The dilapidated streets of Yao County were now in sight, and Ba Niang was pointing out a gray and white five-story building ahead:

"Boss, that's Ba Shi's hideout. Ba Shi had all the other doors and windows blocked, leaving just one, on the side.

"We just need to keep an eye on that one side."

The paint was peeling from the five-story building, making it look like a weathered matchbox.

On the side of the matchbox, there was a small door that seemed to be made of iron, pockmarked and battered but still holding strong, providing shelter for the "matchbox."

Lu Xi'an followed Ba Niang's finger and saw a middle-aged man stumbling out from the small door.

He noticed the man was naked, with a bloody blur below his waist. He wondered if this was Ba Shi's doing and what this man could have done to provoke someone to have him mutilated. Just then, Ba Niang gasped:

"Boss?!"

After speaking, Ba Niang seemed to come to her senses, seeing that the man hadn't heard, she calmed down and lowered her voice again, "It's the former boss. Boss, the situation doesn't seem right. Should we observe first before deciding?"

But even if she hadn't lowered her voice, it wouldn't have been heard over there.

The distance from here to the side door of the building was still some way off. Though they could see each other, unless speaking particularly loudly, their voices wouldn't carry.

—Of course, except for the Neo-Humans, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Yao Wei had already stopped the car. That man only ran mindlessly toward the city, unaware of the road's commotion.

Lu Xi'an watched the man fleeing blindly toward the city and thought:

Is this Ba Niang's boss, Yao Zhuang? Ba Niang mentioned Yao Zhuang had thought of taking over Ba Shi. Is his appearance here an attempt to act on that?

If so, it seems Yao Zhuang's actions weren't successful…

His gaze shifted past Yao Zhuang, back to the small door.

People streamed out and quickly caught up with Yao Zhuang, surrounding him tightly.

An older yet flamboyant woman and a short, stout man followed them out.

They were equally unaware of the road's side, focused solely on Yao Zhuang.

"Yao Guang?! How is he here?!"

Ba Niang was exceedingly stunned.

Despite her shock, the woman curiously kept her voice low, afraid of being overheard.

Lu Xi'an inwardly noted not surprising. He looked at the short, stout man and asked, "Is that San?"

In the short, stout man's hand, he held a head. The dark-skinned head with eyes wide open had a fierce look that left an impression of a vengeful specter. Chai Xin and Shu were far inferior by comparison.

Ba Niang had mentioned Yao Zhuang had a formidable subordinate named San. The so-called Vengeful Soul was very likely San helping secretly.

This person seemed a bit like San.

Ba Niang's eyes narrowed, and she solemnly said, "Yes…"

It seems so…

Lu Xi'an confirmed his thoughts.

It turns out Ba Niang's boss Yao Zhuang couldn't hold it in and came to take over Ba Shi, only to find Ba Shi had either a lover or a partner and ended up losing his life for nothing, being set up, sending his capable subordinate and himself into peril.

—Whether it's a lover or not isn't certain because the woman's disheveled clothes seemed barely draped over her body, failing to cover her shoulders properly.

Given Yao Zhuang's naked state, it's evident she's used some tricks on Yao Zhuang, making him drop his guard, leading to such an end.

If this woman became Yao Guang's lover, would Yao Guang willingly let her do this?

…

But then again, times are different; perhaps perceptions are too. Who can say for sure?

Lu Xi'an quietly watched the show happening by the building, the silent film in the eyes of others in the car, yet both he and Yao Wei could hear everything clearly.

"How about it, did you enjoy how this old lady felt?"

The woman said confidently, adjusting the garment on her shoulder as she flirtatiously approached Yao Zhuang.

Yao Zhuang's face was grim. The wound below seemed to have been a while, hence it no longer bled much, though it was a critical area, causing him to grimace in pain.

He growled, "How dare you?! Aren't you afraid of the Vengeful Soul?"

The woman sneered disdainfully, while Yao Guang threw the head he held at Yao Zhuang, saying, "A Vengeful Soul! Is this the vengeance you speak of?"

The head spun three and a half times in the air, crashing into Yao Zhuang's chest.

Yao Zhuang instinctively caught it, glaring fiercely at the pair but said no more.

The woman chuckled again, "Relying on this subordinate called San, ambushing here one day, ambushing there the next, killing and blaming it on the Vengeful Soul, taking the chance to create chaos and weaken others.

"You think we can't see through your tricks? Do you really believe we haven't encountered a Vengeful Soul before, or do you just think we're idiots?"

At this point, they seemed to recall something amusing, and mockingly said, "And you said something about having already teamed up with a Vengeful Soul, that following you would ensure a life of luxury... Haha!"

This speech was mimicking what Yao Zhuang had said before.

