69: 666, there's even a queue to kill me!

Inside the Night Roaming Ruins.

Due to Zhou Yan's commotion, the entire black market was in chaos. Fortunately, Deacons quickly stepped in to suppress it, and even a Core Formation Stage Regional Guardian arrived on the scene.

At this moment, in the center of the Night Roaming Ruins, within a bottomless cavern.

"My Lord, we've found out."

A thin-faced middle-aged man with gloomy eyes reported with a bow.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

The speaker was a plump, bearded young man who was building blocks with Spirit Stones.

However, looking at the dense fluctuations of magical power on those Spirit Stones, one could tell.

No skill involved, just raw stats.

"The initial news said a man named Xiao Sheng was causing a scene in the black market."

"The cause seems to be his lavish spending, consuming a large number of Spirit Stones, which aroused the greed of others."

"And then?"

"Later, someone named Jiang Hongyue appeared. It seems he used some extremely precious Magic Treasure to trigger Li Zhe's old ailment."

"He swindled over a hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones from him. According to investigations and calculations, this person should be the Xiao Sheng who appeared later."

Hearing this, the young man became interested. He stopped building blocks and sat up straighter.

"Interesting. This kid is bold, thick-skinned, and greedy. He's good material for the Lianxing Pavilion."

"Go and guide those people to intercept and kill him. Take the money and items back in the chaos, then kill a few of them at random and hide them to frame them."

He spoke nonchalantly, as if he wasn't the one who had just praised the other as a talent.

However, after the young man gave the order, the middle-aged man did not leave, still standing quietly in place.

Seeing this, the young man frowned, realizing things weren't simple.

"Any new discoveries?"

"A guard reported to the auction Deacon. You weren't here when they looked for you, so they reported to me first."

"Is it troublesome?"

"Yes."

"That person isn't actually named Xiao Sheng or Jiang Hongyue. His name is Zhou Yan. He's the one the officials have been discussing lately, the Imperial Censor who will arrive in Jiangzhou shortly."

The young man put away his cynical expression, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

"Arriving early and immediately investigating my black market, making a mess of things... this Imperial Censor is a bit too sharp."

"It seems he won't be dismissed with just a few Spirit Stones."

Seeing the young man worrying, the middle-aged man remained silent and offered no plan.

A flash of displeasure crossed the young man's eyes.

"You old fox, you really know how to avoid responsibility. With such patience, why come to the Lianxing Pavilion instead of the imperial court!"

"Cough, didn't they say the Lord Imperial Censor hasn't arrived yet? How can you be sure this one is definitely the Imperial Censor?"

"People in the black market always play tricks. What if someone got the news early and is posing as the Imperial Censor to extort us?"

"As merchants, we should also do our part to 'help' the court verify this Fellow Daoist's identity."

"Send a few people to 'help' find this unidentified Fellow Daoist."

"If he's a fake, proceed as planned. If you don't want to go, just find a Deacon to take the fall. You know exactly what to do."

Having received an answer, the middle-aged man secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As one of the Six Sects of the Desire Realm, the Lianxing Pavilion, even a small branch, wouldn't necessarily give Face to the court.

The old fellow in front of him could afford to offend them, but he couldn't.

Just as suggested, he'd have to hand over a Deacon to take the blame.

But wasn't he also being pushed forward by this old guy to take the blame?

Fortunately, there was still a scapegoat in front for now, so things wouldn't easily go wrong.

"I understand. I'll go arrange it immediately."

As the middle-aged man left, there was a knock on the door.

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, the bearded youth immediately knew who was outside and put on a kind expression.

"It's little Yuxuan. Come in quickly. Great-grandfather has some freshly served pastries here. You've come at just the right time, otherwise, you wouldn't have this treat."

The door was pushed open, and a little white mouse wearing a dress hopped inside.

"Great-grandfather, I just saw Guardian Zhao leave with a very grim expression. Did something happen?"

The bearded youth walked over and rubbed her small head.

"With Great-grandfather here, what could happen?"

"After all, Great-grandfather is a Nascent Soul Cultivator. Except for those few old fogies in the court, your Great-grandfather fears no one."

"Mm, Great-grandfather is the best!"

Hui Yuxuan threw herself into the bearded youth's arms. The youth picked her up and spun around twice before holding her in his arms, leading her to the pile of 'blocks' and placing some tea and snacks aside.

"Tell Great-grandfather, how did your field duty feel today?"

At the mention of this, Hui Yuxuan's Face puffed up with anger, and she didn't even eat the pastry she was about to bite.

"Grandpa, let me tell you, I met a naive idiot today, so simple-minded! If someone like that enters our black market, they'll definitely be eaten until not even bones are left!"

"I really don't know why such a fool would come here to seek death."

Meanwhile, our 'foolish' student was already surrounded.

"Jiang Hongyue, you've offended someone you shouldn't have."

"Today, our Gray Hand Gang has come for your life. If you surrender without a fight, you might suffer less."

Looking at the group of masked men in black, and hearing the leader shout 'Jiang Hongyue,' Zhou Yan understood that Li Zhe's people had arrived.

"Hmm, they came a bit earlier than I thought. It seems Li Zhe intended to kill me from the start. Now my moral high ground can rise another level."

Seeing Zhou Yan expose their origin in one breath, Ah Da and the others had a drop of cold sweat slide down their foreheads.

"What nonsense are you talking about, you bastard! It seems you don't plan to cooperate, so prepare to suffer! Do it!"

Seeing the other side about to strike, Zhou Yan was preparing to 'tearfully' accept this wave of experience points when suddenly...

"Stop!"

Another group of masked men in black appeared. Their clothing and accessories were clearly more professional, looking like they had a significant background.

"You think you can stop me?"

Ah Da saw that the other side had more people, but he wasn't afraid.

Although they looked poor, they were all top-tier among Loose Cultivators and had once been Prodigies!

The opponents were at the Qi Refining stage, and so were they. Even if there were twice as many, they might not be able to stop them!

"Hmph!"

The leading masked man let out a disdainful snort.

"This Xiao Sheng has a grudge against our gang. Only we can kill him! You guys from who-knows-where, get lost quickly, and don't interfere with the Gray Hand Gang's business!"

Zhou Yan was also stunned.

"No way?"

"So you're not here to rescue me, but to steal the kill?"

"Why are there so many people? Didn't I just shake off a bunch of people for nothing?"

"Damn, who is sniping me at the Qi Refining Stage!"

"And what's with this Gray Hand Gang? How are you the Gray Hand Gang, and he's also the Gray Hand Gang?"

"Might as well have another Gray Hand Gang, and then I'll call myself the Gray Hand Gang too!"

Zhou Yan was thinking just that.

"The two groups in front, disperse for this old man!"

"I am from the Gray Hand Gang! The main force will arrive soon! This thief Zhou Yan has a grudge against me and must be killed by my hand! If you don't want to be involved, get lost now!"

"Zhou Yan?"

"Isn't he called Xiao Sheng?"

"What bullshit Xiao Sheng? This person is clearly Jiang Hongyue, whom our Gray Hand Gang wants to kill!"

"You dare call yourselves the Gray Hand Gang? Did you drink fake wine like that old man? We are the Gray Hand Gang!"

The old man was also confused upon hearing both sides.

"What Xiao Sheng, what Jiang Hongyue? Wasn't the target called Zhou Yan?"

"And you're all from the Gray Hand Gang... then who am I?"