After listening to me, Li Mengyang looked at me with a skeptical expression: "You say you have both the sheep's head and the chicken's head, what proof do you have?"

I countered Li Mengyang's question: "You arrested the Qu and Wei families and learned from them that they had hidden the two beast heads in the home of villager Li Changyou. But when you searched Li Changyou's house today, you found nothing. And you even tried to kill Li Changyou to silence him. Isn't that right?"

Li Mengyang is a very smart person. After hearing my response, he blurted out his guess: "You saved Li Changyou and learned from him that we were looking for the beast heads, so you made up this excuse, right?"

"No, actually we went into the mountains with you yesterday. At that time, a man named Cao Xiong from the Black Robe Organization captured people from the other three of the four sects. I also rescued the Song family heir in the chaos. The reason I was able to do this is because I originally went into the mountains to track them. So before entering the mountains, I had already obtained the items. Otherwise, how do you explain the Black Robe people finding nothing at Li Changyou's house?"

I looked at Li Mengyang calmly: "Although there are quite a few teams searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, very few know the legend of the Three Treasures. If I really lied to you, where did those things go?"

Li Mengyang still didn't quite believe me: "I was in charge of Li Changyou's case. When I interrogated him, he only told me that the people living in his house had left, but he never said anything about what they had hidden in his house."

"The items were placed in the vegetable cellar in Li Changyou's backyard, but he was unaware of this, and I have already bribed him."

I looked directly into Li Mengyang's eyes: "I don't know what your reason is for wanting to kill me, but only I know where the other two beast heads are hidden. How about we take a gamble and see how much you will lose after I die?"

"I believe you."

Li Mengyang didn't spend much time thinking and said to me, "Hand over the items, and I promise I won't kill you this time."

"Simply sparing my life is not enough."

I shook my head: "I came here to get the beast heads in order to complete the three treasures and negotiate with you. Since we've met, let's just say what we have to say! I can give you all three beast heads in exchange for the release of the people we've captured, as well as Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan."

Li Mengyang smiled and said, "A few items in exchange for so many lives, you're very greedy."

“We are all insiders, so we all know that even if all these lives are added together, they are not worth a Miao Jiang Immortal Palace.”

I retorted sharply, "These three items of mine can only guarantee the safety of these people once, but the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace can bring you wealth for several lifetimes. You won't lose out in this deal."

Li Mengyang didn't answer my question, but beckoned with his finger: "Hand over the bull's head first."

I glanced at the two burly men with guns beside him, then turned to Manjing and said, "Give them the stuff."

When Manjing heard me speak, he took two steps forward and placed the bull's head on the ground.

The person next to Li Mengyang opened the package, checked it, and nodded to him: "The contents are fine."

Li Mengyang glanced at the cow's head in the package, then waved to Xue Dong: "Leave this little brat here, you're free now."

"Are you kidding me! What if you go back on your word after I let Xiao Duan go with you?"

Xue Dong stepped in front of me and said, "We've already shown enough sincerity by handing over the bull's head, but Xiao Duan has to come with us. If you want to take the things, you have to bring the person we want. Let's agree on a place to exchange the goods for the person."

The burly man next to Li Mengyang, holding an AK, raised his arm and pointed the gun at Xue Dong's forehead: "Damn it, you dare to negotiate with us? Are you trying to be too nice to us?"

Xue Dong sneered, "I'm making a living by risking my life, and I earn my wages by risking my life. We're all the same kind of people. Do you think I'm afraid of you shooting me?"

Fearing that the man opposite me was also a madman like Cao Xiong, I quickly shouted, "Li Mengyang, I sincerely want to make a deal with you, but if you hurt my friend, I will fight you to the death and make sure Black Robe gets nothing!"

"never mind."

Li Mengyang raised his arm and pressed the AK down from the burly man's hand, then looked at me expressionlessly: "I came here today for two reasons, one is to get the bull's head, and the other is to take your life! You're in a desperate situation now. I got this bull's head through my own abilities, not for you to hand over to save your life! You think you can make me give up with just a few words? That's a bit unrealistic, isn't it?"

Hearing Li Mengyang's answer, I knew he didn't agree with Xue Dong's suggestion, so I asked, "Then what do you want?"

"I can agree to the conditions for the exchange, but you have to come with us so these people can retrieve the items. Once they're brought back, you and the detained people will be released together."

Before I could answer, Li Mengyang added, "This is your only chance to live. I will not agree to any other conditions you may have."

"Mr. Duan, you can't agree to that!"

Upon hearing Li Mengyang's conditions, Xue Dong replied without hesitation, "If you are captured by him, and they refuse to release you and try to force a confession from you, our escape route will be completely cut off!"

Li Mengyang raised his hand, took the other man's pistol, and pointed it at my forehead: "I told you, you have no other choice. Either come with me now, or die here immediately."

The burly man holding the AK snorted coldly and walked over with two of his men: "Why waste words with them? Grab them!"

Seeing the burly man's movements, Xue Dong gripped his crossbow tighter and said in a voice only the two of us could hear, "You absolutely cannot go with them. I'll hold them off, you run into the woods, and..."

"Xue Dong, don't do anything reckless!"

When I heard Xue Dong say that, I stepped forward and grabbed his wrist: "Even if your guess is right, as long as I can withstand their torture, there will be a chance to switch people. Otherwise, even if all of us are together, we won't be enough for them to fire a single burst! A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. If we start fighting now, we will definitely suffer!"

At this moment, the burly man had already walked up to us, threw a pair of handcuffs at my feet, and then pointed his gun at me: "Put on these handcuffs yourself and come up to me!"