Chapter 64: Home (1)

There were various incidents, but in the end, we managed to arrive at our destination, the headquarters of Nanheng Escort Agency, with the Golden Bear Cub, despite the hardships.

Now, looking back, it really wasn't an easy journey.

'This was the most difficult escort I've ever experienced.'

The past two weeks were a continuous series of indescribable hardships. After overcoming all those difficulties and finally arriving at Nanheng Escort Agency, I couldn't help but shed tears when I saw the signboard.

"Sniff..."

When I looked around, everyone was wiping away their tears. For me and Wijian, and Peng Gui, it was just a matter of feeling relieved upon arrival, but the people of Nanheng Escort Agency were outright sobbing.

"Sniff... Sniff..."

"Uh... Uh..."

The sight of grown men crying in front of the signboard wasn't particularly good, but I couldn't blame them.

'This was the first time we had casualties on an escort.'

The people of Nanheng Escort Agency, who had lost three comrades, were weeping bitterly as soon as they saw the signboard, their sobs making even the listeners feel sad.

At first, the Qingshan Bandits attacked us, targeting our carts and horses. It wasn't a big problem, though. We lost one horse, which was a bit of a blow, but we managed to handle it somehow.

'But what came after was the real problem.'

After repelling the Qingshan Bandits, a mysterious group of assassins targeted the Golden Bear Cub.

Dealing with the assassins, who were dressed in black, was the most intense fight I've ever been in.

I, along with the Nanheng Escort Agency guards, formed a makeshift defensive formation, while Wijian and Peng Gui took the offensive role. It was like a 4-4-2 formation.

Fortunately, there weren't many high-level experts among the enemies, so we managed to gain the upper hand. However, the problem was that these assassins wouldn't back down.

'This is why ninjas are scary.'

As the number of assassins decreased due to Wijian and Peng Gui, they started using all sorts of unconventional methods to attack us, from smoke bombs to throwing flails from a distance and scattering iron caltrops on the ground to hinder our movements. They used dirty tactics to drain our stamina, regardless of their martial arts skills.

'If it weren't for Dangqi, we might have been finished.'

By the way, Dangqi is the name I gave the Golden Bear Cub. I named it that because its behavior reminded me of a dog at my grandmother's house.

Just as the assassins broke through our defenses and reached the Golden Bear Cub, the previously docile cub suddenly seemed to undergo an SSS-level awakening and attacked the assassins, breaking through our formation.

As a result, the assassins' formation completely collapsed, and we took advantage of the opportunity to eliminate them. That's how we managed to reach Nanheng Escort Agency.

'Now I can finally rest.'

As I was swallowing my tears, the Golden Bear Cub, which had been walking behind me, looked at me with a concerned expression.

"Roar..."

"You've worked hard, Dangqi."

I patted the Golden Bear Cub's head, and it purred happily.

The cart was completely destroyed, making it difficult to retrieve, but fortunately, the Golden Bear Cub walked with us without complaint. It was a very commendable cub.

As I was petting the cub, Peng Gui said, "Don't call it Dangqi."

Peng Gui also petted Dangqi's head. After all the hardships we shared, Peng Gui had become very close to Dangqi. She had also become a bit closer to me.

I shrugged and asked, "Then what should I call it?"

"Just don't call it by name. You'll get attached, and it will be hard to part with it."

"It's already too late for that."

Separation is a difficult thing, but I'm not a man who can't let go. I learned how to accept parting when I had to send away Dangqi and Sunfu, the dogs at my grandmother's house when I was young.

"Alright, let's stop crying and go in."

As I said that, everyone nodded. The leader of the escort was supposed to be someone else, but he died in the attack by the assassins, so I ended up being the de facto leader.

When we entered Nanheng Escort Agency and went to the head of the escort, he looked at us in disbelief.

"Really, where did you leave the carts and horses? And why are there so few of you?"

"There were circumstances."

The head of the escort asked for an explanation and then dismissed everyone for a rest before leading me to a hall.

"Have a cup of tea first."

"Thank you."

I took the tea offered by the head of the escort and checked to make sure it was normal. I had a previous experience that made me cautious.

'Fortunately, it's normal.'

Once you've been betrayed, you start to develop a suspicious nature. I was a bit afraid that I might have to relive this trauma every time I drink tea.

"Alright, what exactly happened? Tell me in detail."

"I'll explain."

