Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

This was the first time in their lives they had witnessed such a difference in speed and strength in one person. The two of them together could barely handle seven or eight people, but this person in front of them was toying with thirty or forty people.

Li Hanzhang rode at the very back, the words he had been muttering had long since stopped. He stared blankly as Chen Zhan rode back, his previous thoughts of "it doesn't seem like anything special" shattered into nothingness.

Wang Xiaochuan was the quickest to react. He snapped out of his shock, slapped his horse's neck, and shouted at Chen Zhan's retreating figure, "Chief Escort Chen, mighty!"

No one responded to him.

Everyone was still recalling what had just happened.

Chen Zhan rode his chestnut horse back to the front of the group, took out his water pouch, took a sip of water, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and looked at the road ahead.

"Let's go, we need to get to Cang County before dark."

He spurred his horse forward, and the group behind him hesitated for a moment before catching up one after another.

The sound of horses' hooves resumed, and the wheels of the carriage rolled over the bandits lying on the ground. The driver carefully drove the carriage around them, afraid of running them over.

Zhao Qi rode up to Chen Zhan's side, opened his mouth several times, and finally managed to utter only one sentence: "Chief Escort Chen, what kind of boxing style were you practicing just now?"

Chen Zhan smiled and said, "It's hard to say what kind of boxing style I know; I know too many different kinds."

Zhao Qi grinned, but dared not ask any more questions.

Once they were back on the road, the two children in the carriage poked their heads out, staring wide-eyed at the outside, eager to see what had just happened.

The boy's head had just peeked out from behind the curtain when his mother pulled it back in and scolded him. Her voice was low, but Chen Zhan heard it clearly. The gist of it was, "Don't look. Children shouldn't look at these things."

It's best to avoid exposing children of this age to blood.

After another half day of travel, as the sun began to set, the terrain ahead gradually opened up, with hills and mixed forests receding to the sides, the official road widening again and becoming much smoother.

In the distance, the outline of a city appeared on the horizon. The city walls were not high, but they stretched for a long time. A flag was hanging on the gate tower, and the wind made the corner of the flag flutter.

Cangxian County.

Zhao Qi urged his horse forward, leaned close to Chen Zhan, and lowered his voice: "Chief镖师 (镖师 is a镖师 who specializes in镖师), things are a bit complicated in Cang County. There's a saying, '镖师 don't call out Cang,' so let's lower our flags and keep a low profile for now."

The dart does not cry out.

This is a rule passed down from the older generation in the escort business, and it is related to the history of Cang County.

Cangxian has been a place of exile for disgraced soldiers and a good place for traitors to hide. Over the centuries, countless martial arts masters have settled here in anonymity to pass on their skills.

With the changing dynasties and banditry and war, many boxers and swordsmen who had committed crimes elsewhere fled to Cang County to hide. While hiding, they settled down, took on apprentices, and spread their skills.

Over the centuries, Cangxian County has become one of the birthplaces of martial arts in the north, with countless masters and numerous sects. Moreover, the area is a mixed bag, with many grudges and feuds that are difficult to resolve.

When escorting goods through Cang County, it's fine if they don't shout their orders or raise their flags. But if they loudly proclaim their escorting orders as they pass through, the local martial arts community will see it as showing off their strength and provoking the locals, which will almost certainly cause trouble.

The most well-known incident was during the Daoguang era.

The Henan Guang Sheng Escort Agency got a new head镖师 (escort officer), who was young and impetuous and didn't know the rules. He led a group of men through the south gate of Cang County in a grand manner, shouting slogans.

Upon hearing the news, Li Guanming, the master of Liuhequan, was furious and spurred his horse to give chase. When he passed a stone archway, he grabbed the archway beam with his hands, clamped his legs around the horse, and lifted himself into the air. The wild horse beneath him neighed and struggled, but could not move.

The story of a man holding a horse between his legs and suspending it from a stone archway spread, and from then on, no security escort agency dared to call out their services in Cang County.

Chen Zhan had also heard these old stories. As one of the birthplaces of martial arts in the north, Cang County indeed held a lofty position.

However, in this day and age, those who are truly capable have already gone to Tianjin and Beijing to develop their careers. It's hard to say why those who stayed in Cangxian County did so. Perhaps they were unwilling to leave because they wanted to protect their family business, perhaps they lacked the skills to venture out, or perhaps they couldn't make it elsewhere and had to return.

"It's alright, just do as usual."

Chen Zhan set the tone.

He had just single-handedly taken down thirty or forty bandits, and everyone had witnessed it. He said to proceed as usual, and no one objected.

He wasn't intentionally trying to provoke anyone; it was just pointless.

Even if they tried to pass through discreetly, it wouldn't work. Prince Yi's mansion wouldn't just send a few bandits to get by, and Xu Zhiyuan's family members weren't worthless either. There must be other plans waiting for them along the way.

