Screech~

A blue eagle swept across the sky, its sharp eyes coldly peering at the mountain path below.

On the winding, rugged mountain road, a lone rider accompanied a carriage moving forward.

The blue eagle circled in the sky a few times before suddenly diving down.

Swish! 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

In an instant, a feathered arrow shot swiftly from below, piercing through the eagle’s body.

The eagle didn’t even have the chance to cry out in agony as it plummeted toward the ground headfirst.

"Awesome!"

Two small heads poked out of the carriage window, and one of the children clapped in admiration, "Uncle Zhang, your archery is amazing, can you teach me?"

Zhang Yuan put away the Eagle-Shooting Bow and smiled as he ruffled the child’s hair, "Sure."

This little guy was Yan Bei’s son, Su Yibei, who had just turned seven this year.

He also had a three-year-old sister named Su Yiyi.

The siblings were unaware that their father had passed away, and they were filled with freshness and curiosity about this migration journey.

It was their first time traveling this far from home.

Su Yibei’s appearance bore some resemblance to Yan Bei, sharp and intelligent.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but feel some affinity for him.

Zhang Yuan had already decided that if Su Yibei showed talent in martial arts, he would take him as a disciple, teaching him martial arts during their time in Upper Scenic Celestial, nurturing him carefully.

And if the child showed aptitude for cultivation, he would ask Mo Huai’an for help.

If neither, he would just let him be a wealthy idler at Lin Xian Manor, living a peaceful life.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Su Yibei smiled with eyes narrowed in joy.

His sister, Su Yiyi, a soft and adorable little girl, echoed clumsily, "Thank you, Uncle."

Zhang Yuan chuckled.

Bili~

At that moment, a sharp cry suddenly emerged from the woods near the mountain path.

It sounded like the screech of some kind of bird.

Zhang Yuan’s face instantly darkened.

He calmly said, "Sister-in-law, watch the children."

The Su Clan and the maid inside the carriage quickly grabbed the two little ones leaning out the window.

And pulled the curtains shut—with remarkable precision.

Zhang Yuan picked up the Eagle-Shooting Bow hanging from the saddle again.

Some people just didn’t value their lives. Even though he had already issued a warning, it still didn’t deter the hidden watchers.

From a distance in the dense forest, ghostly figures flickered past.

It had been five days since leaving Yupu County Town, and along the way, they had encountered more than one group of bandits.

Some bandits were very cautious.

Seeing Zhang Yuan riding alone, escorting the carriage in such an audacious manner, they were intimidated and dared not act recklessly.

Some bandits, unwilling to let the passing "fat sheep" go, or perhaps driven to madness by poverty, ended up contributing to the Source Material.

Today, traveling the mountain path, Zhang Yuan clearly encountered another group of unbelievers.

Drawing the bow and nocking an arrow, Zhang Yuan loaded a fine iron arrow.

In an instant, he focused his mind on a target hiding in the dense forest and released the bowstring without hesitation.

Thunk!

The fine iron arrow shot out like lightning, covering hundreds of steps in a moment, striking a bandit squarely in the head.

This unlucky fellow’s head exploded like a watermelon hit by a heavy hammer, shattering into pieces.

Red, black, and white splattered everywhere, and he was dead beyond doubt!

A nearby companion witnessing the scene screamed in terror.

"Watch out!"

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The next moment, one iron arrow after another was fired into the dense forest.

The screams quickly turned into cries of misery.

These bandits could have never imagined that Zhang Yuan’s archery would be so fierce and domineering, claiming lives in the blink of an eye, each arrow hit its mark without fail.

Some bandits "cleverly" hid behind large trees, hoping to use the thick trunk as a shield.

But an arrow came, the spiraling fine iron arrowhead pierced through the tree without any resistance, killing the person hiding behind it with terrifying power!

"This one is tough, run away!"

With seven or eight bandits falling in the woods, the remaining ones finally woke from their dream.

Scattering in a panic, crying and wailing.

Yet Zhang Yuan leaped high off his horse like an eagle, diving into the forest.

In mid-air, he drew the longbow again, firing another arrow.

Striking accurately a bandit fleeing hundreds of steps away!

Zhang Yuan wasn’t worried about the safety of the Su Clan and others, as the Red-eyed Crow was monitoring the situation from above at that moment.

Soon, the dense forest near the mountain path returned to tranquility.

Zhang Yuan hopped back onto his horse, holding the Eagle-Shooting Bow.

Calm and composed, as if he’d just gone for a walk, not a drop of sweat on his forehead.

In fact, he had taken out more than twenty bandits in total and quickly cleaned up the battlefield.

The Source Material gained was not much, but better than nothing.

And this little "episode" along the journey didn’t affect Zhang Yuan’s progress at all.

He continued onward.

A week later, he arrived at the outer gates of the Upper Scenic Celestial.

Since he had already handled the migration procedures through Mo Huai’an before departure, Zhang Yuan brought the Su Clan and others smoothly into Lin Xian Manor, settling in the house he had previously rented.

Currently, Zhang Yuan is an Outer Guardian at the Upper Scenic Celestial Martial Pavilion, qualified to cultivate within the gates.

Thus, the house could be given or taken, and now lending it to the Su Clan posed no problem.

Moreover, it was spacious enough for five people to live in.

Of course, this was just a temporary arrangement; Zhang Yuan planned to buy a house for them in Lin Xian Manor.

This was to honor his commitment to Yan Bei.

"Brother Zhang."

Once the whole family settled down, Su Clan, with eyes red from tears, kneeled to Zhang Yuan, "Your great kindness and virtue, my children and I will never forget!"

"Sister-in-law, you don’t need to say that."

Zhang Yuan quickly helped her up, saying in a deep voice, "It’s the right thing to do."

Even without the treasure map given as a token of gratitude, he would have preferred to help Yan Bei’s family.

A man born in this world should know what he must not do, and what he must do!

At that moment, Su Clan took a roll of animal hide from her sleeve, "Brother Zhang, this is what my husband entrusted to me before he died, and now I hand it to you."

Hmm?

Zhang Yuan was suddenly taken aback.

The roll of animal hide Su Clan just handed over looked exactly like the treasure map Yan Bei had given him before his death, in both material and color.

Two treasure maps?

Through Su Clan’s explanation, Zhang Yuan learned that when Yan Bei last returned home, he had given her this roll of animal hide.

The martial world hero told his wife that if anyone came looking for her with a token and was willing to care for her and the children, she was to give this roll of hide to them.

As a token of gratitude!

Zhang Yuan accepted the hide, feeling a deep admiration in his heart.

Yan Bei had truly been considerate for his wife and children.

If he had broken his promise and not gone to Yupu County to find them, he would have no relation to this treasure map.

Zhang Yuan believed that the martial world hero surely had a backup plan left with Su Clan.

But now it was no longer needed.