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

  Crab claw and black fox fought, Dajingzi was the referee. After checking the results of both sides, Dajingzi did not show favoritism to Crab Claw due to their old friendship. He bluntly said that Crab Claw had lost. Crab Claw's face turned bright red, he didn't react immediately and wanted to ask more questions. Suddenly, he noticed Dajingzi's gaze was fixed on his ear, his heart skipped a beat, he reached out to touch it, only to find that the earrings were gone!

  People often make such mistakes, when they focus highly on something, they become numb to the various changes around them. When doing things, it's praiseworthy and called concentration, which is what scientists need most. But when it comes to being a person, it's called being obsessed, with only benefits and goals in mind, and many people go astray because of this. Crab Claw was in such a state when he was intently digging out the black fox's den, but his situation was more similar to the concentration spirit of scientists.

  When a thief reaches a certain level, the changes that can be pursued in technique are no longer many. The difference between masters often lies in their vision and wisdom. In this regard, Crab Claw is inferior to Black Fox. His eyes were fixed on the miscellaneous objects on Black Fox's body, while Black Fox's eyes were on the earrings attached to his earlobe. If it were a life-and-death struggle between old enemies, this slight difference in vision would be enough to separate life and death.

  The crab paws have fallen flat because they stood up for Li Huqiu. If Li Huqiu can't get his face back, the two of them can go back to Northeast together with their tails between their legs.

  Li Huqiu leaned in front of Hu Guangli, without seeing his action amplitude being too large, just raised his hand to touch the black fox's collar, and then chuckled, saying: "Everyone has a great life, hiding is a master, doing our line emphasizes low-key, really comparing skills, you may not be the first in the world." His previous small movements, no one saw the inside story, it seemed like he was inserting himself between Crab Claw and Hu Guangli, subconsciously asking Hu Guangli to make way with such a simple action.

  Hu Guang stared at Li Huqiu with a sharp gaze, "Little kid?????" Suddenly, his expression changed, and Li Huqiu grasped his hand, saying: "The Northwest Bandit King, what a big name, you live up to your reputation. Old Xie is tired from traveling, I'm young and strong, taking him by surprise, one win and one loss, let's call it a draw today."

  Gao Longyu walked over and said, "Everyone has come from afar as guests. The three friends from the Northeast have just gotten off the train and are tired from the journey, so let's first invite them to rest in the guest room. Chū Fèng, your master is at the back, ask her to arrange accommodations for these three friends."

  Li Huqiu and the other two followed Gao Chufeng to the back, while in the living room, Hu Guangli narrowed his eyes, gazing at his back, took a cold breath, and said: "This little devil is a formidable opponent." As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand, and on his palm was a button from an undergarment.

  The art of picking locks is the foundation of thieves, seemingly ordinary, but Hu Guangli is such a figure, how good is his lock-picking skill? Moreover, such an ordinary method was used by such a clever old thief, not only did it not show any flaws, but it also succeeded. This move can be called extremely difficult. This is exactly the principle of "great skill appears simple", where true skill is shown in ordinary places. Hu Guangli may be arrogant, but he is a connoisseur. Who would have thought that Li Huqiu could master such an excellent technique at such a young age?

  Li Huqiu had seen three women in his life, excluding the mother who breastfed him and the swallow that fed him. He had peeked at Yanzhi sister while she was bathing, and Manli sister had changed her clothes in front of him, pretending to be asleep. Li Huqiu understood that Manli sister was trying to repay a favor, intentionally offering herself to him, but he chose not to take advantage of the situation. The last woman, Bao Wenjing, was a legendary figure in the thieves' world of Chengdu City, known for her exceptional skills and elegant appearance. Her pale skin had left a deep impression on Li Huqiu's mind. On the night after the previous Thief King competition, she had engaged in an intense battle with Lao Canzi, opening Li Huqiu's eyes to new possibilities, and his sleep was disturbed for the first time by her cries.

