The Visitor

"Yes."

Watching Qin Jianghe swing the broadsword in his hands in the courtyard as if venting his frustrations, Fang Manliang felt deep admiration in his heart.

Since they first set out, this cousin of his had taken such a short time to establish a firm foothold in this county. He had seen all the maneuvering and mediating with various factions with his own eyes, and admired it inwardly.

Not to mention the formidable martial prowess his cousin now possessed. He was incredibly envious, only hoping that he too could soon advance his cultivation and reach the same level.

When they arrived in Songyang County, Qin Jianghe had already told him and his older brother, Fang Mancang, about the Lingxian Sect. However, both he and his brother cultivated far too slowly; they had only just broken through to the first level of Qi Refining a few days ago.

At this moment, someone suddenly ran into the courtyard from outside.

"Boss! I want to go with you!" The newcomer was none other than Gu Yuxiao.

Still dressed in men's clothing, she walked briskly into the courtyard and spoke to Qin Jianghe, who had just stopped his blade.

"Brother Dali said that those people are very similar to the ones who killed my father back then!"

Hearing this, Qin Jianghe didn't reply immediately. Instead, he looked at her in silence for a moment before saying,

"Have you thought this through? If you come along, and something happens, I might not be able to protect you."

Gu Yuxiao was extremely anxious, nodding repeatedly for fear he would refuse:

"I'll be careful! I absolutely won't hold you back. Let me go with you, Boss!"

Qin Jianghe gave a faint nod and replied,

"Alright, then make your preparations over these next two days. We will set out early the morning after next."

Receiving his approval, Gu Yuxiao was overjoyed and hurriedly turned back to her own room.

She needed to prepare more things; she was determined to wipe out those bandits!

She was going to avenge her father!

After she left, Fang Manliang asked Qin Jianghe in the courtyard with some concern,

"Jianghe, are you really letting Miss Gu tag along? Won't that be too dangerous?"

Qin Jianghe turned to look at him, his eyes extremely calm, and said softly,

"Quietly prepare some dry rations for me. I'm leaving tonight."

Fang Manliang wore an expression that said 'so you were lying to her just now,' and then nodded, whispering back,

"Don't worry, I guarantee Miss Gu won't find out."

Thus, as night fell and the moon gradually rose, Qin Jianghe, dressed entirely in black, quietly slipped away from the Lingxiao Escort Agency without anyone noticing.

When the next morning arrived and Gu Yuxiao got up to eat breakfast, she realized that Qin Jianghe, who usually joined her for meals, was nowhere to be seen.

She asked Fang Manliang in confusion,

"Brother Manliang, where is the Boss?"

Fang Manliang had spent the entire previous night pondering his excuse. Seeing her ask exactly as expected, he answered smoothly,

"Jianghe went out early this morning with my brother to offer condolences to the families of our fallen brothers."

In reality, however, only Fang Mancang had gone, having been dragged out of bed by Fang Manliang before dawn.

Seeing that Fang Mancang was indeed also absent, Gu Yuxiao didn't harbor much suspicion.

Until the afternoon.

Gu Yuxiao saw Fang Mancang return all alone after visiting the families.

She immediately sought out Fang Manliang and demanded,

"The Boss went alone, didn't he?"

Fang Manliang still denied it, saying,

"No, Jianghe went out with my older brother this morning."

Knowing he definitely wouldn't tell the truth, Gu Yuxiao angrily stormed back to her room, grabbed the things she had prepared last night, and headed for the door to chase after Qin Jianghe.

The two brothers, Fang Mancang and Fang Manliang, immediately blocked her path, saying,

"Miss Gu, don't be impulsive! It's too dangerous for you to go alone! Besides, with Jianghe's speed, even if you chase after him now, you definitely won't catch up. You'd be better off waiting for him here at home."

"I'm going! I want to watch them die!" Gu Yuxiao had been taught martial arts by her father for years and was very agile. The Fang brothers were on the verge of failing to hold her back.

Just then, an escort from the front of the Lingxiao Escort Agency ran into the backyard and told the Fang brothers,

"There are two people out front who say they're here for the Boss. One of them says his name is Lin Xiao."

Hearing this, Fang Mancang quickly told the escort,

"Thanks, brother. Please invite them in quickly!"

Normally, they had often heard Qin Jianghe talk about Lin Xiao and their Lingxian Sect. Therefore, even though the two of them had never met Lin Xiao, his name had long been like thunder in their ears.

Meanwhile, Gu Yuxiao, who had been making a fuss about leaving, stopped in her tracks upon hearing Lin Xiao's name.

Seeing her stop, the two brothers breathed a sigh of relief.

They thought to themselves that Brother Xiao's arrival couldn't have been more timely.

The two of them quickly followed the escort who had brought the message into the front hall of the agency.

Lin Xiao, who had brought Jiang Youfu along early in the morning, was currently with Jiang Youfu, looking around this escort agency opened by Jianghe with great curiosity.

Although they had seen an escort agency when they went to Anqun County back then, they were only passing by. Looking from the street, that agency was bustling with people, and those escorts didn't look very friendly, so they had felt too embarrassed to go in and look around.

But things were different now.

This escort agency was opened by their own brother, and strictly speaking, it counted as sect property; it was the Lingxian Sect's escort agency.

Their very own escort agency!

Just looking at it gave them an inexplicable sense of intimacy. Even the few burly escorts waiting for work in the main hall seemed very friendly and approachable.

When the Fang brothers followed the escort to the front, they saw a tall, straight-backed youth and a comparatively short and chubby youth. The two were looking around the escort agency with curious expressions.

The escorts were almost starting to feel embarrassed by their staring.

Fortunately, having traveled far and wide for years, they had seen their fair share of strange people and bizarre events. No matter how much Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu stared, they remained unmoving and their expressions didn't change.

Lin Xiao couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

He had to admit, the subordinates Jianghe picked were truly reliable. These escorts looked like very honest and dutiful people, and they had pretty good tempers too.

Seeing that their escort brothers were about to lose their composure, the Fang brothers hurriedly stepped forward and invited Lin Xiao and his companion to the backyard.

Before the Fang brothers even had a chance to exchange names with Lin Xiao's group, Gu Yuxiao, who had been waiting in the backyard, couldn't sit still anymore. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, she immediately rushed over and said,

"Sect Master Lin, Boss Qin went to find those mountain bandits all by himself! It's highly likely that there are cultivators among those bandits!"

Hearing this, Lin Xiao, who had just been about to ask where Qin Jianghe was, froze for a moment before looking at her and saying,

"Is that true?"

Gu Yuxiao immediately nodded, but before she could say anything else, Fang Manliang asked in confusion from the side,

"Miss Gu, why are you suddenly saying this? Jianghe never said anything like that before."

Interrupted, Gu Yuxiao furrowed her delicate brows, gritted her teeth, and said,

"When my father was young, he was once cared for by an old beggar. Before the beggar died, he gave my father a treasure, saying that under the attacks of ordinary people, this treasure would guarantee he suffered nothing more than superficial flesh wounds, absolutely keeping his life safe.