Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

The dull chirping sound was coming from the cellar in the backyard.

The old cat was bending over, removing the blue bricks from the third wall one by one.

Bricks were piled at his feet, and ashes fell into his pipe.

He coughed twice, then limped to the side, while Ah Si, carrying a stack of planks, crawled through the hole, his shoulders brushing off a layer of white ash.

"Master, should we keep this piece of land on the east side?"

"You want to die, but I want to live a few more years."

Ah Si quickly put the plank down and waved back towards the cave entrance: "Brother Da Niu, stop moving it! Use the pillar as a support!"

Da Niu carried in a log, with Er Hu following behind carrying a bundle of hemp rope.

The cellar originally had only one intelligence wall, with twenty-seven informants' notes hanging from hemp ropes.

Now the walls are expanding to both sides, dividing the streets, gambling dens, docks, and Iron Fist Gang's territory into small sections, with layers of paper slips overlapping each other.

Old Cat tapped the map of the south of the city in the middle with his pipe: "Hang porters here, restaurants to the west. The Iron Fist Gang's territory has its own separate line of operations, so don't mix them up, and keep your information separate too."

click

Li Ping walked down the steps, his cloth shoes crushing a patch of dry blue brick fragments, sending up a pungent, earthy smell.

"The Great Firewall has tripled in size, and the news still isn't enough to satisfy our curiosity?"

Old Cat turned around: "Before, we listened to the business in the south of the city, but now we have to listen to the entire business in the south of the city. The Iron Fist Gang has two hundred mouths, and people come and go every day. They have twenty-seven informants, and they can't even keep track of all their shift changes."

Ah Si chimed in: "At the back gate of the Iron Fist Gang headquarters, the two new gatekeepers change shifts around 3 PM. One loves chewing betel nuts, and the other is afraid of dogs. The gambling dens on West Street—"

"To pick out the most dangerous things to say."

The old cat tapped him on the forehead. "Are you memorizing the account books?"

Ah Si rubbed his forehead: "The more you remember, the fewer pitfalls your brothers will encounter on the street."

The old cat stared at him for a moment, then took out a black wooden plaque from its pocket and tossed it over.

Ah Si caught it; the wooden sign only had a crooked, illegible character "影" on it.

"From now on, you'll be with me."

Ah Si looked down at the cards: "What's different about this card compared to before?"

"Before, you were just a gofer, telling me whatever you heard. Now you're in charge of assigning tasks, deciding who delivers what information, which route to take, and which routes to avoid. You have to manage all of that."

"These old foxes, do they think they'll listen to me?"

"If you can't control them, then go to the south of the city and carry manure yourself."

Ah Si tucked the wooden plaque into his clothes and straightened his back a bit: "I'll take this job."

Old Cat cupped his hands in greeting to Li Ping: "My lord, we have found a deputy."

Li Ping looked at A Si: "From today onwards, we'll call him Little Shadow in the intelligence network."

Ah Si was stunned for a moment: "Sir, I have a name, my name is Chen Si."

"You can run fast and hide well, so nobody will notice you."

The old cat said, "This name is suitable."

"Sir, may I call myself Tiger Descending the Mountain?"

Erhu asked from the side

Qian Duo had just brought in a box of account books when he heard this and almost dropped it on the ground: "You can't even count how many strokes are in your own name, and you call yourself 'Tiger Descending the Mountain'? You look like a complete idiot."

Someone laughed in the cellar

Ah Si didn't laugh.

He touched the wooden plaque in his arms and asked the old cat, "Master, which side should I keep an eye on next?"

"Watching people"

"Who?"

"A person who knows how to speak"

Old Cat hung a new hemp rope on the wall, tracing a line from the East Market all the way to the inner city: "Bank managers, carriage shop assistants, restaurant waiters, and even porters who deliver messages for gangs—the informants don't all have to be our own people. Anyone willing to give you a word of gossip can be used."

Li Ping walked to the map.

The booklet handed over by the Iron Fist Gang was spread out on the table. It contained not only information about their territory in the south of the city, but also old news they had heard.

Which gang controlled which street, who had a blood feud with whom, and which dock changed managers every month—it was all recorded on a few crumpled pieces of paper.

The old cat spread out an old map of the capital city and covered the four corners.

Look here.

The south of the city was enclosed by a red line.

Further in, the Blackwater Gang controlled the waterways, the White Tiger Hall dominated the northern market, and the Golden Knife Society held sway over the security escort agencies and carriage companies.

There are a few markings on the edge of the map, but the names are incomplete; only the symbols that Old Cat recognizes are present.

"Three families crammed onto one street, and they haven't started fighting yet?"

Li Ping asked

"Close to each other, they bite each other."

Old Cat said, "The Blackwater Gang eats water, the White Tiger Hall eats people, and the Golden Knife Society eats the road. All three want to reach out, but none want to reveal their true strength first."

