Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Fate and Enmity, Haicheng's Solitude

  Li Huqiu twice shouted that he wanted to shoot a flying knife, but it was all empty talk and did not come true. Not only did it make Huo Butian angry and confused, but also confirmed that Li Huqiu no longer had any flying knives on him. So when Li Huqiu shouted for the third time, Huo Butian didn't take any preventive measures. Li Huqiu once again used the method of stimulating his heart and blood that he had gained from his sorrow after Yanzi's death, stirring up his heart and blood to shoot out a flying knife that could capture one's soul!

  Huò Bǔ Tiān fell to the ground, his mind still reeling from his defeat. This young man was not only skilled with flying knives, but also had a terrifying grasp of strategy in life-or-death battles. The last flying knife thrown by Lǐ Hǔ Qiū had injured his lung, and if he were to force himself to use his powers again, his lungs would immediately be unable to withstand the pressure, causing him to cough up blood and die. He lay there motionless, thinking about whether it was necessary to go down with this brilliant young man. Huà Jìn Dà Shī's physical strength was far beyond that of ordinary people; even with such severe injuries, he still had enough energy to unleash a final, desperate blow.

  Li Huqiu approached, and Huo Butian thought he was going to take his life. In a hurry, he was about to launch a desperate attack, but saw Li Huqiu pull out a bottle of medicine from his pocket. Looking at the brand, it was a bottle of knife wound white medicine that could be used for both external and internal injuries. He quickly tore open Huo Butian's clothes, poured the white medicine on the knife wound, then pried open Huo Butian's mouth and poured some of the medicine in. From the dead yellow sheep, he took a piece of flesh and squeezed out the water content into Huo Butian's mouth, sending the medicine down. Finally, he prepared a small piece of cloth and quickly pulled out the flying knife that had pierced Huo Butian's chest. He then covered the wound with the cloth and poured some white medicine on it. Before long, the bleeding was temporarily stopped, and Huo Butian himself played the greatest role in slowing down the blood flow.

  Li Huqiu clapped his hands and said: "I can save you, but I can also kill you. Answer my questions and I'll let you go."

  Huò Bǔ Tiān coughed up a mouthful of blood, and as he tried to breathe and circulate his energy, the pain in his wound became unbearable with even a slightly faster rhythm. He knew that without an unyielding determination to die, he would no longer be able to engage in combat with others. He nodded his head, and with a bitter smile said: "Good flying knife, good plot! Who would have thought that after a lifetime of roaming free, I would fall at the hands of a young whippersnapper like you? Ask your questions."

  "Who is she?"

  She was of course referring to Gao Yu Feng. After being together for a month, Li Hu Qiu understood every detail on her body, but still hadn't figured out her true identity. The appearance of Huo Bu Tian made him urgently want to know her background, he felt as if he was about to lose her.

  "What's the point of you knowing anyway? Can't I coming to find you make you understand her thoughts?"

  Huò Bǔ Tiān views Gāo Chú Fèng as if she were his own granddaughter. He knows that there is no possibility between Lǐ Hǔ Qiū and Gāo Chú Fèng, so rather than dragging it out and causing more suffering for Gāo Chú Fèng, he decides to take drastic action against Lǐ Hǔ Qiū! When Lǐ Hǔ Qiū asks him who Gāo Chú Fèng is, Huò Bǔ Tiān doesn't want Lǐ Hǔ Qiū to continue bothering Gāo Chú Fèng, so he lies and says that his presence represents Gāo Chú Fèng's attitude, implying that Lǐ Hǔ Qiū should retreat.

  Young people's emotions are simple and sincere, fragile and easily hurt. Li Huqiu, however, was a character who could pick up and put down things at will. Having been in the treacherous and dangerous Jianghu for a long time, he always had three points of doubt about other people's words. He did not entirely believe what Hua Bu Tian said.

  "Even if she wants me dead, I still want to know what kind of person she is?" Li Huqiu said casually, wiping the flying knife with a piece of cloth torn from Huo Butian's body.

