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

The short, thin old man looked up and saw a strange group walking towards him.

Everyone was riding tall horses.

Leading the group were an exceptionally outstanding young couple; the boy was remarkably handsome, and the girl was stunningly beautiful, exuding an air of nobility.

They were followed by five or six people, some dressed as scholars and others in martial attire, presumably their attendants.

The short, thin old man pondered to himself:

"They must be young masters and ladies from Kaifeng who have come out for a stroll and to relax."

"However, these followers should not be underestimated."

The person who just made the move used broken silver as a hidden weapon, and both the force and accuracy were extremely impressive.

He didn't believe that the young man and woman in front of him possessed such skill.

He glanced at his entourage behind him and saw that they all looked relaxed, completely unconcerned about what was happening in front of them.

Especially the one dressed as a scholar, who held his head high, chest out, and nose in the air.

"Chief Zhou, these people insist on breaking in, we..."

"A henchman from Golden Knife Stronghold spoke cautiously, with a hint of timidity in his voice.

The short, thin old man saw that the henchmen of Golden Knife Stronghold were hiding far behind, clearly having suffered a hidden loss, and his heart sank.

He clasped his hands and said:

"We are from Golden Knife Stronghold. I am Zhou Mu from Eagle Claw Sect. May I ask your names?"

Knowing that the visitor was no ordinary person, he immediately revealed his lineage and the name of his stronghold, hoping that the other party would be wary.

Unexpectedly, the leading youth simply said:

"You don't need to know our names. Alright, you can leave now."

"what?"

Zhou Mu was taken aback. He was quite well-known in the martial arts world, and people in the martial arts world would call him "Old Master Zhou".

The young man, however, showed no respect whatsoever.

"This young man is ignorant and has never heard of my name. Let's not bother with him. The most important thing now is to obtain the 'Mysterious Iron Token'."

Thinking of this, he looked at Wu Daotong's corpse and saw that he was carrying a package under his long robe.

"In that case, we shall take our leave."

Zhou Mu stood up and quickly reached for the package with his right hand.

"When I said we could leave, I didn't mean we had to leave with our belongings."

The boy spoke again, his voice cold and clear.

This time, Zhou Mu finally saw clearly that it was this young man who had made the move.

But then he raised his right hand, and a silver light flashed out. Zhou Mu had just grabbed the package and was about to pull it back when the back of his hand was struck by the silver light again.

The pain forced him to release his grip once more.

"Whose son is this young man? He's incredibly strong!"

Zhou Mu was utterly shocked.

However, this "Mysterious Iron Token" was too important for him to let go of.

At that moment, he suppressed his anger and said:

"Does Your Excellency truly intend to become an enemy of Golden Knife Stronghold?"

The young man didn't speak, but his attendant behind him did:

"What Golden Knife Stronghold or Silver Knife Stronghold? Our young镖头 (chief镖师, a term for a bodyguard or镖师 in Chinese) told you to leave, so get lost now."

Zhou Mu guessed that the young man in front of him was the young master of some escort agency, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, saying angrily:

"Very well, I'd like to experience the skills of the young镖头 (bodyguard/escort)."

"There's no need to trouble the young master镖头 (bodyguard/escort) to take action. Let this old man learn from Master Zhou's skills."

As he spoke, a thin, withered old man dismounted and walked towards Zhou Mu.

The others also dismounted and followed behind.

"Mr. Zhou, please."

Su Xinghe said.

He used to live a very secluded life, and not many people really knew him.

"I'm sorry."

Zhou Mu knew the newcomer meant no harm, so he didn't hold back, his right hand flashing out to grab the other's wrist like lightning. This grappling technique was a specialty of his Eagle Claw Sect, and he was extremely confident in this move.

But before he could finish extending his right hand, he felt a sudden tightening on his wrist as the other person grabbed it.

His opponent's hands were thin, but his strength was extremely powerful. Zhou Mu felt numbness and weakness in half of his body and could not muster any strength.

