Brotherly Love

"By the way, Alu, where have you been these past few days? I couldn't find you anywhere."

After finishing their business, the Third Escort suddenly asked about Chen Lu.

Chen Luxian was taken aback. It was quite unusual that he hadn't shown up for four days.

It can easily cause people to have doubts or other negative thoughts.

He quickly made up an excuse to get away with it.

Fortunately, the Third Chief Escort was just curious and didn't mean anything by it.

After giving a few more instructions about the Yuansheng Sect's robbery of the cultivators, the Third Escort left to deal with the goods to be transported the next day.

Seeing that no one pressed for details about the past four days, Chen Lu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He decided not to reveal that he had become an alchemist's apprentice.

Everyone is having a hard time, facing unemployment, pay cuts, and hidden dangers; the pressure is immense for everyone.

How come you haven't changed at all, and are even getting better?

I'm afraid my brother is suffering, but I'm also afraid he's driving a Land Rover.

Such differences may be expressed outwardly as blessings, but inwardly they can breed hatred.

Chen Lu absolutely did not want to see the day when they turned against each other.

Because his brotherhood was as high as the sky and as vast as the earth, he decided to keep the matter a secret for now.

Until the day when the income from alchemy completely surpasses that of the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts).

I glanced at Zhao Dalong's wolf cub; it was the only thing that could bring us joy right now.

The little guy was at the peak of his energy, and after realizing that the bodyguards weren't bad people, he spent all his time pestering them and playing with them.

Every time it caused trouble, just as everyone was about to get angry at it, they would see the fluffy wolf cub curled up in a ball, with only its teary eyes showing. It looked so pitiful that everyone was both annoyed and amused.

After this happened several times, everyone realized that the wolf cub was very intelligent.

This is not only reflected in the ability to understand people's emotions, but also in the fact that after only a few days of instruction, he was able to understand Zhao Dalong's instructions.

Everyone was overjoyed after discovering this.

He immediately memorized the scents of the four Yuan Sheng Sect cultivators.

However, its sense of smell is still immature and not as sensitive as that of an adult wolf, so its range of perception is not large.

Even so, they are still far more powerful than cultivators.

The only thing giving Zhao Dalong a headache right now is that the wolf cubs eat a lot of spirit meat every day.

They eat meat at every meal, and they consume more than twenty lower spirits a month just from meat alone.

Once they reach adulthood, the amount will soar to over forty lower spirit stones per month.

Unlike them, who normally only need to take one Bigu Pill a day, their monthly expenses would be no more than ten Lower Spirits.

If you eat the dry food you bring yourself, the cost will be even lower.

Fortunately, hunting is a basic skill for bodyguards, and to save money, he will have to go hunting in the mountains more often in the future.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to support one person and one wolf.

Even after seeing the terrifying cost, Zhao Dalong had no intention of selling the wolf cub.

The calculations are simple: if he can no longer work as a bodyguard, he can switch to being a beast tamer and join the law enforcement team.

With the bonus from spirit pets, one can earn over a hundred lower-level spirit coins per month, more than the highest income a bodyguard could earn.

There's absolutely no need to worry about unemployment.

For a cultivator like Zhao Dalong, whose comprehension and talent were not high, this was simply the best treasure bestowed upon him by heaven.

After seeing all this clearly, Chen Lu subconsciously compared it to his own opportunities as an alchemist apprentice.

The two choices represent different directions.

Choosing a wolf cub is a safe bet; there are no competitors, and as long as you don't do anything reckless, you'll live a more comfortable life than anyone else.

Choosing Muyang Grass is like seeking profit amidst danger. If you can get through it, a bright future awaits; if you can't, you lose everything.

Chen Lu and Zhao Dalong chatted for a long time.

He realized that among all the people, Zhao Dalong would probably be the first to escape the misery of being a bodyguard.

He has a stable and high-paying job, a beautiful and virtuous wife, a few acres of fertile land, and two or three children.

This kind of life is enough to make most people envious.

As for cultivation level, Foundation Establishment is impossible now, so I'll just have to slowly work it out.

As for myself, I still have two important things to do.

First, take the reward promised by the three镖头 (bodyguards/escorts) to the Wang family's secret vault and obtain the superior secret technique "Sharp Gold Sword Finger".

He devoted himself to studying "Sharp Gold Sword Finger" and "Double Pivot Meridian Refining Hand" which he memorized from Master Li Dan's library.

One is offensive and the other is supportive; if he learns both, his combat power will increase significantly.

Secondly, we need to find a furnace for alchemy and renovate the house left by our parents after their death, turning the woodshed into an alchemy room.

These two things will undoubtedly cost a huge amount of money.

I had just managed to pay off my loan when I had to borrow money again to buy an alchemy furnace, and I felt utterly powerless.

If you sell the bow and secret techniques of Yuansheng Sect and pay off the loan, you can earn at least a thousand lower spirit coins.

Including all savings, there are approximately five thousand lower spirits.

However, his current thinking remains the same as before: he will never use these spirit stones unless it is an emergency.

After having a preliminary plan for the future, Chen Lu felt much more at ease.

His only task now is to prioritize stability and not take any further risks without absolute certainty.

The next morning, the third镖头 (head镖师) led the镖队 (镖队) to load the last cart of goods.

Manager Zhang from that alchemy workshop reappeared.

He still had a smile on his face.

"Wang San, although you're earning less, you're hauling more goods."

But I still hope that you will continue as before and avoid any mistakes.

The third镖头 (head镖师) smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful bow: "That's right, that's right!"

Manager Zhang then continued with an apologetic smile:

"Head镖师 Wang, every family has its own troubles. We're all in charge, and there are some things I can't decide. I hope you don't mind!"

The third镖头 (head镖师) said nonchalantly, "Of course! The Wang Family Escort Agency never disappoints its clients!"

The two of them were smiling broadly across the street.

They complimented each other for quite a while before reluctantly parting ways.

Once they were a distance away, the third镖头 (bodyguard/escort) spat viciously and cursed under his breath:

"This guy really screwed us over!"

"What's going on?" Wang Shengsong spurred his horse and pulled on the reins as he approached the Third Escort.

The others also pricked up their ears to listen.

"When I received the goods yesterday, I casually asked someone else, and I found out that the owner of the goods had brought up the issue of reducing the delivery fee more than half a year ago!"

He was in charge of this matter, but he only told me about it at the last minute!

This is blatantly a case of taking money from the other party! I've known him for forty years! I've known him longer than my wife!

Zhao Dalong asked in confusion, "Isn't this a good thing? If you had said so earlier, you would have lowered the price of the courier's fee long ago."

"Now we're saying we received more than half a year's worth of extra money."

The third镖头 glanced at Zhao Dalong, a sudden surge of anger rising within him, and countless words he wanted to unleash upon him.

You're such a grown-up, how can you say such childish things?

But then I thought, what if he complains to his youngest daughter and I go home? Will I still have a good life?

Struggling to suppress his emotions, he said helplessly:

"If you had told us earlier, we could have acted sooner! We could have planned ahead! We could have taken down that escort agency sooner."

At that time, they only had one escort team. With the family's influence in Maple Leaf Village, taking down such a small escort agency would not have been a problem!

As a result, they managed to expand to four escort teams in just one year!

We were kept in the dark and watched helplessly as they grew stronger!

Now, even if we wanted to kill them, we're powerless to do so!

When everyone heard that the other party had expanded from one escort team to four in just over half a year, they were all astonished.