This Martial Saint is Too Cautious

Chapter 161: Chapter 19: Domineering

"Young Master Lin, Escort Leader Zhu is inside, but he still hasn’t woken up."

An Escort Master standing nearby spoke up, easing the awkward atmosphere.

"Take me to see him."

Lin Yan followed him into the room. The first thing he saw was a blood-stained set of clothes hanging on a wooden rack on one side of the room. The entire garment was so thoroughly soaked in blood that it had become completely crimson.

On the bed, Zhu Xiao lay there, his body smeared with ointment and his breathing exceptionally faint.

Lin Yan frowned at the sight of Zhu Xiao’s condition. ’They were ruthless,’ he thought. ’A Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist has been unconscious for several hours. Even if he’s lucky enough to survive, he’ll be a cripple.’

"Do you know why Qingfeng Stockade would be so vicious toward Brother Zhu?"

"Young Master Lin..."

"Let’s step outside first, so we don’t disturb Brother Zhu’s rest."

Lin Yan considered for a moment, then cut off the Escort Master’s reply. He turned and walked out of the room before fixing his gaze on the man.

"Young Master Lin, the senior who brought Escort Leader Zhu back told us what happened. They were in Qingfeng Stockade’s Juyi Hall, and Escort Leader Zhu took out silver banknotes worth three thousand taels to ransom the cargo. Unexpectedly, the Second Village Chief of Qingfeng Stockade went back on their deal. He took the banknotes but refused to release the goods. When Escort Leader Zhu couldn’t help but question him, the Second Village Chief attacked."

Paying a ransom for the cargo!

This was already an unwritten rule between escort agencies and the various mountain bandits.

Usually, the payment was thirty percent of the cargo’s value.

The Seven Stars Escort Agency is weaker than Qingfeng Stockade, but Senior Zhang is a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. If things turned ugly, Senior Zhang could just hunt down Qingfeng Stockade’s bandits. This would force them to have a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist lead every group that came down the mountain, which is obviously impossible.

Thus, this practice of paying a thirty percent ransom had become a mutually acceptable arrangement.

For the Escort Agency, it meant the trip was a wash, but at least they could preserve their reputation and minimize their losses.

But for Qingfeng Stockade to agree to the transaction and then renege on it... that was crossing a line.

"Did Brother Zhu have that many silver banknotes on him?"

Carrying three thousand taels in silver banknotes while out on an escort mission was somewhat unusual.

"Young Master Lin, we received a message from our Head of Escort Leader and exchanged the funds for a silver banknote at a Money Shop in Qing State Prefecture. The Seven Stars Escort Agency handles long-distance escorts, so we’re familiar with many Money Shops."

Lin Yan nodded. He understood.

"How strong is Qingfeng Stockade?"

Although Brother Hai had said that Qingfeng Stockade would have no choice but to kneel before a member of the Lin Clan, Lin Yan was cautious by nature. He needed to understand the situation completely before heading up to the stockade.

Brother Hai might not give Qingfeng Stockade a second thought or bother learning about them, but the Seven Stars Escort Agency would have surely investigated them from top to bottom.

"Qingfeng Stockade’s Great Village Chief and Second Village Chief are both Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists. The Great Village Chief is fifty-eight this year, while the Second Village Chief is fifty-five. Below them, there are five Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, twelve with Second-Time Skin Smoothing, and twenty with Single-Time Skin Smoothing, as well as over a hundred skilled fighters who have trained in martial arts."

’That many people?’

After pondering for a long moment, Lin Yan asked, "Do you have more detailed information about the strength of the Great Village Chief and the Second Village Chief?"

"The Great Village Chief of Qingfeng Stockade became a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist twenty years ago, and the Second Village Chief achieved the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing sixteen years ago."

’One was thirty-eight, the other thirty-nine,’ Lin Yan thought. ’They barely scraped by.’

It was common knowledge in the Martial Arts Realm that if a Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist failed to reach the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing before the age of forty, it was highly unlikely they ever would.

Those who made the breakthrough right at the cutoff age generally abandoned further pursuits in Martial Arts. Instead, they would leverage their status as a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist to earn silver coins and cultivate the next generation.

’Theoretically, the strength of these two Village Chiefs from Qingfeng Stockade shouldn’t be that formidable compared to other Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists.’

’But that was just a theory. Until he met them in person, Lin Yan wouldn’t underestimate these two men.’

"For now, just focus on taking care of Brother Zhu. Don’t worry about Qingfeng Stockade. I’ll deal with it after I’ve looked into it further."

"Thank you, Young Master Lin."

Luo Feng and the others were overjoyed. If Young Master Lin was willing to act, then given his status, Qingfeng Stockade surely wouldn’t dare to offend him.

...

...

Qingfeng Ridge was located five hundred li north of Qing State Prefecture City. Its terrain was steep and precipitous, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Qingfeng Stockade was situated halfway up the mountain, its stone walls and wooden fortifications built into the terrain. Two crude arrow towers flanked the main gate.

Inside the stockade’s Juyi Hall, the two village chiefs sat facing each other.

The Great Village Chief, Ma Xiong, was built like a bear, but his temples were already streaked with white.

He raised his wine bowl, took a large gulp, then wiped the booze from his lips.

"Second Brother, have you finished taking inventory of the goods we seized from down the mountain?"

The Second Village Chief, Feng Kui, was gaunt, his triangular eyes half-lidded. He nodded.

"It’s all tallied. This haul is worth over ten thousand taels, but that bastard Wang Hai looked at the manifest and will only offer five thousand."

Ma Xiong grunted in acknowledgment, setting down his wine bowl. His gaze drifted to the gloomy sky outside the hall. "It’s a business with no start-up cost. Whatever we sell it for is pure profit. Send the goods down tomorrow, collect the money, and we’re gone."

Feng Kui looked reluctant. "Big Brother, are we really leaving?"

"What’s the alternative? Wait here to die?" Ma Xiong’s voice was grim. "Have you forgotten how many people we’ve offended in Qing State? Countless enemies are just waiting for our Qi Blood to decline before they come knocking for revenge. If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to get away at all."

’His Qi Blood would begin to decline in another two years. If he waited until then to think about leaving, he feared they would have long since been targeted.’

Feng Kui was silent for a moment, then finally grunted in agreement.

Three years ago, his Big Brother had already started planning their exit strategy. He had bought a residence in Lai State Prefecture, far from Qing State, and had sent both of their families—wives, children, and elders—away. Feng Kui had handled the matter personally, and no one in the stockade knew of it aside from a few trusted confidants.

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