After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

King Zhou of Han glanced at Jun Wenzhi, but actually agreed to his deliberately difficult suggestion.

At that moment, both of them felt that the other was courting death.

They then went into the private room and sat down.

Just hearing the name "sand" gives you a sense of its flavor.

Even the most lowly and insignificant thing is lower than a blade of grass.

It appears roughly inside your shoes, rubbing between your toes.

You can trample it under your feet, but it won't make things easy for you. You won't know the sand is still there until you've developed bright red blisters.

No one knows the background of "Sand". At first, he was just a homeless child without parents, who lived by begging.

A gang of thieves took a liking to his natural physique and offered him half a sesame seed cake in exchange for joining their gang. At that time, no one knew his name.

He was dull-witted, unable to write, and barely spoke. Everyone called him an idiot.

Fool, Sand, and from then on, "Sand" became his name. Even after he learned to read and write and became one of the four most famous assassins in the martial arts world, he never changed his name.

"Sand" continued to take on killings, killing all his previous accomplices. Those who recruited him later also met a terrible end. One group after another, new "brothers" were recruited by him because of his strength, and old "brothers" died under his blade.

After that, no one dared to plot against his martial arts skills, honed through countless bloody battles. So "Sand" went his own way, continuing his killing spree day after day.

Until one day, he disappeared without a trace, vanishing from the world of martial arts without notifying anyone.

Later, new rumors began to circulate, saying that the reason he retired was to get married and have children. At first, no one believed it. After all, he was "Sand," and who could have imagined that his barren, expressionless face could still reveal a trace of genuine human emotion? Who would believe that someone could truly move a heartless killer?

Today, however, it is your question that confirms all of this.

Han Zhou held a chess piece between his fingers, seemingly playing chess with Jun Wen, but in reality, his mind was racing with a jumble of thoughts.

Jun Wenzhi, who had been so confident, now had beads of sweat on his forehead.

He never imagined that this warrior could actually play chess. In fact, he... played better than him.

But the time is still far from coming.

Suddenly a noise came from outside the door. Jun Wenzhi turned around abruptly, but before that, Han Zhou had already raised his eyes without making a sound.

Remember? Martial arts masters can easily identify who someone is.

...How did that little girl get here?

Outside the window, a familiar, enormous shadow appeared in the sky.

...So that's how it is. The move he made beforehand actually worked on this little girl.

Just then, a young girl peeked in carrying a tea tray and entered the room. She turned to the side, lifted the curtain with one shoulder, and looked every bit like a waiter.

Her little face was flushed from the heat, a towel was wrapped around her neck in a proper manner, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on her forehead.

"Gentlemen," a clear voice said, "you ordered your tea."

Jun Wenzhi finally relaxed, though most of her thoughts were still on the chessboard. She just frowned and asked her to put the tea tray down.

The young girl seemed a bit clumsy, but her movements were still as nimble as possible. As she put down the tea tray, she happened to meet Han Zhou's gaze.

Blink your eyes gently.

The tea tray not only contained tea, but also some sweet and savory snacks.

Han Zhou picked up a preserved plum from the tea tray and suddenly asked, "Shopkeeper, are these plums sour or sweet?"

Did you come here on your own with some strange idea this time, or do you really need to see me?

Without blinking, the little girl sweetly replied, "It's probably sour. If it's left out for too long, it might turn sour and bitter."

If you linger here too long and don't go back, everything will be over.

Jun asked, pulling himself out of his thoughts from the chessboard, and looked at the little girl in surprise: How can you talk like that? Does this little helper still want to work in this shop?

"I see," Han Zhou's eyes flickered slightly, and he chuckled softly, "Then what kind of tea is this?"

What happened again?

"Tieguanyin".

Iron Calculation Gate.

A hint of coldness flickered in Han Zhou's eyes as he chuckled lightly, "I understand. You may leave."

