Food and Passwords

It was not until a hint of dawn appeared in the eastern sky that Qi Fei, through a seemingly casual conversation carried on for the better part of the night, gained a rough understanding of the troop's situation. Integrating into a new environment always began not with observing the surroundings, but with striking up conversations with the people within them. Yet, an unexpected realization had just emerged: Head Li was not actually the leader of this entire escort agency team, but merely one of several escort leader chiefs. Above him was someone in charge of this specific cargo, and above that person stood a grand steward.

This posed a slight complication for Qi Fei's future plans. It was not that Qi Fei mistrusted these people; however, since Shiyao Wen was introduced by Wang Xi, and while Shiyao Wen was undoubtedly trustworthy, Qi Fei still harbored a degree of wariness toward anyone outside the Wang family within Cloud Mountain City.

The escort leader was surnamed Ma, with the given name Qingxian, and he was a martial artist at the second tier of the Innate realm. Although he originated from the prominent Ma clan of Cloud Mountain City and was an elite of the "Qing" generation, this naturally gifted martial artist had long since severed ties with the Ma family and established his own path elsewhere. Among the several escort leader chiefs, Head Li actually possessed the lowest cultivation realm, while the other two, named Zhang Ming and Li Han, both possessed the martial cultivation of the first tier of the Innate realm.

Head Li, Zhang Ming, and Li Han were each responsible for several large wagons. The wagon Qi Fei was currently assigned to happened to be the last one under Head Li's direct charge. In other words, the first six wagons traveling ahead were all under Head Li's specific arrangement. Each of those wagons was manned by a single escort guard—the very people Qi Fei had previously noticed riding horses ahead of the wagons.

Within such a massive escort procession, there were only a little over ten escort guards, four escort leader chiefs, and the escort leader—a total of twenty-two people belonging to Cloud Mountain City's Shaking Heaven Escort Agency. As for junior guards like Qi Fei, some were martial artists like Zhang Wolf who had long-term cooperative ties with the escort agency, while others were temporary hires like Ma Qingxian. A portion of them were even temporary travelers passing through Cloud Mountain City.

Of course, these details were not the main point. What caught Qi Fei's attention was Zhang Wolf's mention that Head Li was on somewhat poor terms with the other two escort leader chiefs. Years ago, during a previous transport, those two had colluded with a nest of bandits to intercept a shipment that Head Li had been guarding alone. Although Head Li later widely enlisted martial aid to recapture the goods, the incident had forged a deep grudge among the three of them.

Yet, because they now ate from the same bowl within the escort agency, the three maintained a superficial peace. But the moment real trouble arose, they would undoubtedly split into two distinct factions. Qi Fei smiled and asked Zhang Wolf whom he would support when that time came, only to receive this reply: "Isn't that obvious? Since Head Li and I have a long-term cooperative relationship, and he gives me enough face to let me earn a living here, if anyone dares to cause trouble for him, I certainly won't stand idly by. Although we wanderers can't be considered true powerhouses, we at least understand the primacy of loyalty. Whoever wants to go against Head Li is naturally going against me, brother."

From this perspective, Head Li was indeed a remarkably well-liked and decent man. And true to form, although the two men at odds with him were both second-tier Innate martial artists, they could do nothing against Head Li even when teaming up. This was not only because Head Li commanded a group of brothers willing to risk their lives for him, but also because the high-level officials of the escort agency held him in high regard.

This was evident in the current escort mission and the execution of the entire security plan: the wagons overseen by those two Innate martial artists were relegated to the rear, while Head Li hoisted the banner of the Shaking Heaven Escort Agency at the front, adding an extra aura of majesty.

Having learned all this, Qi Fei noticed that the sky outside had grown fully bright. By now, the procession had traveled over a hundred miles, and before long, the city walls of Clear Water County came into view ahead. Amidst the shouts of the various escort leader chiefs urging everyone to hurry up so they could go together to Clear Water County for a bowl of piping-hot soy milk and freshly fried dough sticks, the team quickly accelerated amidst cheers and entered the first resting county seat.

However, the moment they entered the county, Qi Fei immediately noticed that there was also a Coming Peace Inn here, and hanging from its eaves was an inconspicuous white mourning banner. To outsiders, this unremarkable object would have seemed like nothing at all, but to Qi Fei, it immediately signified that someone from the Wang family of Cloud Mountain City had already dispatched people to deliver the information he anxiously sought.

