Upon hearing my answer, the monkey instinctively stopped what it was doing: "Song Laosan betrayed us? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I'd believe anyone else who betrayed us, but not Third Master. He would never do such a thing!"

"You don't believe it, and I don't believe it either, but that's the truth! Have you ever thought about it? Those security guards didn't even go into the tomb, so how would they know who died? And why would they only arrest you and me?"

I looked at the monkey intently: "I once arrested a security guard and interrogated him. He told me personally that the reason these people rebelled was because the employer changed his mind, and our security was handled by Song Laosan, who was the only employer."

"What can one security guard prove?"

The monkey still refused to accept the fact: "Isn't it too arbitrary to judge based solely on an outsider's account? We've known each other for so long, and we have such a good relationship! What would he gain by betraying us?"

I sighed and said, "You know that Song Laosan always puts money first."

The monkey's eyes widened: "Song Laosan and I have a life-or-death bond! We've been through so much together, why would he betray us? The Song and Qu families are indeed wealthy, but would they treat Song Laosan the way you and I do?"

"Don't forget, Song Laosan returned to the Four Gates for personal gain."

I gave a wry smile: "The most precious thing in this world is loyalty and righteousness, but it is also the cheapest thing. Perhaps Song Laosan was willing to live and die with us before because he had the interests of the Qu family and the Wei family supporting him."

After listening to my words, the monkey pondered for a moment and then laughed: "If that's really the case... then the antique business really is all about human nature."

"In any case, it's already a blessing from heaven that we were able to leave the Ze King's Tomb alive."

I glanced at the crossbody bag on my body: "We haven't lost this round yet. This time, I want everyone to give me an explanation."

"Young Master Duan, do you still want to continue this matter?"

After hearing my words, the monkey curled his lip and said, "If there were a mirror in front of you, I would really like to show you what you look like! I could understand your feelings when you wanted to find Duan Jinyan before, but after what happened at the Ze Wang Tomb, even I, an outsider, can see that he doesn't want to acknowledge you as his son at all. Is it still necessary for you to take such a huge risk and rush to find him?"

"Why shouldn't I look for him? Duan Jinyan, as a member of the Duan family, has done so many things that have wronged the Duan family, causing my grandfather to die in despair, and even killing his own sister! He gave birth to me, but then threw me away like trash. Just because he said that our fate was over, should I have to endure this humiliation?"

Mentioning Duan Jinyan's matter made me cough repeatedly with anger, and I continued, "And then there's Wei Shengnan and Qu Ruilin. We've been fighting for so long, and we've always been evenly matched, until Song Laosan's incident happened, which made me realize that I've been manipulated all along! Shouldn't I retaliate?"

“Young Master Duan, I know that Duan Jinyan’s attitude and Song Laosan’s betrayal have made you very angry, but if you choose to take revenge on them just because you are angry, then this matter will go against your original intention.”

The monkey advised, "Think about it carefully. Before the Wei family came to you, we were just ordinary people at the bottom of society. We might work hard our whole lives and still not be able to buy a house in a good location. Although we were poor, we lived a comfortable and stable life! Look at us now. What kind of life are we living every day? Smuggling, gunfights, tomb raiding. Every single thing is a gamble with our lives. We can win once or twice, but who can guarantee that we can keep winning?"

I countered the monkey's question: "Do you think I'm just driven by a competitive spirit?"

“Young Master Duan, you know me well. I have no great ambitions and no aspirations. I am already very satisfied with the life we ​​have now! What I want to say is that the wealth we have now would have been an astronomical figure that we wouldn’t have dared to even dream of a year ago. It is more than enough for us to enjoy life!”

The monkey said helplessly, "Now we both have skills. You know how to find burrows, and I know how to dig them. Doing one or two jobs a year is enough for us to live comfortably! Since life has the opportunity to improve, why are you so stubborn and insist on getting involved in this mess?"

"Because in my opinion, getting an explanation is far more important than money! Unless you're in my shoes, it's hard for you to understand this feeling."

My answer to the monkey's question was vague, but what I felt most was resentment and humiliation.

From childhood to adulthood, I was always ridiculed as an orphan without parents, and the seeds of inferiority had long been deeply rooted in my heart.

Now, after going through countless hardships, I finally found Duan Jinyan, only to find that he abandoned me in this boundless primeval forest without even showing his face.

From beginning to end, I owe him nothing. Even if our father-son relationship is truly over, I will find Duan Jinyan and tell him in person that I am the one who does not recognize him as my father, instead of being kicked away by him like a stray dog.

This feeling has become an obsession in my heart, constantly causing me intense torment.

Horses have much greater endurance than humans, and with the help of a guide, we walked for about four hours before emerging from the dense forest.

The guide led us over the hillside and told us that there was a road leading directly out of the mountains just one kilometer ahead. Once we set off, we would only need to ride horses for another two hours to reach the settlement.

After listening to the guide's explanation, I turned my gaze to Jiang Man on another horse.

Throughout the journey, Jiang Man remained unconscious. She woke up twice during this time, vomiting dark, pasty substances. Fortunately, the swelling on her body subsided considerably, and the rash on her face disappeared.

Led by the guide, our caravan finally reached a fork in the road. The guide pointed to one of the roads and translated, "Go out from Zheli, and it will only take a few hours to reach the village. The ride will be bumpy, so please take good care of Shangyuan!"

Previously, to lighten the horses' load, everyone except Jiang Man and I had been leading them. When Monkey heard that the horses could run next, he took out another syringe: "Young Master Duan, I need to give you an injection of sodium dimercaptopropanesulfonate. Hang in there, a vehicle has been arranged at the settlement. Once we get there, we can arrange for you to be taken to the hospital!"

"Splash!"

Just as the monkey was about to mount the horse, the bushes in front of it suddenly began to sway.

Immediately afterwards, Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan led more than ten security guards to rush forward and point their guns at us.

I looked up and saw Song Laosan standing beside the two of them, his jaw clenched and his body trembling uncontrollably.