I drank the warm tea, which I hadn't had in a long time, and recounted the events, from the Qingshan Bandits to the group of assassins.

After hearing the whole story, the head of the escort looked shocked.

"Assassins, you say?"

"Yes. I almost didn't make it."

Reflecting on it, it was a precarious battle. We were lucky. I shivered at the memory and asked, "Do you have any leads?"

"Leads?"

"Yes. The fact that assassins were involved means someone commissioned them, right?"

Assassins only act on commission. In other words, someone commissioned them to target the Golden Bear Cub.

Upon further thought, the Qingshan Bandits were also suspicious. If they had seen our experts, they should have fled, but they killed a horse and escaped.

When I asked if he had any leads, the head of the escort looked uncomfortable and said, "Well... perhaps..."

"Do you have any suspicions?"

He looked a bit flustered and said, "Not exactly a lead, but there is someone I suspect."

"Who is it?"

"Yuan Daren."

The head of the escort lowered his voice so that no one else could hear and whispered to me.

"Actually, the commission to capture the Golden Bear Cub came from Xue Daren. You know Xue Daren, right?"

"I've heard the name."

Xue Daren, also known as Xue Jingjiao, was one of the powerful figures of the time, even to someone like me who didn't care about politics.

To be honest, he's a small-minded and treacherous person, but that's beside the point. When I said I knew, the head of the escort nodded in relief and continued.

"As you know, Xue Daren's biggest rival is Yuan Daren. They had a major argument over tax policies recently, causing chaos in the court..."

"I don't know much about that."

I cut him off, thinking it would be a long story.

How would I know about your country's political landscape?

The only reason I knew Xue Daren's name was because I heard people cursing him in the market.

When I said I didn't know, the head of the escort looked disappointed and said, "Oh, really? Well... I see."

"That's not very important. More importantly..."

I cut the story short, thinking it would be a long one. I already had an idea of what it would be about—some high-ranking official's revenge leading to trouble for us.

What was more important was something else.

"Are you aware that the only daughter of the Pang family and her friend participated in this escort?"

"Yes, I know."

The head of the escort looked flustered and then seemed at a loss for words. He had figured out what I was going to say. I protested in a somewhat strong tone.

"If you knew, why didn't you plan the escort more carefully? We faced life-threatening situations multiple times."

The head of the escort fidgeted and started to make excuses in a flustered tone.

"To be honest, I never expected such things to happen. Even if Yuan Daren is Xue Daren's biggest rival, I didn't think he would go as far as to interfere with an escort..."

"If we had all died, what would your words mean then?"

I said this with a slight sneer. I couldn't just say, "Oh, well, these things happen when people do business," and leave it at that.

This required intervention from higher-ups.

I put down my teacup and said, "I will submit a formal report on this. Baiyun Escort Agency will likely contact you soon."

"..."

The head of the escort looked like he had no response to my protest.

To be fair, the head of the escort might have felt wronged. He's not the head of the national security agency; how could he have known that high-ranking officials would hire assassins and planned the escort accordingly?

But that's the nature of being a leader. After the fact, it's useless to say you were wronged or didn't know.

The head of the escort bowed his head and apologized.

"I'm sorry. And thank you for your hard work. Our preparations were inadequate."

"Then I will take my leave. You can get a detailed report from the other guards."

"Alright."

The head of the escort will have a lot to do to clean up this mess. I left the hall after getting my revenge on that strange drink from before.

***

After stopping by the Sichuan branch to drop off the items and finish up some tasks, it was already night.

As soon as I finished, I went to see Dangqi to say goodbye.

'This is the last day.'

Tomorrow, Dangqi would be sent to the client. I planned to give it all the honey cookies I had saved and play with it for a while.

The Golden Bear Cub was gnawing on a bamboo stick when it saw me and purred happily.

"Roar!"

"Hey, did you have a good time?"

I petted the cub and took out the honey cookies from my pocket to give it. As soon as it saw the cookies, the cub threw the bamboo stick away and gnawed on the cookies with a blissful expression.

'You little rascal.'

For some reason, its cute behavior made me pet it again. I was a bit worried about its appearance, but it was very affectionate, so I thought it would do well.

"Be good to the princess."

"Roar!"

"Right. Just keep being affectionate, and you'll be loved."

I could feel that its fur was a bit damaged from the long journey. I reached into the cage and used the scissors I had brought to trim its fur. After styling it a bit, it looked much better.

