Mr. Zhuge, respectfully referred to as "Old Master" by Chen Yuanshu, left a sentence for Chen Ergou before walking out of the house: "Before my second retreat, a young monk from a secular family gave me this sentence, which I now pass on to you: The essence of Tao and Buddhist truth is generally useless effort. It's just ordinary and uneventful. Shit is delivered with urine, clothes are worn to eat, sleep when tired, attain the Way in small matters, become a Buddha among ordinary people."

  Chen Ergou roughly understood the meaning, but his heart was not disturbed. Firstly, Zhang Sanqian being taken away was like a rich and noble person going to the army, which was almost a life-and-death farewell for him. Secondly, what Old Man Zhuge said was too mysterious, Chen Ergou didn't lack the nonsense that the old man of Zhangjiacun had been talking about all his life. These words, no matter how valuable they were, became worthless when they reached Chen Ergou's ears and were put in his heart. He felt that what he lacked most was power and money, and of course, beautiful women.

  There was no Zhang Sanqian, Li Erhu washed clothes and cooked meals, lying on the upper bunk listening to his absurdly edited "Water Margin", Chen Ergou's life was indeed cold and dull, at least playing basketball lacked a partner who could rival Wang Hu and Wang Jiefang brothers. Another week passed, and Wang Hu also left Shanshui Huamen with Wang Jiefang, telling Chen Ergou that they were going to Shenzhen to handle some business. Although Xiao Ye didn't say much, Chen Ergou could guess the general idea - Hu was thinking of using unscrupulous means to get back the Tang Sancai Tianwang statue that Zhuge Lao Ren had taken great care of, and then personally deliver it to the old man who lived to be over 90 years old, so that the old god would acknowledge his kindness. How could Chen Ergou not understand this? It's just that Wang Hu didn't say anything, and Chen Ergou didn't want to express gratitude either. Although he was eloquent when doing bad things in Zhangjiacun, at such moments he became tongue-tied, a habit he had since childhood - whenever he did something wrong or wanted to thank someone, he wouldn't say it out loud, stubbornly keeping it in his heart, never afraid of suffocating himself. This was how he treated the old drunkard who had already entered the grave, and also how he treated Wang Hu now.

  One night, Chen Ergou couldn't sleep and was studying the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The more he delved into it, the deeper he got, almost to the point of burning out his brain, which had only superficially learned some college micro and macro economics courses after graduating from high school. He was a person who liked to delve deeply into things, and if he didn't master something to be better than ordinary people, he wouldn't give up. Just as he was biting his pen and getting a headache, there was a knock at the door, accompanied by a low voice, "I am Guo Geshu, Master Wei's driver."

  Chen Ergou's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't put down the pencil in his hand. He stood up with his right hand to open the door, while his left hand hung down, tightly gripping the pencil. He hadn't come to Nanjing for a vacation or tourism; the storm surrounding Zhao Kunpeng was far from settling, and Wei Duan Gong had just gotten into another big mess. Chen Ergou couldn't help but be on high alert. When he opened the door, it was indeed Guo Gouxiong, with eyes that still made timid people shudder like a wild wolf. Chen Ergou quickly scanned him and found several bloodstains on his body, which were fresh. With his experience dissecting animals, Chen Ergou could tell at a glance that the blood had been shed within two hours. After confirming no one was following behind, he let Guo Gouxiong into the room. The first words from this unexpected guest almost made Chen Ergou's jaw drop: "I just killed Qiao Bazi, who wanted to harm Master Wei and flirt with his wife; I chopped him up into pieces and fed them to dogs."

  Chen Ergou didn't think that this crazy guy named Guo was joking, so he calmed down and quickly analyzed the sentence into three extremely useful pieces of information: 1. Wei Duan Gong, the 9,000-year-old who dominated Nanjing, was indeed dead, either murdered or killed, not a suicide. 2. The arch-nemesis known as Qiao Ba Zhi wanted to make a move on Wei Duan Gong's woman. 3. Qiao Ba Zhi was dead, or had been dismembered by Guo.

  After the initial discomfort, Chen Ergou, who had experienced sudden situations in the mountains, quickly calmed down. The more dangerous it was, the more he needed to be calm, a lesson learned from his scars. He tossed a cigarette to Guo Xiaonian and lit one for him, then lit one for himself, saying: "Wei Ye gave me Huanghe Lou cigarettes, I can't give you good cigarettes here."

