Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

Pingyang County City, Zhenfu Division, Thousand-Household Office.

The night was as dark as ink. In the study of the inner courtyard of the Thousand Household Office, a solitary lamp still burned.

Lu Zhennan sat behind his desk, with a map of Pingyang County spread out in front of him.

The map was marked with cinnabar on the territories of various forces—the Mad Saber Sect, the Iron Sword Sect, the three major families, the two major escort agencies, the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, the Azure Dragon Society… densely packed with red lines, like a spider web that was tightening, and at the center of the web was the lamp under him.

Lu Zhennan is fifty-two years old this year and has been serving as the commander of the Pingyang County Garrison for eight years.

Eight years. He had seen too many reckless young people, full of youthful arrogance, plunge headlong into this murky water, arriving with high spirits and disappearing without a trace.

Some die in open battles, but many more die in the shadows—in the midst of schemes they thought were foolproof. Those bodies are long since cold, while he sits here, leisurely sipping his tea.

He was a powerful expert at the late stage of the Innate Divine Meridian Realm. In this county town where grandmasters rarely appeared, the late stage of the Divine Meridian Realm was the ceiling, a huge boulder weighing down on everyone. But he never flaunted his abilities and never made a move.

To outsiders, he was just a middle-aged man who looked like a civil official, speaking slowly and meticulously, always with a smile on his face.

Only those who truly understand him know—

Lu Zhennan, that old fox, is better at using others to do his dirty work than anyone else.

"My lord," a guard's hushed voice came from outside the door, "Commander Shen and Commander Zhao have arrived."

"Let them in."

The curtain was lifted, and Shen Lian and Zhao Tieshan stepped across the threshold one after the other.

The two exchanged greetings and sat down opposite Lu Zhennan. Shen Lian's gaze lingered on the map for a moment before returning to it;

Zhao Tieshan simply didn't look at the diagram—he knew that none of those red lines were something he needed to worry about. He would only look at it when the adults told him to. This was the tacit understanding he had developed with Lu Zhennan over the past eight years.

Lu Zhennan made no small talk. He took out a sandalwood box from a hidden compartment under his desk and placed it on the table.

The wooden box is small, about the size of a palm, but it is covered with sealing patterns, and a faint light flows between the patterns, as if it were a living thing breathing.

Lu Zhennan opened the wooden box.

A burst of medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air.

The aroma was so strong it almost solidified, like an invisible hand reaching out from the box and seizing the mouths and noses of the three people present.

Shen Lian felt a sudden surge of energy, the fatigue accumulated from days of travel was washed away by the medicinal fragrance, and his limbs felt relaxed; Zhao Tieshan was even more direct, his eyes widened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed hard.

Inside the box lay a human-shaped Ganoderma lucidum. It was entirely crimson, as if carved from the finest bloodstone, with seven golden lines floating on its cap, shimmering with a flowing gold luster under the candlelight.

Those seven golden lines weren't painted on; they emanated from inside the Ganoderma lucidum—a mark of its seven-hundred-year age. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth had been accumulating inside the Ganoderma lucidum for seven hundred years before condensing into these seven natural spiritual lines.

"The Heavenly Origin Treasure Medicine, seven hundred years old. If this medicine is refined into a Breakthrough Pill, it can allow a peak Divine Vein Realm expert to break through to the Grandmaster level. Moreover—if it is refined into the Heavenly Origin Barrier-Breaking Pill, even a Grandmaster or below can forcibly break through to the next realm."

There was a moment of silence in the study. That moment was long, long enough to hear the faint crackling of the burning lamp wick.

There wasn't a single Grandmaster in the entire Pingyang prefecture.

Whoever obtains this Heavenly Origin Treasure Herb may be able to break this stalemate—on the chessboard of Pingyang County, a piece that no one else possesses will be placed out of thin air.

Shen Lian's pupils contracted slightly. Zhao Tieshan swallowed again, his voice even louder than before.

"My lord," Shen Lian said in a deep voice, "this news can't be kept secret any longer, can it?"

"It can't be hidden." Lu Zhennan closed the wooden box. "I just received the precious medicine three days ago, and that very night, people came to visit my study. Not one group, but two groups."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke in a flat tone as if he were saying that the moonlight was nice tonight.

