Chapter 108: Definite News

"This trip had a decent harvest; it can be considered not a wasted effort," Lu Yu pondered to himself.

Recalling yesterday, he had initially treated the old man with sincerity, yet he had still underestimated the extent of that old man's cunning. The other party not only showed no appreciation at all but was instead entirely focused on digging a pit for him.

If he had come a few days later, he likely would have repeated the same mistake. Given that old man's temperament, if one out of ten Secret Manuals were real, it would be considered an act of great mercy on his part.

However, after the maneuvering just now, he was at least confident he could obtain three Secret Manuals in a few days: the Thirteen Taibao Hard Qigong, the Golden Bell Shield, and the Secret Manual for enhancing Mental Power that he had been dreaming of.

If the old man could take out one or two extra Secret Manuals, that would be a huge profit.

Of course, this was just his optimistic assumption. After all, that old man might just welsh on the deal, acting one way to his face and another behind his back.

If he really encountered such a situation, he couldn't think of a good solution for the moment; he couldn't exactly force a sale, could he?

"I hope that old man can be a bit smarter; cooperation is beneficial for both sides," Lu Yu thought as he walked, and before he knew it, he had reached the vicinity of the city gate. Not far ahead was that ten-meter-high city wall.

That guy named Su Chungui was still standing on the city wall, his back to Lu Yu, wondering about something. Seeing this, Lu Yu immediately felt a headache coming on.

He couldn't really waste an entire day here, could he? Besides, walking along the way, there were people everywhere; trying to find a moment when the other party was alone was truly as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Feeling frustrated, Lu Yu found a small stall by the road, spent two or three yuan to buy a book, and then sat down by the roadside.

He pretended to read the book, while actually observing Su Chungui's every move in secret.

Time slipped away inadvertently. He didn't know how much time had passed when Lu Yu suddenly felt his stomach growling with hunger.

He looked up and realized it was already noon.

"Let's find a place to eat something first; Dad and Wang Shu and the others must be worried about me right now," Lu Yu stood up helplessly.

He really didn't want to waste time here; just taking this morning's time, if he had used it to practice Basic Archery, improving by two levels would certainly have been a sure thing.

"Hm?" Lu Yu subconsciously glanced at the city wall, and his expression changed slightly in an instant.

He saw that most of the guards on duty on the city wall had come down and were eating their meals. This was normal; after all, people are like iron and food is like steel—everyone has to eat.

However, what he didn't expect was that Su Chungui actually smiled and waved at the people around him, then took two boxes of food and walked toward him all alone.

Lu Yu's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily. What was this situation? Why wasn't he sitting and eating with the others, and what was he doing walking over here?

Could it be that heaven truly does not disappoint those who are determined, and after waiting for so long, the opportunity had finally arrived?

He saw Su Chungui walking closer and closer, looking to be in quite a good mood, humming a little tune while looking around from time to time.

Lu Yu hurriedly lowered his head, pretending to be immersed in the book.

Soon, he felt a gaze sweep over him, followed by footsteps getting closer, and then gradually fading away.

Lu Yu slowly raised his head, watching Su Chungui's back.

When the distance between the two opened up to about ten meters, he closed the book and quietly followed.

Su Chungui crossed the main street, walked west all the way, and then turned into a small alley.

On both sides of the alley were residential buildings three or four stories high; there were also some street vendors here, but the level of bustle was far from comparable to the alley Lu Yu had visited before.

"Is that you, Xiao Gui? How come you're back so early today?" At a street stall, a vendor took the initiative to greet Su Chungui.

However, Su Chungui did not respond, and the vendor looked embarrassed.

This was no surprise; those who could enter the Guard Team were no ordinary characters, so naturally, they wouldn't look at these common folk.

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart; Lu Yu, following behind, frowned slightly.

In that case, was today a special situation? Could it be that he had taken a half-day off?

"Little brother, do you want to buy something?" The vendor asked enthusiastically upon seeing Lu Yu walk over. Lu Yu waved his hand and continued to follow Su Chungui forward.

People were passing by constantly along the way, and quite a few people took an extra look at Lu Yu.

