Another morning dawned.

“Still no word from Boss Sun?” Ning Zhuo paced his room, his face grim.

“If his signal isn’t changed today, it’ll be the third day.”

Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo had established various methods of communication.

Logically, everything being normal, these signals would change daily.

“Since questioning Boss Sun publicly last time, Zhu Xuanji hasn’t appeared again.”

“Could he have secretly made a move against Boss Sun?”

Through extensive information gathering, Ning Zhuo had gleaned a lot of information about the black market: these past two days, Sun Lingtong had appeared as usual, even handling some minor disputes.

“Boss Sun is trapped, caught in some kind of danger! This seeming normalcy is just a facade!”

“Perhaps, it’s not even him!”

Ning Zhuo suspected the truth.

Sun Lingtong was being impersonated by Han Ming, directing Sun’s subordinates, rapidly infiltrating the entire black market organization, and converting it to his own use.

There were also whispers circulating about Yuan Er.

“Someone seeks revenge, aiming at the Monkey Gang!”

“The leader is called Bao Chou, his entire clan was slain by Yuan Yi. He narrowly escaped, changing his name but not his family name. While diligently practicing, he’s also been contacting those who hold deep grudges against the Monkey Gang!”

“After the Fire Persimmon Festival, the Monkey Gang fell into decline. Bao Chou rallied the disgruntled, bringing years of pent-up force to the surface, seeking vengeance!”

Ning Zhuo wasn’t surprised by this situation.

He had anticipated something like this happening long ago.

“If Bao Chou truly makes his move, I can use him. Wait for their attack, then command Yuan Dasheng to protect Yuan Er.”

“However, the rumors about Bao Chou are too prevalent.”

Ning Zhuo felt a strange unease.

Over the years, he had never ceased collecting information.

Because of this, he had developed a keen sensitivity.

Sometimes, simply by this intuition, he could distinguish between false and genuine information.

The intelligence on Bao Chou wasn’t exactly fake, but it gave him a subtle, peculiar feeling.

Ning Zhuo pondered carefully, considering a possibility.

“If I were Bao Chou, I wouldn’t announce my revenge so ostentatiously.”

“Therefore, this is likely the work of the Monkey Gang elders.”

“Bao Chou might have reached an agreement with one or more elders within the gang, aiming to increase the chances of successful revenge and minimize risks and losses!”

“But the gang elders also have their own selfish motives.”

“They need to spread the word first, letting everyone know that Bao Chou is targeting the Monkey Gang, targeting Yuan Er.”

“Once Yuan Er is assassinated, they can more easily take over the entire Monkey Gang. Because before that, they have already proven to the public that Bao Chou is the true culprit!”

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo was even more certain that Bao Chou and his group would be tempted.

And with such rumors spreading, the action would likely occur within the next few days.

“Looks like I need to keep a closer watch on Yuan Er’s side!”

Yuan Er can’t die now!

Ning Zhuo was counting on him to deepen his control over Yuan Dasheng, and eliminate the latent problems of the Spiritual Conduit stage.

“Something has happened to Boss Sun, but it’s not the first time!”

“Now is the time for more patience and calm!”

In Ning Zhuo’s memory, Sun Lingtong was first captured when he was eight years old.

One who walks by the riverbank for long will eventually get their shoes wet.

Sun Lingtong always used thievery to obtain resources for his daily cultivation, so something was bound to happen sooner or later.

This time, he was captured by a local gang and imprisoned in a private jail.

Sun Lingtong was beaten and bloodied, huddled in a corner of the cell, motionless.

*Thump*, suddenly, the two guards fell to the ground, unmoving.

Startled by the sound, Sun Lingtong nervously approached the cell door, then saw Ning Zhuo slowly appear.

“Little Sun, I’m here to save you!”

Ning Zhuo’s face was full of anxiety; seeing Sun Lingtong, he was excited.

“Xiao Zhuo, why did you come alone?”

Sun Lingtong was shocked and his face was stern.

“Have you forgotten what I taught you? If I’m caught, you go to the authorities, let the city guards come and search, to create chaos for me, then I can take the opportunity to escape!”

“I did! I reported it!”

