I began to understand the myriad things by chopping wood

Chapter 163: Clouds Change
The next day, Xie Yuan was called in by the firewood room manager for a talk:
"Zhang Shan, you have been doing well recently. All the stewards and even the deacons have seen it and are very satisfied with you."

Xie Yuan was humble in his words, but he thought to himself:
"No matter how upright sword cultivators are, they still like to hear good words and see people being diligent. Rolling and licking are really two magic weapons in the workplace. When combined, they are invincible."

The steward continued:
"Didn't you ask about vacation before? I said at that time that it was not proper to want to go home right after going up the mountain. But Zhang Shan, you have proved your attitude, and I won't ask for too much. It's human nature to miss home! The higher-ups have specially approved your annual leave this year. Let me see, you live... um, below Jinshan County. Ten days round trip, is that enough?"

"That's enough, thank you, Steward! You are so kind to me..."

Xie Yuan was touched.

The annual leave for general servants to visit their families is five to seven days, and other than that, they have no days off all year round. Considering the round trip to Yunshan, it is enough to stay at home for two days. Jinshan County is not far from Yunshan, and the manager directly gave him ten days. It seems that the piles of firewood engraved with "good luck and good fortune" made him very happy.

Xie Yuan immediately packed his luggage and prepared to go down the mountain.

Hearing that Xie Yuan was going to take a vacation, the other servants in the firewood room all breathed a sigh of relief. Going with Juanbi every day was a huge pressure.

"It's good to visit relatives, but it's better not to come back... The Zhang Shan who is gone is the good Zhang Shan."

But then the steward said calmly:

"Remember to share Zhang Shan's work. And don't forget to carve the words. It makes me happy to see that we are still honing our skills and studying hard even in the firewood room."

The other servants were stunned and cursed in their hearts:
"Zhang Shan, you deserve to die!"

Xie Yuan couldn't hear what other people were saying. He packed up his things and was about to leave the outer gate when he was stopped by a young girl.

"Junior Brother Zhang, could you please go home and help me visit Junior Sister Chen's family? I wonder why Junior Sister Chen hasn't come back yet?"

Lin Zhen greeted Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan nodded silently, muttering in his heart:
"Ms. Lin, your Junior Sister Chen will not be coming back."

I don't know what's wrong with Lin Zhen, he is so close to her former enemy. Although he calls her Junior Sister, he has been treating Mu Chaoyun like a sister.

Lin Cheng practiced martial arts crazily every day and paid less attention to his sister Lin Zhen. Although she was also very hardworking and eager to take revenge, she was still a spoiled girl not long ago. She was probably lonely in the mountains, so she was very close to a friend in the boudoir.

And no one knew what Mu Chaoyun was thinking. She was quite nice to her and didn't give her the cold shoulder like she always gave him. This made Lin Zhen call her "junior sister" in words and "sister" in his heart.

Xie Yuan shook his head and started down the mountain under Lin Zhen's hopeful eyes.

In the long-term rental house in Yunshan Town, Xie Yuan took out his luggage, long knife and axe.

In order to go up the mountain that day, the Lin family's precious sword and the short-handled axe made of fine steel could not be taken with them, so they were stored here along with the good clothes brought by the escort agency.

As for Zhan Yue, he had been thrown into the escort agency long ago. Who would run away with that thing?

Xie Yuan changed out of the Yunshan Sword Sect's menial clothes, put on his weapons properly, then used the Tianyin Technique and quietly left Yunshan.

With his blood boiling and his internal energy surging, Xie Yuan did not ride a horse. In just one day and one night, he returned to Yunzhao County along the official road.

For residents in areas surrounding Yunzhao County, such as Panlong Town and Xiaoshi Village, Yunzhao is the only big city in this area. People come here to work, study or seek medical treatment, making Yunzhao County more popular.

As soon as Xie Yuan entered the city, he saw that there were still a lot of people and cars, and the streets were very lively. After the commotion caused by the Grandmaster a few days ago, it did not affect the people at all.

Everything seemed to be the same as before in Yunzhao, except for the Longteng Escort Agency.

Xie Yuan walked to the entrance of the escort agency and was stunned for a while when he looked at the newly renovated door and the four characters "Yidao Martial Arts School" written in a flamboyant style on the plaque.

The two disciples with broadswords at the door looked at each other, and one of them walked up to Xie Yuan:
"Brother, do you want to join our Yidao Martial Arts School to learn martial arts?"

Xie Yuan came back to his senses, shook his head, turned around and left, instantly blending into the crowd.

The disciple looked puzzled and turned around to say to his companions:

"What does this person do?"

"who knows."

The two men stood at the door again, and while they were talking, Xie Yuan had passed them and entered the "Yidao Martial Arts Hall".

He walked around the mansion that took up half of the street and saw that it was decorated with lights and looked brand new everywhere. The people in the martial arts school were in high spirits and many disciples had even started practicing martial arts in the training grounds.

It was not until he turned to his own courtyard and saw the flowers in full bloom that he was sure that there was nothing wrong with his memory. This was the escort agency, but it had been completely transformed.

Xie Yuan frowned, thought for a moment, then left the escort agency and joined the crowd on the long street.

In a house in Yunzhao, a man was practicing swordplay in the yard. The sun was scorching hot and he was sweating profusely, but his face was solemn and he continued to practice.

Bang, bang.

There was a knock on the door. The man was a little unhappy about being disturbed. He put down his knife, walked to the door and opened it, and his eyes widened immediately.

"Xie Yuan! You're back. You're not dead?"

Xie Yuan smiled and looked at Qin Hai:

"Brother Qin, why are you so surprised? I'm relieved to see that you're okay."

