Chapter 58 Chapter Fifty-Eight: Scorched Finance (3)

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié walked out for a moment, and suddenly heard the sound of a mouse flying quickly over his head, flashing past his head and going in the direction of Shuǐ Yāo ér. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié secretly cried out: "Not good!" Just as he was about to stand up, he felt that something under the ground was also rumbling and rolling quickly, also heading towards Shuǐ Yāo ér's side.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè couldn't help but let out a loud cry: "Shuǐ Yāo ér!" He quickly scrambled to his feet, wanting to rush towards the tunnel where Shuǐ Yāo ér had gone. However, Huǒ Xiǎo Yè remembered Shuǐ Yāo ér's warning and gritted his teeth, not taking a step forward, and instead sat back down with a thud.

  As soon as Huo Xiao Ye sat down, he heard a loud "ah" from the water demon girl coming from the tunnel, followed by a rumbling sound, and then there was no more noise. The tunnel was already very eerie, and with this incident, Huo Xiao Ye's hair stood on end. He remembered the water demon girl's warning and didn't get up, thinking: "Oh no! Something happened to Shui Yao Er! Is that path really a dead end?"

  "Hey, old mixed hair, get out! I'm still here! Come and catch me!"

  No one answered, and Huo Xiaoyao scolded again: "Old mixed hair, come out! If you don't come out, you are my turtle grandson! Grandson, don't hide from your grandfather!"

  "Hah, hah, hah......" Boss Qian's voice came from afar and drew near, surrounding Xiao Xiaowei, still unable to discern the direction. "You little brat, what are you doing staying here? Are you afraid of death? That little girl just died, do you want to go take a look?"

  "Old mixed hair! My dear grandson! I'm going, you quickly come out and kowtow to your grandfather a few times!"

  "Hey, kid, you've got a big mouth on you! What makes you think you're so capable? With your attitude, I don't even think you have the skills to steal five coppers!" said Qian Zhanggui's voice from all directions inside the wall.

  Huo Xiao laughed mischievously: "You don't know the greatness of your grandfather! Do you know who your grandfather is?"

  "Oh? Youngster, who are you?"

  "Want to know? I'll tell you, it will scare you to death. Come out and I'll gladly tell you. You'll be so convinced that you'll kowtow to me a few times, and I might spare your life!"

  Qian Zhanggui's voice fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Youngster, what is that little girl to you?"

  "Your grandfather here doesn't talk to mud, if you want to know something then get out!"

  "Haha, haha, haha, you win."

  Huo Xiao Ye was about to scold, but only heard a faint footsteps coming from the tunnel he dug himself, a small flame emerged, and Qian Zhanggui was already standing at the entrance of the tunnel at this crossroads.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī did not change his expression or tone, sitting steadily like Mount Tai, and hummed: "Son, you're obedient."

  Qian Zhanggui put the "bean sprout lamp" on the ground and didn't come up, standing at the entrance of the tunnel and asked: "Little boy, don't play poor mouth, I ask you, who are you?" As he spoke, the flat knife in his hand flashed and was already shining on his chest.

  Huoxiao Ye also learned from Qian Zhanggui's appearance and said in a gloomy tone: "Let me tell you, I am a member of the Mu family!"

  Qian Zhanggui was taken aback and scolded: "You little brat, stop talking nonsense! With your shabby appearance, you're still a member of the Mu family?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié sneered, "Whether I say it or not is up to me, whether you believe it or not is up to you. Let me tell you something else! The tricks you're playing are just like chicken feathers and garlic skins in the eyes of my family!" Huǒ Xiǎo Xié didn't know the phrase "not worth a laugh", so he used "chicken feathers and garlic skins" instead.

  Qian Zhanggui's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he cursed: "You stinky little brat, daring to impersonate the Five Great Families! You've got quite some nerve! Watch me chop you into pieces and feed you to the wild dogs!" As Qian Zhanggui spoke, his knife was raised horizontally, ready to pounce forward.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé pointed at Qián Pángzǐ and scolded: "You have guts, come over! I'm warning you, not only am I a member of the Mù family, but I also have a nickname - Mù Dú Xié! You dare to try, little thing? See who gets minced by whom, or who gets poisoned by me!"

  Qian Zhanggui's body jerked, originally he had already jumped over, but hearing Huo Xiaoxie's words, he suddenly retreated two steps, his fierce gaze fixed on Huo Xiaoxie.

