Chapter 219: Familiar Feeling

On the official road to Luocheng, a long convoy headed north against the wind.

Gusts of wind blew, causing the copper bell hanging from the old yellow ox's neck to ding and clang.

The guards escorting the guests pressed their hats down with one hand, bending at the waist against the wind and sand, each step extremely difficult.

Maidservants and young servants huddled together in the drafty ox carts, while officials and nobles hid inside their carriages, clutching copper hand warmers.

Only Chen Ji, dressed in a black cloak, urged his horse to walk alongside the convoy, lost in thought.

Inside a carriage, Xiao Man secretly lifted the cotton cloth curtain and muttered in a low voice: "Do you think my young master looks like a knight-errant from the jianghu?"

There was no response for a long time, so she turned her head to look at Su Zhou inside the carriage: "You should say something!"

Su Zhou sat inside a wooden box, leaning against its edge, and rolled a weak, white eye: "Your young master's lips trembled when he saw blood. He still wants to be a jianghu knight-errant?"

Xiao Man recalled last night; her young master was indeed very scared, a far cry from the image of a jianghu knight-errant.

But she still stubbornly said: "No one is born powerful! You and I are cultivators, of course we're not afraid. If the young master becomes a cultivator, maybe he won't be afraid anymore... Wu Yun, am I right?"

Xiao Man looked at Wu Yun, who was always lying inside the carriage, but Wu Yun didn't even lift an eyelid, just silently listening to their conversation.

Its mission in the carriage was to eavesdrop. This was the reason Chen Ji left Su Zhou; otherwise, it would have run out long ago and would be lying on Zao Zao's head, which would be much more majestic.

Su Zhou calmly said: "I want to correct one point. Jianghu is just jianghu. Now in the jianghu, there are only jianghu people, no knight-errants."

Doubt showed on Xiao Man's face. Her little brain worked for a long time but couldn't understand the difference.

Thinking it through, she simply stopped thinking: "You can't find a cultivation path?"

"You want to find a cultivation path for him?" Su Zhou glanced at her. "Give me the hand warmer, and I'll tell you."

Xiao Man hesitated.

Su Zhou sneered: "You talk about being good to your young master, but you're not even willing to part with a hand warmer."

Xiao Man bit her teeth: "Okay! But you speak first!"

Su Zhou leaned on the wooden box and said lazily: "Cultivation paths are not just picked up casually. They're everywhere."

Xiao Man was extremely shocked: "What nonsense are you talking?"

Su Zhou chuckled coldly: "I can only say you are ignorant and inexperienced. Can't you see the people practicing Tai Chi and Ba Duan Jin for health in the morning?"

Xiao Man rubbed the small warming furnace in her hand, confused: "You're farting! That can be considered a cultivation path?"

Su Zhou calmly said: "It counts. In the past, the creator of Tai Chi was a God Realm grandmaster, unmatched in the entire Ning Dynasty. I just don't know what happened, but his direct disciples rebelled against their master, and they made the cultivation path public. As a result, everyone in the jianghu cultivated, and no one could enter the Innate realm anymore. Later, ordinary people also began to practice Tai Chi for health. Not to mention the Innate realm, they couldn't even cultivate to the peak of Acquired, leaving only some jianghu charlatans."

Xiao Man thought seriously for a moment: "So, if we kill everyone who practices Tai Chi and only leave one person who practices Tai Chi, then there's hope of entering the God Realm?"

Su Zhou opened his mouth, hesitated for half a day, and then replied: "Probably."

Xiao Man sighed: "A bit difficult, oh."

Su Zhou said in a bad mood: "What are you thinking? Are you crazy? In the jianghu and in the military, there are still many similar cultivation paths. If your young master is willing to spend money, it's easy to cultivate to the peak of Acquired."

Xiao Man tightly covered her purse: "How much money does it take to buy a cultivation path? Where do I buy it?"

Su Zhou thought for a moment: "Capital Panjiayuan midnight ghost market occasionally has them for sale. As for the price of a cultivation path, it depends on what realm the most powerful expert in this path has cultivated to. If there are only Acquired experts in this path, then this path is worth five hundred taels of silver. If there are Innate experts in this path, this path is worth three thousand taels of silver."

Xiao Man asked: "What about the Seek Dao Realm?"

Su Zhou mocked: "If someone can cultivate to the Seek Dao Realm, who would take it out and sell it for money? Someone who cultivates to the Seek Dao Realm before the age of thirty-six can live for over a hundred years. This kind of thing can't be bought with money. I advise you not to have any ideas about cultivation paths. With your young master's timid nature, he will only be eaten until nothing is left if he tries to mix in the jianghu. Okay, give me the hand warmer."

Xiao Man stuffed the copper hand warmer towards her chest and said stiffly: "You just said something that everyone in the jianghu knows. You didn't find a cultivation path for me, so it doesn't count."

Su Zhou laughed in anger: "It's a waste you're not a merchant."

Xiao Man's eyes brightened: "You feel that way too?"

Su Zhou: "...Do you think I'm praising you?"

"I'll just take it as you praising me."

Su Zhou was silent for a moment: "As a cultivator, why are you willing to be his maidservant?"

