That acquaintance was none other than Ge the Third, a Personal Guard from the Xiao Mansion.

He was currently sitting ramrod straight beside Lady Tiger Lou Yuxue, but his attire was far more concealing than anyone else’s.

He wore not only the black iron mask but also a hooded robe.

But under Chen Yi’s Qi Observation Skill, such a disguise was useless.

Never mind Ge the Third’s build, bearing, and the occasional small mannerisms he let slip.

The very signature of the Five Elements and Six Qi within his body was enough to confirm his identity.

Besides Ge the Third, Black Tooth, Lady Tiger, and Elder Demon Fang, there were fourteen other Jianghu People present. They were dressed in various styles, their auras ranging from strong to weak, but all were Middle Third-Grade Martial Artists.

One of them, a slender Evil Demon carrying a long zither on his back, must be Elder Demon Jia of the Illusory Sound Sect, with whom he’d had a brief encounter before.

Chen Yi silently committed their auras to memory, his gaze shifting to Black Tooth and Lady Tiger at the head of the room.

He was just about to ask when they would begin.

Just then, the midnight hour arrived—

[Daily Intelligence - Earth Rank Middle Grade: Fifteen minutes past midnight, Yanhua Lane. Many from the Evil Demonic Dao are gathered in the Bright Moon Building to discuss important matters. A small Opportunity can be obtained.]

’Oh?’

Chen Yi’s eyes brightened slightly after reading it, and he remained seated quietly at the table, his expression unchanging.

’At least this trip wasn’t a waste.’

After everyone had sized each other up,

Black Tooth knocked on the table before him, his voice a notch colder and more gravelly than usual.

"Since you’re all here, you should all be clear on the objective of this deal. Since no one has backed out, I’ll assume you’ve all agreed to participate."

"If anyone has second thoughts or lets word slip, the Bright Moon Building will deal with them according to our rules."

Black Tooth paused. When no one spoke, he narrowed his eyes and continued,

"Let’s cut the crap. If you have any questions or demands about this deal, now’s the time to speak up."

At that moment, a tall man in the corner deliberately lowered his voice.

"How is the pay being split?"

Black Tooth nodded at him. "The Bright Moon Building will take a thirty-percent cut. The rest will be divided into two portions."

"One for the inside man, and the other to be split evenly among the rest of you."

The words had barely left his mouth when Elder Demon Fang snorted. "Black Tooth, an even split doesn’t seem right, does it?"

Seemingly unsurprised, Black Tooth glanced at him. "And how do you think it should be split, Elder Fang?"

"Naturally, the strongest should get the biggest share."

Elder Demon Jia, sitting off to the side, chuckled.

"Some people might look like they have profound cultivation, but they’re all flash and no substance. All bark and no bite. They really shouldn’t get that much."

The crowd burst into laughter, their gazes drifting, intentionally or not, toward Elder Demon Fang.

They all clearly remembered what Liu Lang had said earlier.

Elder Demon Fang’s eyes turned instantly glacial, his aura flaring. "You want to spar, Jia Qing?"

Elder Demon Jia sneered. "I have no problem with that."

Seeing their auras begin to clash, Black Tooth tapped the table. An even colder, more tyrannical presence instantly enveloped the room.

Chen Yi felt the pressure descend upon him and his heart lurched.

’This Black Tooth is even stronger than Elder Demon Fang. I’d guess his cultivation is in the Upper Three Grades, and his Technique has reached the Great Success Realm.’

Once everyone had quieted down, Black Tooth snorted. "A fight is unnecessary. It would only cause bad blood."

"There’s a lot of money in this deal. On top of that, a valued client has added another ten thousand taels of silver. Even with an even split, you’ll all make a killing."

The group exchanged glances and broke into smiles.

"Another ten thousand taels? Hah, fantastic news."

"That means we’ll each get at least five thousand taels of silver. Not bad, not bad at all."

"I agree to an even split."

"Me too."

"I got no objections. So much money, heh heh..."

For a moment, the room descended into a chaotic cacophony, like a den of dancing demons.

Laughter, by turns shrill, loud, and deep, filled the air.

Chen Yi, however, frowned inwardly at the sight.

