Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

After leaving the Jizo Temple in the Money Mound, their group went to the Flower Moon Hall, which is said to be famous for its pineapple buns.

Shen Mingchao bought five in one go, kept one for himself, and distributed the rest. When he handed them to Huo Daofu, the latter was clearly taken aback.

"This is for you."

This was a way of thanking Hordorff for helping her retrieve her earring.

Hodor didn't answer immediately. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the expressions of the three people behind the girl: gloomy? indifferent? warning? Perhaps all of the above, but none of them looked good.

Oh.

He readily does things that annoy others.

Hordorf reached out and took the pineapple bun, revealing a flawless, faint smile. "Thank you."

"Um... are you really a frying dough stick vendor?"

"What's wrong? You don't look like it?"

"Hmm..." Shen Mingchao didn't have a high or low opinion about professions, but Huo Daofu's temperament was outstanding, and he didn't seem to have anything to do with frying dough sticks at all.

There was no need to hide anything; she directly stated her thoughts: "I always feel that you are more suited to wearing a white coat and holding a scalpel."

Before Huo Daofu could reply, Hei Xiazi intervened, drawing Shen Mingchao's attention away.

"Ming Dynasty, you could tell at a glance he was a doctor, but how come you didn't realize I was blind too?"

There's a bittersweet feeling permeating the words.

Shen Mingchao knew that Hei Xiazi had studied in Germany and obtained master's degrees in both music and anatomy. Shen Mingyue had told her this more than once, and she remembered it very well.

Later, when she transmigrated into the book and met the real person, she hesitated about it many times.

Come on, this guy doesn't look like someone who plays music and uses a scalpel at all! He looks more like a formidable mob boss!

Finally, considering Hei Xiazi's feelings, she asked in an uncertain tone, "So, Mr. Hei, you're a doctor too?"

Black Bear raised his lips: "More or less."

"Oh." Shen Mingchao nodded and casually replied, "Then you two must have a lot in common."

"No, he's the one who saves people, while I'm good at dissections." Black Bear's voice was calm, as if he were saying that it was a sunny day.

Hordorff retorted, "Brother Black, all I can do now is fry dough sticks, I can't save people."

"..."

What kind of conversation is this? She didn't even bother asking!

The trip to Senso-ji Temple came to an end. Xie Yuchen wanted to book a restaurant for dinner, but Huo Daofu simply waved his phone and said that he knew a good Japanese restaurant, meaning he would treat them.

Even a fool could tell that this kid had ulterior motives, but the problem was that they couldn't openly refuse him.

After all, their relationship wasn't so bad that he wouldn't even give them the courtesy of a meal.

"Do you want to go?" Xie Yuchen asked Shen Mingchao in a low voice, only caring about one person's wishes.

"I'm fine with anything, it's up to you guys." Shen Mingchao felt that they were the ones he knew well, so he just went with the flow.

"Then we won't stand on ceremony."

Black Bear made the final decision, but his smile was somewhat creepy, as if he was about to bankrupt Hodor.

And that's exactly what happened. As soon as he got to the store, Hei Xiazi would pick out the most expensive items, ordering whichever was the most expensive.

Looking at the price list, Shen Mingchao felt a pang of pain in his eyes and whispered to Xie Yuchen, "Do these two have a grudge against each other?"

Xie Yuchen shook his head and said, "No."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the arrogant head of the Xie family casually ordered a plate of the most expensive sashimi.

Qi Qiu's voice followed: "Me too, thank you."

Shen Mingchao was dumbfounded by their actions.

Does this seem like there's no holiday going on? It feels like they're taking advantage of Hodov.

Well, it's best not to get too involved in the affairs of the Nine Gates. She should just eat in silence.

After she had eaten and drunk her fill, Xie Yuchen gave her the money, telling her and Qi Qiu to take a taxi back to the hotel first.

Shen Mingchao roughly guessed that these people wanted to discuss private matters, so he readily took the money and left.

After the two left, the atmosphere in the room suddenly froze.

Hodor, swirling his wine glass in his hand, spoke first: "Gentlemen, please speak your minds. There's no need to hold back."

"You're following us on purpose, aren't you?" Xie Yuchen asked, but his tone was very certain.

"So what if it is?" Hordorff retorted.

"Hey kid, you're surprisingly arrogant." Black Bear played with his lighter and asked, "Why did you follow me? We're not that close."

Yes, why should we follow?

Hodorf took a sip of strong liquor and chuckled to himself.

He had heard some outrageous rumors earlier, and later, out of curiosity, he sought confirmation from the White Snake and the others, but they all stammered and he couldn't get any answers.

If he couldn't get an answer, so be it. Ever since leaving Gutongjing, he has lived a secluded life, oblivious to everything else.

Meeting these four people in Japan was truly a coincidence. When his fingers touched Shen Mingchao's, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. If it weren't for the residual warmth in his body, he would have thought he was hallucinating.

After finally regaining his senses, the bright lights on the lottery table caught his eye. He picked up the earring, turned around quickly, and spotted a beautiful figure in the crowd.

He thought this was an opportunity given to him by God to verify his beliefs.

The second contact occurred when he returned the earring; he deliberately touched the other person's palm with his fingertip.

Along with those outrageous images came an overwhelming heatwave.

Is this why the White Snake and others are so secretive? Is this the source of all the rumors flying around in the underworld?

Although Huo Daofu couldn't figure it out for a moment, it didn't stop him from maintaining his usual calm expression and negotiating with Xie Yuchen and the others. He even shamelessly followed them.

He is a very stubborn person, not a good person at all, extremely ambitious, and only interested in profit.

The "benefit" at present is clearly this naive girl who can radiate kindness even to someone like herself.

He could certainly see how much Xie Yuchen and the others cared about Shen Mingchao, and coupled with those half-true and half-false rumors, he quickly realized that Shen Mingchao was special.

In this treacherous circle, it seems that something has emerged that can affect the whole situation from the slightest touch.

It's been a long time since I've encountered something so interesting.

After a moment of reflection, Hordorf half-jokingly said, "You probably wouldn't believe me if I said it was beyond my control, would you?"

Upon hearing this, Black Bear paused in his hand, which he had been playing with. The lighter cap snapped back open with a sharp, piercing sound.

Black Bear sat up straight, exuding an imposing aura.

"Are you sure you want to say something that makes me want to flip over your fried dough stick stall?"

"You'd better tell the truth, or you'll be dealing with more than just the two of us," Xie Yuchen warned.

Ha, you reacted so strongly to a joke?

Hodorf sneered inwardly, but his face became serious; he really didn't want to antagonize these two.

"It's hard to explain why, but if I had to, I saw something I shouldn't have seen."

"Tsk."

Although there were some guesses, hearing Hordov say it himself gave Black Bear a headache.

How come the number of people involved keeps multiplying like a thread? Wu Xie said that even several members of the Zhang family have been dragged into it.

Damn it, how many are there already?

Xie Yuchen, standing to the side, was also rubbing his temples, lamenting that he had truly shot himself in the foot.

What a coincidence! The time he had forced upon himself had actually led to the meeting of Shen Mingchao and Huo Daofu!

Hordorff took in the expressions of the two men and knew that there must be more to the story.

He finally revealed the purpose of his invitation: "Now that things have come to this, gentlemen, could you please provide me with a reasonable explanation?"