Chapter 107: The Three Gates of the Fire Door (8)

  These two were competing here, and for a time, it was impossible to distinguish between victory and defeat. For now, let's not mention them.

  Earlier, A Ding killed two people in a row, and some thieves had already lost their courage.

  In the Qingyun Inn, everyone went down to the stone room in the cave, where the shopkeeper was sitting on a rattan chair drinking tea, and the young waiters were gathered nearby, chatting and laughing. At this time, a person crawled out of the entrance of the cave, rolling and crawling, and rushed to the shopkeeper's face, before standing up. The shopkeeper hurriedly stepped forward, smiling: "Isn't this the 16th Zhang Jian? How did you come back?" This man was indeed the 16th, Zhang Jian from Nanjing, nicknamed Yaozi Gou. He was sweating profusely, his face panicked, and he quickly pulled out a token from his bosom and threw it in front of the shopkeeper.

  "Never mind, never mind! I'm out of here, I quit! I don't have what it takes to pass this test. Return the number plate to you, let me go! I don't want to stay here for another moment!"

  The shopkeeper picked up the sign and asked, "What's going on?"

  Yaozi Hook cried out: "That sixth-ranked Jia Dingyi, down there, is killing people indiscriminately, he's already killed three, no, four! This person is a monster, specializing in killing for pleasure! He's not even a thief!" Emotionally, Yaozi Hook attributed the deaths of Gui Long, who was killed by Liang Ba, and Jian Erduo, who was killed by San Qi Feng, to Jia Dingyi's account.

  The shopkeeper furrowed his brow and asked, "Who died?"

  Yao Zi Hook said: "Jingzhou sharp ears, Fujian three strange peaks, Shanxi ghost dragon, Beiping Zhao Shun's big wealth, my dear mother, I'm not comparable, I'm not comparable. I just wanted to join in the fun, didn't expect to be slaughtered for no reason. I want to go back to Nanjing, I want to leave, I want to leave!"

  "The shopkeeper said: 'Sir, sir, I understand. I'll arrange for you to leave Qingyun Inn immediately. One reminder, the things that happened at Qingyun Inn must not be mentioned to outsiders, otherwise it will be very troublesome for us...'"

  Yaozi Hook panted and said: "I've been in the Jiangning thieves' circle for thirty years, I know the rules! Now I'm making a heavy oath, my name is Zhang Jian, alias Yaozi Hook, if I leak even one word or sentence about Qingyun Inn and Huo Wang's recruitment of disciples, may heaven strike me with five thunders, die without a place to bury, and never be able to turn over in a thousand years."

  In the past, making an oath was generally more effective than countless contracts. Especially among thieves, oaths were taken extremely seriously, and even if they were about to be forced to their deaths, they would not dare break their oath. This is because these people believed in the existence of gods above them, a superstition deeply ingrained since childhood. Unlike modern times, making an oath was as casual as breaking wind.

  The shopkeeper said: "Alright, alright! Xiao San, Xiao Si, you two see this customer off from Qingyun Inn!"

  Dian Xiao San and Dian Xiao Si responded, leading a still frightened Yao Zi away quickly.

  The shopkeeper looked at the number 16 sign in his hand, slightly beckoned and called out: "Shop Xiao Yi, Shop Xiao Er, you two go put this sign back in the cave and ring the bell to announce."

  The shopkeeper took a step forward, took the token and asked: "Shop owner, it's been almost two days now, how come not one person has passed? Although there are many strong contenders this time, their skills are still uneven, it shouldn't be that hard to distinguish between them!"

  The shopkeeper said, "I'm afraid this time the big thieves from all over the world are different from before. Many arrogant and greedy people, two blocks of signboards may not be enough to fill their stomachs. Hehe, in a chaotic world, it's reasonable to have such robbers."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié sat on the high platform, watching the scenes of life and death below, and listened to Jiǎ Dīng Yǐ's words. His heart was also very bewildered: "Is this Jiǎ Dīng Yǐ good or bad, right or evil? At first, when Jiǎ Dīng Yǐ stole my token, he indeed had the intention of killing me, otherwise he wouldn't have pressed his knife against my throat. But he didn't kill me, was it because he spared my life or because I wasn't worthy of death? Does Jiǎ Dīng Yǐ think that I must have used some kind of despicable trick to get here? Or is there another reason for sparing my life?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié was puzzled, looking down at the strange struggle between Bìng Píng Zi and Zhuó Wàng Nù Jiāng for nearly half an hour, but the two were still standing motionless. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié wasn't interested and was about to get up and stretch when he heard someone calling him from below the high platform: "Huǒ Xiǎo Xié! What are you still doing sitting here? Time is running out!"

