Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

"There's someone in the well!"

The shout from the backyard of the prefectural governor's mansion startled all the constables who had just returned from the superior's residence.

Li Ping leaned against a pillar, his feet still dusty from East Street. Su Wan entered the courtyard first, Gao Min following behind with her sword half-drawn in her left hand, carrying a stack of Shangguan family contracts, nearly bumping into the threshold.

Beside the dry well, the copper ring sealing the well cracked into four pieces, and dampness rose from the well opening. As the four-sided dragon-locking formation dissipated, the things pressing down at the bottom of the well also loosened.

One hand gripped the edge of the well

The knuckles are protruding, and the nails are full of black dirt.

The man crawled out with only half his body remaining; his shoulders and back were so thin they were just bones, and his hair was a mess plastered to his face, but Li Ping still recognized him.

Chen Boyong

The old fox who taught him accounting and how to navigate officialdom, the one Shangguan Jue claimed had died of illness in his mansion, has crawled back from the well.

Chen Boyong raised his face, his lips moved slightly.

"Li...Ping...you...have come..."

Li Ping saw his chest

The garment was torn open, revealing the furnace mark embedded in the flesh. A flickering red light illuminated the area below the ribs, making it appear darker.

Pei Xing arrived and frowned after just one glance: "The furnace seal is drawing his life force; it will take at most half an hour."

Li Ping stared at Chen Boyong for a long time before saying, "Carry him inside. He hasn't settled his accounts yet; he can't die here."

After nightfall, the medicine was boiled twice. When it was brought in, only Li Ping, Pei Xing, and Su Wan remained in the room.

Chen Boyong leaned against the bed, his face deathly pale, his eye sockets frighteningly deep. The glow of the stove still shone through his clothes; the room was unlit, but the red light was enough to illuminate half of his old face.

He smiled first.

"That sarcastic attitude of his actually makes him seem like someone who can get things done."

Li Ping sat on the edge of the bed, not responding to that sentence.

"Stop talking nonsense, what exactly is going on with the Jia-class furnace?"

Chen Boyong coughed twice, blood and foam staining his lips. Pei Xing offered him a handkerchief, but he didn't take it.

"Now that you've found out, I'll no longer hide this dirty account from you."

Li Ping said, "Keep making this up. Let me hear how much blood is mixed into your grand principles and justifications."

"From the day the Jia-character furnace was opened, those whose names were branded with the furnace's mark on the list of those to be abandoned were recorded, sent into the formation, and were able to walk, eat, and work for the government on ordinary days. When the formation lacked fire, they were the firewood."

Su Wan's sword tip lightly touched the floor tiles.

Pei Xing's face darkened.

Li Ping remained seated, his fingers tapping the edge of the bed on his lap.

"Who signed the first account?"

"The prefectural government had previously agreed, and the powerful families nodded in approval. Fang Cheng was appointed to fill the vacancy, and the Shangguan family was put in charge of personnel," Chen Boyong said, catching his breath. "On the first batch of names, my seal as prefect was affixed."

The room was quiet.

Someone outside was moving boxes and books; the wooden boxes hit the stone steps with a dull thud.

Li Ping said, "When you were teaching me how to read the accounts, what did you say again? 'For every coin missing from the account, an extra drop of blood will be shed.'"

Chen Boyong closed his eyes.

"I taught you how to do the math, but I can't even figure it out myself."

"You were so righteous when you were teaching me, but when you're doing your own accounting, you're quick at turning the abacus beads?" Li Ping smirked. "You're teaching me this while treating me like an old man. Your textbook must be pretty thick."

A low chuckle escaped Chen Boyong's throat, and as he laughed, the furnace mark on his chest suddenly glowed brightly. He bent over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Pei Xing pressed down on his shoulder: "Stop talking, your Qi Sea is about to dissipate."

"Let him ask. I have to settle this debt before I die." Chen Boyong looked up at Li Ping. "Do you think I want to? In the twelve counties of Jiangning, there are floods, demonic disturbances, mine collapses, and famines. How many people die every year? The city survives, but the city collapses. The entire county is buried with the dead. A few are sacrificed to save the many. It sounds harsh, but that's how the government has always operated."

