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Chapter 139 Routine
It was another afternoon.

All Zhou You could hear were fawning voices.

"Master Zhou, please have some tea."

"Master Zhou, are you tired? Would you like to rest in the car for a while?"

"Master Zhou, are you hungry? I have some flatbread and dried meat here."

Master Zhou

Zhou You looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle while being carried in a sedan chair, and for the first time, he wondered if he had done something wrong.

Right beside him, Lu Xiuyuan's nephew—that is, Lu Ping—was circling around him, so obsequious that he was practically begging for attention.

I don't know which martial arts novel this kid read the plot in, but after seeing him wielding a sword to slay demons, he actually thought he was that legendary hermit master who was just pretending to be a beggar to have fun in the world, and he kept pestering him to become his disciple.

—Thank God, this whole thing is a misunderstanding!

Unfortunately, even if it was a misunderstanding, Zhou You couldn't explain it to him.

He couldn't very well say that he was surrounded and killed all the way and had no time to rest, which is why his clothes were in such a state, could he?

So Zhou You could only grumble and pretend to ignore it.

However, the boy thought this was a test. Instead of being discouraged, he became even more diligent. More importantly, Lu Xiuyuan would occasionally chime in with his own words. In his opinion, with Zhou You's swordsmanship, if his nephew could learn even three or four tenths of it, the Weiyuan Escort Agency would be able to do whatever he wanted in the future.

Under the attentive care of the old man and the young man, Zhou You experienced for the first time the treatment of being waited on hand and foot.

This is really
That's truly terrifying.

Feeling unwell, Zhou You tried to avoid the young man Lu Ping and instead struck up a conversation with Lu Xiuyuan.

"By the way, Chief Escort Lu, how many more days will it take you to deliver this shipment?"

During their previous conversation, he had already learned that the shipment was destined for Ci'en Temple, which happened to be on the same route as the Bodhi Temple he was going to, but he didn't know much else, especially about the box with a bunch of large locks on it.
To be honest, even Zhou You himself found it very suspicious.

However, he had tested the sword on the Broken Sword before, but it did not give any warning, so he eventually let it be.

—Anyway, my goal is just to blend into the security escort agency and get through this part of the journey. As for the rest, I'm not idle, so why should I care about those things?
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan, who was leading the donkey, quickly pulled on the reins and replied.

“Master, oh no, Taoist priest, please let the Taoist priest know that Ci’en Temple is not far from here, about fifteen or sixteen days’ journey. It passes through a county government office and several villages. You will hardly see any more deep in the mountains like this.”

"Oh?" Zhou You's interest was piqued slightly. "Since there aren't any dangerous places after this, why bother hiring someone as idle as me?"

"Look at what you're saying, Daoist Master is no idle person."

Lu Xiuyuan shook his head and smiled, but the smile immediately turned somewhat bitter.

"To be honest, after that ghost incident, I learned one thing—you can't skimp on anything in this world, especially money. Trying to cut corners can easily lead to trouble. Although it didn't seem too dangerous afterwards, it's always better to be safe than sorry. If something had actually happened, then my money would have been well spent."

Zhou You was silent for a moment, and after a while, Lu Xiuyuan spoke up again.

"By the way, Taoist Master," he said, his tone hesitant this time, unlike his previous open and frank manner.

"May I ask what my nephew's character and temperament are like? Is there any chance he could learn a trick or two from you?"

Zhou You immediately gave a wry smile.

To be honest, although the boy named Lu Ping was a bit clingy, he was polite and perceptive. When Zhou You was free, he would come up to fawn over him, but when Zhou You was busy or inconvenient, he would never bother him in the slightest.

Moreover, his temperament was also quite good, which can be seen from the mountain god temple back then.

But.
Zhou Youyi is still in danger and has little experience in taking on apprentices, so he's afraid of delaying the other party.

Secondly, his magical abilities were almost entirely inherited from the Yun Jing Sect. Although his Uncle Xuan Yuan and Master Du Xin probably didn't care, he was still hesitant about whether he should pass them on.

So, in the end, Zhou You could only laugh it off.

"Your character and potential are both excellent, but unfortunately I am currently burdened with the mission of my sect and have no time to take on any disciples. I hope you can understand."

Lu Xiuyuan had been in the martial arts world for decades, and if he couldn't even see through this excuse, then he had only wasted his time. So he could only say with a hint of disappointment.

"Master, what are you saying? We were the ones asking you for help in the first place. It's just that this kid is not meant to be. We'll talk about it again when we have the chance."

Whether it was as Lu Xiuyuan said, or because Zhou You's murderous aura was so formidable that no one dared to provoke him, he didn't encounter any evil spirits or demons throughout the rest of the journey.

—No, not to mention demons and monsters, not even a single ordinary mountain spirit or ghost was seen, prompting Lu Xiuyuan to sigh repeatedly, saying that he had truly found a master this time. Others would respond to the enemy as soon as they saw them, but Zhou You had made the enemy flee at the mere mention of his name.

Zhou You could only sigh and laugh at this.

Several more days and nights passed.

The vast mountains and forests gradually faded away, and the fields and paths on the plains came into view again.

Unlike Cangzhou, which was parched and cracked from drought, Lizhou seemed relatively normal. The farmers in the fields, while not exactly starving, were far from being skin and bones.

What puzzled Zhou You was that no matter how poorly these people were dressed, they all wore a string of Buddhist prayer beads around their necks.

Moreover, they are all well-made Buddhist beads, clearly worth several taels of silver.

The people in this area are so devout in their worship of Buddha that they are still wearing coarse linen clothes, yet they are willing to spend money to buy such a thing.
Zhou You shared his question with Lu Xiuyuan, but to his surprise, the other party only gave him a disdainful look.

"Master, it wasn't always like this. Although the 'Three Mountains and Seven Temples' of Lizhou aren't exactly famous temples, they've been passed down for hundreds of years and have no interest in these superficial things. This was actually a requirement after the Tantric sect took over. They said it was to demonstrate one's devotion to Buddhism, and that regardless of status or wealth, everyone had to carry a string of prayer beads at all times, and that they had to wear them whenever a master was giving a sermon nearby."

At this point, Lu Xiuyuan suddenly slapped his thigh and realized something.

"Damn, speaking of which, I almost forgot about this!"

Lu Xiuyuan hurriedly ran to the truck and searched through it for a long time. Finally, he found a few strings of beads at the bottom and let everyone take one. He then personally delivered the last string to everyone.

"Master Zhou, please take this with you immediately!"

(End of this chapter)