Standing Guard on an Escort (1)
Finishing the entry process didn't mean training was over. The intensity had lessened somewhat, but the drills continued.
'Does this place even work?'
For some reason, we were training more than we were actually working. A wave of anxiety about the company washed over me, but for now I decided to focus on training.
This time, it was formation training.
Since escort warriors frequently faced group combat situations, formations were practically essential.
Of course, not grand arrays like the 108 Arhat Formation or the Big Dipper Azure Steel Formation, but rather small-unit tactics—the sort commonly practiced in the military.
"Alright! This time, diagonal formation!"
The diagonal formation was deployed using the wagons carrying the escorted goods, particularly on narrow roads. Each wagon would be positioned in a zigzag diagonal pattern, then the axle connecting the wheels would be broken to collapse the wagon and block the passage.
A wagon with its axle snapped became both an obstacle for the enemy and a barricade for us.
With the path obstructed, enemies would have no choice but to squeeze through the narrow gaps between wagons or attempt to leap over them—making them easy targets.
"Diagonal deployment!"
The escort warriors assigned to driving duties quickly unhitched the horses and arranged the wagons in a zigzag pattern.
"Break the axles!"
I was assigned the role of snapping the axles. As taught, I pulled the axle from the wheel assembly and tipped the wagon over to one side.
With a heavy thud, the wagon collapsed, forming a sturdy barrier.
Once the formation was complete, Head Escort Kang, who was overseeing the drill, nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Well done, everyone. Formations using wagons like this should be avoided when possible, as the wagons may be permanently damaged. However, once deployed, they provide considerable defensive strength."
After delivering his closing remarks and pointing out a few minor mistakes during the drill, Head Escort Kang dismissed us. I scratched my head as I prepared to head home.
Still, something felt off.
There were just over thirty escort warriors stationed at this branch, yet since joining, I hadn't seen a single one depart on an escort mission.
As far as I remembered, Baekun Escort Agency usually had a steady stream of work.
Why had things suddenly become so quiet?
And quiet was not good. During training periods, we were paid only the base salary.
That base salary was pitiful—barely minimum wage, enough to scrape by at best. After paying for rice and firewood, there was almost nothing left.
For days now, I had been surviving on thin porridge with a pinch of salt.
And that wasn't the end of expenses.
There were monthly hometown association dues, and I also had to contribute "development funds" to the boss managing the shantytown where I lived. Money drained away endlessly, yet my income had shrunk to a trickle. For someone living day to day, it was suffocating.
Training itself was good. My swordsmanship had clearly sharpened—I could feel it taking solid form. But martial arts only matter once you can afford to eat.
I'd expected no escort missions during the first month of training. But this prolonged lull was suspicious.
Deciding to at least ask around, I searched the agency for someone to question. Fortunately, I soon ran into Sama Yul.
"Brother, have you been well?"
"Ah, my timid little brother! Still alive, I see? Hahaha!"
Suppressing the urge to strangle him, I exchanged brief pleasantries before asking why there had been no work lately.
Sama Yul shrugged.
"Probably won't be any escort missions until the higher-ups make a decision."
"What?"
No missions? What was that supposed to mean?
Had the entire martial world declared a sabbatical year?
"You remember those bandits from last time, don't you? We need to renegotiate with them."
Sama Yul began explaining.
Maeyang County lay at the edge of Hubei Province, near Anhui. It was a rural backwater with no notable local products—but it had one advantage: cross one mountain, and you reached Anhui.
Because of that, Baekun Escort Agency had long used it as a transit hub for logistics.
The general flow of goods went like this:
From Moochang—the city that would later be known as Wuhan—supplies were transported by river to a nearby county called Naseong.
From there, they were moved overland to Maeyang. The Maeyang branch would then escort the goods across the mountain to Lake Tai. From that branch, the goods would finally be sent to Hefei, where Baekun Escort Agency's headquarters was located.
Yes, that Hefei—the very same city famous in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as the "wall of lamentation" for the state of Wu.
In short:
Moochang → Naseong → Maeyang → Lake Tai → Hefei
"But recently, the bandits from Mugang Mountain launched an ambush, didn't they?"
"They did."
"That's what shut everything down. If we can't cross Mugang Mountain, then Maeyang Branch has no role. Without that route, there's simply no work."
Now it made sense.
Until now, Baekun Escort Agency had maintained an agreement with the Mugang Mountain bandit camp—paying a certain fee for safe passage.
But after the recent attack during an escort mission, the land route through Mugang Mountain had been completely blocked. Naturally, Maeyang Branch had been left idle.
"The higher-ups suspect the bandit chief at Mugang may have changed. They're gathering information as we speak."
"So we're basically closed for business for the time being."
A sigh escaped me. It didn't sound like something that would be resolved quickly.
'Rice is the immediate problem…'
An escort warrior without escort missions was little better than an unemployed man. The base salary barely covered food; the real money came from escorting goods.
