"So, I've sought you all out now because I intend to achieve something significant. Are you willing to participate?"

Although Old Cheng spoke those words, the ferocious grin plastered across his face and the sinister shadow lingering around his mouth gave no indication that he feared these men would disobey his command.

Upon hearing this, all the pickpockets began deliberating in secret. They knew nothing of legal matters; what they understood best were those brightly colored banknotes. The conviction that whoever held the cash was their master remained unshakeable.

Perhaps sensing this, a flicker of amusement crossed Old Cheng's eyes. He spoke, "Of course, as long as you follow my instructions, I guarantee that not only will we avoid trouble this time, but our future collaborations will be even more harmonious, with piles upon piles of cash flowing in?"

"Alright, Old Cheng, tell us what you want us to do?" One pickpocket, clearly someone unable to resist temptation, immediately responded upon hearing Old Cheng's promise.

And—it was exactly as the saying goes: one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, and this moment perfectly mirrored that situation. Once one pickpocket asked, the others followed suit.

Seeing this, Old Cheng couldn't help but sneer inwardly. "Good. Since you all hold me in such high regard, I guarantee that once this matter is settled, we'll all be living large."

"Boss..."

"Go, hand over those prepared tools to them."

"En!"

"Proceed according to the original plan. Heh heh, let's lure those few individuals over here first." Old Cheng let out a sinister chuckle.

################################################# Several hours must have passed; only two or three hours remained until the train reached its destination.

Xuanyuan Bing, nestled in Yang Yi's arms, stirred slightly, paying no mind to the gazes cast upon her by everyone around. She wrapped her arms around Yang Yi's neck and burrowed deeper into his embrace.

"Is she your girlfriend?" The young girl, witnessing the intimate display between Xuanyuan Bing and Yang Yi, asked with unconcealed curiosity.

"Mm," Yang Yi murmured softly.

His admission sent a wave of sweetness through Xuanyuan Bing, who was hiding in his embrace. Having been by Yang Yi's side for so long, she knew certain things about him. There were no fewer than four girls who surrounded him, yet not a single one had ever heard him openly acknowledge them as a friend. It truly showed how somewhat unscrupulous Yang Yi could be.

"She's so beautiful! Looks like you have quite the luck with the ladies!" The young girl teased him.

"This..." Yang Yi appeared visibly embarrassed.

Feng Shi Yi, who had woken up across from them, looked on with surprise. In her memory, she rarely, if ever, recalled seeing Yang Yi so flustered.

Just as Fatty Lin was about to interject, two carriage police officers suddenly appeared, interrupting their conversation.

"The few of you need to come with us!"

"Come with you?" Fatty Lin frowned, looking at the two useless officers, and asked, "Is there something important we need to discuss?"

"Uh, our captain requests your presence. Please don't make things difficult for us!"

"Damn it..."

"Fatty!" Before Fatty Lin could finish, Yang Yi addressed the two officers. "What does your captain want with us?"

"We don't know the specifics, sir. We are merely following orders."

"Oh, I see now." Yang Yi sneered internally. Even his toes knew exactly what was going on.

In this world, no one simply waits for disaster to strike them. Moreover, if one knows disaster is coming beforehand, any intelligent or rational person would choose to eliminate the potential trouble before it fully manifests.

"Yanran, you and the young girl..."

"No, all of you need to come along," the carriage officer interrupted Yang Yi before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh? Then I understand," Yang Yi gave a cold smile, looked at Xuanyuan Bing in his arms, and said, "As law-abiding citizens, we shall oblige."

"Fine," Fatty Lin said to the two officers, his gaze sharp. "You go ahead; we'll be right there."

"This..." The carriage officers hesitated for a moment before replying, "Alright, but please hurry. It won't take long."

"Don't worry, we will," Yang Yi replied, a coldness lingering on his lips.

Once the two carriage officers had departed, Feng Shi Yi and Fatty Lin simultaneously called out, "Young Master! Brother Yi!"

"Heh heh, matters like these are certainly troublesome. If not resolved, they become maddeningly annoying," Yang Yi remarked with a faint smile. "Yanran, you guard this young girl; leave the rest to us. I'm curious to see what kind of darkness these fellows are planning."

"Understood."

The young girl saw their faces etched with cold resolve and was about to say something, but the words caught in her throat. She felt, somehow, that being with these people would make her much safer.

"Boss, we've called them over. They should be arriving shortly," the two officers reported to Old Cheng.

"Good. Let's play a game of 'closing the door to beat the dog.' Go, lead them to that specific carriage; I'll be there momentarily," Old Cheng stated with a grim expression.

