That night, Xu Xian ultimately said nothing more, nor did he attempt to silence Ye Wen permanently. Perhaps knowing he couldn't easily kill Ye Wen, Xu Xian acted as if nothing had happened, standing still until dawn broke.

Seeing Xu Xian fall silent, Ye Wen returned to his room for a brief rest. He only emerged the next morning to find Xu Xian still standing in the same spot, seemingly gazing absently towards the distant outline of Shushan County.

"Does his heart still cling to this home?"

Ye Wen had no chance to confirm the accuracy of his guess. After the sun rose, the two descended the mountain together, then parted ways to rest where they needed to be. Ye Wen headed for the Yueshan Escort Agency, while Xu Xian intended to sneak back home.

From that day forward, the two did not meet again until the day of departure. Ye Wen simply remained at the Yueshan Escort Agency, focusing on quiet cultivation. Except for the occasional brief exchange with the Chief Escort Yue Hang, he rarely engaged in conversation with others.

Consequently, until the departure date, many of the talents Yue Hang had hired with his money were unaware that Ye Wen was counted among the guards escorting the convoy south.

Many who had not witnessed Ye Wen striking Yu Dahai and sending him flying were quite puzzled, asking their companions: "Who is that boy? Is he a junior relative of Chief Escort Yue?"

Most assumed Ye Wen was a nephew or younger kin of Yue Hang, brought along specifically to gain experience in the outside world. Only a select few who had seen the fight secretly whispered to the crowd: "Don't speak carelessly; that is a master the Chief Escort specifically invited."

"A master? How great can a mere boy be? I could send him flying with one palm strike," declared some who were overly confident in their own martial skills, especially casting deep scorn upon Ye Wen's conspicuously slender physique.

However, these boasts only earned them scorn from others: "You? Can you even defeat Deputy Chief Yu of the Six Palm Gang?"

The speaker paused. Though he didn't grasp the full implication of the question, he dutifully replied, "Deputy Chief Yu is a recognized expert in Shushan County; how could I compare myself to him?"

The person mocking him adopted an air of knowing superiority, sneering, "That young hero sent Deputy Chief Yu flying and vomiting blood with just a single palm strike, leaving him with serious internal injuries. He's still recuperating at the headquarters now. If you were to offend that young hero and end up heavily injured, don't say your brothers didn't warn you first." With that, he refused to look at the man again, as if prolonged contact might turn him into the same kind of fool.

Many who were unaware of Ye Wen's background finally understood the rumors of Yu Dahai being injured a few days prior, and realized why the Chief Escort had kept the young man near him and near the person they were protecting, Xu Xian.

As for the man who had initially spoken so boastfully, upon hearing this account, he realized he had nearly offended someone untouchable. He instinctively drew his neck in, then furtively glanced at the unremarkable body, shuddering: "Good heavens, that boy is that formidable? Does he really possess such strength?"

"You thick-headed oaf, don't you know what internal cultivation is? He is a true master who understands Neigong. He is not in the same league as us small fry who only know some flashy parlor tricks," an onlooker with slightly more insight finally couldn't bear it any longer. "To be precise, Shushan County has very few people who genuinely qualify as martial artists. Even Yu Dahai would look like a street performer showing off cheap tricks in the eyes of true masters."

"Is that so? I wonder where this young fellow learned his internal cultivation. Perhaps I could learn some too?"

The surrounding crowd was utterly fed up with this fellow. Upon hearing this, most merely rolled their eyes, thinking to themselves: You? Even if a divine manual were placed before you, you probably couldn't learn it. Still dreaming of learning internal arts? Things as profound as Neigong—is that something someone like you can grasp? If anyone were to learn, it should be me...

Such idle chatter gradually subsided as the convoy traveled farther, everyone beginning to conserve every ounce of energy for the journey itself.

Although the convoy possessed carriages and horses, the number of people actually utilizing these superior modes of transport was minuscule.

Only Chief Escort Yue Hang and his capable second-in-command, the middle-aged man Gongsun Mu who had stood beside him during the earlier duel, rode on horseback.

Xu Xian and one of his personal page boys sat in a carriage. The other carriage was yielded to Master Liu Qingfeng and his disciple from the Tiger Mountain Sect.

Originally, Yue Hang intended to arrange a horse for Ye Wen, but since Ye Wen couldn't ride, Xu Xian invited him to share a carriage, solving the problem of Ye Wen's means of travel.

However, Ye Wen did not sit inside the carriage compartment; instead, he sat beside the driver. He claimed the vantage point offered a better view, allowing him to observe the surrounding environment along the route.

Xu Xian didn't comment on Ye Wen's choice, merely saying that if he grew tired, he should come inside to rest. Ye Wen smiled and agreed.

