Chapter 27: The Escort Lives with the Escort, Dies with Its Loss?

The Martial Artists of the Iron Clad Gate have a very obvious weakness: they are too slow.

Each of them has cultivated their external martial arts to an extremely profound level, and their defense and strength are indeed astonishing.

When facing Martial Artists of the same rank, if you cannot break their defense, defeat is certain; you will inevitably be worn down to death.

But as long as you surpass them in strength, like Chen Yuan, and possess a weapon capable of breaking their defense, the result is complete slaughter.

The remaining two Disciples of the Iron Clad Gate couldn’t even dodge under Chen Yuan’s saber blade and were instantly slain by him.

The Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother was now furious to the point of madness, his eyes crimson red.

He had brought these fellow Disciples to hunt down the Qingfeng Escort Agency, but now all his Junior Brothers were dead.

Even if he returned with the Azure Dragon Blood Drink, his merits would not outweigh his faults, and he would surely be severely punished by the Sect.

“What skill is there in only hiding and launching sneak attacks? If you have the guts, fight me head-on! Today, I will crush your skull!”

The Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother roared, hurling two stools at Chen Yuan with both hands.

“Fine, as you wish!”

Chen Yuan swung his saber, the Saber Qi surging forth, directly shattering the two stools into pieces.

The saber howled as the Autumn Wind Slash descended, a torrent of saber light flooding toward the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother.

This move could easily slaughter those Blood Moving Realm Martial Artists of the Iron Clad Gate, but it had little effect on their Senior Brother.

He bellowed, his body enveloped in dark gray True Qi, his Iron Bamboo Hat whirling like a windmill as he madly smashed it toward Chen Yuan.

Although the Azure Dragon Blood Drink was sharp, it couldn’t directly shatter the thick Iron Bamboo Hat, only reducing it to tatters.

Some of the saber light struck the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother, producing a metallic clang as if hitting iron.

Part of the saber light tore through the protective True Qi on his body, leaving a saber mark on him, but not a drop of blood flowed.

After achieving Minor Achievement in the Iron Clad Gate’s Iron Chain Across the River Skill, he could control his blood and Qi; such superficial wounds that didn’t reach his internal organs could be sealed to prevent blood loss.

In an instant, the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother had broken through to within two feet of Chen Yuan.

The Iron Bamboo Hat in his hand finally couldn’t hold on any longer, shattering into several pieces under Chen Yuan’s saber.

“Die!”

The Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother spread his arms wide, intending to embrace Chen Yuan entirely.

Chen Yuan’s dazzling saber light slashed down; the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother merely shifted his body slightly, causing the blade to slide past his neck and strike hard on his shoulder blade.

The cut was deep enough to reveal bone, but the next moment, his shoulder bone shifted, muscles and blood Qi frantically gathering at the wound, firmly clamping the blade in place.

A ferocious smile appeared at the corner of the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother’s mouth.

This guy’s saber techniques were swift, fierce, and ruthless, his Internal Energy extremely profound, with astonishing explosive power.

In a normal fight, he was at too great a disadvantage; only this method of trading injury for injury, life for life, could kill the opponent.

Just as Chen Yuan was about to be embraced and crushed to death, Chen Yuan abandoned his saber, his hands coiling around the other’s arms like agile snakes.

Under the Silken Thread Energy, using softness to overcome hardness, he instantly dissipated the force in the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother’s arms.

Then, Chen Yuan gathered Internal Energy from all his Acupoints, pushing the power of the Surging Waves and Flowing Clouds Technique to its limit, his arms exerting force, shattering metal and jade, suddenly twisting!

Amidst a series of cracking sounds, the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother’s thick arms were twisted by Chen Yuan into a grotesque angle.

With a howl of agony, the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother could no longer control his blood and Qi; blood instantly gushed from the saber wound on his shoulder.

Chen Yuan pulled out his saber, now without any obstruction, and the Azure Dragon Blood Drink swept horizontally, instantly severing the other’s head.

The entire hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted in loud cheers.

The surrounding Jianghu People watching the spectacle cheered, some whistling, their diverse accents boiling within the Yellow Dragon Post’s hall.

Killing wasn’t unusual in such a place; they were all accustomed to it.

But this battle just now, where Chen Yuan fought alone against many, was truly brilliantly executed.

First, kill the weaker ones to avoid being surrounded.

Then, attack head-on, forcefully confronting the Iron Clad Gate’s Senior Brother, forcing him to take risks, only to suddenly unleash a trump card and counter-kill him at his strongest point.

It could be said that throughout Chen Yuan’s moves, almost not a single strike was superfluous.

Such clean and decisive slaughter was exactly what these bloodthirsty, Jianghu-roaming men found thrilling to watch.

Chen Yuan flicked the blood from his saber blade, the blood droplets falling to the ground like a line.

The saber was excellent, but it lacked a sheath; he needed to find a place to have one made.

At that moment, Jin Kaiyuan of the Qingfeng Escort Agency approached, respectfully performing a deep bow.

“Thank you, young Master, for saving our lives. The entire Qingfeng Escort Agency is immensely grateful. May I ask your name? We will surely remember it forever, never forgetting.”

Chen Yuan casually waved his hand.

His original intention was only to seize the saber, not to save these people.

Although Chen Yuan didn’t particularly care about the Iron Clad Gate, there was no need to leave his name and invite hatred.

At that moment, the female escort Qingqing looked at the Azure Dragon Blood Drink in Chen Yuan’s hand, hesitated, and was about to say something when Jin Kaiyuan harshly pulled her back, silencing her.

