Reborn as Lin Pingzhi, starting from escorting Daiyu to the capital.

Lin Pingzhi rested for three days at the Suzhou branch.

During these three days, apart from visiting the elders at the old house, he spent the rest of his time at the branch office instructing Bai Er and Chen Qi on martial arts.

Dong Kaishan's words gave him a sense of crisis; he had to improve his overall strength as soon as possible.

During this time, Chief Escort Cui and his men had also returned.

He and his brother Cui Baiquan and others went to Murong Fu to seek revenge, but not only did they fail to meet Murong Fu, they were also humiliated by Murong Fu's servants and left looking disheveled.

"The Murong family's retainers are already so powerful; it seems there's no hope of revenge." The three were extremely dejected.

Lin Pingzhi comforted him, saying, "Chief Escort Cui, revenge is not impossible, but the time is not right yet. You must not act rashly. This matter needs to be carefully considered and planned slowly."

He did not inform the three that Murong Bo was not dead, or that Ke Baisui, the leader of the Funiu Sect, was actually killed by Murong Bo.

Firstly, his martial arts skills are currently only at a mediocre level, and he is unwilling to offend Murong Bo.

Secondly, he worried that Cui, the镖头 (bodyguard), and his men might act impulsively and send themselves to their deaths for no reason.

Chief镖师 Cui was overjoyed and said, "I will obey the young chief镖师's orders in everything."

Having witnessed all the previous events, he knew that the young镖头 (bodyguard) was well-informed and acted with composure, and he had no doubt about what he said.

Seeing that Lin Pingzhi was willing to help them take revenge, and having nowhere else to go, Cui Baiquan and Guo Yanzhi decided to join the Fuwei Escort Agency.

Cui Baiquan temporarily took on the role of accountant.

Guo Yanzhi then served as a bodyguard.

That night.

Dong Kaishan privately approached Lin Pingzhi, handed him a stack of silver notes, and said sincerely:

"Young Master Escort, this is a small token of our appreciation from the Suzhou branch. Please accept it with a smile."

"This..." Lin Pingzhi hesitated slightly.

Dong Kaishan's expression was sincere:

"This is the brothers' heartfelt gift. These past few days, the young master has been instructing the brothers of the escort agency in martial arts, and the brothers have all witnessed it and are extremely grateful. Compared to the young master's guidance, these silver notes are really nothing, so please don't find them too much."

People in the martial arts world have always been very protective of their skills, and Dong Kaishan deeply admired Lin Pingzhi's generous guidance.

He even benefited greatly during this period, and his martial arts skills improved.

Lin Pingzhi accepted the silver note and said, "Then I will accept it without hesitation. Please thank the brothers from the Suzhou branch for me."

He is currently short of money.

After Dong Kaishan left, Lin Pingzhi counted the silver notes, which totaled a thousand taels, enough for him to squander for a while.

The next day.

After purchasing various supplies, Lin Pingzhi and his entourage bid farewell to Dong Kaishan and headed north.

Yangzhou and Suzhou both belong to JS Province, and the group was traveling on the official road, so they felt quite at ease.

After walking about ten kilometers, Lin Pingzhi found Chief Escort Cui and whispered, "Chief Escort Cui, I feel something is wrong. It seems like someone is following us."

He now has a certain foundation in internal strength, and with a little attention, he noticed the anomaly.

Chief镖师 Cui said, "Young镖师, it's common for us to be followed when we're on a delivery mission. I'll have the brothers be on high alert and take extra precautions."

"This can't go on," Lin Pingzhi shook his head. "How about this, I'll stay here for a while and see who's following us, so we can deal with them."

Chief镖师 Cui agreed, saying, "That's fine then. Young镖师, please be careful."

After walking for a while, they came to a tavern.

The group ordered several bowls of wine and a few side dishes.

After a satisfying meal, we continued our journey.

Lin Pingzhi stayed behind, disguising himself as an ordinary wandering swordsman. He had already mastered the art of disguise, so dressing up was no problem for him at all.

This was the only small shop on the nearby official road, and Lin Pingzhi guessed that the person following them would probably rest here.

People came in one after another, but no one paid much attention to Lin Pingzhi.

Not long after, a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old walked in carrying a long sword.

"Waiter, give me three bowls of wine and a plate of peanuts," the young man shouted as he found a seat, placed his longsword on the table, and made a loud noise.

Lin Pingzhi immediately perked up and looked at the newcomer. He saw that the man had a long face, sword-like eyebrows, and thin lips, and looked very dashing.

The waiter quickly poured the young man a drink, and the young man took the opportunity to ask:

"Waiter, can I ask you something? Wasn't a group of镖局 (security escort agency) people resting here not long ago?"

The waiter said excitedly, "Yes, judging from the sign, it's the Fuwei Escort Agency. They looked very impressive. The young head escort was very kind; he gave me a full tael of silver as a tip."

"It seems this young镖头 (bodyguard/escort) is a good person," the young man praised.

The waiter said enthusiastically, "Of course! No wonder he's qualified to be the young head镖师 (bodyguard/escort); his manner of speaking, his demeanor..."

Lin Pingzhi listened intently, and he was fairly certain that this young man was the one who had been following him recently.