When Qi Fei had first checked into the Coming Peace Inn in Cloud Mountain City, Wang Xi had detailed the various secret signals used for communication within the Wang family. Wang Xi had also informed him that the family had established a dedicated information hotline for him. If there were any matters Qi Fei had ordered, anything concerning Qi Fei, or any news intended for him, they would hang an inconspicuous white banner on the railing in front of the Coming Peace Inn branches, which were scattered across many places throughout the Divine Land. Upon seeing this signal, Qi Fei was required to go and receive the news at the earliest opportunity.

The Wang family's business was expanding by the day, and the scope of information they could acquire was growing broader. Yet Qi Fei had not given Wang Xi any instructions recently, so the white banner hanging outside the Coming Peace Inn could only mean one thing: there was news related to Qi Fei waiting to be delivered.

Qi Fei had not been back in the secular world for very long altogether. Thinking it over, the news the Wang family wished to convey must undoubtedly concern Tong He. At this thought, Qi Fei instantly lost any inclination to join the team for breakfast. Once they entered the city and the procession made a brief settlement, Qi Fei found an excuse to ask Head Li for a short leave, then quietly entered the Coming Peace Inn alone. Having displayed the secret signal, someone inside the inn promptly received him.

To Qi Fei's great surprise, the person sent from Cloud Mountain City with the news was none other than Shiyao Wen. Bowing his head in a salute, Shiyao Wen likely sensed Qi Fei's inner anxiety and bypassed any hypocritical pleasantries, speaking directly: "Young Master Qi, at the hour of the rat, we received definitive confirmation: the elderly gentleman who accompanied you to the county magistrate's official residence held off Ma Li and his four companions for the time of a cup of tea before sustaining severe injuries. After killing two Innate powerhouses by Ma Li's side, he fought his way out while wounded, and his current whereabouts and life or death are completely unknown."

"Good!" This news caused Qi Fei to strike the table heavily, the worried expression on his face instantly lightening considerably. He was naturally not cheering for Tong He's severe injuries, but rather celebrating the news that Tong He had slain two third-tier Innate powerhouses and successfully escaped. The outcome he feared most had not come to pass, and Qi Fei naturally felt immensely joyful.

Although Tong He's successful breakthrough had come at the cost of severe injuries and his current status remained unknown, Qi Fei knew that based on Tong He's capabilities—especially relying on the memories of several millennia from his past life—such injuries could never claim his life. Worrying about Tong He's survival was akin to worrying about how a hair-stylist cuts their own hair; it was an utterly redundant and superfluous thought.

With his mind put at ease upon reaching this conclusion, Qi Fei began to ponder his next course of action. Originally, he had planned merely to borrow Head Li's escort team to leave Cloud Mountain City and leave it at that. But now, with Tong He temporarily absent, he figured he might as well continue accompanying the team all the way to the capital. When passing by Mount Danxia along the way, he could drop by to check on Qi Xiaofang, whom he hadn't seen in years.

After that, he would return directly to his ancestral home, and then bring his parents to settle down on Mount Danxia. With his martial brothers and the others there to look after them, his parents could undoubtedly live out the rest of their days in comfort. However, now that he knew Tong He was missing without leaving any clues, he wondered if it was necessary for him to travel the entire distance with Head Li's team. This way, if Tong He recovered from his injuries and came looking for him, he would not miss out on receiving word.

After all, Tong He was aware that Qi Fei was traveling with Head Li's team. If he recovered and sought information about Qi Fei, he would inevitably start by tracing Head Li. Should that happen, Qi Fei might not even reach the capital before Tong He caught up to reunite with him.

Having thus decided on his future course of action, Qi Fei's mind instantly settled. Since he had to travel regardless, staying with Head Li's group meant he wouldn't feel too lonely. Furthermore, when Shiyao Wen was sent off earlier, the man had repeatedly begged Qi Fei to look after his friend along the road.

As for those two individuals who barely registered in his impression—both of whom were now practically his own people—Qi Fei was naturally quite willing to support and cultivate them. Walking briskly out of the Coming Peace Inn, Qi Fei's mood was unquestionably much lighter. Returning to the temporary resting place of the escort team, he found Zhang Wolf and Ma Qingxian and, in high spirits and under their astonished gazes, proceeded to devour several large flatbreads in succession.

