After hearing what I said, Sun Dahu burst into laughter: "Fly away? Where do you want me to fly to?"

"The world is so big, where can't we find a place to live? It's much better than following He Hai down this dark path, isn't it?"

I looked at Sun Dahu seriously: "I can give you a sum of money, a large sum of money. As long as you take this money, you can live even if you leave He Hai! I have a grudge against He Hai, but I have no grudge against you. If you help He Hai deal with me, it will only add another blood debt to your hands, and you will be sentenced more severely when you are caught. The choice I give you can allow you to live a completely different life. I believe this choice is not difficult to make."

Sun Dahu fiddled with his phone, his eyes piercing through the smoke of his cigar as he looked at me: "I wonder how much money you're willing to give me if you want to bribe me?"

"Thirty million! We have three people, ten million each, that's not a low price, is it?"

What I'm doing right now is both buying time for Xue Dong and his team to rescue them, and also leaving myself a way out.

If I can persuade Sun Dahu, even if Xue Dong fails, I can still resolve this matter with money.

Of course, the most important point was that I wanted to get information out of him, to find out if, besides the monkey, Manjing was also in their hands.

Sun Dahu was amused by me: "Thirty million, that's no small sum. You're so young, but you've got quite the spending power. I didn't expect I'd be worth so much."

I looked into Sun Dahu's eyes and said very seriously, "I'm giving you more not because your life is valuable, but because my life is precious! For He Hai, killing me would provide him with emotional value. He's wanted by the police, and it's only a matter of time before he's caught, which is why he wants to kill me! As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall. I don't know what you thought before, but now I've given you a new choice, haven't I?"

"It seems you don't know as much about our team as I thought."

Sun Dahu stood up, a cigar dangling from his lips: "Do you know why Brother Hai is wanted?"

I blurted out, "He robbed ancient tombs and shot police officers."

"No, this matter is far more complicated than you think!"

Sun Dahu shook his head: "Back when He Jinfeng, the eldest son of the He family, was alive, he was known as the number one tomb raider in North China. He was not only a master tomb raider, but also a powerful figure in the underworld with influence throughout the province. Given his size, ordinary anti-gang operations would not have implicated him. So, the reason he got into trouble was because others had their eyes on the umbrella over his head, which led to his being implicated."

I won't go into the specifics, but the reason why Grandpa He was caught was largely due to the mole within the family. At the time, we all thought that the mole in the He family had been completely eliminated, but we didn't expect that there was still one who slipped through the net!

According to Hai Ge's plan, after making a big splash in Ningxia, he intended to go to Southeast Asia to develop his business, buy a piece of land, and live a secluded life as a landlord! But unexpectedly, during this last operation, we were betrayed by an undercover agent in the team.

Originally, apart from Hai Ge's identity, everyone in our group had a clean public image. But that undercover agent handed over all our information to the police, causing us all to be implicated! You kept saying that once Hai Ge was caught, he would surely die. But do you know that I actually killed that policeman?

When I heard Sun Dahu say that, my heart skipped a beat.

Just now, I was thinking that while He Hai was away, I might try to take down Sun Dahu without bloodshed.

I never imagined he was so deeply involved with He Hai.

"Bang!"

After Sun Dahu finished telling his story, he kicked me in the chest, knocking me to the ground. Then he rushed over and stomped on me, yelling, "You little bastard! My life was given to me by Brother Hai, and you dare to try and turn me against him? Thirty million! I've been in the He family for so many years, and I've handled more than ten top-grade cultural relics! You really think I've never seen money before?"

With my hands cuffed behind my back, I had no chance to resist Sun Dahu's beating. All I could do was shout, "Sun Dahu, even if you don't want to cooperate with me, you don't have to be so ruthless! I came here to risk my life for my friend! Now that I'm here, you can do whatever you want with me, but can you release my friend?"

Hearing my words, Sun Dahu stopped what he was doing, picked me up, and then slapped me across the face: "Listen up, you piece of trash, in this place, you have no right to negotiate with me. Walking into this trap only proves you're a worthless wretch! We never offered you anything in exchange for someone else, understand?"

I was slapped, and I tasted a metallic flavor in my mouth. It must have been from the teeth that had pierced my lip. I spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with my own: "Where's He Hai? Can I see him?"

"Smack!"

Sun Dahu slapped me again: "I told you, you have no right to negotiate with me!"

I was slapped twice in a row, my head was buzzing, and I cursed inwardly why Xue Dong and the others were so slow.

Seeing that I didn't speak, Sun Dahu nodded in satisfaction, walked back and sat down in his chair: "Kid, you're right, Brother Hai really hates you. Now that you're in our hands, there's no hope of you surviving. But your friend is dispensable to us. You want to spare his life? Fine, but there's one condition!"

I heard Sun Dahu say "he" instead of "they," and I quickly pressed him, "How many people did you arrest? Besides the one hanging in the yard, are there any others here?"

Sun Dahu didn't answer my question, but pointed outside and smiled: "If you keep yelling here, there won't be a single person left outside."

I knew Sun Dahu wasn't just trying to scare me, so I tried to calm myself down: "Don't be impulsive! Just tell me what you want me to do! As long as you don't hurt my friends, we can discuss any conditions!"

"Brother Hai said that your Duan family has a family heirloom book. That book is like the history of tomb raiding, recording strange tales and methods of finding tombs and finding gold. If you want to save your friend's life, you have to hand over that book."

Sun Dahu paused for a moment: "As for your life, it's definitely over. When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Once you close your eyes, the affairs of this mortal world will no longer concern you. There's no point in leaving behind a tattered book. It's better to take it out and give your friend a way out. In the future, you can burn some paper money for him during festivals so that you won't become a lonely ghost."