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

"Young Master Escort, I, Ke Zhen'e, am convinced!"

On the official road, the white horse galloped at breakneck speed.

After a long silence, Ke Zhen'e suddenly spoke.

At this moment, the positions of the two riders had changed; Lin Pingzhi was now in front, urging his horse forward, while Ke Zhen'e sat behind him.

Following Azhu's instructions, Lin Pingzhi carefully wrapped the baby in Helian Tieshu's clothes and tied them securely to his chest.

After the baby had eaten his fill, he had already fallen into a deep sleep, but his little hand was still tightly clutching a piece of steamed bun.

"what?"

Lin Pingzhi was focused on riding his horse and didn't notice Ke Zhen'e's voice.

Ke Zhen'e raised his voice and said again, "Young Master Escort, I admire you."

During this rescue mission, Lin Pingzhi not only demonstrated exceptional martial arts skills but also displayed both courage and resourcefulness.

They slaughtered all the Western Xia warriors, eliminated Yun Zhonghe and the Crocodile God of the South Sea, and also crippled Ye Erniang.

The rescue was a great success.

The only thing that Ke Zhen'e regretted was that he hadn't played a significant role in the rescue and had instead become a burden.

Lin Pingzhi responded humbly:

"You flatter me, Master Ke. Compared to your journey of thousands of miles deep into the desert to find Guo Jing back then, my little deeds are nothing."

Upon hearing this, Ke Zhen'e was very pleased and a gratified smile appeared on his face.

Before long, the two returned to Chenjia Village.

Bai Er was already waiting at the village entrance. Seeing Lin Pingzhi returning with the baby in his arms, he excitedly shouted:

"He's back! Young Master Escort is back!"

Everyone rushed out, their faces beaming with joy.

Aunt Chen staggered to the front, and when she saw the unharmed baby in Lin Pingzhi's arms, tears streamed down her face.

Lin Pingzhi dismounted, gently untied the baby from his chest, and carefully handed him to Granny Chen.

The baby remained fast asleep, undisturbed by the surrounding noise.

Holding the baby tightly, Granny Chen knelt down with a thud before Lin Pingzhi and Ke Zhen'e, her voice trembling as she repeatedly said:

"Thank you both, sirs! Thank you both!"

Lin Pingzhi quickly stepped forward, helped Chen Da Niang up with both hands, and said:

"Auntie, please get up. This is what we should do."

Ke Zhen'e said shamefully from the side:

"No need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank this young镖头 (bodyguard/escort). It was all thanks to him that we saved this person. I really didn't help much."

The crowd escorted Lin Pingzhi and Ke Zhen'e back to Aunt Chen's house, where a sumptuous meal had already been prepared.

As soon as the banquet began, Chief Escort Shi and the others eagerly surrounded the guests, asking all sorts of questions about the rescue.

Lin Pingzhi briefly recounted what had happened.

Ke Zhen'e listened from the side, feeling increasingly embarrassed.

Although Lin Pingzhi did not mention his performance in this operation, this only made him feel that he had not played a significant role.

Fortunately, everyone was so engrossed in Lin Pingzhi's deeds that they didn't pay much attention to these things.

"Young镖头, well done! It's a pity I didn't have the chance to kill those Western Xia Tartars with my own hands."

"Young Master Escort, next time there's a good opportunity like this, you absolutely must take me with you."

……

"Haha, I never expected that Yun Zhonghe would die under Xiao Xuelong's iron hooves. Xiao Xuelong has really done a great service this time."

"Bai Er, you'd better give Little Snow Dragon a good extra meal tonight to reward it."

"Of course, Xiao Xuelong usually eats much better than me."

"That's to be expected. Can your contribution be as great as Little Snow Dragon's?"

……

"I never imagined that Ye Erniang had such a tragic past. It's such a pity."

"Her tragic past cannot justify her evil deeds; she deserves her current fate."

"However, she had no regrets as she was able to see her child one last time before she died."

……

"By the way, who exactly is Ye Erniang's lover? Why is she so protective of him?"

As soon as Chief Escort Shi asked the question, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Pingzhi, and even Ke Zhen'e tilted his head to listen attentively.

Lin Pingzhi slowly said, "It is the abbot of Shaolin Temple."

"It was him!"

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this.

"Abbot Xuanci is highly respected in the Central Plains martial arts world. I never expected him to be this kind of person."

"If this secret were to be revealed, who knows how much trouble it would cause."

"No wonder Ye Erniang is so wicked; perhaps Abbot Xuanci has been secretly protecting her all along."