"You look good, rascal."

Then, I spent a long time looking at the moon with Dangqi. Looking at the round moon in the sky, I felt a bit emotional.

Hmm. It feels a bit wasteful to just sit here.

Feeling a bit emotional for the first time in a while, I thought it was a good opportunity and stood up to say to the Golden Bear Cub.

"Hey, Dangqi. I'll sing you a great song."

"Roar?"

"It's a song from our country."

I cleared my throat, preparing to sing. I realized I had never sung a song since coming to the martial arts world. So, this would be the first time I sang for someone in this world.

"Alright. Ah, um..."

As I was clearing my throat, the Golden Bear Cub looked at me expectantly from inside the cage.

It might not go well since it's been a while.

I slowly built up my emotions and started to sing.

"If only..."

As I was singing for Dangqi, I heard someone say from a distance, "What kind of voice is that..."

"Are you going...? Oh, Miss Pang?"

"What are you doing? You're going to wake everyone up at this hour."

It was Peng Gui. She was holding a bundle of something in her hands. Seeing this, I asked curiously, "I'm just singing to Dangqi. What's that?"

"Oh, these are cookies for Dangqi... I mean, the Golden Bear Cub."

She unfolded the bundle to show me, and it contained various sweets, from rice cakes to mooncakes and honey cookies.

Peng Gui showed me the bundle and started to give the cookies to Dangqi one by one while asking me, "I couldn't understand what you were singing, but is it a song from your hometown?"

"Something like that."

It's a song from my hometown that's hard to hear now. Peng Gui paused for a moment and then asked, "Why does your voice sound like that? It sounds like you have a sore throat."

"Ahem."

I quit smoking three years ago.

This is why smoking is a problem.

"If you had heard more, it would have sounded different. I'm a master of falsetto, you see."

"Alright, forget it. I actually had something to talk to you about, so this is good timing."

"What is it?"

Peng Gui cut me off and said this. I was a bit tense, wondering what she was going to say, and petted Dangqi. Peng Gui looked at me and then said after a pause, "It's about Lian."

"Miss Wei?"

"Yes. Lian wants to join Baiyun Escort Agency."

I nodded, understanding what she meant.

"Oh, I see. I recommended it. Are you against it?"

I was a bit tense, thinking she might ask me to talk her out of it. However, Peng Gui shook her head.

"No, I just wanted to ask you to take good care of her. I'll ask Bai Feng as well, but I think you, as a fellow guard, will take better care of her than someone from above."

"Of course, I will."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Peng Gui sat down next to me, looking relieved. I took a honey cookie from the bundle and chewed it while asking, "But are you okay with Miss Wei working at Baiyun Escort Agency?"

Peng Gui had a peculiar expression. It was the kind of look you get when you realize something inevitable.

"I've noticed that Lian wants to leave our house."

"Is there a reason?"

"It's because of my brother."

So, there was something like that in the Pang family.

"Is there something between your brother and her?"

"Actually, Father really cares for Lian and thought about marrying her to my brother. But for Lian, it's a very awkward consideration. You see..."

The thought of Wei Jilian marrying into the Pang family made me feel uncomfortable. It was probably because of the cheap honey cookies. If she was going to marry, she should at least marry someone better.

But why is it an awkward consideration?

"Why is that?"

"Lian wants to revive the Wei family. To do that, she needs to bring in a son-in-law, but if she marries my brother, that won't be possible. My brother is the eldest son and can't be a son-in-law in another family."

I nodded, agreeing with Peng Gui.

To continue the Wei family, which has been destroyed, Wei Jilian needs to bring in a son-in-law. But if she marries the eldest son of the Pang family, that won't be possible.

The eldest son of the Pang family needs to continue the Pang family.

"Also, that person is... well, a bit of a weirdo. Lian can't marry a weirdo."

"..."

If Peng Gui considers him a weirdo, I wonder what kind of weirdo he is. Peng Gui continued, "But Lian seems to feel a bit of a moral debt to our family, so I was worried she might end up marrying that weirdo."

"I see."

I recalled a conversation I had with Wei Jilian before. Despite everything, Peng Gui was a good friend to her.

"So, going to Baiyun Escort Agency is good, but I'm a bit worried. Being a guard is tough."

"This kind of escort is actually quite rare."

Guards don't always go on such hardcore escorts. If they