Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "What a fine line, 'I am an irreconcilable enemy'!"
I sighed and said softly, "When will this cycle of revenge end..." Then I realized everyone in the room was glaring at me angrily, so I quietly added, "How much of the past do we really know—"
Just then, Zhang Bing's impatient voice came from outside the door: "Can we come in now?"
Lin Chong opened the door for them, and Zhang Bing, arms crossed, gave Xiang Yu a disgruntled look. Ni Siyu and Zhang Shuai walked in, chatting and laughing. It seemed that the two had quickly learned about each other's backgrounds and formed a tacit alliance. In fact, the two looked like a perfect couple, but anyone could see that their friendship was purely comradeship.
Xiang Yu stood up and said to Zhang Shun, "Then you should take good care of your injuries. As for other matters, let's do as we agreed."
Zhang Shun nodded gratefully to him, and Xiang Yu said to Zhang Bing, "Let's go."
Ni Siyu, holding a peeled apple, timidly asked, "Big brother, would you like an apple?" Zhang Bing turned around and coldly scrutinized her and Xiang Yu, but Ni Siyu didn't back down at all, still holding the apple and looking at her older brother. Xiang Yu understood Ni Siyu's feelings perfectly well, but he couldn't even face the reincarnation of Yu Ji; how could he dare accept another relationship? Ultimately, however, he couldn't bear to see Ni Siyu's disappointed expression, so he took the apple and turned to leave.
This was Ni Siyu's first direct confrontation with Zhang Bing, and she had done her best.
I couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Love between men and women leads to weakness of heroes—this plot is too melodramatic."
Because Xiang Yu softened his heart this time, he incurred another debt of gratitude. I finally understand that even if he were given ten thousand more chances, he still couldn't defeat Liu Bang.
Shortly after they left, An Daoquan ran in and said, "Shi Qian is back."
As he spoke, a short, exhausted man staggered in and plopped down on the ground. He was so tired and covered in dust that he was almost unrecognizable.
Lu Junyi handed him a glass of water, signaling everyone not to ask questions yet.
Shi Qian took the water and drank it all in one gulp. He said, slightly out of breath, "It's like someone is deliberately covering for them. I took two big detours and ended up back on the same road. Unless you see someone and follow them, it's very difficult to find their hideout."
Speaking of stalking, something suddenly came to mind. I asked Shi Qian, "Brother Qian, do you remember that time you were standing on the roof of a movie theater, and I greeted you but you ignored me?"
Shi Qian thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember. I've never been to that place you mentioned."
Now it dawned on me: the other side must also have a night stalker like Shi Qian, and it was this person who scouted the camp and followed me both times. I recalled the first time Jing Ke and I went to meet those recruiters; on the way back, he and Zhao Bailian both noticed someone behind me. The second time, the thought sent chills down my spine. Since this person had successfully followed me, his reappearance was unpredictable in its intentions. If Zhao Bailian hadn't shouted with a broom, who knows what might have happened? In that sense, Zhao Bailian was my savior.
Then, during the martial arts tournament, the same person stole the treasures I had hidden at home. We don't know what their conspiracy is, but what's most terrifying is that their people have been right around us all along—Li Tianrun and Wang Yin are two of them. Now it seems Li Tianrun's encounter with Zhang Shun was completely accidental, and Wang Yin's plan to severely damage Liangshan in the arena didn't completely succeed. So, they stopped hiding and simply hired a bunch of thugs to annoy me; the subtext is: I know who you are.
Thinking about this, I gave myself a pat on the back for my reasoning skills, and then I was plunged into a deep sense of helplessness. For the first time, I felt that we were actually quite isolated and powerless. I need a lot of detective talent right now. Some people say that Sherlock Holmes died in China, I don't know if it's true or not, but at least next time I see Liu Laoliu, I'll ask him if he has any Di Renjie in his inventory.
At that moment, I could only let Shi Qian rest, and then I went to find Xu Delong. He and a group of soldiers had just returned from the martial arts tournament and were making final preparations before setting off again. I found him and bluntly told him that I hoped they could stay a little longer. With 300 men around, we have a strong military guarantee. Although the other side has expressed a hostile attitude, they dare not easily reveal it, which I think is probably because they are not confident in a direct confrontation with us. At this time, I need Xu Delong and the others to stay by my side. Speaking of which, they have also been probed twice; my enemy is also their enemy.
I didn't expect Xu Delong to say so decisively after I finished speaking: "I'm sorry, we can't help you with this."
I asked in surprise, "Why?" Seeing his resolute expression, I couldn't help but ask again, "Do you know something?"