’Have all these gutter-dwelling Evil Demons gone blind with greed?’

’All they care about is silver coins. Not a single one is asking any relevant questions about the job itself?’

With that thought, Chen Yi tapped the table, his tone impatient.

"Black Tooth, what’s your plan to pull this off?"

"Don’t tell me you’re planning to pull off this job with just this rabble."

Hearing this, the crowd of cackling Evil Demons all turned to face Chen Yi.

"Rabble? You’ve got a lot of nerve!"

"How arrogant!"

"Even if you’ve got some skills, kid, you shouldn’t be so reckless!"

"You..."

Seeing this, Liu Lang lightly tapped the scabbard of the long blade at his waist, then slid out a few inches of steel.

SHING.

The crisp sound was followed by a flash of light reflecting off the blade.

The crowd flinched. "Sword Madman," one of them asked, his voice a mixture of anger and shame, "what do you think you’re doing?"

Nevertheless, their eyes held a clear note of apprehension.

The same was true for even Elder Demon Fang and Elder Demon Jia.

After all, a swordsman at the Fifth Grade Realm who had achieved Great Success in the Saber Dao was stronger than most people in the room.

Paired with Chen Yi, a Sixth Grade Realm practitioner with a Great Success Fist Dao, the two of them could inflict significant casualties even if they couldn’t win.

Liu Lang scanned the room, tilted his head back slightly, and scoffed. "A bunch of brainless fools. Just shut up and listen."

"It’s not like we get your share of the silver if the job succeeds, is it?"

He wasn’t one for thinking things through, but he knew that with Chen Yi here, all he had to do was listen.

"Well..."

The dozen or so men exchanged glances, then all turned their gazes to Black Tooth.

Chen Yi paid them no mind, his gaze also fixed on Black Tooth as he continued,

"Don’t blame me for being blunt, but frankly, with these people, I see no chance of success."

"Elder Demon Fang? Are you expecting him to take on an army by himself?"

No matter how low the cultivation of the Garrison Soldiers of the Three Towns, even an Upper Three Grades master would die if surrounded.

’Let alone the rest of these clowns.’

Hearing this, Black Tooth scanned the room and looked at Chen Yi. "What Brother Liu says is precisely the key to this deal."

At this point, Lou Yuxue, who was sitting beside him, chimed in. "Perhaps you’ll allow me to explain to our esteemed heroes?"

Black Tooth’s eyes focused. After a moment’s silence, he gave a slight nod. "Fine."

Lou Yuxue covered her mouth with her hand, letting out two delicate laughs. "Since my dear brother from the Liu Family has asked, this little lady can’t very well keep things to herself."

"Your task in this deal is simple—attract the Xiao Family’s attention. Create a diversion. Lure the tiger from the mountain, so to speak."

"As for the specifics, Black Tooth and I have our own plans."

"Everything else... will be handled by the Bright Moon Building’s informant inside the Three Towns."

After hearing her explanation, Chen Yi understood.

’I knew it,’ he thought. ’With their level of strength, these Evil Demons could never pose a real threat to the Garrison Soldiers of the Three Towns.’

’So they’re all just cannon fodder, meant to draw fire on the periphery.’

’The real work—burning the Three Towns’ summer grain—will be done by the Hidden Guard members under Ge the Third’s control.’

As he was mulling this over, Lou Yuxue looked at him. "Does my dear brother from the Liu Family have any other questions?"

Chen Yi met her gaze. "What are the odds of success?"

"You wouldn’t believe me if I said it was a sure thing, my dear brother, but I’d say we have a sixty to seventy percent chance."

"When do we move? The exact date?"

"Undecided."

"And what is our part in this?"

"Undecided."

Chen Yi looked at Lou Yuxue, a faint smile playing in her eyes. Realizing he wouldn’t get any more details out of her, he fell silent.

Seeing this, Black Tooth scanned the room and was the first to rise.

"If there are no more questions, that’s all for today. You may all go."

Soon, several men in black entered and led the group back to the waiting room they had arrived in.

Chen Yi glanced around and stopped Liu Lang, who was about to leave, signaling for him to wait.

