September slipped away, giving way to October.
Chen Chuan put everything else from his mind, devoting himself entirely to training the Zhouyuan Jin technique, repeatedly honing his Orthodox Sanshou, and taking a bit of spare time to learn the basic saber moves Cheng Zitong taught him whenever he could find a moment.
When the rest day in early October arrived, Cheng Zitong called him in the morning. "Xiao Chuan, you can start taking commissions now," he said. "I've already arranged the specifics. The person guiding you is my martial nephew, so he's of the same generation as you. You can call him senior schoolmate or Senior Martial Brother. He's waiting for you downstairs right now. Commissioned tasks always involve plenty of unexpected situations, but he's quite experienced, so just follow his lead when the time comes."
"Understood, Teacher. I'll keep that in mind," Chen Chuan replied, then asked, "Teacher, what is Senior Brother's name?"
"Ren Xiaotian," Cheng Zitong said.
Chen Chuan thought to himself that this senior brother's name sounded rather wild.
After hanging up, he thanked the dorm supervisor, went back to his room to get ready, and took the elevator downstairs. Stepping out of the building, he saw a grayish-green off-road vehicle parked not far away. Standing in front of it was a man less than one point six meters tall, around thirty years old. His face was rigid and stern. Seeing Chen Chuan emerge, he uttered tersely, "Chen Chuan?"
Chen Chuan nodded. "Senior Brother Ren?"
"That's me. Get in," Ren Xiaotian said. With that, he pulled open the driver's side door, took a high stride, and slid inside.
Chen Chuan went over to the passenger side, opened the door, slid in, and buckled his seatbelt, after which the vehicle started up.
However, unlike the smooth-talking Wei Chang'an he had dealt with before, this Senior Brother Ren kept a stiff, wooden face for a long distance after leaving the school gates, never saying a single word.
Chen Chuan didn't know whether this was simply his personality or due to some other reason. Since the man didn't speak, Chen Chuan didn't disturb him either. Refusing to waste the time, he quietly practiced his breathing technique.
After a while, Senior Brother Ren suddenly spoke: "Basic breathing technique?"
"Yes," Chen Chuan said.
Senior Brother Ren fell silent again. Only after another pause did he say, "Pretty good."
Chen Chuan took a look at him and confirmed it: this senior brother clearly had no talent for small talk. Thinking it over, Chen Chuan took the initiative: "Senior Brother Ren, where are we heading?"
Ren seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before answering, "We're going to Mount Jiao."
Chen Chuan looked thoughtful. "Mount Jiao?" He then asked, "What are we doing specifically?"
"Retrieving an item on behalf of a client," Ren said.
Recalling what Lu Ke had told him in the past, Chen Chuan could roughly guess the destination of this trip.
Ren then handed him a notebook. "Take a... look."
Chen Chuan took it and flipped through the pages. They were packed with dense handwriting, all concerning commissioned tasks, with key points underlined in red.
Because the client's payment was made in a lump sum, once the brokerage firm and the client confirmed it, the compensation would not be increased, nor would there be any reimbursements. Thus, any additional expenses incurred during the commission's execution had to be borne by the operative themselves.
If unforeseen variables arose along the way, the operative had to resolve them on their own. If things were mishandled or ended in failure, their evaluation would drop, making it difficult to secure decent commissions in the future.
To avoid this, one had to ensure a high success rate and minimize costs as much as possible. Near the back of the notebook, he saw a note written in thick strokes: "Information channels are very important."
He couldn't help but nod.
The real competition lay in information channels: one was being able to swiftly discover various commissions, and the other was obtaining timely intelligence on the tasks to be carried out. The more detailed and accurate the information, the higher the success rate and the lower the costs. Consequently, connections were vital for anyone specializing in this field.
Yet right beneath the line "Information channels are very important," another sentence followed immediately: "Protecting yourself is the most important."
Chen Chuan agreed with this even more. Commissions and the like were merely stepping stones on his path forward; if he couldn't protect himself, then none of it had any meaning.
He flipped through a bit longer. The notes contained both older and newer entries, with the crucial points deliberately underlined in red ink, clearly meant to make it easy for him to digest. He thought to himself, "Senior Brother Ren was quite considerate. The person Teacher found really is dependable."