At this moment, Daiyu suddenly spoke up, saying, "Although Ye Erniang says she has no regrets, I think she still harbors some resentment towards Abbot Xuanci."

Everyone asked curiously, "How do you know?"

After Lin Daiyu started practicing martial arts, her appetite increased significantly.

She took a bite of her food and said slowly, "Back then, the two of them secretly fell in love, and Ye Erniang even had a child out of wedlock for Abbot Xuanci. But Abbot Xuanci, because of his status, was always unwilling to acknowledge their relationship. Just think, as a woman, how would Ye Erniang feel?"

After listening to Lin Daiyu's words and pondering them carefully, everyone felt that they made a lot of sense.

Imagine the pressure and societal judgment a woman faces when she gives birth out of wedlock.

Lin Daiyu took another bite of her food and continued:

"You can imagine how Ye Erniang felt after her child was snatched away. Since you've turned a blind eye to me, then I'll continue to commit evil deeds in the martial world. As a leader of the righteous path, you can't just abandon me, can you?"

Upon hearing this, Ke Zhen'e couldn't help but sigh, "Ye Erniang's actions may well have been intended to attract Abbot Xuanci's attention. The little girl is clever and quick-witted, comparable to Huang Rong."

After spending this time together, Lin Daiyu had learned about Huang Rong's deeds and was very happy to hear Ke Zhen'e's praise.

Lin Pingzhi also sighed:

"Ye Erniang's biggest mistake was taking out her personal grudges on innocent people. She deserves her current fate."

After the meal, Lin Pingzhi asked Aunt Chen with concern, "Aunt Chen, what are your plans now?"

Aunt Chen glanced at the sleeping baby in her arms, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness, and said:

"I don't know either, I can only take it one step at a time."

Her husband was killed by the Western Xia Tartars, and now she is all alone and helpless.

Although she has her maternal family, the relationship is not harmonious. When she goes back as a single mother with a child, her maternal family will only see her as a burden.

Thinking of these things, her eyes immediately dimmed.

Lin Pingzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Auntie, as you know, we are from the Fuwei Escort Agency, headquartered in Fuzhou. Right now, the agency is short-staffed. If you don't mind, you can come and work for us at the Fuwei Escort Agency."

Chief镖师 and others also tried to persuade Aunt Chen:

"Yes, ma'am, bandits are rampant in the north these days, while the south is relatively safer. Even if not for yourself, you have to think about your children."

"Our chief镖头 (head镖师) is a very good person. Look at me, I grew up in the镖局 (镖局 is a type of security escort agency)."

"The child can learn martial arts from our young镖头 (chief镖师, a powerful figure in martial arts), which will give him a future."

After much persuasion, Granny Chen was finally moved and said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Young Chief Escort. If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do."

Lin Pingzhi looked at the various bodyguards, pondering which one to send to escort Granny Chen and her son to Fuzhou.

At this moment, Ke Zhen'e offered, "Young Master Escort, let me escort them, mother and child, to Fuzhou."

He has always been chivalrous and felt that he had not made any contribution in this rescue operation, so he wanted to take this opportunity to make up for it.

Lin Pingzhi was overjoyed. He immediately took out paper and pen and wrote a letter to his father, explaining the whole story in detail and asking his father to take good care of Aunt Chen and her son.

He handed the letter to Ke Zhen'e, and then took out two envelopes of silver, each containing one hundred taels, and gave one to Ke Zhen'e and one to Aunt Chen.

Ke Zhen'e refused to accept the money no matter what, so Lin Pingzhi had no choice but to hand it over to Aunt Chen, saying, "Auntie, take this money with you on your journey and take good care of Hero Ke."

Aunt Chen thanked her profusely, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Before parting, Ke Zhen'e took a small booklet from his pocket and solemnly handed it to Lin Pingzhi. Lin Pingzhi asked in confusion, "Master Ke, what is this?"

Ke Zhen'e said solemnly, "This is the culmination of a brother's life's work, and I hope that the young镖头 (bodyguard/escort) can pass it on properly."

Seeing his serious expression, Lin Pingzhi also carefully put the booklet away and placed it in his pocket.

Holding the child, Aunt Chen said with eyes full of expectation:

"Young Master Escort, since you saved the child, why don't you give him a name?"

Thinking that they would still need Ke Zhen'e's escort along the way, Lin Pingzhi said, "Master Ke, you are knowledgeable and experienced, why don't you name the child?"

Ke Zhen'e lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"Our rescue operation was a great success, so let's name the child 'Success' (meaning 'success')."