Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

Gao Min's pen fell onto the table.

Ink splattered and fell onto...

"Old Schoolhouse"

Beside those three words, it looked like a clump of filthy blood that couldn't be dispersed.

Da Niu and Er Hu exchanged a glance, neither of them knowing what had happened.

At that moment, Li Ping noticed that Gao Min's face was gradually turning pale.

"Mr. Gao, are you very familiar with that place?"

Gao Min remained silent for a long time.

"That place used to be the site of the county school, but it has been abandoned for twenty years now."

"When you first took office in Jiangning, you used that place to shelter over a hundred displaced orphans."

"But in just a few years, those children disappeared one by one."

Su Wan's brows furrowed tightly at this moment.

"How could hundreds of living people just vanish into thin air?"

"The register records that some people were sent to work in other counties, while others were adopted by wealthy families."

"There were also some children who were physically weak, and the roster says they died from illness."

Gao Min's voice was hoarse.

"And at that time, I was the one in charge of registering the names."

Li Ping turned his gaze to him and stared at him.

Gao Min has always been the most reliable advisor to her teacher.

What he knew about teachers was not much less than what Ren Jun knew.

But at this moment, this usually composed man's hands were trembling.

"How many children's names were registered in that register?"

Gao Min closed her eyes tightly for a moment.

"The first batch alone had 107 people."

There are a total of one hundred and seven.

Su Wan had mentioned in the carriage at the mortuary that her teacher had at least a hundred students.

At this moment, Li Ping felt as if his chest was being tightly blocked by some unknown force.

The teacher pulled one ordinary child after another from the muddy ground and taught them to read.

They were also taught how to cultivate qi and were given the wooden plaques they had made.

Thus, they were recruited into the sect.

This matter was originally like a lamp

But now, behind that lamp...

It seems to be connected by a line that is invisible to the naked eye.

At the other end of the line was a pharmacy.

They are unlicensed taxis, and they are those nameless destinations listed in the ledger.

"Is their name and their destination recorded and stored on this list?"

Li Ping asked

He walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a dusty wooden box from the bottom shelf.

The box was covered in a thick layer of dust, but the lock was still on.

He took out the key, and his fingers tried the movement twice.

That's how they successfully opened the lock.

Inside was a stack of yellowed rosters.

At the very top of the first page, there was a line of small characters.

"The old dormitory in Wenchang, the enrollment registration booklet."

Li Ping opened

The paper was densely covered with names that looked quite childish.

Some names were circled, while others were crossed out with a vermilion pen.

Some also have directions written next to them.

The name "Linchuan"

"The name Beihe"

"Yunze"

"The name Shiraishi"

These are the places Su Wan mentioned earlier.

However, on the very last page of this register...

There was a line of writing that had once been completely blackened by someone using black ink.

Gao Min gently wiped away the surface dust with a damp cloth, revealing the original handwriting beneath the black ink.

"Number 9, Class A, belongs to Chen Rang."

No one spoke in the room.

Li Ping fixed his gaze on that name.

Chen Rang, the magistrate of Xiyun County

Teacher's disciples

Gao Min closed the roster, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

"Back then, I only thought Chen Rang was a promising talent favored by the officials, which is why he later left the government to take up an official post."

"Looking back now, at this moment, at the students whose names were on this roster but have since disappeared."

"I'm afraid there's no way to count them all."

The morning sunlight outside shone into the house.

The light fell on the old register, revealing the worm-eaten holes along the edges of the pages.

Just like the names of many people that have been swallowed up by the long years.

Li Ping picked up the anonymous ledger.

On the last page of the ledger, next to that incomplete dragon pattern...

I don't know when, but a line of very faint writing appeared.

The ink on the characters had become blurred due to the moisture, making them impossible to see before.

Now, in the morning light, it has finally emerged.

"The number seventeen (甲) has already entered the furnace."

Li Ping's hand stopped.

After Gao Min saw that line of writing, all the color drained from her face.

Su Wan stood by the window, placing her hand on the hilt of the sword.

The joints of the fingers were also very tense.

No one asked

"Put it in the furnace"

What does that mean?

This is because no one has the courage to speak out the final answer.

After a long while, Li Ping closed the account book.

"Is there anyone who can open the door to that old school building?"

Gao Min raised her head.

"One is stored in the storeroom, and the other is on the adult."

"Is it really true that this thing was never handed over to a third person?"

"Absolutely impossible"

Li Ping turned his gaze to Su Wan.

"How long has that Foundation Establishment cultivator been inside? Has he shown himself from inside at all?"

No one was seen.

Su Wandao

"In that case, let's go to that place and take a look."

Li Ping began to speak.

Gao Min suddenly stood up

Stop in your tracks!

"The old Wenchang Schoolhouse is a forbidden place for adults, and in the absence of an official written order from an adult..."

"Anyone who goes to that place is committing an act of trespassing!"

"But the Foundation Establishment cultivator who broke in last night was wearing the Shangguan family's robes."

Li Pingdao

"Our enemies have already sneaked inside, are we still supposed to wait outside for an imperial edict?"

"If the adults have set up a killing formation inside, and you try to force your way in, you'll only face certain death."

"But what if there isn't a killing formation set up inside, but something else entirely?"

Li Ping looked at Gao Min

"So what exactly is his reason for choosing to hold that place so firmly at this time?"

Gao Min opened her mouth

However, he failed to utter a single word.

Su Wan had already turned around and started walking towards the outside.

I'll go through the front door.

Li Ping followed closely behind.

Gao Min shouted from behind.

"Li Ping!"

Li Ping stopped at the doorway without turning back.

"If the adults punish me for this, then verbally declare that I, Li Ping, made this decision without authorization."

"Kill me or torture me, I'll take the blame."

After saying these words, he strode out of the side hall.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated

Wenchang Lane is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the southern part of the city, and there stands a school building that has been abandoned for many years.

Meanwhile, there was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who was escorting the ships for Shangguan Jue.

At this very moment, they are inside that schoolhouse.

Li Ping suddenly realized that the money intercepted that night...

Not evidence

This thing is more like a key to open a door.

Someone deliberately dropped it into his hands.

Li Ping gripped the account book tightly and began to move towards the south of the city.