The moment Gan Qing saw his face turn cross, she quickly coaxed him. "Of course, it's already very great that you can go to the bank and get a loan. If I went, they would definitely not give me one. Buying a house is something that I don't even dare dream of, the difficulty level is about the same as flying to the sky. Even though things are quite difficult for you now, you can think of it as overcoming the calamity before you can become an immortal and ascend to Heaven. In the mortal realm, it is only almighty lightning rods like you people who have the ability to attract lightning. You're so amazing."

Suddenly put in the same category as lightning rods, Yu Lanchuan gritted out a few words, "...If you're not going to speak properly, get lost and bury yourself in the earth."

"Don't be like that, aren't I asking you for help now?" Because of her cold, Gan Qing's voice when she spoke sounded like the mysterious voice she used as Teacher Meng-Meng, the voice she used every day to call other people "darling." Her words dragged out, lingering, slipping into Yu Lanchuan's ears like countless sand grains rubbing against his ear drums. It made the back of his head tingle.

Without him realising it, Yu Lanchuan's fingers curled in.

Gan Qing continued to ask absent-mindedly, "Then, based on your deductions, should I apply for police protection now?"

There seemed to be a door in Yu Lanchuan's heart that was not closed properly. Following the sound of her voice, a very tiny voice leaked out from behind it: You can apply to me for protection. It even nearly slipped out of his mouth.

Luckily, his reaction speed was fast and he snapped off this line in time. "How much tax do you pay every month? Can you take up so much public resources?"

From behind her face mask, Gan Qing studied him with an inscrutable gaze.

Yu Lanchuan asked, "What are you doing?"

"Looking at Little Master Yu…" Gan Qing paused subtly, "...Such refined features and elegant lines, such a handsome face and a perfect body."

And surprisingly, he could still maintain his bachelor status. It was all due to his incredible skills.

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

He felt that Gan Qing's expression and tone was rather strange. It was a little like she was teasing him and a little like she was cursing him. Basically, the words were rich in implications and didn't sound good.

Gan Qing quickly poured him a glass of water. "Please go on."

"The good news is, the people from Beggars' Sect and Travellers' Sect might not have the time to bother with you now, " Yu Lanchuan said. "You found Wang Jiake and dragged Travellers' Sect and Beggars' Sect into the game. Right now, I don't know who from which side divulged the truth but the police seem to be investigating Beggars' Sect and Travellers' Sect. Both these groups have lots of people and lots of issues. If they don't wipe their asses clean this time, it is very likely that they will be treated as illegal organisations and banned. I think they should have received the news by now."

The phones of the four sect elders of Beggars' Sect were ringing fit to explode. Tian Zhanpeng silenced his overheating phone and rushed into the reserved room they had booked earlier. The warm air inside enveloped him and he broke into a sweat.

Immediately, someone asked, "Old Tian, why are you only here now?"

"I was moving house the past couple of days, lots to take care of… Where's Old Zhao?" Tian Zhanpeng said distractedly, his eyes sweeping around the room. He didn't see Elder Zhao. "Why, he's not here too?"

"Old Zhao was taken away. A lot of our brothers in the 'dirty clothing section' in our branch were also taken away. At the start, we thought that it was the city management cracking down on begging and busking. It was only later on that we found out that it wasn't the city management, it was the police!"

"What happened to Old Zhao? What's the situation now?"

"That's why I said that when you guys went to start a fuss at No. 110 the other day, you shouldn't have alerted the police!"

"We were only at the police station for a short while. Didn't everything turn out fine at that time?"

"It's the same for Xiao-Zhai and the rest. It's been a few days since we last heard from them."

The many jumbled voices in the room made Tian Zhanpeng feel dizzy and his head swollen. He also still had a large pile of rotten troubles behind him and for a moment, his blood pressure spiked.

Right then, someone suddenly said in a small voice, "Today, my shifu gave that you-know-who a call…"

Tian Zhanpeng asked, "What you-know-who?"

"You know… Old Sect Leader's granddaughter."

