Unparalleled Duo

The previously mentioned "Flying Pigeon Gang" is a means of communication only available to martial artists and the rich and powerful, completely inaccessible to ordinary folks.

As for transportation, whether traveling by carriage, on horseback, or on foot, taking the official road was naturally the safest option; the roads were wider and in relatively better condition, with a station every few dozen miles. There were two types of stations: "official stations" for government employees only, and "civilian stations" open to the general public. Naturally, both were operated by the officials, and traveling on the official road meant making the officials money, unless you could cover hundreds of miles in a day to stay in a town's inn every night or were ready to rough it in the streets.

Additionally, aside from traveling on your own, another option was to ride in the "High-speed Train Gang's" travel carts.

This so-called "High-speed Train Gang", though nominally a martial arts gang, was well known to be run by the officials.

Each of their gang leaders was named Gao Tie, but rather than a real name, this was more of a title tied to their position. They never intervened in martial arts world conflicts, so not many people knew what Boss Gao looked like; knowing was also pointless... since he could be replaced at any time.

The High-speed Train Gang's sole business was "transporting people". They assigned drivers and various types of vehicles to transport passengers around.

Whether you were a martial artist, an ordinary citizen, or an official's son stuffed with food and seeking a taste of life, as long as you bought a "ticket", you could ride in their carts.

For many who wanted to join relatives or seek out a master on a mountain, buying horses and renting carts was expensive and problematic, walking was too slow, and staying on the road for long increased expenses, so traveling by the High-speed Train Gang's carts became a good choice.

This time, Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie had originally planned to buy "high-speed tickets" directly to Luoyang, that way they could relax during the trip; from one station to the next without having to find their own way or hiring a driver every so often, spending money on changing horses (such long journeys typically required hiring different drivers and changing horses multiple times, always haggling with local horse traders).

As a native of Hangzhou, Sun Yixie was certainly the one to buy the tickets. Fortunately, he had been practicing martial arts at home lately and wanted a breath of fresh air, so three days before their departure, Sun Yixie took half a day, went to the local branch of the High-speed Train Gang, and bought the tickets, telling Huang Donglai upon his return, "I've sorted everything out! Rest easy!"

Huang Donglai didn't think much of it at the time; what could go wrong with buying a ticket?

So today, the day they set off, trouble ensued.

Both men, each carrying a pack, Sun swaying a trident, came to the departure point excitedly, only for Sun Yixie to present the ticket and be told, "You bought it the wrong way; this is from Luoyang to Hangzhou."

Sun Yixie was instantly disgruntled, "Damn it, what difference does it make whether it's from Luoyang to Hangzhou or Hangzhou to Luoyang? Isn't the price the same? Just let us on, will you?"

The High-speed Train Gang member handling them couldn't help but laugh, "Then walking from your home here and from here back to your home is no different, right? Why don't you just go back then."

Hearing this, Sun Yixie, blushing with anger, lifted his trident as if he was about to skewer someone, "Son of a bitch! What kind of attitude is that? Also, why didn't you remind me when I bought the ticket? Didn't it ever occur to the person selling the tickets that I'm in Hangzhou buying a ticket from Luoyang to Hangzhou?"

"Let me think... for instance, you have a friend in Luoyang and you want to invite him to Hangzhou, so you buy a ticket, put it in a letter, and send it to him. That makes sense, right?" replied the High-speed Train Gang member.

"Uh..." Sun Yixie was at a loss for words.

"Besides, young man, you're a big guy," the member continued mockingly, "If a child were buying a ticket and this happened, perhaps our ticket seller would remind them. But with someone your size, we certainly thought you knew what you were doing."

"I..." Sun Yixie wanted to explode, but the other's logic coupled with many other passengers watching him made it increasingly difficult for him to save face.

"Alright, alright... Brother Sun, let it be," finally, Huang Donglai stepped forward, gave Sun Yixie a way out, and stopped him from further embarrassing himself.

Unfortunately, despite Huang Donglai negotiating kindly with the High-speed Train Gang afterwards, since the seats were already sold out, they couldn't board the cart, and the next cart to Luoyang was not available until seven days later, which might make them miss the Mid-Autumn Festival's big meeting.

With no other choice, they bought tickets for a cart to Xuancheng City, thinking they would sort it out once they arrived.

Throughout the journey, Huang Donglai couldn't help but mock Sun Yixie's "reverse high-speed" mistake, and Sun defensively continued to argue and shifted the blame onto the High-speed Train Gang's staff.

The other passengers silently tolerated their verbal pollution, not daring to shut them up since one of them held what looked like a big dung fork, and he seemed quite irritable—it would be terribly unlucky to irritate him and get skewered.