When Jiang Tian heard that I was leaving, he tried to persuade me to stay, saying, "You just said that you won't be going to fight Duan Jinyan anytime soon, and you don't need to take care of your little pawnshop business. Why don't you stay in Tianjin for a while? You've seen my current situation, and I don't want Xiaoman to see me like this. If you stay, you can keep her company."

"Uncle Tian, ​​I'm not going back to Shenyang for the pawnshop, but to meet with the people from the Four Gates."

I spoke truthfully: "After this incident at the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, I believe everyone has realized one thing: none of us individually are a match for Duan Jinyan."

The four families are now facing a generational gap, with the old being old and the young being young. However, the family tradition has ensured that our abilities are still better than those of other tomb raiders who started out halfway through their careers. This is why, despite the Wei family's wealth and power, they did not hire anyone else but instead continued to let Wei Shengnan lead the team.

Previously, although we shared the same goal, our philosophies differed! After this incident at the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, I feel that perhaps I should stand on their side.

"The Four Gates of Fengtian were once a powerful and prestigious force that dominated the entire country, but they have fallen to their current state, which is truly a sign of their decline."

Jiang Tian nodded: "If you can persuade the people from the other three sects to cooperate with you, the success rate can indeed be increased a lot, but you have a long-standing grudge against each other, can you really be of one mind and one heart?"

"Our feud all stems from Duan Jinyan! I used to want to arrest people, while they wanted to kill people!"

I paused for a moment: "But Duan Jinyan's actions have made me give up my illusions. My only condition is that I kill Duan Jinyan with my own hands."

“Xiao Duan, listen to my advice. You can cooperate with the other three sects, but the murder must be left to Qu Ruilin.”

Jiang Tian paused for a moment: "You handed the man over to Qu Ruilin for the sake of the unity and stability of the four sects. If you had taken matters into your own hands, that would have been personal revenge! Of course, the most important thing is that I'm worried your mindset will change! Having a life on your hands will impact your personality and worldview, especially since that person is your father!"

No matter how much you hate Duan Jinyan, your blood ties cannot be severed. The fact that you captured him and handed him over to Qu Ruilin proves that you are stronger than him! Qu Ruilin's situation is different from yours. Only by killing Duan Jinyan can he be freed from his suffering!

Both of you committed murder, but if you do, both of you will fall into the demonic path! Only by having him kill can this matter have a perfect ending! Regardless of whether you want to stay in the Four Gates afterward, only by not killing Duan Jinyan can you leave unscathed.

I did not answer Jiang Tianyi's question: "Uncle Tian, ​​don't worry, I will consider this matter."

"What I need is not your consideration, but your affirmative answer!"

Jiang Tianyi looked at me seriously: "You are a child with a hard life. Your grandfather passed away early, and your father is useless. Although your aunt has passed away, we are still lovers and related by blood. So this is not something I am discussing with you, but rather I am ordering you as an elder."

Seeing Jiang Tianyi's earnest gaze, I felt a surge of gratitude for being cared for: "Uncle Tian, ​​I promise you."

"well!"

Jiang Tianyi nodded repeatedly, a smile finally appearing on his face: "Although you failed to capture Duan Jinyan at the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace this time, you were lucky to return unharmed! Here, you can rest here for a day, and I will arrange for someone to send you back to Shenyang tomorrow."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Tian!"

I nodded, then took out a turquoise and a gem-encrusted bronze plaque from my pocket: "Uncle Tian, ​​I got these two items in the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. This turquoise is a gift for you, and I would appreciate it if you could help me sell this bronze plaque."

"Is this from the Xia Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tianyi immediately perked up: "I've been in the art auction business for so many years, and I've never seen a genuine piece from the Xia Dynasty! This thing definitely can't be auctioned. Even if it were to circulate on the market, it could easily lead to disaster! Here's what we'll do: you leave the item with me for now, and I'll have to find a buyer slowly. After all, this kind of thing can only circulate within a small circle and absolutely cannot be shown to the public."

"It's entirely up to you to decide."

I have complete trust in Jiang Tianyi's character: "There is no reference price for Xia Dynasty items, so who to sell this item to and for how much is entirely up to you. I only have one condition, which is that this item must absolutely not be circulated abroad."

"Don't worry about that. If it were an ordinary item, I would sell it without hesitation, but these kinds of things are becoming increasingly rare."

Jiang Tian nodded: "I'll try my best to get a good price for it. If it doesn't meet my expectations, I'll keep it as a collectible. I won't let you suffer a loss."

I chatted briefly with Jiang Tianyi, and in order not to delay his recovery, I said goodbye and left his ward.

After I left, I wanted to call Wei Shengnan to talk about the meeting, but no one answered after several calls. I also tried calling Qu Ruilin, but his number was switched off.

When I realized I couldn't reach either of them, I felt something was very wrong, so I tried calling Song Laosan again, and this time I finally got through.

After Song Laosan answered the phone, there was some background noise: "Hello, Xiao Duan."

I listened to the noise on Song Laosan's end and moved the phone further away: "Where are you? Why is it so noisy?"

After a few seconds of silence, Song Laosan finally quieted down: "Don't even mention it. I found a black market in a small town in Jiangxi that's open during the day. This godforsaken place is only open for three hours a month, and it's packed with people. It's almost bursting me out of my wits."

I asked, somewhat surprised, "You went to Jiangxi? To sell the things you got from the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"

"The treasures of Miao Jiang Immortal Palace are buried too deep. If you don't have the right connections, selling them would be suicide. My Song family is all about connections. How could we possibly use such low-level methods to sell them?"

Song Laosan paused for a moment: "I came to Jiangxi to buy medicine. Wei Shengnan is dying."

I was completely bewildered by what Song Laosan said: "Can't do it? What can't it do?"

“When we were running out of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, we encountered a lot of irradiated monsters. One of them looked very special. That thing was covered in fleshy tumors. When we were fighting it, Wei Shengnan fired a shot at it. After the tumors ruptured, some black dust was sprayed out and stuck to Wei Shengnan.”

Song Laosan paused for a moment: "At the time, she was wearing a rat-patterned outfit, and we didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But yesterday afternoon, she suddenly fell ill."