Chapter 149: Liu Lu

Duan Rong walked into the Gathering Justice Hall, his heart jumping in shock at the formation before his eyes.

Ruan Fengshan was still sitting on the large, wide chair, only this time he was smiling faintly with a face full of spring breeze...

What surprised Duan Rong was that the two rows of grand chairs below the high, wide chair in the Gathering Justice Hall were actually occupied by quite a few people; the moment he stepped through the door, pair after pair of eyes locked onto him.

Aside from the Chief Leader Luan Jingfu, Chief Instructor Xiao Zongting, and Chief Accountant Xu Shouxian, three of the six Escort Team heads had also come: the head of the Second Escort Team Sun Huang, the head of the Fifth Escort Team Li Gu, and the head of the Sixth Escort Team Zhao Meng were all prominently in attendance.

Duan Rong knew that the first, third, and fourth escort teams were out on escort missions and had not yet returned to the Escort Agency; otherwise, he reckoned those three team heads would have participated as well.

It seemed that the matter of the one thousand jin of gold involving Ruan Jinghe had indeed caused quite a stir within the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

"Duan Rong pays respects to all teachers and seniors!" Standing at the entrance, Duan Rong cupped his hands and bowed deeply, considering that to be his full respects.

After all, with so many people present, if he had to pay respects to each one individually, it would turn into a recitation of a menu.

"Duan Rong!" Ruan Fengshan said in a warm voice: "You have performed a great service this time! I have discussed it with the Chief Leader Mr. Luan and the Chief Instructor Xiao Lao. The fifteenth of the fifth month is the assessment day for Intern Escorts to become full members, and you are specially permitted to participate and be promoted early."

The contract clearly stated a three-year internship!

He had only gone on one escort mission, and they were promoting him already? Wasn't the fifteenth of the fifth month next month?

This promotion didn't have a single downside; Intern Escorts went on escort missions just the same, only receiving less money, yet the work they did was not a bit less!

"Also, I have specially approved a sum of money for you from the Chief Accountant Xu Shouxian. It is one thousand taels of silver in total, intended as your cultivation funds, which will be issued to you month by month over ten months!"

"I must warn you, this money is not to be spent recklessly; it must be used for cultivation."

Duan Rong obediently cupped his hands and said in a clear voice: "Yes!"

But in his heart, he secretly thought, I am already worth tens of thousands of taels; would I care about this pittance and spend it recklessly?

Everything Ruan Fengshan said had already been discussed in the hall beforehand, so everyone already knew about it; thus, most of them had little reaction upon hearing it, merely glancing at Duan Rong with their eyes.

However, once Ruan Fengshan's next sentence was spoken, the expressions on everyone's faces suddenly became fascinating...

"There is a residence in the northwest of the Zhong Yuan Yan Wu Chang called Liu Lu. You don't need to stay in the dormitory anymore; you can stay in this residence for now."

Ruan Fengshan said in a casual tone: "However, this house has been empty for many years, so you will likely need to tidy it up well!"

Hearing that there was a house to live in, Duan Rong felt a surge of joy; he had long disliked the narrow and cramped dormitory, and the outside was not as safe as the Escort Agency. Among so many rewards, this final item was the only one that hit the mark, solving a major pain point for him.

"Duan Rong respectfully thanks Manager Ruan for his great kindness!" Standing in the hall, Duan Rong cupped his hands in a bow to Ruan Fengshan, his tone respectful.

However, this reward could also be said to have been bought with his life! To be honest, this bit of stuff couldn't be considered much; it could only be considered average.

Yet, several people in the hall looked at Duan Rong with strange expressions.

After all, this Liu Lu had some history to it.

This residence existed back when the Old Shopkeeper was still alive, when Ruan Fengshan was still a young master!

For a few years, his relationship with the Old Shopkeeper was very discordant, and Ruan Fengshan was young and impetuous, so in a fit of anger, he moved out of the Back Courtyard and built a residence in the southwest of the Martial Arts Arena, naming it Liu Lu, where he lived year-round, closing his doors to guests.

But later, after the Old Shopkeeper passed away and Ruan Fengshan took charge of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, the residence stood empty...

