627: Chapter 627 You want to recruit us, the thieves?

Bai Shanshan froze for a moment, the expression on her face shifting from shock to absurdity, and then to speechlessness.

"Wait… Ye Chen, you are the Chief Instructor of the Dragon Group Hidden Dragon Pavilion, right? Are you sure you want to recruit a bunch of thieves into the Dragon Group?"

Ye Chen smiled faintly.

"That depends on what kind of thieves they are."

"The unorganized and undisciplined type are just pure thieves—stealing electric scooters, wallets, and mobile phones—doing more harm than good to society."

"But thieves with real skills and organization are different."

He paused and turned his head to look at Bai Shanshan.

"Do you think the 'agents' in intelligence departments aren't doing the work of thieves?"

Bai Shanshan's mouth opened, then closed again.

She thought carefully about Ye Chen's words and suddenly realized...

It actually seemed to make sense.

Those spies and agents, stealing intelligence, secrets, and technology—aren't they essentially thieves?

It's just that they aren't called thieves; they are called "intelligence personnel," "agents," or "National Security."

But why does it feel so strange?

Bai Shanshan took a deep breath and stopped dwelling on it.

"Fine, you're the Chief Instructor anyway; you make the calls for the Dragon Group."

Ye Chen smiled and said nothing more.

The two soon returned to the small tavern in the ancient town.

Red lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze, and warm yellow light spilled through the wooden windows onto the bluestone path.

Ye Chen pushed the door open, went in, and found a seat by the window.

Bai Shanshan sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hands, observing the night view of the Tuojiang River outside the window.

"You have to admit, this place is quite suitable for retirement."

Ye Chen poured a cup of rice wine and took a small sip. "You can come here when you retire."

Bai Shanshan rolled her eyes. "Ever since I stepped into the Heaven Realm, there's no way I'll ever have a retirement day. I'm going to work until I can't anymore!"

Ye Chen was surprised. "You seem very passionate about this line of work?"

"That's right."

Bai Shanshan took a sip of rice wine, looked out the window, and continued, "Back then, when my sister and I were bullied by the Bai family in the capital, I swore that I would definitely catch all these people."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "And, did you succeed?"

"No."

"They are one of the major families in the capital, after all; how could it be possible to uproot them just like that?"

Bai Shanshan shook her head dejectedly, but then her eyes burned with fierce fire. "But to err is human; I don't believe they won't leave any traces. One day, I will catch them one by one and make them eat a big bowl of prison food!"

Ye Chen was even more curious. "I'm suddenly even more curious, how did they bully you?"

"When my sister was marrying my brother-in-law, our family strongly opposed it."

"They wanted to send my sister into the Bai family deep within the Kunlun Ruins."

"But my sister didn't compromise. We both fled the capital and developed in Xiamen City."

Bai Shanshan recalled.

Ye Chen suddenly understood.

No wonder this pair of sisters would run from the capital to a southern place like Xiamen City.

He continued, "Then you should keep at it. With your current strength, it's not impossible to take on the Bai family."

"Huh?"

Bai Shanshan's eyes lit up. "Can I really take them on?"

"Don't you still have me?" Ye Chen smiled. "The capital's Bai family has ties to the Kunlun Ruins' Bai family, so I naturally have to settle accounts with them."

Bai Shanshan was overjoyed. "Great, then we leave tomorrow?"

"Damn, do you have to be so impatient?"

"Who wouldn't be impatient when it comes to revenge???"

Looking at her frantic appearance, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "Let's wait until things here are settled."

"Fine."

The two chatted intermittently as time ticked by.

About half an hour later.

A burst of hurried footsteps came from the distance.

Ye Chen put down his wine glass and looked at the door.

The next second.

The tavern's wooden door was slammed open from the outside.

The tavern owner was startled, and the wine jar in his hand almost fell to the ground.

When he looked up...

Outside the door, there stood a dense crowd of people.

Leading them was an old man wearing a Tang suit. His hair was gray, and his face was covered in wrinkles, but his eyes were incredibly bright, like two searchlights.

Behind him followed dozens of people, men and women, old and young.

But they had one thing in common...

Everyone's eyes were particularly bright.

The tavern owner's face turned pale instantly.

"G-Gentlemen, I'm just running a small business here; I really can't afford for you all to come and run up a tab together!"

"Last time you came, I worked for half a month for nothing!"

"I beg you, gentlemen, please show mercy and spare me this time!"

As he spoke, he pressed his palms together, bowing repeatedly, almost kneeling to kowtow.

How could he not recognize this group of people?

They were the legendary people of the Stealing Sect.

Every time they drank, not only did they run up a tab, but they would also take away a bunch of wine on the sly without you even noticing.