The little girl looked disappointed, slowing down her every move and dawdling, unwilling to leave. It wasn't until Jun Wenzhi couldn't stand her dawdling any longer that he called her back and gave her some money as a reward.

Then he gave Han Zhou a mocking look: "These waiters have a hard life. Instructor Han is rolling in money, so you should loosen your belt a bit when necessary."

King Zhou of Han looked at Jun Wenzhi as if he were a fool.

Tang Li: ?

Tang Li came in with the intention of gathering information, and left with Jun Wenzhi's reward money.

She thought this was a good idea, since she was starving. So she wandered out, put her handkerchief back where it was, and happily took the tip money out of the restaurant to buy two pancakes.

When Han Zhou made an excuse to leave the private room, he saw Tang Li huddled in the dark alley behind Fengman Restaurant, with a huge figure standing next to her.

People were breaking pieces of bread, and birds were peeking over. People were taking bites and birds were taking bites, and they were eating happily.

Han Zhou: ...

Such a big bird, it just fluttered into the alley and no one noticed it?

His agility was superb; he and the bird ate with such complete absorption that Han Zhou sighed deeply, startling the two people in the alley.

"Tell me," Han Zhou gestured to Tang Li, "what exactly happened?"

Tang Li swallowed the biscuit in her mouth with difficulty, as if Jun Wenzhi's previous actions had opened some door for her, and she confidently stretched out her hand to Han Zhou: "This gentleman hasn't given me any reward money yet."

Han Zhou stared at the small hand and remained silent.

Tang Li said quietly, "I haven't eaten all day. This morning, that Manager Li even scolded me, saying I didn't deserve to sit at the table. If you 'Jie Bailing' can't afford to feed us, just say so. I went to all this trouble to find you on an empty stomach, and you weren't even in the courtyard..."

Han Zhou slapped two jiao of silver into Tang Li's hand.

Tang Li cheered up again and briefly explained the current situation to him.

Han Zhou sneered, "That's quite a coincidence."

He glanced back in Jun Wenzhi's direction: "Guess why I came here? The man I played chess with said he's holding 'Sand's' wife and children hostage in this restaurant, forcing 'Sand' to meet him. The meeting time is tonight at midnight."

Tang Li casually brushed the crumbs off her hands: "Isn't this just a diversionary tactic? By the time you get back, that young sect leader will already be dismembered."

"Not only that," Han Zhou chuckled, continuing, "he also hopes I can shield them from 'Sand's' retaliation."

"Sand had already retired for the sake of his wife and children, but they forcibly dragged him into this mess. Don't they understand? When Sand redeems his wife and children, it will be the day they are beheaded."

"But if they continue to detain the mother and daughter, forcing 'Sand' to finally lose her temper and become vicious, she will also face death."

"Whether we release them or not, they'll all die."

Han Zhou analyzed casually, his expression unmoved. He even took the opportunity to educate Tang Li, saying, "You see, if you don't have one or two superb skills, no matter how fast you can think, you're still just someone who can be easily manipulated."

Tang Li retorted expressionlessly, "What, is your 'sand' skill not hard enough?"

Han Zhou ignored her and continued, "Therefore, their only remaining method is to devise a plan involving that 'sand,' so that he will face a master of equal strength before he can pursue them."

Tang Li followed his train of thought: "They also need to make 'Sand' and this equally skilled expert become mortal enemies, causing them to perish together, so that they can be completely free of any worries."

So, how can you make "sand" form an irreconcilable feud with a specific person?

Han Zhou and Tang Li exchanged a glance.

Good news, Jun Wenzhi wasn't lying. The mother and child are currently hidden inside the restaurant.

The bad news is that their situation is probably not going to be good.

They will perish here before the "sand" can save them.

Who was the murderer who killed them? All the clues point to only one person: Han Zhou.

Tang Li burst out laughing: "You've finally met your match."

Han Zhou raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Since..." he seemed to omit some story of bloodshed, "very few people have dared to target me anymore."

The young man sighed softly.

"—I actually miss the way they did it."