[Assist the Lu’an Escort Agency and protect the personal safety of the clients until the escort is successfully completed!]

[Do you wish to accept?]

Fang Shuwen’s brow twitched slightly when he saw the prompt.

’Just as I thought. The system doesn’t trigger for missions that aren’t trouble.’

’And now, here it is.’

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Mo Beidou secretly and repeatedly trying to signal him with his eyes.

He was urging him not to agree.

Fang Shuwen didn’t rush into a decision. Instead of saying yes or no, he asked,

"It’s not that I can’t agree, but what my senior brother said just now was all over the place.

"Young Chief of the Escort, could you tell me who exactly these two people are and where you’re supposed to be escorting them?"

The request was perfectly reasonable.

Lu Guiyan nodded and reiterated the parts Mo Beidou hadn’t explained clearly.

This particular escort mission had been commissioned by Wang Shouyan, the City Lord of Julu City. The task was to deliver the master and servant pair in the courtyard to Flying Snow City.

Flying Snow City held a remarkable status in the Jianghu. Although it wasn’t one of the Seven Great Sects of the Eastern Domain, the City Lord of Flying Snow City, Wu Lingxiao, was no ordinary person.

There was a saying in the Jianghu—’Three Immortals, Two Kings, One Madman of the City’—which referred to the six most renowned preeminent masters in the Eastern Domain. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The so-called ’One Madman of the City’ was none other than Wu Lingxiao.

Originally, this matter should have been handled by Wang Shouyan himself. However, as the City Lord of Julu City, his every word and action were watched by many. For the sake of the pair’s safety, he entrusted the Lu’an Escort Agency to escort them in secret.

As for the identities of the master and servant, Wang Shouyan had not specified them.

He only said that they had an extremely deep connection to Flying Snow City.

The two also carried a Lingxiao Order from Flying Snow City, which served as indirect proof of this connection.

Therefore, although Lu Guiyan sensed this job could be extremely tricky, after much deliberation, she decided to take the risk and accept it.

All because the matter involved Flying Snow City.

If this escort went well, establishing a closer relationship with Flying Snow City would make the future path of the Lu’an Escort Agency much smoother.

She just never expected that their travel route would become known to the Fierce Tiger Gang.

As for what happened next, Mo Beidou had already explained it.

If Fang Shuwen hadn’t happened to see his senior brother being followed from his inn room, and then revealed himself to save him... only to be brought here, Lu Guiyan would have likely met a dead end.

Lu Guiyan explained the full sequence of events, along with everything she currently knew.

She had also seen Mo Beidou signaling Fang Shuwen with his eyes, so she said softly,

"This is no easy matter. Brother Fang must weigh the pros and cons carefully. It would be perfectly understandable if you were to decline, so please don’t feel pressured."

Fang Shuwen nodded after listening.

This job was indeed extremely dangerous for the Lu’an Escort Agency, and from the sound of it, the situation was probably very deep and murky.

’But if it weren’t, the system probably wouldn’t have triggered a mission.’

’The system would never let him get rewards for free. Since a mission has been triggered, it’s best to accept it if at all possible.’

’Only by continuously completing missions could he continue to grow stronger.’

’And given the richness of the rewards from the last two times, this was an opportunity others could only dream of.’

’A bit of danger was to be expected.’

’Besides... even if the system hadn’t triggered a mission, Fang Shuwen most likely wouldn’t have refused Lu Guiyan’s invitation anyway.’

’After all, Mo Beidou was a member of the Lu’an Escort Agency.’

’Fang Shuwen could refuse. He could turn around and walk away. But Mo Beidou wouldn’t.’

’Judging from his confrontation with those two from the Fierce Tiger Gang in the narrow alley, he had a profound sense of belonging to the Lu’an Escort Agency.’

’It wasn’t that he couldn’t just drag him away by force.’

’But Fang Shuwen couldn’t bring himself to do something like forcing a decision on someone else under the pretext of ’it’s for your own good’.

’Since that was the case, he might as well go along for the ride.’

’He could protect his senior brother and complete a mission at the same time.’

’Compared to those two things, the so-called ’generous reward’—whether he got it or not—was far less important.’

’As for matters in Guangning City, the only thing that gave him pause was the Fang Family.’

’But from the looks of it, the Fang Family wasn’t in any special trouble for now. Nineteen years had passed; it wouldn’t make sense for something to suddenly happen in the two days since he’d found them, right?’

’Taking a huge step back, Fang Mingxuan was a master of hiding his true capabilities. Even if there was a problem, it wouldn’t necessarily be the Fang Family that suffered for it.’

’For now, his senior brother’s situation was more important.’

Thinking this, Fang Shuwen made his choice.

[Accepted!]

[Current Guard Mission: Assist the Lu’an Escort Agency and protect the personal safety of the clients until the escort is successfully completed!]

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. For the duration of this mission, you have received a threefold buff to your Talent and comprehension. This buff will be automatically canceled if the mission is abandoned or completed.]

’Threefold...’

Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow. ’Does this mean the Lu’an Escort Agency’s mission is even more dangerous than I thought?’

’Or is the reward for Talent and comprehension just random?’

’After all, no matter how dangerous it is, it can’t be more dangerous than the Black Death Sect, can it?’

But there was no point in letting his mind wander here.

Fang Shuwen glanced at Lu Guiyan, who was still waiting for his answer, and said with a smile,

"Alright. Since Young Chief Lu has invited me with such sincerity, and my senior brother earns his keep under you, I truly have no reason to refuse.

"So... I’ll accompany you on your journey."

"Xiao Shiliu..."

Mo Beidou was shocked. He had signaled him so insistently with his eyes, and he had thought Fang Shuwen wouldn’t agree... How could he still say yes?

Fang Shuwen just smiled and nodded at him.

Hearing this, Lu Guiyan let out a huge sigh of relief. She clasped her fists and gave him a deep bow.

"Thank you, Brother Fang."

Sun Qian, who had long since stood up straight with a disgruntled look, now took a step forward.

"Young Chief of the Escort, are your injuries much better now?"

"I’m mostly fine now."

Lu Guiyan gave him a deep look.

Only then did Sun Qian nod and say,

"In that case, we need the Young Chief of the Escort to decide on our next course of action soon."

Lu Guiyan nodded slightly and invited Fang Shuwen, Mo Beidou, and Sun Qian into the house to begin discussing a strategy.

The Fierce Tiger Gang was a considerable force. Its leader was named Qin Hu. He was the fourth child in his family, so people in the Jianghu also called him Master Qin Si.

Under him were four halls, named after the four cardinal directions—East, West, South, and North. Each of the four Hall Masters was an expert. Furthermore, many eccentric and extraordinary figures from the Jianghu had gathered around Qin Hu. The Fierce Tiger Gang alone had several thousand members, making its power complex, immense, and truly out of the ordinary.

Guangning City, where they were now, was right within the Fierce Tiger Gang’s sphere of influence.

Confronting such a behemoth head-on was something Lu Guiyan and her group hadn’t even considered.

All their thoughts were now focused on how to escape from right under their noses.

Mo Beidou and Sun Qian each had their own ideas and argued back and forth, unable to agree on which was better.

Lu Guiyan’s gaze shifted to Fang Shuwen, who was off to the side.

"Does Brother Fang have any brilliant insights?"

Fang Shuwen looked up at Lu Guiyan and asked,

"Do you know where the Fierce Tiger Gang Headquarters is located?"