Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

A cold wind brushed against the back of Li Ping's neck and crept into his collar.

Li Ping stepped out of the side hall, grabbed the doorframe with one hand, paused, and looked back at Gao Min, who was still standing under the lamp.

"Two carts of toilet paper are delivered to the back gate of the mansion every night, and tonight will be no exception, right?"

Gao Min paused for a moment, then understood.

"You want me to leave now?"

"At daybreak, those looking for you may not be your own people anymore. Take the money with you, sneak into the night-scented carriage, and once you leave the city, don't take the main road; head straight for Xiyun."

Li Ping handed over a wooden plaque.

"Once you reach Wild Fox Ridge, hand the wooden plaque to Shi Gan; only after he recognizes the plaque can you enter the village."

Gao Min gripped the wooden plaque, her hands covered in cold sweat.

"If I leave, who will ensure your safety and well-being?"

"We're going to see the dead."

Ren Jun pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped into the night.

The three avoided the main road, hugging the wall of the mansion and turning into a narrow alley. As soon as the lanterns of the patrolling guards swept past the alley entrance, they crouched in the shadows against the wall. Only after the guards had gone did they climb over a collapsed courtyard wall and enter the western part of the city.

Su Wan walked at the very back, her left hand always gripping the hilt of her sword. With each quickened step, a few more drops of red appeared on the white cloth on her right shoulder.

Li Ping glanced back at her.

"If they really fight, you guard the left flank."

"An injury to the right shoulder doesn't mean the sword is useless."

"That's why I've put you on guard the left side, while I've left the right side to Senior Brother Ren."

Ren Jun did not turn around

"You'd rather I block the right side than you tell me everything."

"If Senior Brother Ren is unwilling, it's not too late to return to the manor now, but we may not receive an answer before dawn."

"Go back there to wait to die?"

"If you're not going back, then guard the right flank and don't distract me again."

Ren Jun's right foot landed on a half-broken brick. He paused for a moment, the corner of the brick making a soft sound as it ground against the sole of his boot. He didn't turn back, but lifted his foot and continued forward.

Walking through the old dyehouse street, the ground smelled of tattered cloth and musty mildew mixed with the odor of old dyes. When the soles of shoes touched the muddy water, only a few small bubbles appeared.

Li Ping's gaze fell on Ren Jun's right hand.

The cut had scabbed over, landing right on the inside of the thumb.

"Is the letter poisoned?"

"No," Ren Jun raised his hand. "The messenger nailed the desk with an iron needle, and there were pieces of iron stuck in the paper. I cut my hand when I pulled out the needle."

"Have you already examined the bloodstains?"

"The blood is real, and the handwriting looks like Fang Cheng's, but based on these two things alone, I won't recognize him."

Su Wan pressed further, "How similar are they?"

"At most seven or eight points, I dare not give more than that."

"What about the remaining two points?"

"He's been dead for three years. I've never seen what the handwriting looks like when someone's dead."

Su Wan stared ahead, her hand gripping the sword tightening slightly.

The fog clung to the low rooftops of the western city, and the further ahead one went, the fewer lights there were. After passing two more empty alleys, rows of broken walls finally emerged from the depths of the gray fog.

A crumbling wall encloses a patch of wasteland. Several old dye houses have collapsed, leaving only charred beams. A dry well, shrouded in mist, is hidden behind the wall, its rim caked with black mud. A half-rotten wooden well creaks softly in the wind.

Ren Jun raised his hand to stop the two.

"Don't come any closer."

Li Ping gripped the short crossbow hidden in his sleeve, and his divine sense spread out in all directions.

There was no heartbeat behind the wall, no breathing inside the dilapidated house, but the black mud on the well's edge had just been trampled away, and water was still seeping in from the edges of several shoe prints. A fishy smell was rising from the well, barely suppressed by the musty odor accumulated over the years in the dye house.

Li Ping walked to the well, flicked a pebble with his toe, bent down to pick it up, and threw it down the well wall.

despair

The sound bounced back quickly from below.

The stones quickly fell to the ground.

"The well isn't deep, but there's something at the bottom."

Ren Jun took out a tinderbox and was about to light it when Li Ping pressed down on his wrist.

"Light will allow outsiders to see us clearly first."

"If you hold down the tinder, is there someone hiding in the well, or someone guarding it from the outside?"

"A dead man"

Su Wan took half a step forward

"Fang Cheng?"

"His face was disfigured and unrecognizable. He hadn't been dead long, and he was still clutching something in his left hand."

Ren Jun scanned the ruins of the wall

"This letter isn't an invitation; it's using the corpse in the well as bait to lure us in."

"It's also possible that the message is hidden underground."

Li Ping took out a gray talisman from his pocket and stuck it to the edge of the well. The talisman ignited, casting a dark red flame that only illuminated the area near the well wall.

The sound of something cutting through the air rang out at that moment.

"right!"

Li Ping's shoulder slumped as he sidestepped the incoming projectile. At the same time, his right wrist flicked out from under his sleeve, sending a crossbow bolt grazing the edge of the well and striking the dark figure behind the broken wall.

The arrow struck the man's chest with a thud, producing only a dull thud of metal clashing.

