2: Chapter 2 Young Escort

Su Jiuchuan chose option one without hesitation.

For him right now, the most important thing was naturally his Martial Artist Realm.

The next moment, Su Jiuchuan felt a hot flow of Qi circulating through his body, and a formula for a Cultivation Technique naturally appeared in his mind; it was precisely the first level of the Cleansing Heart Formula.

The True Qi within his body obeyed his every command, as if he had been Cultivating for many years.

He had already become a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist.

"Is that it?"

Su Jiuchuan still found it somewhat unbelievable.

Suddenly, he slammed his fist into the large blue stone in front of him, circulating the True Qi within his body, and heard a loud bang. Stone chips flew, and the large blue stone was actually smashed, leaving a large pit.

Su Jiuchuan checked his hand; it was completely unscathed. He was instantly filled with excitement—this meant he was finally going to get ahead.

The key was still needing money!

It was just like those games from his past life; they were obsessed with money.

If he wanted to continue getting stronger, he had to earn more money!

...

Cross Street was located between the inner and outer cities, and the largest courtyard here was the Fuyuan Escort Agency.

Two large stone lions stood at the entrance of the escort agency, though the left lion's claw had a broken corner, making it look a bit pathetic.

A golden plaque hung above the main gate, inscribed with the words: Fuyuan Escort Agency.

Su Jiuchuan remembered from the simulated life that his eldest brother, Su Yuanjiang, had not returned for over a month. He was a bit worried, so he came over to check.

"Who is it? What are you here for?"

Just as Su Jiuchuan was peering inside, a face full of flab turned out from behind the gate.

"I am Su Yuanjiang's younger brother. I would like to ask when he will be back?"

"Who? Su Yuanjiang? Hmph!" The man with the fleshy face hiccuped, pulled a gourd from his bosom, took a swig, and said, "Don't know him. Get lost."

"I..." Su Jiuchuan wanted to continue, but the fleshy-faced man impatiently shoved him.

Su Jiuchuan was angry. He circulated his True Qi and rammed his shoulder forward.

Thump, the fleshy-faced man was knocked straight to the ground.

"Damn it, you dare to cause trouble here!" the man bellowed in rage.

"Stop!" came a sharp, clear shout.

Su Jiuchuan looked up and saw a woman walking over from inside. She was tall, with delicate features, dressed in a training outfit, and looked heroic and spirited.

"Young Escort Master!" the fleshy-faced man shouted.

Su Jiuchuan immediately knew who this was.

This was Zheng Xinyue, the daughter of Chief Escort Master Zheng Nanhai of the Fuyuan Escort Agency. She was also eighteen, yet already an Eighth-Rank expert.

Su Yuanjiang spoke of her often at home; whenever he spoke of Zheng Xinyue, he always had a lecherous look on his face. However, he only spoke about it behind her back, as he wasn't even a Martial Artist himself.

"I am Su Yuanjiang's younger brother. He hasn't been home for two days, so I came to ask."

Su Jiuchuan dared not act rashly and hurriedly said respectfully.

He was here to gather information, not to pick a fight, and besides, he couldn't win anyway.

"Su Yuanjiang?" Zheng Xinyue frowned and thought for a long time before murmuring, "Oh, that Escort Guard. He went on a job with my father the day before yesterday. He should be back in about half a month."

Su Jiuchuan was speechless. His eldest brother often spoke with great excitement in front of him, and anyone who didn't know better would think they were very close. Yet, she had to think for a long time just to remember such a person existed.

Seeing that he was only looking for an Escort Guard, Zheng Xinyue lost interest and turned to leave.

Su Jiuchuan saw that the other party couldn't be bothered with him, and the fleshy-faced man looked equally dismissive, so he knew he probably wouldn't get any more information today and had to leave.

...

As the sun set, the last ray of red light slowly disappeared at the mouth of the alley.

Su Jiuchuan walked quickly toward home with a calm expression, though he was still somewhat worried inside.

Su Yunxia was home alone. In the simulated life, his second sister only met with misfortune after the eldest brother had been missing for over a month.

Su Jiuchuan was still uneasy; after all, it was only a simulation, and who knew if something might change.

He quickly passed through a small alley, turned through several lanes, and soon arrived at the entrance of the alley leading to his home.

Just then, he saw three figures squatting at his doorstep, wondering what they were discussing and how long they had been there.

Su Jiuchuan's footsteps startled the three people; it was Yang Hu and the other two.

Yang Hu didn't speak, just stared at him for a long time.

Instinctively, he felt that the current Su Jiuchuan was different from the one in the morning; it seemed as if this unremarkable youth possessed infinite power.

However, he immediately shook his head, casting aside this absurd thought. When he saw this kid in the morning, he had been cowardly.

Yang Hu walked out without a word, and his two lackeys hurriedly followed.

Su Jiuchuan watched the three leave calmly, although he really wanted to teach them a lesson.

But he had just broken through to become a Martial Artist and had no combat experience; facing three sturdy men, he wasn't confident in winning a one-on-three fight.

He walked quickly to his door, took out the key, and went inside.

Su Yunxia was curled up in a corner, motionless.

Only when she saw it was him did she stand up, tears streaming down her face.

"Xiaochuan, I almost... I almost thought I would never see you again!" she said, bursting into tears.

"It's okay, I'm here, it's okay!" Su Jiuchuan comforted her in a low voice.

"That Yang Hu was at the door, kicking it for a long time. I didn't dare make a sound." Su Yunxia recounted while crying.

Su Jiuchuan said nothing, his eyes growing colder, but he continued to comfort his eldest sister.

"Sister, it's fine. When Eldest Brother returns, we will ask a friendly escort to teach this Yang Hu a lesson."

In reality, Su Yuanjiang was just an Escort Guard; how could he possibly hire those Martial Artist escorts? But Su Yunxia didn't understand this and thought it made sense, nodding repeatedly.

Once Su Yunxia's emotions stabilized, she began to prepare dinner.

Calling it dinner was a stretch; it was really just some wild vegetables mixed with a small handful of white rice porridge.

In this era, life was difficult for commoners, and they usually only ate two meals a day. Especially with the locust plagues in various places last year and the many riots, the price of grain was too high.

Ordinary families couldn't afford white rice; they just dug up wild vegetables in the outskirts and mixed them with millet to get by.

The white rice in the house was only there because Su Yuanjiang had made some contribution to the escort agency a few days ago, and it was awarded to him.

When Su Jiuchuan had first arrived via Transmigration, he was really so hungry he couldn't sleep, and could only fill himself with water to force himself to sleep.

Fortunately, as time passed, his body got used to it.

In these chaotic times, it was truly difficult for the common people!

After the two finished eating, Su Yunxia cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, then went back to her room to sleep.

The moonlight was cold, like the gleam of a blade, spilling into the courtyard.

Su Jiuchuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He quietly got out of bed and listened at his second sister's door; he could hear faint snoring, so she was sleeping soundly.

Yang Hu and his gang would be a scourge sooner or later; rather than worrying every day, it was better to take the initiative.

Su Jiuchuan took out the paper packet from his bosom, found a pouch in the house, and tied it around his waist.

He had returned so late today mainly because he went to the grocery store to buy some lime. Su Jiuchuan was already a Martial Artist, but he still couldn't shake his cautious nature.

Placing the lime powder from the paper packet into the pouch, Su Jiuchuan checked himself over, and only after confirming he was prepared did he step out of the door, light as a feather.