Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

Chapter 54 Change

Under the locust tree, Chen Jianghe and Su Derong stood facing each other, neither of them speaking.

Only the occasional barking of dogs and the faint sound of the night watchman's clapper pierced the darkness, appearing exceptionally clear.

"Let's go." Su Derong finally spoke, his eyes still showing weariness. "There's still a mess to clean up at the escort agency."

Chen Jianghe nodded: "Take care, senior brother."

Su Derong smirked, patted Chen Jianghe on the shoulder, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

As he reached the door, he paused, but without turning around, he simply waved his hand and said, "Junior Brother, you too."

The figure disappeared into the darkness outside the door.

Chen Jianghe stood there, staring at the empty courtyard gate, for a long time.

Only when the night wind whipped up fallen leaves and lashed his face did he slowly turn around and walk toward his own courtyard.

The main hall of the Su Family Escort Agency was brightly lit.

The oil lamp wick was deliberately turned up a bit brighter, its dim light barely dispelling the shadows in the corners and illuminating seven or eight tables in the hall, some solemn, some...

Their faces were either tired or still tinged with resentment.

Su Derong sat in the main seat.

He had changed out of his moon-white silk shirt and into an indigo bodyguard's uniform, no longer displaying any of his former ostentatious air.

"Gentlemen."

Su Derong's gaze swept over the crowd below the steps, and he slowly said, "Everyone has witnessed what happened today. If it weren't for Master's desperate protection and Junior Brother Jiang He's righteous assistance, the reputation of my Su Family Escort Agency would have been ruined by now. And my life, Su Derong's life, would probably be over here."

He paused, his voice revealing a suppressed hoarseness: "I will remember this blood debt."

Zhou Yong suddenly looked up, his eyes red-rimmed: "Young Master—"

Su Derong waved his hand, interrupting him: "But just remembering is useless. We must avenge our grudges, but life must go on. The escort agency cannot collapse; if it does, we will be letting down our fallen brothers and those who are still alive."

He took out the ledger from his pocket, unfolded it, and, by the lamplight, said word by word: "From today onwards, the Su Family Escort Agency will do three things."

"First, all long-distance escort routes are suspended."

These words caused an uproar among the crowd.

"What?!" Zhou Yong jumped to his feet, the movement aggravating his left arm wound, causing him to grimace in pain. "Young Master, long-distance escort missions are risky, but the profits are high! If we stop—"

"What's the use of profits if we're dead?" Su Derong looked at him sharply. "The long escort route is fraught with obstacles: the Green Dragon Gang has set up roadblocks, bandits are rampant, and several families in the inner city are eyeing us covetously. With our current manpower, we simply can't get through. Forcing our way through is just suicide, giving the Zhao family and other envious people ammunition!"

Zhao Tieshan was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Young Master is right. There are too many people watching us outside these days. Long-distance escorts are too conspicuous and prone to accidents. It would be better to scale back."

Su Derong continued, "Not only will long-distance escort services be suspended. Starting tomorrow, the two warehouses of the escort agency in the west of the city, the three shops on East Street, and—all the unused antiques, paintings, and redundant furniture in my Su family ancestral home will be pawned."

These words shocked everyone in the hall.

Sell ​​off ancestral property?

This was something Su Derong would never have said in the past.

The once extravagant and ostentatious young gang leader, Su, is now pawning things from his ancestral home.

Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Su Derong twitched the corners of his mouth, a self-deprecating smile mixed with a resolute air: "Give me the silver, and I'll do three things. First, the compensation for the fallen brothers will be doubled, and it must be delivered to their families before dawn today. Second, the escort agency will cover all medical expenses for the seriously wounded brothers until they recover. Third, the remainder will be used as capital for the agency's restructuring."

"Young Master!" Wang Gui abruptly stood up. "How can this be? That's ancestral property!"

