I began to understand the myriad things by chopping wood

Chapter 103 First-Class Merit
Xianglin Town is a large town at the mouth of Leigong River. It is strategically located and has a large population. The escort team arrived here in a solemn atmosphere. They first settled the injured, found a doctor, and then sent the bodies of the escort team to the charity cemetery to temporarily keep them there.

Zhao Xingyang led everyone to burn incense for their dead brother. Everyone was silent in the charity cemetery, and many of them were secretly wiping away tears.

Most of the escort members have known each other for many years. Companions of a team often spend every day together, practicing together, drinking and having fun, laughing and cursing, and fighting side by side. Countless memories come to their minds at this moment, but they all stop at the moment when they die in battle.

They will never have more memories, and their journey together will end forever.

Xie Yuan arrived late and did not have as deep feelings as the others in the escort team, but he also felt sad.

He was familiar with everyone here, especially Kong Chun and Tang Dawei, who were his companions on the first escort mission and the seniors who taught him the rules. But now they were lying there and could no longer get him to drink.

"Xiao Xie is awesome...Brother Yuan is awesome...Brother Yuan is a great drinker..."

Kong Chun, who is always smiling and enthusiastic, has a calm personality, but after drinking, he becomes a bold and forthright Tang Dawei...

From being called Xiao Xie to Brother Yuan, from teaching him how to shout "trip scooters" to following his instructions, these colleagues have witnessed his growth. Not long ago, they were drunk together in a restaurant, laughing happily, but now they are lying quietly, dead in a foreign land.

Xie Yuan raised his head slightly and took a deep breath.

The incense and candles are too irritating to the eyes, and the smell here is really bad.

He turned around and walked out of the charity cemetery, looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside, and let out a long sigh.

He was not used to such a separation.

"I just don't want to experience such a scene, so I give good guidance to every brother, especially the new brothers. But the road of martial arts is bound to be full of disputes, and no one knows whether they can see the sun tomorrow. This is even more true for escorting."

Zhao Xingyang also walked out of the charity cemetery, walked to Xie Yuan's side, and looked at the high sky together.

Xie Yuan was also quite touched, especially since all his drinking companions from the previous mission were left here, which made him feel the fragility of life.

It is neither real nor extremely real.

I have used all my skills this time and fought to the limit. If he had used less strength, the result today might be different.

Xie Yuan closed his eyes slightly. He liked practicing martial arts. Not only could it protect him, it could change his life, and it also made him feel satisfied from the bottom of his heart. On this road, he wanted to walk further, to see the scenery from a higher place, and he didn't want to fall halfway.

If you want to do this, you have to keep working hard, harder, and harder.

Only by constantly improving your cultivation, mastering more skills, and practicing them until you are more proficient, can you climb to the top and defeat your enemies...

Xie Yuan clenched his fists tightly, and a stronger motivation arose in his heart.

The group took a short break in Xianglin Town and then continued on to Wuli Village. The distance between the two places was not far, and they traveled for more than a day without any ups and downs. They delivered the darts and handed them over to the housekeeper who was as confused as an outsider.

Zhao Xingyang did not make any comment on this. He led his men back to Xianglin Town, picked up the bodies of the escort members and their seriously injured companions, and went home together.

The closer we got to the escort agency, the more subtle the atmosphere became.

The remaining ones in the escort team are basically experienced escorts with many years of experience. Among the less than ten people, there are more second-level escorts than the porters and junior escorts combined.

With their sense of smell, they naturally noticed something was wrong, and their feelings were as complicated as Zhao Xingyang's.

Looking at the Yunzhao City Gate from afar, Xie Yuan quietly asked Zhao Xingyang:
"Zhao Tou'er, do you have any plans?"

"I already have a candidate in mind."

Zhao Xingyang answered in a deep voice.

Xie Yuan nodded silently, suddenly recalling the chance encounter at Jude Building that day, and fell into deep thought.

The escort team rode horses and drove carriages into Yunzhao County.

Many people at the city gate still remembered the escort team that left the city a few days ago. They were powerful and well-equipped. Now there are only a few of them back, and everyone is injured. The atmosphere is heavy.