"By the way, waiter, do you know where these people are headed?"

"You've come to the right person," the waiter said smugly. "I just heard them say they're planning to take a detour via the small road to the east to Yangzhou."

"Why take the back road instead of the proper official road?" the young man asked, frowning.

The waiter said, "I heard from them that many martial arts practitioners have been coming to Suzhou recently, and they took the back road to avoid trouble."

"I see." The young man nodded.

Just then, another group of people arrived, each carrying a weapon at their waist. They sat down casually and greeted the waiter without any politeness:

"Waiter, cut two pounds of braised beef, and add plenty of chili."

"Waiter, bring me a pot of good wine."

"Waiter, bring me a bowl of tea, I'm dying of thirst."

Seeing that the group had a tough and imposing air about them, the waiter dared not neglect them and busied himself serving them.

Suddenly, a man walked up to the young man and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, isn't this the great hero Linghu Chong of the Huashan Sect?"

So he was Linghu Chong!

Lin Pingzhi felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed that the other party was following him on Yue Buqun's orders to find out about the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual.

Linghu Chong quickly stood up and said, "Linghu Chong greets Chief Yao." It turned out that this person was Yao Bodang, the chief of Qin Family Village in Yunzhou.

The Huashan Sect was very famous in the north, and Linghu Chong liked to make friends from all over the country, so he was no stranger to Yao Bodang.

Yao Bodang asked in confusion, "What brings Young Hero Linghu to Jiangnan?"

Linghu Chong said, "I am here on my master's orders to gather some information."

Seeing that Linghu Chong did not specify what information he was looking for, Yao Bodang knew this was a taboo subject, so he did not ask further. He simply praised, "Your master, Sect Leader Yue, is a righteous person. Young Hero Linghu, you must have come to Jiangnan to rid the people of evil."

Linghu Chong asked, "Chief Yao, you flatter me. What brings you to Jiangnan this time?"

Yao Bodang sighed and said, "It's all about revenge." He pointed to the others and said, "We're all here to take revenge on Murong Fu."

Linghu Chong said in a low voice, "I've heard about it too. Chief Qin was killed in Shaanxi by the most powerful and fiercest move of the 'Five Tigers Severing the Gate Saber.' It certainly seems like the work of the Murong family of Gusu." He then asked, "What was the outcome?"

Everyone felt embarrassed. Their disturbance at Tingxiang Pavilion, only to have their martial arts techniques exposed by Wang Yuyan, and ultimately being driven out by Murong Fu's retainers, was hardly a glorious affair.

After a long silence, one of them spoke up: "In the south, Murong Fu is like Qiao Feng in the north. I originally thought Murong Fu was a master, but I didn't expect him to avoid fighting and end up relying on a weak woman."

Upon hearing this, everyone echoed his sentiments, seeking an excuse.

"Not bad, young lady, she's quite remarkable, while Murong Fu is just average."

They suffered a great loss, hated Murong Fu but were helpless, so they could only slander him verbally.

Linghu Chong had already learned what had happened from them and was secretly surprised: This woman is indeed remarkable. She knows all the martial arts in the world. I wonder if she knows any of the sword techniques of my Huashan Sect?

"Waiter, have any镖局 (security escort agency) personnel passed through here recently?"

At that moment, a shrill voice came, followed by a young man dressed in a blue robe with a long sword hanging at his waist.

Snapped!

The waiter, distracted by serving the food, was slow to answer and was slapped across the face by the young man. The young man yelled, "I'm asking you, did you see anyone from the security company pass by here?"

Everyone was furious upon seeing this.

Linghu Chong said calmly, "I haven't seen the people from the escort agency, but I have seen wild beasts, they're called the Four Beasts of Qingcheng."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Who dares to slander the Four Beauties of Qingcheng?"

The young man snorted coldly, drew his longsword with a whoosh, and was about to attack when he saw it was Linghu Chong. He abruptly withdrew his sword and said coldly:

"Who is it? It turns out to be Linghu Chong, the eldest disciple of the Huashan Sect. I will definitely report this to my master when I get back."

It turned out that this person was Hou Renying, one of the Four Heroes of Qingcheng. He had suffered a loss at the hands of Linghu Chong, so he did not dare to make a move.

Hou Renying found a seat and sat down. Linghu Chong, fearing his master's wrath, said nothing more.

The waiter, however, became frightened and hurriedly served the dishes, then relayed to Hou Renying what he had said to Linghu Chong earlier.

Hou Renying's anger subsided slightly.

Lin Pingzhi listened for a while longer, and only got up to pay the bill after seeing Linghu Chong, Hou Renying and the others leave.

"What prestigious sect? I think they're nothing but cowardly bullies who prey on the weak," the waiter spat. Seeing Lin Ping come up, he quickly smiled obsequiously and said, "Young Master Escort, I wasn't talking about you."

Lin Pingzhi said, "I know, you don't need to be afraid." After settling the bill, he gave the waiter three taels of silver as a tip.

Seeing Lin Pingzhi's approachable demeanor, the waiter mustered his courage and asked, "Young Master Escort, am I right?"

"You're right," Lin Pingzhi said.

Those words were spoken at his instruction to the waiter.