Chapter 69: The Escort Agency

The Miao Miao Mountain Villa was indeed far away. The carriage left the city gate and traveled east for nearly the time it takes to burn an incense stick before stopping in front of a straight road. The three people got off the carriage.

Qiu Tong pointed to the road and said, "If you go further, after the road, you will reach the Miao Miao Mountain Villa. I can't go any further. I live in the Huan Xi Mountain Villa. You can visit me if you have the chance."

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu said some words of thanks, and then Qiu Tong got back into the carriage. The carriage turned around and slowly headed back. Qiu Tong waved to the two from the carriage as a farewell.

The Zhang brothers looked at the wide, straight road and the huge trees beside it, feeling a sense of solemnity. They took a deep breath and walked forward with large steps.

After a short while, they saw a tall archway in the distance. As they got closer, they could clearly see the large characters "Miao Miao" on the archway, which were exactly the same as those on the token.

The hearts of the two brothers beat even faster, as they could see hope just ahead.

Under the archway, several people stood straight with their swords, and one person was patrolling around, probably the leader. It was noon, and under the sunlight, only the Zhang brothers were walking on the road. They had naturally seen the two long ago. Seeing the two still walking forward, the person stepped forward, raised his right hand to stop them, and looked at them for a long time before asking, "Please stop, ahead is our gang's important area."

Zhang Xiaohu stepped forward, clasped his hands, and asked, "Excuse me, is this the Miao Miao Mountain Villa?"

The person looked at Zhang Xiaohu with suspicion and replied, "Yes, it is the Miao Miao Mountain Villa."

Zhang Xiaohu said happily, "Great, we are looking for the Miao Miao Mountain Villa."

The person took a step back, alert, and asked, "Excuse me, what business do you have here, friend?"

Zhang Xiaohu said, "We are here to learn martial arts from the Miao Miao Sect."

The person was stunned, as if he had seen something funny, and looked at Zhang Xiaohu. The guards who had been standing straight beside him also looked at the two with strange expressions.

Zhang Xiaohua asked curiously, "What's wrong? We are from Luzhen and want to learn martial arts."

The person couldn't help but laugh, holding his stomach and pointing at the two, saying, "Learn martial arts? You two? Hahaha, ha ha ha~"

The guards also laughed so hard that some of them bent over, and a few even sat on the ground, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

The Zhang brothers didn't understand why everyone was laughing, so they stood there obediently, waiting for them to finish. Then they asked cautiously, "Why are you laughing?"

This question caused another round of laughter. However, after they laughed again, the leader said, "You two are just poor souls attracted by the legends of the martial world."

Then, he waved his hand and said, "The Miao Miao Sect has already recruited disciples recently and is not accepting any more. You should go home."

Zhang Xiaohua was anxious and said, "We came from Luzhen, spent several days traveling, and spent a lot of silver. How can you just tell us to go home?"

Zhang Xiaohu was also stunned. He hadn't thought about it before coming, assuming that he could learn martial arts once he arrived, but now he found out that they were not recruiting disciples. What should they do?

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohu had an idea and said to the leader, "Brother, I know your sect's Wen Wenhai, the great hero. Can you take us to see him?"

The leader looked at him and said, "We do have a Wen Wenhai in our sect, but knowing his name doesn't mean you know him."

Zhang Xiaohu, hearing this, felt there was a chance and said, "Just say we are the Zhang brothers from Luzhen. I believe he will remember us."

The leader said, "Unfortunately, even if you know Wen Wenhai, I can't take you to see him because he is not in the villa."

Zhang Xiaohu was disappointed. At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua interjected, "What about Lu Yueming, the great hero?"

The leader said, "You know a lot, but Lu Yueming is also not in the villa. There's nothing we can do. Even if you know them, they won't let you learn martial arts. You should go back and live a good life farming at home."

The leader had sharp eyes and had already seen through their peasant backgrounds.

The Zhang brothers wanted to say more, but the leader said, "This is the entrance to the Miao Miao Mountain Villa, where strangers are not allowed to approach or make noise. It's a sensitive time, and I shouldn't be talking to you so much. You should stop纠缠 and leave early."

The two brothers were very disappointed and had no choice but to walk away dejectedly.

At this moment, one of the guards on duty whispered to the leader, "Boss, these two mentioned several of our core disciples' names. Could they really know them? Although learning martial arts is a joke, if the leaders find out that people they know came to see them and we drove them away, wouldn't that offend them?"

The leader pondered for a moment. Another guard said, "I heard the Lotus Escort Agency is recruiting. Let them try. If they fail, they will go home, and if the leaders find out, we can say we gave them a chance, so it won't be our fault."

