Chapter 139 - Escort Office
Puppy was upset when he heard Chun Xiaoman’s remark. “So what if I only know one move? Haven’t you heard of a thing called specialization? I could still kill someone with just a single downward slash!”
Xiaoman scoffed. Then, she stepped forward with her right foot and unsheathed her sword, thrusting it toward Puppy in one fluid motion.
Puppy wasn’t able to react in time as the sword stopped just inches away from his nose.
Jiang~
Then, Chun Xiaoman sheathed her sword and left.
Puppy was left embarrassed. He glanced at Yang Xiaohai who had been watching them. “That doesn’t count. She launched a sneak attack. If it was a real fight, then she might’ve lost to me.”
Yang Xiaohai stared at Xiaoman who had just left the inn as he nodded and glossed over Puppy’s words. “Yeah, yeah. Senior Cao Cao is correct.”
After Yang Xiaohai saw Puppy walking away with a happy smile, he decided to follow after Chun Xiaoman. When he finally caught up to her, she was already in front of a gate. The gate had a flag with the character for “escort” on it, while behind the gates was a large courtyard.
He quickly followed her into the place.
Chun Xiaoman glanced at Yang Xiaohai. “Don’t run out of the inn by yourself if you don’t have any urgent issues. The world is very chaotic right now and there are many people who might want to abduct you for money.”
“Alright! I will remember that. Senior, can I follow you this time? I just want to watch. I swear I will be good.”
Seeing his sincerity, Chun Xiaoman chose to remain silent.
The escort office was quite big yet crowded. There were many ox carts and carriages within the large courtyard.
“There are so many people inside,” exclaimed Yang Xiaohai as he walked over a pile of horse excrement.
“This is normal. The more chaotic the world is, the more money the escort services make. If the land was unified and in peace, then we would no longer need escorts,” remarked Xiaoman.
Just as Xiaoman finished speaking, a man walked over. He was quite tall, at least two heads taller than Xiaoman. His muscles were quite well-toned and rippling with energy as he walked toward Xiaoman menacingly. He quickly inspected the black-veiled girl in front of him and paid his respects. He was surprisingly friendly. “Does the young lady wish to employ an escort?”
“I am a practitioner of the sword. I’ve heard that the reason why the escort services can stay in business is because of the martial prowess of the escorts themselves. As a fellow martial artist, I’m here to request a spar,” replied Xiaoman.
The man was stunned by how frank she was. He had met someone who had requested to spar with them before, but this was his first time seeing a girl requesting a spar as a martial artist.
He thought about it for a moment before cupping his fists respectfully as he declined her request. “Young lady, there is no reason to do so; I don’t think this is appropriate. Besides, the escort office is extremely busy. Almost all our escorts have left for their assigned missions.”
Xiaoman was not surprised to hear this. They are a business after all; why would they grant her request without any rewards?
She stuck her arm into her clothes and took out a piece of silver. “I do not have a master and have only been able to practice on my own. At the very least, please guide me and point out some of my flaws.”
“This...” Seeing how adamant she was, Wang Chengxing finally became suspicious. He wasn’t interested in the silver, but he was trying to guess what her goal was. He was afraid that she was lying, afraid that she might be feigning to be weak to defeat one of them and increase her reputation.
The reason why the Longteng Escort Office had so many branches was because their escorts were amazing martial artists. If rumors were to spread that they were defeated by a young lady, then their reputation would be ruined.
Who is she? Where did she come from? Is she an expert hired by the Guangsheng Escort Office to ruin our reputation? But business is booming so there’s no reason for them to do so.
For a person to act as an escort, one must not only be a talented martial artist, but their thought process must also be clear. Soon, Wang Chengxing came up with a plan to defuse the situation.
He took the piece of silver and said to her, “Since you insist, please follow me.”
They walked past the carriages, past the busy main hall, and into a smaller courtyard at the back.
Faced with his foreign surroundings, Yang Xiaohai felt a little as he walked closer to Chun Xiaoman. “Senior, do you think they will harm us?”
Chun Xiaoman shook her head while observing her surroundings. “This is an escort office, not a bandit camp. They regard their reputation as the most important thing. No one would hire them if their reputation is shit.”
Behind the busy escort office was a courtyard filled with various weapon racks. Youths in black were sparring against each other just like in a dojo. Some of them were training with weapons, while others were doing physical training.
“All of you, come over here!” shouted Wang Chengxing, prompting everyone to stop their training and approach him.
“Good day, Senior Uncle Wang!” greeted one of them.
“Hello!” said another.
“Have you eaten?” asked another.
Wang Chengxing stared at them for a moment before pointing to a silent youth. “Tian Ci, come here and spar with this young lady. Remember, this is a spar. Don’t go overboard.”
After instructing him, Wang Chengxing told another person to guard the entrance, making sure that no one got in.
This was a win-win situation for him. If they lost, then no one would know and it wouldn’t affect their reputation. Additionally, if someone were to spread the rumor, they could also justify it by saying that it was a spar against a youth, especially one who was not yet an official escort. It was normal for him to lose. And this wasn’t a lie either. Tian Ci was someone who was quite talented and had received extensive training, to the point that he was even stronger than some of the escorts; however, in terms of seniority he was still a junior. He had not yet graduated to become an official escort.
Meanwhile, Chun Xiaoman was not someone picky either. She stared at the youth who was sizing her up. She needed a sparring partner to determine her training progress.
She was just about to unsheath her sword when she realized it might not be suitable in this situation. This was nothing but a spar. It would be bad if either of them got hurt.
Luckily there were plenty of training weapons in the courtyard. She went ahead and picked up a polished bamboo sword.
On the other hand, Tian Ci did not pick a blade. Instead, he picked up a wooden shield. It had quite a bizarre design, with an elongated top and tapered bottom. There were even two sharp wooden spikes at the front that were akin to a boar’s tusks.
After they had picked their weapons, Tian Ci stood in front of Xiaoman in an odd stance as he held the shield.
Meanwhile, Xiaoman frowned and raised her sword. She wanted to try probing her opponent’s strength by lunging forward with a stab.
Tok!
The bamboo sword hit the shield directly, producing a muffled sound.
Immediately after, Tian Ci lowered his shield and charged forward, ramming Xiaoman’s sword out of position. The moment he saw an opening, he lunged forward and charged, the spikes of the wooden shield approaching Xiaoman’s neck.
Xiaoman had never encountered such a situation before. She hurriedly tried to block with her sword.
However, her sword was only halfway there by the time the wooden spikes had touched her neck.
At that moment, Tian Ci stopped and placed the wooden shield down. Then, he cupped his fists as he said, “Thank you for letting me win.”
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