The contrast between before and after was too stark. The bystanders looked at each other for a few seconds and remained silent.

When the escort team returned to the escort agency, it was like a huge rock falling into a peaceful lake, breaking the tranquility. After only a moment, an uproar broke out throughout the escort agency.

Shen Longteng looked at the rows of bodies in the courtyard, his ruddy face became gloomy, and his brows were tightly knitted together. Everyone in the escort agency gathered here, clenching their fists and not saying a word.

"The last time we suffered such a big loss was many years ago."

Shen Longteng spoke slowly and turned to Zhao Xingyang:
"You said that the people who received the escort in Wuli Village were completely unaware of this?"

Zhao Xingyang looked at Xie Yuan, who stepped out and bowed, saying in a deep voice:

"That's right. Mr. Chang's butler obviously didn't know about it, and he confirmed with me again and again before accepting the escort."

Shen Longteng hesitated for a moment and said:
"You're playing tricks on me. Fine. You wait, I'll go to Mr. Chang's house and ask."

He waved his sleeves, took a big step and walked out of the escort agency.

At first, the two steps could be seen clearly, but in the blink of an eye, Shen Longteng had disappeared outside the escort agency, and no one inside the agency could see him clearly.

The escorts looked at each other. It had been a long time since they saw the chief escort so impetuous. It seemed that he was extremely angry.

They looked at Zhao Xingyang and the others, wanting to ask something but not being able to open their mouths.

Lu Zhenyu frowned and walked to Zhao Xingyang's side. He looked at him with injuries all over his body and unstable breath, but he was full of blood and energy. He was silent for a moment and said:
"Your injury is serious. Go and rest first."

Zhao Xingyang shook his head firmly:

"No, I want to wait for a result here."

I thought Shen Longteng would be gone for a while, but I didn't expect that in just an incense stick of time, he came back to the yard with the wind, with a calm face.

"Captain Escort, what do you say?"

Zhao Xingyang took a step forward and couldn't help but ask.

Shen Longteng shook his head and said:

"Mr. Chang is dead."

"what?"

Everyone was shocked, and many thoughts were running through their minds. Shen Longteng continued:
"When I arrived, Mr. Chang had just died. I was checking when Yu Chunsheng and his runners came in, saying I was a suspect and wanted me to go to the yamen."

Everyone sensed something was wrong and was getting angry when they heard the chief escort snort coldly:
"I just stared at him twice, and he immediately changed his story, saying that he trusted my reputation for decades, and then he closed the case as suicide without even looking at it. I saw that Mr. Chang had been stabbed seven times in the back."

The escorts knew it in their hearts. How could such a coincidence happen? It must be the work of the King Kong Sect and the county lieutenant. The only person Yun Zhao dared to target, and wanted to target, was this old enemy of the escort agency.

I just don't know whether Chang Yuanwai died as a scapegoat or was silenced, and what measures will be taken next?
Everyone was thinking, Shen Longteng said slowly:

“Even though we suffered heavy losses in this mission, we still didn’t lose any darts and were able to come back standing, which is a happy thing.

"Xing Yang has made great contributions. As the leader of the escort team, there is no need to say more about his merits. I will get you some Tibetan medicine to treat your injuries. Xie Yuan went alone to deliver the escort, but he came back to rescue and saved the day. It is a blessing for the escort company to have such a young talent. His merits will be ranked first. The rest of you fought bravely and protected the escorted property, so you will be ranked second.

"This loss was caused by the insidious actions of foreign enemies. I, Shen Longteng, promise everyone that I will make them pay the price. Go and have a rest.

"Heads of the escort team, come with me."

Xie Yuan saw that several escort leaders had different expressions. He followed Shen Longteng who strode into the inner courtyard, looking thoughtful.

Foreign enemies are insidious? I'm afraid there are more. I just said this to calm everyone down.

Xie Yuan shook his head and decided that he didn't need to worry about what was going on inside for the time being.

On the contrary, getting the first-class merit was a great gain, as it was the highest-class merit in the escort agency. However, such a gain did not make people happy.

But no matter what, the two B-class merits can help him reach half of his muscle training progress, and this one A-class merit is enough to help him complete the third level of training.

(End of this chapter)