The leader's eyes lit up and said, "That's a good point. You have a smart head."

After saying this, he quickly caught up with the Zhang brothers who had just walked a short distance and shouted, "Brothers, wait a moment."

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu were walking dejectedly and stopped when they heard someone calling them. They asked, "What, are you letting us in?"

The leader smiled and said, "No, you can't go in. But since you two are here to learn martial arts, I can give you a suggestion."

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu's eyes lit up, and they asked together, "What is it?"

The leader said, "There's a Lotus Escort Agency in Pingyang City. They are currently recruiting. You can try there. If you are accepted, someone will teach you martial arts."

The two brothers realized that this was where Shangguan Yun and Yu Lun had gone. It seemed that what Yu Lun had said was true. They had been so focused on coming to the Miao Miao Mountain Villa that they had forgotten about the Lotus Escort Agency. It seemed they had to settle for a second choice today.

The two brothers quickly thanked the leader for his advice and asked for detailed directions to the Lotus Escort Agency before waving goodbye.

It was already mid-afternoon, and the sun was high. The food they had eaten in the morning had long been digested. Zhang Xiaohua was so hungry that his stomach was touching his back, and Zhang Xiaohu wasn't much better. Fortunately, there were scattered houses in front of the Miao Miao Mountain Villa, and many people were making a living there. The two brothers found a small shop and ate a little.

On the way there, they had traveled by carriage, so even though it was far, they didn't feel too bored because they had someone to talk to. On the way back, it was just the two of them, and they chatted intermittently. The shady spots were fine, but when they were exposed to the sun, it was truly unbearable. The road from the Miao Miao Mountain Villa to Pingyang City wasn't heavily traveled, and those who did travel it were either on horseback or in carriages, all in a hurry and not paying attention to the two brothers walking on the side of the road.

By the time the two brothers reached the outskirts of Pingyang City, they were drenched in sweat. However, seeing the outline of the city gate, they immediately perked up and quickened their pace.

Fortunately, the Lotus Escort Agency was near the city gate and easy to find. Before long, the two brothers arrived at a large gate.

This was a very large gate, with two lion statues in front, one on each side, making it look very grand. A black plaque hung above the gate with four golden characters. Zhang Xiaohua recognized the second character "flower," so it was probably "Lotus Escort Agency."

There were also a few people standing at the gate, but they were dressed in plain clothes and did not have swords or knives. The two brothers climbed the steps, and immediately, someone came forward. He looked at their attire and frowned slightly but still smiled and asked, "Excuse me, brothers, are you here to join the guard or to send an escort?"

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohu had heard about the escort agency from Yu Lun and didn't make a fool of himself. He clasped his hands and said, "We are here to learn martial arts at the Lotus Escort Agency."

The person looked Zhang Xiaohu up and down, nodded, and said, "Please wait a moment."

Then, he called out, "Xiao Si, come and take these two to the side room. They are here to learn martial arts."

A smart and slender servant responded and ran over, leading the Zhang brothers into the gate.

Inside the gate was a large courtyard. On one side of the courtyard were various weapons, and in the corner were some stone locks and other items. The sun was still very strong, and there was no one in the courtyard, probably because the martial artists were still resting.

The servant led the Zhang brothers to a row of houses on the right side of the courtyard, stopped at the second door, and knocked gently. After a while, a hoarse voice from inside asked, "Who is it? Come in."

The servant pushed the door open and led the Zhang brothers into the room. The room looked like a study, with a desk behind which sat a man in his forties, dressed as a scholar, with a sleepy look, as if he had just woken up from a nap.

Being disturbed from his nap, the man was not very happy. He looked at the group and asked, "Xiao Si, what's the matter?"

The servant quickly smiled and said, "Sir Wen, these two are here to learn martial arts. Please arrange for them."

Sir Wen waved his hand and said, "I know, you can go."

The servant smiled and said, "Thank you, Sir Wen. I'll leave now."

Then, he said to Zhang Xiaohu, "This is Sir Wen, who is in charge of recruitment at the Lotus Escort Agency. Follow his arrangements."

Zhang Xiaohu clasped his hands in thanks, and the servant left, closing the door behind him.

Sir Wen looked at the two brothers' attire, frowned, but still took a ledger from the left side of the desk, opened it, and asked for their names, writing them down with a brush. Then he asked, "Do you want to live in the agency or outside?"

Zhang Xiaohu said, "Of course, we want to live in the agency."

Sir Wen nodded and said, "Alright, the tuition for one year of martial arts training is fifty taels of silver, and the accommodation and food fees are thirty taels of silver. For the two of you, it's one hundred and sixty taels of silver. Please hand over the silver notes."

Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Xiaohua were stunned when they heard this.