"Just call her Yang Yifan, what's with that 'you-kn0w-who'... Are you a primary school student who goes to the toilet in a group to secretly badmouth other people?" Tian Zhanpeng said irritably. "And what does Old Zhao mean by doing that? He urged everyone to act together, then privately contact Yang Yifan on his own. Is he trying to get the prize before everyone else?"

"Calm down, don't be impatient, Elder Tian," someone else said. "My follower who's watching the situation at the hospital reported back and said that Yang Yifan went to the public security bureau today… What time did Elder Zhao call her?"

Both sides matched up the times. The room turned silent.

After who knew how long, someone finally said in a small voice, "Her? No matter what, she's still the Old Sect Leader's biological granddaughter… Isn't she afraid of dragging the Old Sect Leader into the matter? Surely she wouldn't go this far?"

Tian Zhanpeng looked up, his eyes dark and sinister. "Looks like the chances of the Old Sect Leader leaving the hospital alive is not high, that's why she's taking such drastic measures. This…"

He cursed unpleasantly in a low voice. At his temples where the hair was already white, veins bulged out.

"Bring her here and we'll ask her," another sect elder said. "Does she plan to destroy the very foundations of our ancestors!"

"Family members should be mindful of the time," the ICU nurse reminded in a soft voice. Yang Yifan made a noise in response to indicate that she had heard the reminder.

The old sect leader was lying among a pile of medical equipment. It made him look thin and small. Probably no one could have imagined that Chuan Lin Feng of the Five Supremes back then would end up as this shriveled bag of bones.

Yang Yifan remembered that he had always been envious of Grandpa Yu Huaide from upstairs. After the old Yu Huaide passed away, Old Sect Leader Yang had said a few times, "How nice would it be to be like my brother. When he wanted to die, he found a place to sit, closed his eyes and died just like that. He came and left with no worries holding him back."

But he had too many worries. Compared to other people, his entire journey from life to death seemed to be like wading through water and mud, with many things towing him back.

When you wake up from your sleep, you will realise that I have destroyed everything you've worked for in your entire life until only shattered pieces are left. From now on, Beggars' Sect might really only exist in wuxia fiction, she thought. Will you blame me?

Family members could not stay in the ICU ward for long. Yang Yifan looked at him deeply, and then was led away by the nurse.

Patients in the ICU ward did not need someone to accompany them. There was nothing Yang Yifan could do at the hospital anyway. She changed out of the protective clothing. She planned to stay for a few days at her office; at No. 110, there were always people from Beggars' Sect poking their heads in.

I have nothing on at night so I'll go over it a bit more, then use the company's public account to post a public statement, Yang Yifan thought as she walked. Near the hospital, the traffic was bad and it was inconvenient for parking. She had parked her car rather far away. To save time, she took a shortcut there.

Suddenly, her back tensed. Before she could think further, she was already dodging to the side. The step she took was a little large, the thin heel of her shoe got stuck in the drain cover, pinning her leg there and making her stumble.

Yang Yifan twisted her head around. She saw an unfamiliar man wearing patched clothes standing behind her.

"Miss Yang," the other person said in a rather impolite tone. "I'm a Four Pouch disciple under Elder Tian. Today, the sect elders have convened and we hope that you will do us the honour of joining us. I am here specially to pick you up."

Yang Yifan tugged at her shoe for a while but the heel of the shoe seemed to have been specially made to fit into the drain cover. It was stuck firmly and snugly, and she could not pull it free. "My apologies. I don't have the time and I'm also not part of Beggars' Sect."

The man wearing the patched clothes had a look like he was facing a dilemma. "The instructions came from higher-ups. If I don't manage to invite you, the sect elders will blame me for not being able to do my work properly."

"Are you people inviting or kidnapping?"

"Of course we are inviting," the man wearing the patched clothes said. "It's just that we can't take no as an answer."

Yang Yifan scoffed. She furtively slipped her hand into her pocket to take her phone. "What if I don't want to go?"

The man said, "Please excuse me."

As he spoke, he reached a hand out to grab Yang Yifan's elbow. Yang Yifan ducked to avoid his hand and at the same time, pulled down the zip on her shoe and leaped out with her foot bare. She smashed her knee against the man's lower body and took the chance when he retreated a step to turn and run. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at her phone screen and frantically dialled the emergency number.