Ning Zhuo quickly said, “But they were too slow. I was worried about you. You’ve been missing for three days! I was worried, I was worried about you…”

Sun Lingtong waved his hand, “Alright, alright, don’t say anymore, quickly open the door for me!”

“The situation is dangerous now, don’t waste any more time!”

“What are you saying? We’ll talk outside!”

“The key is on that big guard, be careful searching!”

“Don’t worry!”

Ning Zhuo ran to the big guard, using the techniques Sun Lingtong had taught him, he successfully found the cell key.

The key went into the lock.

Ning Zhuo infused his magical power, laboriously turning it.

A stream of light rapidly spread from the keyhole to the surroundings, flowing across the lock, chains, and most of the cell bars, revealing many array patterns.

Ning Zhuo opened the door, helping Sun Lingtong out.

There were patrolling cultivators outside the jail.

Using talismans and techniques, fully utilizing shadows and blind spots, it took them a while to escape the local gang’s headquarters.

Not long after they escaped, the gang headquarters was in chaos.

“Someone escaped!”

“That little thief is gone!”

“Quick, chase! It hasn’t been long, they won’t have gotten far!”

From the shouts, Sun Lingtong heard familiar voices, the two guards who had been watching him.

He looked at Ning Zhuo, staring him down: “You used the mist fragrance twilight cloud mixture I gave you? Why aren’t they dead?”

Ning Zhuo was afraid to look at Sun Lingtong, weakly said, “I was just afraid of killing people, so I specially added some medicinal mud to wrap the fragrance before lighting it.”

Sun Lingtong’s eyes gleamed sharply, “This isn’t the time for this, I’ll teach you a lesson when we get home!”

After a thrilling chase, Sun Lingtong sustained several more injuries, covered in blood, paying a great price, he finally brought Ning Zhuo to safety.

“How are you? Are you injured? Quickly check your whole body.”

Sun Lingtong was so weak that he could barely release his spiritual sense.

Ning Zhuo checked himself, only suffering some scratches.

“That’s good!”
Sun Lingtong breathed a sigh of relief, then glared and flicked Ning Zhuo on the forehead.

“You idiot!” he scolded.

“Little Sun Brother, I saved you, why did you hit me?” Ning Zhuo whined, rubbing his head, feeling wronged.

“Why didn’t you kill those two?”

“If you killed them, we would have had more time to retreat calmly!”

“Instead of being chased and almost hacked to death by them!”

Ning Zhuo was speechless from the reprimand!

“Yes, it’s my fault,” Ning Zhuo said, retrieving pills and bandages from his storage pouch. “Little Sun Brother, calm down, your wound is still bleeding!”

A moment later, Sun Lingtong sat while Ning Zhuo hunched over, binding him almost into a white bandage mummy.

“Little Sun Brother, you should hide and recuperate during this time!”

“It’s my fault!”

“Actually, according to our previous agreement, once the city guards intervened, Little Sun Brother, with your skills, you definitely could have seized the opportunity to escape alone.”

“Me coming to save you only brought you trouble!”

Sun Lingtong exhaled a breath of turbid air, his anger slightly subsided. “Your biggest mistake is being soft-hearted when you should kill.”

“If you could do it again, would you still make the same mistake?”

Ning Zhuo hesitated, “This…”

Sun Lingtong snorted coldly, no longer speaking.

In the tunnel, the torchlight cast the shadows of the two on the ground.

Sun Lingtong stared at the shadows on the ground, his eyes flashing with cold light.

He suddenly realized: “I’ve protected Xiao Zhuo too well!”

“Come to think of it, I was already being led by Master to kill people at the age of six or seven!”

“Actually, it was I who made the mistake!”

“What does Xiao Zhuo know?”

“He’s already nine years old now. If today’s incident hadn’t awakened me, I would have continued to be wrong!”

Sun Lingtong asked himself, why would he make such a mistake?

He thought of his master.

When he was six or seven years old, his master stroked his head, a rare look of hesitation on his face, “Alas, Xiao Tong, Master doesn’t want you to experience these things.”

“But Master knows you must experience them!”

“You may feel pain and discomfort for a while, but in the future, when you grow up, you will understand!”

Sun Lingtong collected his thoughts, his gaze fixed on Ning Zhuo’s shadow, muttering to himself in his heart, “Master, I understand!”

