Chapter 126: Chapter 93: Hero Jiang, Spare My Life
"Master, is it really true?"
"Yes. Let’s not panic," Zhang Xu said with a nod.
But he had unconsciously crumpled the piece of paper in his hand into a ball.
The two waited for a while longer. Suddenly, Elder Zhou seemed to spot something and said:
"Master, look! Isn’t that the Young Master and the others?!"
Zhang Xu quickly squinted, his gaze fixed outside the city.
A caravan was slowly approaching from the distance. The size and style of the carriages were remarkably similar to those of their Hundred Herbs Hall!
’Could it be...?’ Zhang Xu felt a mix of excitement and anticipation, but a thread of worry still lingered in his heart.
Before long, the caravan drew closer, and the two could finally see clearly.
"It’s my son, it’s my son! They’ve returned safely!" Zhang Xu exclaimed with joy.
"Master, that’s wonderful! The heavens are truly protecting our Hundred Herbs Hall!" Elder Zhou was also extremely excited.
Since it was inconvenient for the two of them to leave the city, they could only wait inside.
But the heavy weight on their hearts was finally lifted.
A few minutes later, the Hundred Herbs Hall’s convoy finally reached the city gates.
Zhang Xiong and Jiang Che were seen riding tall horses, while Ma Chuan walked alongside them on foot.
Zhang Xu was puzzled. But on second thought, he figured that Hero Ma Chuan, being a senior, was likely showing consideration for the younger generation by letting them ride. This only increased his respect for the man’s character.
After entering the city, Zhang Xiong and his group hurried over to Zhang Xu.
"Father! I almost didn’t make it back to see you!" Zhang Xiong said, his voice thick with emotion as he tightly gripped Zhang Xu’s hand.
"I know, I know! You ran into the Corpse Field Double Farmers, didn’t you? Let me see, are you hurt?" Zhang Xu anxiously checked Zhang Xiong all over and sighed in relief when he saw he was unharmed.
"Father, how did you know?" Zhang Xiong asked, surprised.
"Someone tipped me off! But I’ll tell you the details when we get back."
Zhang Xu then walked over to Ma Chuan.
"Hero Ma, was it you who defeated the Corpse Field Double Farmers? Your Martial Arts are truly world-class, and your reputation is well-deserved! The Hundred Herbs Hall will never forget the debt we owe you today. Please, accept my deepest respects!" As he spoke, Zhang Xu prepared to perform a formal bow.
Ma Chuan quickly caught Zhang Xu’s arm, saying urgently, "No, no, no, Master Zhang, I can’t accept this honor..."
"Why not? You’re being too modest!" This made Zhang Xu feel that Ma Chuan’s character was even more noble.
He insisted on bowing, but Zhang Xiong pulled him aside.
"Xiong, what are you doing?" Zhang Xu was confused.
Zhang Xiong leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
After listening, Zhang Xu’s expression changed dramatically, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He stared blankly at Jiang Che, his face a mask of astonishment.
"Xiong, what you said... is it really true?!"
"Father, why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, you can ask the others," said Zhang Xiong.
At that moment, the guards all came over, chiming in one after another to corroborate Zhang Xiong’s words.
Only then did Zhang Xu truly realize that Jiang Che was the one who had saved them all!
And the famous Hero Ma, whom he had paid a hefty sum to hire, was actually a coward who fled at the first sign of battle!
He glanced at Jiang Che, then at Ma Chuan.
He suddenly recalled how he had scolded Zhang Xiong for wasting Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat to befriend a Low-Tier Martial Artist.
He never would have thought that, in the end, it would be this so-called "Low-Tier Martial Artist" who saved their Hundred Herbs Hall!
He suddenly felt that, for all his pride in being an experienced and shrewd judge of character...
...it seemed he too had been blinded by reputation!
Zhang Xu hurried over to Jiang Che and was about to perform a formal bow on the spot, but Jiang Che stopped him.
"Uncle, you mustn’t! Since I’m receiving a monthly salary from your family, it’s only natural that I do my part. This is what I’m supposed to do, no thanks are necessary!" Jiang Che said with a smile.
"Good, good! A true hero emerges from the young!" Zhang Xu was overjoyed that his son had made such a friend.
Elder Zhou now also understood the full story, and a wave of complex emotions washed over him.
In his heart, he recalled the words the Young Master had said back then.
’At the time, I thought the Young Master was just messing around.’
’But I never expected that he was the one with true foresight!’
Seeing that the city gate was crowded with people and it wasn’t a good place to talk, Zhang Xu waved his hand and declared:
"Let’s go! We’re going home!"
...
...
...
