“Consider it.” Yin Guan seized the moment, striking while the iron was hot. “I can help you conceal your identity very well!”

Within this courtyard, its true owners unknown, two individuals, like magpies nesting in a cuckoo’s nest, were discussing a matter of joining forces.

Today, Yin Guan seemed particularly eager. It wasn’t the first time he had extended the invitation, nor was it the first time Jiang Wang had declined.

Jiang Wang said, his voice filled with a touch of melancholy, “If you wish for no one to know, you must not do it in the first place.”

“If you wish for no one to know, simply eliminate those who do,” Yin Guan reminded him.

“Beneath the heavens, there is no wall impenetrable to the wind.”

“Then the killing was not thorough enough.”

Jiang Wang originally didn’t wish to speak words that might offend, but seeing the other party’s persistent attitude, he could only be more direct: “I have no desire to live a life where I am uncertain if I will see the morrow, constantly fleeing for my life.”

Yin Guan’s face was etched with doubt. “Are you not already constantly fleeing for your life?”

Jiang Wang: …

Yin Guan continued to probe, step by step. “If you were to join us, the next time you encounter someone like Zhao Xuan Yang, you could directly contact me. I would gather our brethren and help you handle the matter cleanly and efficiently.”

“Oh?” Jiang Wang asked, “What if I were to encounter Pei Xing He?”

Yin Guan replied frankly, “Then you would not be able to reach me.”

“So that’s it.” Jiang Wang feigned regret. “The Netherworld Gate is not suited for me.”

In truth, both of them knew that Jiang Wang’s reluctance to join the Netherworld Gate wasn’t due to any concerns about the auspiciousness of the Yan Luo position, the potential earnings, or the inherent danger…

Rather, it was because Jiang Wang did not align with the ideals of the Netherworld Gate, nor did he agree with Yin Guan’s methods.

“Alright then.” Yin Guan didn’t seem overly concerned and changed the subject. “I let you off once today, do you admit it?”

“That way of phrasing it is perhaps a little… uninteresting,” Jiang Wang said. “If you hadn’t come today, your Netherworld Gate might have had to recruit again. By that reckoning, it was I who let them off once.”

“Is that so?” Yin Guan neither affirmed nor denied. “It is a pity I came.”

Jiang Wang pondered for a moment, and in the end, honestly admitted, “You are correct.”

“It is good that you admit it,” Yin Guan smiled. “Be a little generous, just hand over a few dozen yuan stones to me.”

“Money for sparing my life?”

“Money for sparing your life, toll money, hush money, interpret it as you please.”

Jiang Wang looked at him and said, “Even if we are not friends, we are at least acquaintances. To meet and then extort me, is that appropriate?”

“Of course, of course, we are very familiar,” Yin Guan said with a smile. “If we were to meet under other circumstances, I certainly wouldn’t trouble you, I might even sit down, share a cup of tea, and chat. But Jiang Tianjiao, just as you said, you almost caused my Netherworld Gate to recruit again. As the leader of the Netherworld Gate, can I simply stand by and watch?”

“I didn’t even touch a single hair on their heads!” Jiang Wang was indignant. He paused for a moment, then added, “Does merely boasting count?”

Yin Guan dismissed the notion with a smile.

Jiang Wang had no recourse but to take out the money.

He hadn’t caught Yang Xuan Ce, yet he was being extorted. This left him seething with resentment.

While handing over the yuan stones, he said, “You weren’t like this before.”

“The organization has grown, and resources are scarce everywhere,” Yin Guan meticulously counted the stones. There were ten in total, just meeting the lowest threshold of “a few dozen.” He couldn’t help but sigh. “You may leave from that direction. I will pretend I did not see you.”

He extorted my yuan stones and still acts as if I am the one who gained a bargain. What is the meaning of this?

Jiang Wang’s teeth itched with anger, but his reason remained intact. He knew he truly could not defeat the other man. He put on his cloak and left the courtyard directly, heading towards the outskirts of the city…

I must return to the Suspended Temple quickly! This sorrowful place, I have no desire to linger here!

Watching Jiang Wang’s retreating figure disappear, Yin Guan shook his head with a hint of pity. He turned and left as well, returning to the small alley.