This was the first time Ruan Fengshan had let someone move in; the implications of this were worth pondering. After all, it was the courtyard he had lived in himself; calling it a "former residence" would not be an exaggeration.

Once the rewards were finished and Duan Rong had bowed in thanks, he withdrew from the Gathering Justice Hall. The people in the hall seemed to have other matters to discuss, but that had nothing to do with Duan Rong; he moved into Liu Lu that very afternoon.

Liu Lu did not have the two-layered courtyard structure like Xiao Zongting's residence, divided into a front and back courtyard; Liu Lu only had one layer, but this courtyard was very spacious.

The walls of the courtyard were planted with willow trees; at this moment, green tassels hung down, dancing with the wind like the graceful sleeves of a beautiful woman...

"A good courtyard!" Duan Rong couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The main building, facing south, consisted only of a hall connected to a bedroom; it was a purely wooden structure, ancient and secluded.

To the east, there were two side rooms, one kitchen, and one storage room.

Besides this, there was also a pavilion in the courtyard; this pavilion was built somewhat crudely, even appearing a bit abrupt, as if it had been added later.

However, this courtyard had indeed been unoccupied for a long time, and there was dust everywhere!

As soon as Duan Rong entered, he immediately threw himself into a deep cleaning; he first took a broom and swept the entire room inside and out.

Then, he filled the large water vat at the entrance of the kitchen with fresh water.

Following that, he used a wooden basin to scoop water and washed the entire house from top to bottom...

While deep cleaning, Duan Rong discovered that the north side of Liu Lu was separated from the Back Courtyard of the Yuanshun Escort Agency by only a wall, with just a very narrow passageway in between.

When the guards of the Back Courtyard patrolled, they effectively took care of the security of Liu Lu as well.

This meant that the security conditions of Liu Lu were a grade higher than other places in the Middle Courtyard.

This benefit was quite significant for Duan Rong!

After all, he was currently entangled in quite a few matters, both in the open and in the dark; having guards patrolling at least added an extra layer of protection!

After cleaning the house, Duan Rong washed himself by the well; he hadn't had a proper bath in the month or so he had been out on the escort mission, and his whole body was covered in a layer of grime.

Duan Rong peeled off the bandage on his shoulder and found that the Golden Sore Medicine Xiao Yu had given him was truly effective; despite such deep wounds, although they hadn't scabbed over in a single night, the bleeding had completely stopped.

After washing his body and changing the medicine, Duan Rong wrapped the wounds back up. By the time he finished all this, it was already dusk; the afterglow of the setting sun spilled into the courtyard, and the green willows looked as if they had been coated with gold powder, appearing even more charming and moving.

However, Duan Rong had no time to appreciate it; he put on his clothes and went to the cafeteria to eat. Having not eaten cafeteria food for over a month, he really missed it quite a bit.

After eating, Duan Rong left the Escort Agency and, taking advantage of the fact that the Raw Medicine Shop hadn't closed yet, he bought three doses of medicine!

Now that this escort mission was over, the next one depended on business arrangements; he might set off in a few days, or he might not move for a month.

After all, which Escort Team took which Escort Route was basically fixed, unless an Escort Route was truly too busy to handle, in which case an Escort Team would be temporarily transferred; such situations did not happen very often.

During his leisure time, he had to intensify his cultivation!

This past month or so had been fraught with danger! If he hadn't been diligent in his cultivation and accumulated quite a few life-saving means, he probably would have been done for.

In view of this, Duan Rong felt even more that he needed to seize the time to strengthen his own power, especially to reach the Inner Breath Realm Third Layer as soon as possible!

Duan Rong set the medicine to boil in the medicine furnace and paced back to Liu Lu. Since the Medicinal Agent wasn't ready yet, he couldn't stand the Hunyuan Stance yet, so he decided to ponder something else during this time.

Duan Rong recalled the Unnamed Three Styles that Xiao Zongting had taught him!

At that time, the schedule was too tight, and it was a bit of a rush; now, as he thought about it carefully, he felt that these three styles were far more inspiring to him than he had imagined at the time!

(End of chapter)