Chapter 26: Grand Spectacle

  That night, Xu Xian didn't say anything else and of course didn't make a move to kill Ye Wen. Perhaps he knew it wouldn't be easy to kill him, so Xu Xian pretended nothing had happened and stood there quietly until dawn.

  Ye Wen saw that Xu Xian was no longer speaking, so he directly returned to his own room to rest for a while. It wasn't until the next morning that he came out and saw Xu Xian still standing in the same place, seemingly staring blankly at the distant Book Mountain County town.

  "He's still reluctant to part with this house, isn't he?"

  Ye Wen didn't have the chance to verify whether his guess was accurate. After sunrise, the two of them went down the mountain together and then dispersed, each returning to their respective places to rest. Ye Wen went back to Yue Shan Security Bureau, while Xu Xian sneaked back home.

  After that day, the two did not meet again until the day of departure. Ye Wen just stayed in the Yue Shan Escort Agency to meditate quietly, and rarely chatted with people except for occasional conversations with the General Escort Head Yue Hang.

  It wasn't until the day of departure that many of the bodyguards hired by Yue Hang realized that Ye Wen was also one of their escorts heading south.

  Many people who did not see the scene of Ye Wen's palm hitting Yu Da Hai were still puzzled, and they asked their friends beside them: "Who is that little guy? Is he a junior of General Yue's escort?"

  Most people just thought Ye Wen was a nephew of Yue Hang, this time he was deliberately brought out to gain some experience. Only a few men who saw the martial arts scene that day whispered to the crowd: "Don't talk nonsense, that's a master specially invited by General Yue!"

  "What a master? How tall can a yellow-haired doll be? I, the old man, can slap him flying with one palm!" Some people who are very confident in their own kung fu looked disdainful, especially towards Ye Wen's obviously not strong enough physique, filled with deep contempt.

  All these people's words only brought contempt from others: "You? Can you beat the deputy leader of Liu Zhangbang?"

  That person was stunned, although he didn't understand what the words meant, but still obediently replied: "Yu Deputy Master is a top-notch master in Shushan County, how can I compare to him?"

  The man who had just spoken with a sarcastic tone now wore an "I knew it" expression, his face cold and sneering: "That young hero was able to defeat Vice Leader Yu with just one palm strike, causing him severe internal injuries that have left him bedridden in the gang! If you were to offend that young hero and get beaten into a pulp, don't say I didn't warn you beforehand!" With that, he turned his back on the man, as if being around someone like him for too long would make him stupid by association.

  Many people who didn't know the details about Ye Wen only then found out why there were rumors circulating a few days ago that Yu Da Hai was beaten up, and they finally understood why Yue Zongbiao let that young man follow him and Xu Xian closely this time.

  As for the man who had initially spoken out of turn, upon hearing this, he realized that he had almost offended someone he couldn't afford to offend. He involuntarily shrank his neck and then stole a glance at the not-so-sturdy physique before clicking his tongue in surprise: "Wow, that little guy is actually so formidable? Does he have such great strength?"

  "You numbskull, don't you know what internal power is? Others are truly skilled in internal power and are not on the same level as us who only know some superficial moves!" Next to him, someone with a bit of insight finally couldn't take it anymore: "To be honest, in our Book Mountain County, there are hardly any people who can be considered true martial artists. Even that Yu Dahai is probably seen as nothing more than a street performer who can juggle two balls by those truly skilled masters!"

  "Really? I also don't know where this little brother learned his internal skills, and I don't know if I can go learn too!"

  The people around him couldn't stand this guy anymore, and most of them just rolled their eyes in response. In their hearts, they thought: "Someone like you wouldn't be able to learn even if the secrets of divine martial arts were laid out before your face! And yet you still have the audacity to think about learning internal energy? Internal energy is such a profound thing, can someone like you really learn it? If anyone's going to learn it, it should be me..."

  Such casual conversations gradually faded away as the journey went on, and everyone began to conserve all the energy they could to hurry along.

  Although this team has carriages and horses, only a handful of people can really use these advanced means of transportation.

  Apart from the leader of the escort, Yue Hang, and his trusted assistant, Gong Sun Mu, the middle-aged man who stood beside him during the martial contest that day, there were only two people riding horses.

  Xu Xian and his personal book boy were sitting in the carriage, while another carriage was given to Liu Qingfeng and his disciples from Hu Shan Sect.

  Yue Hang originally wanted to arrange a horse for Ye Wen, but Ye Wen couldn't ride a horse. In the end, Xu Xian invited Ye Wen to share a carriage with him, which solved the problem of Ye Wen's transportation.

  Yè Wén didn't sit inside the carriage but sat beside the coachman, saying that this position had a better view and allowed him to appreciate the surroundings along the way.

