The members of the Escort Agency soon gathered in the grand training field.
Xie Yuan didn’t know whether to call it fortunate or not. Aside from Lu Zhenyu, who was out on a job, all the other Darts Masters were at the agency today. Even the number of Escort Teams on the road was small.
Shen Longteng scanned the assembled Darts Masters, his mind inexplicably drifting back to a spring day decades ago.
Back then, a younger him had gathered a mere ten men. With horses and weapons funded by the Mu family, he had embarked on the Longteng Escort Agency’s very first escort.
Though his agency was newly founded, short-staffed, and utterly unremarkable, he felt the road ahead was bright, the journey filled with the light of spring.
After a moment of reverie, he returned to the present. He looked at the hundred-odd capable Martial Artists before him. The agency was now a powerful force, a far cry from what it once was.
It was late spring. The seeds he had sown all those years ago had sprouted, blossomed, and borne magnificent fruit.
But he couldn’t help but wonder if the agency would survive this time.
The Darts Masters stood in neat rows, their faces grim, a dead silence hanging over them. Watching their leader assemble everyone, they all sensed that something major was about to befall the agency.
Shen Longteng slowly began to speak, his voice, though aged, ringing loud and clear across the training field:
"Brothers, today, I have accepted a major escort."
He began his tale from the agency’s founding, recounting how a great benefactor had saved his life, how they had helped him establish the agency, and how, today, that benefactor’s descendant had arrived with a token, requesting a life-or-death mission: the Yin Yang Darts.
Finally, the old leader threw his head back and declared in a booming voice:
"To be frank, this benefactor’s kindness to me, and to the founding of this agency, is a debt as heavy as a mountain. But it doesn’t have much to do with most of you youngsters who joined later."
"Our enemies this time are unprecedented—two Grandmasters! Heh. My Longteng Escort Agency has never taken on a job this big. I’ve been in the escort business my entire life, dreaming of the day we’d be so renowned that even Grandmasters would come knocking. It seems I’ve gotten my wish in my old age."
"This mission will be extremely dangerous. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it’s a suicide mission. So, I’m making it clear to you all now. Anyone who wants to leave, go now. I won’t hold it against you."
The Darts Masters exchanged uneasy glances, shocked that this was a major escort involving Grandmasters.
Grandmasters... Two of them, no less. And the agency only had a single person at the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm—the old leader himself.
Many fell silent, yet for a time, not a single person moved to leave.
Seeing this, Shen Longteng shook his head. He was about to make the stakes even clearer when Zhao Xingyang suddenly burst out laughing.
"People are definitely going to die this time! Those of you who aren’t married, who are only sons, or who have old mothers to care for—get the hell out of here, and fast!"
He charged over to his own Escort Team, half-pulling, half-shoving a few men right out of the formation. Then, he shot a sideways glance at several other hesitant Darts Masters.
"Niu Si, why haven’t you left?"
Niu Si stuck out his neck defiantly.
"You think I’m no hero? My life was saved by Boss Zhao! If you’re not leaving, then I’m not leaving!"
Zhao Xingyang shook his head and turned to another young man.
"Xiaolei, you kid haven’t even been with a woman yet. What are you doing staying here?"
Xiaolei’s face flushed red, but his voice was loud and clear as he replied:
"If the Escort Agency hadn’t taken me in, I’d either have been beaten to death by some brute of a beggar or starved in a ditch. I wouldn’t be here today! The agency was good to me, and it’s only right that I repay that kindness."
Zhao Xingyang clapped him hard on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up.
"That’s the spirit."
He turned back to Shen Longteng, one eyebrow arched, and grinned.
"Old Leader, the benefactor was good to you and the agency, so you want to repay that debt. Well, the agency has been just as good to me and all of us, so we have debts to repay too! Because of this agency, most of us have full bellies, warm clothes, the chance to practice martial arts and start families. We live decent lives. Many of us are only alive today because of this agency. So how can you say the agency’s trouble has nothing to do with us?"
"We are Darts Masters! We repay kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. When there’s a job to do, we do it! There’s no saying no to that!"
"Boss Zhao is right!"
The Darts Masters roared in agreement. Most of them had been taken in and trained by the agency, transformed from common folk into respected Martial Artists. Their loyalty to the agency ran deep.
The two old Darts Masters, Wei Zhen and Chu Sheng, nodded in agreement. They went through their own Escort Teams, weeding out those who were truly unfit for the mission and those who were only staying to save face. What remained were the most hardened Darts Masters—still seventy percent of their original number.