Li Ping didn't reply, but glanced at the furnace mark on his chest.

"How did you stay alive for three years at the bottom of the well?"

Chen Boyong lowered his head, his withered fingers tracing the edge of the furnace seal.

"The furnace seal is connected to the core of the mother array. The mother array uses it to draw me out and also uses spiritual power to suspend me. During these days at the bottom of the well, I am awake less and asleep more. When I wake up, I can hear footsteps above my head. The night watchman, the maid who pours water, and the servant who sweeps fallen leaves in the backyard are all living people just three zhang away, separated by a dragon-locking array."

He coughed.

"Once the mother formation collapses, the furnace seal will have nowhere to originate and will start burning itself. Pei Xing is right; it won't last long."

Li Ping looked at him

Half a teacher

Half an executioner

Those two faces together are fucking ugly.

"How long has Shangguan Jue kept you locked up in the well?"

Chen Boyong's lips twitched upwards, blood dripping from his chin onto the bedsheet.

"I personally stamped it, so naturally I'm the first one."

Li Ping stared at him.

"You feigned illness at the prefectural governor's mansion for almost half a month, and Shangguan Jue took the opportunity to stuff you into a well, then told everyone you were dead. Am I right?"

Chen Boyong coughed and chuckled.

"Your investigative skills are better than mine," he gasped for breath. "The Mother Formation is about to collapse. Shangguan Jue needs a scapegoat. If he kills me, he can pin the whole Jia-character furnace incident on me. If he doesn't kill me, the furnace mark will be on my head. Being alive is more useful than being dead."

Li Ping's fingertips stopped.

"Fang Cheng needed to repair the array. His physical body was already failing at that time. He forcibly opened the mother array, and his meridians were burned by the backlash. Fang Cheng, who was in the well, was only able to repair the array because the mother array kept a wisp of his soul alive. It was also the array that repaired him." Chen Boyong's voice grew softer and softer. "Shangguan Jue needed to be alive. For the aristocratic families to be stable, someone had to brand the furnace seal on it first to prove that it could be used. I nodded."

"The dignified Prefect of Jiangbei, just like that, sold himself out?"

"Someone has to be the bad guy. I thought I could be the one wielding the knife, but I ended up being the one on the chopping block."

"You've come up with a really good excuse," Li Ping nodded. "When you're harming others, you talk about the big picture, but when it comes to your own actions, you old fogies claim it's only voluntary. You all have two sets of official robes on your lips."

Chen Boyong was not angry

He just looked at Li Ping, his eyes cloudy, yet he still recognized him.

"My most prized student in my life now hates me to the core. This is karma."

"Hate you? You don't deserve it." Li Ping picked up the medicine bowl, blew on it, and placed it on the bedside table. "I'm busy right now, sealing the official's treasury, settling the survivors of the furnace seal, and clearing the register of births. I don't have time to mourn at your grave."

Chen Boyong looked at the bowl of medicine

"I thought you were going to chop me in half with a knife."

"The medicine is public property of the prefectural governor's office. You haven't stepped down yet, so it's only right to deduct your salary," Li Ping stood up. "Once the accounts are settled, we're even."

Chen Boyong slowly reached under the pillow

Su Wan's sword was drawn half an inch from its sheath.

The thing that was pulled out was the prefect's seal.

The old seal was wrapped in cloth, with a chipped corner. Chen Boyong handed it out, his hand trembling violently as he raised it halfway up the wall.

"This seal... I'm entrusting it to you."

Li Ping didn't answer.

"Don't give me that. I want Jiangning City, not this broken rock."

Chen Boyong paused for a moment, then smiled.

The hand suddenly fell.

The prefect's seal slammed against the edge of the bed and rolled to Li Ping's feet.

Pei Xing stepped forward and checked her breathing. After a moment, he shook his head.

The red light of the furnace seal went out.

Li Ping looked down at the seal, then bent down to pick it up after a while and wiped the blood off it with his sleeve.