After all, those who lived here, even if they hadn't spoken, must have crossed paths many times.

Everyone felt someone like Lu Yu, who was covering his face and carrying a long spear, was a bit unfamiliar.

However, no one cared too much; perhaps he was someone who had just moved in, or someone from another street looking for someone.

"This situation is a bit tricky." Lu Yu's expression grew increasingly ugly. It was clear that finding a suitable opportunity to strike was becoming more and more difficult.

Just then, Su Chungui in front arrived at a staircase; it looked like he was home.

Lu Yu dared not get any closer and quickly squatted down, pretending to tie his shoelaces.

Although this was his first time doing something like this, that was how it was always acted out in TV shows and movies.

He saw Su Chungui walk from the first floor to the second, and then up to the third.

Lu Yu watched helplessly as he walked to the door of the second unit counting from right to left and tapped on the door twice.

Soon, the door opened from the inside, Su Chungui walked in, and then closed the door behind him.

"What should I do?" Lu Yu stared at that door more than ten meters away, his brows tightly knitted into a "chuan" shape.

Up to now, he still hadn't figured out the most critical question, which was whether the other party knew their identities or not.

Wait here for him to come out? It seemed safe, but the result would likely be the same as before; he wouldn't be able to find an opportunity to strike on the road and could only watch him walk back to the city wall.

Then go over directly? That didn't seem like a good idea either.

"Forget it, I'll just go over and take a look; maybe I'll discover something." After thinking it over, Lu Yu finally decided to walk toward that door.

As the distance closed, all sorts of sounds entered Lu Yu's ears, and the closer he got, the clearer the sounds became.

"Is the soundproofing this bad?" Lu Yu muttered to himself in his heart.

However, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: could this be good news for him?

But he didn't dare to hold out too much hope; if Su Chungui didn't say anything after returning, just ate and went to sleep, or only talked about trivial household matters, then it would all be in vain.

Lu Yu walked up the stairs, and the sounds around him became increasingly loud.

Among them, a middle-aged couple seemed to be arguing endlessly about money.

Lu Yu reached the second floor and had just turned to go up to the third when a familiar voice entered his ears. Lu Yu's body jolted violently.

This was that guy's voice! He couldn't help but feel a surge of joy; he hadn't expected that just by walking here, he would be able to hear Su Chungui talking to someone else.

On one hand, this was thanks to the terrible soundproofing of this building, and on the other, it was related to his own Realm.

Lu Yu lightened his footsteps, continued to walk up, and simultaneously pricked up his ears, listening with full concentration.

Although Su Chungui's voice was much quieter than the others, he held his breath and maintained Concentration, still managing to barely hear the gist of it.

He hoped Heaven would bless him, allowing him to hear some key information.

……

On the table in the living room, several steaming hot meat dishes were laid out, the fragrance overflowing and making one's mouth water.

Several men in their twenties or thirties sat around the table, each with a wine glass in front of them filled with white spirits.

However, at this moment, the attention of the few was focused on Su Chungui, who had just opened the door and entered.

"Xiao Gui, you're here." Su Jie sat in the main seat, his face glowing with health, and beckoned to Su Chungui, saying: "Your Brother Lv and the others have a few questions they want to ask you; you must answer truthfully and are not allowed to lie."

"Brother Su, you're being too formal; we aren't interrogating a criminal," the square-faced man Lv Mingliang said with a smile.

"Exactly, Xiao Gui, don't be nervous." Another man's face was full of smiles, "As for the matter, your brother has already told us; we just have some questions we want to ask you. Don't overthink it, just say whatever you know."

"That's right, that's right." The remaining two also nodded in agreement.

Su Chungui looked at Su Jie, and Su Jie nodded slightly.

"Brother Lv," a simple and honest smile immediately appeared on Su Chungui's face, "feel free to ask whatever you want; I guarantee I will tell you everything I know without reservation."

"Good!" Lv Mingliang exchanged glances with the other three; clearly, among these few, his prestige was quite high.

