When Old Man Qu saw me, his face broke into a smile, "Brother Xiang, I knew you were destined for great things. How was it? Down below..."
I smiled and introduced Fu Honglang to him, "Old Master Qu, this is my friend, Master Fu. He's in the same line of work as you."
Fu Honglang made a gesture common in the Jianghu, then continued, "Old Master Qu, I've long heard of your name. I am Fu Honglang of the Xiujinmen."
"Xiujinmen?" Old Man Qu's brows furrowed, then he asked, "Who is Fu Dagou to you?"
"He's my second uncle," Fu Honglang replied.
"Is that so? No wonder I thought you looked quite like him. Your second uncle, he is..."
"He perished years ago while tomb raiding."
"Oh?" Old Man Qu seemed surprised, "Then are you the head of Xiujinmen now?"
"Indeed."
Old Man Qu smiled and looked at me, "I didn't expect Brother Xiang to know someone from Xiujinmen. If I had known you were acquainted, I wouldn't have bothered. However, this matter is between you and me, Brother Xiang. It's not proper for outsiders to interfere, is it?"
"Old Master Qu, what do you mean by outsider? Brother Xiang saved my life, he is my benefactor. His affairs are my affairs," Fu Honglang said expressionlessly.
Old Man Qu's eyes darted around, and he turned to me, asking, "Brother Xiang, what exactly is the situation down there?"
"Old Master Qu, this is not the Guandong Army's treasure at all. Behind that steel door, there were only some dried corpses and nothing else," I told him truthfully.
The moment I said this, Old Man Qu's expression changed, and he stared at me in disbelief, "Are you telling the truth?"
Seeing that he seemed unable to accept it, I explained the specific details of what happened below, including the monster.
After listening, he remained silent, sitting at the Eight Immortals table, lost in thought.
After about a minute or two, I said, "Old Master Qu, if you don't believe me, you can personally bring your men down to see. The monster has been dealt with, and there are no safety hazards."
Old Man Qu pondered for a moment and then sighed, "It seems that was never a treasure map..."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask, "What treasure map?"
Old Man Qu then explained the whole story to me. It turned out they had raided a tomb a year ago and found many valuable items, which were the same ones I had helped him sell to the woman named Guan.
In that tomb, they found a corpse. On the body, they discovered a notebook and a map. The notebook recorded the whereabouts of the Guandong Army's treasure.
At the time, he hadn't paid much attention to it. Later, he inquired about the Guandong Army's treasure and, upon learning that it did exist, he followed the information on the map to this place.
When he first arrived, he used various methods to determine that there was a large space underground. So, he summoned all his disciples.
He wasn't very confident about such deep underground constructions with large spaces, so it took him more than two months to find the excavation site.
After confirming the excavation site, they built a village nearby for camouflage.
This place was remote and rarely visited. During that time, they encountered one or two lost travelers, but they were all dealt with.
Hearing this, my heart skipped a beat.
These guys were truly ruthless.
After spending a year here, all they found was an underground construction without any treasure. This fact was extremely difficult for him to accept.
Most importantly, they had also lost so many men.
"Old Master Qu, this is how it is in our line of work. No one can guarantee they'll find good things underground," Fu Honglang said.
Old Man Qu looked at him, "That's true, but now that there's no treasure down there, how can I explain it to my brothers?"
"Old Master Qu, I don't know how you'll explain it to your men, nor do I wish to inquire," Fu Honglang said. "I'm here to talk to you about Brother Xiang's matters. He and I have a life-or-death friendship. This time, for your sake, we brothers have walked through the gates of hell. As the saying goes, even if the deal falls through, friendship remains... I heard that Brother Xiang transferred a sum of money to you as cooperation funds? Since the cooperation is off, how do you think that money should be handled?"
Old Man Qu's expression became uncertain, "Are you saying you want that money back, Brother Fu?"
Fu Honglang smiled and said, "As I said earlier, even if the deal falls through, friendship remains. I heard this money was the security deposit Brother Xiang gave you. Now that there's nothing down there, shouldn't this money be returned to its rightful owner?"
Old Man Qu chuckled, "Who told you this was a security deposit? Brother Xiang said this money was given to me, calling it my upfront compensation for the hard work. Why are you reneging on your word so quickly?"
He then glanced at me. Just as I was about to speak, Fu Honglang gave me a look. He said, "What you said is true, but this money was based on the premise that the Guandong Army's treasure was here. Now that there's nothing down there, and we brothers almost perished, you have your losses, Old Master Qu, and we have ours. These losses must be borne by ourselves, and the money should naturally be returned to its rightful owner."
"Haha..." Old Man Qu laughed, "Little Fu, do you really think this is Shangdu?"
"What do you mean by that, Old Master Qu?" Fu Honglang asked with a smile.
"Don't forget, you are on whose territory right now!" Old Man Qu's eyes turned cold, and he instantly became unrecognizable.
I had long anticipated such a situation. People like Old Man Qu were inherently wicked, a group of tomb robbers who only cared about profit.
I had told Fu Honglang earlier, and he had said not to worry.
Since I couldn't dissuade him, I could only let him go talk to Old Man Qu.
Suddenly, I regretted it a little.
"Do you think this place is your territory, Old Master Qu?" Fu Honglang smiled and said, "As far as I know, the Greater Khingan Range is not the territory of your Chuanjiamen."
"It wasn't before, but it is now!" Old Man Qu's eyes flashed with a cold glint.
"Is that so?" Fu Honglang smiled, then suddenly turned towards the entrance, "Little Liu, stop lurking around, come in. I smelled your scent long ago."
As soon as he finished speaking, several familiar faces walked in from outside. They were all Fu Honglang's men, many of whom I had met in Shangdu before.
At this moment, Old Man Qu's men had all been subdued by them. I saw that each of them was holding a weapon, clearly prepared!
But when did they arrive here?
I glanced at Fu Honglang in confusion. He grinned at me, then looked at Old Man Qu, "Old Master Qu, now tell me, whose territory is this?"