Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

The heavy snow fell for three days straight, leaving a thick layer of white snow on the streets of Xiyun County.

This large, three-courtyard house in the east of the city was spacious, but it was also very drafty. Cold winds would seep in through the cracks in the doors, making the paper windows rattle loudly.

Li Ping was wrapped in a thick sheepskin coat, huddled in the armchair in the study, holding a brass hand warmer in his hands.

"This dilapidated house looks impressive, but it hasn't even had a proper underground heating system."

"That scoundrel Hu Guan must have had too much temper when he was alive; he froze me to death."

Li Ping sniffed and sneezed loudly.

Qian Duo squatted by the charcoal brazier in the center of the room, holding an iron rod, digging through the ashes for several sweet potatoes.

"Sir, you should be content. If this house were to be sold, it would be worth at least five hundred taels of silver."

"We're staying here for free, what right do we have to complain?"

Qian Duo swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the juicy, roasted sweet potato skins.

The study door was kicked open.

Shi Gan strode in, covered in snow and ice, his beard completely frozen.

He closed the door tightly behind him, walked to the charcoal brazier, and stretched out his hands, red from the cold, to warm them.

"My lord, everything has been arranged at Wild Fox Ridge."

Shi Gan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Old Man Shuan selected forty of the strongest men, divided them into two groups, and trained them with short crossbows day and night."

"Those peasants, who usually can't even hold a kitchen knife, are now eyeing a crossbow made of fine steel, and their eyes are practically gleaming with greed."

Li Ping placed the hand warmer on the table and sat up straight.

"How's the trap digging going?"

"They dug over a hundred holes!"

Shi Gan grabbed a freshly roasted sweet potato, so hot it almost burned his hand, but he couldn't bear to throw it away.

"Following the adults' instructions exactly, the bottom of the pit was filled with sharpened bamboo skewers, and covered with withered grass and floating snow."

"There were more than a dozen tripping spurs."

"Now, even a wild rabbit would have to leave its legs behind if it tried to run into Wild Fox Ridge."

Li Ping nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, a rustling sound came from outside the window.

Immediately afterward, a scream of pain rang out, and a figure tumbled down from the wall, landing hard on a snowdrift in the yard.

Shi Gan immediately drew his short sword from his waist, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Don't panic, we're on the same side."

Li Ping waved his hand.

The study door was pushed open, and a thin, shifty-eyed man wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket walked in, rubbing his back.

It was Hu Jiu from the black market.

Following behind Hu Jiu was Uncle Zhou.

"Lord Li, the icicles on this wall are so slippery, I almost broke my leg!"

Hu Jiu brushed the snow off his clothes and went to the charcoal brazier on his own.

Zhou Bo bowed respectfully and took out a thick booklet from his sleeve.

Everyone's here.

Li Ping stood up, walked to the charcoal brazier, and kicked Qian Duo.

"Stop eating, go lock the doors and windows."

Qian Duo quickly got up and did as instructed.

Li Ping glanced around at the four people in the room.

Shi Gan, the fighter; Qian Duo, the errand boy; Zhou Bo, the housekeeper; Hu Jiu, the outside informant.

This is his entire team in Xiyun County.

"I've called you here today for only one thing: to reveal the truth."

Li Ping picked up the iron rod and poked at the embers, making the flames burn brighter.

"Uncle Zhou, let's talk about what we have to offer."

Uncle Zhou opened the booklet in his hand and slowly read aloud.

"Return to my lord"

"There are still 120 taels of silver left in the storeroom."

"Fifty bushels of coarse grains and ten bushels of refined rice."

"Twenty short crossbows and five hundred fine steel crossbow bolts bought on the black market."

One hundred sheets of inferior talisman paper

"As for those crucial copies of the original book, they have been hidden in three top-secret locations."

Li Ping nodded and looked at everyone.

"Did you hear that? That's all the stuff you have."

Compared to Chen Rang, Zhao Heng, and the Bai family, we are dirt poor.

The room fell silent, save for the crackling of the burning charcoal.

Li Ping's gaze swept across the four people's faces, and his tone became serious.

"You all know what kind of background I, Li Ping, have."

"A few months ago, I was just an ant that could be slapped to death by Hu Guan at any moment."

"I've only survived to this day by relying on the Inspector's power and influence."

He paused, his voice turning cold.

"But now, the tiger skin is leaking."

"Trouble has broken out in Jiangning City, and the Inspector is too preoccupied with his own affairs."

"Chen Rang and Zhao Heng have already seen through the scheme, and the Bai family is also sharpening their knives on the sidelines."

"If we continue to rely on others for salvation, this day next year will be our death anniversary."

Qian Duo was so startled that he dropped the sweet potato in his hand and stammered, "..."

"M-Sir, what should we do?"

"Set your own rules"

Li Ping said, enunciating each word clearly.

He walked up to Shi Gan and patted his broad shoulder.

"Shi Gan, you used to be a fugitive, always hiding from the authorities."

"I'll give you food to eat, and you'll risk your life for me."

"From this day forward, all forty men of Wild Fox Ridge are under your command."

"I want you to train them into a pack of wolves. Anyone who dares to bite us, you take your men and tear their throats apart."

"Is it possible?"

Shi Gan suddenly stood up straight, his eyes slightly red, and forcefully pounded his chest.

