Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

On either side of the courtyard wall, a man dressed in shorts was squatting.

Neither of them carried any weapons, but both had bulges at their waists.

It is obvious that a magical artifact is hidden.

There were other people inside the courtyard.

People's voices were deliberately lowered to a very deep pitch, making it impossible to hear the specific content of their conversations.

Da Niu parked the cart in the corner.

"Sir, this courtyard is now completely surrounded, as tightly as an iron barrel."

"How exactly can we get inside?"

Li Ping did not answer.

He crouched down and fished out a rotten vegetable leaf from the bottom of the bucket.

He threw it towards the alley entrance.

The vegetable leaf fell to the ground.

One of the men immediately turned his head.

They appeared very alert and clear-headed.

Li Ping then looked at the black hooded vehicle.

A flame pattern with three petals is carved on the shaft of the carriage.

Vehicles belonging to the Shangguan family did not use this type of pattern.

This is the sign of the West City Pharmacy.

Shangguan Jue controls and manages three trading companies and two pharmacies.

It seems that someone has already seen the words Zhou Cheng left behind.

Or perhaps someone simply wants everyone to be able to see this situation.

Li Ping fumbled for a small piece of silver and slipped it into Da Niu's palm.

"Go to the gambling den"

"Choose a drunkard who's lost everything and bribe him with silver to cause trouble at the alley entrance."

"Huh? Then let him curse?"

"He loudly insulted Shangguan Jue, accusing him of forcibly taking his concubine and seizing his property."

Da Niu stared wide-eyed

"This...can this really work? That's a celestial master from the Shangguan family!"

"If you give enough silver, even a ghost will do the millstone for you."

"Not to mention he's a gambler."

Da Niu clutched the silver and turned to run.

Erhu came closer.

"Sir, what do I need to do?"

"Push this cart to the base of the courtyard wall."

"Push him over and immediately crouch down with your hands behind your head. Don't look up no matter what noise you hear."

Erhu followed the instructions and performed the operation.

A moment later

Suddenly, a drunken shouting and cursing voice came from outside the alley.

"Shangguan Jue! You son who died without an anus, you childless bastard!"

"You stole my woman and then withheld my wages. You're not going to give me an explanation today!"

"I'll die right here in your doorstep!"

The shout was both loud and prolonged, and could be heard clearly throughout half of Huai'anfang.

The two men at the alley entrance changed their expressions.

"Which damned bastard dares to call Master Jue by his name so directly?"

"Go up there and cripple him!"

One person walked out quickly.

The other man was still guarding the doorway, his hand now firmly pressed against the short knife strapped to his waist.

This is the moment that Li Ping and others are fighting for.

He picked up the bucket of excrement from the ground and walked towards the man.

"Gentlemen, please do a good deed..."

The gatekeeper frowned

"You reek of stench, get the hell out there!"

"My bucket is leaking terribly."

Li Ping's back was hunched over, and his voice trembled.

"I'll just take a break in front of your esteemed gate, and I'll be leaving as soon as I've fixed it up."

"You fucking look for this?"

The man was just about to start hurling insults when...

Li Ping slipped.

An entire bucket of sewage was then poured outside.

The foul water didn't hit anyone, but it all flowed to the front of the courtyard gate.

The man was extremely angry and raised his foot to kick Li Ping's body with all his might.

Li Ping had already prepared himself, and he fell backward with the force of the impact.

His back slammed heavily against the cart.

Whoosh!

The wooden barrels that were placed on the cart all rolled off and fell to the ground.

A foul odor rose

Erhu huddled under the cart, his hands covering his head. Da Niu had not yet returned by then.

The entire alleyway descended into chaos in an instant.

The man covered his nose with his hand, and angrily drew the dagger from its sheath.

"Chop these filthy beggars up and feed them to the dogs!"

Two more people ran out of the courtyard at that moment.

Just as the three men walked around the manure bucket, Li Ping's sleeve twitched slightly.

A grayish-white talisman was then pasted onto the ground.

This is the Mist Concealment Talisman that Ren Jun left behind.

A light mist rises

Li Ping's figure pressed tightly against the base of the wall, slipping into the broken hole on the side of the yard.

It's quieter inside the courtyard than outside.

The houses in front are currently lit up.

Three monks dressed in black were gathered around the dry well opening, and a bronze lamp was placed on the ground.

The flame of the lamp was green, illuminating everyone's face as if they were dead.

One of them was wearing the blue jacket of a pharmacy manager.

The other two wore iron masks that covered half of their faces.

"That monster at the bottom of the well is causing trouble again."

The steward in the blue coat whispered

"What exactly did Zhou Cheng do down there?"

The man wearing the iron mask spoke.

"None of the people in your pharmacy know anything about this. Am I supposed to ask a ghost for answers?"

"Master Jue has already given instructions; all he needs is that bronze box."

"If we don't see anything before midnight, we brothers will just jump into the medicine furnace and become medicine dregs ourselves."

Li Ping crouched behind the remaining wall, squinting his eyes slightly.

The bronze box is indeed still there.

However, despite searching for so long, they hadn't even entered the inside of the well.

There exists some kind of restrictive force inside this well.

Moreover, it's not an ordinary restriction.

He turned his gaze to the edge of the well.

There are several fresh scratches on the copper sheet.

The rusted bronze artifacts left behind by Zhou Cheng before his death were indeed from this place.

However, the edge of the well was perfectly clean, with no trace of blood.

Zhou Cheng was not injured here.

He must have obtained something from that well before being chased and killed by others.

The character for "book" on that piece of oiled paper was probably taken away by him even before the bronze box.

While he was pondering

The bronze lamp placed next to the well suddenly shook.

Green flames elongated

A man wearing an iron mask bent down and peered into the well.

"Listen, there's a noise!"

The steward in the blue robe took out a talisman and tucked it between his fingers.

"You, go down into this well and scout ahead."

"Why me?"

The man in the iron mask sneered.

"Why should I pay for the mess your pharmacy caused with my life?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If we're going to face death, then let's all die together."

"No one should even think about trying to gain any advantage from this."

The steward in the blue coat had a gloomy face.

The two are currently at an impasse.

A muffled sound suddenly came from the bottom of the well.

thud

It was as if something had struck the lower part of the well wall.

The three of them retreated at the same time

The green flame flickered once more.

The sound of the second impact followed closely behind.

thud

thud

The voice grew more and more urgent

The shouting and cursing outside the courtyard, along with the sound of the wooden barrels tumbling, suddenly and completely disappeared.

Li Ping's heart clenched suddenly.

The Fog Concealment Talisman is about to expire.

If we don't leave now, we'll be completely surrounded in this courtyard.

But the impact in the well continued.

The steward in the blue overcoat gritted his teeth and raised his arm.

The talisman was inserted into the inside of the well.