  Huò Bǔ Tiān sized up Lǐ Hǔ Qiū, and the more he looked at him, the more he felt that this young man was extraordinary. He had thought that with what he just said, Lǐ Hǔ Qiū would at least be upset or disappointed for a while, but Lǐ Hǔ Qiū's reaction was beyond his expectations. From Lǐ Hǔ Qiū's insistence on wanting to know about Gāo Chú Fèng's background, it could be judged that he had not given up on this relationship; from his expression, it was not difficult to see that Huò Bǔ Tiān's words just now had not had much of an impact on him.

  "I've been wandering the world for thirty-eight years, always forcing others to yield. The question you asked is something I don't want to say. Wandering the world, practicing martial arts, making enemies of people and struggling against heaven - it's long since occurred to me that there would be a good outcome. Young man, give Lord Huo San a satisfying blow! What you want to know, I won't say."

  Li Huqiu smiled and said, "Even if you don't say it, I can still imagine the general idea. Alright, you can go now. Currently, I'm not capable of being with her, and even if I were to find my way to her doorstep, it would be self-degrading. Not to mention that I couldn't win against the countless masters of your Green Gang, even if I could win, I still wouldn't be able to fight her family members until the heavens and earth are overturned! There will come a day when I'll pay a visit to her home!"

  Li Huqiu rushed back to the hotel at the fastest speed, and as expected, Fang had already disappeared without a trace. He sat on the bed, taking deep breaths to calm his inner turmoil. The girl's fragrance still lingered, and Li Huqiu closed his eyes, carefully recalling every detail of their encounter from start to finish. Finally, he understood why she was so eccentric all along. Her infatuation, stubbornness, and even refusal to let him show genuine affection towards her made sense now. Sometimes, she would wake up crying in her dreams, worried about dragging him down with her. She was like a phoenix trapped in a cage, and he was the wild bird that had lured her away. She enjoyed being with him but feared it would put him in danger as well.

  Li Huqiu thought about He Butian tonight, if it wasn't for his cunning, even with his flying knives, he wouldn't be a match for him. The opponent was just a big executive in the Criminal Department, according to the normal structure of the gang, his position was barely considered first-rate, and above him, there were at least the master and deputy master, the leader and deputy leader, the hall manager, and the general executive. A single executive was already not someone he could handle, let alone those monsters? This world really had too much helplessness. Li Huqiu sighed, his body leaning back, suddenly feeling a card-like object poking him from behind. He flipped over and took the card in his hand, only to find it was a bank card, which was always carried by Gao Yunfeng. Li Huqiu knew the password and also knew that there were nearly one million yuan on it. It was probably left on purpose, Li Huqiu clenched the card in his hand, thinking of her gentle feelings, his heart warmed slightly. Then he thought about Ha City still having unfinished business, his kung fu was far from home, Huang Baojiang owed him something that wasn't urgent for now, at least he should first go back and settle things at home.

  Haicheng South Station, after experiencing a circle of outside Jianghu, Li Huqiu returned here again.

  As soon as he came out of the station, he saw Lao Miao's tea egg stall. The pot was steaming hot. Li Huqiu walked up with his hands in his sleeves and threw 10 yuan into the money box, then grabbed two tea eggs from the pot. After chewing for a while, he said, "The taste has changed, how long hasn't the tea soup been added to the pot?"

  Lao Miao gave him a glance and said, "You still know how to come back? If you have something to eat, hurry up and eat it. The municipal party committee has changed leaders and issued new regulations. It is strictly forbidden to set up stalls near the train station and bus station. In two days, the city management inspection team will be established, and at that time, my rice bowl will also be gone."

  Li Huqiu furrowed his brow upon hearing this, knowing that Lao Miao had been injured in the battle at Zhenbao Island and couldn't do heavy labor. At home, there were elderly and young people to care for, and his wife took care of the household while also raising chickens to lay eggs; the whole family relied on Lao Miao. This humble tea egg stall was crucial to the livelihood of Lao Miao's entire family. He patted the bank card in his pocket and said, "Wait a minute." Before long, he rushed back, saying, "Don't be foolish, this stall is already at its peak; besides, you're getting older by the day, and your body isn't well - even if you wanted to keep doing it, you wouldn't be able to for many more years. Why not go home and do some other business?"