Though he had agreed readily, in his heart, he was determined never to enter. This was because, within the entire convoy, he alone understood Xu Xian’s underlying scheme. What if Xu Xian, fearing Ye Wen might interfere with his plans, decided to drug him and eliminate this variable first?

To avoid such unfortunate occurrences, Ye Wen felt it was safer to remain where everyone could see him. Furthermore, this positioning allowed him to 'protect' Xu Xian to a certain degree, preventing his eighty taels of silver from going to waste.

"Young Master Xu, if you truly intend to run away from home, please do so after we safely reach Jiangzhou," for his own sake, Ye Wen could only continuously pray that Xu Xian wouldn't suffer some bizarre disappearance midway. If that happened, this escort mission for the Yueshan Escort Agency would be considered a failure. Not only would the entire commission have to be returned, but there would likely be substantial penalties (though no amount of money could compensate for losing a living person). In that case, his own remuneration would vanish along with it.

He certainly did not wish to travel all the way to Jiangzhou only to earn a paltry twenty taels; he might as well have stayed near Shushan County to shake down some bandits for a bit of easy money.

Perhaps it was Ye Wen's intense desire to shake down bandits that prompted fate, for only one day after the convoy set out, while Yue Hang and Gongsun Mu were conferring about where to camp for the night, a band of men suddenly charged out from the front. There were quite a number of them, each wielding a sword, spear, club, or staff. As soon as they appeared, they roared: "Hand over anything valuable and be gone quickly. I’m in a good mood today and don't want to see blood."

Another man shouted in support: "Today we only seek wealth, we won't take lives. If you people are sensible, quickly lay down your silver and goods and leave!"

Seeing this scene, Yue Hang’s face turned exceptionally grim, as he recognized the group blocking the road as a rather powerful local gang of brigands. Normally, these bandits wouldn't dare rob an escort mission protected by the Yueshan Escort Agency. However, this particular mission was of immense importance. Yue Hang and Gongsun Mu had neglected the usual procedures for escorting goods; in fact, they hadn't even displayed the agency's banner. Who knew that their attempt at keeping a low profile would attract even these petty thieves?

It was truly the bandits' bad luck. Usually, when they spotted a Yueshan Escort Agency convoy, they kept their distance. But this group displayed no banner and gave no identifying signals. They couldn't even spot any familiar faces among the subordinates making inspections—this happened precisely when Yue Hang and Gongsun Mu were huddled together discussing a campsite.

Although many people in the group clearly looked like hired guards, the presence of guards only indicated rich spoils. If seeing guards made them afraid to act, they shouldn't be in the very promising profession of banditry and should go home to farm instead.

The gang of bandits swaggered into the road, expecting the people opposite to scatter like birds and beasts, or perhaps send someone out to negotiate a toll for passage.

The bandit leader decided that if the price they named was satisfactory, he would let the convoy pass unimpeded. After all, having guaranteed money delivered right to them, there was no need to risk a bloody fight.

What he hadn't anticipated was running into a tough nut today. While Yue Hang was still fuming that such lowlifes dared to shout down his presence, some unknown fellow burst out from the escort ranks, roaring: "If you want this old man's money, you'll have to prove you have the skill!"

At those words, the surrounding escorts immediately responded in kind, shouting things like, "If you want money, send your sister over to get it!" and "If your sister can pleasure this master comfortably, I wouldn't mind tossing you a small reward!" The insults targeting the relatives of the bandits were continuous, utterly debasing any woman associated with them.

Ye Wen, sitting in the carriage, heard the varied and strange torrent of abuse and muttered to himself: "This is even dirtier than a brawl among local ruffians... hardly the bearing of chivalrous figures walking the Jianghu."

But then he reconsidered: most of the people in this group, though claiming to be martial artists, had never even left Shushan County. Weren't they essentially the same as local thugs? In that case, their current behavior was hardly surprising.

Near him, Yue Hang’s expression grew even darker upon seeing this spectacle. He knew the caliber of the men he hired was merely average, but he hadn't expected their character to be so vile. Now, he wondered if hiring so many people had been the right choice.

As for Liu Qingfeng's two disciples, they looked upon this group with even greater disdain. In their eyes, these men were scarcely different from the bandits opposite them; the only distinction was that, for the moment, they were on the same side.

Surprisingly, Xu Xian, the person being protected, emerged from the carriage, observing the two groups of burly men glaring at each other while armed, and sighed with a strange sense of wonder: "A hundred men standing in the middle of the road, shouting insults at each other—how spectacular!"

Hearing this, Ye Wen nearly tumbled headfirst off the carriage seat.