Chapter 9: Someone Outside the Door

Gu Chutong stormed to the door. When she opened it, she saw five or six people outside, all on horseback and carrying weapons. The leader was a middle-aged man, dressed in a flowing green robe with a sword casually tied at his side. His handsome features exuded a calm integrity.

"Uncle Qu!"

Upon seeing who it was, Gu Chutong's aggressive stance immediately vanished.

Although she harbored resentment towards the Longwind Escort Agency, it was only directed at a few individuals. Her relationships with most people there were quite good, and the middle-aged man standing before her was the closest person to her and her brother, not just within the Longwind Escort Agency but in all of Linjiang Commandery.

This man was Qu Heng, an escort leader at the Longwind Escort Agency and Gu Mo's guide.

Three years ago, seventeen-year-old Gu Mo and fourteen-year-old Gu Chutong were drifting through Linjiang Commandery. Gu Mo worked as a hired fighter, relying on his martial arts skills, when they accidentally clashed with Qu Heng and his group. Qu Heng easily and thoroughly taught them a lesson.

Afterward, seeing that Gu Mo and Gu Chutong were still young and not wanting to see them stray onto the wrong path, Qu Heng took them to the Longwind Escort Agency, providing a stable place for the siblings who had been adrift for several years.

Later, Qu Heng personally taught Gu Mo the ropes of escort work, treating him like a disciple and giving him special care.

At this moment, outside the wattle gate,

Qu Heng also recognized Gu Chutong and exclaimed in surprise, "Chutong, why are you here? Where's your brother? You're not in Linjiang City; what are you doing all the way out here?"

Gu Chutong saw that the rain outside was getting heavier and said, "Uncle Qu, please come inside first."

"Oh, right, right, right."

Qu Heng quickly cupped his hands towards a young man in yellow next to him and said, "Young Master Tang, please come in to shelter from the rain."

Immediately, Qu Heng gestured to the other escorts to quickly move the items from the carriage under the eaves.

The young man in yellow quickly walked to the doorway and cupped his hands towards Gu Chutong, saying, "Thank you, young lady."

In the jianghu, there were unwritten rules.

In desolate mountain areas like this, any unclaimed place suitable for rest—whether a ruined temple, a woodshed, or a cave—was tacitly understood to belong temporarily to the first to arrive. Later arrivals needed the permission of the firstcomers to enter; otherwise, it would be considered trespassing, potentially leading to conflict and unnecessary trouble.

The young man in yellow carried himself with a casual grace. He wore a sword at his waist and had a steady gait, clearly a jianghu practitioner who understood its rules.

"You're welcome," Gu Chutong waved her hand, then looked at Qu Heng and said, "Uncle Qu, my brother is inside."

Qu Heng complained, "You too, don't you know your brother's current condition? Why aren't you staying properly at the escort agency? What are you doing coming all the way out here?"

As he spoke, Qu Heng gestured for his escorts to come inside and shelter from the rain.

"Brother, it's Uncle Qu," Gu Chutong called out.

Gu Mo sat by the bonfire. He could sense that, besides his sister, there were six other people. However, he couldn't tell which one was Qu Heng, so he cupped his hands towards the doorway and said, "Uncle Qu."

Qu Heng instructed his subordinates to start another bonfire nearby for the young man surnamed Tang. Then he walked over and sat next to Gu Mo, saying, "I was just telling Chutong off. Why aren't you staying properly at the escort agency? What are you doing coming all the way out here?"

Gu Mo chuckled softly and said, "Uncle Qu, you must have just returned to Linjiang City and were immediately dispatched on an escort mission, weren't you?"

"Indeed," Qu Heng nodded. "I arrived in Linjiang City last night and hadn't even had a chance to go home. I just went to the agency to hand in my last assignment when I was immediately given a new one."

"That explains it," Gu Mo said with a slight smile. "Uncle Qu, Chutong and I have been expelled. We are no longer members of the Longwind Escort Agency."

"What!" Qu Heng was greatly shocked, and the escorts accompanying him also looked astonished.

