A chance encounter

A gust of cold wind blew in through the gap in the courtyard wall.

The atmosphere froze at once. Everyone was waiting for Chen Yiming's decision.

Chen Yiming also felt that if he stayed silent any longer, things would spiral out of control.

He had only wanted to take on a mission to earn some extra money. He had no other intentions whatsoever. Chen Shaojie's wild speculation was ruining his reputation.

"Shaojie, you need to know when to stop."

Chen Yiming rolled his eyes at him in warning.

Then he crouched down and tied the cash they had looted into a bundle with a thin cord. It looked to be just under fifty thousand, and he stuffed all of it into his pocket.

He also put the two booklets into a bag and asked He Chunping to hold them for now. Neither booklet contained sword techniques, so they were of little use to him. He planned to sell them when he had the chance.

Finally, he gave the dagger to Chen Shaojie to defend himself with for the time being, telling him to return it later.

Dong Fen sighed in relief at Chen Yiming's words. With so many people around, this was hardly a private setting. But her relief was soon replaced by anxiety.

Sometimes, a moment's hesitation could reveal someone's true thoughts, instantly cracking the trust built up over years of marriage.

Both of them were robbers, hardly decent people. Murder and plunder were their usual business. Dong Fen feared that her husband would be unable to let go of this thorn in his heart and settle the score with her later.

Making up her mind, Dong Fen suddenly let go of him and sprang to her feet. She walked over to Chen Yiming in a few quick steps.

"My husband and I have some things hidden east of the village, including maps the Red Moon Stronghold drew up over many years. Would you be interested?"

Maps were often worth more than ordinary mutated beast meat or weapons. The various factions would not share them freely, so even money could not buy them.

Zhao Baolong's internal injuries had already worsened. Dropped onto the ground again, he howled in pain.

Chen Yiming glanced at the woman before him without answering right away. He had no idea why she was suddenly offering up everything they had. Was she plotting something, or was there another reason?

"There's also plenty of dried mutated beast meat. You can have all of it."

Seeing Chen Yiming respond with silence again, Dong Fen could only sweeten the offer to avert trouble down the road.

Chen Yiming suddenly remembered that he still had to go to his part-time job at the Libei Martial Arts Training Center later, so he agreed.

Chen Yiming sent He Chunping to fetch Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin. Dong Fen refused to support Zhao Baolong, so he had to assign Chen Shaojie to the task.

Soon, once everyone had gathered, Dong Fen led the group toward the hidden stash east of the village.

East of the village, there was a patch of overgrown weeds beside the road.

Four burly men lay flat on the ground, surrounded by discarded tires, seats, frames, and other junk.

Between the darkness, the weeds, and the rubbish, no one looking from a distance could tell there were people hiding there unless they came close.

Chen Yiming's group took the main road outside the village and circled around to its eastern side.

Everyone chatted and laughed along the way, clearly pleased with what they had gained from their first mission.

Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin, in particular, had earned their share of the reward without doing much of anything. To make up for it, they stuck close to Chen Yiming and showered him with flattery the whole way.

Walking at the front, Dong Fen brought the group to a stop not far from the overgrown patch.

"Sir, the stash is near those weeds up ahead."

Dong Fen raised her hand and pointed toward the four burly men's hiding place as she spoke to Chen Yiming.

More junk had accumulated among the weeds since Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen had hidden their things there, making the spot even more concealed.

"The rest of you wait here. Dong Fen and I will go over."

Chen Yiming gave the instruction to Chen Shaojie, He Chunping, and the others beside him.

Even if there was a trap, he figured his strength would let him handle it without much trouble. The others in the group might not be able to withstand it.

Meanwhile, in the weeds.

None of the four dared look directly at Chen Yiming's group, so they missed Dong Fen pointing out their direction to him.

"Boss, what do we do? It's that City Patrol bunch from tonight."

Cold sweat broke out on Ye Changrong's forehead. Suddenly feeling the urge to urinate, he could not help whispering.

He had seen Zhao Baolong sent flying by a single punch and had no confidence in their leader, the strongest of the four brothers, who had undergone the second body metamorphosis.

Lu Jinyi ignored him and remained motionless on the ground, though fury was already blazing in his heart.

Ye Changrong, the youngest, had brought back faulty information, and now he was causing more trouble. If the situation had allowed it, Lu Jinyi would have strangled him on the spot.

Jiang Yisheng, the second brother, and Han Jingfei, the third, also broke into cold sweats at Ye Changrong's behavior.

They cursed him inwardly. He was worse than useless, always dragging them down at critical moments.

Fortunately, a car happened to approach from the distance. Its driver honked to tell the pedestrians on the road to move aside, drowning out Ye Changrong's voice.

That gave the men lying in the weeds a moment to breathe, keeping them from turning tail and fleeing immediately.

By the roadside, Chen Yiming looked casual and relaxed, but his attention kept drifting over the weeds, guarding against any trap Dong Fen might have laid.

Though Ye Changrong's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's wings, it still caught Chen Yiming's attention.

So someone's lying in ambush.

Chen Yiming believed he had seen through Dong Fen's plan, and the last trace of worry vanished from his heart.

Whether Dong Fen wanted to seize the chance to escape or join forces with her remaining accomplices against him, he could simply go all out. He might just lose part of the bounty in the process.

Dong Fen walked ahead, with Chen Yiming following behind. They stepped off the concrete road onto the grass, heading in a direction that did not quite line up with the four men's hiding place.

Dong Fen approached the corner of a house and pulled aside the weeds. Producing a small knife from somewhere on her body, she made several cuts in the earthen wall and broke away the surface soil, revealing a sloping passage the size of a dog hole.

Standing beside her, Chen Yiming took a look in the moonlight.

At the same time, he grew even warier of Dong Fen and her kind. Women were all lying scoundrels. I can't just assume she has no sharp weapons left.

The underground space was small, roughly a meter long and wide and less than half a meter high. Three sacks filled it completely.

Without another word, Dong Fen crawled inside and dragged out all the sacks. Then she untied them so Chen Yiming could inspect their contents.

"The three bags contain maps, dried mutated beast meat, and medicine for injuries and illnesses."

Dong Fen pointed at the open sacks and turned to explain.

Then she bent over, took a few small bottles from the sack of medicine, and slipped them into her pocket before continuing.

"I only want a little for my own use. You can have the rest."

"All right. Let's go."

Chen Yiming retied the sacks, grabbed all three with one hand, and swung them over his shoulder before retracing their route.

Along the way, Chen Yiming was puzzled. One of his hands was occupied with the sacks, and his back was turned to the people lying in ambush, yet they still had not attacked.

What had gone wrong? He had never agreed to let Dong Fen go. There was no reason for her to hand over everything she owned so easily.