The campfire blazed in front of the tents, the aroma of roasted meat and stewed meat wafting through the air, spreading incessantly.
The surviving men were jubilantly roasting meat, while the relatives of deceased family members sat before the campfire, sobbing quietly.
When Zhang Chen returned to his campsite, Chengyu started a campfire and was roasting meat, the meat glistening with oil, making it irresistible to anyone.
"Zhang Chen, you’re back. Come quickly to eat meat and replenish your energy," Chengyu brought a piece of roasted deer meat in front of Zhang Chen.
At this moment, the Yellow Sand in the sky had dissipated, so there was no worry about sand getting on the roasted meat.
Holding the roasted meat, Zhang Chen’s eyes showed relief: "Your culinary skills have greatly improved; you didn’t waste good ingredients."
"Hmm, you’re underestimating my cooking skills. My culinary skills are formidable now," Chengyu rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother with Zhang Chen, and turned to continue roasting meat.
"Are you alright!" Mrs. Zhang looked at Zhang Chen with concern, seeing his clothes neat without any bloodstains, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked.
Zhang Chen was now the family pillar, and nothing could go wrong with him, or else the family wouldn’t survive.
Upon hearing Mrs. Zhang’s words, Zhang Chen shook his head: "Just a few insignificant small beasts, they are not worth my attention. Rest assured, even if those Great Demon Kings were to come, I would not fear at all and could ensure the family’s peace."
"As long as you’re fine, it’s good. Let’s take the opportunity to smoke and roast more meat. The road ahead is long, and we need to prepare early," Mrs. Zhang said as she took a small knife and began peeling the skin of a sika deer, then removed the skin and placed the deer meat on the grill for smoking and roasting.
The three young ones obediently stood by the grill assisting Chengyu in smoking meat jerky, Zhang Chen nodded secretly seeing this, Zhang Tuowei and Zhang Fei had progressed greatly, showing signs of early maturity and becoming very sensible.
Even after experiencing the beast tide, the camp still had about forty thousand refugees, everyone constantly selecting wild beasts, some peeling skins, others smoking and curing.
Meat jerky was categorized into different grades, the highest being deer meat, followed by donkey meat, dog meat, and pig meat, and then wolf, insect, tiger, leopard.
Deer meat had the best taste, donkey and pig meat next, the hardest to eat was wolf, insect, tiger, leopard, their meat sour and not suitable for consumption.
Zhang Chen also found a sika deer, and skillfully began peeling its skin, Mrs. Zhang curiously asked: "Why don’t these animals have a drop of blood on them? Even the ground where battles took place doesn’t have a drop of blood."
"Perhaps some monster absorbed all the blood," Zhang Chen replied nonchalantly.
This was not only Mrs. Zhang’s bewilderment but also the bewilderment of all the survivors.
The sea of blood beneath the ground surged, silently transforming into a drop of blood, seeping through the ground, then bouncing up and landing on Zhang Chen’s ankle skin, quickly disappearing.
Zhang Chen looked at the Golden Finger Interface:
[3 Skills (Seventh Tier): Body Transformation Blood River (3,000,000/2,000,000,000,000)]
"Merely three million points, it’s really too little, not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth," Zhang Chen thought discontentedly as he looked at the points on the Golden Finger Interface.
But considering that this battle involved ordinary people and wild beasts, no mysterious forces joined, and it was just a minor battle with thousands of casualties and tens of thousands of wild beasts, three million points were not too little.
"Only by devouring those Demon Beasts, Divine Spirits, can it be the best supplement for me," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
While Zhang Chen was peeling and roasting meat, a figure came from afar, stopping in front of Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen looked up and saw the person wearing escort agency attire, presumably an escort master from Dragon Tiger Escort Agency.
"Boy, my Young Master Chen wishes to meet you, come with me," the escort master shouted at Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen’s heart stirred, setting down the deer meat, getting up to follow the escort master away.
As they walked, they saw the campfires blazing in the night, where the escort master’s staff were boiling herbs for refugees, and the escort agency’s reserve medics were bandaging the refugees.
"Dragon Tiger Escort Agency is quite kind-hearted," Zhang Chen thought as he watched the constantly boiling pots near the campfire.
According to reason, the life and death of these refugees have nothing to do with the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, but the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency took out spare medicine to treat the injuries of the wounded people, which is benevolence and virtue.
Zhang Chen passed through the crowd, all the way to the main camp of the escort agency, and saw the escort masters sitting in groups of three or five in front of the bonfire. Some were bandaging wounds, others were applying ointment, some were sharpening knives, and others were stewing meat.
Zhang Chen was taken to a bonfire and saw Chen Ping sitting in front of it, drinking herbal medicine. His aura had stabilized by now, and there was a tiger skin peeled off on the ground, with tiger bones and various herbs stewing in front of him. It was evidently a great tonic brewed according to some secret recipe.
