The inside of the cave was more ornate than he had imagined. The cave floor was lined with wood polished until it could reflect the light from the torches. The cave walls had some paintings and statues as decoration. Most of the paintings depicted war scenes, while the statues were of women, either in dancing poses or graceful stances.

Soon, the man and Liu Xing arrived at the end of the cave. In front of them was a red double door with gold lion heads as handles. The man pushed the double doors and went through with Liu Xing following. As the man closed the door, he stepped to the side and observed the room. It was bigger than he expected, with four pillars engraved to depict either a wolf, shark, eagle, or snake. Seeing these pillars, Liu Xing realized they were symbols of the Four Fingers.

In the center of the room was a round table with four chairs around it. Two of them were occupied. The first man he noticed had brown hair and brown eyes. He was handsome, with thin lips that made him look friendly. Around his neck was a necklace of many small fangs, like those of shark teeth.

The other man had black hair and black eyes. He wore a green robe that reflected light so much he looked like a green lamp. His face was hard to look at, with sunken cheeks and a gaunt appearance, as if he were malnourished.

The big man sat on one of the chairs and crossed his arms. For a moment, the room was filled with silence. Liu Xing could sense the displeasure emanating from the big man.

"So, what's the urgent matter that made you summon me? Do you know how much I sacrificed to finally have a meeting with Xiao Yulong? If we could strike a deal with him, our gang could grow into a formidable force that can't be messed with."

"Calm yourself, Guan Yunhai," said the man in the green robe. "It's true that you had a meeting that could elevate our gang, but this matter is also very important."

"Wu Datao is right," said the man with the brown eyes. "This matter is important."

"Well, if it's important, then where's Duan Hai? He's officially our leader."

"That's the crux of this meeting," Wu Datao—the man in the green robe—said. "Duan Hai won't be coming to our future meetings, or leading our group, or partying stupidly."

"What do you mean?" Guan Yunhai asked. His eyes narrowed. "Did he betray us?"

"No." The man with the fangs necklace said. "He was loyal. You know him. No, it's worse. He didn't betray us. He's dead." As he said that, that man put a brown cloth bag with a golden rope on top of the desk. He loosened the golden rope and took out two black and bloody gauntlets from inside the bag. Seeing this, Liu Xing's eyebrows rose. That bag wasn't big enough to contain the gauntlets, which meant it was a spatial bag. Spatial bags were valuable items. In the outer court of Purple Moon Sect, only people who came from prominent backgrounds had them.

Shifting his focus to the black and bloody gauntlets, he realized that these gauntlets were the reason he came here. They were dirty with blood and mud. There were scratches here and there, but overall, they were in good condition.

Seeing those gauntlets, Guan Yunhai widened his eyes. "Are you serious, Yan Tianfei? Duan Hai died? How? Why? Who killed him?"

Wu Datao grimaced, while Yan Tianfei just sighed.

"We don't know much. Duan Hai loved roaming, stumbling through villages, and bedding maidens. A week ago, he did just that," Yan Tianfei said.

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"You were in charge at that time?" Guan Yunhai asked.

"Yes. Wu Datao was in seclusion."

The man in the green robe nodded.

"Anyway, Duan Hai said he'd be back in five days, and we know that he was the most honest robber in the world. If he said he'd come back in five days, he would. But he didn't, so I tried to find him. About five hours ago, I found these gauntlets near a river."

"Only the gauntlets?" Guan Yunhai asked.

"I know what you're thinking," Wu Datao said. "Finding his gauntlets doesn't mean he's dead. I thought the same thing when I saw the Thunderstrike Gauntlets."

"And like Wu Datao, you'll be convinced he's dead after seeing this." Yan Tianfei turned the gauntlets around. Before, the gauntlets were pointing at Guan Yunhai, but now, they were pointing at Yan Tianfeng, and Guan Yunhai, as well as Liu Xing who stood behind him, could see that the inside of those gauntlets was not empty.

Seeing this, even Liu Xing widened his eyes. Those two gauntlets were still being used. There were still hands inside them. Cut off as if someone had tried to steal the gauntlets by simply cutting off Duan Hai's hands. Seeing this, he narrowed his eyes. Those Thunderstrike Gauntlets were the second treasure he decided to get, and coincidentally, both of the owners of the items had died with only their hands remaining.

"No, no! It must be a lie! You're joking!" shouted Guan Yunhai.

"I wish I were lying," said Yan Tianfei.

Wu Datao nodded solemnly.

From here, the three of them tried to console each other. They talked about their adventures and how they met Duan Hai. From this conversation, he learned that Duan Hai was a bastard son of a Xiao clan elder, although from the gist of their conversation, he didn't have a good relationship with his father.

Yan Tianfei shared his 300-year-old liquor, and they talked about how they met Duan Hai, how each of their lives turned around since they met him, until the four of them reached the seventh stage of Lock Opening realm.

"If he were among us, I believe he'd be the first to advance to the Core Splitting realm," Guan Yunhai said sorrowfully.

Wu Datao snorted. "He was more talented than us, but advancing to the Core Splitting realm isn't only about talent. I bet I'd advance sooner than him."

Yan Tianfei smiled. "Well, it's between both of you, for sure. Guan Yunhai and I aren't as talented as you two."

Guan Yunhai suddenly started to cry, and Yan Tianfei rubbed his back. The three of them reminisced about their past lives, and Liu Xing, standing behind them, locked his eyes on the bloody gauntlets with Duan Hai's hands still inside them. He wondered how he should proceed from here. He wanted to snatch those gauntlets away, but unlike with that woman in the Qian clan, there were three cultivators inside this not-so-wide room. If he snatched carelessly, he'd be in unnecessary danger.

Observing the three figures, he judged that if a fight broke out, he would win. Even though they were all at the seventh stage, they seemed no stronger than the spirit beasts he had defeated in the Dragon Skull Forest. Still, he couldn't let his guard down. Even though he was confident that he could win, there was always the chance that they had a hidden ace that could turn the situation around.

They had started drinking, and their reddened noses confirmed that the alcohol was strong for cultivators. All he had to do was wait for the alcohol to take effect.

As he watched them, he noticed that Yan Tianfei was the most sober. Guan Yunhai finished his drink and returned the gourd to Yan Tianfei. Yan Tianfei shook the gourd, listened to the remaining liquor, and then smiled at Guan Yunhai and Wu Datao.

"Brothers, I know we still feel sorrow for Duan Hai's departure, but I think we need to discuss our gang."

"No," Guan Yunhai said. He glanced at the Thunderstrike Gauntlets. "I understand why you kept those gauntlets intact to convince me that Duan Hai is really dead, and while I don't want to believe it, I know that he's truly dead. Now, I think we'd better bury his hands and engrave a tombstone with his name. We can discuss the matter of the gang later."

"He's right," Wu Datao said. "The matter of our gang, especially about the leader position, can be postponed."

"I don't think so." Yan Tianfei shook his head. "I thought it'd be better to decide now so we can bury Duan Hai's remains peacefully, knowing the matter of the gang is already settled."

"I see your point, but no," Guan Yunhai said.

Wu Datao also shook his head.

Yan Tianfei sighed. "All right then, I can accept it. After all, none of it actually matters."

Yan Tianfei smiled. While before his smile had looked genuine and friendly, now it was ugly, like a snake's. Seeing this, Liu Xing felt that something was about to happen. And indeed, something did happen.

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