Before long, Han Wubing, with bandages wrapped around his shoulders, walked in. He wasn't being controlled, and when he saw the situation here, he looked surprised.

He didn't look like he had been captured, but rather like he was recuperating. His injuries didn't seem serious, and he still exuded a sense of composure, without any signs of weakness.

Seeing the scene inside the room, Han Wubing was surprised, "Seven Brother? Who is this dark-faced man?"

Zhao Changhe: "…"

Sha Qiyé, who had his throat pinched, started to laugh, and his subordinates also joined in.

Zhao Changhe said with a straight face, "Feeling good?"

Han Wubing immediately recognized his voice and was pleasantly surprised, "Brother Zhao! It's you! Uh, this…"

Zhao Changhe said, "Did I misunderstand the situation? Did they treat you well and provide you with food and drink?"

Han Wubing said, "They did take me in."

Zhao Changhe said, "But you were deceived."

Han Wubing was stunned and quickly became suspicious when he looked at Sha Qiyé.

It was obvious that he trusted Zhao Changhe more than Sha Qiyé.

Sha Qiyé just smiled, seemingly unconcerned that his throat was still being pinched, and didn't seem to care that Zhao Changhe seemed to be on the verge of revealing something, but rather seemed quite interested.

Zhao Changhe said, "If they didn't tell you, it means that taking you in wasn't done with good intentions. My judgment that you were captured doesn't seem to be wrong."

Han Wubing said, "That's right. It's like being blinded invisibly, no different from being captured."

He quickly drew his long sword and stood by Zhao Changhe's side, pointing it at the Kang Le Gambling House gang member who was holding a knife to Zhao Changhe's neck.

Sha Qiyé sighed, "I did take you in after all, and you're being quite direct about turning against me."

Han Wubing said, "I was already planning to leave, but you persuaded me to stay here to recuperate. I found the environment here to be relaxed and without any hidden agenda, so I decided to stay for the time being. But it turns out that you were still keeping me in the dark and using me?"

Sha Qiyé didn't answer that, but instead asked Zhao Changhe, "How did Young Hero Zhao figure it out?"

"Didn't you tell me yourself?"

"Did I tell you?"

Zhao Changhe said, "I was robbed while buying a pancake on the street. Not only was I robbed, but the matter of Han Wubing being pursued was inexplicably revealed. And on top of that, the name Sha Qiyé was mentioned out of the blue. At that time, I was thinking, who is this Sha Qiyé, and this method of leaking information is too abstract."

Sha Qiyé said, "What do you mean by abstract? Can't it just be some lackey talking nonsense…"

Zhao Changhe couldn't be bothered to argue with him about this and continued, "In any case, none of the information I know mentioned that Han Wubing was injured, and even if he was injured, it wouldn't be serious. His character is not a good one, so even if he was injured, he wouldn't just leave without a trace. He must be hiding somewhere in the city, waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge."

Han Wubing smiled again.

Zhao Changhe continued, "Assuming that Han Wubing didn't leave, and I entered the city with a big knife on my back and got into a fight, no matter what kind of disguise I wore, he would know that his brother had arrived. Why didn't he come to find me? It's very likely that he was captured. But I have gathered information from various sources, and it wasn't the Ji family or Yan Lianping who captured him. If he was captured, it could be a third party. Who could it be? The lackey I encountered at the time made abstract remarks, and it was obvious that Sha Qiyé was hinting to me that Han Wubing was in his hands and asking me to find him."

Sha Qiyé laughed, "That's right. But why didn't you come to me directly, and instead turned against me, and didn't even bring a knife? At first, I didn't recognize that this Ji Bochang was you, Zhao Changhe, until you made a move."

"Brother." Zhao Changhe sighed helplessly, "In your view, Han Wubing is none of your business, but in my view, I thought that Brother Han was captured by you. Should I have come to you directly for a chat? Or to deliver something? Of course, I should have changed my appearance first, investigated the situation under a different identity, and I didn't plan to take action directly before coming in, I just came to take a look…"

"You used your internal force to manipulate my dice to determine my strength?"

