The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Li Donglai and his men were currently frantically untying the rescued bodyguards. The group, still shaken, huddled together, grateful for their narrow escape.

After a thorough review, the results were somewhat unexpected.

Because of the bizarre fetish of the Northern Desert Twin Bears—they wanted to eat "live" animals—not a single镖师 (bodyguard/escort) lost their lives.

The one who was truly the most seriously injured was actually Chief Escort Shi, who was the first to run back to report the news and had his arm severed.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Lin Zhennan simply stood there blankly. The rescued bodyguards, seeing his state, dared not approach him to disturb him.

Shen An noticed that his gaze was unfocused, sometimes looking at the two distorted corpses on the ground, sometimes at the human-shaped crater that had been smashed, and sometimes at himself.

What's wrong with Lin Zhennan?

Shen An walked slowly to him, his brows furrowing slightly as he looked at the muscle strain in his arms caused by excessive exertion.

Seeing Lin Zhennan's absent-minded appearance, he thought that his concealment had hurt this chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) who was a decent person, and felt a little apologetic.

"Chief Escort Lin," he said in a low voice, "I am Shen An from the Songshan Sect. I concealed my identity earlier to avoid trouble, and that's why I had to resort to this tactic. I'm truly sorry."

However, Lin Zhennan seemed not to hear his apology.

He slowly and mechanically turned his head, his usually sharp and intelligent eyes now filled with confusion and emptiness. He asked hoarsely, "Young Master Shen... those two... those Twin Bears of the Northern Desert, what level of martial arts do they possess in the martial arts world?"

It's not surprising that the young swordsman, a top disciple of the Five Mountains Sword Sect who has recently made a name for himself in the martial arts world, possesses such superb martial arts skills.

All he wanted to know now was just how strong those two devils who had nearly wiped out the entire Fuwei Escort Agency and were capable of unleashing a blow that he couldn't withstand at all.

Shen An was taken aback; he hadn't expected him to ask that.

He pondered for a moment, a long list of names popping into his mind.

Dongfang Bubai and Feng Qingyang are undoubtedly the best.

Ren Woxing and Zuo Lengchan are among the best.

Master Yue of Mount Hua and Master Mo of Mount Heng should be top-tier masters.

Most of the Thirteen Protectors of Mount Song were considered second-rate.

"These two bears from the northern desert are probably... only third or fourth-rate, no more than that."

"Third-rate...fourth-rate..."

Lin Zhennan murmured these words repeatedly, his body swaying violently, almost falling to the ground, and he let out a sound that was both crying and laughing:

"Third-rate...hahaha...that's what two third-rate devils are like, so what am I?!"

Dude, so you really didn't know you were bad at the game?

I thought that in the original story, you said that even if dozens of branch sects rushed in, they wouldn't necessarily be afraid of those prestigious sects, because you didn't want to lose face in front of Lin Pingzhi. Besides, didn't you only dare to send gifts to Yu Canghai back then, and not even dare to enter the gates of the Five Mountains Sword Sect?

Looking at it this way, it turns out you have some self-awareness, but not much.

No wonder. Lin Yuantu's reputation was so formidable that even a dead tiger couldn't diminish his prestige.

So much so that even years after his death, the entire martial arts world remained wary of him, and no one dared to easily test him.

It is thanks to Fuwei Escort Agency that it has been able to live peacefully for so many years.

"Chief Escort Lin," Shen An asked curiously, "Chief Escort Lin, I have a question. May I ask how you usually select your bodyguards, and what standards you use to make friends in the martial arts world?"

He really couldn't understand how Lin Zhennan had never revealed his secrets even once in all these years.

Although he didn't know why Shen An would ask this, Lin Zhennan had no reason to refuse this young hero who had avenged his entire escort agency.

He sighed deeply and slowly began to speak:

"Fuwei Escort Agency has branches all over the provinces, and the background and character of the escorts hired by each branch are thoroughly investigated beforehand. You must know that escorting goods is like marching and fighting a war. If there is discord within the organization, it will give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage. The friends I make are all trustworthy."

