However, Sister Feng's next words were even more exasperating.
"You think helping me this time means it's all over? Don't be naive. Even if it's just once, for some people, you're already their enemy."
Li Zhonglou fell silent.
Wasn't this clearly dragging him into a fiery pit? Fortunately, his current identity wasn't real. Otherwise, if he were someone who genuinely wanted to do one job and retire, he'd likely be so angry he'd spit blood.
Sister Feng's words undoubtedly cut off the path for others to return to ordinary life.
After a long while, Li Zhonglou feigned dejection and asked, "Can I at least get some compensation first?"
I've taken a huge loss this time. Asking for some money isn't unreasonable, is it?
This request also fit his persona. A person who'd been around the block would typically only care about two things: money and women.
Li Zhonglou had no intention of pursuing the womanizer route. If he wasn't interested in money either, he'd truly be like a eunuch in a garden, neither here nor there.
Sister Feng wasn't surprised by this. Instead, a smile flickered across her lips, as if she had been expecting Li Zhonglou to speak.
"I won't shortchange you on the money; in fact, you'll get more than Ah Dong and the others. But I hope you understand one thing."
Li Zhonglou interrupted, "You want me to continue working for you, right?"
The helplessness on his face and the resentment in his words were clear. Sister Feng nodded, "That's right. You've already entered this line of work anyway. Don't be naive and think you can just quit whenever you want. Even if there wasn't anything from my side."
Sister Feng paused her smoking, a cold smile curling her lips. "Do you think your old enemies will let you go? You can't hide forever, a truth I shouldn't have to teach you, right?"
Li Zhonglou really wanted to roll his eyes at her. What she said was utterly nonsensical. If he truly intended to hide, he could just find an unknown place, and who would be able to find him?
Therefore, there was clearly a hidden meaning in her words. It wasn't that he couldn't hide, but rather that someone didn't want him to.
For example, the beautiful young woman in front of him.
To be honest, although Sister Feng's appearance wasn't breathtaking at first glance, it was very enduring, the type of beauty that grew on you.
Coupled with the modifications brought about by time and her status, she possessed a unique aura. Every move she made seemed to evoke a sense of conquest in others.
This was a completely different type from Li Meixia. The latter was more of a demure, small-town woman, making her more forceful in her methods. Sister Feng, on the other hand, gave people the impression that she had climbed her way up through men.
It was hard to say who was superior, but from an appearance standpoint, Sister Feng clearly had the advantage.
Li Zhonglou had chosen her for this very reason.
Women like Li Meixia, who were strong and capable, might know many people, but the number of people they could truly control was likely small but select.
Sister Feng, however, was more like a social butterfly among the capable. In terms of connections, Li Zhonglou valued Sister Feng's network more.
His plan was to investigate Shi Boqiong's whereabouts from the perspective of an ordinary person, and at this stage, connections were extremely important.
However, there was still one issue that needed to be resolved first.
"I can join your team, but besides money, there's something else I need to remind you of beforehand. In the past, I could do some rough work, but now I'm severely weakened. It's a question whether I can ever recover in this lifetime."
"If you're expecting me to continue doing that rough work, you might be disappointed."
Li Zhonglou said in a deep voice.
This was also his only concern at the moment.
This time, he had personally handled the antique business, even completing the task almost entirely on his own. But if, because of this, he were assigned to do some rough work like assassination missions.
Li Zhonglou felt that given his current condition, he wouldn't be able to manage it.
Sister Feng's expression froze for a moment, but then she let out a light laugh.
"Don't worry, I never intended for you to do rough work."
"Rough work" was a slang term within their circle, referring to activities like murder and robbery, and sometimes even acts that violated human decency.
Li Zhonglou feared that Sister Feng might be testing him with this.
But now, it seemed he was overthinking things?
Sister Feng continued, "I learned about your situation from Ah Dong and his wife. You also have the identity of an appraiser, don't you?"
An appraiser was a profession in the antique industry. In reality, any experienced antique expert could be considered an appraiser; the difference lay in whether others acknowledged it, or whether their expertise was solid.
As soon as Li Zhonglou heard these words, he immediately understood Sister Feng's intention and felt a stir in his heart.
"So, you mean you want me to be your personal appraiser?"
Sister Feng calmly nodded, "Precisely."
Li Zhonglou immediately felt relieved. This was his old trade, so of course, there was no problem.
Seeing that things were proceeding even more smoothly than he had anticipated, Li Zhonglou sat down again and discussed salary and compensation matters with Sister Feng in detail.
When it came to money, Sister Feng truly didn't skimp. Even without any work, he would reliably receive twenty thousand a month, with additional commissions for each job.
For an ordinary person, this was already an excellent benefit.
The only downside was that he was associated with the wrong people. Sister Feng's enemies would also become his enemies. To put it bluntly, he could become a target for assassination at any moment!
Therefore, there was a risk to his life.
But Li Zhonglou didn't consider these factors. For him, securing his identity was already a success. Being able to stay by Sister Feng's side would also make it more convenient to establish his own network and connections.
The two parties hit it off.
Sister Feng promised to resolve his undocumented status within a week and that he would receive a reward of one hundred thousand for the current treasure-hunting mission, which would be deposited into a dedicated bank account.
Future salaries and rewards would also be handled similarly.
On the same day, Li Zhonglou was assigned a new identity: an employee at a car wash.
Of course, this was a job he could do or not do. The entire car wash belonged to Sister Feng's own people. When there was a mission, Li Zhonglou could just leave.
Everything was arranged by around six in the evening.
"Brother Hua, just call me if you need anything. I'm off today, and the others won't be back until tomorrow."
Outside a dorm room of over thirty square meters, a bald man waved to Li Zhonglou and said loudly.
The bald man appeared to be in his thirties and looked kind, serving as the manager of the car wash.
According to what Li Zhonglou had learned from Sister Feng, besides him, there were seven other employees at this car wash, all of whom were relatives of those who had previously worked for her and died in accidents.
Only this bald man, Qiu Yuan, was Sister Feng's direct subordinate.
He was also essentially Li Zhonglou's immediate superior.
"Okay, Manager."
Li Zhonglou nodded in response, and Qiu Yuan closed the door.
This person seemed quite approachable, possibly due to the people he usually interacted with. Li Zhonglou was quite satisfied with his current environment.
At least he didn't have to endure the annoying office politics anymore.
However, he still had an urgent matter to attend to.
After simply tidying up his belongings, Li Zhonglou found Qiu Yuan and, using the excuse of buying daily necessities, left the car wash.