Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Love and Hatred, Haicheng's Solitude

  "The rivers and lakes will never be eradicated. In a peaceful and prosperous world, where people are warm and full, it may disappear for a while. But the seeds of the rivers and lakes have always been in every person's heart - righteousness, fighting against injustice, evil, survival, animal instincts... these are all the seeds that make up the rivers and lakes in human nature. As long as there is an environment to nurture them, they will emerge again. However, the current situation is becoming increasingly unsuitable for people of the rivers and lakes to survive, so now is the time to leave the rivers and lakes!" Gu Kai Ze said, hugging his wine cup with a drunken gaze, speaking to Li Hu Qiu.

  Li Huqiu said: "From a young age to adulthood, I only learned the skills of theft. They all told me that this is a lifetime career, if I were to change careers, what could I do?"

  Gu Kaize laughed and said, "You little thief can continue to do so, but you big thieves who have made a name for yourself cannot continue. You wouldn't even bother with the small amount of money from these ordinary people, you big thieves must aim high. That's why your harm is too great, you must retire! In fact, even if you retire, it doesn't mean there's nothing to do. Many of the people in the thieving world are multi-talented, for example, Jin SanYe, one of the three old masters who specialize in underground work, he's a big shot in the antique industry. If he didn't steal anymore and directly became an appraiser, all the antique shops in the world would be fighting to get him."

  Li Huqiu suddenly thought of Hao Xiangzi's good friend Jin Sanye, whose full name was Jin Chuan, and he also did underground business. He asked: "Old brother, the thief Jin San Ye you mentioned, is his name Jin Chuan?" Gu Kai Ze's eyes lit up, saying: "You know him? Yes, that's what he's called."

  Li Huqiu frowned and said, "He's good friends with Hao Qiu, they even call each other brothers. They both have a swallow tattoo on their wrists, and I've seen two others with the same tattoo on their arms. Is this the mark of the thieves' gang?"

  "Exactly, this is the symbol of the Thieves' Guild! However, the so-called Thieves' Guild has already been disbanded. A few years ago, it was destroyed by a joint effort of the four major Special Delegations. After Er Ye Bufen, the most skilled fighter among the three elders of the Thieves' Guild, went missing, the four major Special Delegations joined forces to attack and destroy the guild's headquarters. Lao Da Tiepan, the leader, fled to Russia with a few apprentices, while Lao San Jinchuan disappeared without a trace. To this day, there are many rumors about their whereabouts, and it is unknown whether they are still alive. Now that you mention it, I suppose Jinchuan should still be alive."

  Li Huqiu said: "Is there a disciple of Tie Panguan named Shusheng, Bai Lang, or Huo Huli?"

  Gu Kaize said: "The second thief, 'White Wolf', and the third thief, 'Scholar' Wang Mao, were both wanted criminals who had been on the list for several years. Their senior brother, Blue Thunder, was even a double A-level wanted criminal." He then asked Li Huqiu back: "How? Have you seen them?"

  Li Huqiu nodded and said, "Scholar Wang Mao stole the 'Crane's Cry' painting from Huang Baojiang. For some reason, Huang didn't dare to use his official power, but instead joined forces with Thief King to select a master thief to steal the painting back. As it turned out, I was chosen for the task and even had a run-in with Scholar Wang Mao in Shencheng."

  Gu Kaize said: "The thieves behind the door are not simple, they dare to appear openly in the territory of Huaxia, and most likely have a big backing from the government. After Iron Judge moves to Russia, he will definitely not be idle. Perhaps he has grasped some important resources that certain big shots value."

  Li Huqiu sighed and said, "It's still good to have an organization. My younger brother is not loved by his aunt or uncle, and behind him are the four major special delegates lurking in secret, ready to send me to prison at any time. To be honest, what I should worry about now is not the problem of making a living in the future, but whether I can get through this difficult pass called Du Mu Ye."

  Ku Kai Ze handed an envelope to Li Hu Qiu and said, "The money is not much, you take it first and spend it. It's a token of brotherly love for emergency use in the jianghu world. Remember these days don't commit any crimes. Duan Mu Ye is a man who upholds the law, if he hasn't caught you in the act, he won't easily make a move. You're just on file and haven't been wanted yet. He might be hiding in some corner waiting for you to slip up so he can use it as an excuse to catch you."

  The wine was spoken of with joy, but gatherings must eventually disperse. Li Huqiu asked and understood the doubts in his heart, then bid farewell and left.