Shen Longteng looked at these heroes, deeply moved, and bellowed:
"Good! In that case, everyone, go and make your preparations! We leave soon!"
He then gathered the Darts Masters and convened in Xie Yuan’s room to discuss their strategy.
"Gentlemen, look. There are four of us Darts Masters. That’s one team each, for one direction each. What’s the best way to do this?"
Xie Yuan opened his mouth to speak but hesitated. Shen Longteng smiled.
"You’re the secret escort. Your job is to stay with the client and get her out safely. Once you do that, our mission is accomplished."
Zhao Xingyang chuckled as well.
"The toughest job naturally falls to our Young Master Xie. Nothing more needs to be said."
Xie Yuan let out a long breath and had no choice but to nod. Besides, Mu Chaoyun trusted only him; she wouldn’t feel safe with anyone else.
"Those two I encountered in the north are most likely still waiting outside the North Gate. I don’t know when they’ll enter the city," Mu Chaoyun’s soft voice drifted over.
Zhao Xingyang spoke up at once.
"Then I’ll take the north."
Four city gates, but only two Grandmasters. No matter how fast they were, they couldn’t possibly intercept every team.
But the North Gate was, without a doubt, the most likely place to run into them.
"Xingyang..."
Shen Longteng had just begun to speak when Zhao Xingyang cut him off, shaking his head with a smile.
"Old Leader, without me, Zhao Xingyang, the Longteng Escort Agency is still the Longteng Escort Agency. But without you, its leader, wouldn’t it have to change its name? Besides, your cultivation is the highest, making you the biggest target. It’s dangerous for you no matter which gate you take. So let me be the one to brave the North Gate!"
Shen Longteng gave a short, humorless laugh and shook his head.
The three other Darts Masters knew Zhao Xingyang’s temperament and didn’t argue with him, each claiming one of the remaining directions.
No matter which gate they chose, in the end, it would all come down to luck.
Mu Chaoyun gave each of the four Darts Masters a porcelain vial. Each contained a trace of her aura, so faint it was nearly impossible to tell if it was real or a decoy.
Seeing that they had set a time for their departure and were ready to go, Xie Yuan took a deep breath and said in a low voice:
"Gentlemen, if you do encounter the Grandmaster with the horse-slaying saber, I have an idea that might make him hesitate."
"Just shout, ’Li Tai is on his way!’... It might work."
The Darts Masters exchanged glances. Whether they believed him or not, they all silently committed the phrase to memory.
Zhao Xingyang clapped him on the shoulder and grinned.
"Xiaoxie, to live for the escort, to die for the escort—that’s a Darts Master’s fate. Don’t look so glum. If it weren’t this job, it’d be another. No one can predict the future. Besides, without you, the Vajra Sect would have probably finished us off long ago. This isn’t a hopeless situation, and your mission is the hardest of all. Do a good job, and don’t tarnish our agency’s name."
With Zhao Xingyang’s departure, swift as the wind, silence quickly fell over Xie Yuan’s room, leaving only him and Mu Chaoyun.
The two of them stood in silence until a sudden cannon blast echoed from the courtyard. It was followed by the agency’s traditional call, chanted with unprecedented force, its sound shaking the entire county seat:
"Longteng of Yunzhou! Yunzhou’s Dragon!"
Xie Yuan took a deep breath, looked at Mu Chaoyun, and nodded.
"It’s our turn to go."
「Yunzhao County Government Office, Rear Courtyard Study.」
Yu Chunsheng sat hunched over his desk, his face a mask as he worked through a mountain of official documents.
In the past, subordinates would have handled and screened these miscellaneous tasks for him, bringing only the matters that required his final decision.
But now...
His expression was calm, but his eyes were filled with a dark gloom.
’They used to flock around me like dogs, but now I can’t get a single one of them to lift a finger. A bunch of spineless opportunists...’
Yu Chunsheng was furious but had no outlet for his anger. The ones who dared to slight him now were, of course, the ones with powerful backing.
He’d gone from being a man who could crush anyone he pleased, someone nobody dared to offend, to a man anyone could crush, who dared offend no one.
It was bad enough that the Longteng Escort Agency was watching him like a hawk, digging up his past misdeeds. But now, even the other martial arts schools, large and small, weren’t about to let him off the hook, all because he had been too much of a bully in the past.