Legend has it that Cangxian County is a place where tigers and dragons dwell, but it's unknown whether there are any real dragons there.

Without accepting the escort flag, they swaggered into Cangxian County.

The guards at the city gate glanced at the flag of the convoy a few more times, but did not stop it.

After entering the city, I started attracting more attention on the streets.

Very few security escort agencies dare to enter Cang County without accepting the escort flag. In recent years, there have only been two or three such agencies. They are either clueless young men who don't know the rules or tough guys who are fearless and have nothing to fear.

However, upon seeing the two characters "Shunyuan" on the flag, the onlookers understood, and some whispered among themselves.

Wang Wu is truly famous.

After the passing of those senior masters, Wang Wu gradually earned the title of the number one martial arts master in the north. Especially in the Yan and Zhao regions, everyone who practices martial arts knows Wang Wu, the Great Saber Master.

Shunyuan Escort Agency's reputation is second only to Huiyou Escort Agency. It is not because of its inferior strength, but because of its small scale. It has only been established for more than three years and has only about thirty people. It cannot compare with the thousands of disciples of Huiyou Escort Agency.

However, when it comes to fighting alone, Wang Wu is worth an entire escort agency.

Chen Zhan, mounted on his horse, paid no heed to the gazes cast upon him from both sides.

"Zhao Qi, find a large inn and arrange accommodations. The main thing is to make sure Madam Xu and the others have comfortable lodgings; nothing else matters."

Zhao Qi responded and urged his horse forward to explore the way. Before long, he found a fairly large inn with three courtyards. The front had a dining hall and stables, while the back had guest rooms, which were divided into superior rooms and ordinary rooms. The superior rooms were on the second floor with south-facing windows, allowing for ventilation and light.

Three superior rooms were prepared for Xu Zhiyuan's family. The wife and two concubines each lived in one room, while the children lived with the principal wife.

Chen Zhan lived in a room downstairs near the stairwell, three bodyguards lived next door to him, and the porters were scattered in ordinary rooms in the front yard.

After settling in, we ate a meal.

The innkeeper's waiter brought out several plates of Cangxian's specialties, including sheep intestines and hot pot chicken. The portions were generous and the food was delicious. The travelers ate with gusto; after a day of travel and other activities, they all had quite large appetites.

Chen Zhan sat at a table in the corner, ordered a bowl of clear soup noodles, and ate slowly.

His senses had been scattered ever since he entered the inn, and he hadn't been able to retract them.

There are people watching from outside.

There was more than one group; they had been there since we entered the city, following us from a distance, neither too close nor too far. Their methods were quite sophisticated, and ordinary people wouldn't have noticed them.

Chen Zhan didn't care; he just kept staring. He wanted to see who would come tonight.

After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

Just as Chen Zhan was about to go upstairs, he heard soft footsteps at the top of the stairs, and a figure came down from the second floor.

Xu Zhiyuan's legal wife, Sun Yuanhong.

She was in her forties, with a dignified appearance, her hair styled in a low bun, and wearing a plain dark blue jacket. Her demeanor was composed, and it was clear at a glance that she came from a respectable family and was not an ordinary woman. She sensed that something was amiss.

Although she hid inside the carriage and didn't witness what happened during the day, she heard the commotion outside clearly: someone blocked their way and tried to detain them, followed by the sounds of fighting, which quickly ended.

She was not a sheltered woman ignorant of the ways of the world; she knew her husband's situation in the court and what this long journey meant.

"Chief Escort Chen."

She walked up to Chen Zhan, bowed slightly, and spoke in a low voice, tinged with worry.

“I heard everything that happened during the day. The roads weren’t safe. Will the roads get even harder to travel later?”

Chen Zhan glanced at her. This woman was much calmer than he had expected. She didn't cry or panic. She simply asked calmly about her concerns.

"Madam Xu, rest assured, there will be no problems with this shipment. Just relax and get some rest."

Sun Yuanhong looked into his eyes, which were calm and undisturbed, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that was taken for granted.

She nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and turned to go upstairs.

Despite her worries, since the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) had made such a bold promise, she couldn't say anything more.

Late at night.

The inn quieted down, the lights upstairs went out, and only a few dim lanterns swayed in the wind in the courtyard, casting shadows that shimmered and dwindled.

Chen Zhan lay on the bed, not taking off his clothes, with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed.

Her breathing was even and deep, and she looked like she was asleep.

The perception was not received.

Within a hundred paces, he could hear every breath, heartbeat, and turning sound of everyone in the inn.

The first watch of the night passed, but there was still no movement.

The second watch of the night has passed, and there is still no movement.

Around midnight, some commotion broke out.

Chen Zhan opened his eyes, rolled out of bed, silently walked to the window, pushed it open, and in a flash, flipped out of the first-floor window. He then lightly touched the courtyard wall with his toes and leaped onto the roof of the second floor.