  "You think it's easy to say, but at home, the old man is still in school, and upstairs there are elderly people who need to drink medicinal soup every day. In the past few years, we've even supported two university students, and there's not a single penny of savings left at home, what can we use to do business?"

  Li Huqiu said: "I want to start a chicken farm, I'm looking for a partner, how about we team up? You have experience in raising chickens, I'll provide the funds, your family's big courtyard is also large enough, build a few sheds and we can get started. We'll split the profits 50/50, if we lose money, it's my bad luck, and you won't lose anything."

  Lao Miao was a bit skeptical, saying: "That's great, but starting a chicken farm will cost at least 10,000 to 20,000 yuan." Li Huqiu threw a deposit slip into Lao Miao's money box and said: "I'll give you one million. You can start making arrangements as soon as you get back. You and my aunt have full authority over the business. I'll just wait for my share of the profits. Don't worry, this money is absolutely legitimate, it's a brand new deposit slip from the bank, the password is 611. Do a good job, don't be afraid of losing money, it's still the same, if we lose money, it's on me."

  Lao Miao's glasses were misty, looking at Li Huqiu's back, his lips moved silently for a long time, finally turning into a long sigh, "What a good kid, unfortunately was ruined by the old cripple!"

  Rumors from the Jianghu are always more timely and accurate than news broadcasts. The news of Li Huqiu's appearance at Nan Station spread quickly. Zhang Tiejun learned about it and immediately paid a visit. When he arrived, Li Huqiu was helping Zhang Manli wrap dumplings.

  Zhang Manli's heart was truly delighted when she saw Li Huqiu return, and she hesitated about whether to go over and hug him. Before she could make up her mind, Li Huqiu had already walked over and hugged her, deeply kissing her red lips. Finally, he whispered in her ear: "Sister, thank you! I was thinking of you making dumplings for me to eat." At the moment when this man pulled her into his arms and kissed her red lips, Zhang Manli felt like she had been electrocuted, and Li Huqiu's passion left her at a loss. She wanted to push him away, but felt powerless, so she could only ask herself in her heart: Has he gone crazy?

  Li Huqiu was not crazy, he just understood women better. He felt ashamed of his past rejection of Zhang Manli. A woman who eats and lives with you, silently paying out for you, if it's not because of love, and you don't have a blood relationship, then this is all nonsense. Everything between him and Gao Chufeng was just an episode in the wandering life of Li Huqiu, simple and wonderful, but destined to be short-lived. But Zhang Manli here seemed like his home, no matter how high he flew or how far he walked, one day he would return to this nest.

  Zhang Manli quickly bought back the ingredients needed to make dumplings. The dough was mixed well, the filling was stirred well, Li Huqiu rolled out the wrappers, and Zhang Manli wrapped them up. The three fresh shrimp fillings were fragrant and enticing, Little Swallow was excitedly running around, coming and going, busily helping out. It had a bit of the flavor of a family of three living together at home. Zhang Tiejun stood with one foot inside the door and one outside, laughing as he said: "Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right moment, I heard that Huqiu was back and came over to chat for a bit, didn't expect to catch you guys making dumplings."

  Zhang Manli was annoyed by this. Just now, Li Huqiu said that he would let Xiaoyanzi sleep alone tonight, and Zhang Manli could guess what he wanted to do with her toes. This really is more and more like a family. He snatched the rolling pin from Li Huqiu's hand and said: "This little job can be done by women, Iron Army brother must have come to talk about something important, you go and talk, I'll call you when the dumplings are ready."

  In the house where Lao Can lived in the past, Zhang Tiejun asked Li Huqiu about his experience of participating in this Thief King competition.

  Li Huqiu's words shocked everyone: "Big Brother Tie Jun, are you ready to run away? From now on, we can't eat this bowl of rice together anymore."