Who says heroes must be lonely?

  Our heroes are happy.

  --------

  Guo Dalu was just like his name—straightforward and easygoing. The name Dalu suggested generosity, carefreeness, even a touch of absentmindedness. He never took anything too seriously.

  Wang Dong, on the other hand, never moved.

  (T/N: 大路; Dàlù, lit. means main road, but here it means straightforward)

  ------------

  People who are easygoing and carefree often end up poor. Guo Dalu was especially poor—so poor it was almost unbelievable.

  Yet, he had no reason to be this poor.

  In fact, he could have been considered a wealthy man. When a rich man suddenly becomes poor, there are usually only two possible reasons: either he is foolish or he is zy.

  But Guo Dalu was not foolish. He possessed more skills than most people and was better at them than most. For instance—riding horses: he could tame the wildest steed and race the fastest one. Sword fighting: he could pierce through a general's iron armor with a single thrust, just as effortlessly as he could slice through a drifting willow catkin in the spring breeze.

  If you were his friend and happened to catch him in an exceptionally good mood, he might leap barehanded into the Yellow River to catch two carp, then snatch two wild geese mid-flight as he emerged, just to prepare a feast of steamed fish and roasted duck for you. And you would not be disappointed.

  His culinary skills rivaled those of the finest chefs in the imperial capital.

  He could sing Su Shi′s The River Surges East to the accompaniment of iron cppers and copper pipa, or py the three-stringed lute while singing Liu Yong′s Willow Shore, Morning Breeze, Waning Moon, making you believe he had spent his entire life as a street performer.

  Some even said there was nothing he couldn't do—except bear children.

  And he was certainly not zy. In fact, he was constantly looking for things to do and had tried his hand at many trades.

  So how did someone like him end up penniless?

  The first job he ever took was as a bodyguard.

  At that time, he had just started his journey in the martial world. Having recently mourned the loss of his parents, he sold off or gave away the family estate and farmnd, determined to rely on his own skills to make a name for himself.

  He was never a shrewd businessman, nor did he wish to be one. So, nd worth 300 taels per mu, he sold for only 170. On top of that, he gave a good portion away to poor retives and friends, leaving himself with not much in the end.

  But it was still enough to buy a fine horse, forge a sharp sword, tailor a few sets of impressive outfits, stay at the best inns, and dine at the finest restaurants.

  It was spring then—the season of new beginnings. Spring was the perfect time for many things, including the peak season for the escort business.

  And when the escort business was at its peak, so was the business of bandits.

  Luo Zhenyi, chief escort of the "Zhongyuan Escort Agency," was not old, but he was a seasoned veteran of the martial world. He understood this truth all too well. That was why he was always extra cautious on the road—especially now, in spring, and especially because the cargo he was protecting this time was far from ordinary.

  (T/N: 中原; Zhōngyuán, means Central Pin)

  But caution alone was never enough for an escort. One also needed solid martial skills—and a stroke of good luck.

  Luo Zhenyi's martial arts were not weak, but his luck this time was truly terrible. He had the misfortune of running into the most feared outw in the Two Rivers region—the Ouyang Brothers.

  The Ouyang Brothers were not two people. Nor were they three or four.

  The Ouyang Brothers were just one man.

  And though he was just one man, he was more difficult to handle than forty. His left hand wielded a short bde, his right a long saber, and he could unleash seven or eight different concealed weapons at once. Few could even tell where his hidden weapons came from.

  Luo Zhenyi couldn't either. He had barely dodged three “Embroidered-Back Low-Firing Crossbow Bolts” and a sleeve-loaded “Meteor Arrow” when—just as he steadied himself—Ouyang flipped his bde, unching a pair of deadly "Mother-and-Child Frost Needles."

  Lethal needles were fired from a pce no one could predict.

  Luo Zhenyi had taken two stab wounds to his right shoulder. Though they weren′t immediately fatal, he could only wait for the Ouyang brothers to come and finish the job.

  Even if the Ouyang brothers spared him, losing this shipment meant he had no choice but to hang himself, drown himself, or slit his own throat—his life was as good as over.

  Just then, a horse came galloping at full speed. But the rider was even faster. Before the horse had even arrived, the man was already there.

  The Ouyang brothers barely had time to register what was happening before they saw a figure drop from midair. Before they could even react—before they could throw a single one of their seven or eight concealed weapons—their pressure points on both wrists had already been struck by a sword.

  The man who had descended from the sky like a savior was, of course, Guo Dalu.

  Luo Zhenyi was not only grateful to his rescuer—he was in complete awe. After safely delivering the shipment, he insisted on bringing Guo Dalu back to the security escort bureau.

  Guo Dalu went along, naturally. He didn't have anything more important to do anyway.

  Even if he did, he still would have gone.

  This was the first time he had truly stepped into action, and he suddenly realized that not only was his martial arts skill quite good—his luck with people wasn't bad either.

  Luo Zhenyi couldn't help but wonder and asked, "With skills as incredible as yours, Brother Guo, why don't you become a chief escort?"

  Guo Dalu, however, never thought to ask, why should someone with great martial arts skills become an escort?

  He simply found the idea of being a chief escort rather impressive—it seemed fun, too.

  Becoming the deputy chief escort as soon as he entered the martial world—now that was impressive. It was enough to make anyone feel proud and exhirated!

  The only thing Guo Dalu found disappointing was that the Zhongyuan Escort Agency was neither the rgest nor even one of the top-tier escort agencies in the region.

  He waited several days before finally receiving his first assignment. And even then, it wasn't a major job—just transporting a few thousand taels of silver from Kaifeng to Luoyang.