As the middle-aged man hesitated, Ye Fan smiled again, "I'm not interested in your past. Moreover, I'm here for profit. As long as my interests are not harmed, I naturally won't do anything detrimental to others."
Ye Fan had made his stance clear: as long as they didn't make a move against him, he wouldn't betray them.
The two men exchanged a look, and finally, the middle-aged man sighed.
"My name is Lu Sheng, the owner of this shop. The woman outside is my wife, and he is my subordinate, Zhang Hao. We sleep in the room during the day and come out at night to steal valuables from guests. We only seek wealth and do not harm people."
Ye Fan had already guessed Lu Sheng and Zhang Hao's identities with a high degree of accuracy.
"Was the food you prepared for us tonight laced with sleeping drugs?"
Lu Sheng nodded heavily, "Yes, that's our usual method. We drug guests' food to make them fall asleep, and then we steal from them."
"Because most of the guests in Taiping Town are travelers, they carry a lot of cash, and that's what we steal."
Lu Sheng did not hide his past dealings.
Ye Fan nodded, a look of understanding on his face.
Seeing Ye Fan's lack of surprise, Lu Sheng became puzzled.
"Your food was drugged tonight, and everyone else fell asleep. Why are you two still awake?"
He truly couldn't understand. He had personally watched Ye Fan and the others eat, so why weren't they knocked out?
Seeing Lu Sheng's confusion, Ye Fan smiled slightly.
Then, he took a small pill from his pocket.
"An antidote pill. It can resist the effects of sleeping drugs. Would you like to try it?"
Smiling faintly at Lu Sheng, Ye Fan placed the pill on the table.
Looking at the faint smile on Ye Fan's face, Lu Sheng sighed heavily.
"I never expected to meet a master today. I, Lu Sheng, have been doing business in Taiping Town for over a decade and have never failed. Today, I admit defeat."
He never would have dreamed that the young man before him, who looked only in his early twenties, possessed such cunning.
Seeing Lu Sheng look at him strangely, Ye Fan paid no mind.
"Now, can you tell me about the Heavenly Kingdom's treasure?"
He had only heard of Taiping Town, but never the Heavenly Kingdom's treasure. He figured it must be something significant, otherwise, Lu Sheng and Zhang Hao wouldn't keep mentioning it.
"What? Aren't you here to look for the treasure?"
Zhang Hao looked at Ye Fan in confusion, his face full of questions.
Shen Bao snorted from the side, "If we were here to look for treasure, would we need to ask you?"
Seeing Shen Bao's cold expression, Zhang Hao shrunk his neck and dared not speak further.
Lu Sheng, however, sighed.
"It's not exactly a secret. In our Taiping Town, almost everyone knows that the treasure of the Heavenly Kingdom is hidden here."
The Heavenly Kingdom?
Ye Fan was stunned. The era he lived in was not far removed from the Heavenly Kingdom. At that time, it was indeed heard that after the fall of Tianjing, the Qing army had searched but found little wealth.
Therefore, they suspected that the Heavenly Kingdom had a large treasure hidden somewhere.
Later, several versions emerged, such as the Wing King's treasure, the Heavenly King's treasure, and so on.
But Ye Fan knew that those were just wild guesses. The true treasure of the Heavenly Kingdom should be in only one place, and not far from Tianjing.
Tianjing is the present-day Jiangnan, and the location of Jiangcheng was once an area where the Heavenly King was active.
In this case, the possibility of that treasure being buried here was extremely high.
"I see. Is there any evidence for this rumor?"
Ye Fan asked Lu Sheng in a deep voice.
"There is a saying: 'Two rivers embrace one river, treasures fill baskets. Mountains on mountains, mouths within mouths, gold and silver abound for ten thousand fathoms.' This saying has had many interpretations, but they all point to our Taiping Town. However, over the years, countless people have come here to search for the treasure, but no one has ever found it."
Lu Sheng lamented. Although he also yearned for treasure, after so many years with no one finding it, he suspected the treasure was merely a legend.
But Ye Fan frowned, pondering the saying carefully.
"Since there's a rumor, then the treasure is very likely in Taiping Town. It's just that after more than two hundred years, the mountains and terrain have changed, so no one has been able to find it yet. There's no smoke without fire."
Seeing Ye Fan's certainty, Lu Sheng didn't say anything, but a hint of surprise flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"Since you have truthfully answered our questions, I will not make things difficult for you. However, you should not make a move against us; as for the others, they are of no concern to me."
Ye Fan said with a smile, then stood up.
"However, if you wish to search for the treasure, perhaps we can cooperate."
Walking to the window and looking at the dark night outside, Ye Fan spoke faintly.
"Can you really find that treasure?"
Lu Sheng frowned, asking in shock.
Ye Fan smiled, "If you're interested, we'll cooperate. After all, you're more familiar with Taiping Town than I am. If you're not interested, then consider me to have said nothing."
Regardless of whether he could find the treasure, bringing a local force like Lu Sheng into his camp was a good thing.
Lu Sheng pondered, then looked up abruptly after a moment, "Alright, I'll do it with you."
Hearing Lu Sheng's words, Ye Fan nodded with satisfaction, "Excellent. Tomorrow morning, we'll go out and take a look. I need to get familiar with the environment of Taiping Town first. If there is a treasure here, there will definitely be corresponding clues."
After briefly instructing Lu Sheng and the others, Ye Fan watched them leave.
Closing the door, Shen Bao asked with a grim expression, "Can these two be trusted?"
People like Lu Sheng probably wouldn't cooperate easily without sufficient benefits.
Furthermore, Shen Bao had always been unwilling to associate with people who engaged in petty theft.
Ye Fan, however, wore a faint smile.
"He is greedy, and dealing with such people is very simple. As long as you give him enough temptation, he will obediently listen. People with desires are easier to control than those without."
Ye Fan was full of confidence. Having lived two lives, his ability to read people was far superior to Shen Bao's.
Seeing Ye Fan's certainty, Shen Bao nodded, and the two returned to their beds to rest.
No further incidents occurred that night. The next morning, Lu Sheng found Ye Fan.
After breakfast, ignoring the enraged guests who had lost their belongings, Ye Fan and Shen Bao left the inn with Lu Sheng.
Taiping Town was large, surrounded by undulating mountains, with the only exit being a path nestled between two peaks.
Looking at the towering, continuous mountains surrounding them, Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh.
"It truly is the marvelous work of nature. It has such grandeur. If there really is a treasure, hiding it here would be quite safe."
If not for the treacherous terrain, this place would likely have developed into a major city.
Lu Sheng nodded beside him, "Taiping Town is located amidst the mountains. To the west, there is a swift, large river called the Tianwang River. Many things here are related to the Heavenly Kingdom, which is why that legend has spread."