  Gu Kaize's words helped Li Huqiu see the situation clearly, and he realized that the carefree days of the Jianghu guests would definitely come to an end. The life of the great thieves traveling north and south across the four seas would never return. Hao Cuizi and Crab Claw's era had already ended. If Li Huqiu didn't want to be chased by eagles and dogs for the rest of his life, he had to make some choices. He thought of Xiaoyanzi and his own life story. One was responsibility, the other was a long-cherished wish. His heart's desire was not yet fulfilled, no matter whether it was Duanmu Ye or Huang Baojiang, no matter how many dangers lay ahead, Li Huqiu had to step forward! With Xiaoyanzi being taken care of by Zhang Manli, thinking of Duanmu Ye secretly spying on him, Li Huqiu decided to find his biological parents before falling into the net. Even if they didn't recognize each other, he wanted to take a look from afar and be at peace.

  Three days later, Li Huqiu boarded a long-distance bus and headed to the village where he spent his childhood, embarking on a journey of searching for his roots.

  In the long-distance bus, a car that was supposed to hold forty-three people had at least sixty people crammed into it. Along the way, there were still people getting on and off the bus from time to time. At this time, the north had already entered the season of freezing cold, but the smell inside the car wasn't too unbearable yet. In front of Li Huqiu sat a short-haired girl, who caught his eye with a fleeting glance when she got on the bus. He noticed that she was very beautiful. Now he was sitting behind her, and the faint scent of her youthful body made him feel happy and carefree. Next to the girl sat a middle-aged man, dressed in a suit and tie, wearing tea-colored glasses, looking very dignified. The two had exchanged a few words before, clearly they were together.

  When the bus arrived at Zhaozhou, a woman carrying a child got on. Li Huqiu was about to stand up and give his seat, but the girl sitting in front of him stood up first and gave her seat to the woman. Li Huqiu wanted to offer his own seat to the girl, but she declined. Li Huqiu felt that the girl's attitude towards him was a bit strange.

  The car continued on its way. When it passed through a small town, five people got on, including a middle-aged woman with a child. Li Huqiu stood up and let them sit down.

  Four men who got on the bus with a middle-aged woman squeezed to the back after getting on. One of them saw Li Huqiu stand up and hurriedly squeezed over in front of the middle-aged woman, about to sit down. Just as Li Huqiu was about to get angry, he suddenly saw a small white hand stretch out beside him, grab the man's collar, and with a flick of his wrist, push the man aside. Li Huqiu's eyes lit up, thinking to himself: This big girl has kung fu skills, and they're not simple.

  A middle-aged woman also came over at this time, and Li Huqiu cleverly made way for half a seat, blocking the person who was squeezing in while letting her sit down.

  That man was pushed and squeezed, and was about to scold someone when he suddenly discovered that the girl who had pushed him was very beautiful. His anger dissipated instantly. Another person who had gotten on the bus with him pulled him back, saying "We haven't arrived at our destination yet, no matter how pretty she is, you can't mess with her. Don't be in a hurry to play ball, when we get there, everyone will have a share!" The man listened and obediently followed him to the back of the bus. Li Huqiu heard these two sentences of slang and his heart skipped a beat, thinking that this trip was not going to be ordinary. These people were thieves who stole from the rich and gave to themselves, the most hated type of scoundrels on the road! The sentence meant that even if the girl was very beautiful, they shouldn't get impatient before arriving at their destination. When they got there, they would strip her naked and put her on display, and all the brothers could play with her.

  The bus moved forward, the sun began to set in the west, and in front of it was a vast expanse of wilderness, with only this highway stretching out ahead. Suddenly, the driver saw a large tree lying across the road ahead and slammed on the brakes. The whole car full of people was thrown forward by inertia. The woman reacted quickly, crossing her feet to steady herself, her small hands raised in front of her chest, apparently to prevent Li Huqiu from taking advantage of her. The people in the back of the bus surged forward, but were stopped at Li Huqiu's position, as if a river had encountered a dam. They were all blocked by this unassuming young man.

  In the Northeast, there is a local saying: "A fool has three knives in his heart, but can't beat the water snake waist; the water snake waist can't play with the one-eyed dragon, and the one-eyed dragon can't compare to the scabies head." From an astrological perspective, people with unusual appearances often have extraordinary talents, so it's best not to associate with them. This saying has scientific basis: people who look strange inevitably suffer from many strange gazes of others, which easily leads to psychological distortion and makes them more likely to go to extremes and behave strangely, making it hard for others to understand them. Among the four people who got on the bus later, there was one scabies head.

  The car had just stopped when the hunchbacked man behind him pulled out a sharp knife from his bosom and shouted loudly: "The Wild Wolves of Xiaoheyan are borrowing some money from the old masters in the car, everyone cooperate!"

  "It's best if you all don't resist, otherwise you won't have a good ending. This place is in the middle of nowhere, and if we kill those who don't listen, you'll have no one to appeal to." The man who had been squeezing in earlier walked over to Li Huqiu and the girl with a sharp knife, coldly issuing a warning.