Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

He was so breathless that he couldn't speak coherently, and he gestured haphazardly with his finger towards the west of the city.

"The black-clad van entered the abandoned salt warehouse in Xihebu, and the van was full of living people."

"They're loading it onto the ship!"

Da Niu followed closely behind, a broken straw rope slung over his shoulder.

"I've been keeping a close watch on the back door."

"Empty vehicles were parked outside the warehouse, and awning boats were moored at the riverbank."

"They will set sail at midnight."

Gao Min's expression turned serious.

"The exact location?"

"Right in Xihebu, there's that abandoned salt warehouse whose walls have already collapsed."

Li Ping had already gotten up.

Gao Min suddenly pressed her hand against the corner of the table.

Stop moving.

"Since Shangguan Jue dared to hide the tent there, the guards in the salt warehouse must not be ordinary guards."

"Those are suicide squad members."

"Rescuing the people is Senior Brother Pei's job."

Li Pingdao

Da Niu and Er Hu both stood frozen in place.

Su Wan also turned her gaze to him.

Li Ping rolled up the map of the western part of the city on the table and stuffed it into his sleeve.

"When Shangguan Zhao sealed off the North Granary, what he actually sealed off were Shangguan Jue's accounts."

"But Shangguan Jue transferring the accounts and personnel to the salt warehouse is tantamount to openly telling Shangguan Zhao."

"He possesses something that could bring shame upon the Shangguan family."

They've become entangled and tearing each other apart.

"What's missing right now is the stimulation of a mouthful of blood."

Gao Min frowned

"Do you want to borrow this knife from Shangguan Zhao?"

"It's not a loan, it's a big gift for him."

Li Pingdao

"This was so that he could find that place by following the smell of blood."

He looked at Da Niu

"Da Niu, you were just under a car wheel."

"Did you smell something?"

Da Niu thought for a moment

"It smells like bitter medicinal dregs."

Erhu added a sentence from the side.

"And this piece of red clay, it's sticky."

"I peeled it off the axle, still covered in salt crystals."

He pulled a clump of wet dirt from his pocket.

The mud was dark red, with fine white salt crystals mixed in.

Li Ping pinched a small amount of it and rubbed the soil between his fingers.

The old salt warehouses in Xihebu were located near the river.

The mud there is indeed salty.

"This is it."

He says

Gao Min immediately understood.

"Are you trying to transport this lump of soil to Beicang?"

"Um"

Li Pingdao

"If the Prefectural Governor's office speaks up, Shangguan Zhao will become suspicious."

He turned his gaze to Da Niu and Er Hu.

"What kind of gossip do the lowest-class people in the west of the city like to spread the most?"

Da Niu can speak fluently.

"It refers to brothels and gambling dens."

Erhudao

"The porters carrying bags at the riverbank"

"If they were given a couple of ounces of liquor, they would spill all the secrets about their own wives."

Let's set off now.

Li Ping took out a small bag of loose silver and placed it on the table.

"Distribute all the silver, and let the porters shout it out loud."

"They claimed that the account books in the North Warehouse were not burned at all, but were all on the boats at the West River Wharf."

"Don't mention a single word about the salt warehouse, just talk about Xihebu."

Da Niu scratched his head with his hand.

"If it can't be explained clearly, how could that group of cultivators possibly find it?"

"They're not stupid; on the contrary, they're very clever."

Li Pingdao

"The manager of Beicang recognizes Hongni; he only needs to hear the words 'Xihebu' to know him."

"They'll find their way along the tire tracks themselves."

"All we need to do is cast the line properly, and Shangguan Zhao will catch the whole fish himself."

Erhu grinned.

"Let those two families beat their own brains out."

"One must be careful what one says."

Li Pingdao

"If Shangguan Zhao really goes mad, then the first target he'll attack will be this prefectural governor's mansion."

Da Niu and Er Hu took the silver, turned around, and ran outside.

Su Wan walked to Li Ping's side

"Are you just going to watch them both bleed and get hurt?"

