Inside the security escort agency.
In Yu Jiu's eyes, fear and resentment were mixed together.
“Our clan never does evil and has always lived a life of hiding and running away. But even so, we still can’t escape those sea hunters. They hunt us down and capture us at will, and then sell us in various places.”
Lin Ce calmly looked at Yu Jiu in front of him and asked:
"So you didn't escape back from the coastal waters, but rather from a merchant ship that was being transported and sold—the very ship we delivered the goods to?"
When Lin Ce asked this question, he couldn't help but think of the merchant ship at the dock back then.
Those were merchant ships flying the flag with the character "Su" on it.
Could it be that some merfolk were being transported on that ship?
"no."
Yu Jiu shook his head. "I did escape from a merchant ship, but not the one by the river. It was one near the sea. At that time, several members of my clan were captured and whipped every day, just to train us to be suitable for trading."
At this point, Yu Jiu's body began to tremble again.
"Is everything you've said true? Tell me the truth, what is your real purpose in coming to this security escort agency?"
Lin Ce picked up the teacup beside him, gently tapping the lid against the rim of the cup, making a "ding-ding" sound. He also blew on the tea inside the cup, as if he thought it was too hot.
Yu Jiu blinked, looking somewhat dazed.
She raised her head and looked at Lin Ce in front of her. She felt that all the grievances in her heart no longer needed to be buried deep, and she could pour them all out to him.
The person in front of me is clearly the one I can trust the most.
Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Jiu lunged forward, grabbed Lin Ce's leg, and began to sob softly.
Lin Ce quickly obtained the true information he wanted.
Yu Jiu is indeed from the half-mermaid race. Half a year ago, her small group of only a few people was attacked by a group of sea hunters.
Apart from the oldest half-merman who died on the spot, the remaining four half-mermen were captured by the Sea Hunters.
Yu Jiu was the youngest of them.
For the past six months, the four half-mermaids have indeed lived the same life as she had previously described.
They were whipped almost daily, simply to make them more obedient so they could be sold.
But at some point, an unexpected incident occurred.
The other three merfolk broke free of their cages at great cost, giving Yu Jiu a chance to escape.
The reason why Yu Jiu was to go to the southern port of Sihai Prefecture in half a year was due to a legend within his clan.
Yu Jiu himself wasn't sure about that legend; he just held onto a sliver of hope.
"Click~"
Lin Ce put the lid on the cup and placed it on the table beside him.
Yu Jiu, who had been clinging to his leg, had already taken two steps back and stood up.
The habit of kneeling down at the drop of a hat was likely developed through the whipping of the Sea Hunter warriors.
Yu Jiu blinked, momentarily lost in confusion.
She thought back carefully and realized that it seemed she had appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, which had earned her the understanding of Chief Escort Lin.
As for the matter of being a "half-demon" or a "half-merman," it remains buried deep in my heart, and I have "never" revealed a single word about it.
"I just told you about the details of tomorrow's mission, do you understand?"
Yu Jiu nodded, thought about it carefully, and found that the chief镖头 (chief镖头, a person in charge of escorting goods) had indeed given a lot of details.
Before setting off on the mission, the chief镖头 (chief镖师) summoned me alone to arrange things, which shows that he values me highly.
Yu Jiu turned and left.
As she walked out, she felt that something was not quite right, but after thinking about it without finding a solution, she quickly put it out of her mind and gradually forgot about it.
Inside the room, Lin Ce's eyes shone brightly in the dim light.
"What a terrifying 'Sea Mirage Sound'! As expected of a martial art of the half-demon race, this thing probably transcends the realm of martial arts and is closer to demonic magic."
Just now, he used the martial art "Sea Mirage Sound" to give Yu Jiu the illusion that he was the most trustworthy person.
Then, tell yourself the whole truth.
Yu Jiu spoke very sincerely before, and it didn't seem like he was lying. He was very credible.
But on such an extremely important matter, Lin Ce certainly couldn't rely solely on his subjective impressions to make a judgment.
He immediately used the "Mirage Sound".
The reason why his "Sea Mirage Sound" could be effective against Yu Jiu was naturally because his mastery of the "Sea Mirage Sound" was stronger than Yu Jiu's.
After his previous breakthrough, Yu Jiu's "Sea Mirage Sound" is currently at the third level (perfect).
Lin Ce, however, directly raised it to the fourth level (perfection) by adding points.
The "Sea Mirage Sound" at the fourth level (perfect) is enough to suppress Yu Jiu now.
In addition, the other martial arts he mastered have also undergone significant changes.
Although he stayed at the escort agency during this period, the young men there practiced their skills diligently, and the escorts went out on missions frequently, which made him very happy.
His current martial arts panel:
[Mountain-Breaking Fist: Sixth Level (Perfect)]
[Great Ginseng Skill: Sixth Level (Completion)]
These two courses alone have already cost him 10 skill points.
He used all 3 skill points he had left from the escort missions over the past two months on the Qingyan Robe.
[Qingyan Robe: Fifth Layer (Perfect)]
As for the remaining martial arts, although there are no extra points to add for the time being, they have also benefited quite a bit thanks to the hard work of the young men and the bodyguards.
[Qingyan Kung Fu: Fourth Level (Beginner)]
【Flying Sand Step: Fourth Level (Mastery)】
[Turning Waves Staff Technique: Second Level (Mastery)]
【Meteorite: Level 2 (Minor Success)】
【Sea Mirage Sound: Fourth Layer (Perfect)】
Logically speaking, the first, second, and third levels of acquired martial arts correspond to the ninth rank among martial artists.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth levels correspond to the eighth rank among martial artists.
That is, one can cultivate internal strength to a certain level.
When a martial artist progresses from "external strength" to "internal strength," their power will experience a leap forward.
However, Lin Ce had a rather troubling matter.
Even after mastering specialized internal martial arts like "Mountain-Breaking Fist" and "Great Ginseng Skill" to the sixth level, he still couldn't develop internal strength.
Could it be as that rose said, that my natural physique is only suitable for practicing external hard skills, and that I will be forever stuck at the ninth-grade external strength realm?
"No, that's obviously not the case. Whether or not one has internal strength, it may not be that important."
Feeling the surging power within his body, Lin Ce shook his head.
As early as the fourth level of "Breaking the Mountain Fist", there was a stage of "training tendons".
The fifth and sixth levels were indeed different, with each level leading to the stages of "bone training" and "skin training".
Now, his muscles are like a large bow, his bones like cast bronze, and his skin like a drum.
Furthermore, the sixth level (perfect) of the "Great Ginseng Skill" allows the blood in his body to flow like a surging river.
With his other martial arts skills added to his abilities, his current strength is immeasurably greater than when he fought against Liu Tianwang of Tianwang Village.
He clearly no longer took eighth-rank martial artists seriously.
What if a seventh-rank martial artist came?
A new day has quietly arrived.
With their owner, Su Caiying, watching them go, almost the entire escort agency set off for Sanjiang County.
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