One sentence left Xun San speechless.

"Brother... are you serious?"

"What's wrong? Didn't you make your choice? I have to check the goods too, otherwise how can I decide?"

His tone was firm, as if he had no idea there was anything wrong with his words.

Xun San closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was a hint of determination, as if he was ready to go all out.

"Since you have such a preference..."

"Wait, wait," Tao Mian interrupted as he saw Xun San starting to undress, covering his eyes as if afraid of being blinded. "Just a gesture is enough, you're really open-minded!"

He held a knife in his hand, about the length of an adult man's forearm, very sharp.

This knife was just borrowed from Ah Jiu next door, and now it was put to use, pressed against Xun San's neck.

"Xun San, I only have one question for you. Where did you put the batch of goods you took from the Li family at the foot of the mountain today?"

"..." Xun San remained silent.

"If you answer obediently, I'll let you live. If you stubbornly refuse, then I'll have to use some means."

"..." Xun San was even more silent.

Did he hear wrong? It seemed like there were two choices, but actually, there was no choice at all?

"Hurry up, I'm in a rush." The knife in the black-clothed person's hand moved closer, and Xun San felt a chill on his neck.

"What relation do you have with the Li family? Why are you determined to help them get their things back?"

"Pfft, I'm not that kind-hearted," Little Tao Immortal spoke rudely for the first time, a bit excited. He lowered his voice and said gruffly, "To tell you the truth, there are valuable herbs in that junk of his, and I'm going to sell them for money!"

"Herbs?"

Xun San's eyes changed, seemingly interested. But soon, he suppressed the emotion in his eyes and continued to bargain with the black-clothed person.

"Alright, I'm willing to lead the way for you. But right now, those things are sealed in the Discipline Hall and need to stay there for three days and nights to prevent any mutations."

The Discipline Hall is one of the most strictly guarded halls of the Tongshan Sect, not only with cultivators frequently changing shifts to guard it but also full of mechanisms. Even the elders of the sect can't retrieve things from there intact.

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"Then how do I get in? I don't care, you must come up with a way!"

Xun San felt like his neck was about to be cut, and his speech sped up.

"Of course, of course, I'll plan this small matter for you. In three days, you can come here to find me. By then, the things will have been moved out of the Discipline Hall, and I'll have a way to get close."

"How can I trust your words?"

"I'm a disciple of the Tongshan Sect; you can run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple. You don't have to worry."

"That's not enough; I have to use some means just in case!"

The black-clothed person tapped two acupoints on Xun San's back.

"I've injected two streams of true energy into your body. If I get what I want in three days, I'll naturally guide it out for you. If you don't satisfy me, then you'll explode and die!"

With that, the black-clothed person disappeared from the room.

The Binding Immortal Rope was also taken back by him.

Xun San sat in the chair, motionless for a quarter of an hour.

Only when he was sure the other party wouldn't return did he stand up, patting the nonexistent dust off his body, and sneered disdainfully.

"Did you think I couldn't tell if there was true energy or not? Foolish thief."

He made up his mind to check tomorrow if there were any so-called "rare herbs" in that batch of goods.

Xun San went back to the bed, intending to continue sleeping.

He lifted the quilt and was about to lie down when he suddenly felt something unusual.

Xun San pulled the quilt completely open.

In the middle of the bed, a dagger was deeply embedded, with a piece of paper pressed underneath.

"The true energy was a lie; the poison is actually on the knife, and you've already been poisoned.

Be honest and find the stuff, disciple of the Tongshan Sect."

Xun San was shocked.

At this moment, the black-clothed Tao Mian was already sitting in the bamboo house next door, holding a teacup and blowing on the steam.

Imagining Xun San's shocked expression when he saw the note, Tao Mian couldn't help but laugh.

"Tao Lang, what are you laughing at?"

Ah Jiu lit an oil lamp, and the four of them sat around a table. She was a bit sleepy and covered her mouth to yawn.

Tao Mian truthfully recounted to the other three how he had threatened Xun San.

Li Fengchan was a bit surprised.

"Huh? Will that really work? Will Xun San honestly look for the stuff? Besides, there's no rare herb in all that junk from my house!"

"That's to deceive Xun San," Tao Mian said slowly. "His yard is full of these rare things, showing he's obsessed with them."

Since he's obsessed, whether what Tao Mian said is true or not, Xun San will definitely go and see for himself.

If there are any, he'll quietly keep them for himself and replace them with fakes for the thief. If not, he loses nothing.

"What he said about 'the Discipline Hall sealing things for three days and nights' is probably false too. It's just a stalling tactic. Once he confirms whether the stuff is there, in three days, he'll definitely bring the experts of the Tongshan Sect to block me when I go to the appointment."

Tao Mian understood Xun San's mindset well; the other party was just a cunning little man, greedy and unable to hide it, blatantly displaying it.

Of course, he knew he shouldn't expose his weaknesses, but he simply couldn't suppress the urge to show off.

Tao Mian just seized his weakness and threatened him half-truthfully.

"Xun San won't be able to sit still, especially after I said the knife was poisoned. I think he might not even sleep tonight. Let's wait and see; he might make a move before dawn."

Tao Mian smiled slightly.

"So... did you really poison the knife?" Li Fengchan couldn't help but ask.

"Little Taoist Tao wouldn't do that," Shen Bozhou answered for his master. "There's no need to go that far; just achieving the threat is enough."

People are like that. When Xun San first heard about the true energy, he probably wouldn't believe it. But when he saw the note on the bed, he had no choice but to believe it.

A chain of schemes.

"Little Six, you really understand me," Tao Mian praised his disciple. "This way, Xun San will race against time and act sooner."

Just as Tao Mian finished speaking, there was a noise next door.

They had set up a one-way soundproof barrier, so people outside couldn't hear them, but they could hear any sound from outside.

As Little Tao Immortal had guessed, Xun San, driven by desire and anxious about being poisoned, couldn't wait until dawn to check the stuff he had stolen from the Li family.

"Let's go, Little Six, follow him!" Tao Mian looked at Li Fengchan. "Little Fengchan, do you want to come along?"

"I... won't I be in the way?"

"No worries, no worries. I can take you into the Tongshan Sect without disturbance, so what's the big deal about hiding your tracks? Ah Jiu can come too."

Tao Mian wasn't just tracking; he was clearly gathering a group to watch the show. Ah Jiu, too sleepy to keep her eyes open, waved her hand.

"Tao Lang, you go ahead. I won't join the fun. There's a good show to watch tomorrow too."

Ah Jiu, being Tao Mian's close friend, had already anticipated his actions.

What awaited Xun San ahead was more than just this.

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