  Huoxiao Ye suddenly heard a familiar voice, and hastily turned to one side to look. Indeed, he saw Zheng Zedao poking out half of his body from the stone crevice, anxiously looking at him. Huoxiao Ye didn't know why, but seeing Zheng Zedao made him feel happy in his heart. He quickly looked around, shifted his body, but did not leave the high platform. In a low voice, he said to Zheng Zedao: "Zheng big brother, how did you come here?"

  Zheng Zedao said, "I've already obtained the number plates, now I want to go back, but I'm worried that there will be an ambush at the entrance on the way back, so I'm still wandering around observing the situation. But look at you, you're in such a hurry! You've been sitting here for two days already! What's your real intention? Do you still have any number plates?"

  Huo Xiao Yi awkwardly said: "Zheng Ge, I don't have a single piece."

  "Then when are you going to leave? Go steal from someone else! Do you want to be eliminated or do you want to be killed by Jia Dingyi?"

  Huo Xiao Xie said: "Zheng big brother, I don't have a better way right now, so I can only sit here and observe for the time being!"

  Zheng Zedao said: "Hu Xian Di, you tell me the truth, do you have a license plate? Is it hidden somewhere?"

  Huo Xiao Wicked Road: "Zheng big brother, I really, I really didn't, telling you the truth, as soon as I came in, my number plate was stolen by Jia Ding Yi."

  Zheng Zedao sighed and said: "It's A-D-B again! This person is really hard to deal with! Huo Xian-di, I'll help you out this time."

  "How can I help?"

  Zheng Zedao took out a token from his bosom and waved it at Huo Xiaoyi, saying: "I have three tokens in my hand. Now I'll give you one. No matter whether you need it now or not, this token is very important! If you keep this token well, you'll have the chance to pass the test! Here, take it!" Zheng Zedao said and was about to throw it over.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī zé zuǐ, cān kuì de shuō: "Zhèng dà gē, wǒ bù néng yào, xièxiè nǐ le! Wǒ zìjǐ méi běn shì, wǒ nìng yuàn guò bù liǎo guān!"

  Zheng Zedao's face was not pleasant, and he scolded in a low voice: "Huoxian brother, how can you be so muddled! Now is not the time for you to show off. In the future, it will be even more difficult. If you don't even have a token of identification, even if you can keep your life, no one will be willing to compete with you! Take it quickly, and everything else can wait until after the pass!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yē waved his hand and said: "Zhèng Dàgē, I really can't! Please, don't force me!"

  Zheng Zedao sighed and said: "Hu Xian Di, I really don't understand you! Really!"

  Hu Xiaoxie's mind was uncertain, and perhaps Zheng Zedao was right. Without even a single token of authority, who would be willing to take him seriously? He didn't even have the chance to prove himself! But if he were to get it, it would only be out of pity and charity.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé gritted his teeth and still followed his own mind, saying to Zheng Ze: "Zheng Gege, thank you for your kindness. I don't even understand what's wrong with me. But I really can't accept it."

  Zheng Zedao stamped his foot and cursed: "Foolish! Foolish! Forget it, I won't bother with you anymore!"

  "Oh ah, he doesn't want it, I do! Zheng Zedao, return my token!" A strange and shrill voice came from beside the high platform. Zheng Zedao and Huo Xiaoxiao both turned their heads to look, only to see Atimur, the first Uyghur person, rush up onto the platform like a flying bird, pointing at Zheng Zedao but not daring to charge forward, clearly intimidated by him.

  "Ah-Tim! How did you know I was here?"

  "Ah, ah! You, Zheng Zedao! I've been looking for you all day! You scoundrel, you and he are brothers, ah! The signboard must be returned to me! Ah!"

  Zheng Zedao snorted: "Atimu, you're still the first to lose, what makes you think I should give it back?"

  "Ah lah ah! I lost, but only by one card. You stole two from me! Give me back one! Return it to me and we'll compete again! Ah oh oh!"

  "Your entanglement with me is useless! I think you're just an illiterate western fool, what's the point of being first? I won't compete with you again! You can chase me but it's no use! There are so many people here, save your energy and find another target quickly! Goodbye!"

  Zheng Zedao turned around and ran away, disappearing in an instant.

  "Ah la! If you have the ability, don't run away! Ah oh la la!" He cursed loudly while chasing closely.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yē scratched his head and wondered: "What's going on? I lost one piece but had two pieces stolen?"