Chapter 5: Delayed Journey

Huguang Province, Baoqing Prefecture.

Li Miao and Yongjie strode through the city gate.

At this moment, Yongjie’s hands were already wrapped in bandages, his left arm suspended across his chest, walking with a limp, his entire body battered and bruised. Were it not for his well-developed internal skills and solid foundation, he would likely be unable to walk at all.

The guards at the gate, seeing his miserable state, couldn’t help but ask a few more questions. Li Miao slipped them some money, and they let them pass without further trouble.

It had been more than half a month since the two met.

They had grown quite familiar with each other. Li Miao smiled and said to Yongjie, “Master, are you hungry?”

Yongjie rubbed his belly. “A little.”

Li Miao nodded. “If Master hadn’t insisted on coming here for business, we would have rested in the city ahead by now.”

Yongjie apologized, but Li Miao waved his hand, indicating it was just a casual remark.

They went to a tavern, ordered some dishes, and began to eat.

After their fill, Li Miao toyed with his wine cup and said to Yongjie, “Master, won’t you rest today?”

“You’ve lost too much vital energy. No matter how profound your true energy or how advanced your martial arts, you can’t withstand such torment.”

“If you don’t slow down soon, I’m afraid you won’t hold out much longer.”

Yongjie smiled bitterly and said to Li Miao, “Thank you for your concern, benefactor. The monk still has matters to attend to and will not seek death.”

“But these debts... the monk has delayed too long already. Now, this is the last place in Huguang Province.”

“The sooner they are repaid, the better.”

“Do as you wish,” Li Miao said. He merely mentioned it without pressuring Yongjie to change his mind.

After all, with him around, Yongjie wouldn’t die.

They sat a while to digest, then rose and headed into the street.

Yongjie stopped a passerby, stepped forward, and bowed: “Greetings, benefactor.”

He was tall and burly, with a coarse face and a shaved head, looking fierce and menacing.

The man, caught off guard, was initially fearful but relaxed somewhat upon hearing Yongjie’s words.

Looking at Yongjie’s bald head, he thought, “What kind of monk looks so fierce? Can he really bring good fortune?”

Yet he smiled and asked, “Master, what do you seek?”

“May I ask, is the Huiyou Escort Agency that was in Baoqing Prefecture over a decade ago still around?”

“Huiyou Escort Agency...” The man thought for a moment. “Oh, the one run by Hero Song?”

“That’s right.”

“It’s long disbanded! But his family is still here, and now his son-in-law has opened a small escort agency just ahead.”

He pointed ahead. “See, turn left up there. The one with the escort flag hanging on the gate is the Baoqing Escort Agency.”

“Thank you, benefactor.”

Yongjie expressed his gratitude and followed the direction indicated, with Li Miao trailing behind.

After a short distance, they arrived at the Baoqing Escort Agency’s door.

The door was open. Yongjie stepped forward, knocked on the door handle, and called out loudly, “Is anyone here?”

“Coming, coming.”

They heard a response, and a man in his thirties came out smiling, “Are you here to escort goods?”

Yongjie shook his head. “No, I’m here to repay a debt.”

“A debt?”

The man sized Yongjie up and smiled. “You must have the wrong place. We’ve never lent money to anyone, and I don’t know you.”

“May I ask your creditor’s full name? Our family has lived in Baoqing Prefecture for years, known by the locals. I can lead you to him if you like.”

Yongjie stepped forward, pressing his palms together in a respectful bow.

“Do you know Song Yanchao, Hero Song?”

“Ah?” The man was taken aback.

“That is my father-in-law... Sir, or rather Master, are you here to see him?”

“Yes. The monk owed Hero Song a debt many years ago and has come to repay it.”

The man forced a smile.

“You’ve come late. My father-in-law passed away years ago.”

“If it weren’t for his passing, we wouldn’t have had to rely on this small escort agency to get by.”

Yongjie sighed deeply.

“I see... May I ask if your wife is home? Could she meet the monk?”

“The debt should be repaid to her in person.”

The man nodded in agreement.

Since his father-in-law’s death, the man’s martial skills were weak, and his wife was untrained in combat. They could no longer manage the Huiyou Escort Agency’s affairs, and gradually, the family fell apart.

Now they survived by running this small escort agency, barely making ends meet. Yongjie’s unexpected intention to repay the debt, no matter the amount, at least might bring them a few days of relief.

The man led Yongjie and Li Miao into the sitting room, poured some tea, then went to find his wife.

Li Miao took a sip of the tea and found it coarse and hard to swallow, a clear sign of the family’s financial hardship.

Running a business demands appearances. If you can’t even afford decent tea for guests, it means the family’s business is truly on the brink of collapse.

Setting down the cup, Li Miao turned to Yongjie. “Master, what exactly is this debt?”

“Don’t say it’s your neck. Your last injury—I doubt you’d have survived without me watching over you. Another blow like that, and you might not endure.”

“It’s not that.”

Yongjie’s left arm hung from his neck as he raised his right hand to indicate.

“It’s here—I owe a tendon.”

“Oh,” Li Miao nodded and continued to inquire.

“By the way, does Master Xingchi know you’re pushing yourself like this?”

“With your martial skill, surely Shaolin wouldn’t allow you to abuse yourself so.”

Master Xingchi was the current abbot of Shaolin Temple, over ninety years old and a supreme expert. He was Yongjie’s master.

Among the few people in the martial world whom Li Miao truly respected, Master Xingchi was one. Otherwise, with Li Miao’s sharp tongue, few would earn his honorific.

Master Xingchi was a genuine monk—not only in martial skill but also in virtue.

During a great disaster in Fujian Province, spanning a hundred miles and displacing countless people, it was Master Xingchi who opened the temple gates and led refugees inside for shelter.

The calamity lasted several months, and many women gave birth inside the temple.

In such a disaster, midwives were hard to come by.

Master Xingchi broke monastic rules, relying on his martial foundation, blindfolded himself, and personally delivered the babies, his hands stained with blood.

At the time, many petty figures in the martial world ridiculed this, spinning vulgar stories. But Xingchi paid no mind and continued his work of saving lives.

As food became scarce and postpartum women weakened from blood loss without nourishment, Master Xingchi used his true energy to nurture them one by one.

He was already a supreme expert, yet he drained his true energy to the very dregs, damaging his foundation and leaving hidden wounds that prevented any further progress in his martial arts for life.

In fact, given his talent, he had the potential to surpass the pinnacle.

When the disaster ended, exactly one hundred and eight babies had been born inside Shaolin Temple.

The families of these one hundred and eight children, in gratitude, made a patchwork robe from the infants’ swaddling clothes and presented it to Master Xingchi.

This was but one of the many charitable deeds he performed in his lifetime.

(End of chapter)