  Kuo Guo had been observing Chen Ergou's expression from head to toe, and only when Chen Ergou handed him the cigarette with a steady hand and calm heart did he reveal a wild and crazy smile. He took a deep drag, narrowed his eyes, as if still savoring the thrill of chopping Qiao Bajie into pieces, and said in a low voice: "Master Wei is indeed good at judging people. I used to look down on you and couldn't understand why Master Wei was willing to deal with someone like you. Today, this cigarette, it's really enjoyable."

  "Want to tell me about it in detail?" Chen Ergou asked tentatively. Since Guo Jue had come to his doorstep, no matter what kind of trouble it was, he had already gotten himself into a mess, and trying to avoid it was not possible. In that case, he might as well understand the situation better, so he wouldn't suffer without knowing why. Having listened to so many economics lessons in the city, Chen Ergou also understood a major principle: information - these two words could make money, and broadly speaking, they could also save or kill people.

  "No time to chat with you, I have to hide in Yunnan. Qiao Bazi's power in Jiangsu is not weaker than Wei Ye's. This life, I may never come back. I came here just to ask you for one thing, otherwise I won't leave at ease." Guo Gu said slowly while smoking.

  "You speak." Chen Ergou said in a low voice, without any hesitation or beating around the bush.

  "Aren't you afraid I'll drag you down with me?" Guo Qianxiu smiled eerily.

  "It's too fake to say you're not afraid."

  Chen Ergou smiled, finishing a cigarette quickly and lighting another one. "However, Master Wei has been kind to me, so it's only natural that I put in some effort. I won't make any grand promises to you, but what I can do, I'll put in 100% effort without slacking off. What I can't do, I'll put in 120% of my thoughts and try my best, as for the outcome, I don't dare guarantee it."

  "I love hearing this."

  "Guo extinguished the cigarette butt and said: "Wei Ye doesn't like to get close to people, so he has many business partners and underlings, but none of them are loyal. As long as he's in his position, he can keep those wolves at bay, but once he's gone, they'll all scatter and no one will be willing to take charge. Wei Ye is dead, but his wife and children are still here. If I leave, there really won't be anyone willing to stand up for them like a man. I'm afraid they'll get taken advantage of. Those bastards aren't trustworthy - either they're greedy or they'll take advantage of the women. That's why I've found you, hoping you can take charge and look after them. I've already spoken with Wei Ye's wife and children beforehand. As long as you enter the Wei household, you won't lack money or people. Things will be much easier to do, but I'm also making it clear that there are risks involved, and they're huge. It depends on whether you dare to take them on."

  "Do you believe me?" Chen Ergou asked a very crucial question.

  "I was 50% sure when we hadn't met, now I'm 80%."

  Kuo Guo rubbed his hands, wiping away the faint bloodstains, and smiled: "As long as I don't die for a day, going to Yunnan can still come back. If you do something wrong, I'll exchange one life for another with you. Since I was able to enter the heavily guarded Qiao family villa and chop off 78 knives from Qiao Baizhan, killing you wouldn't be too difficult either."

  Chen Ergou smiled wryly and said, "You're ruthless."

  "If I'm not ruthless, I won't have the capital to make Master Wei look at me with new eyes." Guo said as he stood up, "Ergou, you and I are both poor people from small places, without family background or academic qualifications. If we want to rise up and become someone, we must dare to be cruel. Master Wei always says that I'm reckless and prone to making mistakes, not suited for big things but only for small ones. He says you're better than me, able to endure and play it cool, with the potential of a politician. Maybe if you were in my position today, you would set up traps one by one and slowly toy with Qiao Baizhang until he's ruined. That's where we differ, and that's how you can ensure Master Wei's favored ones live a life without worries. I'm not capable of that, so from now on, I'll be relying on you."

  "That's all smooth sailing." Chen Ergou still sat on the bench, smoking a cigarette, expressionless. If someone had killed Fu Gui or San Qian, let alone chopping people, he would definitely be able to do something as cruel as skinning them alive.

  Kuo Guo nodded slightly and finally disappeared into the night veil of Shanshui Huamen, like a leopard hunting at night.

  Chen Ergou didn't sleep for a whole night and smoked three packs of cigarettes. (To find out what happens next, please log in, more chapters available, support the author, support the official version!)