"Come, Xiao Gui, sit here." Lv Mingliang pointed to the empty seat beside him and said with a smile: "Tell me, is it true that you saw with your own eyes that group of horse bandits outside, over thirty people, all shot dead by one person using a bow and arrow?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other three looked at Su Chungui in unison, their eyes narrowing slightly, staring intently at the changes in his expression.

"Brother Lv, it is absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes; there can be no mistake. Moreover, this morning, people who entered from outside the city also discovered the horse bandits' corpses and are all discussing who exactly killed them."

"If you don't believe me, you can go and inquire about it later; I guarantee you'll get the news very quickly." Su Chungui nodded vigorously.

After hearing this, the few nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good, then the next question: are you sure that group of people was from the Lu Family Stockade? Can you be certain?" Lv Mingliang put away his smile, his whole demeanor appearing somewhat serious, making one's hair stand on end.

Su Chungui couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, nodding as he said: "It was definitely the people from the Lu Family Stockade. If you don't believe me, you can also go and ask the others who were present at the time."

"We are asking you, not others." Lv Mingliang shook his head, "I will ask one more time: are you sure you didn't misidentify them?"

"Xiao Gui, if you misidentified them, and it turns out there are no such mounts in that Zhai as you described, that would be troublesome."

"That's right, Xiao Gui, if you misidentified them, just say so now; we'll act as if nothing happened and won't blame you."

"That's right, that's right." The remaining three spoke one after another.

Unknowingly, Su Chungui's back was already soaked with sweat. After all, these people were all Martial Artists at the Body Tempering Third Layer, while he was only at the Body Tempering First Layer; the pressure he was under was imaginable.

"Xiao Gui," Su Jie's voice sounded at the right moment, "just say it as it is. Your Brother Lv and the others have no ill intent; they just want to get some definitive information."

"That group of people," the appearance of Lu Guodong and the others surfaced in Su Chungui's mind, "I definitely did not misidentify them; it was that group from the Lu Family Stockade."

"Good!" Lv Mingliang slapped the table and said excitedly: "This is the answer I was waiting for."

"Hahahaha!" The other three all burst into laughter.

Su Jie also nodded with satisfaction. Although he knew in his heart that his younger brother would not lie to him, under the pressure of so many people, Su Chungui remained firm in his words, which undoubtedly further confirmed the authenticity of the matter.

"Xiao Gui, don't be nervous. Come, have a drink to calm your nerves." The man beside him smiled, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Su Chungui.

Su Chungui wiped the sweat from his forehead, took the wine glass, took a light sip, then looked at Su Jie and asked cautiously: "Big Brother, when are we moving? Is it this afternoon?"

Su Jie nodded slightly and said: "To be precise, it's tonight."

"That's right." Lv Mingliang narrowed his eyes and said: "Xiao Gui, you said that fellow saw you observing him; he will definitely be on guard after returning."

"If we go during the day, it's easy for them to spot us with a Telescope, and if that expert archer is still there, the situation will be a bit tricky."

"That's right." The man who handed the wine to Su Chungui frowned and said: "That fellow's archery is too accurate. If we engage in a long-range shootout, with our Rifles, we might not necessarily be able to do anything to him. If we had a Sniper rifle, that would be much better."

"A Sniper rifle is too expensive." Another person said helplessly: "A slightly inferior Sniper rifle costs tens of thousands, and a better one costs over a hundred thousand. If we had that much money, we would have gone to hunt Intermediate-level Fierce Beasts long ago."

"That's why we chose to move at night." Su Jie smiled triumphantly, "Even if they have night-vision equipment, seeing two or three hundred meters at night is the limit. At a distance of two or three hundred meters, one step on the gas pedal and we're there. By the time that person reacts and notifies the others, we'll have already climbed over the wall and had a big fight."

"That's right." The few all nodded with smiles, their eyes revealing naked greed.

Twenty Horned Horse Beasts—that's over a hundred thousand! Even if the Su brothers took a larger share, the four of them could still split over ten thousand each.

Making over ten thousand in one night—is there any way to make money faster than this?

Of course, this matter must be done in a Stealthy manner; otherwise, once word gets out, not only would their efforts be in vain, but they probably wouldn't be able to continue staying here.