The man was wearing soft armor

Black mud suddenly splashed out from behind the well, and another dark figure leaped up from the well's edge, a short knife skimming across the mist, its blade aimed straight for Su Wan's neck.

Su Wan used her left thumb to push open the sword guard, and the blade slid half a foot out of the scabbard. She then twisted her wrist, holding the gleaming blade horizontally in front of her neck.

The blade struck the spine of the sword heavily, the shockwave traveling up her left wrist and slamming into her shoulder. The wound on Su Wan's right shoulder, which had just begun to swell, suddenly reopened, and hot blood quickly soaked through the white cloth. The sword that had been blocking her was also deflected by half an inch.

The man in black's knife slid down the spine of the sword, heading straight for her wrist.

With a whoosh, a small bronze shield sliced ​​in from Su Wan's right side, the edge of the shield just managing to catch the sliding blade.

Ren Jun tightened his grip, causing the bronze shield to suddenly tremble outwards. The short sword and the black-clad man's wrist were both knocked away. He took a half-step forward and struck the man's chest with his palm.

A muffled groan escaped the man in black's chest as his back slammed heavily into the muddy water. Before the splashed black liquid could even settle, he had already managed to get up, staggering towards the broken wall.

"Keep alive!"

Li Ping threw out a spirit-disturbing talisman.

The grayish-white light followed closely along the muddy ground, sweeping past the black-clad man's feet. His knees buckled, and before he could even regain his footing, his back foot stumbled over broken bricks.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Su Wan closed in, then suddenly flicked her left wrist, striking the man's nape with the hilt of her sword. The man's body stiffened instantly, and he fell face-first into the mud.

The moment the man in black's face touched the muddy water, two shrill screams came from behind the broken wall.

Two black nails pierced through the mist, one after the other, heading straight for the three people by the well.

Ren Jun blocked the first bullet; the second one grazed his sleeve and embedded itself in the well rim.

A short whistle suddenly sounded from outside the wall.

The first figure struck by the arrow turned at the sound of the whistle, braced himself against the crumbling wall, and tumbled into the mist. At that moment, the man's jaw clenched tightly, his teeth snapping shut, and a thin line of dark blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Li Ping rushed forward, pressing his thumb against the man's chin, while his other hand dug into his teeth. Black blood had already seeped through the gaps between his teeth, oozing out a bitter almond-like smell.

late

"Death Squad" Ren Jun glanced at the belt around the man's waist, "The Si family's belt."

"The letter has only reached us; why would the Si family be stationed here first?"

Su Wan sheathed her sword with her left hand, her right arm hanging by her side, the white cloth mostly stained red, and her breathing became erratic.

Li Ping pulled out the black nail from the edge of the well.

Half a cloud pattern was engraved on the end of the nail.

"They might not be after us. The assassins are guarding this well; we just stumbled upon it."

Ren Jun looked at the bottom of the well

"Guard the body, or guard that thing?"

"Examine the body first, then touch what he's holding."

Li Ping twisted the old well rope between his fingertips, and the hemp fibers immediately crumbled into a clump of rotten cotton. He untied the rope he carried from behind his waist, wrapped it around the stone beam twice, tied a tight knot, and pulled it three more times.

Ren Jun gripped the rope and descended first. After his boots touched the ground, he circled the body once before raising his hand to signal Li Ping to climb over the well's edge and lower himself down the rope to the bottom.

The bottom of the well was covered with rotten leaves. The corpse leaned against the inner wall. The person was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt, and half of their face was covered with a dyed cloth. The exposed flesh was too raw to identify them.

Ren Jun bent down and knelt down, pulling the corpse's tightly clenched left hand away.

There was no letter or seal in his hand.

There was only one broken brass clasp.

The copper buckle is engraved with "Chen Mansion" on the front, and the edges are covered with fresh mud.

"The copper buckle in the Chen residence—was it someone who died who served the teacher?"

Li Ping lifted the corner of the corpse's clothes.

The lining was sewn with three red lines, a mark used only by the prefect's close attendants. He had seen it in the mansion; the same stitching wouldn't be mistaken.

Ren Jun's fingers tightened suddenly around the brass clasp, the corner digging into his palm. He stared at the three red lines, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he didn't speak immediately.

"The teacher took four of his close attendants with him tonight."

"You can ruin your face, but do you recognize your wrists and behind your ears if they're always covered in grime?"

Ren Jun touched the corpse's wrist, then looked behind its ear.

"It's Zhou Tong; he's been following the teacher for six years."

Li Ping raised his head and looked up at the well opening.

"The clothes are kept, but the face is disfigured. The murderer isn't afraid we'll trace it back to the Chen family; he's only afraid we'll recognize Zhou Tong."

Su Wan's voice came from above the well.

"Li Ping, someone's coming from the east."

How many?

"one"

Footsteps echoed through the fog; the person was walking slowly, approaching the dry well.

Then, a familiar, aged voice came from behind the broken wall.

"Ren Jun, bring Li Ping up here."

The two people at the bottom of the well looked at each other at the same time.

That was Chen Boyong's voice.

But the attendant Chen Boyong took away tonight is now lying at their feet.

The man stood outside the wall and shouted his words again.

At the bottom of the well lay Chen Boyong's close attendant, but Chen Boyong's voice came from outside the wall: "Give me the Jia Lu; Fang Cheng is still alive."