219. Familiar Feeling
On the official road of Los Angeles, a long convoy of vehicles headed north against the wind.
Gusts of wind blew, making the copper bells on the old ox's neck jingle.
The bodyguards held down the brim of their hats with one hand, bent over, and walked against the wind and sand, taking each step with great difficulty.
The maids and servants huddled together on the ox-drawn cart that was leaking air from all sides, while Liang and others hid in the carriage, holding a copper stove to warm their hands.
Only Chen Ji, wearing a black cloak, rode his horse beside the caravan, and no one knew what he was thinking.
In the carriage, Xiaoman secretly lifted the cotton curtain and whispered, "Do you think my young master looks like a knight in the martial arts world?"
After a long time without any response, she turned around and looked at Su Zhou in the car: "Why don't you say something!"
Su Zhou sat in the wooden box, leaning against the edge, and rolled his eyes weakly: "Your son's lips trembled when he saw blood, and he still wants to be a knight-errant?"
Xiaoman recalled last night and found that her young master was indeed very panicked, far from the image of a chivalrous hero.
But she still said stubbornly, "No one is super powerful from the beginning. You and I are officials, so of course we don't have to be afraid. If you become an official, maybe you won't be afraid either... Wuyun, don't you agree?"
Xiaoman looked at Wuyun who was still lying in the car, but Wuyun didn't even raise his eyelids.
It didn't like these two women. If it didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, it would have run out and lay on Zaozao's head long ago, which would be so majestic.
Su Zhou said calmly: "I want to correct one thing. Jianghu is just Jianghu. In today's Jianghu, there are only Jianghu people, no knights."
Xiaoman looked puzzled: "What's the difference?"
Su Zhou leaned against the box bored and said, "The knights are all dead."
Xiaoman didn't have time to engage in witty banter. He rolled his eyes, glanced over, and cautiously asked, "Do you have any way to find a way to practice cultivation?"
"You want to find a way to practice cultivation for your son?" Su Zhou glanced at her and said, "Give me the hand warmer, and I will tell you."
Xiaoman hesitated.
Su Zhou sneered: "You keep saying you're doing good for your young master, but you can't even bear to give him a hand warmer?"
Xiaoman gritted her teeth and said, "Okay! But you speak first!"
Su Zhou leaned against the wooden box and said lazily, "Aren't the ways of cultivation easy to come by? They're everywhere on the street, right?"
Xiaoman was shocked: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Su Zhou sneered: "I can only say that you are ignorant. Haven't you seen people practicing Tai Chi or Ba Duan Jin in the morning to maintain their health?"
Xiaoman stroked the small heater in her hand, puzzled: "You farted, can that be considered a way of cultivation?"
Su Zhou said calmly, "Yes. In the past, the founder of Tai Chi was a Grandmaster of the Divine Dao Realm, with no rivals in the entire Ning Dynasty. But for some reason, his direct disciple betrayed his master and made his cultivation method public, so that everyone in the martial arts world practiced it, and no one could reach the Xiantian realm anymore. Later, ordinary people also began to practice Tai Chi for health. Not to mention the Xiantian realm, no one could even reach the peak of the Acquired Realm. Only a few charlatans remained."
Xiaoman pondered for a moment and said, "So if we kill all the Tai Chi practitioners, the only one left who practices Tai Chi will have a chance of reaching the Divine Dao realm?"
Su Zhou opened his mouth and hesitated for a while before answering, "Probably."
Xiaoman sighed and said, "It's a bit difficult."
Su Zhou said angrily, "Are you crazy? There are many similar cultivation methods in the martial arts world and the military. If your young master is willing to spend money, it is not difficult for him to cultivate to the peak of the acquired realm."
Xiaoman clutched her purse tightly. "How much does it cost to buy a cultivation method? Where can I buy it?"
Su
Zhou thought for a moment and said, "They're occasionally sold at the midnight ghost market in Panjiayuan, Beijing. As for the price of a cultivation path, it depends on the current level of cultivation achieved by the most powerful master in that path. If there are only acquired masters in that path, then the value of that path is 500 taels of silver. If there are innate masters in that path, then the value is 3,000 taels of silver."
Xiaoman asked, "Where is the Dao-seeking Realm?"
Su Zhou sneered, "Who would sell someone who has reached the Dao-seeking realm for money? Reaching the Dao-seeking realm before the age of thirty-six allows one to live for over a hundred years. Such a thing cannot be bought with any amount of money. I advise you not to even think about cultivating. With your son's timid nature, he'll only be eaten alive by others if he hangs out in the martial arts world...Give me the hand warmer!"
Xiaoman stuffed the copper hand warmer into her arms and said with her neck stiff, "What you said are things that everyone knows, they don't count."
Su Zhou laughed angrily: "It's a pity that you don't become a profiteer."
Xiaoman's eyes lit up: "You think so too?"
Su Zhou: "...Do you think I'm praising you?"
Xiaoman was very proud: "Just think of it as you praising me."
Su Zhou was silent for a moment. "As an official, why would you willingly serve as his maid?"
"I'm not doing this willingly," Xiaoman turned around and looked calmly at Chen Ji on the horse. "I promised someone that I would not leave the Chen family until you get married and have a family. Then I'll take a large sum of money and live in hiding."
…
…
In the cold wind, a porter from the Liang Escort Agency, who was in charge of clearing the way, shouted, "We've arrived at Mengjin County. We'll be staying here today."
Chen Ji patted Zaozao's neck, and Zaozao immediately understood. He turned around and walked through the biting cold wind to the Liang Escort Agency's team.