In the corridor on the second floor, two short figures moved along the wall with extremely light movements. Their feet landed almost silently, and their breathing was very low. They were skilled in light-body techniques.

Both men were masked and dressed in night clothes, one in black and the other in gray. They had no weapons at their waists and each held a bamboo tube in their hands.

They stopped in front of the main room where Sun Yuanhong was staying.

The man in gray crouched down, took out an extremely thin knife from his pocket, and gently pried open a corner of the window paper, tearing a hole the size of a copper coin.

The man in black brought the bamboo tube to the hole, puffed out his cheeks, and prepared to blow into it.

The bamboo tube contained a sleeping potion.

The powder was blown from the bamboo tube through a hole in the window paper, spreading into the room. If a sleeping person inhaled it, they would fall into a coma. Then, the window would be broken open and the person kidnapped.

The bamboo tube had just reached the entrance of the hole, and before it could be blown out, it broke.

With a soft "snap," the bamboo tube broke in two, and the fragments scattered on the ground.

Both of them were taken aback.

They didn't see anyone make a move, nor did they feel any strong wind or palm force. The bamboo tube just shattered, as if it had been crushed from the middle by an invisible force.

The next moment, his mouth and nose were pressed down by two hands at the same time.

Chen Zhan stood behind the two men, pressing his left hand against the mouth and nose of the man in black and his right hand against the mouth and nose of the man in gray. His hands were pressed tightly together, so that not a breath could escape.

The man in black still had the sleeping powder he was about to blow out in his mouth. After his mouth was pressed down, he couldn't inhale or spit out the powder, and it was forced into his lungs.

"Waaah... Pfft."

He struggled for a moment, his eyes rolled back, and his body went limp.

The man in gray wasn't in much better shape. Although he didn't have any medicine powder in his mouth, his mouth and nose were sealed so he couldn't breathe. He struggled desperately for a few moments, but Chen Zhan's hand didn't budge. The force with which he struggled was no different from a child struggling in Chen Zhan's hand.

A few breaths later, the man in gray also fainted. Due to lack of oxygen and fear, his mind went black and he lost consciousness.

Chen Zhan carried one in each hand; the two short figures looked like two chickens in his hands. He silently walked to the end of the second-floor corridor, climbed out of the window, and ran along the eaves to the alley behind the inn, where he threw the two down against the wall.

The sleeping potion in the bamboo tube was quite potent; it didn't just make people fall asleep. High concentrations could damage the lungs and brain. The man in black had poured a mouthful of it in himself, and it was hard to say whether he would survive.

Chen Zhan ignored it, left, and went on his way.

Returning to the second floor of the inn, he checked the doors and windows of Sun Yuanhong's room. The coin-sized hole in the window paper was already slightly fluttering in the night breeze. He tore a small piece of cloth from his pocket and stuck it on to seal it.

I went back to my room on the first floor and lay down again.

Not long after, they came again.

This time, we're going through the door, not the window.

The corner gate to the backyard of the inn was pried open, and the noise was well controlled; the latch was pulled out with only a very faint "click".

Three people slipped in through the side gate. Their steps were heavier than the first two, but still light. They had short knives bulging at their waists.

These three weren't taking a sneaky route; they were forcing their way in, intending to go straight up to the second floor, break down the door, and snatch the person.

Chen Zhan got out of bed, pushed open the door, and walked into the yard.

The three of them had just turned the corner of the courtyard wall when they ran into Chen Zhan, who was less than two zhang away from them.

By the dim light of the lantern in the courtyard, the three saw a man dressed in a middle garment standing in the middle of the courtyard, his hands hanging at his sides, his face calm.

The leader reacted the fastest, drawing his short sword and lunging at Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan took a step forward, reached out with his right hand, grabbed the man's wrist holding the knife, twisted the wrist, and the short knife flew out of his hand. He then slapped the man's chest with his palm. The man groaned, flew three or four steps, crashed his back against the courtyard wall, slid down, and sat motionless on the ground.

The second person came around from the side, slashing his short knife upwards, the blade flashing in the light.

Chen Zhan sidestepped the blade, grabbed the man's forearm with his left hand, and shoved him outwards. The man was thrown out and crashed into the door frame of the side gate. Half of the door frame snapped off with a "crack," and the man and the broken piece of wood fell to the ground.

The third man saw his two companions being dealt with in the blink of an eye, turned and ran, but after taking only two steps, a hand grabbed the back of his neck.

Chen Zhan pressed his fingers on the Dazhui acupoint on the back of the man's neck, and the force penetrated into it. The man's legs instantly went weak, his knees buckled and he knelt down. The short knife fell to the ground, and his vision went black as he collapsed in the yard.

The three people, in less than ten breaths.

Chen Zhan dragged the three men outside the side gate and threw them into the alley, joining the two drugged men from before. (End of Chapter)