Chapter 317 Planning a Big Score

How did inviting Di Gua Shao make this matter feel inexplicably unreliable?

Hu Ma shook his head, banishing the strange feeling. On closer thought, inviting Di Gua Shao was still necessary. Although she was audacious, she was very meticulous when it came to actually doing things.

And... her acting skills were pretty good when getting stabbed.

Of course, the most important reason was that she was a bieboren (treasure hunter), and definitely had experience dealing with those people.

Bieboren wasn't exactly a sect, just a profession in the world. People from every sect could become bieboren. Their hobby was wandering the landscape, stealing various treasures and spiritual objects, selling them for wealth, or refining them into magical artifacts.

With everyone in agreement, Hu Ma prepared for another day, carefully considering all the possible problems he could think of, making sure nothing was overlooked.

The success or failure of this matter, and whether things went smoothly in the future, all depended on this plan.

Now that they heard a bieboren was coming, they were all tempted, but the key was whether he could persuade these three guys tonight.

There was nothing else he could do…

The descendants of the Hu family were too lonely, but fortunately, the reincarnators weren't.

He'd managed to survive in this world thanks to these reincarnators. Now that it was a critical moment, with important needs to address, he naturally had to bring them along.

That evening, at the hour of Zi (11 PM - 1 AM), Hu Ma went to his natal spirit temple again. He focused his thoughts, connecting everyone together.

Looking at the three strands of his fate incense, passing through the dark red mist and connecting with the other three, he took a deep breath. He vaguely felt like he was seeing the Anzhou reincarnators' team-building event, and now he was following suit, organizing a team-building event in Mingzhou.

Of course, Mingzhou and Anzhou were different. Anzhou had Miss Red Wine as their backbone; with a single command, everyone cooperated.

Mingzhou, on the other hand, needed him to encourage them properly…

"Aiya…"

Just as he was feeling the solemn atmosphere of this invitation and organizing his words, a crisp voice interrupted his train of thought.

Di Gua Shao burst in, excitedly saying, "Miss White Wine is here! Senior Erguotou is here too! Senior Lao Baigan's influence is really great. I contacted them before, wanting to do a big score together, but they completely ignored me…"

"With just one word from Senior Lao Baigan, they all participated…"

"…"

"Cough…"

Hu Ma didn't expect such an opening. He coughed hastily, making his voice sound hoarse and solemn, and said in a deep voice, "It's different. I have serious business this time."

"I have serious business too!"

Di Gua Shao seemed a little aggrieved, saying, "I carefully picked out several big shots to do a job, but they only knew how to scold me."

"?"

Hu Ma was a little curious. He hadn't seen her for half a year. What had she been up to again?

"Don't even mention it…"

Just as he was thinking, Erguotou's voice was already somewhat helpless. He sighed and said, "Those people you picked are… it's hard to put into words."

"They're rich, that's true, and some of them do have treasures hidden in their homes. I have to say, you have a good eye. But what about the Liu family in the east of the city? You only see that their tea, silk, porcelain, and salt businesses are big and they have great wealth at home. Why don't you mention their relationship with Plum Blossom Lane?"

"If such a wealthy family wasn't protected by someone, do you think they could have built such a big business, made so much money, and still live so peacefully?"

"…"

"Alright then…"

Di Gua Shao's voice still sounded somewhat unconvinced, saying, "What about the Sun family in the west of the city? They have a secret technique. I heard people say that their ancestor had a skill of being beheaded and not dying…"

"The Sun family has been executioners for generations, belonging to the Fu Ya (Prefectural Government) lineage in charge of executions. They're just living a low-key life…"

Erguotou said with a bitter smile, "Didn't your master teach you that even the most powerful people in the Jianghu (martial world) don't easily provoke those with official positions?"

"Those are people in the Jianghu. We're reincarnators…"

Di Gua Shao muttered, pondered for a while, and said, "The Yuan family in Yeweed Town is fine, right?"

"They're rich and arrogant. I heard him bragging in the Crazy Brothel that digging up a jar in their pigsty could buy ten courtesans…"

"…"

Erguotou was even more helpless when he heard this, and didn't want to speak for a long time.

When Di Gua Shao urged him, he sighed and said, "That's our own family from the Red Lantern Society. Strictly speaking, he's even a small shareholder…"

"How can those of us in the Blood Food Gang not have a good relationship with the local gentry?"

"…"

"Ah…"

After this conversation, not only Hu Ma and Miss White Wine were speechless, but Di Gua Shao was also stunned, as if her full enthusiasm had been severely hit, and she said dejectedly, "Then…"

"Does that mean that after joining the Red Lantern Society, I can't afford to offend anyone?"

