Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 317 Changes
In the darkness of night, everything falls silent, and the forest is especially tranquil.

The dilapidated and lifeless courtyard in front of Jiang Xian and the other two exuded a desolate feeling that was indescribable, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

At this moment, Jiang Xian and the other two looked at the seemingly uninhabited courtyard not far in front of them, each with their own thoughts.

The most anxious person right now is none other than Guard Li.

With Guard Liu not by his side, Guard Li had been on many missions on his own, but these were mostly matters that could be easily resolved with force, so there was no need to worry too much about the details.

Therefore, he was quite nervous as he faced this situation alone.

He himself was fine; he had a rather carefree personality, which also shaped his somewhat fearless nature, making him less likely to hesitate when doing things.

However, Jiang Xian is by his side now. As the only young lady of the Jiang family, if he cannot protect Jiang Xian and bring her back to the Jiang family safely, he will definitely not be able to explain himself to the Jiang family.

If Jiang Xian is injured on this trip, even Guard Liu, who came out of Yingzhou with Guard Li, will be implicated by Guard Li.

So, he was actually getting a little impatient looking at the scene before him.

He was undecided, wondering whether it would be safer for him to stay far away from Jiang Xian or to stay close to Jiang Xian and go to that courtyard with him.

However, looking at the core of the group, their state was completely different from that of Li Huwei.

The core leader's behavior was clearly not in line with what he actually thought.

His feigned pain, fear, and uncertainty, along with his deliberately poor condition, were all disguises to prevent Jiang Xian and Guard Li from seeing through his act.

He appeared somewhat panicked and unsettled, but his panic seemed a bit excessive.

His initial discomfort was gone, and even if he tried to act it out, his true state of mind was hard to fool.

Unless he can stay on high alert at all times, once he relaxes his guard, he can easily revert to his own feelings and will not be able to properly express the unpleasant state he was in before.

Moreover, the leader was currently very excited, his excitement was about to burst forth, but he couldn't tell the two people beside him.

He didn't know where he got this power that allowed him to recover almost instantly; he felt that even the heavens were helping him.

Therefore, the excitement he felt was difficult to suppress, which naturally led to the various senses of disconnect he exhibited.

On his face, he still seemed to be immersed in the unbearable nausea he had just experienced, but in his heart, he was already overjoyed.

The leader looked left and right nervously at Jiang Xian and Li Huwei, afraid of revealing even the slightest flaw.

Meanwhile, Guard Li was preoccupied with keeping a close eye on Jiang Xian, his eyes fixed on Jiang Xian's side, afraid of missing any potential danger to Jiang Xian.

However, there was one person whose face showed no emotion whatsoever, and that face belonged to the hooded man.

The entire forest was completely quiet, with only the rustling sounds of branches and leaves rubbing and sliding.

In the forest, where there was not even a breeze, there were some rustling sounds that were sometimes rapid and sometimes sparse, which were very likely the work of some small animal.

However, even quieter than the atmosphere in the woods belonged to Jiang Xian and his two companions.

The three of them seemed to have their own thoughts and concerns, and each had their own goals to focus on.

The leader carefully watched Jiang Xian and Guard Li, while Guard Li kept a close eye on Jiang Xian, and Jiang Xian was seriously observing the somewhat desolate and eerie courtyard in the distance.

She seemed determined to see a hole right through the courtyard, and naturally, she was trying to guess what was inside.

But Guard Li didn't think about it that much.

He knew that he only needed to follow Jiang Xian's orders.

As for himself, his only responsibility was to protect Jiang Xian.

Therefore, all he needed to do was keep his eyes glued to Jiang Xian and pay close attention to Jiang Xian's movements at all times.

His most important task right now is to concentrate and protect Jiang Xian by immediately shielding him when danger strikes.

The leader, of course, didn't care about the situation inside that desolate courtyard in the distance, because he knew very well what the scene inside that courtyard was like.

Although he didn't come here often, he had seen this situation many times before, and since the people here were his own, he had nothing to worry about.

If there's anything that could make the leader hesitate, it's the boss he personally killed before.

There is a steward in this courtyard, and the steward was personally placed here by his boss. Therefore, according to the leader's speculation, the person who can be safely out of his sight must be someone he trusts enough.

When the core leader was brought back "home" by his boss, he learned of the existence of such a person as he began to work for his boss for the first time.

Later, as his boss increasingly delegated tasks to the key figure, the key figure was indeed able to directly contact the steward, who was now the person in the house before him.

Therefore, even before the core leader was by his boss's side, that person had already been working for his boss before the core leader.

He didn't know what kind of relationship the person inside had with his boss, but he did know one thing: the person inside the courtyard was definitely one of his boss's confidants.

The people inside might even hold a higher position in their boss's eyes than the pillar.

So, after recovering, although he was excited, he gradually came to his senses as time went on. He knew that once inside, he absolutely had to be careful. Taking the horses was a minor matter; if it aroused the suspicion of those inside, things would spiral out of control.