Liu Lang nodded, took off his black iron mask, and leaned back in his chair with a stretch.

"I can’t believe we’re just playing a supporting role. This is easy money."

"Five thousand taels of silver, tsk tsk. That’s enough for me to live like a king in Yanhua Lane."

Chen Yi shot him a look. "If you really want to live like a king, five thousand taels won’t be nearly enough," he said flatly.

"You’d be better off using it to buy your favorite girl’s freedom. At least that might give you a taste of the warmth of a ’home’."

"...I was just exaggerating."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Then, Chen Yi rose and walked outside.

Liu Lang followed, grumbling to himself.

’Leaving this late? Aren’t we just giving those petty old bastards a chance to ambush us?’

He’d been navigating the black market for years.

He prided himself on having a good read on these Evil Demon scumbags.

Their high-profile display in the meeting room was more than enough to attract the covetous attention of a few members of the Evil Demonic Dao.

Or, to be more precise, their killing intent.

Once they were long gone and the area around the room fell silent...

A side wall slid open, and Black Tooth and Lou Yuxue stepped in silently, observing the empty room.

They were silent for a moment.

"The man from the Liu Family will be an asset to this operation."

"Oh, you think so, Brother Black Tooth?"

"Don’t you?"

"But this little lady feels they’re more likely to cause trouble~"

Black Tooth’s eyes twitched. "You think they’ll ruin the plan?"

Lou Yuxue gazed in the direction Chen Yi and Liu Lang had departed. "A Medical Saint Hand with a limitless future," she said slowly.

"If you were in charge, Brother Black Tooth, would you be willing to let someone like that risk his neck coming here?"

Black Tooth considered this for a moment before speaking slowly. "I would not."

"I’ll send someone to confirm the Liu Family’s objective for this mission."

"We certainly should. We can’t let ourselves be fooled and make the Bright Moon Building a laughingstock."

She paused, then added, "Then again, judging by his bearing earlier, he certainly acts like he comes from a major family."

"He’s completely different from mud-caked Jianghu riffraff like Elder Demon Fang and Elder Demon Jia."

Black Tooth grunted in agreement, his gaze growing sharp. "He’d better not be here to ruin this deal. Otherwise... Hmph!"

Lou Yuxue knew exactly what he meant and let out a delicate laugh, covering her mouth with her hand.

"This little lady has no taste for fighting and killing. I only care about when we’re going to make our move, and when that silver will finally be in our hands."

Black Tooth glanced at her, meeting her faintly seductive eyes, then turned and left the room.

"You decide when we strike. It’s best to do it before the Mid-Autumn Festival, lest we alert Xiao Jinghong."

"As for the silver... within three days. If it’s not delivered, I’ll go collect it myself."

"With that, this little lady knows just what to do~"

Lou Yuxue watched him leave, a crystalline glint in her eyes that seemed to take the shape of a gold bank note.

Then she, too, followed after him, her steps light and breezy.

...

It was late at night, and a storm was raging.

The wind howled through the night, whipping the torrential rain into a frenzy as it SPLASHED down on Shu State City.

Chen Yi and Liu Lang, wearing bamboo hats, made their way back through the streets and alleys.

But what Liu Lang couldn’t figure out was why Chen Yi was walking at such an unhurried pace, as if he wanted to get soaked.

After they passed through another alley, he couldn’t hold back any longer. "Hey, boss..."

Before he could finish, Chen Yi stopped in his tracks and raised a hand to cut him off.

"You’ve followed us all this way. Come out."

Liu Lang froze for a second, but his hand reacted instantly, landing on the hilt of his blade as he spun around.

Though he was puzzled, having noticed nothing himself, he saw Chen Yi’s certain expression and chose to trust him.

A moment later, sure enough, a tall, black-clad figure appeared silently at the far end of the alley.

The newcomer tilted up his bamboo hat slightly, his sinister eyes locking onto the two of them as he spoke in a cold, harsh voice.

"I don’t give a damn about any deal. Anyone who offends me dies!"

Liu Lang raised an eyebrow. "Elder Demon Fang?"

At that, Chen Yi glanced over his shoulder. "Idiot."