「Ten days later.」
In a private room on the sixth floor of the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Two robust young Martial Artists, dressed in white combat attire, were drinking wine and eating while looking out the window at the river view.
In the corner, a woman in a green dress with a white veil over her face was playing the Pipa.
Beside the table, a bright-eyed young girl with pearly teeth, dressed in red, waited on them, pouring their wine and serving them food.
"You know, this is my first time at the Drunken Immortal Tower. It’s truly extraordinary," said one of the young men, who had thick, blade-like eyebrows.
It was Zhang Xiong.
Across from him was, of course, Jiang Che. He smiled and said:
"I’ve heard there are four great pleasures in the Inner City: fine food, fine wine, beautiful women, and sweet dreams. That’s why the Inner City is known as a money pit."
This was all information he had heard from Li Rushan, which he was now opportunely recounting.
"I understand the first three, but what are ’sweet dreams’?" Zhang Xiong asked curiously.
"I hear it refers to gambling dens, but I’ve never been to one," Jiang Che said, shaking his head.
Zhang Xiong nodded.
Although he was the Young Master of a Pharmacy, he had spent his childhood either learning to identify medicinal herbs with Elder Zhou or practicing Martial Arts to temper his body. He hadn’t spent much time on leisure, so his knowledge in this area wasn’t much greater than Jiang Che’s.
Jiang Che went on to share some other rumors he had heard from Li Rushan, leaving Zhang Xiong clicking his tongue in amazement.
After the successful escort mission, Hundred Herbs Hall had delivered the Stone Snow Fruit without a hitch, temporarily averting their crisis.
Thanks to Zhang Xu’s efforts, the incident with the Corpse Field Double Farmers was not leaked.
The pair were wanted fugitives of the Court and didn’t belong to any major power, so naturally, no one would be seeking revenge for them.
As for Ma Chuan, the Zhang Family chose not to expose his desertion.
This was mainly because they feared he might retaliate recklessly if pushed into a corner, which would be troublesome.
Moreover, it would also risk exposing the truth that Jiang Che had killed the Corpse Field Double Farmers, which would be difficult to handle.
However, Ma Chuan did end up paying a large sum of money in compensation to both the Zhang Family and Jiang Che.
Though he was resentful, he obediently complied.
Jiang Che could see it clearly now. The man was all bark and no bite, not the type of ruthless person who would risk his life.
People like him were actually easy to deal with. As long as you were more ruthless than he was, he would behave.
After the two clinked their wine cups, Zhang Xiong suddenly said, "I’m leaving."
Jiang Che was taken aback. "Leaving? Leaving for where?"
"Cangzhou."
"Cangzhou? What are you going there for?" Jiang Che asked curiously.
After dismissing the two women from the room, Zhang Xiong sighed and said:
"My father has already sold all our medicinal fields. In a few days, he plans to close Hundred Herbs Hall and move our entire family."
"Why is that?" Jiang Che asked, shocked.
Zhang Xiong glanced around before lowering his voice.
"After that day, my father spent a great deal of money to gather information. It turns out the Zhao Family, one of the Five Great Noble Families, is targeting us from behind the scenes!"
"The Zhao Family?" Jiang Che suddenly remembered that the Zhao Family also seemed to have targeted the Shao Family before.
"Yes. If it were any other Pharmacy, even a powerful one, we wouldn’t be this afraid. But this is the Zhao Family! Among the Five Great Noble Families, the Ye Family and the Jin Family now follow their lead. The Shao Family and the Chen Family are being forced into constant retreat. Even the Government Office protects them at every turn, acting like a dog on their leash!"
Zhang Xiong gritted his teeth and continued,
"The Zhao Family started swallowing up all sorts of businesses a few months ago. Their methods are utterly despicable! Our biggest order for the Stone Snow Fruit this time came from the Zhao Family themselves! But then they secretly hired people to murder and rob us. If we couldn’t deliver the goods, we would have been forced to pay ruinous compensation, losing the Pharmacy itself! My father finally saw the truth. As long as Hundred Herbs Hall remains open in Lin Yuan City, we’ll eventually be driven to our doom! That’s why he decided to just close the shop and move the entire family away from this place!"
"I see," Jiang Che remarked. The Zhao Family was truly pushing them too far, and the Zhang Family had no other choice.
Besides, if the Zhao Family could hire the likes of the Corpse Field Double Farmers, who could guarantee they wouldn’t find even deadlier assassins to continue their ambushes next time?
"What about your master?" Jiang Che asked.
"I’ve already told him. My master understands," Zhang Xiong sighed.
"I see," Jiang Che responded softly.
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
"So... will you continue your Martial Arts Training after this?" Jiang Che asked after a moment of thought.
