Courtyard House: Starting in 1938, kill enemies and loot equipment.

In late autumn of 1947, the cold wind blew the locust tree branches bare in the alley, and the withered leaves, carrying dust, rustled against the gray walls of the courtyard houses.

The candlelight flickered in the east wing. Zhou Ye sat cross-legged on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), with Xiao Cao beside him, circulating the *Qingyuan Lingxin Jue* (Azure Origin Spiritual Heart Technique). The pure white spiritual energy of his golden core flowed smoothly throughout his body, concealing his cultivation level completely. The cold wind outside the window grew stronger, but Zhou Ye's heart suddenly sank. A long-buried memory from his past life surged uncontrollably back up—

It was a factual account he had read before his transmigration: the terrifying spy case in Beiping in 1947. Military intelligence agents were frantically purging underground party organizations. An underground party member, using the alias "Mr. Lin," infiltrated the enemy camp to deliver intelligence, but his identity was exposed, plunging him into dire straits. Surrounded by agents throughout the prefecture, his fate was decided by an inconspicuous, nameless orderly.

The secret agents interrogated the orderly, demanding to know if he knew Mr. Lin. A nod meant Mr. Lin's certain death; a shake of the head meant the orderly would be tortured to death. That simple young man, to repay Mr. Lin's kindness, mustered all his strength to say "It wasn't him," sacrificing his own life to save the underground party member from death. Ultimately, the young man died tragically at the hands of the secret agents, leaving no trace of his name, becoming an anonymous speck of dust in the annals of history.

Having read it in his previous life, Zhou Ye was filled with shock and sorrow. Now, in Beiping in 1947, the time, place, and situation perfectly matched the tragedy in his memory. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, and the golden core in his dantian trembled slightly—in this life, he would never allow such a tragedy to repeat itself!

"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiaocao noticed the fluctuation in Zhou Ye's aura, opened her eyes and asked softly, her eyes full of worry.

Zhou Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a very light knock came from outside the courtyard gate. Three long knocks followed by two short ones were the code signal from the underground party comrades.

He got up and opened the door. Standing outside was the underground party's Beiping leader, a comrade using the alias Old Xu. Old Xu's clothes were frosty, his face deathly pale, and he was trembling all over. Upon seeing Zhou Ye, he grabbed his arm tightly, his voice hoarse to the extreme:

"Comrade Zhou Ye! Something's happened! Our intelligence agent, Lin Qiu, was ordered to infiltrate Sun Bu's residence to deliver military intelligence, but his hideout was betrayed by a traitor, and his identity has been exposed! Now the entire residence is surrounded by Kuomintang agents, Lin Qiu has no way to escape, and our men can't break in at all!"

Lin Qiu!

It was the underground Communist Party member who was saved by the nameless orderly from my past life!

Zhou Ye's heart leaped into his throat; not a single second could be wasted. He turned to Xiao Cao and said in a deep voice, "You stay in the courtyard, guard the house, and use the Azure Origin Spirit Heart Technique to conceal your presence. No matter what you hear, don't come out."

"Don't worry, brother!" Little Grass nodded immediately, her little face full of determination.

Zhou Ye then used his spiritual sense to summon Zhao Hu, who was lurking in the shadows. Zhao Hu was now at the late stage of Qi Refining, agile and with a concealed aura, making him ideal for covert operations. "Follow me to the Sun residence in the West City to rescue them!"

Without pausing, the two figures vanished into the pitch-black night. Zhou Ye unleashed his Golden Core spiritual sense, taking full control of the commotion within a three-mile radius—in the howling winds of the West City alley, the Sun family mansion was brightly lit, with dozens of plainclothes agents from the Military Intelligence Bureau hiding in the corridors and corners, each holding a short gun, their eyes sinister, staring intently at the courtyard gate like hungry tigers, waiting for Lin Qiu to walk right into their trap.

Zhou Ye scanned the mansion with his spiritual sense and instantly saw the scene from his memory:

Lin Qiu stood in the center of the courtyard, carrying a coarse cloth bag of rice. His face was calm, but his heart was in turmoil. He was using the identity of "rice delivery accountant" as a cover. At this moment, he was caught in a dilemma. If he turned around, he would be shot dead by the secret agents. If he forced his way in, he would only die.

Not far from him, a young orderly, about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in coarse cloth and shorts, was being held down on a stone table by two secret agents. The boy's face was pale, and he was trembling all over, but he still stood up straight. It was the same nameless orderly who had sacrificed his life for righteousness in his previous life. Zhou Ye silently gave him a name in his heart—Xiao An, hoping that he would live a peaceful life.

The head of the secret service was a burly man with a menacing face. He toyed with a revolver in his hand, walked up to Xiao An step by step, grabbed him by the collar, and roared viciously, "Kid, I'm asking you, isn't this your superior, Lin Qiu?!"

A single sentence can decide life or death!

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence; even the cold wind seemed to freeze.

Xiao An raised his eyes slightly, his gaze meeting Lin Qiu's. There were no secret signals, no instructions, only the small acts of kindness Lin Qiu showed him in his daily life: never treating him like a servant, sharing his food, mending his worn-out shoes, and speaking up for him when he was bullied.

In this chaotic and dark world, this simple kindness is the only light in the young man's heart.

Xiao An's lips trembled slightly, and she was about to speak when the tragedy of her past life was about to repeat itself!

At this critical moment, Zhou Ye made his move.

