To be honest, I had no interest in subduing Zuan Shan Bao at all.

That was all Old Liu's idea. If that old coot hadn't been winking at me like crazy, I wouldn't have gone along with his charade.

Zuan Shan Bao gritted his teeth and said, "I accept!"

"Ye Yang, cast the spell!" After I called out to Ye Yang, I said, "Zuan Shan Bao, listen carefully. I'm only taking you. Disband your brothers immediately. I don't need these people causing me trouble."

"If you agree, I'll take over your business. If you don't, I'll pretend you said nothing."

After Zuan Shan Bao nodded through gritted teeth, he turned out all his possessions and went outside to disband his men.

Old Liu kept complaining to me, "Boss, why didn't you take Zuan Shan Bao's men?"

I glared at him and retorted, "What would I do with them? Our Liangjie Tang handles art-related business, not tomb raiding! It's already a stretch for me to take in one Zuan Shan Bao. You want me to take in a bunch of thieves? Are you afraid Liangjie Tang will be emptied?"

"And another thing! Remember this. We can keep the Reincarnation Department from taking away the Dao Gate, but I don't plan on taking them in either. I don't want to be the ancestor of thieves!"

"You..." Old Liu was so angry that he glared at me. "Wasn't your master a notorious Jiang Yang robber?"

"Yes!" I spread my hands and said, "But my masters only robbed people, not things. It's more accurate to call them highwaymen. Bandit, thief, and sneak thief all have rankings in the martial world."

"You're going to be the death of me!" Old Liu was so angry that he couldn't speak.

In his opinion, you can look down on petty thieves, but you can't deny that there are heroes and brave men among them. Condemning everyone with one stroke isn't a good thing!

But I didn't think so. Although the Nine Ghosts were all notorious Jiang Yang robbers, they never did anything involving theft. If they wanted something, they would just take it directly. Robbing镖车 (biao che,镖=valuable items being transported, 车=cart), robbing mountain strongholds, and even directly robbing sects were all things they had done.

The Nine Ghosts used the blood of术士 (shushi, occultists) to carve out their fierce reputation. Although they all had the word "robber" attached to them, none of them took the Dao Gate and Kong Men seriously.

Old Liu drank three cups of tea in a row before saying, "Okay, let's not worry about this for now. Let's talk about something serious. Shu Yu, you speak!"

Chen Shu Yu said, "After you came, the people of the Dao Gate began to target you. Your actions tonight may have already been seen by them. Tomorrow morning, they will definitely make things difficult and drive us out of Yunyin Village."

"This time, the Dao Gate is not only targeting Liangjie Tang, but is also preparing to target all the Jianghu people who want to watch the excitement and reap the benefits."

"The Dao Gate's secret treasures are not to be touched by others. Not even the Reincarnation Department!"

I looked at Old Liu and said, "Do you want me to leave, or do you want me to stay?"

"Leave!" Old Liu said, "Tomorrow morning, don't wait for them to kick us out. We'll withdraw and leave this place for the Reincarnation Department to play with."

"Also, if anyone causes you trouble tomorrow morning, don't hold back your anger. If you can kill, then kill until the world is turned upside down."

This time it was my turn to be stunned. "Didn't you tell me not to always fight and kill? What's going on this time?"

Old Liu laughed and said, "You're wrong about that. The people of the Dao Gate have a common problem. The more powerful you are, the less they dare to provoke you. On the contrary, the more friendly you are, the easier it is for them to manipulate you."

"After you fight your way out, the Reincarnation Department will come over. According to their methods, they have to be gentle! One positive and one negative, they're screwing over the Reincarnation Department."

I scratched my head and said, "What if the Reincarnation Department uses force to subdue the Dao Gate?"

"Won't happen!" Old Liu laughed and said, "The Yin Division's ban has just been issued, and you're near Yunyin Village. They won't use Yellow Spring smugglers. Without these people, the Reincarnation Department won't be able to find any tomb raiding experts."

"They can't go up the mountain, they can't raid tombs, so they have to play the old trick of wooing and dividing the Dao Gate. Although the Dao Gate is a mess, none of them are fools. When the time comes, it's hard to say who's playing who."

I looked at Old Liu and said, "Then where are we going?"

Old Liu pointed his fan outside the door. "Go find Zuan Shan Bao's grandfather."

Old Liu lowered his voice and said, "Zuan Shan Bao didn't learn the skills properly. That tomb wasn't robbed, but originally buried a woman."

"I've looked closely at the female corpse. The corpse tells us how to find Zuan Shan Bao."

After a moment of愣 (leng, blank surprise), I understood.

People who can make a name for themselves in the Northeast Green Forest path can only become famous with this ruthless force, but they can't become great. Zuan Shan Bao is only one step lower than the Four Great Beams, so how could he be easily manipulated?

According to the timeline, the generation of Zuan Shan Bao's grandfather was exactly when the Northeast Four Great Beams disappeared. Without the suppression of those Green Forest术士 (shushi, occultists), Zuan Shan Bao alone couldn't beat the Dao Gate.

To protect the lives of his whole family, Old Zuan Shan Bao had to turn himself into a dead leopard - that old Zuan Shan Bao probably deliberately fell for the trick.

I couldn't help but look outside the door. "There must be a traitor among Zuan Shan Bao's men, right?"

Chen Shu Yu said, "Of course. We leave, the Reincarnation Department comes. The Reincarnation Department is watching the Dao Gate, and the Dao Gate can't get our whereabouts. They must be itching in their hearts. What do you think will happen?"

I looked at Chen Shu Yu and then at Ye Yang.