"…"

"It's not…"

Erguotou was even more puzzled, "Why do you have to find someone to offend? Can't you honestly be your rice merchant's rich wife?"

"I have to cure my leg…"

Di Gua Shao said aggrievedly, "It costs a lot of money…"

"?"

Hu Ma was shocked when he heard this, "Her leg still hasn't been cured?"

"Stop talking about this."

Miss White Wine spoke lightly, interrupting their words, and said, "I know Di Gua Shao is tight on money, but we reincarnators in Mingzhou have always been more careful. We should definitely seek some benefits, but we don't have to reveal our weaknesses because of temporary greed."

"Isn't the opportunity here now? Lao Baigan's eye for business has always been good. Our previous cooperation went quite smoothly…"

"Of course, we didn't make much that time, but we could at least see if each other was reliable."

"…"

"That's right…"

Listening to her words, Hu Ma suddenly realized something.

The batch of blood food that was snatched away by the Tan'er Sect last time earned a lot, but in fact, that batch of blood food probably wasn't much to Miss White Wine and Brother Erguotou, right?

Of course, it was still a sum of money. No one would pass up gold lying on the ground, but one probably wasn't too short of it, and the other, the Red Lantern Society was almost all his anyway, so there was no reason to rob it from others.

So, the two of them were actually using this as an excuse, using cooperation to see if each other was reliable?

Thinking again about how Erguotou was the one who instigated him regarding the blood food matter, it became even more obvious.

Everyone has their own schemes…

Fortunately, the cooperation went smoothly that time, and the three of them invisibly deepened their relationship. If things had gone wrong that time, he might never have had the chance to know their identities, and he might have been unknowingly alienated by them at some point.

"Cough…"

Seeing that the time was about right, Hu Ma also coughed, interrupting the two's conversation, and said in a low voice, "Brother Erguotou is right. The world is also very deep. Reincarnators can't be easily provoked, lest we cause trouble."

"Alright…"

Di Gua Shao said dejectedly, "Even Senior Lao Baigan says so, so I'll listen. Then what about you, Senior?"

"You said you had a good business to find us for. What kind of good business is it?"

"…"

With a turn of the conversation, she threw the previous unhappiness to the back of her mind, her voice full of anticipation. That was understandable, she was a newbie and hadn't participated in any group activities yet.

Hu Ma laughed and said, "The people I picked are from out of town and don't have much of a foundation here."

"And they're all bieboren (treasure hunters), so they must have good things on them."

"Most importantly, this group of people is inherently evil and breaks the rules. We can eliminate them without feeling guilty. We can even earn a good reputation for eliminating harm for the people!"

"…"

"Look, this is what a reliable person's arrangement should look like…"

Clearly, Hu Ma's opening was different from Di Gua Shao's. Brother Erguotou immediately praised him, and Miss White Wine didn't speak, but it was clear from her silence that she approved of these words.

Di Gua Shao also sighed, clearly feeling the gap between herself and her seniors.

"You flatter me."

Hu Ma smiled embarrassedly and said, "But the only problem is that this group of people also has a backer."

"Hehe, in this day and age, who doesn't have a backer when wandering the Jianghu?"

Erguotou sneered, "Just say who it is!"

Di Gua Shao also repeatedly said, "Yes, yes, yes, who cares what backer it is? Anyway, they're from out of town. Find a secluded place, kill them with one knife, bury them in a pit, and you don't even have to worry about their souls running back to sue. I have a way to make them completely dissipate…"

Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Hu Ma was also deeply gratified. He nodded and smiled, "Their backer isn't very powerful. It's just a Tang Shang (Hall Master)."

"Goes by the name Five Fiends!"

"…"

Suddenly, this harmonious group meeting became silent.

After a long while, Erguotou's voice cautiously rang out, accompanied by a bit of a dry laugh, "Hehe, haha, I didn't hear too clearly just now…"

"Who did Brother Lao Baigan just say?"

"…"

Hu Ma said, "The Five Fiends!"

"Those few bieboren are errand runners under him, enjoying incense offerings in the Tang Shang. They've come to Mingzhou to hunt treasures and create evil. Eliminating them is precisely to eliminate harm for the people."

"…"

The atmosphere of the meeting fell into awkward silence again.

After a long while, Di Gua Shao said a little confusedly, "I seem to have heard this name before, but it's not important. When do we make our move?"

Erguotou suddenly reacted and said solemnly, "Brothers and sisters, you chat first. I just remembered something important. I'll go wash Little Red Lantern's feet first. See you in two months!"

"Ah?"

Everyone was stunned. Miss White Wine suddenly said, "Wait, listen to Lao Baigan finish speaking before you go!"

(End of Chapter)