As the footsteps of Chun Qiong and the constables faded beyond the door, the Man in Green Robe, Lü Zhiming, looked down at Wen Chaoshen and said:

  "From today on, come to my house to chop wood and carry water."

  "Food and drink are provided, and you'll be paid daily."

  Wen Chaoshen rubbed his stiff legs, struggled to stand up, and released his grip on the hatchet.

  "Is there really such a good deal in the world?"

  "You spent a gold leaf to give a refugee the identity of a Qi Kingdom citizen, just to have him chop wood and carry water?"

  Lü Zhiming retorted:

  "Then what do you think I should have you do?"

  Wen Chaoshen looked directly into Lü Zhiming's eyes, trying to see through him as he did with Chun Qiong, but Lü Zhiming was different. He seemed to hide his true thoughts in an unknowable pce, making it impossible for Wen Chaoshen to grasp even a hint.

  Wen Chaoshen's thoughts raced as he quickly searched through all his possible uses in his mind, not considering himself as a person, and finally said to Lü Zhiming:

  "For someone like me, whose life is worthless, if you're willing to exchange gold for it, is there some shady work you need me to do?"

  Lü Zhiming ughed:

  "Your life is tough, not worthless."

  "Besides, you're so frail, you couldn't do any shady work."

  Wen Chaoshen shook his head:

  "I don't believe in things falling from the sky. If it were three years ago, I might have, but not now."

  "You spent a lot to give me a Qi Kingdom identity, which is a favor to me. I shouldn't speak to you like this, but I think you should at least be honest. For the money spent, you should receive the goods."

  Lü Zhiming flicked his sleeve, his smile undiminished:

  "If we must be so precise, you've benefited from my favor for more than just a day or two. Besides that gold leaf, there were countless bowls of porridge. If you add it all up, shouldn't you give me your life?"

  Wen Chaoshen trembled slightly at these words.

  Lü Zhiming turned and walked back the way he came, his voice lingering:

  "My house is the eighth one in Osmanthus Alley, west of the gallery bridge. The alley is deep, and since you haven't wandered the county city before, I'll take you there once so you won't get lost next time."

  "If you're coming, follow me."

  Wen Chaoshen hesitated for a moment, gnced at A Shui at the County Office entrance, whose gaze was fixed on the iron hook above and the broken rope on the ground that hadn't been taken inside, her face thoughtful.

  Seeing her like this, Wen Chaoshen followed Lü Zhiming.

  "What's your name, young brother?"

  "Wen Chaoshen."

  "A good name."

  Wen Chaoshen looked curiously at Lü Zhiming's back, his voice respectful:

  "Have you been the one feeding Lord Dog all these years?"

  Lü Zhiming answered with a question:

  "Why do you call it Lord Dog?"

  Wen Chaoshen didn't feel embarrassed:

  "It saved my life. I have nothing to repay it with, so calling it 'Lord' is a bargain for me."

  Lü Zhiming led him into the alley, pointing to a fence with red apricots peeking over:

  "Start counting from here, it's the eighth house ahead."

  "Remember, it's on this side, don't go the wrong way."

  Entering Lü Zhiming's courtyard, the first thing that caught his eye was a loquat tree in the yard, its trunk straight like a sharp sword thrust into the ground. Wen Chaoshen stared at the loquat tree, feeling something strange about it, but couldn't pinpoint what.

  The courtyard had only this tree, the rest were flowers and pnts.

  Lü Zhiming walked to a stone table in the courtyard, brewed a pot of tea, and handed it to Wen Chaoshen, saying:

  "The bck dog's owner was my neighbor. After he left, the bck dog came to my door begging for food, and since we didn't ck food, I decided to keep it."

  As he finished speaking, the wooden door of the courtyard was pushed open, and a white-haired woman in a blue fur skirt appeared, saying to the two outside:

  "The porridge is ready, let's eat first."

  ...

  Inside the County Office, Chun Qiong stood before Liu Jinshi's corpse, reaching out to touch his neck, his eyes gleaming.

  The guards who had escorted him to Kuhai County were all lined up outside the door like pine trees. In the room, only Chun Qiong and a bde-wielding guard over fifty, with frost at his temples, remained.

  This guard was different from the others. He held his sword in his left hand, and his left arm was inexplicably longer than his right, seemingly a congenital defect.

  But his eyes were like bright candles in the night, sharp and piercing.

  "Wu Xie, open his stomach."

  Chun Qiong ordered, and the guard immediately drew his sword, slicing open Liu Jinshi's abdomen. Seeing the colorful contents inside, Chun Qiong's brow gradually furrowed.

  "Is Lord Chun looking for poison?"

  Wu Xie seemed to know what Chun Qiong was pondering and asked calmly.

  Chun Qiong squinted:

  "The poison Lu Chuan gave was gut-piercing poison. For an ordinary person, drinking it would immediately cause their intestines to rot, yet there's no trace of poison in Liu Jinshi's body."

  "Don't you find it strange?"

  "After all, it was suicide, but he chose to hang himself, and specifically at the County Office entrance."

  Wu Xie pondered for a moment.

  "Isn't it enough that he's dead?"

  "He's dead, so the secret is gone too. Isn't that what the lord wanted?"

  Chun Qiong examined the body, then took out a clean wet cloth to wipe his hands, saying:

  "I'm worried whether the secret is truly gone or if he hid it."

  "The implications of that matter are too great. If the news leaks, Qi Kingdom and even the whole world could be thrown into chaos. We're here to clean up the lord's mess, leaving no traces, and we must confirm repeatedly."

  "Liu Jinshi died not long ago, just before dawn."

  "At that time, someone should have been watching him... Wu Xie, help me find Lu Chuan and ask what Liu Jinshi was doing before he died."

  "And also..."

  "Go outside and instruct the servants to search the entire County Office. Before nightfall, I want to see the unused gut-piercing poison of Liu Jinshi."

  PS: Updates might be unstable these days. Once I'm back home on the 20th, this book will start updating explosively (3 updates a day+).