Chapter 146: Chapter 70: Galloping through the Mountains and Forests, the Taiping Escort Agency Encounters a Mishap

After years of cultivation, the Qi within Shen Qing's body had amassed to a tremendous level. Coupled with the overlay of strength from the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill, it produced an unexpectedly powerful effect.

After using this move, Shen Qing immediately felt bouts of dizziness and weakness. He knew these were side effects of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill. Thus, he habitually channeled the Blood Dominance Technique, and his Qi-Blood surged wildly within him.

After many days of arduous cultivation, he had elevated the Blood Dominance Technique to the Small Success realm.

By now, the amount of Qi-Blood within his flesh was almost two to three times that of a normal person.

Under Shen Qing's intentional command, a large amount of essence flowed out from the depths of his flesh and body, rapidly replenishing the deficits caused by the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill.

In just a moment, Shen Qing shook off the dizziness and weakness.

He had tested and found that, with his current level of Qi-Blood, he could use the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill consecutively about three times.

Any more than that, and he wouldn't be able to shake off the weakness.

"Hiss-lala!"

At that moment, a huge commotion came from the horse stable, with continuous whinnying piercing the air, interrupting his thoughts.

Shen Qing hurried over and found Shen Xiaoshan tightly gripping the reins, trying to soothe the black steed.

Shen Xiaoshan's body was frail, and he seemed a bit overexerted as he clung to the horse's head.

Shen Qing walked up, placed his hand on the horse's back and pressed down.

The black steed knelt down with a thud, as if it couldn't handle the burden, finally calming down.

"What happened?" Shen Qing asked Shen Xiaoshan.

Shen Xiaoshan replied, "Just now there was a huge disturbance in the yard, and Zhuifeng got frightened."

Shen Qing's face tensed up.

That's when he realized it was caused by his recent skill testing.

Shen Xiaoshan said, "Brother Qingzi, Zhuifeng has been cooped up in the stable for a while now and is getting restless. Any small noise sets it off; you need to take it out for a run."

Shen Qing reckoned that he had indeed been mostly indoors, cultivating and rarely going out during this period.

It wasn't good for the steed to be always confined in the stable.

Shen Qing nodded and said, "Then get the saddle and everything ready; I'll take it out for a spin."

"Okay."

Zhuifeng, as if it understood human nature, seemed to realize it was going out and immediately brightened up, its large eyes gleaming spiritedly.

It rose from its kneeling stance and became docile.

Soon, the saddle and other equipment were prepared.

Shen Qing stepped forward, grabbed the reins, and vaulted skillfully onto the horse's back.

Zhuifeng had been a gift from the Li and Dong Family and was well-tamed before it was given to him.

With a flick of the reins by Shen Qing, Zhuifeng started to trot, its hooves moving briskly, continuing out of the yard.

Seated atop Zhuifeng, Shen Qing glanced inadvertently at the information displayed on the Water Ink Panel.

[Skill: Riding Skill (Proficient)]

[Progress: 156/200 points]

[Status: Cannot be improved]

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Shen Qing's face remained calm as he put away the Panel information and spurred Zhuifeng onto the main street.

Zhuifeng's steps were rhythmic, quivering with each move, and even without understanding horse language, Shen Qing could sense its happiness.

Entering the familiar street, Shen Qing noticed that most of the shops had their doors and windows firmly shut. A few were half-open, exuding an air of desolation and bleakness, a stark contrast to the past hustle and bustle.

Shen Qing's expression grew solemn.

After the upheaval with the Huang Tian Sect, and in addition to the impact of the tiger demon incident on their wild game business, the Song family was nearly at the brink of collapse.

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A few days after Song Gongming of the Song and Dong Family died mysteriously, no one was going to pass up the opportunity to swallow up their business.

Just as everyone had anticipated, the Zhou Family, Li Family, Wang Family, and even the government office began to take action, competing for the restaurants and various industries originally belonging to the Song family.

So, during this period, it was common to encounter gangs fighting fiercely on the streets.

Plus, since many of the Song family's businesses were restaurant storefronts, they were the most affected by the lively atmosphere on the main street.

Shen Qing didn't know when this chaos would end; he gently tapped Zhuifeng's belly with the tip of his foot.

Zhuifeng seemed to sense his master's intent, a gleam in his eyes, as his hooves took flight, secretly picking up speed, and soon they had charged out of the city gates and headed for the wilderness.

The road in the countryside was winding, a path he had traveled countless times and knew well.

Seeing that the road was empty, Shen Qing let go completely. Zhuifeng, feeling his master's recklessness, let out a neigh, and dashed away like an arrow released from its bow.

The horse's hooves kicked up, stirring clouds of dust, and horse and rider quickly merged with the forest.

...

In the forests along the official road outside of Taiping County, the Taiping Escort Agency's caravan was slowly making its way.

The Taiping Escort Agency placed great importance on this deal, and to prevent any mishaps, the Chief, Tang You, and Tang Wanrou were both leading the team personally.

This was the last trip.

"Dad, we're about to reach Zhangzi Forest, tell everyone to get ready to unload." Tang Wanrou was at the very front of the group and spoke to Tang You.

The middle-aged Tang You saw that the matter was coming to an end, his weathered face lightened somewhat, "After unloading, you guys go back first, I'll go to the escort leader for the handover, and you don't have to worry about it."

"Okay, got it," Tang Wanrou replied, then asked about something that was bothering her, "Why does the escort leader want to deliver the goods to such a remote location? What's the reason?"

"Don't pry into the escort leader's business. We get paid, we do the work, that's it."

Tang Wanrou said, "But I always feel like this money comes too easily, and it makes me uneasy."

"Don't overthink it. Regardless, this business is crucial for our escort agency, a rare opportunity, and we must do it."

After walking for a while, Tang You called out to everyone, "We've arrived; start unloading the goods."

Tang Wanrou's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, wanting to say more, but Tang You had already gone to prepare for unloading, leaving her no choice but to give up.

They had moved many times before and were already familiar with the task, handling the goods without much care anymore.

Clatter!

Just then, a box that wasn't secured properly rolled off the cart, spilling its contents all over the ground.

An escort master walked over to take a look and his face changed color when he saw what was inside.

"Chief, come take a look at this," he called.

Tang You, looking puzzled, walked over in response to the call. When he saw what was in the box, his face also changed.

The box was filled with weapons, blades, and armor.

On closer inspection, many of the items were from the armory in Taiping County, all banned by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This was trouble.

"Chief, what do we do?" one escort master asked gravely, "If this is discovered, it's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations."

Tang You realized he might have become involved in a major dilemma.

After hesitating for a moment, he immediately said, "Everyone, don't bother with this anymore, go, leave immediately, and report this to the Lord County Magistrate."

"Alright, everyone, don't pack up, the Chief has ordered, we leave immediately," someone echoed.

However, just as they were about to leave, a burly figure appeared in front of Tang You and the others.

"Tang, where are you planning to go? We haven't finished the handover yet," said the figure.

Tang You shuddered, sensing a chilling sense of murderous intent.

He shouted, "Run!"

Just as his voice fell, countless arrows rained down from the surrounding forest, enveloping them completely.

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