About forty minutes later, the two arrived at the Guo family stronghold. Guo Hua received them again this time. After Guo Qixing explained their purpose for coming with Liu Tiezhu, Guo Hua immediately sent someone to prepare. By the time the two finished smoking a cigarette, they saw two men carrying a wooden chest back. Guo Hua pointed at the chest and said, "Brother Tiezhu, the stuff you wanted is ready. Want to check it?" Liu Tiezhu waved his hand and replied, "No need to check. If Uncle Guo isn't busy, have someone deliver it to Room 303 on the second floor of the Apricot Blossom Tavern." "When they get there, just tell the person in the room that I sent it." "Easy enough." Guo Hua waved his hand, turned, and left with the two men.
After Guo Hua and his men left, Liu Tiezhu turned his gaze back to Guo Qixing. "Brother Qixing, how much for this stuff? I'll pay you now." Guo Qixing immediately waved his hand and said, "Brother Tiezhu, saying that means you don't see me as one of your own." "Just a few dozen grenades—letting me help out is already an honor." "If I charged you for it, would I even be human?" Liu Tiezhu naturally didn't buy Guo Qixing's polite words. Guo Qixing refusing payment was just a way to make him owe the Guo family a favor. At black market prices, these fifty grenades were worth ten thousand. Liu Tiezhu didn't want to owe the Guo family a favor over just ten thousand. After thinking it over carefully, he immediately thought of Chen Wenhai, whom he had killed. Chen Wenhai also had assets under his name, which would be perfect to offset the favor. "Brother Qixing, do you still remember Chen Wenhai?" Hearing this, Guo Qixing was taken aback, completely unable to guess why Liu Tiezhu suddenly brought that up. After a moment of thought, Guo Qixing said, "I remember. Isn't he Jiang Tianliang's brother-in-law?" "What's up? If Brother Tiezhu wants to take him out, I can handle it." "I've already taken him out, and I know about one of his assets." "Since Brother Qixing won't take payment for the grenades, I'll have to use this to make a deal with you." Liu Tiezhu didn't beat around the bush and laid the deal out on the table. This straightforward way of talking kept things from getting awkward. Besides, Guo Qixing wasn't stupid—beating around the bush would just come off as fake. "Brother Tiezhu, how about this?" "Let's split it like we did with the Mingxuan Pawnshop. After it's done, I'll cash out your share." Since it had come to this, Guo Qixing knew he couldn't refuse anymore. But he also understood the principle of steady gains and didn't choose to take it all for himself. Chen Wenhai's assets weren't as big as Jiang Tianliang's, but one property could still net tens of thousands. The Guo family needed money everywhere right now, and tens of thousands was a decent sum. Since Guo Qixing had offered, Liu Tiezhu didn't hold back. The two chatted for a while, and when Liu Tiezhu saw it was about time, he got up to take his leave.
After leaving the Guo family stronghold, Liu Tiezhu headed to the Apricot Blossom Tavern. Inside the private room, Er Gouzi was completely stunned when he saw the chest of grenades. "Gouzi, what are you spacing out for?" Liu Tiezhu asked. Er Gouzi jumped in fright, but relaxed his grip on the gun when he saw it was Liu Tiezhu. "Brother Tiezhu, you're amazing. Fifty grenades, just like that." "When those guys brought them over, I thought they had the wrong place." "Stop blabbing. Take these grenades right now and bury them in the bamboo grove at Liu Family Village." "Then hurry back to the mountain and tell Second Uncle and Brother Tian to come here." "Tomorrow at noon, we'll meet at the spot where we dug for mushrooms before." "Remember, be extra careful when you go back to the mountain—don't let anyone tail you." Time was tight, and Liu Tiezhu had no time to chat with Er Gouzi. After giving his orders, he quickly left the tavern and rushed back to camp.
The next day, after breakfast, Zhang Tielin brought new news. "Brother Tiezhu, the Ming family higher-ups have moved against Jiang Tianliang." "He's locked up in the prison set up by Third Master, under investigation." "Brother Jiang has also started moving, sending a large number of men to work with Third Master's Blood Combat team, frantically gathering evidence of Jiang Tianliang colluding with the Li family." "But the Ming family higher-ups only gave Third Master two days." "If there's no solid evidence by then, Third Master will have to let him go." After hearing Zhang Tielin's report, Liu Tiezhu let out a long sigh of relief. Two days was enough for him. As long as Third Master's side hadn't produced solid evidence, Jiang Tianliang wouldn't admit to his assets. So these two days were critical—once this chance was missed, getting his hands on the treasures in Jiang Tianliang's Zhuangdong Ridge warehouse would be tough. Still, caution never hurt. Before leaving, Liu Tiezhu asked Zhang Tielin if Jiang He had any other arrangements. Only when Zhang Tielin said there were none did Liu Tiezhu fully relax.
After finishing with Zhang Tielin, Guo Qixing walked over. "Brother Tiezhu, it's all done." "And there's an unexpected bonus." Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu perked up. He knew Guo Qixing was talking about Chen Wenhai's property. The kind of bonus that got Guo Qixing this excited must mean they'd found something good. "Brother Qixing, don't keep me in suspense. Just spill it," Liu Tiezhu said with a smile. Guo Qixing didn't drag it out and immediately said, "Gold bars. Who would've thought that in Chen Wenhai's secret property, there were six gold bars." "Each bar weighs a full catty, and there's a 'Ming' character engraved on the back." "If I'm not mistaken, that bastard Jiang Tianliang must have taken them from the Ming family." Liu Tiezhu was also taken aback. Six gold bars converted into cash was no small sum. Before he could recover, Guo Qixing reported the value of the other items. After listing everything, he converted it into over forty thousand in cash and handed it to Liu Tiezhu. Liu Tiezhu didn't stand on ceremony, taking the money and stuffing it into his pocket. This money was rightfully his—refusing would just be fake.
After the transaction, Liu Tiezhu thought about Jiang Tianliang's warehouse and made an excuse to leave. Once out of camp, he got a horse and galloped toward Liu Family Village. About forty minutes later, after confirming he wasn't being followed, Liu Tiezhu set off from Liu Family Village to the meeting spot he'd arranged with Er Gouzi. At the bamboo grove, Er Gouzi had arrived early, started a fire, and was roasting meat. Hearing movement, Er Gouzi immediately signaled Yang Haitian. Both were on high alert, quickly pulling out their pistols and lying flat in the thick bamboo leaves, aiming toward the source of the noise. "Gouzi, it's me." From ten meters away, Liu Tiezhu called out in a low voice. Recognizing the familiar voice, the two relaxed and hurried over to meet him. Back at the fire, Liu Tiezhu sat down and said, "Time's tight, so I'll make it quick." "Let's fill our stomachs, then grab the grenades and compound crossbows and head to Zhuangdong Ridge."