Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

Child

The icy chill emanating from the jade seeped into my skin, making my palms ache.

There were no lights on in the dilapidated house.

Let the chill from outside seep in bit by bit.

Big Bull leans against the door panel

Chin resting on chest, head throbbing with heavy breathing.

Erhu pressed his face against the window crack, staring until his eyes ached.

The alley outside was as dark as a sealed, dry well, with only the occasional sound of armored boots treading on the bluestone.

The sounds were perfectly synchronized, and then they faded into the distance.

Li Ping sat at the table

His fingertips, dusty, slowly traced a line across the table.

Fingernails scratched the wooden planks, leaving behind a crisscrossing pattern of street lines.

City gate

Prefectural Governor's Office

Josai

There are also several patrol routes patrolled by the Shangguan family.

"Squeak"

The door opened a crack

Da Niu suddenly woke up, his short knife only halfway raised.

A pebble flew through the air and slammed into his wrist bone.

A tingling, numb sensation shot straight to my elbow, and the dagger slipped from my hand.

With a clatter, it fell to the ground.

"It's good to be more vigilant, but your knife is too slow."

"They can't even touch the hem of my clothes."

A figure in green robes slid into the room like a ghost, the hem of their robes stirring up a gust of cold wind.

He then pushed it open, and the door slammed shut.

Da Niu clutched his wrist tightly, breathing heavily through his nostrils.

Veins bulging on his neck

Li Ping, however, had already stood up.

"Senior Brother"

Ren Jun took off his straw hat, revealing a slightly pale face.

After not seeing him for several months, this usually composed inspector had lost a lot of weight.

The blue robe was stained with mud and emitted a faint smell of blood and earth.

There was a tear in the cuff, made by a sharp weapon, hastily wrapped with white cloth.

He first glanced at Li Ping, then his gaze swept over Da Niu and Er Hu.

"Qi Refining Level 3"

"What kind of miracle drugs have you been taking these past few months?"

Ren Jun raised an eyebrow slightly

"When did the spiritual energy in Xiyun County become so nourishing?"

Li Ping smiled.

"If Senior Brother went out into the mountains more often to feel the cold wind, he might be able to break through as well."

Ren Jun did not press the matter further.

He sat down at the table and tapped his knuckles on the wooden board.

The two tapping sounds were exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

"I've already heard about what happened in Xiyun County."

"You're quite bold."

"Hu Lie, Chen Rang, Zhao Heng, the Bai family—you even withstood the beast tide!"

"You've had a much more exciting time these past few months than I have in the county town."

"If you're willing to help, I'll reserve a cell in the magistrate's jail for you."

Li Ping picked up the chipped, coarse porcelain pot, tilting his wrist slightly.

Pour out a bowl of overnight cold water and push it over.

"Chen Rang is still inside. Didn't you two get along quite well before?"

Ren Jun picked up the bowl and took a sip.

The water was cold, with a distinctive earthy taste from the bottom of the well.

It cools down the throat all the way to the stomach.

His tense jawline relaxed slightly, and he exhaled a long breath.

"It's good that you were able to defend Xiyun County."

"At least I no longer have to worry that the Si family will use what happened over there to make a fuss."

Li Ping's eyelids twitched, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Miao Jun left behind something valuable before he died. Senior brother, can you guess what it is?"

Ren Jun's hand froze in mid-air.

The room fell silent instantly; even the soft rustling of the wind against the roof tiles outside the window sounded jarring.

The air seemed to solidify into a tangible substance.

Da Niu and Er Hu swallowed hard and exchanged a glance.

He shuffled his heels along the ground, slowly squeezing himself into the shadows of the corner.

"Miao Jun is dead?"

He died in Xiyun County, and his remains were never found.

Li Ping pulled the black iron plaque from his pocket and clicked it open.

Slammed heavily on the table

Dried bloodstains remained along the edge of the metal plate, dark red scabs embedded in the grooves.

It had a faint fishy smell.

Ren Jun picked it up and rubbed the character "司" with his fingertips, his face growing increasingly gloomy.

"They still made their move."

"The Si family extended their reach to the distant mountains long ago."

"The meager tax revenue and spirit sand mines of Xiyun County are not enough to satisfy the Si family's appetite."

"Stop beating around the bush, what exactly do they want?"

Ren Jun looked up at him

"What they want is what the teacher has been searching for half his life."

Li Ping squinted.

"What exactly is the teacher looking for?"

"If I had known, would the Si family still have chased and bitten me like a dog?"

Ren Jun gave a bitter laugh.

"Zizhi, I only know one thing."

"The teacher's downfall in Jiangning back then wasn't due to a lack of ability."

"He's avoiding others, but at the same time, he's waiting for someone."

"Wait for a batch of peasants like you and me, whose deaths will go unnoticed."

Li Ping felt as if his chest was stuffed with a handful of waterlogged cotton, making him feel suffocated.

That doesn't sound right.

What kind of teacher treats their apprentice like a peasant?

"Therefore, we are not his disciples."

"Just the knife he's waiting for?"

"right"

Ren Jun answered very decisively.

"A dead move that can be discarded at any time"

The air inside the room seemed to have been doused with a bucket of ice water, instantly freezing into ice crystals.

Ren Jun lowered his eyes

I know you're upset, and I don't want to lie to you.

"It's true that our teacher has been kind to us, but he's using us as pawns."

"That's also a fact."

"If the Si family overturns this chessboard, Jiangbei County will once again become a hunting ground for aristocratic families."

"No one can survive."

"By then, Xiyun County will be fine too."

"Whether it's Wild Fox Ridge or all those people you've worked so hard to build up."