"Action is certainly necessary, but we must wait until a victor emerges from among the two sides."

He looked up and out the window.

The sky is slowly darkening.

The clouds in the west of the city hung low, like a rainstorm held back in the air.

"We'll clean up the mess after they've gnawed all the bones to shreds."

He paused slightly before speaking.

"I have already instructed Ren Jun to send a message to Senior Brother Pei, once the gates of the salt warehouse are breached..."

"He will lead his men inside to carry out a rescue operation. We absolutely cannot let Shangguan Zhao eliminate them alive."

Half an hour later

Shangguan Zhao received a message from a porter.

The porter, his face flushed and neck bulging from drinking, was being forcibly dragged from the back alley of the gambling den into Shangguan's side hall.

He kept shouting loudly.

"I didn't lie!"

The black-canopied carriage bore the mark of the apothecary, and its wheels were covered in red mud.

And they headed straight for Xihebu!

Inside that carriage, you could still hear a woman crying!

Shangguan Zhao sat behind his desk, tapping his fingers on the table.

The steward was kneeling beside the seat below.

"Second Young Master, Du Cheng has emptied the North Warehouse."

"He also took those two booklets that kept our private accounts."

What a stupid guy.

Shangguan Zhao spoke in a cold voice.

"Go directly to Xihebu to intercept them."

The manager was stunned for a moment after hearing that.

"But the porter is drunk, what if it's a trap..."

That useless bastard Shangguan Jue, besides relying on waterways...

In which direction could he escape?

Shangguan Zhao straightened his body.

"He wants to use something against me to force me to give him half of my assets."

That's utterly delusional.

A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

I must get that ledger back into my hands.

As for those survivors, none of them should be left alive.

The steward's heart skipped a beat

Second Young Master, you see, the people from the Prefectural Governor's Office have been keeping a close eye on this area in the West District.

If a murder actually occurs, then things will be difficult to handle on Li Ping's side.

How can a dead person testify?

Shangguan Zhao interrupted him directly.

Human trafficking and the unauthorized establishment of medicine processing plants were all crimes committed by Shangguan Jue.

"My North Campus is spotless."

The steward lowered his head and accepted the order.

Shangguan Zhao walked to the window

Outside the window, the sky had already grown quite dark.

The image of Li Ping's always smiling face flashed through his mind, and thus...

The anger in his chest surged even higher.

The minor official from Xiyun County threw out a petition.

I just want to see Shangguan cut off her own hands and feet.

Since that's the case, then he'll show the other party that he's completely severed this connection.

Cut clean

This relationship needs to be severed to a point where no one can control it.

Xihebu

As night fell, the sound of rapid hoofbeats echoed outside the abandoned salt warehouse.

Dozens of cultivators dressed in cyan robes approached from the entrance of the alley, each bearing a Shangguan family token at their waist.

The man keeping watch outside the warehouse turned pale and ran inside.

"The forces from the Northern Academy have already reached this place!"

A chaotic commotion broke out inside the warehouse.

Someone shouted and cursed

Some people were pulling heavy boxes and running towards the back door.

Others lifted the curtains of the black-covered wagons and herded the people inside onto the covered boats.

The steward under Shangguan Zhao raised his arm.

"Completely surround this salt warehouse!"

"The Second Young Master has ordered that the front and back doors be blocked."

"Neither the ledgers nor the people can escape!"

A tremendous shout came from inside the warehouse.

Du Cheng walked out the door carrying a short knife.

Behind him followed a dozen or so guards from the pharmacy, each with a fierce look in their eyes.

"This business falls under the purview of the South Campus."

"Second Young Master, are you afraid of stuffing yourself to death if you try to eat all this yourself?"

The steward gave a cold laugh.

"If Master Jue had nothing to hide, why would he sneak around by water?"

"Hand over the ledgers and release the people."

"Second Young Master, considering we are all of the same clan, perhaps you can spare Master Jue's life."

Du Cheng's face twitched.

"You're courting death."

The voice hasn't fallen

The short sword had already been drawn from its sheath at this point.