Chapter 63: Promotion, the Tree Transforms
Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Promotion, the Tree Transforms
Xie Yuan took a deep breath, slowly regaining his composure.
Wolf King Howling at the Moon was a good move.
But with his Qi and Blood surging, it always felt a bit like a blunt instrument.
If Qin Sea were here, he would have surely recognized the "brute" nature of his technique.
Xie Yuan looked at the opponent lying on the ground before him. He cautiously stabbed him twice more in the chest and, seeing no reaction, finally confirmed his death.
’I’m a little confused. My blade never even truly struck him, so how did this enemy suddenly die? And I have no idea what he was trying to say at the end...’
He had no time to ponder it. Seeing Kong Chun surrounded by two enemies and starting to lose ground, Xie Yuan raised his blade and charged forward.
Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, the bandits felt a surge of joy.
’Scarface must have finished off his opponent and is coming to help us!’
’As expected of a badass who ranks among the Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits, he took care of the enemy so quickly!’
’Young Master Xiaobao is truly... why is he lying on the ground?’
One of the bandits fighting Kong Chun glanced back and saw the scar-faced youth lying motionless on the ground. Then he saw Xie Yuan striding toward them, and he froze in shock.
’How long has he even been here? That useless piece of shit is already fucking dead?’
The bandit’s eyes burned with fury, but he had no other choice. With a guttural roar, he swung viciously at Kong Chun’s head, hoping to kill him quickly and create a two-on-one situation to fight for a sliver of a chance at survival.
As his enemies’ attacks intensified, Kong Chun was hard-pressed and in constant danger.
Fortunately, they were only a few steps apart. Within a breath, Xie Yuan arrived. His first strike sent one bandit’s weapon flying. His second cut the man down. His third bypassed the other’s vertical block, plunging into his gut. Xie Yuan then retracted his blade and stood, watching his opponent slowly collapse.
Kong Chun gasped for breath and gave him a thumbs-up with his left hand.
"Xiaoxie, you’re incredible!"
These two bandits were no less skilled than him. They were ruthless, fearless, and he was evenly matched with either one of them.
’But brutal bandits like them couldn’t even last a single exchange against Xiaoxie. If I were to face him... no need to even think about it. We’re from the same Escort Agency. I’ll just let him do the fighting while I cheer him on from the sidelines.’
Just as Xie Yuan was about to speak, his eyes narrowed. He saw that the bandit whose weapon he’d knocked away was not yet dead. He was slowly crawling, his hand already reaching for the blade on the ground.
Xie Yuan tightened his grip on his blade, about to rush over and finish the bandit off, but he saw that after picking up the sword, the man didn’t rise to fight back. Instead, with a fierce swing, he beheaded the scar-faced man.
Xie Yuan: "?"
Kong Chun: "???"
The bandit seemed to have used the last of his strength, as if fulfilling a final wish. He let out a dry laugh and sneered weakly:
"You bastard... you got us killed. Even as a ghost, I... I won’t let you go!"
He spat, then his breath failed, and he died.
Xie Yuan and Kong Chun looked at each other, both completely baffled.
’Weren’t those three a team? How did they end up fighting amongst themselves?’
’Brothers when you win, blame your teammates when you lose?’
Just then, Tang Dawei arrived. Wu Chun was likely trailing behind, moving more slowly with the cargo.
It wasn’t that Tang Dawei was late. The time between the signal arrow and him galloping over was incredibly short;
but the battle had ended even faster. Xie Yuan hadn’t thrown ten strikes or taken twenty steps before the enemies were all dead.
Seeing that the two were unharmed and that all three enemies were down, Tang Dawei relaxed slightly, assuming the bandits’ skills were mediocre.
He called out from a distance:
"You really ran into them. Lucky for you the enemy wasn’t too strong... Wait a minute."
Tang Dawei suddenly paused. He looked at the decapitated, scar-faced youth, then at the leopard head tattoo partially visible on his shoulder, and exclaimed in shock:
"The Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits? I-is this the last one? The one who managed to escape from Boss Zhao?"
Xie Yuan was taken aback, then it dawned on him. ’No wonder his skills were impressive. He forced me to use my full strength.’
He nodded.
"Probably. He was clearly stronger than the other two."
"He was at the Second Training stage, of course he was strong! Xiaoxie, you killed him?"
Tang Dawei’s heart was in turmoil.
"Not exactly..."
Xie Yuan briefly explained what had happened, then shook his head.
"But I don’t think he was at the Second Training level. Didn’t Boss Zhao say he’d heavily wounded him? His injuries must not have healed, so his strength was greatly diminished."
Tang Dawei’s shock subsided a little, but he was still skeptical.
"If he was that badly injured, he would’ve found a place to recuperate. Why would he be out and about?"