  Xu Xian didn't say anything about Ye Wen's choice, only saying that if he felt tired, he could come in and rest for a while. Ye Wen smiled and nodded in response.

  However, although he agreed with his mouth, he decided in his heart that he would absolutely not go in. Because among the entire fleet, his situation was the most unfavorable. Because among the people present, only he had some understanding of Xu Xian's plan, what if Xu Xian was afraid that he would hinder his own plan and prepared to give him a knockout drug or something, how could he eliminate this variable?

  To avoid such a misfortune, it's better for Ye Wen to stay in places where everyone can see him. Besides, this way he can also 'protect' Xu Xian to some extent and not let his 80 taels of silver go down the drain.

  "Xu Gongzi, if you really want to run away from home, please go to Jiangzhou first and then escape!" Ye Wen could only pray like this repeatedly for his own sake, hoping that Xu Xian wouldn't suddenly disappear halfway. If that happened, the escort mission of Yue Shan Escort Agency would be considered a loss, not only would they have to return all the commission, but also compensate a lot of silver (although losing a person is priceless), and in that case, his own reward would naturally go down the drain as well.

  He would rather not have gone all the way to Jiangzhou, only to earn 20 taels in the end. That's not even as good as staying around Shushan County and robbing some mountain bandits.

  It's unclear whether it was Ye Wen's strong desire to take advantage of the autumn wind or not, but after this team had been walking for only one day, Yue Hang and Gong Sun Mu, the two leaders, were discussing where to camp tonight when suddenly a group of people rushed out from in front. With a loud shout, they yelled: "Intelligent people should leave their valuables behind and quickly roll away. Today, I'm in a good mood and don't want to see blood."

  Another person beside him also shouted: "Today, we only ask for money and goods, not lives. If you know what's good for you, hurry up and put down your silver and goods and leave quickly!"

  Yue Hang's face turned extremely ugly as he recognized the group of robbers blocking their way, a notorious gang in the area. Normally, they wouldn't dare to rob Yue Shan Escort Agency's convoy, but this time it was an extraordinary situation. Yue Hang and Gong Sun Mu didn't follow the usual procedure for escorting the convoy, not even hanging the agency's flag. Who would have thought that by being low-key this one time, even these small thieves would jump out?

  It was also the idea of this group of robbers, usually they would dodge when they saw the team from Yue Shan Escort Agency, but this time the team didn't have a flag or a registration number, and even the guards didn't see any familiar faces - at that time, it just so happened that Yue Hang and Gong Sun Mu were discussing where to camp.

  Although there are many people in the team who look like bodyguards, having bodyguards only proves that there is profit to be made. If they don't dare to make a move when they see bodyguards, then they might as well quit this promising career of being bandits and go home to farm instead.

  A group of robbers boldly blocked the road, and as soon as someone approached, they would scatter with a loud shout, or send someone to negotiate the toll.

  He decided that as long as the price offered by the other party was satisfactory to him, he would let this team go directly. After all, there is a steady stream of money coming in, and they don't have to fight tooth and nail with others.

  He didn't expect to run into a tough nut today. Just as Yue Hang was still fuming with anger that this little thief dared to shout in front of him, a man whose name he didn't know rushed out from the crowd and shouted loudly: "If you want your grandfather's money, you have to see if you have the skills!"

  As soon as the words came out, many men around immediately responded in unison, saying things like "If you want money, let your sister come and get it!" "If your sister can serve me well, I don't mind giving you some!" and other coarse language that was even more uncouth than bandits. Anyway, all the women related to this group of bandits were asked after by these guys.

  Sitting in the car, Ye Wen heard all sorts of strange and bizarre curses, and secretly said: "This is even more despicable than a group of thugs fighting... where does it look like a group of chivalrous heroes traveling the world?"

  But thinking again, the group of people around me, although they claim to be Jianghu people, but most of them have never left Shushan County, aren't they just like some local rascals? So it's not surprising that they behave like this.

  As for Yue Hang, who was not far away, seeing this situation made his face even more unsightly. He knew that the skills of the people he had invited were only average, but he didn't expect them to be such extreme characters. Now, looking at it, he wasn't sure if inviting so many people was right or wrong.

  As for Liu Qingfeng's two apprentices, they looked down on this group of people even more. In their eyes, this group of people and the robbers opposite them were not much different, the only difference being that they temporarily belonged to the same camp as themselves.

  Instead, it was Xuan, the protected one, who crawled out of the car and looked at the two groups of big men holding weapons and scolding each other. He sighed and said: "Hundreds of big men standing in the middle of the road scolding each other, what a magnificent sight!"

  Ye Wen suddenly heard this and almost fell off the car.