I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

As people age, the way they express emotions is no longer as direct and outward as it is when they are young, but rather deeply hidden in their hearts.

However, every word and action is like a person drinking water, knowing whether it is cold or warm.

Of course, Xie An did this partly because he had been with Zhang Lin for a long time, and a sense of trust had slowly been established. More importantly, Zhang Hengshui was dead, and his own strength had also increased.

Now that he had removed his disguise, it had nothing to do with trust or not.

But… entrusting one's own safety to others was not something Xie An would do.

Zhang Lin naturally did not know Xie An's true thoughts. He bowed deeply and clasped his hands, "Old brother, I, Zhang Lin, must apologize to you. I rushed to report it back then. I, Zhang Lin, have always felt guilty about it and regretted it."

Xie An stepped forward to help him up, "Brother Zhang, you are too serious. Those are just human nature. Moreover, when you reported it to Chief Deacon Wei Dian, you did not embezzle my credit, but reported it truthfully. In this chaotic world, who doesn't want to stand out? Being able to uphold principles and bottom lines is already extremely rare, so how can I be calculative?

Moreover, it was Brother Zhang who introduced me to the Tiger Wolf Gate in the first place, which is a favor of recommendation and guidance to me. You also lent me money. I remember all these things."

What Xie An said was from the bottom of his heart.

A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions.

Even if fatherly love is selfless, it doesn't mean that the father has no selfish motives, but that the father, after weighing his selfish motives, still chooses to go hungry and give the only bread in his hand to his son.

Having lived two lives, Xie An naturally understood these things.

In this chaotic world, Zhang Lin was already a good person.

After hearing Xie An's words, Zhang Lin felt even more ashamed. He wanted to say something to express his attitude, but Xie An stopped him, "Is this the money from selling the horses?"

Zhang Lin nodded quickly, "Yes, I have calculated all the money. There are a total of five hundred taels."

He handed the entire bag of money to Xie An, without mentioning the three-seven split.

How could Xie An not see through Zhang Lin's thoughts?

Immediately, he picked out seven large silver ingots of fifty taels each and accepted them, "According to the previous agreement, we'll split it three-seven. I'll take three hundred and fifty taels."

When he reached the door, Xie An paused again.

"My name is Xie An. You can call me Brother Xie, there's no need to keep calling me old brother."

Zhang Lin and Zhou Xing watched Xie An's departing figure, stunned in place for a long time, unable to speak.

…

Xie An took the huge sum of three hundred taels and went to the Water Lantern Town branch, spending two hundred and forty taels to purchase three doses of Tiger Meat Vitality Soup. He was planning to go back to take a medicinal bath and practice his skills, preparing to break through to the Refined Flesh Realm.

However, just as he left the branch, he encountered Zhang Lin, who was rushing over.

"Old brother… Brother Xie, I've finally found you."

"Brother Zhang, what's wrong?"

"The Chief Deacon just came to the Blood Ridge Black Market to find us for a meeting. I've been looking for you everywhere. Hurry up, let's go meet the Branch Master."

"Alright."

Xie An readily agreed.

Arriving at the familiar courtyard, Xie An once again saw Wei Dian.

Wei Dian was still wearing a bamboo hat, sitting on the edge of the bed inside the gauze curtain. Although his sitting posture was upright, Xie An, who had cultivated his Qi, could more clearly feel that Wei Dian was already very weak inside.

Cough, cough, cough.

Wei Dian's hoarse coughing interrupted Xie An's thoughts.

"You've finally taken off your mask after joining the Blood Ridge Black Market for so long. Good!" Wei Dian gave Xie An affirmation as soon as he spoke, "Do you mind telling me your name?"

As the Branch Master, Wei Dian should have been able to ask Xie An to remove his mask and inquire about his name long ago.

The reason why he didn't do this was simply because he felt that Xie An was someone personally appointed by Elder Tang Qingyun of the Examination Hall.