He did not reveal himself rashly. His Golden Core cultivation was hidden invisibly. He condensed a wisp of extremely fine spiritual energy at his fingertips and gently flicked it towards the kerosene lamp in the corner of the courtyard. With a "snap," the lamp shattered, the flame went out, and the courtyard was plunged into darkness.

Caught off guard, the agents cried out in alarm and raised their guns indiscriminately.

"Who?!"

"What's that noise?!"

Taking advantage of the agents' momentary panic, Zhou Ye used his spiritual energy to transmit his voice directly into Xiao An's consciousness, his voice gentle yet firm: "Child, say you don't know him, and I'll guarantee your life."

Xiao An shuddered, as if guided by a deity. Avoiding the gaze of the intelligence chief, he mustered all his strength and, trembling, uttered three words:

"I don't recognize him/her."

These three words, like a thunderclap, cleaved through the deathly haze hanging over Lin Qiu's head!

Lin Qiu, a seasoned underground worker, instantly seized this fleeting opportunity. He immediately lowered his head, feigning a timid and submissive accountant, rubbing his hands frantically, and said, "Sir, I'm just a rice deliveryman, here to reconcile accounts. I made a mistake. I'll leave right away, I'll leave right away!"

As he spoke, he picked up the bag of rice, lowered his head, and hurried toward the courtyard gate.

The spy chief was thrown into disarray by the exploding oil lamp and Xiao An's answer. Adding to his confusion, Zhou Ye secretly suppressed his mind with his golden core energy, leaving him dazed and unable to react for a moment. Only when Lin Qiu's figure was almost out of the alley did the spy chief snap back to reality, roaring furiously, "Damn it! We've been tricked! Chase after him!"

Just as the agents were about to rush out, Zhou Ye made another move. Zhao Hu, who was at the late stage of Qi Refining, received the order and threw pre-prepared gravel from the shadows, knocking the guns out of the agents' hands; Zhou Ye then used his spiritual energy to lock the hinges of the courtyard gate, making the gate firmly stuck, and the agents could not break it open for a while.

"Grab that kid! Beat him to death!" The spy chief unleashed all his fury on Xiao An, raining blows upon the boy.

Xiao An gritted her teeth and remained silent, not uttering a single word even as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Zhou Ye watched from the shadows, his heart aching. He couldn't reveal his Golden Core cultivation, but he also couldn't let Xiao An repeat the mistakes of his past life. With a flick of his fingertips, he precisely struck Xiao An's acupoints, protecting his heart meridian. At the same time, he secretly struck the knees of several of the violent agents, making their legs weak and unable to continue.

"withdraw!"

Knowing it was not wise to linger, Zhou Ye grabbed Lin Qiu, who had already safely evacuated, and Zhao Hu, and they disappeared silently into the night.

Only after they were far away from the alleyways of Xicheng did Lin Qiu collapse to the ground, bowing deeply to Zhou Ye, tears streaming down her face: "Comrade Zhou Ye! Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I would surely be dead today. And that young man, he probably..."

"He won't die," Zhou Ye said in a deep voice. "I've already secretly protected his life. The spies will at most detain him. Once things calm down, I'll find a way to get him out."

Lin Qiu looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with unbelievable gratitude, and she choked up, unable to speak.

Zhou Ye gazed at the dark night sky over Beiping, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

In his past life, that nameless orderly sacrificed his life to become a hero, turning into dust unknown to anyone in history; in this life, he is fortunate enough to be here, and with his own strength, he protects the life of an underground party member, as well as that simple and kind-hearted boy.

He recalled the words from that article in his previous life: On the medals of history, there are not only the glorious achievements of heroes, but also the pure hearts of countless nameless people. They did not understand profound revolutionary theories, nor did they perform earth-shattering feats, but with the kindness and courage in their hearts, they stood up in the darkness.

Xiao An, this boy with an ordinary name, is the brightest star in the darkness.

"Comrade Lin Qiu, go to the base and hide first. I'll have Lao Xu pass on the intelligence." Zhou Ye helped him up. "I will definitely rescue that young man and give you, and all the nameless heroes, an explanation."

"Thank you so much, Comrade Zhou Ye! I am deeply grateful!" Lin Qiu bowed deeply again and turned to head towards the liberated area.

Zhou Ye and Zhao Hu returned to the alley and secretly observed the movements of the Sun residence. The agents failed to catch up with Lin Qiu and could only lock Xiao An in the woodshed. They did not kill him. Zhou Ye's spiritual energy protecting his heart meridian took effect. The agents beat him up, but seeing that the boy was on the verge of death, they were afraid of causing trouble by killing him, so they spared his life for the time being.

"Brother Zhou, what's the next step?" Zhao Hu asked in a low voice.

"Wait." Zhou Ye's eyes were firm. "Three days later, Shou'an will approach the side gate of the Sun residence under the pretext of 'investigating the black market salt smuggling.' I will take the opportunity to rescue Xiao'an. We cannot let such an unsung hero sacrifice himself in vain."

The night deepened, and the cold wind remained biting, but Zhou Ye's heart burned with passion.

When he returned to the courtyard house, Xiaocao was still waiting for him under the lamp. Seeing him return safely, she immediately rushed into his arms. Zhou Ye held his younger sister, gazing at the city of Beiping outside the window, silently reciting in his heart:

In this chaotic world, heroes die for their cause, and ordinary people sacrifice their lives. I, Zhou Ye, hereby swear to protect every kind-hearted person and every loyal soul on this land, until the light arrives and our land is safe and sound.