And thus, Qi Fei became famous. Although he had not yet acquainted himself with everyone in the team, the others learned ahead of time that there was a young and refined guard at the eighth wagon whose appetite was ferociously large. Especially during the midday rest in an open space beside the imperial road, when Qi Fei consumed over ten catties of dry rations and meat in one breath, Ma Qingxian stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes and said, "At the rate you're eating, I reckon by the end of this journey, you'll have eaten twice the value of our entire escort reward in food. Tsk tsk, I really wonder if Head Li will regret hiring you for this trip."

Though Ma Qingxian always wore a gloomy expression, having traveled with the team for so long, he had temporarily cast his own worries aside. Yet it was clear he was also someone who liked to calculate quantities; seeing Qi Fei consume such a massive amount of food at every meal, he instantly felt a sense of unfairness on Head Li's behalf. Fortunately, he was speaking out of consideration for Head Li, and Qi Fei, knowing the score, did not truly hold it against him.

Hearing Ma Qingxian say this, Qi Fei simply rubbed his belly gently and said with a blank expression, "Hehe, I'm only about halfway full right now. I could easily eat a few more if you've got them."

Watching Qi Fei's self-satisfied look, Ma Qingxian couldn't help rolling his eyes. With an expression of extreme wariness toward him, he pulled the bag of flatbreads away. Perhaps knowing that Qi Fei liked to keep track of provisions, the food for their three-person group was entirely managed and distributed by him.

However, because the rations issued by the escort team were calculated based on the consumption of ordinary people and distributed once every three days, the food supply had a fixed limit. Since Qi Fei had eaten over a dozen flatbreads in a single meal—amounting to several days' worth of rations for the whole group—Ma Qingxian naturally dared not let him eat his fill.

Along this journey, although opportunities to enter county seats were numerous, the escort business strictly avoided entering a city unless necessary. Only at night, and under favorable timing, would they consider entering a city to purchase supplies or arrange for everyone to rest at an inn. Zhang Wolf and Ma Qingxian were crystal clear on this point, but Qi Fei understood none of it. Thus, seeing Ma Qingxian take the food bag away when he was not yet fully full, he instantly furrowed his brow.

By this time, Zhang Wolf, having finished eating, had noticed the scene. Frowning slightly himself, he walked over and snatched the bag directly from Ma Qingxian's hands, saying, "Brother Ma, since we're all guarding the same side of this wagon, we can be considered comrades-in-arms. The young brother is at an age where he's still growing; how can you not let him eat his fill? In case anything happens, we're still counting on the young brother to stand and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with us."

Having said that, and ignoring Ma Qingxian's slightly depressed expression, Zhang Wolf shoved the bag directly into Qi Fei's hands and said, "Eat as much as you want, Brother Qifeng. When I was your age, although I didn't have your appetite, I knew the taste of an empty stomach wasn't pleasant. But we didn't have the conditions back then; now that conditions are good, what are we afraid of? If the food runs out, I, your brother, will take responsibility for replenishing our rations at the next county town!"

Zhang Wolf's final remark, while spoken to Qi Fei, was also clearly intended to appease Ma Qingxian. True to form as an old slippery veteran, he had casually uttered such high-sounding words, instantly dissolving any lingering awkwardness in Qi Fei's heart and allowing Ma Qingxian—the person in charge of distributing the group's rations—to let out a long sigh of relief. Ma Qingxian even stepped forward to apologize to Qi Fei: "Brother Qi, I really wasn't doing that on purpose just now. To tell you the truth, since I'm responsible for our team's food, I was just worried that we wouldn't have enough rations left to divide among everyone in the end, which is why I had to resort to that drastic measure."

Watching Qi Fei continue to eat heartily on his own, Ma Qingxian couldn't help flashing a smile, finally letting go of his hanging heart as he murmured, "Actually, you can't entirely blame our chief escort for being overly cautious; putting safety above all else is the rule. Guarding so much cargo, if we were to casually enter every county seat and city we pass, there's no telling what kind of big trouble we might bring upon our employers. Now that Zhang Wolf has spoken, just eat your fill as he said. If it's not enough, aren't I here?"

Hearing Ma Qingxian display such magnanimity, Zhang Wolf smiled with satisfaction, nodded toward Ma Qingxian, and beamed with delight.