In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"Manager Liu is indeed a straightforward man." Tian Chengyi stood up, patted Liu Shenxing on the shoulder, and said, "With this fire, all the past debts will be reduced to ashes. You can set off on your journey with peace of mind. If you encounter any difficulties on the road, the names of the Tian family and the Hu family will still be of some use in Sichuan."

"Thank you, boss. Thank you, boss."

Liu Shenxing lowered his head, looking extremely grateful, but his hands didn't stop, throwing one book after another into the brazier.

It took a full half hour for the stack of account books to turn to ashes.

Hu Rong used tea to extinguish the last embers in the brazier, and after confirming that not even a scrap of paper with writing on it remained, he nodded in satisfaction.

"It's getting late, Manager Liu. Let's hurry and leave under the cover of night. I've already arranged a mule cart in the back alley, and a small awning boat will be waiting for you when we reach the South River ferry."

"Yes, yes." Liu Shenxing picked up the bag of gold on the table, turned around and went to the inner room to wake up his sleeping wife and a young apprentice, and hurriedly packed two bundles.

Tian Chengyi and Hu Rong did not linger. They knew that the county government's eyes were probably watching them from somewhere, and they could not stay there for long.

After confirming that the account books had been burned, the two lowered their cloaks and quietly left through a side door on the other side.

Only after confirming that the two men's footsteps had completely disappeared into the night did Liu Shenxing straighten his previously hunched back.

He shoved his wife, who was wiping away tears, and strode to the bedside. He reached under the bed and groped around for a while, then forcefully pried out one of the blue bricks.

Beneath the blue bricks was a flat wooden box wrapped in layers of oilcloth.

This is the real lifeline.

What he just burned was merely a "secondary account" that he usually used to deal with inspections from above.

Although the figures recorded inside did not match the official accounts, they did not involve the most crucial aspect of the distribution of benefits.

The ironclad evidence that truly records the daily salt output of Qing'ao Well, as well as the respective commission rates of the Tian family, the Hu family, the well head, and the caravan, also known as the "bottom account," has been kept hidden here by him.

Liu Shenxing tucked the oilcloth bundle into his bosom and tightened it with his belt, feeling that the wooden box was even heavier than the two hundred taels of gold he had just received.

"Quick! Let's go!"

He gave a low shout, grabbed his wife and servant, picked up their bundle, blew out the lucky lamp, and groped his way toward the side gate of the backyard.

Sure enough, there was an inconspicuous mule cart parked outside the side gate, driven by a man wearing a straw hat whose face could not be seen.

Liu Shenxing felt uneasy. He knew that this man must have been sent by the Tian or Hu family to "deliver" him.

But at this moment he had no other choice; if he didn't take this car, he wouldn't even be able to leave this area in the south of the city.

"Get in!" he said in a low voice, pushing his wife into the carriage before climbing up himself.

The driver didn't say a word. He cracked his whip, and the mule let out a low neigh. The wheels rolled and clattered on the bluestone slabs as the mule drove deeper into the alley.

The alley was very narrow, with high firewalls on both sides.

The mule cart had traveled less than fifty paces when, as it rounded a corner, the driver suddenly pulled on the reins.

"Whoa—"

The mule stopped, snorting loudly.

Inside the carriage, Liu Shenxing tensed up, his heart leaping into his throat: "Why did it stop?"

No one answered him.

All that could be heard outside the car was a very faint rustling sound of clothes, followed by a muffled thud, like the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Liu Shenxing swallowed hard, then boldly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain to look outside.

Upon seeing this, he nearly lost half his soul.

The man who was driving the cart was now lying on the ground, unconscious.

In front of the mule cart, in the very center of the alley, stood a person quietly.

The man was dressed in a neat, dark outfit and carried a sheathed sword in his hand.

The end of the scabbard still retained a trace of the force that had just struck the back of the neck.

It was Pei Zhao.

"Manager Liu." Pei Zhao didn't draw his sword; he simply stood there, his figure like an insurmountable iron tower, his voice calm and undisturbed. "Where are you headed this late, with your family and valuables?"

Liu Shenxing felt a chill run down his spine, but his instincts honed from years of navigating the business world and its gray areas allowed him to react instantly.

"Run! Run back!"

He shoved the man out of the carriage and then scrambled down, trying to escape along the way he had come.

He knew that if he fell into the hands of the county government, he might die; but if it was discovered that he was carrying the real accounts, the Tian and Hu families would make him wish he were dead.

He had only one thought in his mind: to run out of this alley, find a rat hole to crawl into, and hide until tonight.

However, he had only taken two steps when a dark shadow suddenly fell from the top of the wall above his head.

"Bang!"

Chen Ye landed steadily in front of Liu Shenxing like a nimble night leopard, his short gun already held horizontally, the barrel directly against Liu Shenxing's neck.

"Run?" Chen Ye grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, but his eyes flashed with the ferocity of a wolf cub seeing blood. "I've been feeding mosquitoes under this wall for half the night. If you, this piece of fat meat, get away, Brother Pei will skin me alive when we get back!"

Upon seeing this, the waiter was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground.

The woman in the car covered her mouth, not daring to even let out a cry.

With the gun barrel at his throat, Liu Shenxing had nowhere to retreat and could only feign composure: "Young man... officer! I'm just a cloth merchant, I owe some debts and am hiding from them tonight. Please do me a favor, I have some silver here..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly began to untie the bundle on his back.

Pei Zhao slowly walked over, his gaze sweeping over Liu Shenxing's bulging chest, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Avoiding debts? The debts of the Tian and Hu families, or the county government's accounts?"

Pei Zhao walked up to him, reached out and grabbed his shoulder with a force as strong as an iron clamp, squeezing Liu Shenxing so hard it felt like his bones were about to break.

"Enough nonsense. Tian Chengyi and Hu Rong were inside watching you burn that pile of waste paper. You might fool them, but you can't fool the county magistrate." Pei Zhao's voice suddenly turned cold. "Where's the real stuff? Hand it over, and I'll guarantee you won't die tonight. Otherwise, I'll strip you naked right here in this alley and you'll have to find it yourself."

Liu Shenxing's psychological defenses completely collapsed when he heard the words "waste paper".

His supposedly clever strategy of having multiple burrows was utterly laughable in the face of these wolves and tigers from Chang'an.

They not only knew they were the front man, but they also knew perfectly well that they were hiding the real accounts and using fake accounts to deceive the master!

"I...I'll hand it over...I'll hand it over..."

Liu Shenxing, like a spineless snake, collapsed to his knees and knelt on the ground. With trembling hands, he untied his outer robe, took out the wooden box wrapped in oilcloth, and held it high above his head.