Upon seeing Zhang Chen, Chen Ping gestured from afar, and Zhang Chen was brought forward by the escort master. The escort master said to Zhang Chen: "This is our Young Master!"
Zhang Chen saluted: "Greetings, Young Master Chen."
"No need to be polite! No need to be polite!" Chen Ping promptly told the escort master beside him: "Quickly bring a stool, let this young brother sit down and talk. Also, stew some more meat, fetch some fine wine and pastries, I must host this young brother properly."
The escort master hurriedly instructed the porters to carry items, placing stools and various pastries in front of Zhang Chen, and retreated after Zhang Chen was seated.
Chen Ping gazed at Zhang Chen with his eyes, observing his tattered clothes and face full of grime. Despite all this, Zhang Chen remained composed and calm, which secretly made Chen Ping nod in approval, and regard Zhang Chen more highly.
"I am Chen Ping, the Young Leader of the Dragon Tiger Escort Agency. I am a few years older than you, so you can call me Elder Brother Chen. But where is young brother from, and where are you heading?" Chen Ping poured wine for Zhang Chen, but due to his injuries, grimaced in pain, appearing quite humorous.
"I am Zhang Chen, from Goulan County. My home was hit by a flood, and then ravaged by demon beasts, leaving me no choice but to head south to Jinling with my family to seek refuge with relatives." Zhang Chen replied.
"You’re heading to Jinling? That’s a coincidence, I’m also heading to Jinling, we can keep each other company on this journey." Chen Ping’s eyes lit up: "Who is your relative in Jinling, which prominent family?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled bitterly: "Just ordinary folks."
Chen Ping nodded, as he expected. If Zhang Chen’s relatives were affluent, his family should also be well off, how could they be so destitute, setting out with just widows and orphans without even a loyal servant to accompany them?
"You saved my life, and by rights, I should reward you heavily. But with you and your family heading south, giving you money might instead harm you." Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen solemnly: "Why don’t you join my escort agency, I can teach you the Martial Dao, and all the resources you will need for your future practice will be provided by me. This way, you will have something to fall back on, and even if you leave the escort agency one day, you could still live affluently. Once we reach Jinling, I will arrange for your accommodation, I dare not say much, but I will ensure that a courtyard with three rooms in Jinling City and a hundred acres of good land is ready for you, giving you something to rely on in the latter half of your life. Should you wish to start any ventures in Jinling City, as long as it is within my power, I will certainly handle it for you."
Upon hearing Chen Ping’s offer, Zhang Chen glanced at him. The terms were a sincere gratitude, not to mention the fields and houses, even the material expenses for martial arts practice were astronomical.
However, Zhang Chen had long planned his future, how could he depend on the escort agency?
Therefore, Zhang Chen replied: "Young Master, your words are too heavy, we rely on the escort agency’s protection in the south. The escort agency shelters us along the way, and I merely saved you once, which is my duty. I have relatives to rely on in Jinling, I appreciate your kindness, but how can one speak of repaying kindness? It’s truly embarrassing."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ping was taken aback, gazing at Zhang Chen in surprise. He didn’t expect such generous conditions to be promptly refused, his respect for Zhang Chen grew, and he tentatively asked: "Could it be that you feel what I’m offering is too little?"
Zhang Chen shook his head: "That’s not what I mean, what you’ve offered is definitely substantial, enough to ensure several generations of my family’s prosperity, how could it be little? I just don’t feel that I deserve such a great reward, that’s all."
Observing Zhang Chen under the flickering bonfire, Chen Ping saw the youth’s calm demeanor, completely untempted, and his respect for Zhang Chen continued to grow.
"Does my virtuous brother truly not want a reward?" Chen Ping even changed his address, directly calling him virtuous brother.
Zhang Chen shook his head.
After a brief contemplation, Chen Ping said: "If you don’t want a reward, how about being escorted by my agency on your journey south to Jinling? My agency will take care of your needs for the entire journey."
At this point, Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen solemnly: "Brother, please don’t refuse this time, my life must have some value, right? Moreover, without careful consideration, widows and orphans heading to Jinling on a long journey can easily fall victim to unfortunate events. You should consider not only yourself but also your mother, brothers, and sisters. Why endure suffering when you can arrive in Jinling comfortably?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen hesitated briefly. He initially planned to stay behind the escort agency for protection, ready to flee with his family if they encountered a powerful Demon King. However, Chen Ping’s sincere words made him feel that refusing would be inappropriate.
"Very well, I will trouble Head of the Escort Chen for the journey south." Zhang Chen saluted.
Hearing this, Chen Ping’s face darkened promptly, feeling dissatisfied: "Why call me Young Leader, just call me elder brother! You saved my life, you’re my kin, why be so formal?"
Though Chen Ping was from a wealthy family, he had traveled far and wide since childhood, had encountered all kinds of people from the martial world, and had dealings with many grassroots heroes from various classes, so he did not look down upon Zhang Chen’s background.