"Our ancestral property is gone, but we can earn it back." Su Derong's voice was calm, yet carried a resolute air. "Once people are gone, everything is gone. The proceeds from the sale should be used first to cover the shortfall in compensation. The families of the five brothers who died in battle today must be properly taken care of, and their monthly allowances of rice, grain, and silver must be paid on time and in full until their children reach adulthood. For the wounded brothers, not a penny should be missing for their medicine and allowance during their recovery period."

He looked around at everyone and said, word by word, "The escort agency can go bankrupt, but we cannot let the brothers who risk their lives for us bleed and then lose heart."

Silence fell over the hall once more. This time, however, the silence was not filled with grief and indignation, but with a complex and intense emotion.

Wang Gui's eyes reddened, and he sat back down heavily, turning his face away.

Zhou Yong rubbed his eyes hard.

Zhao Tieshan took a deep breath, and his back seemed to straighten up a bit.

Su Derong took in everyone's reactions, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.

He knew he had made the right move.

In chaotic times, money and property are fleeting; the hearts of the people are the true foundation.

"The third change," he said, his voice softening but becoming more solemn, "is ourselves."

He stood up, walked into the hall, and his gaze swept over every face again: "I, Su Derong, used to be carefree and indulge in pleasure. I always thought of relying on my family and my master when things happened. I am not a qualified young gang leader, much less a leader who can lead everyone to carve out a way to survive in this chaotic world."

He paused, then said with utmost sincerity, "Today, I apologize to everyone."

As he spoke, he actually clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed deeply to the crowd.

"Young Master!" Everyone hurriedly stood up, at a loss for what to do.

Su Derong straightened up, his face devoid of its former frivolity, replaced only by a do-or-die spirit: "From tonight onwards, I will never set foot in a brothel again. I will personally oversee all affairs of the escort agency. I will find ways to recruit skilled guards for the vacant positions, but my greatest hope is that our own people can improve their skills as quickly as possible!"

Finally, his gaze returned to everyone's faces: "Gentlemen, the reputation of the Su Family Escort Agency was earned by my grandfather with every punch and kick, and painstakingly maintained by my father and uncle. Now that it has been passed down to me, I cannot let it fall, much less let it be tarnished! I, Su Derong, will remember today's humiliation and danger. But merely remembering is useless; we must become stronger, and we must reclaim everything we have lost, one by one!"

He paused, then his voice suddenly surged with unprecedented fervor: "This road is difficult; there may be bloodshed, there may be death. But I, Su Derong, hereby declare: From now on, as the caravan moves forward, I will be at the front! If swords and spears are drawn, I will be before you all! If anyone falls, I will be the first to fall!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a long silence, Zhou Yong was the first to kneel on one knee, clasp his hands in a fist and roar, "I am willing to follow the young master to rebuild the escort agency, regardless of life or death!"

"I am willing to follow the young master to rebuild the escort agency, regardless of life or death!"

Wang Gui, Zhao Tieshan, and others followed closely behind, bowing down one after another.

Although the voice was low, it gathered into a deep and firm force, echoing heavily in the night.

"Disperse." Su Derong waved his hand. "Tomorrow's drill, assemble on time."

The crowd bowed and then withdrew in turn.

Su Derong was the only one left in the courtyard.

He stood under the eaves in the lamplight, looking up at the dart flag planted in front of the screen wall.

The flag fluttered in the night wind, and the golden character "Su" flickered in the dim light.

After a long while, he slowly reached out and took out the folding fan from his pocket.

He gripped it tightly, then loosened it, and finally unfolded it with a "snap".

The fan bears two lines of poetry, which he commissioned from a renowned scholar in the city at great expense: "In youth, I disregard kings and nobles, carrying wine and singing in the Jade Pavilion."

Su Derong stared at those two lines of text for a long time.

Then he flipped his wrist, and with the fan facing down, he tore it in two with a "rip".

The broken fan fell silently and was casually tossed into the shadows under a nearby stone bench.

He turned around and walked out of the main hall without looking back.