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

"Why are you following us?"

Bei Haishi's gaze was sharp and fixed on Lin Pingzhi.

Lin Pingzhi said urgently, "My name is Kou Zhong, and I'm from Yangzhou. Not long ago, a man dressed as a bodyguard gave me ten taels of silver and asked me to keep an eye on He Garden. He also said that if I found any important clues, there would be a generous reward."

"This morning I saw two heroes hurriedly leaving the city. I guessed that they must be carrying important information, so I chased after them."

"I was greedy for the reward, I deserve to die."

His words were half true and half false, making them very easy to mislead people.

really.

Bei Haishi sneered, "Hmph, Fuwei Escort Agency!"

But then he asked doubtfully, "Wait a minute, how come a small-time hoodlum like you has a horse? And who taught you how to ride?"

Lin Pingzhi quickly explained, "That horse was left to me by the镖师 (bodyguard/escort). I have a friend who works in the yamen (government office), and that's how I learned horsemanship."

Knowing that these petty thugs often colluded with government officials, Bei Haishi pressed for more details, such as the identity of his friend.

Lin Pingzhi recalled the plot of The Legend of the Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, reciting the names of Xu Ziling, Master Bai, Sister Zhen, and others all at once.

Seeing that he spoke very fluently, Bei Haishi guessed that he couldn't have made up so much content in a short time, and immediately believed him to be 80 or 90 percent of the truth.

At this moment, the tall, thin man beside him looked disappointed and said to Bei Haishi, "So he's just a nobody. Strategist, perhaps..."

As he spoke, he increased the pressure in his hand.

"Hero, spare my life!" Lin Pingzhi pretended to be terrified, but secretly he channeled his icy inner energy, ready to fight back at any moment.

Bei Haishi carefully examined Lin Pingzhi before speaking:

"Wait! I have another use for this person."

The tall, thin man did as instructed, acupuncturing Lin Pingzhi's pressure points and escorting him towards Zhenjiang.

The tall, thin man's internal strength was considerably weaker than Bei Haishi's, and Lin Pingzhi quickly broke through his acupoints. Now focused on gathering information about the Chang Le Gang, he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Throughout the journey, both Bei Haishi and the tall, thin man were filled with worry.

From their conversation, Lin Pingzhi learned that the tall, thin man was named Mi Hengye, one of the three leaders of the Chang Le Gang.

Mi Hengye rushed to Yangzhou to find Bei Haishi because not long ago, the gang leader Situ Heng had driven one of the gang's leaders to suicide.

"Master He was forced to commit suicide by the gang leader just for mentioning the order of rewarding good and punishing evil. It's truly chilling," Mi Hengye sighed in a low voice.

Bei Haishi said solemnly, "The Decree for Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil appears once every ten years, and there are less than two years until the next one. Chief He advised the Chief to make preparations in advance, which was not wrong in itself. As his subordinates, we must not let the Chief go astray."

Mi Hengye was overjoyed and quickly said, "Dr. Bei is right. I will follow Dr. Bei's instructions."

After about half an hour, the group finally arrived at the headquarters of the Chang Le Gang.

When the gang members guarding the gate saw that Mi Hengye had brought Bei Haishi back, they all showed excited expressions and chattered about it:

"Dr. Bei, you're finally back! You must give the gang leader a good talking-to."

"Dr. Bei, the fate of the Chang Le Gang rests on your shoulders."

Bei Haishi reassured everyone, then took Lin Pingzhi back indoors, released his pressure points, and ordered someone to serve him tea.

Lin Pingzhi was flattered and quickly accepted the teacup.

After Lin Pingzhi finished his tea, Bei Haishi slowly said, "Young brother, as you know, I am Bei Haishi, the strategist of the Chang Le Gang."

Lin Pingzhi quickly revealed an expression of "admiration" and said, "I have long heard of the Chang Le Gang's great reputation. My admiration for the Chang Le Gang is like a surging river, endless and boundless, like the Yellow River..."

"Alright, alright," Bei Haishi waved his hand, interrupting him. "Since you know the name of my Chang Le Gang, that makes things easier. Young man, are you interested in joining our Chang Le Gang?"

Lin Pingzhi was both surprised and delighted, and quickly said, "I couldn't ask for more."

Bei Haishi said happily, "I knew you were destined to join my Chang Le Gang the moment I saw you, young man. Since you agree, you are now a member of our Chang Le Gang."

After saying this, he summoned a member of his gang and personally registered the name "Kou Zhong" in the register.

After the gang members left, Bei Haishi said, "Brother Kou, now that you've joined my gang, we're family. There's a problem in the gang that we need your help with."

"I wonder what happened?"

Lin Pingzhi asked, puzzled, but inwardly cursed: This Bei Haishi must want me to be his scapegoat.

really.

Bei Haishi said, "Brother Kou, as you just heard, our Chief He was driven to suicide by the gang leader because of the reward and punishment order. Although our entire gang is loyal to the gang leader, this matter concerns the survival of the Chang Le Gang, so we must find out the truth about the reward and punishment order."

"This...this..." Lin Pingzhi hesitated.

Bei Haishi then explained the decree of rewarding good and punishing evil to Lin Pingzhi in detail.

Lin Pingzhi asked tremblingly, "Dr. Bei, are you saying that if the gang leader doesn't accept the reward and punishment plaque when it arrives, and agrees to drink Laba porridge, the entire gang will be slaughtered?"

Bei Haishi said calmly, "Yes, Brother Kou. You've now joined our Chang Le Gang and are registered. The envoy from Xia Ke Island is extremely well-informed. If the gang leader doesn't accept the warrant, our entire gang will be... hehe..."

As he spoke, he slammed his hand on the table next to him, and the table shattered into pieces with a loud "crack".

This slap was both a demonstration and a threat.

"You..." Lin Pingzhi was furious, pointing at Bei Haishi, wanting to curse but not daring to, finally timidly asking, "Dr. Bei, what do you want me to do?"

Bei Haishi was overjoyed and said, "Brother Kou, this matter is actually not difficult. Tonight, our entire gang will have a big gathering. All you need to do is suggest to the gang leader that he accept the decree for rewarding good and punishing evil."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

"Why doesn't Dr. Bei let the other gang members do this kind of thing?" Lin Pingzhi asked with suspicion.

Dr. Bei said, "Other members who have been in the gang for a long time are intimidated by the gang leader's prestige and dare not mention this matter. Only brothers like Brother Kou, who have just joined the gang, can bring it up."

Lin Pingzhi asked anxiously, "Is there any danger?"

Dr. Bei confidently replied, "You saw it when you entered the gang; this is the wish of everyone in our gang. Brother Kou has voiced everyone's wishes, and the entire gang is more than grateful to him. How could there be any danger?"

Lin Pingzhi hesitated for a while before reluctantly agreeing.

Bei Haishi seemed to have expected this, and after giving Lin Pingzhi some pointers, he left with peace of mind.

Before parting, Bei Haishi slowly said, "By the way, Brother Kou, I put a little something in the tea you just drank. If you want the antidote, you'd better stay in your room and prepare for tonight's meeting."

"You..." Lin Pingzhi pointed at Bei Haishi, both shocked and angry.

This time, however, it wasn't a performance.

He thought he had fooled Bei Haishi, but he didn't expect that the old man had such a trick up his sleeve.

As expected, experience matters.

He had no choice but to attend the big gathering of the whole gang that evening.