Chapter 108: The Token of Loyalty (Part One)

Whether the treasure left behind by Jin Mushen is genuine or not, its revelation at this moment can only mean one thing: the Shi family is manipulating the situation from behind the scenes, interfering with public opinion to divert the people's attention.

Those born under the sinister year, month, day, and hour are, after all, a minority. Aside from their immediate family and close friends who care about what happens next, most people are merely spectators, not truly invested.

But the treasure is different.

According to the disclosed information, Jin Mushen’s tomb was flooded due to a shift in the underground water level, which caused the treasure chamber to be washed out, scattering the valuables across the tidal flats.

Anyone who digs through the muddy flats has a fair chance of finding treasure.

This is a treasure hunt open to all!

Once word spreads, the entire city will be in an uproar. At that point, who would still care about bloodline warriors or those born under the sinister year, month, day, and hour?

The only thing on everyone’s mind will be rushing to the tidal flats to dig for treasure!

Therefore, Su Jingxing swiftly deleted the posts, hacked into the backend of the website where the articles appeared, blocked all related links and keywords, and sent messages to the “Shi Eradication Alliance” members, urging them to mobilize forces to suppress the news on television, radio, and newspapers—to cut off the Shi family’s counterattack at its source.

This was also a test of just how much worldly influence the “Shi Eradication Alliance” truly wielded.

There were many people, but few warriors.

Su Jingxing wanted to see how many of them could actually exert power.

With control over the internet, the news about the corrupt official’s treasure was quickly suppressed online.

As for television, radio, and newspapers, that would take time.

Since the Shi family had launched a counterattack, these channels would certainly be exploited.

The result?

By evening, Su Jingxing was pleased to find that the majority of the public remained unaware of the corrupt official’s treasure. The main topic of discussion was still the danger posed by bloodline warriors and those born under the sinister year, month, day, and hour.

“Not bad,” Su Jingxing praised quietly, sending another message to the “Shi Eradication Alliance.”

...

“Ding-ling~”

In the closed office, a notification sounded.

The round-faced girl, exhausted and slumped over the desk, instinctively looked up and instantly exclaimed with excitement, “The big shot replied! He said we’re doing a good job!”

A relieved sigh swept through the others who were listening closely. Their spirits, previously drained, revived considerably.

“Damn it, we’ve spent nearly two hundred million. If this doesn’t work, we might as well disband,” muttered a disheveled man.

“This can’t last long. We’ve already used half of our reserve funds once. If it happens again, our five years’ savings will be wiped out immediately,” sighed a bearded man.

“Money can be earned again; it’s only a matter of time. The real problem is that for this operation, we mobilized everyone we could. Most of these people are now exposed and could be targeted for retaliation by the Shi family at any moment!” the egg-shaped-faced woman said gravely. “We must decide immediately what to do next!”

“Yes, that’s the crucial point. Does the big shot have any further instructions?” the disheveled man asked anxiously.

“Not yet,” the round-faced girl shook her head, then quietly added, “Should I ask?”

“I’ll ask,” the egg-shaped-faced woman stood and stepped forward.

Ding-ling~

Another notification sounded.

The round-faced girl turned, mouth agape.

“What is it?” the egg-shaped-faced woman asked, her face darkening as she saw the chat window on the screen.

“What’s going on? Speak up!” the disheveled man pressed.

The others grew tense and gathered around.

“He wants us to kill Shi Yankang!” the egg-shaped-faced woman took a deep breath.

“What?”

The crowd gasped.

“What does he mean? Ah, this fourth-rank big shot wants us to die? We’ve already exposed most of our people to cooperate with his plan. Now they face the constant threat of being killed, and he still wants us to assassinate Shi Yankang. What on earth does that mean?” someone shouted angrily.

“Exactly. Shi Yankang is a sixth-rank warrior, surrounded daily by a group of low-third-rank warriors. We have only one sixth-rank warrior. Does he expect Huang Lao to perish alongside Shi Yankang?”

“I think it’s more complicated than that. This fourth-rank expert must have some deeper meaning.”

“Deeper meaning? Nonsense! He just wants us to die, to use our lives to take out some minor parts of the Shi family while he watches from the sidelines!”

“That’s going too far. If he just wanted to watch, would he have exposed the Shi family’s bloodline secrets and wiped out one of their bases outside the city?”

“Hmph, whether he destroyed the secret base is still up for debate.”

“You…”

“Enough!”

A fierce shout suddenly echoed through the office, drowning out everyone’s noise.

A man with a cruel scar across his face, wearing a stern expression, barked, “All of you shut up!”

“Look at yourselves! Look at yourselves! The plan hasn’t even been fully explained, yet you’re already jumping around in a frenzy. If this really goes into action, you’ll cause chaos for sure!”

Silence.

The office fell into quiet.

Some felt ashamed after the rebuke; others remained resentful.

The egg-shaped-faced woman, the scarred man, the bearded man, and others witnessed these reactions and sighed inwardly without reason.

Though they were not a rabble, many in the alliance were truly incapable.

They could handle covert operations, but when it came to facing the Shi family openly, their true colors showed immediately.

Fear was understandable; panic was another matter.

But to lose their composure before the battle even began—how could they achieve anything great?

Eradicating the Shi family?

With this mindset, it would be more practical to leave Qinghe City as soon as possible.

“I understand how everyone feels,” the egg-shaped-faced woman said, taking a deep breath to break the silence. “If you’re truly afraid, you can still quit now and leave Qinghe City.”

“Sister Qian, that’s not what I meant…”

“Do you think the oath we made when we invited you into the alliance was fake?” The egg-shaped-faced woman cut off the speaker coldly. “To eradicate the Shi family, we are willing to die. To eradicate the Shi family, we are willing to die!”

“Our slogan sounded loud and clear back then. What about now? Forgotten completely? Thrown aside?”

The speaker blushed and lowered his head, unable to respond.

The egg-shaped-faced woman didn’t press further. After staring at him for a moment, she withdrew her gaze, scanned the crowd, and raised her voice.

“We are all gathered here for the same purpose: to eradicate the Shi family. To achieve this goal, we have worked tirelessly for five years, trying countless methods. But the goal remains far out of reach. The reason is simple—we lack high-level warriors and enough mid-third-rank warriors!”

“For that, we chose to endure and wait for an opportunity.”

“Until today, none of us knew how long we’d have to wait.”

“But now, he has appeared!”

“A fourth-rank expert willing to cooperate with us to destroy the Shi family!”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Miss it, and it may never come again.”

“You may wonder why this fourth-rank master wants us to kill Shi Yankang.”

“The reason is simple: he wants us to prove our loyalty!”