No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 15

Wan Niang’s estrus period was finally over. It was the first time she had gone through it with a Qian Yuan by her side, and it was exceptionally exhausting. She spent most of those three days sleeping. After getting through the estrus period, she was hit with an intense hunger. In just a few short days, she had almost eaten all the food she had stored at home.

Before Yang Lulong’s arrival, Wan Niang lived alone and only stored a small amount of dry food, enough for about a year. Yang Lulong’s presence meant that the year’s worth of food was now only enough to last for less than a month.

Coincidentally, Xiao Wen and her companions were planning a trip to a larger county town, so Wan Niang asked Yang Lulong to go with them to buy some more food and the estrus period pills that were recently out of stock.

Before Yang Lulong left, Wan Niang straightened her clothes and handed her a knapsack containing dry food and money for supplies.

“There are a lot of people in the city, and it’s a bit chaotic, so stay close to Xiao Wen and the others. Don’t get separated.”

Wan Niang was very worried about Yang Lulong’s first long trip. She tied and retied the ropes on the knapsack again and again.

“Don’t spend money on strange trinkets. The dry food is for the road. The rest of the money is for lodging and buying food.”

She repeated her instructions over and over.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Yang Lulong asked, curious as to why she wasn’t joining them.

“One more person means one more mouth to feed and more money to spend. Besides, I need to stay here in case anyone in the village needs me.”

She clutched Yang Lulong’s clothes, her fingers moving up and down on the collar.

“Xiao Yang! It’s time to go!” Xiao Wen’s voice came from outside.

Yang Lulong looked down at Wan Niang, who was unwilling to let go. She softly called out, “Wan Niang.”

“Hmm?” Wan Niang looked up at her.

Yang Lulong leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Then she hugged her and whispered in her ear, “I’m leaving now.”

“Mmm… be careful…” Wan Niang reluctantly let go of Yang Lulong and watched her walk out the door. She followed her outside and saw Xiao Wen and the others all ready to go, with their knapsacks on their backs.

When Xiao Wen and the others saw Wan Niang, they waved goodbye to her.

Wan Niang told them to be careful and stood at the door, watching them with reluctance as they walked away and eventually disappeared in the distance.

••••

They arrived in town in the afternoon. The town was much livelier than the village. The sounds of hawkers could be heard everywhere, and there were even performances by talented individuals and many interesting things that they had never seen before.

As soon as they arrived, Xiao Wen pulled the other two toward a noodle stall.

“This place has the best plain noodles. Every time I come to town, I have to have a bowl,” she said excitedly as she sat down and began to tell them about the stall.

“But we have to buy things…” Yang Lulong felt restless. She had a mission from Wan Niang, and she was uncomfortable not doing it first.

“There’s no rush. Let’s eat first; I’m starving,” Zhang Long complained. He had grabbed a pair of chopsticks as soon as he sat down, ready for his food to arrive.

“The shops here don’t close until it’s dark. It’s only afternoon, so we have plenty of time.”

Even though Xiao Wen said that, Yang Lulong still felt uneasy. She turned to look at the people coming and going on the street, observing the hawkers’ stalls.

“I know the guy who sells rice. He won’t close so early. I’ll take you there myself.” Xiao Wen watched the steaming bowl of noodles being placed in front of her. She took a deep breath, filled with the aroma of the noodles, and knew it was going to be delicious.

“Eat up, it won’t taste good if it gets cold,” Zhang Long said, slurping his noodles loudly. He urged Yang Lulong to eat since she hadn’t touched her chopsticks yet.

Yang Lulong picked up her chopsticks and took a couple of slurps. The noodles were indeed very good, homemade and very springy.

The three of them quickly finished their noodles, leaving not a single drop of soup behind.

After eating, it was time to get to business. Xiao Wen had been to the city many times and knew her way around. She easily found the shops they needed. She was very good at bargaining, and Yang Lulong watched as she haggled with the owners to get a better price for their goods. Before dusk, they were carrying their bags and heading straight for the inn.

The three of them were walking along the street when they suddenly heard the sound of gongs and horns. The melody was very festive.

“Is someone getting married?” Zhang Long was the tallest of the group. He stood on his tiptoes and peered in that direction. A group of sedan bearers in red robes carried a red sedan chair, and a few people in front of them were walking and playing festive horns.

Yang Lulong watched as the red sedan chair emerged from the crowd. The sedan bearers and their party were all beaming with joy as they passed by. She stared at the luxurious red sedan chair and a thought suddenly came to her. She turned to Xiao Wen and asked, “Do they sell these sedan chairs in a store?”

Xiao Wen was confused by her question but still answered, “I’ve never seen any. They’re probably custom-made by a craftsman.”

“How much would it cost to have a wedding like this?” she asked.

“The workmanship on that sedan chair is so intricate, it must be very expensive. And the couple’s wedding clothes, and furnishing a new house, and the banquet, and hiring those sedan bearers… It must be a very wealthy family. That’s not a small expense.”

“Speaking of which, it makes me so angry. For Sister Fang’s wedding, everyone brought their own food and tables, and the wedding dress was borrowed from Zhang Sao’s wedding day,” Zhang Long said angrily, throwing in a few more curses at Wu Yu.

Xiao Wen’s expression darkened. Sister Fang was forced into a bond with Wu Yu. If Wu Yu wasn’t around, her estrus period would become very erratic, and she would have to rely on estrus period pills to get by. Only when a Qian Yuan dies can the bond with their Kun Ze be broken. Whenever Sister Fang’s estrus period came at an inconvenient time, she knew that Wu Yu, that bastard, was still alive and well. Thinking about it made her furious.

