Inside the carriage,

Ye Xing was eating his breakfast, alternating between bites of bread and sips of milk. ‘Bread and milk—nutritious and delicious.’ After all, even someone with a cultivation at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer still needed to eat. The only exception was an Innate Realm expert, who could partially sustain themselves by absorbing a small amount of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, greatly reducing their need for regular food. All other Postnatal Realm Martial Artists, however, had to eat just like ordinary people.

“Young Master Ye!”

Suddenly, a clear female voice called out from outside the carriage.

Ye Xing immediately looked up to see Lieu Nuoning, dressed in a long, light purple dress, standing before his carriage and calling out to him.

“Miss Nuoning, were you calling for me? What can I do for you?” Ye Xing asked, confused.

“I… I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” Lieu Nuoning said, hesitating for a moment before speaking.

“Sure, I happen to be free right now. We can talk while I eat my breakfast. Come on, get in. We can talk inside,” Ye Xing said nonchalantly.

However, the moment Ye Xing said this, Lieu Nuoning’s beautiful eyes clearly froze for a second. Immediately after, her fair, pretty face flushed a deep crimson, and she looked completely flustered, not knowing whether to stay or go.

Ye Xing froze, instantly realizing his mistake. He quickly explained, “Ahem, Miss Nuoning, I didn’t mean it like that. I spoke without thinking just now. Please forgive my rudeness.” As he spoke, Ye Xing hurriedly got out of the carriage.

Ye Xing’s words would have been perfectly normal in a modern city on Earth. What was the big deal about a man and a woman sharing a carriage? You could see men and women on the street with their arms around each other’s shoulders or holding hands all the time. But this was the Martial Arts Continent, where customs and etiquette were entirely different. For an unchaperoned man and an unmarried woman to be alone in a carriage was highly improper. In this world, Ye Xing’s casual invitation sounded like an attempt to take liberties with a young lady. Thus, he had to explain himself quickly to avoid any misunderstanding.

“Ahem, that was a complete misunderstanding. I hope you don’t mind, Miss Nuoning.” Ye Xing got out of the carriage, walked over to Lieu Nuoning, and said seriously, “By the way, Miss Nuoning, you said you had something to discuss with me?”

“Mhm!”

Lieu Nuoning nodded slightly. She also felt that this Young Master Ye didn’t seem like the sort of lecher who preys on helpless women, and the blush on her pretty face began to fade.

“Young Master Ye, it’s like this… The Escort Agency’s convoy will basically disband once we reach Central Cloud City. But my younger brother, Aunt Qing, and I need to travel to the Golden Scale Imperial City, so… so…” Lieu Nuoning looked extremely anxious, but she summoned her courage and said, “So, I’d like to hire you to protect us on our way to the Golden Scale Imperial City! W-Would that be possible?”

After speaking, Lieu Nuoning gazed at Ye Xing with nervous and expectant eyes, awaiting his reply.

“Protect you on the way to the Golden Scale Imperial City?” A faint smile touched the corner of Ye Xing’s mouth. “And what’s in it for me?”

“I… I can give you lots and lots of Gold Coins!” Lieu Nuoning said, her pretty face full of sincerity.

“Oh? And how many are ‘lots and lots’ of Gold Coins?” Ye Xing asked teasingly. ‘I’m sitting on a massive fortune of several million Gold Coins. It would take a staggering amount of money to impress me now. I doubt even the Royal Family of the entire Southern Tang Country could produce that much.’

“A thousand Gold Coins, how about that?” Lieu Nuoning said, gritting her teeth. After leaving the Golden Scale Imperial City, she had grown up in a small country town and lived a very frugal life; a few Silver Coins could last her for many days. To her, one thousand Gold Coins was an astronomical sum. It was equivalent to one hundred thousand Silver Coins, or ten million copper coins. Surely, she thought, that much money would be enough to satisfy Ye Xing.

“A thousand Gold Coins?”

Ye Xing couldn’t help but pause. Just last night, the Chief of the Escort from the Weiyang Escort Agency had tried to give him a thousand Gold Coins to thank him for his help.

“Is it not enough?” Lieu Nuoning asked nervously.

“Miss Nuoning, about how many Gold Coins do you and your family spend in a year?” Ye Xing asked.

“We spend about ten Gold Coins a year, I suppose. Besides food and clothing, we also have to pay for my mother’s medical treatment,” Lieu Nuoning said.

“And how many Gold Coins can you give me right now?” Ye Xing said.

“Ah? R-Right now?” Lieu Nuoning’s eyes widened slightly in a daze. She said awkwardly, “Young Master Ye, I… I can’t produce a thousand Gold Coins right now. But I will in the future! My younger brother is going to the Golden Scale Imperial City to inherit a title. Once he becomes the Patriarch, we’ll have plenty of Gold Coins. I… I don’t have that much money now. Ha, Aunt Qing must have been worrying for nothing. The road to the Imperial City is probably very safe. Young Master Ye, I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll be going back now.” The more Lieu Nuoning spoke, the more embarrassed she became. She had suddenly realized that she had almost no money on her and that her promise could only be fulfilled much later. Being a sensitive young woman, her face instantly flushed red. She didn’t dare to look at Ye Xing as she turned to leave.

“Miss Nuoning, wait,” Ye Xing said. “What I wanted to ask was, how much money do you have on you right now?”

“I have five Gold Coins and about twenty Silver Coins on me,” Lieu Nuoning said, taking out her coin pouch to check.

Ye Xing took the pouch from Lieu Nuoning’s hand, removed a single Gold Coin, and put it in his own pocket. “Alright. From now on, you are under my protection. Of course, this is just the deposit. When you have the money, I’ll be collecting the remaining nine hundred and ninety-nine Gold Coins.”

“Okay! Thank you, thank you, Young Master Ye!” Lieu Nuoning exclaimed joyfully. After thanking Ye Xing, she ran back happily to tell Aunt Qing the news.

‘What a naive girl.’

Watching Lieu Nuoning’s departing figure, Ye Xing sighed softly. ‘It’s almost impossible for those two to successfully inherit that title. It’s likely to be dangerous, even. I didn’t want to get involved, but she came and asked so sincerely. Besides,’ Ye Xing considered, ‘we’re heading the same way to the Golden Scale Imperial City anyway. I might as well help this naive pair of siblings.’

…

After everyone finished their breakfast, the convoy set off again. They soon entered the territory of Central Cloud Province, heading toward Central Cloud Main City.

Hoofbeats clopped and wheels rumbled, kicking up clouds of yellow dust.

After a full day of travel, as evening fell, the convoy finally arrived at Central Cloud Main City in Central Cloud Province.

「Central Cloud City. At the city gates.」

The area was bustling with people. There were many ordinary folk, as well as a good number of Martial Artists of the martial world, some carrying long spears, others shouldering great sabers, and still others with bags and luggage on their backs, all lining up to enter the city.

“We’ve reached Central Cloud City! We’ll part ways here, everyone,” Chief of the Escort Yang Lei shouted.

According to the Escort Agency’s contract, their task was complete upon reaching this destination.

Immediately, the travelers and merchants got out of the carriages one by one, grabbed their luggage, and headed for the city gates, ready to enter.

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