"One group's movement technique follows the White Lotus Sect's style, with a foundation in lotus-step lightness skills; the other group consists of members of the Mad Saber Sect. They didn't bring sabers, but the calluses on their hands as soon as they entered the door revealed their true nature."

Shen Lian and Zhao Tieshan exchanged a glance. Neither of them spoke, but their expressions simultaneously darkened—could members of the Mad Blade Sect enter the inner courtyard of the Thousand Household Office?

They all know what this means.

"There's a mole in the Thousand Households Office." Lu Zhennan put down his teacup. "The news has already spread among the major powers. In the next few days, the White Lotus Sect, the Mad Saber Sect, the Iron Sword Sect, and even forces from further afield will be coming. At that point, Pingyang County will no longer be a murky pool—it will be a pot of boiling oil. Whoever pours a ladle of water in, the whole pot of oil will explode."

"Instead of letting them act in the shadows, let's set a trap for them."

The stick moved steadily across the map, drawing three red lines. Each line looked like a knife mark, etched in the very center of the spiderweb.

"Three routes running parallel. One route is open, two are hidden. This will confuse those who come, and make those who want to steal the treasure unsure of who has it."

"The first route is an open escort."

Five days later, Zhao Tieshan led fifty elite troops, traveling by official road to the capital. He made a grand spectacle of it all, with no shortage of carriages and ceremonial guards—the flags of the Garrison Command, the protective entourage, and a commotion so great that the entire city would crane its neck to watch.

Zhao Tieshan was stunned for a moment, his thick lips parted slightly, "Sir, fifty men on the official road? Isn't that..." He paused, "...a suicide mission?"

"We want them to think they're being sent to their deaths." Lu Zhennan turned to look at Zhao Tieshan. "What do you think they'll think? Lu Zhennan sending fifty men along the official road, escorting the Heavenly Origin Medicine with great fanfare—isn't that blatant suicide? They're either stupid or there's a trap. And any normal person would choose the latter."

"They would suspect something was amiss, but they were unwilling to let go of the convoy that was in the open."

So they'll send someone to investigate. That's your task—not to protect the medicine; there's no real medicine on the vehicle.

Your mission is to survive while holding off as many people as possible. Set up ambushes and feints along the main road, changing formations at each pass to keep them guessing. The longer you hold them off, the more secure the other two routes will be.

Zhao Tieshan nodded vigorously: "Understood. Don't worry, sir. I, Zhao Tieshan, may not have many other skills, but I'm a master at running away."

"Second route: ambush in the basement."

His tone suddenly dropped a few decibels, as if afraid of being overheard, "Spread the word—say that the real medicine is stored in the Thousand Household Office's vault, and I will personally guard it."

Shen Lian frowned. He frowned very restrainedly, only a shallow crease forming between his brows, but the worry in his voice was unmistakable: "Does Your Excellency intend to use yourself as bait?"

"The White Lotus Sect won't let this opportunity slip by. Their people are experts in infiltration and assassination, and seemingly impregnable places like basements are actually the most attractive to them. The more doors there are and the heavier the locks, the more confident they are in their ability to slip in—this is the White Lotus Sect's confidence, and also their blind spot."

He paused for a moment, then took out a black iron token from his sleeve and gently placed it on the table.

The front of the token is engraved with the character "镇" (zhen, meaning "to suppress"), written with strong, bold strokes, as if carved with a knife and axe. The back is engraved with the character "暗" (an, meaning "dark"), written with sharp, angular strokes, as if drawn with the tip of a sword.

"Shadow Sword" Mo Wuhen. A secret guard of the Zhenfu Division.

"He arrived three days ago," Lu Zhennan said slowly. "With him here, the basement is as solid as a rock."

Zhao Tieshan let out a long sigh of relief, his tense face instantly relaxing: "Mo Wuhen... I've heard of that name. Legend has it that he kills without needing a second sword strike. With him here, I can rest assured about the underground garage."

"The third route, the real escort."

