"Shen Xiang expresses his gratitude to his benefactor, may I ask your name? I will heavily reward you in the future."
Pei Xuanjing pacified his true Qi and waved his hand, saying, "I am Pei Xuanjing. Mr. Shen, there's no need for that. Encountering injustice on the road and extending a helping hand is what we, martial artists, do."
From the strength displayed by Pei Xuanjing just now, Shen Xiang knew that the other party's power must at least be that of a sixth-grade martial artist, so his demeanor was very respectful.
"Regardless, to us, it is a life-saving kindness. Please allow us to pay our respects," Shen Xiang bowed deeply.
Pei Xuanjing reached out to hold him back and shook his head, "There is no need for that."
He glanced at the brutal scene behind him and said, "Perhaps, Mr. Shen, you should first deal with the situation."
Shen Xiang sighed, nodded his head and said, "So be it, please wait for a moment Sir."
After Shen Xiang left, Pei Xuanjing sheathed his sword, returned to his steed, and took out a pill from the pack on the horse's back. The pill, extracted from refined medicinal essences, could replenish his True Qi.
The final move he had used to kill the bandit leader had appeared powerful but had significantly drained his True Qi. He could execute it no more than three times, after which his inner Qi would be completely exhausted.
After a while, Shen Xiang relayed some information about the Shen's Business Association, after settling matters with his caravan. Initially, he offered to give Pei Xuanjing riches to express his gratitude, but Pei Xuanjing firmly declined.
Afterward, during their conversation, when he learned that Pei Xuanjing had the same destination as them, he strongly invited him to join them.
On one hand, this was to repay Pei Xuanjing after his arrival in Anping Prefecture, and on the other hand, to have such a skilled person accompany them on their journey, naturally providing greater safety.
During the journey, Shen Xiang gave exhaustive answers to all of Pei Xuanjing's inquiries, apart from some secrets about the Shen's Business Association.
To Shen Xiang, even in Anping Prefecture, a sixth-grade master such as Pei Xuanjing was considered top-tier. Building a relationship with such a master would be advantageous both for the association and him personally.
In this way, on the journey to Anping Prefecture, Pei Xuanjing had a grasp of the information about the entire Anping Prefecture, whereas he had been completely in the dark before.
Anping Prefecture was one of the major prefectures of the Northwest Dao. The person holding the most power there was, of course, the appointed Prefect by the imperial court. He held a fourth-grade officer position, governing all civil affairs in the prefecture.
Beneath him were violent agencies of the imperial court - the Six Gates and Thousands of Households. The Six Gates were responsible for all internal order and criminal matters, while the Thousands of Households were in charge of soldiers and usually only reported to the Guard Command Department of the Prefecture, not under the jurisdiction of the Prefect.
As for the Brocade Guards and the Two Factories, which Pei Xuanjing was curious about, Shen Xiang was rather cautious. He quietly informed him that none of these bodies were present in the prefecture.
Pei Xuanjing deduced from Shen Xiang's vague information that these intelligence agencies directly report to the emperor, and such bodies would not have an obvious base in the prefecture. According to Shen Xiang's information, only the administrative center of the prefecture would have bases for such organizations.
This represented the power of government and symbolizes the ruling power of the Great Ming Empire. Underneath it, there was a folk force, also known as the rivers and lakes, which consists of different powers in the ordinary people's world.
Besides the Shen's Business Association, there were two large families, Jin and Liu, who may pose challenges. After all, besides having power in the rivers and lakes, these families also had connections with the government, which can be dubbed as having the best of both worlds. The rest were just insignificant forces and minor clans.
If you were to simplify the hierarchy, the Great Ming government had the strongest power. Both the Six Gates and Thousands of Households each had more than one fourth-grade martial artist in charge. They established the rules of the game in Anping Prefecture, and everyone had to abide by them.
The Shen's Business Association and the Jin and Liu families, although not as powerful as the government, also had fourth-grade martial artists in charge. They could get certain privileges, control a part of the rules, and derive some benefits under the rules established by the government.
As for the rest of the powers who lacked the presence of a fourth-grade martial artist, they could only obey the rules and could not violate or question any of them.
A clear hierarchy, one level after another.
However, according to Shen Xiang, even if Pei Xuanjing weren't a sixth-grade powerhouse and didn't represent the middle layer in this hierarchy, he still wouldn't need to worry about anything, merely because Pei Xuanjing saved his life. They would assist him in avoiding unnecessary troubles.
Pei Xuanjing just responded to Shen Xiang's words with a smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Over the years, he had grown accustomed to relying on himself and absolutely avoided relying on others completely. Even if he had saved someone's life, so what? Seeking gratitude might ultimately result in turning friendship into hostility.
So, the group traveled leisurely and, half a month later, finally arrived at Anping Prefecture.
Inside a premium courtyard at the Shen's Inn, Shen Xiang said to Pei Xuanjing, "Mr. Pei, this property belongs to the Shen Family. How do you find it?"
Pei Xuanjing looked around the courtyard and nodded, saying, "Then I'll make myself at home."
Shen Xiang laughed, "In that case, you might as well stay here for now while I find you a suitable place to stay. You can move over there later. How does that sound?"
"In that case, I need to trouble Brother Shen," Pei Xuanjing expressed his thanks.
He predicted that he might be staying here for quite some time, and it wouldn't be appropriate to stay in Shen's inn all this while. Therefore, he had asked Shen Xiang to help him find a place to stay, whether for rent or purchase, to make his stay more comfortable.
Shen Xiang waved his hand and said, "Mr. Pei, don't mention it. You must be tired from your travels, take some rest. There are some affairs I need to attend to at the association, so I will leave first and give you your space."
After finishing, he added, "As for the items you mentioned earlier, I'll check if we have them at home and ask around to see if anyone is willing to part with them."
Pei Xuanjing bowed, "Thank you."
The items they were talking about were the Cultivation Method Manuals that Pei Xuanjing had asked Shen Xiang to procure for him.
The purpose of Pei Xuanjing's journey was to search for these Cultivation Method Manuals to accumulate some Taoyun. However, he was new and didn't have any contacts or relationships, so he had to rely on Shen Xiang's network to do this.
As for Pei Xuanjing's request, Shen Xiang agreed immediately without giving it a second thought. After all, what he was searching for wasn't some profound skill, but rather the experience of his predecessors, which was neither valuable nor costly, but still highly useful.