Yet I couldn't even take up a side job. Every day I had to report to the agency for voluntary training and formation drills.
Veterans like Sama Yul could probably slack off now and then. But as a rookie, I couldn't afford to draw attention.
"Now you understand. The higher-ups will sort it out, so don't overthink it. What can we do if the bandits act like that? It's not your fault. Anyway, care for a drink today?"
He made a tipping gesture with his hand.
I forced a look of regret and shook my head. I didn't have the money for alcohol.
"I'm broke."
"Oh dear…"
"Brother, is there any way to earn some money? I can't survive on the training pay alone."
"What happened? What about the money you got after your last escort? Don't tell me you gambled it away?"
"Come on, brother. I don't even touch gambling. I just had some unavoidable expenses. I've got no savings left, and the training pay is just too little."
"True enough. The training stipend is stingy."
If I'd known this would happen, I should've grabbed that apothecary Hwang by the collar and squeezed a few more coins off the price of that ten-year-old heshouwu. Regret washed over me.
"So… is there any way to make money?"
"It's not like there isn't."
"What is it?"
Sama Yul grinned.
"You can stand guard as a bopyo."
Bopyo .
In simple terms—bodyguard duty. Escort agencies didn't only transport goods; they also dispatched personnel for protection work. Guarding estates, providing security—anything that required muscle, really. You could think of it as a multi-branch enterprise with its hands in every pie.
After a brief moment of thought, I asked,
"How much does it pay?"
"Enough for pocket money. For a rookie like you, about 100 mun a day. If you cover night duty too, it adds up nicely. There are even specialists who do only bopyo work."
One hundred mun a day meant three nyang of silver a month.
"That's quite tempting."
"Well, the real money's in village warfare escorts—but that's dangerous."
"Yeah… that sounds like a hard pass."
Village warfare, or gyetu, sounded quaint—like some friendly rivalry between villages. It wasn't.
It was real war.
When neighboring villages had grudges, they sometimes erupted into full-scale battles. Not playful competitions—actual warfare. The scale could reach into the thousands. Brutal, merciless, and far bloodier than one might imagine.
I had no desire to get dragged into that kind of nightmare, so quiet bodyguard duty it would be.
"Where do I apply?"
"Tell the Head Escort. He'll probably be pleased. They're actually looking for someone because of the second wife at the Zheng estate."
"The second wife?"
What did that mean?
Sama Yul snickered.
"Heh heh… well, you see…"
If you asked anyone in Maeyang County who the richest man was, they would name Zheng Chusan of the Zheng estate without hesitation.
No one knew how he'd amassed his wealth, but he owned dozens of grand tiled mansions—rich beyond measure.
And when a man has money, what's the first thing he acquires?
A concubine, of course.
What man refuses more women?
Zheng Chusan was no different.
The moment he became head of the Zheng estate, the first thing he did was search for a beauty to become his second wife.
Unfortunately, Maeyang was a rural backwater whose main produce was crops. The women he could find locally failed to meet his aesthetic standards.
Which, frankly, was only natural.
This wasn't Uzbekistan. The local women were sun-darkened from plowing fields and herding cattle—not exactly celestial beauties.
But Zheng Chusan was a man of perseverance. He searched far and wide and eventually found a peerless beauty.
He celebrated even more extravagantly than he had for his first marriage.
And that was where the trouble began.
This second wife, known as Lady Nanhwa, was so stunning that the second son of the sect leader of the Absolute Blade Sect—a business partner of the Zheng estate—laid eyes on her and promptly caused an incident.
Well… calling it an "incident" might not be entirely fair.
Perhaps "mutual responsibility" would be more accurate.
In an instant, Zheng Chusan went from blissful husband to cuckolded fool. Furious beyond measure, he stormed to the Absolute Blade Sect to protest.
They said he nearly coughed up blood from rage.
The sect was in a difficult position.
For twenty years, the Absolute Blade Sect had grown by handling all security matters for the Zheng estate and its affiliated merchant caravans. Their finances were deeply tied to Zheng Chusan. If the relationship collapsed, the sect would suffer catastrophic losses—perhaps even be forced into large-scale downsizing or closure.
Given that, they had no choice but to discipline the second son who couldn't keep his lower half in check.
After much deliberation, the sect leader struck his son from the family registry.
That should have been the end of it—
Except rumors now claimed that the disgraced second son, still not having come to his senses, had been lurking around the Zheng estate, seeking Lady Nanhwa.
That was why Zheng Chusan had requested bodyguards from Baekun Escort Agency.
After hearing all that, I asked,
"And the second wife? She wasn't kicked out?"
"Apparently not."
Unless Zheng Chusan had some peculiar tastes, how did that make sense?
"What is he, some kind of enlightened Buddha? His wife had an affair with a younger man, and he just lets it go?"
Sama Yul patted my back and chuckled.
"Doesn't that tell you how beautiful she must be? Beautiful enough that a man might endure being made a fool of—just once."
…Now I was curious.