Then there were the city’s wealthy gentry and merchants. Before, they’d all called him "Lord Captain" with fawning familiarity. Now, they were all trying to shoehorn their own people into the government office, hoping to make the next County Captain one of their own.
’I haven’t even stepped down yet!’
But it was coming soon.
Yu Chunsheng’s brow was deeply furrowed, his presence listless. In the past, no matter how arrogant he acted, with the Inspector General above him and the Vajra Sect below, he could always smooth things over. But now... he was besieged on all sides.
’Longteng Escort Agency... and that man, Xie...’
With a SNAP, he broke the writing brush in his hand, his teeth clenched tightly.
’But then his thoughts turned to that effeminate Zhang Yufeng. He tasted pretty good... But damn it, why did you have to go and provoke that guy?!’
Yu Chunsheng was seething with hatred, grinding his teeth, when a series of urgent knocks suddenly sounded at the door.
He flinched instinctively. These days, whenever a government official knocked on his door, he no longer felt in control. Instead, he felt a jolt of fear—the fear that they were coming to take him away.
Yu Chunsheng took a breath, straightened his robes, and struggled to maintain a last shred of dignity.
"Come in."
"Reporting! Lord County Captain, there’s unusual movement from the Longteng Escort Agency! They’ve opened all four gates and mobilized their entire force! The whole city’s turned out to watch the commotion!"
Seeing that it was one of his few remaining loyal men, Yu Chunsheng relaxed slightly.
He listened, one eyebrow raised in surprise.
’What is Shen Longteng playing at? I’ve never seen an escort conducted like this in all my years. They didn’t even celebrate this extravagantly when the Vajra Sect fell.’
A glint flashed in Yu Chunsheng’s eyes. After so many years as County Captain, his instincts told him something was wrong.
He stroked the short whiskers on his chin and suddenly asked:
"Has there been anything else unusual in the county recently?"
"Er, as I reported yesterday, there appeared to be signs of a duel between Grandmasters north of the city."
’Grandmasters have nothing to do with us. I’ll be out as County Captain soon enough, anyway. Heh... wait a minute.’
Yu Chunsheng remembered that report. He mulled it over for a moment, his gaze slowly darkening.
His intuition told him the two events were connected.
For the Escort Agency to mobilize its entire force, it had to be a matter of life and death.
After a moment’s thought, he slowly clenched his fist and slammed it on the table.
"The north of the city? All of you, go and keep an eye on the Longteng Escort Agency’s teams. Track their movements and report to me north of the city."
’No matter what, this could be an opportunity. I have to go see for myself.’
’I’m just waiting to be finished off anyway. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll drag that Escort Agency down with me!’
Yu Chunsheng’s eyes turned cold as he raced toward the north of the city.
「North of Yunzhao City, the Ten-Mile Pavilion.」
A burly, wildly dressed man sat opposite a middle-aged, wealthy merchant dripping with gold and silver.
"Leader Lu, why haven’t you gone into the city yet?"
The portly merchant asked with a beaming smile.
Lu the Third grinned, not bothering with pleasantries.
"If I go in and miss her, and she slips out of the city, wouldn’t that just be a gift to you, Boss Deng?"
"What a thing to say. I was the one who invited you here, and now you’re being wary of me? That’s cold, Leader Lu, truly cold."
"You didn’t mention this was... *that* kind of business when you asked me to come, heh heh. Lucky for me, I’ve learned a thing or two over the years, or you might have pulled the wool over my eyes. Deng Wan, you’ve gotten soft living like a lord in the city. You’ve gotten craftier, too."
"Listen to you. Am I not just looking out for my old brother with this good fortune?"
They locked eyes, smiles on their faces, but their gazes were sharp with mutual distrust.
The two Grandmasters were partners, yet they were also wary of each other, each hoping to claim the prize for himself. If not for this, Mu Chaoyun’s escape would have likely been even more difficult.
Mu Chaoyun was already severely injured and couldn’t have gotten far within Yunzhao County. The real threat they had to guard against now was each other.
Locked in a stalemate, the two had yet to devise a concrete plan. If they waited until the Escort Agency actually left the city, they would likely be caught completely off guard. By the time they reacted, their quarry would be long gone.
Just then, both men snapped their heads around at the same time, looking toward the county seat.
A cloud of dust billowed up from the main road as a lone figure sprinted toward them.