It's clearly a crossover game, but the system insists it's a pirate game.

Chapter 118 is... that simple?

Once the opponent was identified, Zhou Ye's task was to target them comprehensively and without any blind spots. He not only had to release Gu Santong, but also moved Su Xin from the ice coffin to another location ahead of time.

A perfectly good villain, yet he insists on portraying himself as a romantic. If Zhou Ye doesn't seize this opportunity, he'll feel like he's letting down the TV series he watched back then!

Whether Sikong Zhaixing and Lu Xiaofeng succeed or not is irrelevant; what he wants is for Zhu Wushi to know that someone has discovered Gu Santong, and then, connecting that discovery to Su Xin, he'll realize that the woman he's kept frozen for so many years has suddenly vanished.

Hehehe, to kill someone, you have to destroy their spirit. He has to let Zhu Wushi know what the consequences will be if he messes with him!

Sikong Zhaixing regretted it so much he wanted to chop off his hand, but what bothered him the most was that he had dragged Lu Xiaofeng into it. After thinking it over, Lu Xiaofeng suddenly didn't care anymore.

When he first heard about the Zhou family's reputation, he immediately thought that the Zhou family members must be in the same boat as Ximen Chuixue, so-called righteous and evil, but they just acted according to their own likes and dislikes.

But after getting to know them, he realized he was wrong. They weren't basing their decisions on personal likes or dislikes, but purely on the closeness of their relationship.

Even if someone's reputation in the martial arts world is ruined, the Zhou family still considers them as one of their own. Take Li Xunhuan, the "Little Flying Dagger," for example. There are too many rumors about how he got involved with the Zhou family, making it impossible to distinguish the truth from the falsehood. But one thing is certain: when everyone said that Li Xunhuan was the infamous Plum Blossom Thief, the Zhou family completely disregarded what others thought or what they said, and they stood firmly in support of Li Xunhuan!

Later, he even raised Li Xunhuan on Mount Zhou!

And then there's Xiao Feng, the former leader of the Beggars' Sect, a Khitan. But how did the Zhou family treat him? "When you come, you're treated like royalty." Who doesn't know the names of "Master Xiao" and "Second Master Di" from the Zhou family?

That is why, who would dare to say that Xiao Feng is a foreigner with ulterior motives?

These people are indeed trustworthy!

Everyone knows that when Li Xunhuan sits in a large chair, carving wood at the foot of Zhou Mountain, it is the time when the entire Zhou family goes out.

There were also the Zhou family children who stayed on Wudang Mountain for over a year, while Xiao Feng stayed at the foot of the mountain for over a year. There were so many scenes of the children affectionately calling him "Uncle." From this, you can see that Zhou Ye's trust in Xiao Feng was absolutely unwavering and 100% complete!

But does this prove that the Zhou family is fundamentally righteous?

No, when the Zhou family makes a move, they will definitely eliminate all traces of the enemy, and they are quite unreasonable. They don't need evidence to kill people; suspicion is enough.

With their manners, even the people of the Demonic Sect would feel inferior and have to lower their heads.

But no one dared to classify the Zhou family as part of the Demonic Sect, and even the Demonic Sect itself never considered bringing the Zhou family completely into its camp.

Why?

Because we can't control it!

In a world where strength reigns supreme, physical strength essentially represents everything: power, wealth, and fame.

The Zhou family has shown little interest in power over the years. Despite occupying Jiangling Prefecture for so many years, they haven't developed any real influence. They simply bought a mountain, started a large-scale construction project, and incidentally propelled the small Jiangling Prefecture to new heights.

As for wealth, the Zhou family has never lacked money. When Master Di got married, the whole city held a banquet for ten days. When Master Xiao got married, the whole city held a banquet for ten days. When Master Zhou got married, the whole city held a banquet for thirty days. Then there were the baby's full moon banquet and 100-day banquet.

Some records show that after the Zhou family established themselves in Jiangling Prefecture, the expenses for these banquets alone amounted to an astronomical sum over the years, not to mention the various infrastructure projects they undertook on Zhou Mountain.

The only thing that can control their reputation is actually the thing the Zhou family cares about the least. No one has ever succeeded in using reputation to hold the Zhou family back.

Even though women like Yaoyue, Lianxing, Wanwan, and Daiqisi, who came from demonic sects and cults, couldn't bring themselves to call them "female knights-errant," they would only call them Madam Zhou. No one dared to call them witches anymore.

As for Zhou Ye—he's either the head of the Zhou family or the great hero Zhou.

On the righteous side, they dared not label the Zhou family as a demonic sect again, for fear of increasing the power of the demonic sect.