"Wherever you point, sir, my blade will strike! Without hesitation!"

Li Ping turned to look at Qian Duo.

"You have a lot of money, but you're a coward and afraid of dying."

"But you're clever and fast."

"From now on, you must keep a close eye on everything that happens in the county government, and all the gossip among the clerks."

"Write down who took bribes and who went to brothels."

"These are our bargaining chips for survival in the future."

Qian Duo picked up the sweet potato from the ground, took a big bite, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Rest assured, sir! Even if I have to crawl through a dog hole, I'll find out the color of their underwear!"

Li Ping then looked at Uncle Zhou.

"Uncle Zhou, you've suffered for half your life."

"From now on, all the money management and food distribution in this house will be handled by you, sir."

"I, Li Ping, will never let you suffer the slightest injustice again."

A tear glistened in Uncle Zhou's cloudy old eyes, and he bowed deeply.

"I entrust these old bones of mine to you, sir."

Finally, Li Ping's gaze fell on Hu Jiu.

Hu Jiu shrank his neck and gave a dry laugh.

"Lord Li, I'm just a scoundrel who does things for money..."

Even thugs have their uses.

Li Ping took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and threw it into Hu Jiu's arms.

"From now on, you'll be in charge of all the news from the black market and the movements of the bandits outside the city."

"Money is plentiful, but if you dare to try to fool me with false information, Shi Gan's crossbow bolts will not discriminate."

Hu Jiu gripped the silver tightly and nodded repeatedly.

"Rest assured, sir! My eyes are sharp as a feather!"

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room changed.

The group of people who were originally just trying to make a living and exploit each other now had an inexplicable ruthlessness in their eyes.

That was the kind of resolute determination to tie one's head to the waist and follow Li Ping down a dark path.

"Hu Jiu, tell me what's going on outside."

Li Ping sat back down in the armchair.

Hu Jiu put away the silver, his expression turning serious.

"My lord, the weather outside is about to change."

"Yesterday, Registrar Zhao sent someone to Black Wind Stronghold outside the city, delivering two whole chests of silver."

"The second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold has declared that he will exchange your head for half of the grain in the granary east of the city."

Shi Gan sneered.

"A bunch of rabble dares to come to Wild Fox Ridge? I'll make sure they never leave alive!"

Hu Jiu shook his head

"Black Wind Stronghold is secondary; the most dangerous thing is Hu Lie."

Upon hearing this name, Li Ping's eyes instantly sharpened.

"What happened to Hu Lie?"

"I paid a high price to buy this information from several merchants who went into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs."

Hu Jiu swallowed.

"The strange man in black robes next to Hu Lie is a heretical cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining."

"That evil cultivator used some unknown method to forcibly raise Hu Lie's cultivation level to the early stage of Qi Refining."

"They have gathered over a hundred bandits, and have already left the deep mountains, heading towards Xiyun County."

"It will take at most two days to reach the outskirts of the city."

The sounds of gasps for air rising and falling echoed throughout the room.

A heretical cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, plus Hu Lie in the early stage of Qi Refining, and hundreds of bandits.

This force was enough to flatten the city gates of Xiyun County.

"What about the Bai family? Have they made any moves?"

Li Ping tapped his fingers on the table, his expression calm.

"The Bai family's gates are tightly shut, and even their shops are closed."

"The Bai family patriarch, Bai Chong, has decreed that due to the recent heavy snow, no member of the Bai family is allowed to go out," Hu Jiu replied.

Li Ping let out a cold laugh.

"What a clever trick! The snowstorm is so heavy, that old fox Bai Chong is just trying to sit back and watch the tigers fight."

"Let's fight Hu Lie and Zhao Heng until we're both severely weakened, then he can come out and clean up the mess."

Li Ping stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.

A biting wind, mixed with snowflakes, lashed against his face, stinging his cheeks.

"Sir, what should we do?"

Zhou Bo asked with great concern

"How about we go and beg the county magistrate to mobilize the city's garrison?"

"Chen Rang would love for me to die, why would he send troops?"

Li Ping closed the window, turned around, and his eyes flashed with a crazed light.

"Since they all want to see a play, let's build a stage and put on a grand show for them."

Li Ping walked to the table, dipped his finger in the tea, and drew three circles on the surface.

"Zhao Heng, Hu Lie, and the Bai family—three vicious wolves—are eyeing this piece of fat meat."

He slammed his hand down on the circle representing Hu Lie.

"Kill Hu Lie first! He hates me the most, and he'll charge the fiercest."

"Let's use the terrain of Wild Fox Ridge to bury Hu Lie and that evil cultivator in the snow."

"Once Hu Lie dies, the Black Wind Stronghold hired by Zhao Heng will become like headless flies."

"Then we'll turn around and deal with Zhao Heng!"

Shi Gan drew his short sword, patted it in his palm, and grinned maliciously.

"My lord, please give the order! How should we attack?"

Li Ping looked out at the pitch-black night, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Tomorrow morning, Shi Gan will lead his men to set up defenses at Yehuling."

"Qian Duo, go to the city and spread the word that I, Li Ping, have hidden a great treasure left by Hu Guansheng in a dilapidated temple in Yehuling."

"I want Hu Lie to crawl into our iron turtle shell himself."