Lu Zhennan lowered his voice even further, "Over at the Six Doors, Liu Ruyan's injuries have mostly healed. She will lead the team by waterway, starting from the ferry crossing in the south of the city, and secretly sending them out around the eastern foothills of the Cangmang Mountains."

Shen Lian remained silent for a moment. After a pause, he spoke, his words slower than usual: "My lord, there might be White Lotus Sect spies within the Six Doors... The intelligence leak regarding Liu Ruyan's ambush last time was suspicious."

He spoke very cautiously, as if every word had been weighed on a scale.

"I know." Lu Zhennan interrupted him, "So Liu Ruyan leading the team was just bait for the third route. She really did travel by water, and there really was a 'Heavenly Origin Treasure Medicine' on the boat—but it was a fake made from a 300-year-old common Ganoderma lucidum. It looked similar, but its medicinal properties were far inferior. If the White Lotus Sect's spies are still around, they will definitely spread the news."

He paused for a moment, then put the sandalwood box on the table back into the hidden compartment. The compartment closed with a dull click.

"The real medicine will be taken away by someone else before she sets off."

He didn't say who it was. Neither Shen Lian nor Zhao Tieshan asked.

The rule of the Zhenfu Division is—don't ask what you shouldn't ask. This rule was bought with countless lives; Shen Lian understood it, and so did Zhao Tieshan.

Lu Zhennan placed the wooden stick on the table, making a soft tapping sound. His gaze swept over the two men in front of him, like a general looking over his two most trusted lieutenants before going into battle.

"Three routes running in parallel, with bait laid at every level. If the White Lotus Sect doesn't come, fine; but if they do, we'll make sure they never return—and it's not just the White Lotus Sect."

"The Mad Saber Sect, the Iron Sword Sect—all those hands that reached into Pingyang County, this time, let them withdraw on their own."

Shen Lian stood up. He was a smart man; he knew he had said what needed to be said, and hadn't yet begun asking the questions. He clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "What does this subordinate need to do?"

Lu Zhennan glanced at him.

That look was very long. So long that Shen Lian's heart skipped a beat.

"You," he said, "your task is not on the map."

He pulled a sealed letter with sealing wax from his sleeve and pushed it in front of Shen Lian. The sealing wax was intact, and the seal was made with the commander's private seal. The dark red wax residue looked like a drop of congealed blood in the candlelight.

"I need you to secretly investigate something." The Blood Demon Sect invaded the Azure Dragon Society's territory outside the city and clashed with them, resulting in the deaths of seven disciples. But that's not the main point. The main point is—in the past few days, the Blood Demon Sect has been in contact with the White Lotus Sect.

"I need to know whether Yin Wuji is here to settle a personal score or to get a share of the spoils. Are he and the White Lotus Sect fighting their own battles, or are they forming an alliance? Does the White Lotus Sect have anyone backing them? Are the Mad Saber Sect and the Iron Sword Sect observing, or are they already setting up a scheme? Among the forces that have come this time, who is the prey, who is the hunter, and who is hedging their bets—I need you to figure out this hidden net for me."

"And then what?" he asked.

Lu Zhennan turned around and looked at the map on the wall again.

a long time.

The study was so quiet that only the faint sound of the lamp wick burning could be heard. Shen Lian and Zhao Tieshan remained motionless. They knew the adults were deep in thought, contemplating something far beyond what they could see.

Then Lu Zhennan spoke.

"after?"

His voice was very soft, as soft as a thin blade scraping against a whetstone, carrying a chilling coldness that sent shivers down one's spine. "Afterwards, those who want to swallow up the Zhenfu Division should understand one thing—"

He stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion on the map in mid-air.

"I am the one who moves the pieces in this game of chess."

The candlelight flickered. Shen Lian and Zhao Tieshan stood up simultaneously and clasped their hands in greeting.

As they walked out, the night wind rushed towards them, making their clothes flutter loudly.

Zhao Tieshan stood in the courtyard for a moment, then suddenly turned around and glanced at the study where the light was still on.

"Old Shen," he lowered his voice, "who do you think the adults gave the real medicine to?"

Shen Lian didn't turn around. He simply gripped the secret letter in his sleeve and strode into the night.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."