Why did you provoke me?

The cripple listened to Shadow's words and nodded. "It is indeed related to us. One group of people came looking for us. There were ten of them, and their situation was similar to yours; they were all operating in the shadows."

"Is he gathering intelligence, or is he an assassin?"

"They have both," the cripple said with a wry smile. "They do whatever is convenient for them; they usually don't just take on one job."

"Then I'll eliminate them for you when I encounter them."

The lame man's hand trembled, spilling the tea and nearly breaking the teacup.

"When you run into them, get as far away as you can. They're not people you can mess with," the cripple almost shouted.

Secret Shadow raised an eyebrow. "If he can handle Jing San, do you think I'm weaker than him?"

"Secret Shadow, this isn't the time for bravado; this is a matter of life and death. Jing San killed someone, but look how miserable he is now. Don't follow his example."

Seeing that he still didn't take it seriously, the cripple cursed, "Who do you think you are? Jing San has Nian Nian protecting her, and Yu Meng has to do her best just because of Nian Nian."

What do you have? You haven't even done anything for Yu Meng yet, and you've already taken care of your own business. Yu Meng doesn't mind because she's magnanimous. If you had caused trouble like Jing San, see how Yu Meng would react.

She has a large family behind her; she wouldn't put them in danger for your sake.

Mi Ying fell silent. He truly couldn't compare to Jing San. But he was resentful. That was because he hadn't spent much time with Yu Meng. Who knew what would happen in the long run?

Seeing that Mi Ying was stunned and wouldn't agree to his words, the cripple patted his wheelchair and said, "Did you hear that? If you see those people, get as far away from them as possible."

"I understand," Secret Shadow replied sullenly.

"The Shadow," the cripple said, changing his tone, "Yu Meng's scheme is so incomprehensible that neither the long-haired one nor I can understand it. As for you, don't act on your own. Do whatever she tells you to do. If she tells you to investigate four forces, then go investigate. If she doesn't tell you to take action, then just stay put."

Secret Shadow was scolded by the cripple and left reluctantly.

Mi Ying went to the cripple's courtyard, and soon Jing Wu reported it to Yu Meng.

But she didn't mind; the cripple had raised him and taught him this skill. It was only natural for her to come back and visit.

However, Jingwu later sent word that the cripple had driven him away by his insults.

Yu Meng glanced at it but didn't reply. What did it matter to her whether she was scolded or not?

Outside, in the Chen family's study.

Old Chen sat there with a grim face. "Have you found out who triggered the alarm?"

Chen Ming stood aside and shook his head. "No trace was left. The master's formation was triggered, but it couldn't hold him back; he escaped."

"What about the losses? What exactly was lost?"

Chen Ming shook his head, "We haven't reached the final door yet."

"Then which force do you think did it? We've always kept a low profile. How could you trace it back there? Is there something wrong with your people?"

Chen Ming lowered his head. "Those people there are all elders of our family. If it were them, they wouldn't have been unable to get through that last door. Besides..."

Chen Ming looked up and said, "It seems that many family treasures have been looted recently, and some have suffered quite serious losses."

"Was it done by a group of people?" Old Chen was surprised; he really didn't know about this situation. The gentleman brought over a stone fragment, asking him to examine it and see what was inside. He had been busy with these things and hadn't paid any attention to what was happening outside.

If it weren't for the alarm system for his own treasure vault being connected to him, he might not have even known that his own vault was in trouble.

"Judging from the timeline, they are not the same group of people."

"You mean, several groups of people simultaneously raided the warehouses of many families?" Old Chen asked after a moment's thought. "Do you know what they're looking for?"

Chen Ming shook his head again, "I've sent people to investigate."

Old Chen stared at Chen Ming for a long time. "Ming'er, do you know that the master has given us to Yu Meng?"

Chen Ming nodded. "I understand."

"Why don't you ask her about something this important?"

Chen Ming didn't speak, but just stared straight at Old Master Chen. "Dad, with such a large family business, are we really going to listen to the master and give it all away to an outsider?"

Old Chen leaned back in his chair and said something profound: "You can also turn outsiders into your own people."

Chen Ming looked up, dumbfounded, and asked, "It can change? How can it change?"

Old Chen looked at him intently, and after a long while, he realized that the man really didn't understand what he meant.

He sighed. "You'll have to figure this out yourself."

Chen Ming nodded. "I understand."

Old Chen suppressed his complicated feelings. How could he have given birth to such a son? He was excellent in every way, but his emotional intelligence was just too low, practically nonexistent.

In the end, Chen Ming contacted his master and recounted what had happened in the Chen family, asking if his master had any clues.

The long-haired man genuinely knew nothing about this.

The secret message was only given to Yu Meng, who didn't tell them about it. Yu Meng felt it was unnecessary to tell them; she was the one who had to handle this matter.

The long-haired man asked the lame man, but the lame man didn't know either.

"Didn't Shadow go to your place? How come you didn't know?"

"The long-haired guy, the secret image has already been given to Yu Meng. The information he received can only be told to Yu Meng. That's the rule. Do you understand the rule?" The cripple patted his wheelchair, very agitated. The long-haired man's question to him was practically a desecration of his character.

"Why are you so agitated? If you don't know, you don't know. I just said it casually."

The lame man started shooing people away, saying, "Don't ask me about this kind of thing again. If you want to know, go find Yu Meng."

The two parted on bad terms.

The long-haired man actually went to find Yu Meng.

After listening to his story about the Chen family, Yu Meng was very puzzled. "Isn't it normal for a conglomerate like theirs to attract unwanted attention? How can you be sure those people are looking for something?"

"It's highly unusual for multiple families in Kyoto to encounter something like this at the same time," the long-haired man said, looking at Yu Meng. "Haven't they figured out what those groups of people are looking for yet?"

"We caught one of them and asked him a few questions. We found out that he just happened to run into these people coming down, so he followed them. His purpose was simply to come down and have some fun."

"This person really has a lot of free time."

Yu Meng shrugged. "Who knows what he's thinking?"

"What about the others? Were they caught?"

"The Shadows can only track us remotely. At first, they followed too closely and were discovered, and several were injured and are still unable to get out of bed."

The long-haired man fell silent. Anyone capable of descending to the lower realms must possess exceptional strength. It was understandable that the Shadow couldn't detect it.

Yu Meng did not tell the long-haired man the information that Mi Ying had found out.

The reason was simple: they were also determined to obtain the alien mother crystal core. Yu Meng didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so she kept it a secret.