This was the disadvantage of modern smartphones. The screens were flat and one couldn't rely on touch. During an emergency, it was very inconvenient to call the police.

When she was very young, Yang Ping had forced her to practice martial arts. She had suffered not a small number of beatings due to that and it was to the extent that whenever she recalled this matter, her memories were all painful ones. Later on, she refused to dip her toes in this area anymore no matter what. Now that she was over thirty years old, the martial arts for children she had learned was purely for show now and could not be brought out at all for fights and brawls.

The man immediately gave chase. Yang Yifan's legs were not as long as his in the first place and she even had one foot bare and one foot clad in a shoe with an eight-centimeter heel. She ran like she was performing an act and she was breaking out in a cold sweat. Right then, footsteps sounded from ahead. Yang Yifan's eyes brightened. She was just about to shout when she saw that the intersection was blocked by a few vagrants!

Her call connected. Before Yang Yifan could make out the voice coming from the other side, someone twisted her elbow from the back and her phone immediately fell out of her hands. She kicked out and the man wearing patched clothes took the chance to stomp ruthlessly on her knee. It had been a little over twenty years since Yang Yifan last suffered such physical pain and she fell to her knees on the spot.

The man sneered. "Now will you come with us?"

Yan Hao left work early today and came back to help Boss Jiang man the shop. He was bending over and sweeping the ground in front of the shop when his ears suddenly twitched. Like a big-eared bat, he keenly sensed a noise coming from behind him. Yan Hao turned his head around and saw that Qiao-Qiao was standing on the other side of the crossroads.

Qiao-Qiao hadn't been at work for a few days now. He heard that she had applied for leave. The poor and stingy pet store next door couldn't afford a second employee so the boss had no choice but to put in an appearance himself to welcome the customers. The boss was a bald man in his thirties, nearly 1.9 meters tall, his upper arms bulging with fierce-looking muscles and his lower arms tattooed with a spirited azure dragon. He had scared the wits out of the little animals in the pet store and also the little Yan Hao next door.

The moment Yan Hao saw him, from two meters away his calves would start to cramp. Until now, he did not dare bring the canned pet food to the next door.

Now that Qiao-Qiao was finally back, Yan Hao was both surprised and pleased. He waved madly at her and communicated with her using sign language that he was still not fluent in: I have something of yours!

Right then, a bus drove past the intersection and stopped between the two of them. Yan Hao had no choice but to withdraw his hand. He clutched at his hair awkwardly.

Half a minute later, the bus rumbled away. But when Yan Hao looked again, Qiao-Qiao had disappeared without a trace from the opposite side of the road. Startled, he rushed over to look for her. The air seemed to still carry a trace of the fruity perfume she wore. Yan Hao looked to the right and to the left—he saw a shadow slip around a corner.

Yan Hao's skills were from the lineage of Tang Qian Yan. His qinggong could put Gan Qing at a disadvantage. Qiao-Qiao's footsteps were so light and nimble they didn't seem to be those of an ordinary person and he naturally had noticed that a long time ago. It was just that he had never asked. The two of them were like online friends who happened to be neighbours. Everyday, they communicated with each other using the written word and "human-flesh emoticons." When it came to "real life" matters, if one person didn't volunteer information, it was not convenient for the other person to inquire.

What on earth had she encountered?

Yan Hao hesitated a while, then gave chase.

Qiao-Qiao seemed to be following someone. The girl was really like a reincarnation of a cat demon and was naturally as lithe as a swallow. Yan Hao brought out all his skills but nearly lost her a few times. Finally, Qiao-Qiao came to a stop.

Yan Hao couldn't be very sure where he was now. Keeping one eye on Qiao-Qiao, he dug out his phone to check his location. Right at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he spied a Beggars' Sect disciple acting sneaky.

The location tracking on his phone succeeded. Yan Hao looked closely—Isn't this near the hospital where Sect Leader Yang is currently staying?

Suspicion rose in his heart. Not far away, he saw Qiao-Qiao slip into a tiny alley like a fish. Without thinking, Yan Hao followed after her and at the same time, he took a precaution—he sent his location to Yu Lanchuan.