Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

In the early morning, after the snow had stopped, icicles hung from the eaves, some as long as half an arm's length.

There was a gentle knock on the back door of Li Ping's residence.

Zhou Bo unlatched the door, and Shi Gan, exuding a chilling aura, darted in.

A few drops of dark red blood, frozen into ice crystals, still clung to the scabbard of the short sword at his waist.

"Sir, everything is taken care of."

Shi Gan walked under the eaves, took the hot towel handed to him by Uncle Zhou, and wiped his face haphazardly.

"The dilapidated temple in the south of the city, the gambling den on East Street, and the Spring Breeze Pavilion—three secret agents, none of them survived."

"The corpses were tied with stones and sank into the ice hole on Shilipo, ten miles outside the city."

"No one will be able to find it before the ice melts next spring."

Li Ping was squatting in the yard, teasing a stray cat in the corner with a twig in his hand. Hearing this, he dropped the twig and dusted off his hands.

"How's the arrangement at Wild Fox Ridge going?"

"The brothers went into the mountains before dawn and all of them lay prone in the snow pits."

"If Hu Lie dares to show his face, I guarantee I'll shoot him into a pincushion."

Shi Gan grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the front yard.

Qian Duo rolled in like a ball of flesh, panting heavily, and didn't even bother to pick up one of his shoes after running away.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

Qian Duo, holding his knees, was panting heavily.

"The rumors circulating in the city have gone awry!"

"Yesterday we were only saying you were embezzling cultivation techniques, but this morning everyone's saying you're taking some secret immortal techniques to Wild Fox Ridge to become the leader of Black Wind Stronghold!"

"They even said you wanted to become sworn brothers with Hu Lie, storm the county government office together, and hang Magistrate Chen on the city gate tower!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Gan's eyes widened in surprise.

"Bullshit! I'm going to go and rip out that person's tongue right now!"

"Why are you pulling out tongues? There are tens of thousands of people in the city, can you pull them all out?"

Li Ping kicked Qian Duo, sending the fallen shoe flying towards him.

"Put it on! What's the rush?"

"These idle men's imaginations are wasted if they don't use them to write storybooks."

Qian Duo hurriedly put on his shoes, looking distressed.

"My lord, how can you still laugh? This rumor is clearly meant to drive you to your death."

"If Magistrate Chen and the Bai family believed that, they might send people to arrest you right now!"

"They don't believe a damn thing."

Li Ping sneered.

"Chen Rang and Bai Chong are both cunning foxes; they can see through this clumsy attempt to sow discord at a glance."

"However, these rumors are really annoying, buzzing around in your ear like flies."

"Since Hu Lie likes to play the propaganda game, let's teach him what it really means to manipulate public opinion."

Li Ping turned and walked out.

"You have plenty of money. Go to the accounting office and get ten taels of silver. Come with me to 'Deyuelou' (a brothel)."

Deyuelou is the largest teahouse in Xiyun County and also the place in town with the best information.

At this moment, the teahouse was bustling with noise, and the patrons were excitedly discussing the exciting news that Li Ping wanted to become a mountain bandit king.

Li Ping, carrying a lot of money, swaggered into the teahouse and went straight to a private room on the second floor.

Not long after, Qian Duoduo, half-invited and half-dragged, led the town's most famous storyteller, "Iron-Tongued Zhang," into a private room.

Iron-Mouthed Zhang was a thin, old man with a goatee. Upon seeing Li Ping, his legs trembled so badly he almost knelt down.

"Lord Li...Lord Li, this old man didn't say anything wrong!"

"Those rumors are just gossip; this old man keeps his mouth shut!"

Iron-Mouthed Zhang bowed repeatedly

Li Ping pulled up a chair and sat down, casually slapping a ten-tael snowflake silver ingot onto the table.

The silver coin hit the wooden table with a dull thud.

Tie Zui Zhang's eyes widened instantly, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Boss Zhang, don't be nervous. I've called you here today to ask you to tell a new joke."

Li Ping pointed to the silver on the table.

"Well said, this ingot of silver is yours."

"You might not be able to explain it well; Shi Gan's knife is faster than your mouth."

Iron-Mouthed Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked cautiously.

"What kind of joke would you like to hear, sir?"

Li Ping leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"Let me tell you about the former county magistrate, Hu Guan, and how he dared to keep secret immortal techniques that should have been presented to the prefect."

"Let me tell you about Inspector Ren, how he saw through everything with his keen insight, broke Hu Guan's sorcery with a single finger, confiscated the secret technique, and brought it back to Jiangning City."