  If fate permits, we can reunite even in the desert. So Li Huqiu met Bao Wenjing again. She was actually Gao Chufeng's master, and what's more surprising is that she still recognized Li Huqiu. At first, she exaggeratedly called out Li Huqiu's name, then said: "The little sprout from back then has grown into a young man with a messy hairdo! I've always had a question for you, was it you who helped Hao Quzi steal my bag at the accessories competition?" Her accent carried a hint of glutinous rice flavor, soft and slightly hoarse voice was somewhat sexy, her thick lips seemed to have the energy to spit fire. Li Huqiu's heart skipped a beat as he gazed into her charming eyes, hastily shaking his head and laughing: "I was just a kid back then! How could I have had that kind of skill? Taking advantage of you would be beneath me, these two beside me are more suitable."

  Dà Dǐngzi smiled and nodded, saying it had been a long time since they last met, which was his way of greeting Bāo Wénjìng. Xièzǎiér rushed over enthusiastically to give Bāo Wénjìng a hug, and surprisingly, she didn't reject him. It wasn't until then that Lǐ Hǔqiū realized the three were old acquaintances.

  The villa had many rooms, and Bao Wenjing arranged a room for each of them. When she opened the door with the key, Li Huqiu noticed that her right hand was missing three fingers.

  After Bao Wenjing left, Li Huqiu had just lain down to rest for a while when Da Dingzi came knocking on the door, saying he wanted to chat with Li Huqiu for a bit.

  "Ding Ye, something's up?" Li Huqiu asked after inviting him to sit down.

  Dà Dǐngzi nodded and said, "It's not a big deal, just feel a bit strange, some things can't be seen through, want to chat with you, little brother." Li Huchu said please go ahead. Dà Dǐngzi asked him, "Little brother, don't you think this time's Thief King contest is a bit strange?"

  Li Huqiu was quite interested and shook his head, saying: "I didn't notice, where did you see it?" Da Dingzi asked him first: "Did you receive an invitation to come here?" Li Huqiu nodded, took out the invitation and handed it to Da Dingzi, saying: "Hmm, isn't this right here? Is there a problem with the invitation?" Da Dingzi opened it and took a look, nodding his head and saying: It's her mark. He then said to Li Huqiu: "People in our line of work need to be careful before doing things. The organizer of this year's Thief King competition hadn't made a name for himself in the industry before, if he was the only one organizing the invitation, I and Crab Claw wouldn't have come. It's because we saw Bao Wenjing's special mark that we came, but after seeing Bao Wenjing herself, I suddenly felt something was off. She should no longer be in the business of making a living."

  Li Huqiu's eyes lit up and he said: "Did Brother Ding also see that she was missing three fingers?"

  Dà Dǐngzi nodded and said: "Bāo Wénjìng used to be known as 'one stop, five', the most powerful skill is the speed of her hands, relying solely on the skills of her right hand to grab copper coins from an oil pot. Although she's a woman, she has a big name in the circle and is also very righteous, so we old thieves came over without investigating the situation."

  "She's lost three fingers, her skills are gone by 10%, and she can't even eat the rice in the gate anymore."

  Dà Dǐngzi said: "The rules of the Tao are that once you leave the gate, you can't use your own mark again. But look at our invitation, it's printed with her mark. This matter was arranged by her to help Xing Gao, but she herself can't participate in the competition. She's always been a sore loser and wouldn't easily admit defeat in front of others. Now that her hand is crippled, she must not want to see these old friends from the past. But now she's helping Xing Gao send out invitations, which is somewhat unusual."

  Li Huqiu asked: "What are you worried about? Is this game arranged by Lei Zi to trick us?"

  Dà Dǐngzi said it's not impossible, Léi Zi usually needs evidence to capture people. If we're all gathered together, they'll use the excuse of arranging a match to make us reveal ourselves. They'll catch us in the act and get both the person and the loot. From now on, at least half of the workload for anti-pickpocketing on the Huá Xià Railway will be reduced.

  Li Huqiu chuckled and said, "Is this possibility very great?"

  Dà Dǐngzi saw that Li Hǔqiū didn't care much about what he said, so he didn't say much. After all, they weren't familiar with each other, and there was a difference in their generations. If it wasn't for the fact that Bāo Wénjìng was in the room with Xièzǎo, he would have rather discussed things with Xièzǎo. Li Hǔqiū was too young.