The demonic sect completely excludes the Zhou family. They are neither righteous nor demonic; they simply avoid provoking them.

Just as Lu Xiaofeng was recalling all the news about the Zhou family, Sikong Zhaixing suddenly said, "Lu Xiaoji, you should run. I'll take responsibility for the trouble I caused. In half a year, I'll just be dead. I'll make things clear then and won't involve you."

Lu Xiaofeng paused for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Run? Where to run? Also, don't be so pessimistic. I have some ideas about the nineteenth level of the Heavenly Prison."

Sikong Zhaixing immediately perked up; who would willingly die if they could live? "What are you thinking? Tell me quickly!"

Just as the two were discussing, Zhou Ye also had a customer approach him.

At the same familiar spot, just as Zhou Ye cast his line into the water, an old man sat down beside him, fishing rod in hand. In less than half a day, the old man's basket was full. Looking at Zhou Ye's empty basket, not a drop of water touched it, he chuckled, "Master Zhou, would you like some of my fish?"

Zhou Ye glanced at him, then at the fish in his basket, and shook his head, saying, "Your fish are all too small; I don't like them."

The old man raised an eyebrow: "So, what kind of fish does Master Zhou want to catch?"

"The bigger the better, of course."

Fishing wasn't Zhou Ye's particular hobby. He just came here to relax when he had nothing else to do. He naturally didn't care about small fish. Even if a small fish swam over and was about to bite the hook, it would be chased away by the hook. Only when a big fish of a certain size came would Zhou Ye try to get it to bite the hook. If he could catch one, he would have an extra meal for dinner. If he couldn't catch one, it didn't matter.

But Bai Xiaosheng didn't know that. He only knew that Zhou Ye, frustrated by his failure to catch any fish, jumped into the water to try and catch some, and that his clothes were stolen by Sikong Zhaixing, who happened to be passing by.

Therefore, he assumed that Zhou Ye was just a fisherman.

As for whether Zhou Ye saw through his own identity—Bai Xiaosheng believes he did, and then used fish to communicate:

Sharing some fish equals sharing some profits.

Zhou Ye thought the fish was too small, but Bai Xiaosheng interpreted this as him looking down on such a small amount of profit.

Then the question was about what kind of fish to fish for, which was essentially asking Zhou Ye what he wanted.

Zhou Ye's answer, "The bigger the better," was interpreted by Bai Xiaosheng as an attempt to get him to show sincerity.

As the most intelligent person in the martial arts world, Bai Xiaosheng was in a bit of a dilemma. Should he promise the position of Dragon Head? But the current Dragon Head is Gongzi Yu, and the Second Dragon Head is himself. If he were to give up the position of Second Dragon Head, the other party might not be interested, and it would not be conducive to his control of the Azure Dragon Society's grand strategy.

But if he were to relinquish the position of the Great Dragon Head—he's currently quite comfortable with Gongzi Yu, and if he were to switch places now—he wouldn't be confident in controlling Zhou Ye and making him obey his orders.

This put him in a difficult position.

And what about Zhou Ye?

He did recognize the old man; he was Bai Xiaosheng, the one who compiled the Weapon Ranking. Others saw him as the wisest man in the world, but in his eyes, he was just the biggest troublemaker.

In Zhou Ye's view, it was his actions against Zhu Wushi that were noticed by the Azure Dragon Society, which then sent this old man to negotiate.

Can we talk?

Of course, they can't talk about it; he has no reason to give the Azure Dragon Society that kind of face!

Just then, Zhou Ye heard Bai Xiaosheng sigh deeply: "Alas—Patriarch Zhou, let's be frank. What do you want in return for letting Shangguan Jin Hong go? You probably know that Chief Shangguan has no intention of doing anything to you."

Zhou Ye: ————

Well, I overestimated the Azure Dragon Society—I thought they were here for Zhu Wushi, but now it seems they're here for Shangguan Jin Hong.

It must have happened at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain.

"I haven't been too concerned about his affairs. Since you're here, I'll give you face and let him see if he can pay some compensation."

.

Bai Xiaosheng was stunned. He hadn't expected Zhou Ye to be so easy to talk to, and that things would be so simple, requiring only some compensation.

Not daring to ask any further questions, he readily agreed: "Thank you for your generosity, Patriarch Zhou. I will pass on the message to Chief Shangguan. I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell."

Bai Xiaosheng is gone. How he relays the message to Shangguan Jin Hong is none of my business. But Zhou Ye has no interest in fishing anymore: "What's going on? One just left and another one comes. Are you guys never going to stop?"