Sun Lingtong concocted a scheme.

He falsely claimed he wanted to seek revenge and acted with Ning Zhuo to ambush members of a local gang.

In the process, he feigned a performance, appearing to be overwhelmed and captured, on the verge of being killed.

Ning Zhuo fell for it.

In desperation, he slew the powerful enemy.

After a moment of confusion and stupor, Ning Zhuo looked at the fallen, already deceased enemy, his face turning pale, and suddenly bent over and vomited.

Sun Lingtong stayed by his side.

Watching Ning Zhuo vomit and vomit, until only stomach acid remained.

Sun Lingtong teased him, “Xiao Zhuo, you are far worse than me back then, hahaha!”

Ning Zhuo, exhausted from vomiting, sat on the ground, staring blankly at his blood-stained hands.

Sun Lingtong cleaned up the battlefield and led him to the river!

“Come, let me wash your hands for you!”

Ning Zhuo was like a puppet, obedient and compliant.

Halfway through washing, he reacted: “Little Sun Brother, were you acting? Actually, at the last moment, my opening was huge, the enemy could have easily dodged!”

“But at the time, his movements were stiff, as if he were being controlled by a puppet!”

Sun Lingtong paused, admitting frankly, “Yes, I was controlling him.”

“Thanks to you for letting me see the Mechanical Compendium your mother left you!”

“You…” Ning Zhuo was furious.

Sun Lingtong grinned, “Are you going to scold me, or hit me?”

Ning Zhuo couldn’t speak. He gritted his teeth and pulled his hands away, sulking, “I’ll wash them myself!”

Sun Lingtong, however, was rarely firm, pulling his hand back and continuing to wash, “Don’t move.”

“The first time, I’ll wash them for you!”

“That’s what my master did!”

Hearing Sun Lingtong mention his master, Ning Zhuo paused slightly, no longer resisting.

Under the moonlight, two young men washed their hands by the river in the Immortal City.

Somewhat strangely, the younger one was taking care of the older one.

The blood flowed swiftly down the river, then quickly diluted, and by the time it reached the stone bridge forty steps away, it was almost imperceptible.

Sun Lingtong suddenly spoke, “We are cultivators, cultivators must fight for their lives!”

“People fight against each other, people fight against heaven, in this gamble, our basic stake is our lives!”

“He was killed by you, he just lost the bet, his soul will reappear in this world in another form of life!”

“And we must continue to gamble until the moment we lose our stake.”

Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo’s clean, spotless hands, his expression extremely solemn and earnest.

Ning Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, “Little Sun Brother, I know you’re doing this for my own good, I’ve remembered it all!”

Sun Lingtong shook his head, “Remembered it?”

“Not enough!”

“Every time I go out to steal, I tell myself before I act that this time I might not come back, I might lose my life!”

“If that is the result of my life’s gamble, I accept it!”

“I am always prepared to accept my death, even if it is in the next second!”

“This is my resolve!”

“What is your resolve?”

Ning Zhuo was greatly shocked, speechless!

Never before had he felt such greatness emanating from Sun Lingtong’s small frame.

Sun Lingtong continued, “If one day I die, don’t be sad for me, Xiao Zhuo!”

“If one day I am in a more desperate situation than before, absolutely beyond saving, don’t try to save me, Xiao Zhuo!”

“It’s not worth risking a second life, do you understand?”

Ning Zhuo opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

But the next moment, Sun Lingtong interrupted him, “If you are in a desperate situation, I will not save you either.”

“Because I want to keep my life to continue gambling!”

“Of course, if there is a chance, I will avenge you!”

“Right now, regarding this matter, I make a pact with you!”

Sun Lingtong raised his palm.

Under the pressure of his gaze, Ning Zhuo had no choice but to raise his palm as well.
Silvery moonlight cascaded upon the river’s surface, rippling with light like countless fragmented diamonds dancing upon the water.

The leaves on both banks stirred gently under the caress of the night wind.

Two children stood by the small river, their palms meeting in a soft clap.

Ning Zhuo lowered his head, his lips pressed into a firm line.

Sun Lingtong tilted her face skyward, the radiant glow of the moonlit night reflected in her eyes.

Only then did he break into a grin, revealing his pearly white teeth and a smile.

End of Chapter.