Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

The next day.

Ye Ci got up early and went out for a walk first.

Sure enough, I saw the peddler again.

To be precise, the goods on the carrying pole were still the same, but the peddler had changed. This time, it was a man with a full beard who stared at Ye Ci for a while and looked him over repeatedly.

Then nothing happened.

Ye Ci observed secretly and confirmed that this person was not following him, but seemed to be keeping watch in this place.

After returning to the martial arts school and tidying up, they headed to the Ping An Escort Agency.

Dressed in a black outfit, carrying a bow and a sword, he looked refreshed and energetic after changing his clothes.

The knife was borrowed from Jiang Ding'an; weapons cost money and are not cheap.

I need to make money.

We arrived at the security escort agency.

The two heavy, vermilion-lacquered doors were wide enough to allow three horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side. The door knockers were made of brass and polished to a high shine, so bright that they made one's eyes dizzy when the sunlight shone on them.

On either side of the main gate are tall white walls, topped with blue tiles. Inside is a spacious courtyard with smooth bluestone slabs on the ground.

On the right side of the courtyard stood a straight flagpole, several meters high, with the flag fluttering in the wind. The four large characters "Ping An Escort Agency" were written on it in vigorous strokes.

Under his command, more than a dozen bodyguards gathered together, all dressed in the gray uniforms of a security escort agency.

The leader, dressed in a black bodyguard uniform, was named Jiang Qian. He was Jiang Ding'an's uncle, and had been briefed on the matter yesterday. Upon seeing Ye Ci, he nodded in acknowledgment.

"A newcomer has arrived today. The young镖头 (bodyguard/escort) said he has the skills of Ming Jin (a martial arts technique), but you older folks should also teach him what to do on the road."

"Let me mention a few points first: First, don't leave the group unnecessarily on the road; second, don't touch food offered by strangers..."

Jiang Qian rattled off a string of rules as soon as he opened his mouth, clearly indicating that he was an experienced veteran.

In a security escort agency, the chief escort is the person in charge. Since the Ping An Security Escort Agency is a family business, several elders of the Jiang family are chief escorts, and they discuss matters together. Therefore, Jiang Qian can also be considered the chief escort.

Below the chief镖头 (chief镖头) are the ordinary镖头 (chief镖头), who are highly skilled in martial arts, have a good reputation in the martial arts world, and are responsible for coordinating routes and commanding the镖队 (镖队).

Below the head镖师 (镖头,镖师) are the镖师 (镖师), who are the assistants responsible for protection and combat.

Next in line are the ordinary escorts, responsible for calling out the escort signal, scouting the way, and so on. Generally, anyone who enters a security escort agency is an escort.

But Jiang Qian pulled Ye Ci to his side. Both of them were dressed in black, and it was clear that they were being groomed to be镖头 (bodyguards).

When everyone present heard that Ye Ci had mastered Ming Jin, and seeing how young he was, they all showed kind smiles.

Don't be fooled by the fact that everyone is a镖师 (bodyguard/escort). In the镖局 (escort agency), someone with Ming Jin (明劲) can become a镖头 (head镖师), while only Jiang Ding'an and his father have An Jin (暗劲). If there's a really important job, the镖局 has to ask the martial arts school for help.

"Young Brother Ye, I'll personally guide you on this trip. You can call me Uncle Jiang normally."

As the chief镖头 (chief镖师, a term referring to bodyguards or镖师 in Chinese), Jiang Qian rarely went out in person. This trip was to bring Ye Ci along.

"Thank you, Uncle Jiang." Ye Ci cupped his hands in thanks.

"Haha... What are you thanking me for! If you fail to pass the test and need to make a living, just come to my escort agency. From now on, we're all family, so don't be so formal."

He said that his failure to pass the test was not malicious, because he had also failed before.

As soon as the two sentences were uttered, Ye Ci felt that they were indeed from the Jiang family, with their swearing inherited from one another.

"The escort agency isn't all about fighting and killing; it's all about human relationships and social interactions. You don't need to worry about your safety; there will be very few times when you need to take action."