Therefore, when he finally met the people, he naturally wouldn't tell them everything in the courtyard.

He understood that once the people inside realized that Jiang Xian and Guard Li were not on their side, they would likely do everything in their power to help him.

However, if either of Jiang Xian and Li Huwei were to find an opening before they dealt with them, and reveal that he had personally killed his boss, then he would not fare well.

The people inside the compound couldn't find his leader, and the seeds of suspicion were sown in their hearts. If they encountered the other teammates, he would be unable to defend himself, and his fate might be worse than being given a quick death.

Therefore, at this moment, although he was unwilling, he could only passively stand on the same side as Jiang Xian, not revealing Jiang Xian's situation, nor allowing Jiang Xian and Guard Li to expose his affairs.

Even if he were confident that he could work with the people inside to kill Jiang Xian and Li Huwei before they could expose his secrets, he would never consider doing so.

Firstly, although he had met the people inside quite a few times, they were definitely not close.

The steward in the courtyard in front always had a cold face, and it seemed that no one could get close to him, let alone befriend him.

He had only ever seen the steward's expression soften slightly when he was with his boss; however, the steward in the courtyard had never given anyone else a friendly look.

Therefore, the core leader understands that regardless of whether the person inside is naturally like that or has experienced something that caused their personality to change drastically, if a person closes their heart, then no matter how many good ideas and schemes they have to painstakingly approach someone, they will not get good results.

Therefore, after he realized this, he stopped pressuring the matter and gave up trying to win over the manager. He simply did what needed to be done, saying nothing more and refusing to waste any more time or effort on it.

He knew that even with less support, he couldn't afford to cause any negative consequences due to his attempts to win people over.

That would be like lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot, an outcome that would have been absolutely unacceptable to him in the past.

Since he couldn't leave, he still had to rely on his own team to make a living.

Therefore, he would naturally not easily overturn himself and the chessboard.

Of course, all of this happened after the truth about the rumors came to light.

Before the rumors started, he never thought of dismantling his boss's power and then vying for power with him.

Later, since he couldn't leave, he rallied his spirits and decided to fight for power with his boss.

This team is what it is today because of his presence. Without him, this team would have messed things up many times over and would have fallen into the hands of others long ago.

If things had gone wrong, they would inevitably have been discovered. At that point, their team would either have been punished by the authorities in charge, or they would have been wiped out completely, leaving no trace. They would never have gotten to where they are today.

Before he joined the team, he did mostly petty things, such as theft and burglary. Even when he robbed, he would target the weak.

These were all minor incidents, and it would never have come to the point where they could focus solely on wealthy families.

Of course, it's not to say that their team hadn't tried to rob big fish before he took charge, but they always managed to escape by sheer luck.

Since they escaped by sheer luck, it means that their team didn't manage to steal much from those big fish. Just keeping their lives was a pretty good result, let alone getting anything of value.

An occasional good item is not enough to sustain the team's expenses in the long run.

There are mouths to feed in the group, so relying on luck to rob a rich person won't work. You need to have a deep understanding and plan to increase the probability of success. Even if it ends in failure, at least you won't die.

Therefore, before the core leader started planning for the team, many teammates died, and he didn't get any substantial rewards. On the contrary, it was more profitable to rob those who were alone or weak, and to raid those small and insignificant households.

It was precisely because the core leader observed this trend within the team, and because he found the oppressive atmosphere within the team suffocating, that during that period, their team wanted to leap to a higher level, but their abilities were neither up to par nor sufficient.

Not only did he fail to achieve this vision, but his teammates often went and never returned, which made his boss and the team members very uneasy. The team was in a state of panic, and everyone wanted to make some quick money, but they didn't want to lose their lives with their boss one day.

The core leader seized that opportunity and began to help the team. He helped his leader solve problems when the team was in trouble, and the team began to overcome difficulties time and time again. As a result, he gained the trust of his leader and the admiration of his teammates.

That's why his team grew stronger and stronger.

In short, whether he was at the helm or not, his team had done countless bad things, but because the team members weren't very bright, many of their efforts failed.

Therefore, he believes that the team has reached its current position thanks in no small part to his own significant contributions.

Therefore, after realizing that he could not leave the team, he abandoned his original idea and began to plan to dismantle the strength of his boss's team, swallow it up, and turn it all into his own power.

At first, he just wanted to escape, to leave this disgusting place and his teammates who made him feel nauseous, but later, he stopped thinking that way.

His mind became increasingly clear, his thoughts increasingly rational, and even his heart increasingly cold. Thus, he began to make his next plan.

However, he did not expect to encounter Jiang Xian and his group of three.

If he hadn't encountered it, he probably would have acted according to his own plan.

That's why he didn't hesitate to take action against his boss when he found an opportunity today.

That was definitely not something done on a whim; it was something he had been thinking about for a long time, but he just couldn't find the right opportunity. He had wanted to do it for a long time, and it was only a matter of time before he got the chance.

Therefore, he and the steward in the courtyard are definitely not on the same page.

(End of this chapter)