If the world’s hatred towards Jiang Wang due to his name of “Through Magic” were truly confirmed, making his enmity deep and irreconcilable, perhaps there might still be a possibility of him joining the Netherworld Gate. Otherwise, with Jiang Wang’s character, he would never change his decision.

Thinking back to their first meeting in You Country, although he felt that this person was extraordinary, he truly hadn’t anticipated that he could reach this stage.

It truly makes one sigh.

By the time he returned to the small alley, the King of Mount Tai was still at the alley entrance, the King of Turning Wheels was still perched on the wall, and Yang Xuan Ce was still at the end of the alley.

Yin Guan looked directly at Yang Xuan Ce and went straight to the point. “I just saved you from the hands of Jiang Wang, the third-rank Golden Melon Warrior of Great Qi. This requires an additional charge.”

The King of Turning Wheels looked at his leader but remained silent.

The current King of Qin Guang was vastly different from the one who had established the organization in Duan Hun Gorge.

The Yin Guan of that time may not have possessed this mercenary side.

After all, “a single copper coin can be worth more than a hero.” Developing external forces, building intelligence networks, establishing bases in various locations… every single one of these required resources to sustain.

Of course, this current aspect also added a touch of humanity to the strong and cold image of the King of Qin Guang.

The King of Turning Wheels thought silently… Perhaps this proved that after refining the negative and achieving divine presence, the King of Qin Guang had taken many more steps forward.

Yang Xuan Ce didn’t understand Yin Guan well and was only momentarily stunned upon hearing his words. “Where is he?”

“You need not concern yourself with that. I naturally have my methods,” Yin Guan said coldly. “In short, he no longer poses a threat to you.”

“Did you kill him?” Yang Xuan Ce asked.

“Do you want me to kill him?” Yin Guan countered with a question, then said, “The price for that would not be cheap. His importance to Qi Country is not comparable to Zhao Xuan’s.”

“No need,” Yang Xuan Ce shook his head.

“Then let’s settle the account first.”

Not long after, Yang Xuan Ce left the small alley alone.

The King of Mount Tai, who remained in the alley, opened his mouth and said, “Where did that kid get so much wealth?”

“Who knows?” Yin Guan satisfactorily put away the storage box. He only cared that the transaction was complete and the money exchanged for goods; he didn’t concern himself with other matters.

The King of Turning Wheels, still squatting on the wall, said, “It’s likely nothing more than the legacy of a secret treasury from a fallen kingdom or something similar… A broken boat still has three pounds of nails, after all. He is, after all, a prince of a perished country.”

“Why didn’t we just rob him directly?” The newly promoted King of Mount Tai said. “Compared to helping him deal with the officials of Qi Country, wouldn’t it be simpler to deal with him? And less troublesome as well.”

Yin Guan glanced at him faintly and simply said, “We are assassins, not robbers.”

“What’s the difference?” The King of Mount Tai didn’t quite understand. “Killing people and robbing goods are fundamentally linked. Robbery doesn’t require the agreement of others, and neither does our killing.”

“Credit,” Yin Guan said. “If the Netherworld Gate wishes to grow large and have continuous business, then it must have credit. Eating the upper house and eating the lower house may bring temporary gain, but it will shatter the signboard of the Netherworld Gate.”

“You still care about a signboard?” The King of Mount Tai laughed. “We live without knowing if we will see the morrow. Are we not simply seeking temporary pleasure?”

Convincing others is indeed the most difficult task, for everyone holds their own views.

Yin Guan no longer explained, simply saying, “Remember the words I have spoken.”

He left behind this sentence and then turned to depart.

This attitude was perhaps a little arrogant, making the King of Mount Tai very uncomfortable. Those who could become Yan Luo of the Netherworld Gate, which one of them was weak?

But although his eyes were gloomy, he did not dare to say anything more.

The King of Turning Wheels, half-squatting on the surrounding wall, suddenly asked at this moment, “Do you know how the previous King of Mount Tai died?”

“How did he die?” the King of Mount Tai asked.

The King of Turning Wheels did not answer directly, but instead said, “If you speak words you should not, you will die. If you make the King of Qin Guang feel that you might speak words you should not, you will also die.”

He smiled. “Consider that advice from a senior.”

Having spoken, he fell backwards, disappearing completely.