"This trip is considered short, but the goods are more expensive, so we've sent a lot of people. We'll be back in about seven or eight days. But the pay is also high; excluding rice and meat, you'll get at least eight taels of silver."

The escort agency's short-distance trips take seven or eight days, while the long ones can take up to three months.

Eight taels of silver is not a small amount; it can last for one tael of silver a day. This price is already the maximum for Ye Ci, who is new to the area.

Jiang Qian continued, "Don't worry, my nephew told me that you practice martial arts very diligently every day, so we can't let it interfere with your training. The main purpose of this trip is to familiarize you with the escort process. In the future, I will have the head manager arrange bodyguard missions for you that can be completed on the same day."

The head manager is in charge of logistics, and his subordinates are usually accountants, errand boys, and shop assistants.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Jiang."

Ye Ci felt the goodwill of the escort agency and naturally bowed to express his gratitude.

"Let's go! We won't waste any more time. By the way, do we catch the train?"

"meeting!"

"Then come ride with me, I'll enjoy myself..."

"Okay."

The escort team set off and raised their large flag.

The caravan was led by mounted bodyguards at the front and back, with a caravan of goods in the middle. Ye Ci's carriage was traveling in the middle, carrying a load of goods.

The team moved smoothly and quickly.

Around noon, the group rested by the mountainside, eating and drinking. Ye Ci also took the opportunity to practice his stance training for a while.

"Good lad! Not bad, you're hardworking enough..."

Jiang Qian gave him a thumbs up.

The group traveled along the official roads, stopping almost constantly. The only places they needed to stop were the checkpoints set up by the government, where the escort agency had to make some concessions.

Fortunately, the escort agencies all had connections with the government, so the bribes were just a small amount of money.

As dusk fell, we passed another checkpoint.

After Jiang Qian got into the car, he muttered something to Ye Ci:

"There weren't so many checkpoints before, but now the world is in a bit of chaos, with many refugees and bandits, so the government has set up checkpoints at every level."

Ye Ci nodded: "I heard before that there were many refugees and bandits outside the county, but the area I've traveled through is desolate, and there aren't many people."

"Not many people..."

Jiang Qian laughed heartily, patting the carriage rafters and saying, "We've already passed four groups of bandits today. They're all brothers I know from the road, so I didn't bother them when I saw the escort agency's flag."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ci immediately laughed. He had also noticed that people occasionally darted through the woods.

"Our Ping An Escort Agency is quite well-known not only in Songjiang County, but also in the entire Yizhou Prefecture. We have brothers and friends in various gangs and factions. Ordinary bandits won't provoke us. Usually, it's those small fry who have just joined the bandits who dare to mess with us without knowing our strength."

As he spoke, Jiang Qian exuded a certain pride.

Over the next few days, the roadside became much more desolate and dilapidated. Occasionally, one could see some farmers dressed in tattered clothes. Compared to Songjiang County, these places were so poor that it was impossible to survive.

Fortunately, everything is stable.

The only danger was encountering a pack of dogs on the road—yes, a pack of dogs with bloodshot eyes. It took shooting more than a dozen of them to disperse the pack.

"Look, these days the wild animals in the mountains have been almost all hunted down by the starving people, but these cannibalistic dogs are left unattended."

Jiang Qian grumbled, "Even the weakest animals become trouble when they're in groups..."

"Are there hordes of starving people?" Ye Ci asked casually.

Jiang Qian's expression darkened, and he said, "Ahead lies the Heavenly Mother Sect's refugee camp. It's too large for us to bypass, and we must be careful on the road. Even with the Heavenly Mother Sect's influence, we still need to be extra cautious when setting up camp tonight..."

"Tianmu is fine."

A bodyguard happened to pass by on patrol and chimed in, "She goes around begging for alms for starving people. The old, weak, sick, and disabled can get food as long as they recite scriptures with her."

"What scriptures are we supposed to memorize?" Ye Ci asked, puzzled. "Will we get food if we memorize them?"

The bodyguard laughed and said, "I don't know what scriptures you memorize, but people say that if you memorize scriptures, you will be reborn as a high-ranking official in your next life."