Listening from a distance, Lu Xi'an thought to himself that Yao Zhuang must have really lost his mind, rushing into a trap.

Meanwhile, in the car, Yao Wei felt she had learned a valuable lesson—it was indeed necessary to be cautious and restrained in matters between men and women.

Look at this person; because of these matters, they lost their mind, made so many mistakes, and allowed themselves to be taken advantage of like this.

"You think that Vengeful Soul that took the boss's life is just an ordinary person? The way they killed the boss, it's probably a Neo-Human.

"How could someone like that stay in this godforsaken place, let alone work with the likes of us?

"And you expect me to believe this crap you're spewing?"

Yao Zhuang, trembling and gnashing his teeth, asked, "If you don't believe me, then why did you bring me to bed?"

The woman laughed, "You said all this nonsense just to get close to me; with such eagerness, how could I not indulge you a little?

"You see, by letting you make your move, Yao Guang and I spared ourselves quite a bit of effort in dealing with you and your subordinate.

"You let your guard down, and your subordinate was so focused on eavesdropping that he let his guard down too. Otherwise, with his skills, Yao Guang might have actually had to work a bit harder."

Yao Guang said, "Not that much harder. It's just unnecessary to spend effort on someone like him. I usually prefer to conserve my energy.

"Like now, we let this person masquerade as a Vengeful Soul in the city, killing each other, while I wait outside to reap the spoils when they're nearly done.

"See, with my cooperation with Ba Shi, you walked right into our trap, saving me so much effort!"

From his words, it didn't seem like mere bravado; he seemed genuinely convinced.

Lu Xi'an listened silently, while the other four in the car couldn't hear a thing.

None of the four dared to disturb Lu Xi'an. They kept quiet, occasionally glancing at the building or cautiously stealing a look at Lu Xi'an.

Ba Niang didn't want to miss the chance to flatter, so without disturbing Lu Xi'an, she whispered to the others, "The master is truly the master. We can't hear anything from over there, but the master can hear it all clearly.

"Following the master in this lifetime is truly my greatest fortune."

The other three, not wanting to be left out, chimed in:

"Absolutely, it's a great fortune for me too!"

"Me too!"

"Same here!"

Yao Zhuang, realizing he had no hope of survival, looked at Ba Shi, Yao Guang's subordinates, and Ba Shi and Yao Guang, filled with anger and frustration, and vented his rage on the Vengeful Soul, cursing loudly:

"Neo-Humans?! What a load of crap Neo-Humans! Those cowardly Vengeful Souls don't even dare show their faces; they kill and run. Cowards like that can't possibly be Neo-Humans?!

"If Neo-Humans are such filth, I could be one too! Ugh! What nonsense is this?!"

He kept on cursing nonstop, while Yao Guang sighed and waved his hand, ordering Ba Shi's subordinates:

"Finish him off. If he keeps on shouting, he might actually attract a Neo-Human."

Seeing Yao Guang commanding her subordinates without any response, it was clear that Ba Shi and Yao Guang had already formed a cooperative agreement.

Those surrounding Yao Zhuang immediately took a few steps forward, preparing to stab Yao Zhuang to death in accordance with Yao Guang's direction.

But suddenly, there was the sound of "whiz, whiz, whiz" cutting through the air, and those who had closed in on Yao Zhuang cried out in pain, their hands pierced with tiny holes, unable to wield their weapons anymore.

Ba Shi and Yao Guang were startled and looked to the ground, seeing thin, long needles embedded in the earth, with bits of flesh still hanging from them, clearly from the hands of those people.

What could possibly be faster than a gun?!

Everyone, including Yao Zhuang, quickly looked around and finally spotted the car parked on the highway, with several people on its roof.

And then they saw Lu Xi'an. Ba Shi's eyes lit up, while Yao Guang's eyelid twitched.

"Leave him and walk away, and I won't care about you."

Lu Xi'an said from the car roof.

He had just finished throwing the bicycle wheel spokes, stopping the others from executing Yao Zhuang, and he still had some left in his hand.

He wasn't in a hurry to get off the car, instead maintaining a distant standoff with them from the top.

In the crowd, Yao Zhuang saw the person on the car roof and was overjoyed, shouting, "Ba Niang?! Haha! You actually came?! You actually came to save me!

"Where did you get reinforcements from? Wonderful, wonderful! Thank you for saving me!"

However, on the car roof, Ba Niang, Ba Yu, and Yao were terrified by his words, hurriedly kneeling to Lu Xi'an, explaining:

"Master, he has nothing to do with us anymore. We never intended to use you to save him. Please don't misunderstand!"

"..."

Yao Zhuang was stupefied, his eyes wide open and mouth agape, unable to utter another word.

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