By then, Wu Chun had arrived with the Escort Vehicle. After discussing it, they guessed that the scar-faced youth had coerced a local gang to ambush them in retaliation against the Escort Agency, only to run into Xie Yuan and die full of resentment.
"That guy was so cunning. If it had been me and Dawei, the outcome would’ve been uncertain. Xiaoxie, you did very well!"
Wu Chun praised him repeatedly, as did the other two, leaving Xie Yuan no room for modesty.
The Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits were wanted criminals. Since someone else had conveniently decapitated the last one, they didn’t have to do the dirty work. They just sprinkled the head with lime to prevent decay and wrapped it in cloth to take with them.
The Escort Team continued on its way without further incident. They arrived safely in Jinshan County, delivered the goods to Fan, received the token of delivery, and began their return journey to report the completion of their mission.
On the way back, the group’s tension eased considerably. The only thing stopping them from exploring the scenic mountain forests nearby was the fact they were carrying a severed head. The three martial artists didn’t have such refined interests anyway, but Xie Yuan felt a stir of temptation, which he suppressed because the timing was wrong.
「Back in Yunzhao」
They returned to the Escort Agency to report their mission’s success and turned in the scar-faced man’s head. After Zhao Xingyang returned, he personally verified that it was indeed the last of the Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits.
The Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits were wanted fugitives, and with all of them now dead, this was another meritorious achievement.
The government issued a letter of commendation, personally written by the county magistrate and co-signed and stamped by the County Captain. It was delivered to the Longteng Escort Agency with a great deal of fanfare, accompanied by gongs, drums, and a reward of silver.
Shen Longteng looked at the County Captain’s seal, chuckled, and had the letter posted directly on the Escort Agency’s main gate. He even assigned someone to guard it and ensure it wasn’t damaged.
Since Zhao Xingyang’s Escort Team was responsible for eliminating all seven bandits, Shen Longteng ordered a celebration feast for the team, putting Lu Zhenyu in charge of all arrangements. Everyone at the Escort Agency was in high spirits.
After three rounds of drinks, Zhao Xingyang proposed that while the mission was initially rated as simple, the unexpected appearance of the scar-faced youth warranted it being reclassified as a C Class mission. He added that Xie Yuan’s effective response, which helped the Escort Agency take down the last of the Leopard Mountain Seven Bandits, deserved an additional reward and a promotion to Senior Escort.
Shen Longteng had been in a great mood ever since seeing the commendation letter and readily agreed. Lu Zhenyu looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself; seeing that Zhao Xingyang’s argument was well-reasoned, he didn’t object.
And so, after one mission, Xie Yuan became a Senior Escort capable of handling things on his own. He also cleared his merit debt, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders.
「After the banquet」
Xie Yuan took a few days of leave and returned to Little Stone Village.
Speaking of which, since joining the Escort Agency, he hadn’t been back to the village for quite some time, only sending messages back with others.
He had a meal with Li Lan and the others, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. Amidst a chorus of "Yuanzi has really made something of himself working in the city," they chatted for a long while. Xie Yuan looked at the wood piled up in the yard and shook his head.
’Maybe I should teach Brother Shitou and the others how to process the wood. I could hand over Boss Wan’s business channel to them too and just collect a consulting fee.’
Still, silver was useful. At the very least, he could have good axes and blades forged, not to mention leather armor. Buying a full set would be quite expensive. Furthermore, Muscle Training and subsequent stages still benefited from medicinal soups, which were naturally more expensive than those for Skin Training.
But now that Xie Yuan’s Martial Dao was on the right track, he found himself with less and less time.
He worked through the night for several days to process the piled-up inventory. After meeting with Wang Lei and Zhu Dongming to give them a few instructions, he packed some dry rations and fresh water and headed straight for the mountains.
’My breakthrough in the Body Nourishing Art isn’t far off. I’ll go straight to the great tree, build a shed, and go into seclusion for ten days. I should be able to break through in my best possible condition.’
With his plan set, Xie Yuan journeyed deep into the mountains. With his current strength, walking on mountain paths was no different from walking on flat ground.
In less than half a day, Xie Yuan arrived at the clearing. He looked left and right, his eyes slowly widening.
The clearing was still the same clearing, and the tree was still there.
But the great tree, once lush and green with a canopy stretching a hundred meters, was now bare and withered, its branches like a giant skeleton.
’The spiritual feeling is gone, replaced by a somber, heavy aura, almost like a miasma... What happened? How could this tree suddenly wither and die?’
Xie Yuan couldn’t make sense of it. Just as he was about to get a closer look, his body suddenly went rigid.
He saw, atop the massive roots of the withered tree, a figure completely shrouded in a wide black robe, silently watching him.