“I want to hire an escort,” Gu Qingyan said.

The escort captain at the door glanced at him and waved his hand, “Kid, don’t come here to cause trouble.”

Gu Qingyan took out a silver note: “I have plenty of money. I want to hire an escort. Whether you accept or not…”

“We accept, of course we accept.” The escort captain saw the silver note clearly, immediately changed his attitude, and warmly invited him inside.

“Young master looks unfamiliar. How should I address you? Are you sending a person or goods? No matter if it’s people or goods, our escort agency has a good reputation and guarantees safety.”

Gu Qingyan glanced at the escort agency. It was indeed quite large, with many escorts and merchants coming and going inside.

He answered casually, “Sending a person, escort me back to Qingzhou Prefecture. How much silver will it cost?”

“That depends on how the young master wants to entrust it. If you go with a caravan, honest prices are one or two taels per person. If you want to hire escorts exclusively just for you, the price will be higher.”

The escort captain sized him up, noticing he had smooth delicate skin but looked unfamiliar. His clothes were clean but not luxurious, so he couldn’t figure out his status.

Gu Qingyan arrogantly raised his head: “Naturally, I want to hire a whole team. The more escorts, the better, to guarantee my safety.”

Big business!

The escort captain became even more enthusiastic, explaining the escort standards, the number of escorts, whether to walk or ride in a carriage—all affecting the price.

Gu Qingyan saw through this: they were trying to fleece him with a lion’s share.

“Money is not a problem, but the escorts must be the best,” Gu Qingyan smiled.

The escort captain patted his chest and guaranteed: “Our escort agency’s escorts rank second. In Lingchuan County, no one dares to claim first.”

“Whether you’re as good as you say, I’ll see for myself.” Gu Qingyan stopped and feigned curiosity: “What’s that place?”

He pointed toward the inner house of the escort agency, separated by a door that was locked.

The check-in point was right there.

The escort captain glanced back and explained, “That’s where the escorts usually practice their skills. Nothing special to see. Young master, why don’t we go inside the hall, have some tea and snacks, and talk slowly?”

Gu Qingyan said, “Just right, I’m interested in watching the escorts practice. Can I take a look?”

The escort captain hesitated.

Gu Qingyan slipped him a silver note: “You accompany me to take a look, let me see the escorts’ skills so I can be assured hiring you. That’s not breaking any rules, right?”

The escort captain stuffed the silver note into his pocket and laughed heartily: “No rules broken. What harm can there be in a training place? This way, young master.”

“That’s the way, seeing with my own eyes lets me rest assured.”

Gu Qingyan leisurely walked inside, strolling deeper, with the check-in point close in sight.

Just as he stepped forward—

“Stop!”

A harsh shout came.

The escort captain hurriedly apologized: “Sir, forgive me. This young master wanted to hire an escort and said he wanted to watch the brothers practice. I took the liberty of bringing him in. We’ll leave immediately.”

Gu Qingyan looked up, meeting a pair of triangular, snake-like eyes staring at him.

“You want to hire an escort?”

“Yes, exactly. Is there a problem?” Gu Qingyan felt a wave of hostility, turned, and recognized the visitor as Clerk Bai.

He actually appeared openly inside the escort agency. It seemed Gu Dashan’s information was incomplete.

Clerk Bai’s gaze was dark and fierce: “Your escort business, the escort agency will not accept.”

The escorts were surprised, looking at Clerk Bai cautiously, not daring to say a word.

Gu Qingyan raised an eyebrow: “Oh? I have plenty of money. Why won’t you accept a business coming to your door?”

Clerk Bai sneered and stepped forward a few paces.

“You brat doesn’t know his place. Haven’t been taught a lesson these days and still dares to think of going back to Qingzhou Prefecture.”

Gu Qingyan’s expression darkened: “You’re the one harming me. What’s your relationship with Li Jinting?”

Clerk Bai sneered: “I can’t stand someone usurping a nest. I’m standing up for Young Master Li. As long as Bai is still in Lingchuan County, don’t think you’ll ever have a day to shine.”

“Kid, blame your parents for the evil seeds they sowed. You’ve taken advantage of the Li family for fifteen years. Be sensible and stay quietly farming in Meiling Village like a good peasant. Otherwise—hmpf.”

“Otherwise what?”

Gu Qingyan retorted, “I’m going back to Qingzhou Prefecture no matter what. What can you do to me?”

“There are bandits on the road. If you insist on courting death, don’t blame me,” Clerk Bai sneered with malice.

Gu Qingyan posed as an ignorant, fearless young master: “If you refuse to escort, there are plenty of people in Lingchuan County willing to escort for money. Are you afraid of a few bandits?”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll come back to Qingzhou Prefecture and give you trouble?”

“You? Not qualified.” Clerk Bai sneered: “You can’t persuade a dead man with kind words. Guards, escort this guest out.”

The escorts hurried to pull Gu Qingyan away. “Go, go, we don’t accept your business.”

