Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

Several strangers were standing at my doorstep.

Lu Ming stopped and quietly reached for his bag.

There are some stones inside.

He didn't forget to practice on the way, so he naturally carried a lot of stones with him.

Quietly approaching Lu Chen, Lu Ming placed a few stones in his brother's hand, then led his younger sister Lu Tang back a few steps, warily watching the fat man and the burly men behind him.

The one in charge was Qian Gui.

Lu Chen waved his hand behind him: "Xiao Ming, Xiao Tang, you two go and talk to your second grandfather first."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming and Lu Tang turned and ran.

"Don't rush off, kid!"

Qian Gui sneered and waved behind him.

Two of the men immediately ran out and blocked Lu Ming and Lu Tang, their faces contorted with wicked grins.

Lu Tang was terrified, her eyes filled with fear, yet she remained stubbornly silent, standing with Lu Ming. She turned her head to look around, hoping to find some villagers to call for help.

Lu Ming clenched his fist, and the pebble in his hand was already covered with sweat.

Lu Chen turned to look at the two burly men, and seeing that they weren't violent, he smiled gently at Lu Ming and Lu Tang, "It's alright, just wait here for me a bit!"

Having said that, he took a few steps in front of Qian Gui and asked, "Who are you looking for, and what do you want?"

Qian Gui looked at the boy holding the book and gave a fake smile: "Young man, we are from the Green Bamboo Gang."

"I've already paid back the money. Didn't you all agree that once you paid it back, you wouldn't come looking for us again?" Lu Chen said, quite dissatisfied.

Qian Gui's face turned cold. He stopped the several men behind him who seemed somewhat displeased, and then smiled at Lu Chen, saying, "Young brother, we've come to inquire about the situation."

He continued, "A few days ago, Huang Chao from our Green Bamboo Gang brought back the bodies of Lu San and the others. He also had another mission at the time: to collect the money from you. You said you've already paid it back, but do you know where Huang Chao went?"

"Where did he go? How would I know?"

Lu Chen gripped the book in his hand tightly, softening his tone, "After I came back that afternoon, he came to ask me for money and even threatened me... I had to borrow money from someone to pay him back, and then he left. I don't know where he went! It was so late, I guess he went home."

Qian Gui frowned.

He went to the village to inquire and only learned that after Huang Chao brought the body back, he wandered around Lu Chen's door and even lay down to sleep at the village entrance. He heard from people that he hadn't seen him since.

"You said you paid back the money, so where's the IOU?" Qian Gui suddenly asked.

"The IOU is at home. You're not trying to take it back, are you?" Lu Chen was very wary.

Qian Gui's face twitched.

Damn it, why would I steal your IOU?

I even came all the way here to snatch your IOU just for those ten taels of silver.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who the hell is trying to steal your stuff? If they wanted to, would they need to waste their breath talking to you? Boss, why don't we just stop asking and beat this kid up? His younger siblings are still here, does he dare not to talk?"

A man roared angrily.

"Young man, we're just confirming, don't misunderstand!"

Qian Gui waved his hand and said to Lu Chen with a forced smile.

"Okay, then wait here for me!"

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged as he entered the house and found the IOU from back then.

Luckily, I didn't throw it away.

I glanced at it; there were no other marks on the IOU. I took it out and showed it to Qian Gui.

Qian Gui glanced at it; the IOU was clean and blank, with nothing on it. His eyes twitched slightly, but he quickly recovered and returned the IOU to Lu Chen with a smile.

"Since there's nothing wrong with the IOU, it seems Huang Chao must have been held up by something else. Sorry to bother you!"

Qian Gui turned and beckoned several of his men to leave.

His face looked rather pale.

"Brother Gui, are you not going to investigate anymore? Why did you leave?"

A man asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Shut up!" Qian Gui walked a few dozen meters away, then lowered his voice, "Hurry up! No, walk normally, don't let anyone notice anything unusual! Don't look back! Don't say anything, just walk normally!"

He felt a little cold.

But his forehead was covered in sweat, and he didn't dare to wipe it away.

Lu Chen was still standing at the door, watching Qian Gui walk away.

He frowned as he looked at the IOU.

What happened?

Why does this person seem a bit off after reading the IOU?

Is there anything wrong with the IOU?

There wasn't any blood on it, was there?

Lu Chen was unaware that a note would be written on the IOU when the money was paid off.

Different people use different symbols, which may be a simple cross or a circle.

The Green Bamboo Gang, for example, has its own unique mark: a crossed bamboo symbol drawn on the IOU.

There was nothing on Lu Chen's IOU.

However, the IOU was in Lu Chen's hands.

What this means is self-evident.

Qian Gui has always been rather timid, and when he does bad things, he likes to hide in the background and give advice.

Lu Chen looked harmless, holding a book in his hand, like a student, but Qian Gui never dared to underestimate anyone.

After discovering the anomaly, Qian Gui pretended that nothing had happened.

After leaving Qingshan Village for a few hundred meters, turning a corner, and completely losing sight of the village and the people behind him, he took off running.

"Run! That guy's suspicious. We have to get back and report to the boss right away!"

The men behind him looked at each other in bewilderment and then hurriedly started running after him.

"Brother Gui, what's going on? Why do you suddenly want to go back? What did you find out?"

Someone asked, puzzled.

"The IOU that kid gave me didn't have our Green Bamboo Gang's signature! That kid said he paid back the money, but he didn't at all. He probably snatched that IOU from Huang Chao!"

"Huh? Then we don't need to run, Brother Gui, right? There are five of us, and you're a Bronze Skin Realm martial artist. Even if that kid has problems, what are we afraid of?"

The other person asked as they ran.

"You don't know anything! Huang Chao just arrived here to collect debts, and Cheng Datou died in bed right after. If there's no connection, who would believe it? What a coincidence! Besides, so many things have happened in the gang these past few days; it's entirely possible that this guy was behind it. Aren't you afraid? Why don't you go and deal with him?"

Qian Gui was panting heavily. He turned around to look behind him and, seeing that no one was chasing him, he simply stopped and took a rest.

"No, I can't go on, I need to rest!" He was panting heavily.

Although he was a Bronze Skin Realm martial artist, he was rather fat, didn't fight much, preferred to use underhanded tactics from behind, and would pant when he ran.

"Hiss! Brother Gui, do you think he might have been behind those guys who fell into the latrine? It seems like it started with Lu San and his gang coming to collect debts, then they disappeared when they came back. Later, Huang Chao went to collect the debts, but he also disappeared. And then Cheng Datou..."

A man suddenly spoke up.

The others immediately felt a chill run down their spines.

"No, we can't stay here any longer, we have to leave right now!"

Qian Gui wiped his sweat, his scalp greasy, and turned to leave.

It was midday, and there were hardly any people on the road.

But they just felt a chill all over their bodies.

I always feel like someone is watching me from behind, it's creepy.