"They'll swallow them all whole."

Li Ping did not respond.

My gaze fell upon the bloodstained iron plaque on the table, and a memory surged forth.

The fleeing people of Yehuling, barely clothed and shivering in the wind and snow

Thinking of those people in the mines whose eyes were green with hunger

I also recalled the farmer outside the city gate who was whipped to the ground by a monk and had to tremble as he dug out the three coins he owed for entering the city to pay the tax.

powerful families hold power

In their eyes, mortals are not even worth as much as weeds.

These are always the first to be eaten.

"Enough with the reminiscing, let's get down to business."

Li Ping raised his head.

"You've come here in the middle of the night, what exactly is this hidden force in the west of the city?"

Ren Jun took out a piece of paper as thin as a cicada's wing from his sleeve, which carried the smell of aged insect repellent.

Lay it flat and neatly on the table

A house was drawn on the paper.

A three-courtyard house with a dry well at the back.

"West of the city, Huai'an Ward"

No. 7 Willow Lane

"That's a dead end."

"The house has been abandoned for more than ten years, which is perfect for hiding some things that can't be seen in the light of day."

"What you're looking for is in the bronze box at the bottom of the dry well."

"Inside is a formation-breaking nail."

"With this, I can break one of the key points of the Four Directions Dragon Locking Formation."

Li Ping looked at the blueprints

"Since this matter is so important, why doesn't Senior Brother go himself?"

"I'm being watched closely."

Ren Jun raised his left hand

A thin, pale red thread had appeared on her wrist, so fine it was almost invisible.

But it was like a leech that had sucked its fill of blood, clinging tightly to the flesh.

"This is the Si family's Soul-Chasing Silk."

"I appeared in a place within half an hour."

"They can touch it."

"There are at least two Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding the outer perimeter on the west side of the city."

"If I go, I'll only lead people there directly."

"You are different"

Ren Jun looked at Li Ping

"You concealed your presence when you entered the city, and disguised yourself as a down-on-his-luck cultivator searching for relatives."

"Although the Shangguan family has their eyes on you, they haven't completely clashed with Li Ping from Xiyun County yet."

"This is the last remaining loophole."

Li Ping folded the parchment neatly and tucked it into his sleeve.

"What happens after we get the Breaking Formation Nail?"

"There is an abandoned waterway in the west of the city that leads directly to the moat outside the prefectural governor's mansion."

"I will be waiting at the waterway exit at 1-3 AM tomorrow."

"If I don't arrive"

Ren Jun paused for a moment

"Then destroy the formation-breaking nails yourself and leave the city immediately."

"What about the teacher...?"

"Save them if you can."

"If you can't save them, save their lives first."

Ren Jun's voice was low, with a hoarse, sandpaper-like quality.

Li Ping stared at him for a while.

That's the truth.

What is the meaning of camaraderie among fellow disciples? It's all meaningless in the face of life and death.

"Senior Brother"

"What you said sounds much better than 'I'm here'."

Ren Jun was taken aback, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Xiyun County truly nurtures its people."

"Li Zizhi, who used to only hide under the offering table and cry for help, is now making fun of his senior brother."

People always improve.

Li Ping stood up and picked up the bamboo basket from the corner of the wall.

"Especially after being used as bait a few times."

Ren Jun's smile faded.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you."

"We'll settle this later."

Li Ping waved his hand.

"Let's get through this difficult time first."

He rummaged through the bamboo basket and pulled out a few dirty, old short-sleeved shirts; a strong smell of sweat mixed with mildew wafted out.

He dumped it on Da Niu and Er Hu without warning.

"Change it on"

"Tomorrow night, we'll go to the west side of the city to deliver night soil."

Da Niu was holding the bundle of clothes that smelled strange in his arms, his eyes wide like saucers.

"Give...give what?"

Li Ping pointed to two wooden buckets in the corner of the yard.

"No matter how big Jiangning City is, someone still needs to take out the night soil."

Erhu's features were tightly scrunched up, and bitterness was almost overflowing from his eyes.

"Sir, shall I go too?"

"If you don't go, do you expect me, the county magistrate, to personally carry buckets of manure?"

The two could only pinch their noses with one hand and shake out their short brown clothes with disgust.

He slowly and reluctantly put it on.

Ren Jun stood by the door, watching Li Ping stuff the parchment, talismans, and dagger into his robes one by one.

Suddenly spoke

"Zizhi"

Li Ping looked up

"That house in the west of the city might have more than just the array-breaking nails."

"What a teacher leaves behind is never just a single contingency plan."

"Once you're inside, don't believe anything you see."

"Especially the words left by the teacher."

Li Ping's eyes flickered.

"What do you mean by that, senior brother?"

Ren Jun did not answer.

He put his straw hat back on, but did not leave immediately.

But retreating into the shadows behind the door, I felt as if I had melted into that thick, indissoluble ink.

Just then, the footsteps of patrolling soldiers echoed from the alley outside the gate.

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the room fell silent again.

Li Ping stood still, looking down at the map of the western city hidden in his sleeve.

枯井

Bronze box

Breaking Formation Nail

There was also a backup plan left by the teacher.

The water in Jiangning City was even more murky than he had expected.

Just thinking

Click

A very faint sound of tiles breaking suddenly came from outside the wall, like someone stepping on thin ice.

Li Ping raised his head.

The pale moonlight shone on the window paper, casting a shadow of a person holding a sword.

Like a giant, dormant bat

The sword tip hung downwards, and a drop of liquid, whether dew or blood, slid down the blade.

The shadow remained motionless on the window paper for a long time.