Chapter 114: Chapter 109: Convoy
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was May.
The Tongfu Escort Agency did not pass through Qinghe County in April as their letter had stated.
Zhao Lin wasn’t surprised. He had some understanding of how this line of work operated. It was perfectly normal for them to say they’d arrive in April, only for it to be a feint, and then show up in May or even June.
Most of the local escort agencies wouldn’t have a problem with it; after all, they often did the same thing.
During this time, Zhao Lin calmed his mind. Aside from fulfilling his duties at the county office, he dedicated himself to his training every day, focusing on the Sea Return Skill and the Turtle Shell Force.
With the Sea Return Skill, he had accumulated enough vital energy and was already starting to assail the acupoints on his six Yin Meridians.
The Yang Meridians are on the surface, while the Yin Meridians are deep within. Breaking through the acupoints on the Yin Meridians was much more difficult. It would take Zhao Lin one to two days to conquer a single acupoint.
Of course, this difficulty was only relative to his own previous progress. If anyone else knew that Zhao Lin could break through a Yin Meridian acupoint so quickly, they would be green with envy.
As for his Turtle Shell Force, he had increased the number of acupoints he could control simultaneously from sixteen to twenty.
Not only had the defensive area expanded, but its strength had also increased considerably.
Zhao Lin summoned Liang Song to his residence on Shuncheng Street and told him to strike him with a saber.
Liang Song had already succeeded in tempering his skin, reaching the First Layer of the Power Realm. At first, he didn’t dare to use his full strength. But after a few strikes, he found he had only managed to tear Zhao Lin’s clothes, leaving him completely unharmed.
"Huh? What kind of technique is this?"
"Turtle Shell Force. Use more strength!"
"Can I aim for your head?"
"Absolutely not! This technique only protects my upper body."
Liang Song nodded and continued to increase the force of his blows. He struck until he was using all his strength, yet he still couldn’t break through Zhao Lin’s defense. He couldn’t help but be amazed.
"This technique is incredible! You’re practically impervious to blades!"
There was no trace of pride on Zhao Lin’s face. He shook his head and said, "Being impervious depends on who you’re facing. If you were a bit stronger, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand it."
"It also depends on the weapon being used. A sharp weapon with a small point of impact, like a spear or an arrow, could pierce through a single point."
Liang Song sheathed his saber, his voice full of envy. "It’s still amazing!"
He had known Zhao Lin for over a year and had grown accustomed to the many inexplicable things that happened around him. He quickly calmed down and asked, "The Turtle Shell Force is so powerful. How come I’ve never seen anyone else practice it..."
Before he could even finish his sentence, he answered his own question. "I get it. It must be incredibly difficult to practice."
...
Two hundred-some li west of Qinghe County stood a peculiar landform called Gourd Cliff—a mountain, steep on all sides with a flat top.
Gourd Cliff had sparse woods and was overgrown with jumbled rocks and weeds. From a distance, it looked just like a large, inverted gourd, which is how it got its name.
"Tongfu of Ningchuan, on the road..."
A caravan of carts flying the banners of the Tongfu Escort Agency moved along a muddy road after a rain. The outrider at the front shouted the cry as the cart wheels carved two deep ruts into the ground.
"We’ve passed the borders of Baitou Mountain. We should be safe now, right?"
Yu Haizhou, mounted on a strong, blue-maned stallion, gazed at Gourd Cliff in the distance and muttered to himself.
Although he said this, a hint of worry was hidden between his brows.
The young master of the agency was hot-headed. He had fallen out with Drilling Mountain Leopard’s gang of bandits from Baitou Mountain over a small matter of passage fees. Yu Haizhou had disapproved from the start.
There’s a saying: even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake. No matter how powerful the agency was, they couldn’t just punch their way through everything. You can only spread yourself so thin.
The old master had not built this agency easily; it couldn’t withstand this kind of recklessness.
