Why did you provoke me?

Outside on the dirt road, a pedicab was slowly approaching. Two people were there, one riding the pedicab and the other sitting in the back, seemingly arguing about something.

Upon seeing the small, dilapidated house in the distance, they paused for a moment, then continued to slowly approach.

Jing Er sat on the floor by the door, leaning against the wall. Seeing someone approaching, he raised his hand and waved, "Hey, bro!"

"What's wrong with you?" the man sitting in the back of the truck shouted.

"Brother, is there any water? I'm dying of thirst."

"Yes, I'll get it for you in a bit," the person in the truck bed readily agreed.

"You don't know, I'm a small-time merchant. Someone ordered a batch of goods from me, but when I delivered them all the way here, I got ripped off."

"Oh, your goods are lost?"

"No, there was just a little accident. I'm feeling weak right now and need to rest."

The tricycle stopped outside the courtyard, and the person in the back jumped off, carrying a water bottle. "This is what we brought ourselves. You can have a few sips, but we can't give you all of it."

Jing Er took the water bottle and handed it to the person next to her, saying, "Drink up, leave some for them, don't drink it all."

Without hesitation, the man took a big gulp and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Your water is really sweet."

"Of course, you're lucky. I added sugar. Why did you come to such a remote place?"

Jing Er sighed. "Brothers, are you from around here? What's this area called?"

"Where are you going?"

"We agreed to meet at a poplar grove, but I didn't see any poplar trees, so I realized we had gone to the wrong place."

"Then you really went the wrong way. The poplar grove is over there, around a big bend."

Jing Er blinked. Yang Shulin was his hometown. Could there really be another Yang Shulin in this place?

"Jing Er, is there something wrong with the water? My stomach hurts."

Jing'er stared blankly at the person carrying the water bottle. "Didn't you add sugar? Why does he have a stomachache?"

"Yes, I added sugar, but I didn't say I wouldn't add anything else."

"I'll fight you to the death! This place is a den of bandits!" Jing tried to stand up, leaning on the ground, but failed several times.

The cyclist walked in at that moment. "What did they find out? How did they get to our base camp?"

"They were traveling merchants who got scammed. They look like they've been poisoned with some kind of bone-softening powder. They won't be able to get up for at least three days. This is really a stroke of luck for us."

"Hurry up and deal with this, we need to move our goods quickly." After saying this, the person who came in later walked past Jing Er and headed straight for the back of the house.

Jing Er grabbed the person carrying the water bottle and said, "I've given you all the goods, you can't kill my brother. What did you feed him?"

"I'm after money, not life. He just needs to make a few trips to the toilet." The man carrying the kettle pushed Jing Er aside, opened the door, and wanted to go in and take a look.

The moment the door opened, before he could even utter a sound, his body went limp.

Jing Er looked at Cheng Er apologetically, "It's my fault, I made you suffer again."

"It's okay, I only had one sip, the rest is here." Cheng Er's sleeve was already soaked.

"The lesson was painful; how could I dare drink anything from a stranger?"

Jing Er nodded, "We must always remember this lesson."

Lei Er carried someone in, threw him on the ground, and said, "My senior brother will ask you a question, and you'll answer it. If you're wrong, you'll get a punch from me."

Li Shuchen, lying on the ground, was filled with hatred. Wasn't he supposed to have been poisoned by the Bone-Soothing Powder? How come there was still a big guy hiding there?

Jing Er looked at Yu Er inside the room and said, "Ask away."

Yu Er coughed. "You just said you were moving the goods? Where are they?"

"We were just passing by; you must have misheard." Li Shuchen wouldn't admit to that.

Yu Er glanced at him. "Take a look at your companions first, then think it over carefully."

Li Shuchen raised half of his body, turned left and right, and his eyes widened suddenly. "You, you killed him?" His voice trembled, and he shrank back to the ground.

"I'm begging you, gentlemen, please don't kill me!"

"You're right, then we won't kill you!" Yu Er said coldly.

"We have hidden something in the dry well behind the house. I am willing to offer it to you all, only asking that you do not kill me."

Li Shuchen was at his wit's end; all he could do was hope that these people would keep their word.

"I'll go take a look." Lei Er took a long stride and turned to leave.

Yu Er then asked, "How far is it from here to Wang's Guesthouse?"

"Wang Family Inn?" Li Shuchen looked up in confusion.

"Um."

"That's quite far, about fifty li."

"You know about the Bone-Soothing Powder, do you have an antidote?"

"No, if you're poisoned by this drug, the effects will wear off on their own in three days; you don't need an antidote."

Three days later, Yu Er and Jing Er exchanged a glance; they couldn't wait any longer.

Li Shuchen looked around the room; it was packed with people, there must be a lot. He then glanced at their disheveled appearance and tentatively asked, "Do you know Yan Lei?"

"Yan Lei!" A hint of surprise flashed in Jing Er's eyes. "You know him?"

"I don't know him." Li Shuchen shook his head. "However, he posted a task through some channel to find people, and a lot of people at that."

Jing Er lowered his head. He knew Yan Lei; that was Granny Hua's adopted son, and he was very famous.

Yu Er watched Jing Er's actions and asked, "You know her?"

"Hmm." Turning to look at Li Shuchen, "Is there any way to be sure that the person we're looking for is the right one?"

Li Shuchen's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pulled a small notebook from his pocket. After flipping through a few pages, he handed it to Jing Er, "Do you recognize this?"

Jing Er closed her eyes briefly, then quickly opened them again. "Disciple identity token of the Cangshan lineage," Jing Er uttered softly.

Li Shuchen slapped his thigh excitedly, "Yes, those are the words!"

Then, cautiously, he asked, "Are you the people he's looking for?"

Jing Er glanced at Yu Er, "That should be it."

Yu Er looked at Li Shuchen excitedly, "You were able to contact him?"

"I can't get in touch with them, but I know who can." Li Shuchen put the notebook back into his pocket.

Li Shuchen has really gone big this time; the person Yan Lei is looking for shouldn't be a bad guy.

"You really killed my companion?" Li Shuchen sat on the ground and asked Jing Er.

"He's unconscious, but not dead. He said he only wanted money, not to kill. That saved him." Jing Er kicked him. "It's too good for him to have made my brother suffer again."

Li Shuchen chuckled a few times, "The flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, we're all one family, we're all one family."

Lei Er came in carrying a large package, threw it on the ground, and said, "I wonder what's in it? It's quite heavy!"

Jing Er glanced at Li Shuchen and said, "If there's anything we can use, we'll buy it with our own money. We won't take it from you for free."

Li Shuchen quickly nodded and said okay.

Lei Er stared wide-eyed at Jing Er, wondering when he had become rich.

Watching Lei Er's actions, Yu Er was afraid he might say something else. She quickly found him something to do, "They should have some drinking water in their car, go and get it."

Li Shuchen nodded in agreement, "The water bottle with the green stripes is drinkable."

Lei Er glared at him, "You're really cunning, making such a fuss over a pot of water."

Li Shuchen smiled bitterly; he had no choice but to do this for the sake of his life.