Xu Delong said with difficulty, "Brother Xiao, I'm very sorry. If it were anything else, we would go through fire and water for you, but this time is an exception."
I said, "Is your matter very urgent?"
"...Yes and no." Xu Delong hesitated, then finally said, "Let me tell you anyway. Actually, our initial purpose in coming here was to find someone. From the night we arrived, we were ready to leave at any time. But I found that the world had changed drastically, and we couldn't move an inch here, so we temporarily delayed. Later, you said you wanted us to pretend to be students and even found us a teacher, which suited us perfectly, so we stayed and desperately absorbed knowledge that was useful to us. Do you remember the time you took Jing Shui and Tie Zhu to the appointment? After they came back, they reported a lot of things to me. Most importantly, they told me that the outside world is more complicated than we thought. Just knowing ABCs and Marxism isn't enough. Without actually seeing and listening, you can't get close to people nowadays."
“I was frustrated after hearing what they said. We didn’t have much time to waste, so that day I made up an excuse and sent them back to you. Their job was to listen and observe more, to learn everything about you modern people.”
"When they came back, they told us about cars, bars, shopping malls, and how one dollar equals one hundred points. I realized that these were the things we needed in the future, so we were given a break in groups of 50, and then they split into pairs to go out and find things we didn't know yet. Every night when they came back, we had a group remedial class, where the people who went out during the day would teach us what they had seen and heard. Even if it was just learning how to use an air pump and read a watch, or knowing the purpose of a tollbooth, we could talk about it. Later on, we could say less and less new things, but we knew more and more. In just one week, we basically mastered the survival skills of this world because we had 300 pairs of eyes watching and 300 hearts learning."
As he spoke, many questions were automatically resolved. No wonder they never treated this place as a place to enjoy themselves, no wonder they seemed preoccupied, and no wonder their numbers had remained consistently around 250 for a while...
I said, "Now do you feel that you are fully prepared?"
Xu Delong proudly said, "Except for a few soldiers, we can now recognize many celebrities and car logos."
I scoffed, "What good is that! Can you tell who's a talent scout and who's a thug when someone's wearing a baseball cap and following them around? Can you tell if someone sitting in a Mercedes is a driver or a CEO? Can you tell if someone hands you their business card the moment you meet them is an entrepreneur or a salesman?"
Seeing Xu Delong's stunned expression, I patted him on the shoulder and said, "You guys are still too green—after all this talk, what does this have to do with whether or not you help me?"
Xu Delong said solemnly, "This is the promise we made to him."
I immediately asked, "To whom did you make this promise?"
Xu Delong paused for a moment, then finally said, "Brother Xiao, don't ask anymore. We can't help you, but we would never harm you. After the soldiers leave, I will stay here and wait for their news. I also promise you that if anyone dares to openly violate every blade of grass or tree at Yucai, I will fight them to the death."
I could only nod. There were still many points I didn't understand, but there wasn't much difference between Xu Delong staying and 300 staying. My enemy would at least have to be more cautious.
I said to Xu Delong, "Now I only have one last question: Who are you going to find?"
Xu Delong chuckled softly, then asked with a complicated expression, "What do you think?"
I said, "It's either your marshal or that bastard Qin Hui."
Xu Delong gritted his teeth and said, "That corrupt official surnamed Qin is not worth us doing this for, but if he falls into our hands, it will certainly fulfill another wish of ours."
They're actually going to find Yue Fei? Where are they going to look? What do they know? Did Yue Fei travel through time or reincarnate? Does Xu Delong's promise refer to Yue Fei or is he simply talking about my enemy? These questions remain unanswered, and Xu Delong has repeatedly remained silent. However, since they're looking for Yue Fei, it means that the 300 won't go on a killing spree after they leave, which puts me somewhat at ease.
Just then, a phone call came in from the bar. When I answered, Sun Sixin told me in a very restrained voice that something had happened over there, and my heart jumped. Then he said there was something else: two customers were drinking at my place, saying they were my friends, and one of them, an old man who didn't look like a good person at all (Sun Sixin's words), said his name was Liu Laoliu.
Chapter 42 9527
Liu Laoliu!
As soon as I heard the name, I instinctively reached for my brick bag and ran to the car.
I rushed to the bar, got out of the car, and ran inside. The first thing I said to Sun Sixin was, "Where's Liu Laoliu?"
"They're gone."
"Gone?" I asked angrily.
"Yes, he said he had an emergency, drank two bowls of wine, insisted he was your second uncle, and ran away without paying..."