By the time you discovered it, it was already too late, and the losses were heavy...

Moreover, this hadn't happened just once; he was terrified!

The leading old man's face darkened, and he glared at the tavern owner in annoyance.

"Bullshit! Who said anything about running up a tab?"

"I brought people here today to find someone!"

The tavern owner was stunned, his expression shifting from fear to bewilderment.

"Dao Ye, you're looking for... someone?"

"You've offended everyone in the entire ancient town; who could you possibly be looking for?"

The voice stopped abruptly halfway through.

Because.

He realized not only had he spoken out of turn, but the people from the Stealing Sect all looked at him, and it wasn't friendly.

Damn it!

Trouble comes from the mouth!

The leading Dao Ye couldn't be bothered with him and waved his hand, leading the dozens of people behind him into the tavern with great momentum.

The already small tavern was instantly packed with people.

Shi Xiaonian squeezed out from behind Dao Ye, standing on tiptoes to peer inside the tavern.

She saw Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan sitting in the corner at a glance, her eyes instantly lit up, and she excitedly pointed over there and shouted.

"Master! That's the one!"

Dao Ye's gaze followed Shi Xiaonian's finger and landed on Ye Chen.

He looked him up and down, then strode over.

The dozens of people behind him swarmed up, surrounding Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan completely.

Bai Shanshan's hand subconsciously pressed onto the gun at her waist, her eyes becoming vigilant.

Ye Chen waved his hand to signal her not to be nervous.

Dao Ye walked up to Ye Chen and stopped, then spoke.

"So it's you, who wants to incorporate the Stealing Sect?"

The tavern owner hid behind the counter, poking his head out halfway, and upon hearing this, he was completely stunned.

Incorporate?

Incorporate what?

Could it be that these people from the Stealing Sect were going to be incorporated?

His brain was in chaos; he couldn't figure out the situation at all.

Wait...

Since when were thieves so sought after that someone would be willing to incorporate them???

Ye Chen picked up his wine glass, took another sip of rice wine, and looked up at Dao Ye.

"You are the Sect Master of the Stealing Sect?"

Dao Ye puffed out his chest and stroked the sparse beard on his chin.

"That's right, I am the thirty-seventh Sect Master of the Stealing Sect, Shi Qian. People in the underworld call me Dao Ye!"

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. "Shi Qian? The Flea on the Drum, Shi Qian from 'Water Margin'?"

The old man's face turned black instantly.

"That is our ancestor!"

"My name is Shi Qian, but I am not that Shi Qian!"

"I am Shi Qian, he is Shi Qian, Shi Qian is Shi Qian, Shi Qian is not Shi Qian..."

As he spoke, he got himself confused.

The disciples of the Stealing Sect behind him looked at each other, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

Shi Xiaonian covered her face, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Master's way of introducing himself is simply embarrassing!

Ye Chen, however, laughed.

"Alright, Sect Master Shi, please sit."

Dao Ye didn't stand on ceremony and sat down opposite Ye Chen.

"Kid, I heard you are the Chief Instructor of the Dragon Group Hidden Dragon Pavilion?"

"That's right."

"You want to incorporate the Stealing Sect?"

"That's right."

"Do you know what the Stealing Sect does?"

"I do."

"And you still want to incorporate us?"

Shi Qian's voice raised a few notches, his eyes filled with disbelief.

For government officials to come and incorporate them was simply a fantasy.

Calling it incorporation was less convincing than saying they came to take them down.

Ye Chen put down his wine glass and said calmly, "It's precisely because I know that I want to incorporate you."

Dao Ye's brows furrowed.

He was a little suspicious...

Did this kid drink Dichlorvos as a hangover cure?

Otherwise, he would never have said anything about incorporating them!

Ignoring Dao Ye's gaze, Ye Chen continued.

"Your Stealing Sect has been passed down for thousands of years; your roots are in the Dragon Kingdom, and your branches and leaves are also in the Dragon Kingdom."

"You have skills, your own intelligence network, and infiltration abilities."

"These things, in the Jianghu, are just petty theft and cannot be brought to the table."

"But at the national level, they are strategic resources."

Dao Ye's brows furrowed even tighter, but a glimmer of thoughtfulness flashed in his eyes.

Ye Chen looked at him and continued, enunciating each word.

"I am giving you a chance to step out of the shadows and become officially commissioned agents of the Dragon Kingdom."

"From now on, you won't have to sneak around, hide, or look at other people's faces."

"You can walk in the sunlight openly and honestly, serving the country and the people."

"The reputation of your Stealing Sect can also change from 'thieves' to 'heroes'."

"Are you... willing to seize it?"