Reincarnation?

Zhao Sheng's thoughts raced, and in an instant he connected even more possibilities. There was likely more than treasure here—the little town probably concealed an even greater secret.

He raised his head to observe the others' expressions. Sure enough, several of them looked unsettled. It seemed some had already thought of this as well.

The room fell silent at once, but the Middle-aged Woodcutter soon broke it.

"It is pointless for me to wait here. I shall take my leave first. Should I make any new discoveries in the future, I will share them with my fellow Daoists. Farewell!" The Middle-aged Woodcutter clasped his hands to the crowd, then left the room without looking back.

With someone taking the lead, the people, each harboring their own schemes, all found excuses to leave.

Before long, only Zhao Sheng and the Middle-aged Scholar remained in the room.

Zhao Sheng walked to the window, opened it a crack, and peered outside through the gap.

After watching for a while, he calmly turned and returned to the table to sit down.

The Middle-aged Scholar poured him a cup of tea and asked blandly, "Well?"

"Just as you and I expected, someone is indeed watching from outside. But they are not the real mastermind, merely a few street thugs." Zhao Sheng took a sip of tea and spoke evenly.

The Middle-aged Scholar said in a grave voice, "In that case, that person must have considerable influence, and likely belongs to the fighting trade."

"Or perhaps he is with the authorities, or makes his living on the docks."

The two seemed to be fencing with words, but their meaning was quite easy to understand.

That "person" was another fellow traveler. He had simply chosen not to reveal himself and was instead watching in secret.

Even before