Tomb Raider: The man is in the Nine Gates, but the system insists it's the Primordial Era.

In the brightly lit basement of the Liu family home.

An elderly man, whose back was etched with lines due to his advanced age, led the middle-aged head of the household behind him to a mural. He was holding a lamp and a candle.

The mural depicts five people with long braids, wearing long robes, with their backs to the viewer, facing an altar with a statue of Guan Yu, swearing a blood oath of brotherhood, and holding incense sticks.

No.

Not five.

Because in the mural, there is an obvious empty space in the middle of the five people standing.

The empty space was smeared with a sharp object and destroyed.

The middle-aged man named Liu Yiming looked at the mural in front of him and suddenly spoke up: "You mean that person, who said there's another faction among our Five Gates? And he even knows it's called the Purple Gate, Old Master?"

The man behind him bowed and nodded, not daring to say anything more.

"Cough cough."

Liu Yiming coughed a few times, then muttered in a daze, "That Peng Sanbian didn't come to claim kinship, he came to take us away!"

"Master."

The man gritted his teeth: "That kid even mentioned Old Master Chao. Do you want him or not?"

Liu Yiming shook his head with a wry smile: "He is the future son-in-law of the Yi family, and also the future leader of our five families. What are you thinking? If you could really harm the Yi family, why would our five families be here?"

……

In front of the Crescent Hotel.

Qi Tiezui, who was abandoned here after getting off the bus, was indignant:

"Didn't that guy say he'd take us to his house to rest and wait for Master Buddha? Why did he just run off like that? Su Mu, did you say something wrong that made him angry?"

Su Mu was taken aback: "I don't know?"

Qi Tiezui turned around: "By the way, how did you know about this?"

Huo Xian'er also looked at Su Mu again at this moment, waiting for Su Mu to give an answer.

Su Mu composed himself, his eyes darting around, his lying skills becoming increasingly refined: "Last time I went on a long trip, and coincidentally, someone told me about things in Beiping. He was a refugee from Beiping who fled to our area."

Qi Tiezui: "That simple?"

Su Mu shrugged: "It's that simple."

Huo Xian'er repeated Qi Tiezui's words: "That simple?"

Su Mu then repeated, "It's that simple."

"Okay." The two nodded at the same time, seeing that Su Mu's expression was serious and he didn't seem to be lying.

Perhaps Su Mu was just that lucky?

"What are you all talking about? It's so lively." Er Yuehong and his wife walked over from the side, looking at the group with curiosity.

Qi Tiezui began to explain to Er Yuehong what had just happened in their car.

Su Mu lowered his head.

Who knew that guy would introduce himself like that? If he hadn't, with so many people in the world surnamed Liu, who would know who was who?

If Su Mu hadn't been present when that person introduced himself, perhaps the members of the Nine Gates would have gone with him, thus fulfilling the Liu family's welcoming ceremony.

Although this welcoming party seemed to be full of blatant collusion.

A discerning plum blossom...

Why choose such a name of all people...?

It's so familiar...

The group waited in place for a while.

The doorman at the Crescent Moon Hotel reported, "Third Master and Master have finished their discussion. You may all go in now."

The group entered.

Then they saw Zhang Qishan, the Buddha, sitting in a chair, frowning as if he were thinking about something.

Zhang Qishan sat in his seat, his eyes slightly vacant.

Qi Tiezui stepped forward, winking and saying in a mocking voice, "What's wrong, Master Buddha? Your identity has been exposed? Why did you still let us in? Do you want us to be buried with you? Waaah, how could I, Qi Tiezui, with my illustrious reputation, only have to know someone like you..."

Unlike before, Zhang Qishan shook his head and whispered, "No."

Zhang Qishan, who was impersonating Yi Xinyue's fiancé, learned about the Yi family's status and influence in Beiping after meeting with Master Yi, the owner of the Xinyue Hotel.

This is actually a family with a history of over two hundred years. Even the entry of the Sanqing Army into the pass could not hinder their development.

The underlying energy is beyond comprehension.

If he can take over the Crescent Hotel, Zhang Qishan's status and position will continue to rise, eventually leading him to a high position.

However, a marriage certificate alone is not enough to secure the Crescent Hotel.

Mr. Yi informed Zhang Qishan that there was a complete supply chain behind the operation of the Crescent Hotel.

There are five suppliers.

To take over the Crescent Hotel, these five companies must be subjugated.

Unfortunately, this submission was ineffective, as the other party was also a century-old family with considerable connections and influence.

"What is it that's causing you so much distress?"

Qi Tiezui scratched his head.

Er Yuehong raised an eyebrow: "The elixir we're looking for isn't at this auction?"

Zhang Qishan shook his head again: "No, not exactly."

"What is that?" Everyone was speechless.

Zhang Qishan regained his composure and forced a smile: "No, by the way, they said we can stay in the guest rooms here, and the auction starts tonight."

