Bao Jin sighed, took the challenge letter and read it again, then said to me, "This person has turned all eight of our Heavenly Kings back to normal. It seems he just wants to fight you to the death. What do you plan to do?"
"What else can we do? We'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way and let nature take its course."
Bao Jin said hesitantly, "Then let's make it clear that if a fight breaks out, I will remain neutral."
I drew back the curtains of the lecture hall and stared at Li Tianrun, who had just come into view, without blinking, and said, "Let's not talk about that for now, there's more to come."
Li Tianrun, with one hand hanging limply, sighed as he approached the electric bicycle, unlocked the chain, then rode it, unlocked the handlebars, and turned on the throttle. After a while, he realized something was wrong, looked down, and immediately cried out, "Where's my battery? Where did my battery go?"
Xiao Liu and his friends squatted in a row, grinning mischievously.
Li Tianrun asked them, "Have you seen my battery?"
The sixth graders immediately shook their heads in unison.
At this moment, Li Tianrun reverted to his worldly, petty self, and said urgently, "My battery is locked. How could an ordinary person steal it so quickly? Besides, haven't you been here the whole time?"
Xiao Liu sat cross-legged on the ground, spread his hands and said, "Why would a bunch of us cooks take your battery? If you don't believe me, go into the kitchen and search. But we'll have to send someone to follow you; there are still quite a few steamed buns left from this morning."
Li Tianrun stomped his foot and, riding on the bare metal frame without a battery, wobbled off with one hand on the handlebars. This trip to Yucai had been a complete disaster, both in terms of humiliation and the loss of his battery; he'd been thoroughly bullied by us, both mentally and materially.
Experienced people may know that an electric bicycle without a battery (the kind with pedals) is extremely heavy to ride, especially with only one hand. Li Tianrun rode for a long time and was still within our sight.
I patted Shi Qian on the shoulder: "How about that? This is much worse than leaving his car in a ditch, right? It would be really unacceptable if you lost him again this time."
Shi Qian chuckled, leaped onto the roof, and vanished in an instant.
Xiao Liu glanced at the sun, pulled a battery out from under his bottom, and lazily went back to the cafeteria to make lunch for the children.
Chapter Sixty-Four: Spring Empty Mountain Villa
The heroes didn't feel anything special about the mastermind who had emerged from behind the scenes; they were more concerned about the showdown with the Eight Heavenly Kings, even though they might not have been unaware that the other party was using their grudges to their advantage.
Bao Jin's stance was clear: he would not take sides. Although he had stood with Li Tianrun just minutes before, the heroes did not make things difficult for him; on the contrary, they treated him much more warmly.
Bao Jin said, "If he hadn't stepped forward, the heroes would definitely have looked down on him." He then patted me on the shoulder and said, "That's what it means to be a hero of the martial world."
I must say, I still can't really understand these bandits in great depth.
Now, I just hope Shi Qian can find out the results quickly, at least I need to know who's messing with me.
When I returned to the pawnshop, I was surprised to find Li Shishi sitting there in a daze. I asked in surprise, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Li Shishi rested her chin on her hand and said absentmindedly, "They're back. The film crew that just assembled has disbanded again."
Why?
Li Shishi smiled bitterly, "It was Jin Shaoyan. During the final approval process, he actually said he didn't even know there was such a filming plan. After a brief analysis by industry insiders, they believed the project was bound to lose money, and within half an hour, our crew vanished. Now our director has been sent to Yunnan..." As she spoke, she opened her hand and threw a crumpled check on the table, "This is the penalty they paid me for breach of contract, 150,000 yuan."
If Li Shishi were truly a newcomer, even if the film didn't go through, receiving such a sum of money wouldn't be a loss for her, since she wouldn't suffer any consequences and would have plenty of opportunities in the future. However, I know that this film represents all her hopes for the future.
I leaned closer to her and whispered, "So you saw Jin Shaoyan?"
Li Shishi shook her head: "He probably doesn't even know I'm in this production." She suddenly grabbed my hand and said, "Didn't you say he went abroad? What's going on?"
I sighed and said, "Actually, he's one of my clients, just like you."
"...I've vaguely guessed some of it, but some details just don't add up. You two used to be such good friends, why don't you even call each other anymore?"
I sighed again: "The only difference is that he comes from the future. We first met on June 12th, but he came from June 17th..." I told Li Shishi the details, and her eyes occasionally flashed with a look of realization.
Li Shishi covered her mouth and said, "No wonder I always felt like there were two Jin Shaoyans. You even said they were twins..."
I said, “I’ll call the Jin Shaoyan from now on Jin 2. It seems he really likes you. He did ask me to introduce you to the current Jin 1 the night before he merged with Jin 1. But you should know that although Jin 2 and Jin 1 are in the same body, their experiences and personalities are completely different. The current Jin 1 is a complete playboy.”
Li Shishi said somewhat absentmindedly, "So, Jin Shaoyan still recognizes you, but his only memory of you is that you knocked him unconscious, so you're enemies?"
I nodded: "That's why I've always been worried about him seeing you. He knows about our relationship, and I'm afraid he'll hate you too because of it..." I saw that Li Shishi looked a little sad and said, "Do you really want to film that movie?"
Li Shishi gave me a forced smile: "Isn't your school short of teachers for academic subjects? I can teach elementary school now."
I know that even though she said that, that movie had actually taken root in her heart...
That night, I tried searching for evidence of Kim Jong-un's existence, like the photos on the MP4 player that Qin Shi Huang used. Then I remembered I'd specifically deleted all of that the day before Kim Jong-un's return. When I first met Kim Jong-un, all I wanted was that 5 million won. Even after we became friends, I never intended to bother him with these things after he'd merged into his original life. Actually, even if those photos were still there, it wouldn't prove anything. This guy just dyed his beard, and it caused US intelligence agents to work tirelessly for dozens of hours to verify if it was really him. Technology is too advanced these days.
I suddenly miss that Jin 2 brother a bit, the brother who could drink Moutai with us while eating jam.
Around 1 a.m., Shi Qian sent a message: "Li Tianrun went down towards Chun Kong Mountain. They have someone to meet them. I was unable to follow them any further."
Hearing his weak voice, I quickly asked, "Are you alright?"
"...Just a minor scratch. The person who followed you was just as good at light footwork as me."
"Is he one of the Eight Heavenly Kings?"
"I don't know him. He's very skilled, but he's clearly not from our time."
Chun Kong Mountain is a very familiar place, and the fact that someone is providing cover suggests that the other party is there.
The next morning, I drove alone onto the highway, following the road signs and making several turns before finally getting on the right road. Rolling green meadows lined the roadside, and in the distance, the silhouettes of distant mountains stretched out before me; the scenery was unexpectedly beautiful.
The reason I didn't bring anyone was to avoid drawing attention. The heroes and Fang La's henchmen are like cats and dogs, always at odds, ready to fight to the death. I sought out this mastermind precisely to resolve our issues completely and prevent such a scenario from happening again. As for safety, if he wanted to harm me, he would have done so already; it's better to be open and honest. I didn't even bring a brick; I don't think I could take down all eight Heavenly Kings with one.
The car drove for quite a while, but the road ahead was still straight. Even the scenery outside the window seemed to be stuck to the glass without changing. The only thing that could be felt was that the air was getting fresher and fresher as we got further away from the city.
After a while, I could feel the road surface rise noticeably, and at the same time, I could vaguely see the silhouette of a huge arched building ahead. The morning mist hadn't completely dissipated yet, so I didn't know if it was real or an illusion.