The off-road vehicle drove eastward the entire way. After leaving the city, it crossed National Boulevard and drove straight into a wasteland where roads virtually did not exist.
Looking at the bleak scenery outside, Chen Chuan felt as if they had suddenly left civilized society far behind, even though they weren't far from Yangzhi City at all.
However, Yangzhi City's six counties were concentrated to the west and south, while the north consisted mostly of mountainous areas and small towns. The eastern expanse nearing Mount Jiao was truly desolate and sparsely populated, with reportedly only a handful of illegal organizations operating there.
Over around Mount Jiao, on the other hand, lived many scavengers who survived by picking through trash. Nominally citizens of the Republic of Great Shun, they in truth enjoyed no civil rights and didn't even have household registrations, meaning these people did not exist on any official record.
He gazed at the dark silhouettes of the cratered ring mountains in the distance. According to what Lu Ke had told him, quite a few villages and settlements were scattered around the ring mountains; they did not trust one another and had each marked out their own spheres of influence.
Most of the time, the people of Mount Jiao traded with those in the Mount Zhang mountainous area and surrounding towns to the northwest to obtain supplies. The Iron Chain Gang held a major share of that trade, though it appeared they weren't headed in that direction this time.
The road along the way was extremely bumpy, but fortunately, both of them possessed excellent physical constitutions and suffered no discomfort. After driving for roughly three hours, a stretch of charred-black soil came into view ahead. Seeing this, along with the immense, rising black silhouette of the mountains spanning across the horizon, they knew they were nearing the boundaries of Mount Jiao.
At that moment, Ren Xiaotian handed him a mask and a neck scarf. "Put them on."
Chen Chuan took them. He knew most residents of Mount Jiao suffered from pulmonary ailments, likely caused by the unique dust here. Wearing these was a necessary precaution, so he immediately put both on.
By then, a faint, relatively flat track was visible ahead, likely forged by past traffic. Following this path for another half hour or so, a makeshift road sign built from discarded tires and metal coils appeared beside the road. At the top, bent metal wire roughly formed three crooked characters: "Nangou Village."
Evidently drawn by the sound of the approaching vehicle, a man clad in dust-caked overalls crawled out from behind the signpost. He wore an old pair of goggles and a fur hat with ear flaps. After peering cautiously, checking the license plate, and cross-referencing a slip of paper in his hand, he began waving both arms toward them.
The off-road vehicle slowly rolled forward and came to a stop not far from the signpost. Ren Xiaotian put on a hat and swiftly wrapped his neck scarf, bundling himself up tightly. "Get out," he said, opening the door and hopping down before walking toward the man.
Chen Chuan stepped out of the vehicle as well. The instant he emerged, gust after gust of stiff wind buffeted him, mixed with fine particles of dust. Glancing at the distant mountain silhouette of Mount Jiao that seemed to pierce the clouds, he pressed a hand to his student cap and followed behind Ren Xiaotian.
As the two walked over together, the man trotted up with a broad grin, extending a filth-stained hand toward Chen Chuan while bowing and scraping. "Mr. Ren, I presume? Mr. Ren is truly young and accomplished!"
Chen Chuan waved his hand and gestured to his side. "This is Mr. Ren."
The man realized at once that he had mistaken the person, yet he didn't seem embarrassed in the least. He hurriedly turned around to shake Ren Xiaotian's hand. "Mr. Ren? Truly a hidden dragon who conceals his depths!"
With a wooden face, Ren Xiaotian asked, "You're Lao Mi?"
"Yes, yes, that's me! That's what everyone calls me."
"Where's the item?"
Lao Mi sighed. "I originally had the item on me, planning to bring it out for the trade, but I ran into a bit of trouble when leaving the village..."
Ren Xiaotian said drily, "The price can be renegotiated, but do not lie to me."
"No, no, not at all!" Lao Mi waved his hands frantically. "Here's what happened: isn't the village afraid of accidents? The village chief would like to invite you into the village to complete the transaction. That way, we can talk with everyone having peace of mind, right?"
Ren Xiaotian fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he drew a revolver from beneath his coat and pressed it right against Lao Mi's forehead. Staring into Lao Mi's startled, panicked eyes, he spoke in a flat voice devoid of any emotion:
"Give me the item. Don't, and you die."
Chapter 60