Qin Hai was very happy and pulled Xie Yuan:

"Come in and talk!" Inside the room, Xie Yuan thanked Qin Hai for the tea and couldn't help but ask directly:
"Brother Qin, how did the escort agency become a martial arts school? What happened after we left that day? Are the chief escort and the others... okay?"

Qin Hai's smile froze for a moment, then slowly faded away, and he sighed softly:
"The chief escort and his men..."

Qin Hai told Xie Yuan what happened after that day, and Xie Yuan's face gradually became ugly.

"...Zhao Tou'er was seriously injured. Biao Tou Lu came back and took Zhao Tou'er to the provincial capital for medical treatment. There has been no news for a long time.

"As a result, Yidao Martial Arts School came here directly to occupy the space. It turns out that they took the opportunity to collude with Yu Chunsheng and swallowed up all the businesses under the names of Jingangmen and the Escort Agency. Now they have become the number one martial arts school in Yunzhao."

Qin Hai slammed the table heavily and snorted coldly:
"When the escort agency was there, they said they wanted to take down Yu Chunsheng together, but they quickly became fence-sitters! Yu Chunsheng was originally planning to run away, but now with the support of Yidao Martial Arts School, he has secured his position again."

Xie Yuan frowned upon hearing this and could not help but say:
"The Escort Agency's property and mansion are naturally supported by land deeds. What right does the Yidao Martial Arts School have to occupy them?"

"Yu Chunsheng is in the county government, so he naturally condones Yidao Martial Arts School...

"More importantly, the escort agency is now empty-handed, not even the Three Training School. Facing the One Sword Martial Arts School, there is really no way. Without Zhao Touer and his men, the escort agency can't keep anything. Now there is not even a signboard. It's already... in name only."

Qin Hai clenched his fist:

"I practiced hard, but unfortunately my strength is too limited."

Xie Yuan was silent for a moment, then whispered:
“I thought it wouldn’t be like this.”

Qin Hai patted Xie Yuan and sighed:
"Don't blame yourself. I told you when we accepted the escort. This is the mission of the escort agency. What you said was useful, but later... I heard that Yu Chunsheng contacted the two masters in advance and let them know our plan. They surrounded the four gates in advance, otherwise it wouldn't have come to this!

"He probably spread the news himself. Seeing that he and the Grandmaster were connected, Yidao Martial Arts School cooperated with him again. Now this traitor is showing off his power again, but we can't do anything to him. We can't even save the escort agency. Yidao Martial Arts School has taken over everything... Xie Yuan, although you are back, the escort agency is gone."

Qin Hai covered his face in pain, and the rough man couldn't help wiping his eyes.

"Yu Chunsheng... Yidao Martial Arts School..."

Xie Yuan was silent for a long time, then suddenly stood up.

Qin Hai was startled, looking at Xie Yuan's expression, he subconsciously said:

"Xie Yuan, calm down! The Yidao Martial Arts School is very powerful now, don't act rashly by yourself, let's take a long-term view!"

Xie Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice:

"All this happened because of me. If I don't give you an explanation, I will be sorry to the escort agency."

He ignored Qin Hai's attempt to stop him and went out directly.

Qin Hai couldn't catch up with him. Seeing Xie Yuan quickly going away, he stomped his feet, turned around and caught up with him with a knife in hand.

The former Longteng Escort Agency, now located in Yidao Martial Arts School.

"Master, the martial arts school has had countless applicants every day recently. This new house is just the right place to accommodate the disciples."

A middle-aged swordsman said to the owner of Yidao Martial Arts School who was sitting in the first seat.

The capable owner of the museum smiled and said:

"No matter how many disciples I have, it's not as gratifying as having Brother Wang come to help me."

"Master, you are too kind. I also trained in the martial arts hall for a period of time before I had the opportunity to go out and learn a lot of skills."

"That's right. We are from the same school. We have this connection, so we let Brother Wang take charge."

The owner of the museum, Chen Su, laughed.

Wang Chengpeng is a four-training master from the next county. He was only a registered disciple at Yidao Martial Arts School for two days. In fact, he is not practicing with a sword now, but a spear.

But now that the martial arts school is expanding, it is a good opportunity to invite him to be the headmaster, and he readily agrees. Now that Yidao Martial Arts School has two four-level masters and Longteng Escort Agency is gone, they no longer have any rivals in Yunzhao County.

Later, when he and Yu Chunsheng teamed up to take over Piaoyu Sect and Jianjun Hall, Yidao Martial Arts School would truly be the only one in Yunzhao County. In the future...

"Where is Chen Su? Xie Yuan from Longteng Escort Agency wants to see you."

A loud shout came from outside the door, interrupting Chen Su's fantasy.

Longteng Escort Agency, Xie Yuan?
Chen Su frowned and instantly remembered the name that had been so powerful in Yunzhao not long ago.

He's not dead? Didn't he say that he was being hunted down by the Grandmaster and died in the wilderness?

Chen Su hesitated for a moment, glanced at Wang Chengpeng next to him, and said:
"Brother Wang, shall we go out and meet this escort leader Xie?"

"As it should be."

Wang Chengpeng said calmly, picking up the big gun, he wanted to see what the remnants of this famous escort agency looked like, and they actually dared to come here and make trouble.

The two of them went out hand in hand, and saw that the entrance was already surrounded by disciples of Yidao Martial Arts School in three layers. In the middle of the crowd, a handsome young man with a jade-like face and a straight back stood with his hands behind his back. He had a serious expression and ignored the shouts of the disciples next to him, as if they were air.

As soon as Chen Su and Wang Chengpeng came out, Xie Yuan saw them and said calmly without waiting for them to speak:
"Are you going to get out of the escort agency on your own, or do you want me to invite you out?"

(End of this chapter)