The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

"The year I joined the group, he took me to a fourth-level sealed ruin. There were three layers of guards, two spatial locks, and a gatekeeper monster. He took care of everything in less than ten minutes."

"later?"

Baihu did not directly address this question.

He stood up from the windowsill, walked back to the chair and sat down, the chair dragging a short distance on the floor with a short thud.

"Later, the old man felt he had done enough and was tired of it, so he decided it was time to stop."

The white tiger rested its hands on the armrests, its posture relaxed.

"He stole things his whole life, but there was one bottom line he never crossed."

"What's the bottom line?"

"Don't touch living people."

Baihu looked at Chen Guan and spoke very bluntly.

"Stealing is allowed, stealing relics is allowed, stealing treasures is allowed, but no kidnapping, no killing, and no using living people as bargaining chips."

"No one's life should be exchanged as a commodity; these are his exact words."

Chen Guan understood something from what he heard.

"You said the circus has gone astray."

"I haven't gotten to that point yet."

"No need to go that far, with so many bottom lines laid out beforehand, it's no surprise that someone crossed them later."

Baihu glanced at him for a few seconds. Chen Guan was much smarter than Long Ao, which was why he didn't go to the next dormitory to intercept Long Ao.

"You really don't know how to be polite at all."

He shook his head, not annoyed, and continued speaking.

"The old regimental commander died three years ago."

When Baihu uttered those four words, his tone was not much different from before, still that casual tone, but Chen Guan noticed that he tightened his grip on his hands slightly.

If Chen Guan hadn't been watching closely, he would hardly have noticed.

The White Tiger's heart is far from as carefree as it seems.

Chen Guan patiently continued, "How did you die?"

"He died of illness," Baihu said. "There's no dramatic reason. He just got old and his body couldn't take it anymore. The long-term high-intensity use of his mental abilities caused irreversible damage to his nervous system."

Baihu glanced at him and said, "You too, kid. Using superpowers too much can kill you. Be careful."

Then, without waiting for Chen Guan's reply, he changed the subject and began to get down to business: "He passed away peacefully, in the courtyard of his old home, sitting in a wicker chair, with a pot of unfinished tea in front of him."

"The tea had gone cold by the time I arrived."

Chen Guan didn't say anything to comfort him, and Bai Hu didn't seem to need any comforting words.

There was a few seconds of silence between the two of them. These few seconds were not awkward; they were just quiet.

The White Tiger spoke first.

"After the old man died, the rest of the circus members dispersed."

He resumed his previous tone of voice.

"The organization had already disbanded, and people had either left or retired, so there shouldn't have been any further activity."

"Logically speaking," Chen Guan added.

"You used the phrase 'Logically speaking' well, which means you guessed what would happen next."

The white tiger nodded, no longer keeping the audience in suspense: "Yes, logically it shouldn't, but there are just some people who won't let it disappear quietly."

He stood up, took a few steps, and paced back and forth in the cramped dormitory space.

Six months ago, I received a message.

"What news?"

"Someone is re-establishing their activities under the name of The Thieves Circus."

The white tiger stopped and turned around.

"At first I thought it was some reckless little gang trying to ride on someone else's fame. This kind of thing is not uncommon in the gray area. It's too common to do petty theft under someone else's name. I didn't pay any attention to it at first."

"but?"

"But then I realized something was wrong." White Tiger stretched out his hand, spreading his five fingers: "Within five months, the new circus has made a move on three ancient ruins."

He withdrew one finger.

"For the first time, the Dragon's Backbone Ruins in the South China Sea stole a secret treasure that had not yet been fully appraised. The method was clean and efficient, without triggering any warnings."

Another one was retrieved.

"The second time, at the Sunset Tomb in the Western Regions, they broke through three layers of sealing arrays and went straight into the main tomb chamber. They copied the core inscriptions from the entire surface. After they finished copying, the tomb chamber collapsed, and the two sixth-level ability users who were guarding it died."

When Baihu retracted his third finger, he paused for a moment.

"The third one is an undisclosed site beneath the permafrost in the North. It's a high-level archive, and theoretically, only a few people within the Superpower Association know its location."

"They went in?"

"They went in," the White Tiger said. "Not only did they go in, but they also took something with them when they came out."

"What is it?"

Baihu walked to the window and opened it a crack. The wind blew in through the crack, causing the papers on the table to flip twice.

"A human body."

Chen Guan's fingers paused on his knee for a moment.

"Taking human remains from the ruins?"

Chen Guan was genuinely surprised; what could a human skeleton possibly be worth?

"Yes." The white tiger had its back to him, its voice carried on the wind: "It's not an ordinary body. According to the information I obtained, the body was extremely well preserved, and there are still residual fluctuations of supernatural power within it."

He turned around.

Do you know what this means?

"Does that mean the body wasn't dead?" Chen Guan said. At least according to his knowledge, once a person dies, everything dies with them.

"At least not entirely, they are the living dead." White Tiger walked back and sat down in his chair again. "And that's the problem."

"The old commander established a rule: never touch a living person."

"They touched it."

Baihu placed his hands on the armrests and leaned back.

"It's not just a collision. Ever since that incident in the Western Regions, there have been injuries and deaths on the scene. The new circus is completely different from the old man's."

"I will not allow anyone to misuse the name of the circus."

When Baihu said this, his attitude was very firm, which was completely different from his usual nonchalant attitude.

Clearly, he was serious; his past was a sacred place that he could not desecrate.

"I've found out the new circus's next target."

"You want me to stop them?"

Chen Guan discovered that Bai Hu tended to breathe heavily when he spoke, and that a quirky Hakimi needed a guiding subordinate.

"Intercept?" White Tiger shook his head: "I need you to infiltrate."

Sure enough, after Chen Guan reacted, Bai Hu began to provide crucial information.

Chen Guan looked at Bai Hu's face and asked another question.

"You want me, a member of the Returning Origin Group, to infiltrate the Stealing Heaven Circus?"

"Is there a problem?" Baihu shrugged. "Nobody recognizes your face over there, and nobody knows your identity in the Guiyuan Group. When it comes to infiltration and disguise, you're much more suitable than me."

"Aren't you going?"

"If I go, someone inside will recognize me."