianghu.

Generally, when an Escort Agency moved goods, there needed to be a Chief Escort to lead, responsible for command and coordination.

At least two Scouts were needed to explore ahead, coordinating from front and back.

Three or more Escorts were responsible for protecting the goods.

If the goods were numerous or bulky, some Cart Drivers and Workers needed to be hired to handle transportation.

So, an escort team typically had at least a dozen people.

The leader of this five-person team was a middle-aged man in his fifties; the other four were young, including a woman, which was also rare in escort agencies.

Apart from the Chief Escort, the remaining four each carried a box, which should be the goods they were escorting.

The Chief Escort looked around and, with experience, chose a central but rearward seat.

This position seemed conspicuous but actually allowed a view in all directions, close to both the front and back doors, enabling the quickest reaction and escape if needed.

‘Uncle Jin, I heard the Roasted Venison in Fujiang City is exceptional; we’re not far from Fujiang City, could we take a slight detour and go there for a bit?’

The female escort was only in her early twenties, with a lovely appearance, youthful and lively, wearing a black-red short martial attire that outlined her tall and toned figure.

The ages of the remaining three Escorts weren’t too high either; one quickly said, ‘Qingqing, if you want to eat, I’ll treat you then, as much as you want.’

Chief Escort Uncle Jin frowned and said, ‘Eat, eat, eat, at a time like this you’re still thinking about eating?

If it weren’t for you, a girl who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, recklessly accepting the Lin Family’s escort, would we have to be so cautious and careful all the way?’

Qingqing pouted and retorted, ‘Wasn’t I thinking of our Qingfeng Escort Agency? The Lin Family only asked us to transport one weapon for three thousand taels; what a great deal! Not taking it would be a huge loss!’

‘You, you, no brains!’

Uncle Jin tapped her head in frustration: ‘Why don’t you think? Such a good deal, several escort agencies in Panyang City, why didn’t they take it? How did it fall to a young girl like you? Your father was always the most cautious in handling matters; you haven’t inherited a bit of his ability!’

The young escort who had spoken earlier quickly defended her: ‘Master, don’t blame Qingqing; she meant well for our agency. Our agency hasn’t had many big orders like this in the past two years.’

Uncle Jin sighed: ‘A big order is a big order, but it’s also a life-threatening one.

The Lin Family has offended the Iron Clad Gate to the death; both sides are almost in a feud of mutual destruction.

In all of Panyang City, see who dares to get involved with the Lin Family?

Only you, who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth, actually accepted the Lin Family’s escort.’

‘But Master, you didn’t back out after knowing either.’

Another disciple muttered, but Uncle Jin slapped him hard on the head.

‘Nonsense! Can we back out after already accepting payment? What’s most important in our Escort Agency line? Credit!

Without credit, why would anyone trust you to escort their goods?

Our Qingfeng Escort Agency is already stuck here; if we back out this time, the agency’s reputation will be completely ruined, and it should just close down!’

Uncle Jin sighed helplessly, feeling only exhaustion.

Back then, he and Qingqing’s father founded the Qingfeng Escort Agency together, growing a small agency step by step to become somewhat famous in Panyang City.

Unfortunately, Qingqing’s father and a group of old Escorts encountered bandit attacks, causing the Qingfeng Escort Agency’s strength to plummet, leaving only him and a few inexperienced young people.

He had promised Qingqing’s father to take care of these kids and not let the agency disband, but he never expected these kids to cause such big trouble.

‘We’re almost halfway through this trip; don’t cause any trouble, just deliver the escort properly to get through this ordeal.

Venison, venison, I think you all look like venison! Eat properly, and hurry on the road after eating!’

Uncle Jin scolded in a low voice for a few sentences, ordered some ordinary food, and started eating heartily to fill his stomach.

And while eating, he kept looking around.

After eating and drinking his fill, just as Uncle Jin wanted to rest a bit before leaving, the post’s door was suddenly pushed open roughly.

Eight Jianghu People wearing Iron Bamboo Hats strode into the Yellow Dragon Post.

These eight were dressed strangely; their Iron Bamboo Hats were very wide, almost covering their entire faces, looking extremely heavy.

It was already late autumn, but they wore only thin Vests, exposing their chests and arms.

Their exposed skin had a black-gray metallic hue, with muscles bulging and knotted, clearly showing their profound External Martial Arts.

Seeing these eight, Uncle Jin’s face immediately changed, his hand trembling as chopsticks fell to the ground.

‘Iron Clad Gate!’