"So, none of these bodyguards or friends are as strong as you, Chief Bodyguard?"

Lin Zhennan pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Indeed not."

Oh, even a novice chicken is a king among quails.

However, nothing about this group can be revealed.

By combining this with the original work, Shen An instantly understood the entire plot.

The first time the Lin family's secrets were revealed was probably by Lin Pingzhi.

Yu Renyan, who fought Lin Pingzhi, was Yu Canghai's most useless son, whose martial arts skills were probably among the worst in the Qingcheng Sect. Even so, the nineteen-year-old young head镖师 (bodyguard) of the Lin family was no match for him.

Therefore, no matter how high his father Lin Zhennan's martial arts skills were, how much higher could they be than Yu Canghai, who trained the "Four Heroes of Qingcheng"?

Yu Renyan's death was probably a trial balloon.

If they were truly guests, why did the entire Qingcheng Sect react so swiftly and violently immediately after Yu Renyan's death?

Given Yu Renyan's arrogant and domineering nature, even if he were to move into the escort agency peacefully, he would inevitably clash with Lin Pingzhi sooner or later, not to mention that he would have Fang Renzhi by his side, who was good at stirring up trouble.

If the Lin family demonstrates the strength they have anticipated, they will withdraw their claws and become true guests, and Yu Canghai and the main force of Qingcheng will naturally not show themselves; conversely, if it is found that Fuwei Escort Agency is nothing but a paper tiger with a strong exterior but weak interior, then a carefully planned takeover will immediately take place.

But who could have predicted that Lin Pingzhi's accidental act of "rescuing a damsel in distress" would prematurely detonate this bombshell?

In fact, this entire massacre was nothing more than a continuation of a test.

Lin Zhennan remained patient and reserved throughout, and this restraint became his final deterrent. As long as he didn't personally intervene, the mystery of the Evil-Slaying Sword Technique remained unrevealed, and Yu Canghai would always have to be wary—what if this Chief Escort Lin was just playing dumb to deceive others?

Therefore, the inherently suspicious Abbot of Songfeng Temple would rather have his disciples take turns fighting than risk his own life. At the moment Lin Zhennan and Yu Renhao clashed, Yu Canghai was undoubtedly lurking nearby, awaiting the final outcome. If Yu Renhao won, the outcome would be decided; but if Lin Zhennan was truly hiding his true strength and killed Yu Renhao with a single move, Yu Canghai would likely flee immediately.

Despite his short legs, the Qingcheng Sect Leader's lightness skill is such that even his short legs can't keep up with most people when he runs.

As Shen An was thinking, Lin Zhennan, amidst his immense self-doubt, began to harbor new and deeper questions.

"Could it be...could it be that my family's martial arts are inadequate?" He grabbed Shen An's arm abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "No! My grandfather, Lin Yuantu, was renowned throughout the martial arts world for his Seventy-Two Forms of the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique, and was invincible! Were all those stories just lies?!"

"The rumors may not be false." Seeing his near collapse, Shen An had to guide him. "At least, back then, the Qingcheng Sect leader, Changqingzi, really never beat your grandfather."

Not only did he never win, but he also couldn't forget it, memorizing a bunch of sword moves to study later, and eventually died in his prime, depressed and frustrated.

As Shen An finished speaking, he frowned.

Not right.

There's something strange about this.

Even with Yu Canghai's martial arts skills, he might not be able to last three moves against Wuji Yue Buqun.

Yu Canghai's martial arts skills surpassed those of Changqingzi back then.

Before Lin Yuantu practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique, when he was still the Zen Master Duyuan, his martial arts skills were probably much stronger than those of Yue Buqun.

So, Lin Yuantu, who has practiced the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique for decades and has reached a state of perfection, could probably kill Changqingzi, who is not as good as Yu Canghai, without even having to draw his sword. Why did he have to fight him for so many moves, and even let the other party memorize all the sword moves?