Chapter Twenty-Two: Walking the Path Across the World

After wandering around Huima Town, Zhang He had spent over five taels of gold. The martial arts manuals were mere pocket change; the real expenses lay in medicinal ingredients and equipment—those were the true money pits. His secondary profession as an alchemist was actually not easy to master. The five concoctions—Garlic Supreme, Ginger Monarch, Bean Trickster, Sugar Scholar, and Apple Mystery—didn't require him to accumulate alchemy experience. Only after successfully crafting all five would Zhang He's basic-level alchemy be considered complete, and as long as he had enough raw materials, he could make them. At Huima Town’s herbal shop, he could only buy ingredients for Bean Trickster.

Once his alchemy advanced, he’d be able to craft low-grade antidotes, which would be hot commodities on the market. After scouring the marketplace, he replaced all his common equipment with low-tier extraordinary-grade red gear, officially leaving the novice stage behind:

Black Iron Belt (Extraordinary grade), requirement: level 20, Constitution +13, bonus: Agility +3;
Soap Silk Robe (Extraordinary grade), requirement: level 20, Defense +10, bonus: Inner Power +5;
Leather Gloves (Extraordinary grade), requirement: level 20, Strength +5, bonus: Courage +1;
Genuine Leather Bracers (Extraordinary grade), requirement: level 25, Defense +8, bonus: Inner Power +3;
Glazed Ring (Extraordinary grade) x2, requirement: level 20, Strength +5, bonus: Courage +2;

From levels 25 to 28, with eighteen attribute points to distribute, Zhang He, ever the eccentric, allocated them all to Bone Attribute—not out of foresight, but because he urgently needed to level up and improve his martial arts and inner power. That meant he’d have to hunt minor monsters in the wild.

Now, compared to his time in Yuhua Village, Zhang He’s stats had truly transformed:

Level: 28, Sect: None, Title: None
Constitution: 143, Bone: 58, Strength: 50, Inner Power: 30, Agility: 24, Heart: 0, Courage: 15, Fortune: 0, Defense: 59, Chivalry: 4, Evil: 0;
Martial Arts: “Sword of Assault and Slaughter,” “Five Element Hand,” “Money Dart”
Inner Power: “Withered to Flourishing,” “Vast Spirit Four Directions”
Heart Technique: “Clear Wind Formula”

Though he hadn’t changed professions, he finally possessed the beginnings of first-tier strength. With several Garlic Supreme, Ginger Monarch, and Bean Trickster pills on him, Zhang He believed he was no longer easy prey.

To avoid a catastrophic loss upon death, he deposited two hundred taels of gold at Huima Town’s Liyuan Bank branch, exchanged loose silver for a hefty pile of copper coins, and strode down the official road with his Azure Frost Sword swinging, in high spirits, practicing his skills and singing a lofty folk song from Yunnan:

“The moon rises, shining bright,
Two wives, one man in sight,
Both together come to wed,
Three share a single bed,
Oh my plump wife, yes,
Three share one bed...”

The official road was bustling, but no one paid much attention to a lone wanderer like Zhang He. Most travelers were rushing along, uninterested in him.

But that didn’t mean Zhang He ignored others. With a full fifty-eight points in Bone Attribute, his senses were sharp. After hours of wandering, his ears pricked up—faintly, he caught the clash of metal in the distance. Ordinary players would miss it, for the sounds were intermittent, only audible when the wind rustled through the forest.

Experience told Zhang He that a fight was underway a hundred meters ahead. Following the sound deeper into the bamboo grove, he came upon a ghastly scene: the ground was littered with corpses, at least thirty or forty scattered along the path. Yet their appearance revealed little—just pools of blood staining the woods, a red mist hanging low, and a faint scent of gore filling the air. Clearly, a brutal battle had just occurred.

He quickly noticed a red brocade box lying beside a corpse. Picking it up, he saw it labeled “Quest Item,” and it couldn’t be stowed in his pack.

Zhang He immediately understood: this was either an official transport or a shipment from a security escort agency. Since none of the bodies were government soldiers, it was obvious—this was an escort agency’s cargo.

In “Dynasty,” most escort agency missions involved red-grade cargo. The value determined the escort price. Escort masters could store the goods in their pack or cart but had no right to open it. Only upon delivery would they receive rewards and commissions.

If the cargo was robbed en route, it would drop upon death, but even bandits couldn’t open or keep it—only by contacting the recipient or reaching the delivery point could it be traded. It seemed some agency’s red cargo had been ambushed in Huima Town’s Yoming Mountain, and Zhang He had stumbled upon it.

He chuckled—whether bandit or escort, he could profit and improve his lot.

With that thought, Zhang He tied the brocade box to his belt.

Just as he was about to leave, a voice called from the woods ahead, “Brother, please wait!”

Zhang He glanced back, cursing his carelessness. If he could spot others, they could just as easily spot him. Three players in Daoist robes and bamboo hats had appeared, and at their feet lay a heap of similarly dressed corpses.

Ah, once again they were Qingcheng Sect members—he seemed fated to encounter them.

Before he could reply, one of the Qingcheng players exclaimed, “Damn, it’s you!”

Zhang He smiled; wasn’t this the same Doughnut, dispatched by Sword Speechless at Qingluan Peak a few days ago? A typical Qingcheng disciple.

Doughnut’s face was furious. “You rookie, hand over the brocade box!”

Zhang He frowned. The leading player stepped forward, his robe bearing markings that suggested he was a senior disciple—likely second-tier, able to wield Qingcheng’s unique weapon, Thunder Lord Strike, and the advanced martial art, Nine Qing Techniques.

The senior disciple bowed from afar, displaying the manners of a great sect. “Brother, I am Daoist Xing Tianxia of Qingcheng Sect, senior disciple. My brothers and I passed through here and found that Yizhou’s Weiyuan Escort Agency was fighting another group. Their red cargo dropped, and since Qingcheng is a famed Yizhou sect, we wish to retrieve the cargo and return it to Weiyuan. If you trust Qingcheng, please hand the brocade box to me. Weiyuan and Qingcheng will surely reward you handsomely, and I’ll invite you to visit Qingcheng as an honored guest.”

Daoist Xing Tianxia indeed possessed the demeanor of a great sect; his words clarified the situation and dangled a tempting offer.

Zhang He sneered. “Weiyuan Escort Agency was fighting another group? With whom, may I ask?”

Daoist Xing Tianxia bowed again. “That, I truly do not know.”

“Oh?” A glint of cold light flashed in Zhang He’s eyes. “You don’t know? Yet I see many bodies here bearing wounds from Blue Sand Hand.”

The three Qingcheng disciples were stunned. None expected him to be so sharp, able to recognize Qingcheng’s martial art Blue Sand Hand—a poisonous technique, leaving a black mark near the temples of its victims, hard to spot unless closely examined.

But Zhang He’s observations didn’t end there. Pointing to a corpse behind the four, he said, “That one is your hall master, isn’t it?”

Daoist Xing Tianxia replied coldly, “Brother, what are you implying?”

Zhang He blinked. “You know very well what I mean.”

Daoist Xing Tianxia’s face darkened, but Doughnut began to shout, “Scum! We gave you a chance, but you’re refusing? We’ll kill you and loot your stuff all the same!”

Daoist Xing Tianxia kept his composure. Without knowing Zhang He’s strength