Iron-Mouthed Zhang was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

This isn't telling jokes; it's using his words to refute rumors!

"As for me, Li Ping..."

Li Ping touched his chin.

"He was just a poor, lowly official who was forced into a corner by Hu Guan and almost lost his life."

"Anyone who claims I possess martial arts techniques is questioning whether the Inspector is embezzling funds and is slapping the face of the Jiangbei Prefect!"

Iron-Mouthed Zhang gasped in shock. This accusation was far too much!

If we hand over the training manual to the inspector, who would dare to steal it?

Stealing martial arts techniques is tantamount to rebellion!

"I understand!"

"Don't worry, sir, I guarantee I'll tell this story in a thrilling and tear-jerking way!"

Iron-Mouthed Zhang grabbed the silver from the table, stuffed it into his pocket, and turned to run downstairs.

Half an hour later

In the main hall of Deyuelou, the gavel rang out with a crisp "snap".

Zhang the Iron-Tongued stood on the stage, speaking fluently and eloquently, his spittle flying everywhere.

He portrayed Hu Guan as a greedy and wicked villain, and Ren Jun as a benevolent and upright official descended to earth.

As for Li Ping, he became a loyal and innocent bystander who narrowly escaped being murdered.

"Ladies and gentlemen! That Hu Guan is possessing immortal techniques; his crime is unforgivable!"

"The Inspector acted swiftly and decisively, confiscating the secret technique on the spot and sending it to Jiangning by express courier overnight!"

"The rumors circulating in the city that Li Wenshu has embezzled the cultivation techniques are utter nonsense!"

"Someone's trying to smear the Inspector!"

The tea drinkers were stunned; the wind suddenly shifted.

"So the cultivation technique was taken away by the Inspector long ago?"

"Nonsense! The Inspector is a protégé of the Prefect; would he really leave his magical arts to a mere clerk? Even a fool would know that's impossible!"

"Exactly! Who would dare to steal immortal techniques? Are they out of their mind?"

Li Ping descended from the second floor at the opportune moment, stood at the top of the stairs, cupped his hands in greeting to the tea drinkers in the lobby, and said loudly.

"Fellow villagers! I, Li, am an upright and honest person."

"If anyone thinks that I, Li, have embezzled the cultivation technique, they are welcome to go to the county government and ask Magistrate Chen to search my house!"

"Li didn't say a word, and even left the chamber pot under the bed open for everyone to see!"

This frank and open statement immediately drew a burst of laughter from the lobby.

In a corner of the crowd, a few shifty-eyed men exchanged glances and quietly slipped out of the teahouse.

Those were spies from the Bai family and the county government.

Li Ping watched their departing figures, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

The ball is in Chen Rang's court. Will Chen Rang dare to search?

Finding it would be a slap in the face to the inspector; not finding it would just cause him a lot of trouble.

This rumor has been completely debunked.

……

Thirty miles outside the city, Black Wind Stronghold

A henchman tumbled and crawled into the hall of righteousness, and knelt down with a thud.

"Young Master! The winds have shifted in the city! Li Ping went to a storyteller and said the martial arts manual was taken back to Jiangning by the inspector long ago!"

"He even threatened to have his house searched, and now everyone in the city believes his lies!"

"Bang!"

Hu Lie kicked over the brazier in front of him, sending red-hot charcoal scattering across the ground, scalding the henchman who screamed in pain.

"Bullshit! The technique is definitely in his hands! He's just playing me!"

Hu Lie's eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged wild boar, and his body was writhing with black energy.

In the corner, the rogue cultivator Miao Jun toyed with the eerie green bead, letting out a piercing, cold laugh.

"Young Master Hu, it seems your enemy is smarter than you."

"He stirred up trouble, using the inspector as a shield. Neither the magistrate nor the Bai family dares to touch his Noon Wild Fox Ridge; it's probably a trap."

Hu Lie grabbed the nine-ringed broadsword, the iron rings on the back of the blade clanging together with a piercing sound.

"A trap? I'm not falling into his trap! Does he think he's safe just because he's hiding in the city?"

Hu Lie gritted his teeth, his facial muscles twitching violently.

"Pass down the order: we're not going to Wild Fox Ridge!"

Miao Jun squinted his eyes

"Oh? What are your plans, young master?"

Hu Lie turned his head, his gaze filled with venom.

"Li Ping has a sister-in-law who lives in Willow Tree Alley in the west of the city. She's bringing a dozen or so skilled brothers with her to come to the city with me!"

"Bring that woman here, let's see if he'll hand over his martial arts techniques!"