"How many of these restaurants in Beijing are well-known?"

"Nine companies are publicly known, but who knows how many more are lurking in the shadows?"

Old Cat added a few strokes to the map.

Red, black, and white ink lines intertwined, squeezing out what was originally a small corner in the south of the city to the very edge.

Li Ping looked at it for a long time, then picked up a vermilion pen and drew a circle over each of the three names: Blackwater Gang, White Tiger Hall, and Golden Knife Society.

Qian Duo flipped through the account books with a clatter, the abacus beads moving rapidly, his brow furrowed in worry.

"Sir, since the Iron Fist Gang was merged into our organization, the pay for our informants this month has tripled. Including bribing the restaurants and carriage companies, as well as the fees for temporary messengers, it's already three times the club's usual expenses."

"How much is left in the accounts?"

"Sir, if we keep spending like this, we'll all be starving next month!"

The old cat snorted from the side: "If you want to pass the knife accurately, you have to be willing to feed the spies meat."

Li Ping put the vermilion brush back on the inkstone: "Fighting relies on fists, winning a fight relies on intelligence, winning for a lifetime."

Qian Duo covered up the account books: "That sounds like it will cost even more money."

"The money came from the Iron Fist Gang's gambling dens and distribution channels."

"Sir, you should have said so sooner! My heart almost jumped out of my chest!"

Li Ping was about to speak when someone suddenly knocked on the cellar door.

Three long and two short

Ah Si's smile vanished immediately.

He tucked the wooden sign into his collar, walked along the wall to the door, but didn't open it. He simply asked, "Who is it?"

"The charcoal deliveryman"

No charcoal burning today.

The person outside paused: "Then send an empty basket."

Ah Si pulled the hidden bolt, leaving the door only a finger's width of opening.

A charcoal seller pushed in an empty basket, with a sheet of oiled paper pressing down on the bottom.

He didn't look up, just turned and left.

Ah Si closed the door and unwrapped the oil paper.

There are only two lines of text inside.

The old cat reached out and took it, its cloudy eyes quickly scanning the paper. The pipe it was holding fell to the ground with a clatter, scattering sparks everywhere.

"Old Cat, you look so pale. What did you write on that piece of paper?"

Li Ping asked

Old Cat handed him the paper: "The Blackwater Gang members have been frequently going in and out of the Drunken Immortal Restaurant these past few days, and people from the White Tiger Hall have also been going there, always at times that are half an incense stick's time apart."

"Are they going to meet at Zuixianlou?"

"It's not decided yet."

Old Cat picked up the pipe, tapped the ash off his shoe, and said, "But the night watchman at the back door of Zuixianlou changed three times, and the manager cleared out all the private rooms on the second floor."

Ah Si leaned closer: "Master, should I take some men to keep a close watch on the back door right now?"

Old Cat looked at him: "Little Shadow, go and arrange two routes. One is to keep an eye on Drunken Immortal Pavilion, and the other is to find out how many people White Tiger Hall has recently transferred."

Ah Si nodded, turned and took two steps, then turned back: "Master, the message has been sent back, which route?"

The old cat laughed: "You choose."

Ah Si stared at the strips of wallpaper, drew his finger in the air a few times, and finally pointed to a piece of hemp rope that no one had ever used.

"The new line enters from Jinglan Street and exits from the tofu cart."

"If there's any leak, cut your own tongue out."

"If I miss even one word, I'll pull out my own tongue."

The old cat watched him disappear out the door, smoke billowing from its nose.

The old cat looked at the paper again, his brows furrowing.

"The Blackwater Gang and the White Tiger Hall are likely to meet soon, and if we include a few other gangs, a secret meeting of the five gangs may be imminent."

Li Ping reached out and pressed down on three ink circles on the map.

"It's perfect to have one table; it saves me the trouble of flipping over tables at each house."

The old cat's lips twitched: "How does Your Excellency wish to proceed?"

"Let them bite first," Li Ping said. "Once their mouths are full of blood, we'll go collect the debt."

"What if they're in cahoots and team up against the guild?"

Li Ping stared at the ink circle on the map, remaining silent for a moment.

"Then break the softest rib first, and the rest will fall apart naturally."

Old Cat nodded and tapped his pipe on the corner of the table.

The cigarette ash fell and landed right on the Blackwater Gang's black circle.

Crackle

The oil lamp wick popped, and three sparks landed on the edge of the paper, instantly burning a charred hole.

Outside the cellar, the night wind blew in through the cracks in the door, rustling the layers of paper strips on the wall like an uneasy whisper.

Li Ping tapped the map heavily with his fingertip: "Keep a close watch on Zuixianlou. Within three months, the only sounds coming from the guild hall in the south of the city will be from there."