"Gentlemen, what brings you all here? This is quite a rare sight!"

"Please come in, gentlemen."

"Quickly inform the master, the five gentlemen from the five families have arrived!"

"Ah! All five of you are here?"

"Could it be that they heard news of the new son-in-law's arrival?"

"That's impossible. Those five people are too lazy to even leave their homes to see the master on a regular basis. How could someone from afar, who isn't even the son-in-law's person, possibly alarm them?"

"..."

Zhang Qishan frowned, seemingly guessing that the other party might have come to deliberately make things difficult for him, the fake son-in-law, so that the five families could live a more carefree and peaceful life in the future.

Qi Tiezui tugged at Su Mu's sleeve: "Why aren't you running? They're definitely coming to cause you trouble! Serves you right for being so talkative."

Su Mu shrugged: "In someone else's territory, do you think we can escape?"

Su Mu touched his nose, and roughly guessed why the other party had come with such a big fuss.

The Purple Gate's actions were extremely unethical and they had no standing in the martial arts world.

It also affected the other five families who had sworn brotherhood with it.

Moreover, if something really happens, he has already awakened the spatial divine power of the ancestral witch Dijiang of the witch clan. Although the teleportation distance is short, it is enough to make him disappear without anyone noticing.

In addition, he possesses the even more powerful and terrifying "Immortal Travel" Gu worm with spatial abilities.

I'm afraid he won't need to continue on the train; he can reach Changsha directly.

Moreover, these five families weren't really there to cause him trouble, as Qi Tiezui claimed.

"Why are all five old guys here? What's going on?"

Grandpa Yi, who was resting upstairs, was helped downstairs, looking puzzled.

"Has Master Yi eaten yet?"

"Greetings, Master Yi."

"Greetings, Master Yi."

The five people who entered greeted the owner of the New Moon Hotel one after another, and then their eyes fell directly on the unfamiliar Su Mu and his group.

The man behind the Liu family head whispered a few words in his ear.

The Liu family then shifted their attention to Su Mu in the crowd.

"Greetings, Third Master."

"No, that's the Third Master."

"You've all confused me. If this isn't Peng Sanbian, then who is?"

"Master Yi, you may not know this, but Third Master must have made two preparations along the way. He used his men to go under assumed names and hide among the common people to avoid any unnecessary dangers or crises."

"Third Master, you have excellent skills. It's just that my servant is blind and failed to recognize you."

"Indeed, how could Third Master tell his subordinates such an important matter without reason?"

"..."

Zhang Qishan, Er Yuehong, Qi Tiezui, Huo Xian'er, and Zhang family guards looked in astonishment at Su Mu, who had been mistaken for Peng Sanbian.

After entering, the five people surrounded Su Mu without saying a word and stated Su Mu's identity with certainty.

Su Mu looked at Zhang Qishan with a similarly bewildered expression.

He never said he was Peng Sanbian from beginning to end.

Second floor location.

A delicate, silvery tinkling sound rang out.

"Miss, Miss, we've mistaken you for someone else. That was the Third Master all along."

"Is he that young? He looks younger than me."

"Hehehe, miss, you don't understand. There's a saying that goes, 'A woman three years older than her husband is like holding a gold brick.' Aren't you that gold brick?"

"..."

After the five old men entered the room.

As soon as the man surnamed Liu spoke, he immediately began to ponder the events that had transpired earlier.

In the matter of the six gates of the Plum Blossom Sect, whoever controls them has the trump card to manipulate the other five.

Such an important matter would not be easily mentioned to subordinates or friends by the person in charge.

What if his subordinate or friend beats him to it?

Therefore, there is only one possibility.

Peng Sanbian was very clever, unlike the reckless man in the legend.

Therefore, Su Mu is the real Peng Sanbian, not Zhang Qishan who also seems somewhat shrewd. He is the one who casually mentioned "Mingyan Meihua" and the old master of the Purple Gate.

……

Northwest desert region.

Standing on an open-air platform with few people around, the burly man wearing a thick animal fur sweater couldn't help but sneeze.

He pinched his nose, sniffed, looked at the yellowish snot on his hand, and wiped it on his sweater without thinking. "Is this train delayed? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"

"What time is it now?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is almost Shenshi (3-5 PM)."

"..."

The burly man stretched out his palm, counted on his fingers, and began to do his own calculations.

"Zichou Yinmao, Mao, Mao, Mao..."

"Where did that cow's mooing come from?"

Peng Sanbian, who was somewhat confused by the calculation, scratched his head and looked around, searching for the cow's mooing sound that had never appeared.

The subordinate standing to the side grimaced and shook his head, knowing in his heart that this was their boss's usual way of rambling on about other things to ease his own embarrassment.

The real Peng Sanbian had no idea about intrigue, scheming, or deceit.

I've gotten to where I am today entirely thanks to fate and the brothers under my command.