  Huoxiao Ye's nonsense was a skill he honed in Fengtian City, purely to scare and deceive those who caught him, hoping to avoid a beating or make an escape. He had no qualms about lying through his teeth, speaking with conviction and reason, making it sound like the truth. When Zhang Siye's family caught him stealing pastries, Huoxiao Ye boasted that he was "Napoleon of Fengtian City", a local tyrant; when Yan Jing Tian took him away, he claimed to have a suicidal talent, able to spit black blood on others with just one mouthful; and while digging tunnels with Shuixiao Er, he bragged that he could survive for three days and nights without water and still make a daring escape. Huoxiao Ye didn't rely on deception to live, nor was he prone to exaggeration in his daily life. He only resorted to nonsense when pushed to the limit, but when cornered, he could weave together everything he had recently seen and heard into an elaborate lie, speaking with remarkable fluency.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè said he was a Mù family member because he heard Shuǐ Yāo ér say that the Mù King broke through the Tǔ King's Tián Shì Qiū's ten-mile-long palace, and also remembered that before Shuǐ Yāo ér left, she mentioned that this place might be the Tǔ family's Sì Mén Sì Xiàng Zhèn. Then he randomly made up his own name as Mù Dú Xiǎo, claiming to use poison, which was just a way of intimidating people by scattering his thoughts around.

  Hu Xiaoxia's nonsense, if it were Zheng Daquan and those Jianghu scoundrels, they might have already been fed a few bullets. But if it were Qianzui Mouse, the shopkeeper, he would be so frightened that he would rather believe in its existence than not.

  His character is gloomy, but he's not a meticulous and cunning guy. Just look at his two foolish companions, Jia Chunzi and Jia Qingzi, and you'll know what I mean. If Qian Zhanggui had half the cleverness of Shuiyao'er, he wouldn't have let Zheng Dachuan, that thug who only knows how to use force, chase him into a hole with a gun. Qian Zhanggui is like a mouse, indeed having a clever side, but if he encounters a ceramic cat on the road, he'll be scared out of his wits and retreat three feet before saying anything else. Moreover, Qian Zhanggui said that his master was a disciple of the Tujia clan who was expelled from the sect, which is not false at all. He knew from the time he became an apprentice that the Mujia people were experts in destroying the Tujia people's tombs, and the Mujia people were skilled in using poison attacks, which coincides with what Huo Xiaoxie said.

  Qian Zhanggui glared fiercely at Huo Xiaoxie, who was sitting on the ground, and carefully pondered his previous words in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was true. Qian Zhanggui had found three reasons for himself: Firstly, Huo Xiaoxie was indeed with Shui Yao'er, a powerful water family expert; Secondly, facing this situation, Huo Xiaoxie could still sit calmly and quietly, not panicking at all, which was not normal for a half-grown child; Thirdly, Huo Xiaoxie was sitting in the middle of the four doors, exactly where he would be able to break Qian Zhanggui's mediocre earth family four-door array.

  Qian Zhanggui's tone slowed down, and he asked: "Mu Du Xie Mu brothers, haha, I've long admired you! I said so, how did you know that digging at that location would be a good strategy to save people? It turns out that there is a wise man from the Mu family here."

  "Hmph! Now that you know who I am, why haven't you released those few brothers of mine from the pit?"

  "Let go! Let go! Definitely let go. To be honest with you, I don't want to do this either, it's a waste of my inn, and it hurts a lot."

  "Why are you still doing this?"

  "It's not because of Zhang Siye's orders, haha, actually, as long as you, Mu Jia brothers, tell me why Zhang Siye wants to catch you, is it because you stole his treasure? What is that treasure anyway? I'll definitely go and rescue the few masters in the pit."

  "I've told you, what can you do about it?"

  "I'm just particularly curious to know why Zhang Siye is making such a big fuss about catching you this time. Honestly, I also have a grudge against Zhang Siye, and if I could find out some secret of his, helping you deal with him wouldn't be a problem. Mu brothers, what do you think of this proposal?" Qian Zhanggui was still thinking optimistically.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé grasped the knife in his hand and held it up before his eyes, saying: "Not for anything else, but just for this knife!"

  Qian Zhanggui was startled: "This knife?"

  "Yes, this knife contains Zhang Siye's earth-shaking great secret!"

  Qian Zhanggui was even more shocked: "A shocking and earth-shaking secret? Mu brothers, what is this secret after all?"

  "Do you want to know?"

  "I'd like to know! I'd like to know!" Qian Zhanggui nodded repeatedly.

  "Then come over here."

  "No, no, Mu Jia brothers, you can't just say that."

  "Then I won't say anything!"

  "There's no one else here, Mu Jia brothers. If you say so, I'll help you rescue the brother in the pit. You should know that Zheng Daquan and those people above, more than a dozen of them, are all holding submachine guns, they're determined to send the person to Zhang Siye!"

  "But what makes you think I should believe you?"

  "With your skills, killing me would be as easy as turning over your hand. You haven't made a move because you think I can help you, right? Am I guessing correctly?" Qian Zhanggui's mind was racing at this point, but he was completely on the wrong track and getting further and further off course. In fact, despite being wary of Huo Xiaoxie, Qian Zhanggui didn't believe that Huo Xiaoxie could kill him as easily as turning over his hand. But by saying so, Qian Zhanggui secretly felt pleased with himself, thinking he had grasped Huo Xiaoxie's thoughts.