"Understood."

After the two carriage officers left, Old Cheng's expression grew more savage. He pulled a handgun from an unseen place, inspected it, and spun the cylinder of bullets. "Trouble must be handled personally. No matter how powerful you are, you can't evade bullets, hmph!"

"Let's go!" Yang Yi glanced around their current carriage. Seeing that everyone inside was dozing off only made his coldness deepen.

The group of five, led by the carriage officer standing at the door, were guided into a relatively spacious carriage. It was empty, lending it a somber, gloomy air.

"Please wait here a moment; our captain will be right here." The two carriage officers then shut the carriage door.

Suddenly, the carriage was plunged into complete darkness. Upon seeing this, the cold smiles on Yang Yi and his companions' faces grew even more frigid.

"Yanran!"

"Yes!" Feng Shi Yi responded and immediately moved to guard the young girl's side.

Smack! At the opposite end of the carriage, the door was flung open. Ten to twenty men, brandishing cleavers and wearing arrogant smiles, strode in and quickly surrounded Yang Yi's party.

The darkness of the old society juxtaposed against the light of the modern one. In this carriage, that contrast seemed rather insignificant. Such incidents, whether in the past or the present, are recurring themes.

"Kid, hand over the phone you used to make that recording," a pickpocket shouted, pointing at Fatty Lin.

"Hmm? So you lot are the supposed 'captains'?" Fatty Lin sneered.

"They aren't the captains; they are just the stupid donkeys being utilized by the captain."

"Damn it! You ungrateful wretch!" A group of pickpockets cursed Yang Yi upon hearing his remark and immediately surged forward.

"You can't use your internal power! Leave this to Fatty Lin and me!" Xuanyuan Bing stepped one pace forward in front of Yang Yi and declared.

"No need. I can handle this alone," Fatty Lin's expression was thick with disdain. His figure flickered, and several shards of cold light appeared in his hand; throwing knives flew out continuously.

Thwack! Thwack! ...

Eerie sounds erupted repeatedly, showing that this modern iteration of Li Fei Dao was not to be underestimated. Not only was his aim unerring, but the cold light he threw was exceptionally assertive.

"Fatty Lin, are you really resorting to throwing knives against these scum? Let me handle this!" Xuanyuan Bing managed to gasp out a line, which caused the faces of the somewhat terrified pickpockets to shift drastically.

The air instantly froze over, so cold it made one shiver involuntarily. The index of ice elemental power spread rapidly through the air, and the sudden change left Fatty Lin momentarily speechless, forcing him to halt his attack.

"Mother! Why did it suddenly get so cold?" A pickpocket muttered, shivering violently as he tried to hold his own arms, staring downward.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, all the pickpockets wielding cleavers began to tremble, completely forgetting about attacking Yang Yi's group. They stood frozen, their faces pale, staring down in disbelief at their own feet. Heavy? Cold? Frozen? Unable to move?

These sensations shattered their illusions. The temperature continued to plummet. Xuanyuan Bing tightly controlled her power, and in a flash, several ice spears materialized out of thin air. At that moment...

Thwack... Ah... Thwack... Ah...

Sounds of wails and the piercing of hearts by ice spears echoed continuously. The scene was gruesome and intense. Yang Yi quickly turned, touched the young girl's pressure point to induce sleep, and sighed inwardly, "Good thing I was quick enough, otherwise... these sights would have traumatized her."

"Young Master, perhaps I should take her out first?" Feng Shi Yi supported the young girl as she spoke.

"Mm," Yang Yi nodded.

The moment he nodded, three figures standing near the carriage door looked on with extreme panic in their eyes, their expressions filled with terror as they watched the bizarre spectacle. Their hands trembled, and they were holding firearms.

"Damn it, I'm going to kill you even if I don't want to!" Fatty Lin roared upon seeing them.

"Fatty, don't kill them all; leave one alive," Yang Yi shouted as he watched Fatty Lin surge forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just as Yang Yi finished speaking, three gunshots rang out simultaneously. At the same time, Fatty Lin responded, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent: "I know."

Whoosh! A throwing knife knocked a gun out of one officer's hand, and Fatty Lin aggressively advanced.

"What the hell are these people?" Old Cheng saw the bizarre turn of events, his hands shaking even more violently; Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunshots became even more unrestrained.

"You bastard, having police like you makes this world truly pathetic!" Before Fatty Lin's voice faded, his figure materialized in front of Old Cheng's three accompanying officers. He delivered three swift punches, his form shifting eerily behind them, followed by three kicks—Peng! Peng! Peng!—sending the three carriage officers sprawling forward like clumsy acrobats.