Yang Lulong noticed Xiao Wen’s change. She glanced at her tightly clenched fists and comforted her by patting her on the shoulder. “We’ll definitely find a way to help Sister Fang.”

Xiao Wen looked at her, smiled with relief, and said gratefully, “Thank you…”

As they continued walking to the inn, Yang Lulong looked back at the large red sedan chair once more. She had to find a way to make money…

Just by chance, on a bulletin board next to the inn, there were a few job notices posted. Yang Lulong stopped in front of the board and immediately saw a recruitment notice:

“Tiger Gate Escort Agency is in urgent need of five brave men to escort an important shipment. The pay is thirty taels per person.”

Seeing the large “thirty taels,” Yang Lulong was tempted. She thought about how all the things they had bought so far cost less than one tael. Thirty taels must be a huge amount of money. But she was also worried that a notice like this might be a scam.

After getting a room and settling down, they prepared to have another meal at the inn.

“Do you know about the Tiger Gate Escort Agency?” Yang Lulong asked Xiao Wen.

“It’s not far from here. Just go out of the inn, turn right, go straight through a small alley, and you’ll see it. The most imposing building is it.”

“So the notice they posted on the board should be real?”

“It’s not a scam. They offer very generous pay, but the more generous the pay, the more dangerous the job is,” Zhang Long said, interjecting. “The more valuable the goods, the more bandits you’ll encounter. People die for money. It’s a life-or-death business. In the past, this escort agency had so many casualties every year that they would have to pay a lot of money to support their workers. So they decided not to hire workers anymore. They only hire a few master escorts and highly skilled bodyguards, and they post notices like this to recruit anyone who is willing.”

“Brother Zhang knows more about this than I do. He went on an escort mission once.”

“Don’t even mention that. I was lucky. The goods we were escorting weren’t very valuable, but the group that followed us was in a bad way. Only one master escort and two bodyguards made it back. Everyone else was buried on that mountain. I still get scared thinking about it.”

“If it’s so dangerous, why would anyone go?” Yang Lulong asked, confused.

“There’s no other way. It’s even more dangerous to hire your own men to transport goods. You just have to try your luck. If you’re lucky, the goods will arrive. If you’re not, you lose both your money and your life.”

That night, Yang Lulong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Zhang Long’s words lingered in her mind. Escorting was very dangerous, but the pay was also very generous. Thirty taels… She probably wouldn’t make that much money even if she worked for a year.

Maybe she should go to the escort agency tomorrow morning and ask about the situation…

Yang Lulong looked up at the magnificent tiger head plaque. The four large, gilded characters for “Tiger Gate Escort Agency” stood out prominently. She peeked inside and saw that it was very quiet. There were only a few people loading goods in the large courtyard.

As soon as Yang Lulong entered, a middle-aged man with a beard came to greet her. “Miss, we’re short on hands right now. It’ll be a month before we can set off on another escort mission.”

“I saw the recruitment notice you posted…”

“Notice?” The man looked her up and down. “Miss, I advise you to go home. You’re so small; I’m afraid you’ll get blown away by the wind.”

“I…” Yang Lulong didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t a martial artist, so it was understandable that he would look down on her.

“Another one who saw the notice and wants to be an escort?” A woman’s voice came from behind.

Yang Lulong turned and saw a tall woman with her sleeves rolled up. The muscles on her arms were well-defined, and her fluffy hair was tied back in a high ponytail. A nasty scar ran from her forehead down to her right eye, and there was a small scar at the corner of her mouth.

“Master Ma… Look at this little girl. She wants to be an escort. It’s laughable.” The man playfully shook Yang Lulong’s shoulder. When he saw that she could barely stand still, he laughed even harder.

Yang Lulong cautiously looked at the woman who was walking toward them, “Master Ma.” She could sense a dangerous aura. The woman was a Qian Yuan like her.

Master Ma walked up to Yang Lulong. She was half a head taller than her. She looked down at Yang Lulong and asked, “Can you use a knife?”

She must have realized that Yang Lulong was a Qian Yuan and didn’t immediately reject her like the man did.

Yang Lulong shook her head, thinking there was no hope left.

“Then can you use a bow?”

“A bow?” Hearing the word, a strange feeling stirred within Yang Lulong’s body.

“A bow. How about you try it?” Master Ma said. She took a light bow from a nearby weapon rack and an arrow and handed them to Yang Lulong.

Yang Lulong looked down at the bow. Why did it feel so familiar?

“If you can hit the target five times, we’ll hire you,” she said, pointing to a wooden target in the distance.

Yang Lulong looked at the bow and arrow in her hand, then at the target in the distance. Without knowing where the confidence came from, she said, “I can do it from here.”

“Are you sure? One miss, and you’re out.”

“I’m sure.” Yang Lulong put the arrow on the bowstring and drew the bow. Her movements were fluid and natural. In an instant, the arrow flew toward the wooden target with a whoosh.

It seemed to have hit the target. The man ran over to check. “It’s a bullseye!”

The shot shocked Master Ma. She looked at Yang Lulong in disbelief. “Try it again.” She handed her another arrow.

Yang Lulong had no idea why she knew how to shoot a bow. She knew for a fact that she had never learned archery, but even though her brain didn’t remember, her body did. It was like muscle memory from years of practice.

Another arrow.

“It’s a bullseye again!”

Then, with a few more whooshes, all five arrows hit the bullseye.

Yang Lulong’s performance surprised them all. Master Ma couldn’t help but show her admiration. “We’re leaving in three days. Be here on time.” She patted Yang Lulong on the shoulder. “Your archery is very good.”

“Thank you.”

She had passed the test, but now she had the most difficult hurdle to overcome… convincing Wan Niang.