  The ancestor of thieves nodded to let Li Hǔqiū rest well and told him to be more careful when dealing with things, then left.

  Li Huqiu gazed at his back, his eyes narrowing into a slit as he pondered the meaning of what he had just said. Maybe it was sincere, maybe it was an exaggeration. In this circle, talking about loyalty was necessary, but only knowing how to talk about loyalty would guarantee death faster than anyone else, and one would never survive long enough to become the boss. Da Dingzi had stood unshakeable in the circle for many years, earning him the title of "Thief Ancestor". He must have had something special that set him apart. The title of Thief King was unique, with a huge reward attached to it. This old thief might not be unaware of Li Huqiu's formidable skills and had deliberately laid a trap for him, making him hesitant to fully unleash his abilities.

  It was time for dinner, and another guest arrived. He was short and stout, with a pair of black whiskers, and spoke with a Sichuan accent. Gao Longyu introduced him to the others; he was none other than Ba Doger, the first-rate thief from Mount Emei, known as the "Ghostly Thief". This man was also famous in the underworld, but had not participated in the first Thieves' Competition. Li Huqiu noticed that when he met Da Dingzi, they exchanged a few moves - Da Dingzi used his "Soul-Hook" to undo the thief's shoelaces, while the latter used his quick hands to snatch Da Dingzi's pocket watch. The two men compared their skills, and it was clear that Da Dingzi was superior.

  Li Huqiu had heard Crab Claw introduce the amazing skills of Da Dingzi, his most powerful skill was his mastery of the Soul Hook. He was known as "One Hook is Worth a Thousand Gold". This was a description of how good he was with hooks, but Li Huqiu thought this saying proved that his eyesight was even more formidable.

  Bao Wenjing and Pincer had a past relationship, and just now they met again after a long time and continued their previous relationship. This woman is very promiscuous in her private life, and has boasted that the number of men she has slept with can fill an entire train carriage. The stories about her were all told by Hao Qiu to Li Huqiu. If this woman was willing to sleep with a man like Hao Qiu, Li Huqiu thought it was entirely possible for her to have slept with as many men as could fill a train carriage.

  Not everyone has arrived yet, and after counting the days, there is still one day left until the final date set by Gao Longyu on the invitation. It seems that no one else will come today. Gao Longyu fulfilled his duties as host and invited everyone to go to Meiling Town's wine house for dinner. Everyone was hungry and went happily. Li Huqiu noticed that Hei Hudie Gao Chufeng did not follow them.

  The dinner was quite sumptuous. Among the guests, except for Li Huqiu, they were all seasoned foodies who had traveled extensively throughout the country, sampling the sweet and sour flavors of the east and west, the spicy and salty flavors of the south and north. As notorious thieves, most of them were lone wanderers who had spent their lives drifting from place to place, and while they may not have placed great importance on wealth, they all shared a deep appreciation for fine cuisine. To win over these infamous thieves from all corners of the land, ordinary food would hardly suffice. However, the restaurant that Gao Longyu had chosen was a renowned establishment, and he was confident that it would satisfy the discerning palates of his guests.

  "Mei Long Town Wine House" has formed a unique style of "Mei's dish" with decades of careful grinding and refinement, which is characterized by its fragrance, tenderness, smoothness, freshness, richness, and diversity. Dishes such as "Crab Roe Fish Fin", "Dry-braised Spot Prawns", "Crystal Shrimp", "Stir-fried Eel Paste", "Luxurious Fish Fillet with Noodles", "Dry-braised Four Seasons Beans", "Quick-stirred Crab Roe" and many others are renowned nationwide. As the dishes were served, everyone started eating together. Suddenly, Gao Longyu's phone rang, he got up to answer it, and came back shortly after, his face filled with excitement. "I have some good news to share with you all," he said, "Lai Shu, the lone wolf from outside, has arrived, and will be here soon!" As soon as he finished speaking, Li Huqiu noticed that Da Dingzi's expression changed. Crab Claw whispered to him that there was a grudge between Da Dingzi and Lai Shu.

  This meal is destined to be a battle between Li Shu and Da Ding, a lone wolf from the north fighting against the ancestors of the bandits.