Gu Qingyan shouted loudly, “Clerk Bai’s words are interesting—like the bandits all take orders from him and will ambush me on the road. Could it be Clerk Bai has connections with the bandits?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” The escorts’ faces turned very unpleasant.

“If I die on the road, it will definitely be related to Clerk Bai. Even as a ghost, I’ll come back to settle accounts with you.”

Gu Qingyan said slowly. Clerk Bai’s face grew colder and deadly intent appeared.

“Baseless slander, who’d believe your ghost stories?” Clerk Bai flicked his sleeves and looked at Gu Qingyan like a dead man.

In a few words, Gu Qingyan had already stepped onto the check-in point.

[You have successfully checked in at the Lingchuan County Escort Agency and received the Cut-off Path Asura Ledger.]

A ledger?

With the reward in hand, Gu Qingyan didn’t linger and turned to leave.

The escorts swept him out and returned to Clerk Bai to apologize: “Sir, I didn’t know his identity, thought it was a big business.”

“Fool, even if it’s business, how can you bring people into the inner hall?” Clerk Bai slapped angrily.

The escort captain was big and strong but didn’t dare resist the blow.

Clerk Bai returned to the inner courtyard, furious: “Don’t know your place, how dare you threaten me?”

He suspected Gu Qingyan might have learned some secret from entering the inner hall.

But the escort agency’s secrets were deep inside; just wandering in the inner hall shouldn’t have touched anything.

“Why get angry, sir? I think it’s good that he’s restless. Otherwise, how would you have a chance to make a move?” Madam Xu said softly.

Clerk Bai’s eyes flickered upon hearing this.

“This person is a thorn in the side for your cousin and the Li family nephew. Yet he’s so unwise to still want to return and be a nuisance. Sir can do a favor and let things flow.”

Clerk Bai stroked his beard: “Madam is right. I thought he’d die on the way to Lingchuan County, but unexpectedly he survived. Now he’s seeking his own death. I’ll just see him off.”

Madam Xu smiled: “Once he’s dead, your cousin will surely show gratitude. We’ve helped her for over ten years; it’s time your position gets promoted.”

Clerk Bai laughed out loud, already envisioning promotion and wealth.

With the ledger in hand, Gu Qingyan’s heart was pounding wildly.

He found a place to check the ledger and grew more alarmed the more he read. He had thought Clerk Bai was just greedy and blinded by the Li family’s power, so he made things difficult for him deliberately.

But after examining the ledger, Gu Qingyan realized the situation was serious.

Clerk Bai was actually involved in the Cut-off Path Asura trade.

The so-called “Broken Road Asura” refers to those who, when they take off their clothes, are bandits, but when they put on their uniforms, become escorts—officials colluding with bandits.

Bai Zhubu (Clerk Bai) established the escort agency under the pretense of protecting merchant caravans and commoners, collecting fees for each person escorted.

Meanwhile, he secretly colluded with the bandits, passing along information. Anyone unwilling to pay to hire the escort agency would have their movements reported to the bandits as soon as they stepped out of the city gates.

No one escaped this fate.

Over time, the common people learned this harsh lesson, which gave rise to the saying in Lingchuan County that anyone traveling far must hire the escort agency—because if you don’t pay, the bandits will come for your life.

Countless people had died at the hands of bandits over more than a decade.

What’s even more terrifying was that when merchant caravans carried expensive goods, the escort agency would tip off the bandits, stage a fake robbery, or even collude fully to rob the caravan clean.

A perfect scheme to profit on both sides.

The common people were full of gratitude for the escort agency’s protection, completely unaware that they were the true culprits.

Each bloody case stained the ledger with thick blood—those were lives lost.

No wonder Lingchuan County’s several attempts to eradicate bandits all ended in failure; as soon as a bandit-hunting squad set out, news would be leaked to the bandits.

How could they possibly catch them?

The bandits around Lingchuan County could never be wiped out; like spring grass, they kept growing back. It was all Bai Zhubu pulling strings behind the scenes.

Without bandits, he would create bandits, forcing the common people to spend extra just to pay for safe passage.

Gu Qingyan closed the ledger, his expression grave.

Now that he knew the truth, how would he bring Bai Zhubu to justice? After more than a decade, how many officials in the county government were involved? Did the county magistrate know?

Did Bai Zhubu have powerful backers? Was this matter connected to the Li family?

Even more troubling, were the bandits he encountered on the way to Lingchuan County connected to the Li family?

---

[Lingchuan County Magistrate: Hong Deyun, courtesy name Zhonghuai, ancestral home Cangshan, wife surname Zhang, has two sons and one daughter, strict and upright in character, skilled in calculation, fond of wine.]

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Gu Qingyan studied this entry in the county records again and again, deciding to trust the system this time.

A magistrate marked as strict and upright shouldn’t be in collusion with Bai Zhubu. Even if some officials were involved, it probably wasn’t Magistrate Hong.

Such a major case would be beyond his power alone; it required the intervention of the local magistrate.

Gu Qingyan pondered and decided he had to meet Magistrate Hong first.

Thinking this, he took out the wooden token gifted by Pei Xuan from his pocket.