Ordinary people would only think that Elder Tang and the Branch Master were of the same level. But Wei Dian knew… it was far more than that.

Just look at White Feather Hall to know.

White Feather Hall didn't have an Elder, just a Branch Master, equipped with two Deputy Branch Masters.

Ordinary branches wouldn't have the position of Elder.

Only the Tiger Wolf Gate headquarters had the position of Elder.

This meant that Tang Qingyun, the Elder of the Examination Hall… was here to gain experience!

He would soon enter the Tiger Wolf Gate headquarters to take on an important position, at least an Elder of the headquarters. This was a truly impressive figure. Even Fang Baiyu couldn't compare to him.

Because of this, in the past half year, Wei Dian not only didn't force Xie An to do anything, but instead took extra care of Xie An:

For example, he provided convenience in terms of cultivation techniques and medicinal supplements.

For example, the last time he went to the Blood Ridge Black Market to encircle and suppress the Plum Blossom Monster, Xie An didn't actually make any contributions, it was just an analysis, and it was still wrong. But Wei Dian still promoted Xie An to Second Deacon.

Including the later encirclement and suppression of the Plum Blossom Monster at the Chen family's residence, Wei Dian directly let Xie An stay away from the battlefield, not only because his family was poor, but also because he considered the Tang Qingyun factor behind Xie An.

It was just that Wei Dian didn't talk much, emphasizing action over words.

However, having lived two lives, Xie An was astute and naturally knew Wei Dian's care and intentions towards him.

Although Wei Dian's actions were all for the sake of Tang Qingyun's face, Xie An still felt a little grateful in his heart.

Now, Xie An felt that there was no need to continue hiding from the Branch Master.

"I am Xie An, formerly an appraiser at the Li family pawnshop in Wuqiao Town. Because I was new to the Black Market, I felt uneasy, so I concealed my identity. Please forgive me, Branch Master Wei."

Seeing that Xie An had finally opened up, Wei Dian smiled in relief, "The Black Market is inherently dangerous, and it's easy to make enemies in the martial world. Many people are like you, it's not a big deal. Now that you can confess frankly, it seems that you have adapted to the Black Market and also recognize me as the Branch Master."

Xie An said, "I am grateful for Branch Master Wei's care."

Wei Dian nodded slightly, "Don't all stand and talk. Lin Yun, bring two chairs. Also, go to the cabinet in the back and take out the aged tea that I have treasured to brew."

"Yes."

Lin Yun, as the Chief Deacon, personally brought two chairs with backs, and also brought a small table over, took out the aged tea, and brewed tea for Zhang Lin and Xie An.

This treatment had never been seen before.

It once made Xie An and Zhang Lin embarrassed to take their seats.

Xie An sensed that something was wrong with Wei Dian today…

Wei Dian saw the embarrassment of the two and smiled, "Sit down when I tell you to sit, there's no need to be restrained."

The voice was not loud, but it had a tone that brooks no argument.

Xie An and Zhang Lin had no choice but to sit down and accept the tea handed over by Lin Yun.

"Don't be restrained, taste how my treasured aged tea tastes." Wei Dian smiled and spoke, intentionally breaking the sense of restraint between them.

Only then did Xie An and the two pick up the tea bowls and take a sip.

From Xie An's knowledge in his previous life, this tea… was average.

But he said, "As expected of the aged tea treasured by Branch Master Wei, the taste is indeed superb."

Zhang Lin also quickly echoed, "This is the best tea I, Zhang Lin, have ever tasted in my life."

Cough, cough, cough.

Wei Dian may have been choked by the words of these two people, or perhaps because he was in a good mood, he actually laughed, "Exaggerated, exaggerated."

One sentence swept away the slightly dull atmosphere in the room and added a bit of laughter.

After a lively exchange of greetings, Wei Dian cut to the chase: "I have called you two here today to discuss the future of our Blood Ridge lineage… cough, cough, cough, Lin Yun, you can speak."