Luo You, who resembled a red-haired woman, laughed and gently covered her mouth.

"Hey, the boss is here. Have him take you to exorcise the evil spirits."

Chen Jing snapped out of his daze, looked at the chessboard where a group of white pieces were suddenly missing, and could only nod.

He was listening intently to Luo You's explanation of the cultivation method of Qi, but was suddenly interrupted. When he came to his senses, he felt as if he were being scratched by a cat.

But they had to endure it; they couldn't very well let Lu Gang, the mastermind, stand by and wait for the two of them to have their own debate.

Looking at the chessboard, Lu Gang, the mastermind, became even more displeased. He said to Luo You, "This is the last time."

Luo You stuck out her tongue at Lu Gang, acting like a little girl.

Lu Gang didn't say anything more, stood up and said to the door, "Let's go."

Chen Jing didn't dare to speak and followed.

At noon, the fog became exceptionally clear. Lu Gang led Chen Jing to the dock outside the large ship and they boarded a special carriage without uttering a single word.

Chen Jing didn't dare to ask.

"To my villa," Lu Gang instructed the driver.

As the carriage slowly started moving, Lu Gang turned to Chen Jing and said, "Heh, don't let her being a cultivator fool you, she's just a child at heart."

"Don't be so reserved. You're already part of our gang, practically a brother to me. Hehe, has she told you anything about our gang?"

Chen Jing thought to himself, "This guy was in Meijing City, talking to Huang Yuanlong by candlelight and treating him like cannon fodder. He even abandoned the rescue when they were in danger. Now he can say he's a brother without batting an eye. He's really something."

He cautiously replied, "Reporting to Lord Black Hand, Lord Luo shared some cultivation knowledge and some gossip..."

Chen Jing wasn't sure if Luo You was really Li Si's sister, nor did he know if Li Si's real name was Li Sisi.

Of course, based on this, Chen Jing suspected that the cultivation method she described might also be fabricated.

Upon hearing Chen Jing mention the gossip, Lu Gang's good face instantly darkened.

Uh… Chen Jing didn’t know what he had said wrong and was a little flustered.

Soon, Lu Gang laughed again: "As long as you work hard, you can be like me in the future. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"No need to call me Master Black Hand, just call me Boss or Leader," Lu Gang said kindly to Chen Jing.

Then, Lu Gang immediately steered the conversation back under his control: "This time, I specially begged a big shot to exorcise the evil spirits for you, which can be considered as making up for the debt I owed for not choosing to save you before."

“Sigh, I am the leader of a gang, and I have to be responsible for my men. The situation was very complicated and very dangerous at the time. Although I really wanted to come and save you, I couldn’t let so many of my men risk their lives for your sake. Can you understand?”

Chen Jing nodded and agreed, "Of course I understand, we should prioritize the overall situation."

Lu Gang patted Chen Jing on the shoulder with satisfaction: "You are a good prospect, and you are a local who knows me well. If you work hard for me, I will never treat you unfairly."

Chen Jing thought to himself, "If you knew I almost capsized your ship, you wouldn't have this expression." But on the surface, Chen Jing put on a serious and honest look, nodding his head with loyalty and fervor: "I swear to die for Lord Black Hand."

Black Hand Lu Gang revealed a kind smile: "You cultivate the Qi of Dao?"

Chen Jing nodded.

"The Dao Qi is good, it's very powerful. Cultivate it well, and when you reach the Blood Realm, you will have a strong ability to protect yourself, and your work will be much safer."

Chen Jing replied with a "yes".

Seeing that Chen Jing was always very respectful to him, Lu Gang, the mastermind, became more and more satisfied. In his opinion, Chen Jing, a local who was still a teenager, was the most trustworthy and the most worthy of being cultivated.

Black Hand Lu Gang continued, "I used to be just like you, a young man who never gave up. Others ran away and abandoned this land, but I didn't run away. I said I would die here. This is my hometown, the hometown that gave me birth and raised me. So, I gathered many like-minded people and built this place near a small temple. Hehe, at that time I was about your age, and I didn't have any cultivation yet."

Chen Jing exclaimed in amazement, "Amazing! No wonder you're called Master Black Hand."

"In the face of disasters that mortals cannot overcome, we are all weak." Black Hand Lu Gang sighed, "We are just trying to survive, and so are you."

Then, Lu Gang, the mastermind behind the scenes, told Chen Jing his past stories, appearing very approachable. If Chen Jing didn't have the facts before him, he might even have thought Lu Gang was a leader worth following, a truly good person.

Chen Jing suspected that if he didn't have his memories from before he transmigrated, he would have been completely fooled by the mastermind Lu Gang and told him everything.

Chen Jing continued to feign compliance, constantly dealing with Lu Gang.

After the carriage arrived at the villa by the river, Lu Gang, the Black Hand, led Chen Jing out of the carriage and into the villa. He had almost no guards with him, only Chen Jing.

“Once inside, you must be polite, respectful, and reverent towards the important person inside,” Lu Gang advised Chen Jing. “You must treat her with the same respect you would show me.”

Chen Jing asked, "Who is this important person you're talking about?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just know that she has a way to get rid of your possession symptoms." Lu Gang put on his large hat and walked inside.

Surprisingly, there were few guards at the villa. Upon entering the gate, one could see that the courtyard was piled with withered yellow leaves. The dry trees, resembling the limbs of an old man, stood above the pond, which was covered with yellow leaves and other debris. Blood-red carp swam slowly in the pond, occasionally blowing bubbles, sometimes gathering and sometimes scattering.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!