"Old Chen"

No one answered

"You've done a terrible job of calculating this."

In the adjacent side room, Ren Jun leaned against the couch, his left arm wrapped in bandages. Qin Shoushan brought in a bowl of medicine. The soul imprint had stopped, the cracks were beginning to scab over, and he was still unconscious, but at least he was no longer teetering on the brink of death.

After daybreak, a large iron basin was set up in front of the prefectural governor's mansion.

First, firewood was placed in the basin, then oil was poured in. Gao Min then carried out stacks of Jia Lu and Sheng Ce and placed them on the low table next to the basin.

"Sir, this is a copy made overnight. Please take a look." He pulled out several pages from his sleeve—copies made overnight, only recording the charges, testimonies, and names of those involved, without noting the furnace stamp number. "Burn the original, but continue the case."

"Should we keep this for when the next Shangguan Jue comes to dig up old grievances?" Li Ping took a copy of the Jia Record and opened it to the first page.

The seventh in the Jia family, a carpenter from Nanqiao, worked at the furnace for three years and provided fire services twice.

There is also a small note in vermilion ink: Can be reused.

Li Ping closed the booklet and threw it into the brazier.

The flames suddenly shot up, and the paper shrank into a black sheet.

"If this kind of ledger is left for even a day, someone will want to copy it again."

"Keep the witnesses, keep the confessions, keep the charges," Li Ping said, tossing down another book. "Don't keep the list."

Pei Xing understood

The booklet remains, and the names of those people on it will never be erased. The officials in charge of the furnaces and seals may change, and the powerful families may change their faces, but sooner or later someone will come back with the old booklet asking, "Who can still burn it? Who can still sell it? Who can still use it to settle debts?"

The fire burned brighter and brighter

Registers of officials, registers of laborers, registers of laborers, and registers of servants were burned one by one. The crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger. Those who had stormed the government offices yesterday now stood outside the prefectural governor's mansion, and no one dared to speak first.

When someone saw their name, the moment the page was turned, their legs went weak and they collapsed to the ground.

A woman covered her mouth, tears leaking through her fingers.

Gao Min picked up the last stack of books, flipped to the bottom one, and read the Shangguan family's grain debt book.

"Sir, this is irrefutable proof that the Shangguan family owes us grain. Are you sure you don't want it?"

Li Ping glanced at it

"burn"

"If we keep it, the Shangguan family will never be truly clean."

Gao Min raised the booklet high with both hands and threw it into the fire with a thud.

Sparks exploded, and the crowd took a step back.

In a corner, a child whispered, "Mommy, what are they burning?"

The woman was unable to speak.

Someone nearby asked, "What did Lord Li burn?"

Gao Min suddenly opened her voice

"Burn the ledgers that show how I bullied you!"

The long street was shaken

He shouted more and more fluently, his neck turning red.

"From now on, Jiangning will not recognize records, only people! If your name is Zhang San, you are Zhang San; if your name is Li Si, you are Li Si. If anyone tries to pass off a worthless record as Chai, they'll have to ask the Prefect's Office if they'll allow it!"

The people were stunned.

Someone started crying first.

The old man selling pancakes put his basket on the ground, knelt down in front of the brazier, and kowtowed.

Li Ping stood by the fire, a black hole singed into his sleeve.

Su Wan reminded her, "Your sleeve is on fire."

He bent down and swatted out the sparks, his face expressionless.

"Old debts are burned, new debts begin to be recorded from this day forward."

Gao Min asked, "What will be recorded in the new ledger?"

Li Ping watched as the last piece of ashes in the brazier collapsed.

"Remember who deserves to eat, who deserves to be paid, and who dares to portray people as mere firewood again."

Qin Shoushan strode out from inside the gate of the prefectural governor's mansion, holding a newly opened urgent report in his hand.

"My lord, a letter from the capital."

Li Ping took the letter, glanced at the first line, and raised an eyebrow slightly.

A popping sound came from the brazier.

Su Wan glanced at the signature on the letter: "Capital, Ministry of Personnel".

Li Ping folded the letter and stuffed it into his sleeve.