Jin Kaiyuan’s apprentice had always admired her, his attention fixed on Qingqing.

Seeing her expression, he immediately understood her meaning and loudly said, “Thank you, young Master, for saving our lives, but that Azure Dragon Blood Drink saber is an escort item of our Qingfeng Escort Agency. Could you please return it?”

Jin Kaiyuan’s expression changed drastically; he was about to stop him when a cold glare from Chen Yuan made him freeze.

Chen Yuan turned, looking at the young escort in his early twenties with a half-smile. “Return it? When the saber was in the Iron Clad Gate’s hands earlier, why didn’t you ask them to return it?”

“The Iron Clad Gate’s villains act arrogantly and tyrannically. You, young Master, wield your sword to uphold justice, helping the weak and opposing the strong, naturally different from them.”

“Our Qingfeng Escort Agency’s rule has always been ‘the escort lives with the escort, dies with its loss.’ Please, young Master, do us a favor and return the weapon.”

After finishing his speech, the young escort felt quite pleased with himself.

He had praised this young Master highly, piling on labels like ‘chivalrous’ and ‘protector of the weak.’ How could he have the face not to return the Azure Dragon Blood Drink saber?

Afterward, by single-handedly retrieving the weapon, Qingqing would surely look up to him, and his Master would see him as the escort agency’s successor, promising a bright future.

“The escort lives with the escort, dies with its loss? Then you can go die!”

Saber light flashed, and the young escort’s head instantly flew off, blood gushing like a spring from the headless body, drenching Qingqing, Jin Kaiyuan, and the others.

Qingqing wanted to scream but abruptly covered her mouth, only staring at Chen Yuan in terror, not daring to make a sound.

Chen Yuan turned his expressionless gaze to Jin Kaiyuan and the others. “Is your rule also ‘the escort lives with the escort, dies with its loss’?”

Jin Kaiyuan trembled and immediately said, “Our Qingfeng Escort Agency’s escort was already taken by the Iron Clad Gate. This is your saber, young Master, and has nothing to do with our Qingfeng Escort Agency!”

Chen Yuan snorted lightly and turned to leave, though still somewhat annoyed.

He remembered that in the original plot, the player encountered the Iron Clad Gate seizing the escort, intervened to retrieve the saber, and it naturally became the player’s, smoothly and without issue.

Why did he always run into such clueless people?

It was like that with Duan Mubai, and now the Qingfeng Escort Agency people were the same.

Actually, Chen Yuan had fast-forwarded through this part of the plot and forgotten some details; he had acted too early.

In the original plot, the player entered the post station halfway, saw the other side already killing, and then intervened to help.

By then, those young escorts of the Qingfeng Escort Agency were already dead, leaving only Jin Kaiyuan.

As an old hand in the Jianghu, Jin Kaiyuan naturally wouldn’t be so clueless.

Moreover, with the escort agency reduced to just himself, he was already disheartened; where would he have the mind to care about escorts?

If Chen Yuan had acted a bit slower, the outcome would have been similar.

Only after seeing Chen Yuan completely leave did Qingqing burst into tears.

“Stop crying; he deserved it!”

Jin Kaiyuan said through gritted teeth, “He almost got us all killed!”

“Why are people in the Jianghu so unreasonable? That was clearly our escort!”

Qingqing sobbed, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

At that moment, the post station’s Innkeeper approached with several armed Post Soldiers.

The Innkeeper was appointed by the court and also a local Jianghu powerhouse; otherwise, he couldn’t control these coming and going, unruly, bloodthirsty Jianghu People.

“It’s not that Jianghu People are unreasonable, but that in the Jianghu, reason is backed by fists and blades, not words.”

The slightly plump Innkeeper with a small mustache gently shook his head. “That fellow earlier only killed this one, which is merciful enough to be called a young Master.”

“This dead guy was full of petty cleverness, thinking he could force someone to return a weapon by piling on praise and moral pressure. Truly foolish.”

“Old brother, not to criticize, but I’ve seen countless escort teams come and go. Which team isn’t a group of veterans with a few newcomers? How is yours one veteran with a bunch of newcomers?”

“Not all dying on the road is just your good luck.”

The surrounding Jianghu People all nodded in agreement.

That kid was truly clueless, full of petty cleverness but unable to see the situation.

Seeing someone young and handsome, he assumed they were some noble young Master who could be easily pressured with words.

Little did he know this person had just killed eight Iron Clad Gate Martial Artists without blinking, limbs severed, intestines spilled everywhere—hardly a simple figure.

Playing petty tricks with such a fierce person was already a path to death.

Jin Kaiyuan forced a bitter smile.

It really was luck.

If luck had been worse, they would all have died here today.

“Alright, old brother, dead is dead. Such a fool isn’t worth mourning; otherwise, he’d have doomed your escort agency sooner or later.”

The Innkeeper gently patted Jin Kaiyuan’s shoulder, offering a warm smile. “But before you leave, you still need to settle the bill.”

“So many tables and chairs smashed, the floor needs repair, and all these severed limbs and guts ruin appetites. I have to arrange for cleaning.”

“That’ll be three thousand taels of silver. If you don’t have enough, you can leave the girl as collateral.”

The Innkeeper waved a hand, and the Post Soldiers behind him surrounded Jin Kaiyuan and the others.

The Iron Clad Gate people were all dead, and that fellow earlier was clearly not to be trifled with. If not from you, who should we demand payment from?

Jin Kaiyuan nearly spat blood again, forcing a smile uglier than crying. “I’ll pay!”