"That's right. You didn't notice my intrusion of internal force, indicating that your strength is quite ordinary. The problem is that there are many people here, and there may be a real strong person among your subordinates. I couldn't save anyone by force, but capturing you by surprise is a gamble, and it's the most straightforward choice. So, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision. Otherwise, I have a companion, and if I hadn't used her power, I would have been at a loss…"

Sha Qiyé said, "…If you think I'm weak, just say it. I can take it."

"You're not weak, you just underestimated me." Zhao Changhe smiled, "But I can guess what you want to talk to me about."

"Oh?" Sha Qiyé said with a sense of resignation, "Tell me then."

"Han Wubing was involved in a fight because of my rumors and actions, right in front of the gambling house. This leaked the secret that he had mastered a new sword technique, and both Ji Inan and Yan Lianping came looking for him. There's no reason why you wouldn't know about this happening right at your own doorstep, right?" Zhao Changhe smiled, "Your 'kind' act of taking in Han Wubing was nothing more than to coax him into revealing the secret of the ancient sword technique."

"Why didn't I force him to confess? Why act like a good person?"

"How would I know? I always thought that Brother Han was captured by you…"

"…"

"Maybe it's because Han Brother is not easy to deal with. Why use force when you can coax out the information? Unless he couldn't get the information out and lost patience, but it's obviously not the case after just three days… In the process, when I found out that I, Zhao Changhe, had entered the city, I remembered that the beneficiary of the secret of the ancient sword technique was not only Han Brother, but also Zhao Changhe. So, I passed on the information, wanting to get me in your hands as well."Sha Qi finally shook his head with a wry smile, "Damn, this is truly bizarre. With the Pinghu Assembly and Xingyi Gang causing a ruckus, everyone's attention is on them. How did you manage to discern that Han Wubing's whereabouts have nothing to do with them, that it's a separate matter?"

"Because I have no interest in their gang conflicts. From the beginning, my only goal has been to find my friend."

The air grew quiet for a moment, and even the gang members holding knives to Zhao Changhe's throat seemed to have a change in their gaze.

After a moment of silence, Sha Qi slowly said, "What are you all doing still holding your knives? Put them down."

Someone said, "Young Master, your neck is still being held!"

"If you put down your knives, he will naturally let go of my neck. Why would a person who came to find his friend, and whose friend is unharmed, want to kill me?"

The gang members looked at each other, but indeed, they slowly lowered their knives.

Zhao Changhe, however, did not loosen his grip on Sha Qi's neck, and dragged him outside, "Qi Ye is right, but unfortunately, I can't let you go now. We'll talk outside."

Sha Qi was holding back anger, "Motherfucker..."

As Zhao Changhe stepped outside, he suddenly paused, "Qi Ye, did you clear the area outside?"

"Of course!" Sha Qi replied irritably, "I'm being choked, of course, the area has to be cleared so no one finds out, otherwise how can I continue to mix in Jianhu City!"

"So you're saying there are no outsiders now?"

"Uh..." Zhao Changhe suddenly said, "Then, Qi Ye, how about we truly discuss a partnership?"

Sha Qi almost laughed, "Look at us now, how can you even think of the word 'partnership'?"

Zhao Changhe remained unfazed, "Why not? Do we have any irreconcilable grievances?"

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Sha Qi replied, "It seems not. What, do you now want to share the secrets of the ancient sword with me?"

"I just want to ask Qi Ye, do you want to dominate Jianhu City alone? I don't think Ying Wu Ye sent you here just for the ancient sword, right?"

Sha Qi narrowed his eyes, and after a long pause, he said, "What, suddenly you trust my partnership in this matter?"

"Just as Qi Ye said earlier, the conflict between those two gangs has nothing to do with your affairs. Whether it's the one colluding with the barbarians or the one spreading rumors about me, it's not you. After thinking it over, if I need to find a partner, it seems I only have you."

Sha Qi sighed, "If anyone dares to tell me again that Zhao Changhe is just some bandit, I'll slap him so hard his mother won't recognize him!"