Seventy years old is the age to take risks!

On his way back to the teahouse, Jiang Yuan pushed the wooden cart with the porridge buckets, the burly man's last words echoing repeatedly in his mind.

Beware of backstabbers around you?

Could it be Mashan?

Jiang Yuan's eyes gradually turned cold.

Having lived most of his life, he had seen all sorts of conspiracies and tricks. Ma Shan's behavior today was indeed abnormal; he clearly wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work!

If I hadn't awakened my cheat ability, I probably would have died here today.

However, how could a mere teahouse waiter like him hire thugs from the black market?

"What a fine Ma Shan."

Jiang Yuan muttered to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

This child has already found a way to die!

......

In front of the teahouse.

Meilan paced back and forth anxiously, occasionally tiptoeing to look out onto the street.

"Ma Shan, why hasn't Old Master Jiang returned yet? Could something have happened to him?"

Her eyes were slightly red, and her face was full of self-reproach.

I shouldn't have let Mr. Jiang go to distribute porridge. He's so old; what if something happened to him...?

"Don't worry, shopkeeper. Old Master Jiang is a lucky man and will be fine."

Ma Shan stood to the side, a simple and honest smile on his face, gently comforting her.

However, he secretly sneered.

It's good that something happened!

He spent a fortune to hire two black market thugs; even if that old man doesn't die, he'll be badly injured.

It would be better to just get killed!

Hehehe.

"But...it's been so long..."

Melanie remained uneasy.

"Shopkeeper, don't worry, shall I go and check again?"

Ma Shan said this, but his feet didn't move an inch.

Just then, an old but powerful voice came from the street corner:

"Shopkeeper, I'm back."

Mei Lan looked up abruptly and saw Jiang Yuan pushing a wooden cart with a porridge bucket, walking steadily towards her with a rosy complexion, showing no signs of injury whatsoever.

"Mr. Jiang!"

Mei Lan quickly went to meet him, looked him up and down, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was safe and sound.

"I'm so glad you're alright, I'm so glad you're alright."

"I just heard from Ma Shan that bandits are coming to cause trouble. It's all my fault for not thinking things through; I almost caused an accident for you..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, shopkeeper. I'm perfectly fine."

Jiang Yuan smiled and patted Mei Lan on the shoulder, but his gaze passed over her and landed on Ma Shan.

At this moment, Ma Shan's honest smile froze, replaced by undisguised shock and disbelief, an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

How is that possible?!

How could that old man be unharmed?

Could it be...

Could this old fellow really be a martial arts master?

impossible!

Those two must be incredibly useless!

Ma Shan's heart was in turmoil, but he quickly adjusted his expression and put on a smile to greet her:

"Mr. Jiang, you're finally back! I was just about to report you to the authorities!"

"Hehe, thanks to you."

Jiang Yuan looked at him with a half-smile, "Your shout really scared those two guys."

"Is...is that so?"

Ma Shan's smile became even more stiff, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

What exactly does the black market do?

Can't even handle an old man who's half-buried in the ground?

"Mr. Jiang, what exactly happened?" Mei Lan asked with concern.

"It's nothing, just two ignorant vagrants. I've already dealt with them."

Jiang Yuan remained nonchalant, as if nothing had happened.

The more this was the case, the more ominous a feeling arose in Ma Shan's heart.

What exactly did that old man do?

......

That night, the darkness was as black as ink.

Today is Jiang Yuan's 70th birthday. Mei Lan made a big bowl of longevity noodles and also prepared a simple meal, inviting the shop's staff to celebrate together.

Everyone was very happy, and each of them drank a little wine, toasting and laughing together.

For a moment, it felt like a real big family, and there was a sense of warmth.

At the dinner table, only Ma Shan's smile seemed somewhat stiff.

He really couldn't understand how Jiang Yuan had returned unharmed.

Could it be that the government officials just happened to arrive at that time?

He even suspected that Jiang Yuan's current behavior was actually a deliberate attempt to stall him, while in reality he had already secretly reported the matter to the authorities for investigation.

If that's the case, what if it's discovered that he arranged for those two people to cause trouble? Wouldn't he be arrested by the authorities?

Damn it, that old bastard deserves to die!

After a few rounds of drinks, Jiang Yuan claimed he couldn't hold his liquor and went to his room to rest early.

Watching Jiang Yuan's departing figure, Ma Shan's face turned completely gloomy.

At this moment, the lights in the backyard of the teahouse gradually went out.

Jiang Yuan lay on the bed, eyes closed, breathing evenly, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

It was approximately past midnight.

A series of extremely light footsteps sounded, approaching from afar, and finally stopped in front of Jiang Yuan's door.

Immediately afterwards, the bolt was slowly turned, making a soft "click" sound.

Jiang Yuan's lips curled slightly as he opened his eyes, revealing a clear and lucid gaze, devoid of any trace of drunkenness.

The next moment, the door was gently pushed open, and a dark figure flashed in.

It is Mashan!

He held a dagger in one hand and tiptoed to the bedside, his eyes flashing with a ruthless light.

"Old man, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Ma Shan lowered his voice and sneered, "Who told you to block my way?"

He has already made up his mind.

Tonight, while Jiang Yuan is drunk, we'll kill him and throw him into the well in the courtyard.

It's not surprising that an old man would slip and fall while drunk, is it?

"Go to hell!"

Ma Shan's face turned sinister as he raised his dagger and stabbed down fiercely!

But the next moment, he realized something was wrong.

The dagger pierced the bedding, but there was no sensation of it penetrating flesh.

He suddenly threw off the blanket, only to find two pillows and an old piece of clothing stuffed inside, but there was no sign of Jiang Yuan.

"not good!"

Ma Shan's expression changed drastically, and he turned to flee.

"Now that you're here, don't leave."

An aged voice sounded behind him, indifferent and cold.

Ma Shan turned around abruptly and saw that Jiang Yuan had already stood at the door, blocking the only way out.

The moonlight shone on his aged face, reflecting a pair of cold eyes.

"Young man, do you think you can outsmart this old man?"