He had never encountered such a situation before, and he was both shocked and furious. In an instant, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Old Master Zhou, please leave now!"

As soon as the word "ba" was uttered, the other party gently pulled on his wrist, and Zhou Mu involuntarily retreated repeatedly.

"you……"

Zhou Mu's face flushed red, knowing that his opponent's skills were far superior to his own, and that he had held back earlier.

For a moment, he didn't know whether he should leave or stay.

Just then, the sound of hooves clattering could be heard, and several horses galloped towards them.

A gruff voice laughed loudly and said:

"Thank you for your mercy, senior. I am deeply grateful."

No sooner had he finished speaking than three horses burst in from the long street.

"Chieftain! Chieftain!"

When the henchmen of Jin Dao Village saw the newcomers, they shouted excitedly.

These three were none other than An Fengri, the first chief of Jin Dao Village; Feng Zhenwu, the second chief; and Yuan Chengdao, the third chief.

The three men approached the crowd. An Fengri dismounted and said:

"I am An Fengri, the chieftain of Golden Knife Stronghold. May I ask how you gentlemen are addressed?"

Seeing that the other man had round eyes, a bushy beard, a short and stocky build, and a rough and uncouth demeanor, yet spoke very politely, Su Xinghe said, "I am Su Xinghe, and these two are Lin Pingzhi, the young head of the Fuwei Escort Agency, and our young lady."

An Fengri had never heard of these names before, but he still said politely, "So you are Senior Su. I've heard so much about you."

As he spoke, he turned to Lin Pingzhi and said, "I greatly admire Young Master Lin for killing Tian Boguang. Seeing you today, I can confirm that you are indeed a dragon among men."

Lin Pingzhi said calmly:

"I heard that Chief An robbed the rich to help the poor, and everyone in the martial arts world gave him a thumbs up. I never expected him to be such a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong."

An Fengri showed no anger, but humbly replied, "Young Master Escort, what makes you say that?"

Lin Pingzhi pointed to the corpse at the entrance of the general store and said:

"Chief An, don't tell me this wasn't done by your Golden Knife Stronghold?"

Upon seeing this, An Fengri flew into a rage, his gaze sweeping over each of his henchmen, and he demanded sharply, "Who did this?"

The henchmen all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

An Fengri angrily retorted, "What kind of outlaw are you if you dare to do something but not admit it?"

"It's just a worker's life, why bother?"

A voice whispered from the crowd.

"Who said that? Step forward!"

An Fengri said coldly.

The henchmen looked grave, and none of them answered.

"What, all spineless? Now you're hiding like a coward?"

After a long while, a burly man finally stepped out from the crowd, raised his head, and said:

"Boss, it was me who said it."

An Fengri squinted at the newcomer and said, "Li Kui, did you kill him?"

"That's right, I'll take responsibility for my actions. I'm the one who killed him."

Li Kui held his head high, looking defiant.

"Okay, okay."

An Fengri reached out and unfastened the brass clasp on his chest, took the single-edged sword from behind his back, drew it from its sheath, and charged towards Li Kui.

Li Kui was terrified that An Fengri would try to kill him for the sake of a mere employee, and shouted:

"Boss, I refuse to accept this!"

Before the word "submit" could even be uttered, the head had already fallen to the ground, the face still bearing an expression of defiance.

An Fengri coldly said, "I've said it before: our Golden Knife Stronghold robs the rich to help the poor, and we will never bully the unarmed."

Having said that, he stood with his knife in hand.

At that time, the sun was just rising, and under the sunlight, the golden knife gleamed and shone brightly.

Seeing this, Su Xinghe and the others secretly admired An Fengri, regardless of whether he was putting on a show or being sincere.

Lin Pingzhi said, "Chief An is indeed a man of principle; I admire him. How about this, I will give Chief An a chance."

"If anyone in Golden Saber Stronghold could surpass me, Senior Su..."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's eagerness, he added, "And my junior sister, how about we give this to Chief An?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the bundle on Wu Daotong's body.