Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

"What are you standing there for? What's your name?"

A small face approaching and curious words startled Tiger from his daze. He habitually lowered his head, looked at the ground, and mumbled incoherently.

"My lord, everyone calls me Little Tiger."

Because he looked down so quickly, Tiger still doesn't know what Mu Ling'er looks like.

"Who asked you that? I asked for your full name. Also, my name isn't Guiren, it's Mu Ling'er. Don't look down when you speak; look people in the eye. Didn't your parents tell you that it's impolite to keep your head down like that?"

A simple complaint startled Tiger so much that his knees buckled and he almost knelt down again. Luckily, the maid Xiaoping reacted quickly and lifted him up, preventing things from getting any stranger.

The series of unexpected events left Mu Ling'er somewhat bewildered. She looked left and right, and finally touched her chin.

"What's your last name?" This time, Mu Ling'er's tone was deliberately much softer, carrying the ethereal quality unique to children.

Of course, this is how she feels about herself. If Mu An were here, he would probably just chuckle and pinch her cheek, take a look at her missing two teeth, and sigh.

"Little Ling'er has grown up again!"

For the flustered Tiger, he couldn't distinguish the changes in Mu Ling'er's tone at all. His mind went blank due to excessive tension, and he only knew to answer Mu Ling'er's questions in a broken voice according to his instinct.

"Lin...Lin Hu...You can just call me Hu Zi..."

"Lin Linhu? What a strange name..." Mu Ling'er murmured, having misheard.

Before she could express her thoughts, Xiaoping had already bent down and whispered corrections in her ear.

"Miss, it's Lin Hu, you must have misheard."

Mu Ling'er let out a yelp, scratched her ear, and a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.

"Lin Hu, that's quite a powerful name..."

She quickly changed the subject, trying to cover up her "minor mistake" with serious business.

"Da'an needs to see you. He says he wants you to be some kind of witness, but he won't let me see you. After you're done, can you tell me what happened?"

The eight-year-old girl skipped over to the table, propped her chin up with one hand, picked up a peach with the other, and began to eat it in small bites, her big, watery eyes gazing in the direction where Lin Hu was.

Throughout the entire process, the boy named Lin Hu kept his head down, showing no intention of raising it.

He looked at the ground, then at his toes, but his gaze kept wandering, and he himself didn't know what he was looking at.

Xiaoping sighed, then moved to an angle where Mu Ling'er couldn't see her, pretending to squat down and straighten Lin Hu's trouser legs.

The moment she looked up, she shook her head at Lin Hu, mouthing a "no" sign.

After doing all that, she ignored Lin Hu's blushing face, stood up, and patted Lin Hu on the shoulder.

Mu Ling'er's voice rang out again, "Is it okay? It's just a story."

"Miss, stop fooling around. This is Lord Mu's order. You certainly don't want him to be angry, do you?" Xiao Ping interrupted, not giving Mu Ling'er a chance to continue her enticements.

Not getting the answer she wanted, Mu Ling'er's face fell. She poked at the fruit plate in front of her with her little hand and kept muttering to herself.

"If you don't want me to watch, then don't watch. I don't care anyway."

"Hmph...o(*≧д≦)o!!"

Seeing that Mu Ling'er was sulking, Xiao Ping smiled helplessly.

She called over two maids, whispered a few words to Lin Hu, gave him some instructions on what to pay attention to later, and then led Lin Hu out the door.

Only after the maids in the mansion led Lin Hu away from the cave entrance did she turn her head and calmly walk to Mu Ling'er's side.

"Miss, you've seen the person; you should go to class now."

Upon hearing this, Mu Ling'er's peach suddenly lost its flavor. She pouted and grabbed Xiao Ping's leg.

"Sister, Ling'er doesn't want to go to class, let's go out and play..."

Seeing Mu Ling'er acting shamelessly, Xiao Ping spread her hands, feigning helplessness.

"Then you'll have to talk to Master Mu or Butler He, it's not up to me to decide..."

"Ugh, classes every single day, classes every single day, it's driving me crazy."

……

……

The main hall of the Mu residence.

When Lin Hu arrived, there were already many people standing in the room.

He didn't know if he recognized any of these people, because everyone in the room was an important person, and he dared not look up, much less look at their faces.

He was also unaware that among the witnesses brought in by the Qishan Circuit Inspectorate, he was the only one left with the child.

The remaining people gave up the idea of ​​testifying on the way here for various reasons.

Perhaps it was because they saw the relatives who had adopted them, or an old friend they had known for many years, or a child they were begging with.

If they continue to testify, all of them will die.

Lin Ping was so angry that he almost punched Chu Tiankuo in the face twice more on the spot.

What a fine prefecture of Shanling! What a "benevolent" governor of Chu! He accomplished so much in such a short time; he truly had the power to control everything.

In the end, it was his strategist who pulled him back, preventing Chu Tiankuo's chubby face from becoming even rounder.

People have fears, concerns, and things they care about.

Even beggars on the street have their own reason and hope for survival.

The forces of Shanling County, led by Chu Tiankuo, undoubtedly took advantage of this to the fullest extent.

At this moment, the only witnesses left in the room are two old men who have no ties left, and Lin Hu.

Lin Hu was the last to arrive. Seeing the young man being led into the room by a maid, Mu An, who had been waiting for a while, tapped the table and looked up at Chu Tiankuo sitting in front of him.

Even now, there is not a trace of fear or regret in the eyes of this governor of Shanling County, only undisguised resentment.

Compared to when he was in Shanling County, he was much calmer, making it impossible to discern his true emotions.

When Lin Hu entered the room, he glanced at Lin Hu calmly, then looked away and met Mu An's gaze.

"Lord Mu, have all the witnesses you summoned arrived? Shouldn't you now clear my name?"

A simple sentence immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the room, and angry gazes were cast at Chu Tiankuo from all directions.

Despite being in the center of attention, Chu Tiankuo seemed oblivious to all of this, and with a smile, he pointed to the three witnesses standing together.

"Two old men who could barely speak, and a young boy who appeared out of nowhere."

The three of them combined probably can't even read a few words. Does Lord Mu think that he can just find a few people to be witnesses?

Regardless of whether they are from our Shanling County or not, even if they are, the imperial court would likely not accept their claims, since they probably can't even prove they are citizens of our Great Qi.

Chu Tiankuo's smile grew wider as he spoke. He had already made several preparations when the Qishan army approached Shanling County.

These preparations came into play after the army surrounded the governor's residence.

Lin Ping prepared a number of witnesses, some of whom had some status and many of whom were literate. These were the witnesses who could be recognized by the imperial court.

As luck would have it, within just two days, these people of standing all gave up their intention to be witnesses for various reasons.

Only two old men with no ties remained, along with a boy whose entire family had perished.

According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, these three people could not even prove who they were, let alone testify against him as witnesses.

With ample preparation and so many witnesses, Chu Tiankuo felt very safe.

He even felt that he had given Mu An enough face, after all, he had left three witnesses for this Commander Mu, instead of letting the assassins kill them all on the way.

The Chu family has never been afraid of any challenge.