To put it bluntly, if the Tongfu Escort Agency fought the bandits head-on, it would only benefit their rivals in the end.
Fortunately, while the young master was stubborn, he still knew to respect an "old retainer" like himself.
It was because of his persuasion that the agency had not taken any jobs passing through Baitou Mountain for two months, and this new job wasn’t for valuable cargo either.
If something were to happen, the agency’s losses wouldn’t be too great.
’I hope we make it through safely!’
At this thought, Yu Haizhou sighed silently.
"Master Yu, the lead cart is stuck in a pit! It can’t get out!" an outrider from the front ran over, panting.
"Take me to see it."
Yu Haizhou lightly spurred his horse and rode to the front of the caravan. One look at the mud pit and his heart sank.
...
In a patch of woods southwest of Gourd Cliff, dozens of shifty eyes watched the distant caravan. Their owners, some standing and some sitting, all carried bows and had quivers at their waists.
"Second Master, when do we make our move? The caravan has stopped."
A bandit leader next to Xu Mabang asked in a low voice.
"No rush. Wait for them to pass Gourd Cliff, then we’ll attack."
Xu Mabang grabbed a waterskin and took a big gulp, then fanned himself twice with his tunic, not looking the least bit anxious.
The junior leader asked, confused, "The caravan is stuck right now. If we attack, we can catch them completely off guard. Why wait?"
"You don’t know shit!"
Xu Mabang said contemptuously, "In a battle between two armies, morale is everything. They see the pit on the ground and think we’re coming, but I’m deliberately not going."
"Let them be nervous for a while. Once they think it’s a false alarm, we’ll suddenly appear. They won’t be able to wind up their courage again."
Just then, Wang Mazi walked over carrying a refined iron saber. Waving away the junior leader, he crouched down and whispered, "Second Brother, do you think that kid with the surname Zhao will take this chance to ambush us?"
Xu Mabang’s eyes turned fierce. He spat on the ground and said coldly, "This time we came out, everyone is armed with bows and arrows. Yang Dan even lent us two squads of crossbowmen. What’s there to worry about?"
"It’s best if he doesn’t show up. If he dares to come, we’ll turn him into a pincushion!"
...
Not far from the woods where the bandits were hiding, Zhao Lin and Liang Song lay hidden in the grass on a small hill, looking towards Gourd Cliff.
"Looks like the bandits are going to rob the escort. If a fight breaks out, what do you say we help the escort agency deal with the bandits?"
Liang Song nudged Zhao Lin.
"A fight might not break out."
Zhao Lin withdrew his gaze and shook his head gently.
Liang Song was confused. "Why not?"
Zhao Lin explained, "The bandits outnumber them and clearly have the upper hand. When escorts encounter a situation like this, unless the cargo is exceptionally special, they usually won’t fight to the death."
"Otherwise, the cargo is lost and everyone dies. What’s the point? Just watch. As long as the leader isn’t an idiot, he’ll choose to cut his losses."
Liang Song thought for a moment and said, "They can save their lives just by handing over the goods? Won’t the bandits kill them to silence them?"
Zhao Lin shook his head. "They won’t. It’s not that the bandits have any kind of compassion. If they took the goods and then massacred everyone, it would start a blood feud."
"As long as there’s no deep-seated hatred between the two sides, they usually leave each other a way out."
Liang Song was skeptical but calmed down and continued to watch in silence.
After a while, the caravan started moving again. It passed Gourd Cliff and had traveled less than two li when the bandits suddenly charged out from the woods.
The caravan immediately fell into chaos. Then, an escort in his fifties rode out alone to negotiate with the bandits.
They were too far away to hear what was said, but before long, the escort rode back, led the agency’s men away, and left only the carts behind.
Liang Song looked disappointed and sighed, "They really didn’t fight."
Zhao Lin smiled. "This is perfect. Now the bandits have become the escorts, and we’ve become the robbers."