"Who did this? How could they do such a thing?" Qu Heng raged. "You were injured serving the agency. By the rules, the agency should arrange for your care. At the very least, they should provide compensation. What does 'expelled' mean?"

Gu Chutong said, "It was that dog Yang Yan, the Young Master. He said the agency doesn't support invalids, and claimed my brother's injury was a personal matter, completely unrelated to the agency. He refused to pay a single penny and just threw out my brother's and my belongings. When my brother tried to reason with him, Yang Yan humiliated him with terrible insults."

"How outrageous!" Qu Heng exclaimed, furious. "No wonder they were so eager to send me back out on an escort mission as soon as I returned. They must have been afraid I'd find out you two were being bullied. Mo, Chutong, you two stay with me for now. After I finish this escort, I'll take you back to demand justice."

"Forget it," Gu Mo waved his hand. "I'll seek this justice myself; there's no need to trouble you, Uncle Qu. Besides, you have a family to support; there's no need to offend Yang Yan. He's the Young Master of the agency. If you offend him and he makes things difficult for you, what will happen to your family?"

"How dare he!" Qu Heng retorted angrily. "What if he's the Young Master? The agency isn't entirely under his control yet. I'll go back and talk to his father, Yang Fang. I refuse to believe the Chief Escort will let him get away with such nonsense!"

Gu Mo shook his head and said, "I haven't been expelled just yesterday or today. Yang Fang couldn't possibly be unaware. His silence and his approval of Yang Yan keeping it from you show that he also agreed to my expulsion."

"That's going too far," Qu Heng said, furious. "Why would he do this? Isn't he afraid of disheartening others?"

Gu Mo smiled, but said nothing.

He did know why Yang Yan, the Young Master, targeted him. The reason was actually very simple: Yang Yan resented Gu Mo's reputation as the top young talent in the Longwind Escort Agency, feeling that Gu Mo overshadowed his own title as Young Master, so he challenged Gu Mo to a martial arts contest.

Gu Mo, being young and hot-headed and somewhat lacking in emotional intelligence, actually accepted the challenge and publicly defeated Yang Yan, thoroughly humiliating him and making him lose face. From then on, Yang Yan harbored a grudge against him.

However, Gu Mo was highly skilled in martial arts, had repeatedly achieved great merits for the agency, and was very popular, so Yang Yan had never found an opportunity to retaliate. With Gu Mo's recent blindness, Yang Yan naturally wouldn't miss this excellent chance to kick him while he was down.

As for Chief Escort Yang Fang, he probably also thought Gu Mo was no longer valuable and simply allowed it to happen.

"No, Mo, I must seek justice for you in this matter. Even if it means I quit," Qu Heng said, growing angrier the more he thought about it. "You must come back with me. I was the one who brought you to the agency; I cannot let you be bullied like this."

Gu Mo shook his head slightly, unwilling to continue the discussion, so he changed the subject and asked, "Uncle Qu, where are you headed on this escort?"

"Zhushan County."

"What a coincidence, we're going to Zhushan County too."

"What are you doing in Zhushan County?" Qu Heng asked, puzzled.

"To find someone," Gu Mo replied. "Uncle Qu, what are you escorting on this trip?"

"Some iron ore," Qu Heng replied. "That Young Master Tang, Tang Buyi, is the Young Lord of the Tang family from Zhushan County. You've probably heard of the Tang family of Zhushan County; they're in the weapon business and quite famous throughout Linjiang Commandery."

"Young Master Tang was originally out traveling for pleasure and happened to be in Linjiang City. He then received urgent news from his family, instructing him to quickly purchase a batch of iron ore from Linjiang City and bring it back."

"Surely not?" Gu Mo asked, puzzled. "The Tang family has been in the weapon business for a long time; how could they be short on iron ore?"

"Apparently, the Tang family received a large, unexpected order and were unprepared, leading to a shortage."

Gu Mo nodded and said, "I see..."

Before he could finish, Gu Mo suddenly froze and asked, "Uncle Qu, are there still people outside who haven't come in?"

"No, why?" Qu Heng asked, puzzled.

"There are people outside, two of them!"