The escort leader stood beside the official road, unfolding a sheepskin map. He said to Zhang Zhuo, "Master Zhang, we're stopping at Mengjin Posthouse today. Next, we'll pass through Jingyuan, Changzhi, Licheng, Handan, Xingtai, Shimen, and Baoding. If we want to reach the capital before the New Year, we'll probably have to add two hours to our journey each day. We can't take our time like we did today."
Zhang Zhuo pointed his finger at the sheepskin map, squinting his eyes and silently calculating the time: "Can your people hold on?"
Escort Captain Liang laughed cheerfully and said, "Of course we can handle it. This time, we have inns to stay at along the way, and being able to have a couple of sips of hot soup every day is quite comfortable. When we were escorting goods to Ganzhou before, we had to sleep in the snow."
Zhang Zhuo pondered for a moment: "What will the Taihang Mountain bandits say? Will it alarm them?"
Escort Leader Liang bowed and said, "Don't worry, Sir Zhang. Our Liang Escort Agency has earned its reputation from our ancestors. Our Liang family swordsmanship is renowned throughout the Central Plains. The bandits in the Taihang Mountains wouldn't dare come down the mountain when they see our escorts shouting, 'Escort!'"
Zhang Zhuo hummed: "Okay, then let's follow your plan."
Escort Captain Liang put the map in his arms and waved to the escorts behind him: "Enter the city!"
After saying that, he took a sack from the ox cart and walked from the front of the caravan to the end. Every time he passed a bodyguard, he would take out a bunch of copper coins from the sack and hand it to the other person.
This is the rule of the escort agency. Every time we stop at a resting place, we have to pay "travel money".
The "foot money" couldn't be distributed all at once, otherwise the escorts would throw it all into brothels or gambling houses. But if they didn't distribute it for a long time, they would worry that the escorts would quit.
At this time, Chen Ji jumped off his horse and walked over to Zhang Zhuo, holding the reins. "Master Zhang, I'm afraid these escorts alone are not enough. I've observed that these escorts are probably not officials."
Zhang Zhuo nodded. "There are still more than twenty Zhang family warriors hidden among the servants. If the crisis truly comes, all you need to do is shout 'Thousand Mountains of Wind and Snow', and they will be at your disposal."
He continued
"I have one more thing to ask of you."
"Master Zhang, please speak."
Zhang Zhuo looked into the distance and said, "If we really encounter danger, I mean if, if even you can't handle it, I hope you can immediately protect Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng and escape, and don't worry about those treasures anymore."
Chen Ji turned around and looked at the long convoy: "Master Zhang, are you willing to do this?"
Zhang Zhuo sneered and said, "You can still be greedy if you lose your money, but if you lose your life, it's gone for real."
"I understand," Chen Ji took Zaozao's hand and was about to leave.
But then Zhang Zhuo called out to him, "Chen Ji."
Chen Ji turned around and asked, "Master Zhang, what's the matter?"
Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard and said, "Don't take to heart what your aunt said to you this morning."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Master Zhang, you're worrying too much. I know what's going on."
Zhang Zhuo suddenly changed the subject: "She said those things to you because I mentioned them to her many times, hoping to facilitate your relationship with Zhang Xia. But now I know your feelings for the princess, so there's no need to talk about the past. If you don't let the Zhang family down, the Zhang family will fully support you."
Chen Ji smiled and clasped his fists, saying, "Thank you, Master Zhang."
Having said that, he walked away holding the reins.
Behind him, Zhang Zheng quietly approached Zhang Zhuo and said, "Dad, that's not what you told me before."
Zhang Zhuo glared at him, rolled up his sleeves, and climbed onto the carriage. "Do you understand what a delaying tactic means? Don't let him start rebelling."
Zhang Zheng asked doubtfully, "But you said before that the princess might be rescued, we just need to wait..."
Zhang Zhuo lowered his voice, "When a new emperor ascends the throne, there will naturally be a time for a general amnesty. But the current emperor is only forty-two years old, in the prime of life. How long will it take for Bai Li to be pardoned? Could it be that he hasn't married or had children in decades?"
Zhang Zheng opened his eyes wide: "But what if Chen Ji really wants to wait, wouldn't that delay A-Xia's arrival?"
Zhang Zhuo angrily said, "Where in the world is there a man so loyal? Have you ever seen one? Go away and play in the mud!"
Zhang Zheng looked at Chen Ji's back holding Zaozao's hand. The black cloak looked like a small boat in an ink painting.
Vigorous and thin.
…
…
Chen Ji walked very slowly as ox carts passed by him. He heard one of the escorts say in a muffled voice, "Brother, we just returned to Luocheng from Runan. We're staying here well. Why do we have to take this escort? The escort leader said we don't have to take this escort."
Another escort, holding an ox nose ring, said calmly, "This escort is to the capital. Once we get there, we'll part ways with the escort agency and stay there. I heard the capital is incredibly prosperous, wouldn't it be a shame not to make a name for ourselves?"
When the escort passed by Chen Ji, he smiled at him politely, and then continued to pull the ox cart forward against the wind.
He threw the newly received copper coins to his younger brother and said, "Keep these coins safe. They are the capital for me to make a comeback."
The escort asked in a muffled voice, "Brother, why do you want me to keep it?"
The escort sighed and said, "I haven't touched a woman for more than two months. I'm afraid I won't be able to walk past a brothel later. This is my only weakness..."
The escort asked in a muffled voice, "Okay, then where do I keep the copper coins?"
The escort scratched his eyebrows and said, "Put it in the bag on your shoulder."
"The front or the back of the saddlebag?"
"In front."
"oh."
In an instant, Chen Ji, who was behind the two men, looked at the backs of the two bodyguards and suddenly stopped.
Such a familiar...feeling.
(End of this chapter)
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