"Not willing," Xiao Man turned her head, her gaze calmly looking at Chen Ji on the horse: "I promised others that after the young master gets married and starts a family, I can leave the Chen family. At that time, I'll take a large sum of money and live incognito."

In the cold wind, the Liang Clan Escort Bureau's leader shouted: "Mengjin County city has arrived. We'll rest here today."

Chen Ji patted Zao Zao's neck. Zao Zao immediately understood, turned around, and through the biting cold wind, came to the Liang Clan Escort Bureau team.

He saw the escort leader standing beside the official road, unfolding a sheepskin map, and saying to Zhang Zhuo: "Zhang adult, we're resting in Mengjin today. The next road passes through Jiyuan, Changzhi, Licheng, Handan, Xingtai, Shimen, Baoding. If we want to arrive at the capital before the New Year, we might have to walk two more hours every day, unlike today's unhurried pace."

Zhang Zhuo's finger pointed on the sheepskin map. He narrowed his eyes and silently calculated the time: "Can your people withstand it?"

Liang Escort Head laughed happily: "This is a small matter for us. This escort trip, there are still post stations on the road where we can stay, and we can drink two mouthfuls of hot soup every day, which is very comfortable. When we escorted goods to Gansu before, we had to nest in the snow to sleep."

Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment: "How about the Taihang Mountain bandits? They won't be alarmed, right?"

Liang Escort Head cupped his hands: "Zhang adult, rest assured. My Liang Clan Escort Bureau has also fought for its reputation. When the Taihang Mountain bandits see my opener shouting escort, they won't dare to descend the mountain."

Zhang Zhuo hummed: "Okay, then follow your plan."

Liang Escort Head tucked the map into his chest and waved his hand to the guards behind: "Enter the city!"

After saying that, he took a sack from the ox cart and walked from the front of the convoy to the end. Every time he passed a guard, he would take out a string of copper coins from the sack and hand it to the other party.

This was the rule of the escort bureau. Every time they reached a place to rest, they had to issue wages once.

The reason for issuing was that if it was issued all at once, these guards could throw it all into brothels and gambling houses at once. If it was delayed, they would worry about the guards abandoning their burdens.

At this time, Chen Ji jumped down from his horse and led the reins to Zhang Zhuo's side: "Zhang adult, relying on these guards alone might not be enough. I observed a bit; besides the Liang Escort Head, the rest are not cultivators."

Zhang Zhuo nodded: "Among the young servants are twenty more Zhang family dead men. If it truly comes to a crisis, you only need to shout 'Wind Snow Thousand Mountains', and they will return to your command themselves."

He continued: "I still have one more thing to entrust to you."

"Zhang adult, please speak."

Zhang Zhuo looked into the distance: "If you truly encounter danger, I'm saying hypothetically, hypothetically, even if you can't cope, I still hope you can immediately protect Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng and escape, and don't care about the goods anymore."

Chen Ji turned his head and surveyed the long convoy: "Zhang adult is willing?"

Zhang Zhuo sneered: "Money and goods can be greedy no more; if people are no more, then they are truly no more."

"I understand," Chen Ji led Zao Zao and was about to leave.

But he heard Zhang Zhuo call out to stop him: "Chen Ji."

Chen Ji turned back: "Zhang adult, what is the matter?"

Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard: "Those words your aunt said to you this morning, you don't need to take them to heart."

Chen Ji smiled: "Zhang adult is overthinking. I have a measure in my heart."

Zhang Zhuo suddenly changed the subject: "She said those words to you because I mentioned it to her multiple times, wanting to promote the matter between you and Zhang Xia. But now I already know your feelings for the county princess. Past matters naturally do not need to be mentioned again. If you do not betray the Zhang family, the Zhang family must fully help you."

Chen Ji smiled and cupped his fist: "Many thanks, Zhang adult."

After saying that, he led the reins and walked away.

Chen Ji walked very slowly. An ox cart passed beside him. He only heard a muffled voice from one of the guards say: "Brother, we just returned to Luocheng from Ruzhou. We were staying well. Why do we have to go on this escort trip? Escort Head even said we didn't have to go on this escort trip."

Another guard leading the ox by its nose ring said calmly: "This escort trip is to the capital. When we arrive at the capital, we will part ways with the escort bureau and stay there. I heard the capital is extremely prosperous. How regretful would it be not to go and make a name for ourselves?"

When this guard passed by Chen Ji, he smiled politely and courteously at him, then against the wind, he continued to lead the ox cart and at the same time threw the copper coins he had just received to his younger brother: "Keep the copper coins safe. This is my brother's comeback in the capital."

The muffled voice guard asked: "Brother, why are you letting me manage it?"

The guard sighed: "I haven't touched a woman in two more months, brother. I'm afraid I won't be able to walk when I pass by a brothel later. Brother, I'm just this one soft spot..."

The muffled voice guard asked: "Okay, then where should I put the copper coins?"

The guard scratched his eyebrow: "Put them in the satchel on your shoulder."

"Front or back of the satchel?"

"Front."

"Oh."

In an instant, Chen Ji, who was behind the two people, looked at the backs of the two guards and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Such a familiar... feeling.