The villainous bosses from their past lives have all been reborn.

Jinzhou City.

Xia Mansion.

After the battle at Moyun Temple, Yuan Xiu and Yuan Cai bid farewell to Xia Jin and prepared to leave for Tianquan Manor.

After personally seeing Xia Jin off at the city gate, he returned to his residence filled with doubt and confusion.

Compared to Xia Jin's somber face, Xun He, who accompanied him, wore the standard smile of a typical office worker greeting and seeing off guests throughout the entire trip. Back at his residence, he maintained his usual demeanor—showing no expression except when required for work.

"They said they were leaving, why didn't you say a word to say goodbye?"

Xia Jin followed Xun He into Xun He's bedroom.

Xun He's bedroom was a suite, which included a study.

Inside the study, Xun He was tidying up the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on his desk when he casually remarked:

"Now that the case of the assassination of the governor of Jinzhou is clear, how can I stop them from leaving?"

"But there are still so many unanswered questions in this case. For example, how did Mad Tiger die at Moyun Temple, and how did those cultists become the temple's guardian monks?"

Xun He chuckled softly, seemingly unconcerned.

"They were just a bunch of barbarians from the north. So what if they died?"

Xun He treated the disciples of the Demonic Cult like ants, believing that they could be crushed without a second thought, and there was nothing to regret.

In his desperation, Xia Jin asked in return:

"What about Xiao Wang, Xingyun, and Ying'er? They're all from Jinzhou, and their whereabouts are currently unknown. Are we just going to give up the investigation?"

Xun He paused in his tidying, looked at Xia Jin, and said meaningfully:

"We, the people of Golden State, can only rely on ourselves to handle our own affairs."

Xia Jin found Xun He's words somewhat strange, but didn't ask further, simply saying:

"No, I still have to find Yuan Liulang. I have a feeling he's hiding something from me!"

"etc!"

Xun He tidied up the items on his desk and pulled a small box from his sleeve. Under Xia Jin's somewhat curious gaze, Xun He opened the box, inside which were two fiery red pills.

Xun He took one out and handed it to Xia Jin, saying:

"This pill will be of great benefit to you."

Xia Jin hesitated and did not answer immediately.

Xun He, upon seeing this, was not angry, but merely teased:

"What, you don't trust me? You can take the pills Yuan Liulang gave you, but you can't take mine?"

Xia Jin still didn't accept them, because the moment he saw the two pills, he thought of the alchemy furnace in the side hall of Moyun Temple.

"Where did these two pills come from?"

Upon seeing the serious expression on Xia Jin's face, Xun He's expression changed for the first time.

Xia Jin recognized that smile; it was the smile Xun He often wore when he and his brothers played together as children. However, after Xia He recommended him to the governor's mansion, that smile gradually disappeared.

Even Xun He's appearance became increasingly standardized, no different from the other officials.

"Take this pill first, then I'll tell you!"

Tell me first!

"Natsumi, you're still as stubborn as ever, unchanged all these years. Fine, I'll tell you!"

After Xun He finished speaking, Xia Jin did not receive his candor, but instead received a fierce palm strike from the other side.

Xia Jin had never expected Xun He to attack him, nor had he anticipated that the opponent would be so strong. He had no time to react before being knocked to the ground by a single palm strike, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"Why...?"

"Xia Jin, don't worry, your older brother wouldn't hurt you!"

Xun He, through Xia Jin's blurred vision, tucked the small box into his sleeve. At that moment, Ying'er appeared before him, clinging to Xun He's arm, her face full of anxiety.

However, Xia Jin, in a daze, couldn't hear what they were saying.

……

Liangshuipu.

Instead of taking the shorter but more difficult Xingxing Road from Jinzhou City to Tianquan Villa, Yuan Xiu followed the old road to Liangshuipu.

For three consecutive days, the journey was quite smooth without any mishaps, to the point that Yuan and Cai became somewhat complacent.

"Sixth Brother, you said the person behind Jinzhou City would follow us, but we haven't seen a trace of them for several days. Could you be mistaken? Maybe he's chickened out and doesn't dare show his face?"

It was still the same room where Yuan Cai had stayed, but this time, Liangshuipu Post Station was much quieter. Even many of the original postmen had deserted.

After all, the governor of Jinzhou is dead, and there's always the possibility of trouble if the imperial court investigates. Furthermore, members of the Demonic Cult have appeared here and fought a major battle with the Jinzhou garrison, severely damaging the post station, which hasn't been repaired yet, and the postmen need to do hard labor. More importantly, who knows if the Demonic Cult rebels will attack again?

"They will definitely come!"

Yuan Xiu, however, was quite certain and didn't care at all.

Why?

"The biggest secret in Moyun Temple is that alchemy furnace, and it's possible that the governor of Jinzhou wanted to convey this information as well. The fact that you appeared in Moyun Temple that night and were in such a hurry to leave, plus the fact that you didn't take the Star Path but instead took a long detour, suggests that in their eyes, going to Tianquan Manor was a pretense, and that your real intention was to escape back to Yanzhou and take this secret back with you. To keep the secret, they will definitely not let you leave so easily."

Yuan Cai swallowed hard and said:

"What should I do? Aren't I in big danger?"

"Don't worry, they won't kill you so easily. At most, they'll capture you and take you back to refine pills!"

"..."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, startling Yuan Cai so much that his voice trembled.

"Who is it!"

"We've come to bring food to Sanlang and Liulang!"

Yuan Cai breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door, only to see a courier standing outside with a fawning expression. He took the plate with a huff and slammed the door shut with his foot.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, there was another knock on the door.

"What's wrong now?"

Yuan Cai turned around to open the door, but was suddenly pulled backward by a huge force.

Food from the plate flew through the air, and Yuan Cai only saw Yuan Xiu's figure already past him. In front of him, the door was squeezed by a tremendous force, deformed, shattered, and mixed with the food, scattered messily in the air.

The phantom behind the door collided with Yuan Xiu.

With a loud bang.

A powerful surge of energy echoed through the room, shattering the already chaotic space completely.

Yuan Cai fell to the ground, got up, and saw clearly the person who had exchanged blows with Yuan Xiu. Then, he exclaimed in surprise.

"Mad Tiger!"

The dead man reappeared before them, and what was even more eerie was that his face was expressionless, filled only with a cold, deathly stillness.

Without paying much attention to this bizarre scene that defied all reason, Yuan Xiu took a few steps back, distancing himself from the mad tiger, and said:

"Chief Clerk Xun, it's time for you to come out!"

Xun He's laughter arrived even faster than his man, and his words were as warm as those of an old friend reuniting after many years.

"Sixth Brother truly lives up to his name; my trip here was worthwhile!"

……