The sky hung low. Three quarters past the Hour of the Rooster.

At the ruined temple in the west of the city, the disaster refugees hiding there were hoping for Black Brother, but Black Brother had gone to find a physician and hadn’t returned yet.

“Black Brother has no money. Could he have been beaten?” said a youth starved to skin and bones with a sallow face.

The others looked at each other. No one spoke anymore. A suffocating atmosphere of silence permeated the ruined temple, with the only sound being the gurgling of empty stomachs. Long-suppressed feelings eventually erupted. Finally, someone jumped out and roared, “I can’t take it anymore! Whether it’s stealing or robbing, as long as I can fill my stomach, damn it, I’ll do anything!”

Like igniting a fuse, most people in the ruined temple caught fire, their eyes burning with fierce flames—the flames of starving people desperately wanting to survive.

“Let’s go to the grain shop. If they won’t give us food, we’ll rob them!” someone shouted.

The disaster refugees rushed to the doorway when suddenly a gust of wild wind snapped one of the few remaining wooden pillars in the ruined temple. Countless tiles fell down, landing precisely on Guo Ping and Lao Yao’s grass bedding.

Everyone froze for a moment, then immediately rushed over to rescue them.

But suddenly, sounds emerged from the broken tiles—not anguished moans, but roars like those of fierce, hungry beasts. “Bang!” A hand shattered through the tiles, bending powerfully.

Beside the dilapidated stone tower, A’Mao, his face bearing fresh scars, clenched his fists and gazed toward the ruined temple half a li away. Just now, miserable screams seemed to have come from there, mixed with the thunderous sound of something massive collapsing.

A’Mao pondered: What happened at the ruined temple?

He hesitated about whether to go look. His leg had just stepped forward when a familiar voice came from behind.

“A’Mao, Grandmother says it’s getting dark and wants you to hurry back. Come back quickly.”

The voice belonged to Xiao Qin.

“I heard you. So annoying,” A’Mao unclenched his fist.

Xiao Qin grabbed his arm. “Grandmother coughed up blood again. I’m so worried about her. What should we do, A’Mao?”

Looking at Xiao Qin’s reddened eyes, A’Mao’s voice softened. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.”

The young girl nodded toward the young man.

The four—Li Si, Bai Zhenzhu, Lao Sitou, and Wu Wen—left the Cui residence. Cui Yunhai enthusiastically urged them to stay, but Li Si took his leave citing official duties. After waiting at the inn until dark, Li Si left Bai Zhenzhu and Lao Sitou at the inn. He and Wu Wen snuck back to the Cui residence, preparing to retrieve the corpse.

Bai Zhenzhu stayed at the inn reluctantly. This mission carried unknown dangers, and Li Si couldn’t let her take risks. He instructed Lao Sitou to keep a close watch on her.

As the Hour of the Dog ended, the sky turned completely dark.

Li Si had wandered around the Cui residence for half the day precisely to familiarize himself with every corner, knowing where was easiest to infiltrate. The wall of the second side courtyard to the east had partially collapsed, so Li Si infiltrated the Cui residence from there.

He saw several moving firelight clusters in the distance—they should be night-patrol servants. Li Si avoided the servants and circled to the cobblestone path between the study and the pond. Wu Wen wasn’t good at swimming, so naturally the task of retrieving the corpse fell to Li Si.

Li Si had Wu Wen hide well, while he gazed at the eerily rippling water surface, took a deep breath, and slid into the pond. The winter pond water was bone-chillingly cold. Li Si couldn’t help but shiver violently, forcibly enduring the cold as he dove toward the bottom.

The pond was three zhang and six chi deep. Li Si silently estimated the depth. At just over three zhang, he vaguely made out the pond bottom’s contours in the murky water and began feeling around for the corpse. A flash of silver light passed, and then Li Si felt something bite his left wrist.

When he looked clearly, Li Si discovered it was a two-chi-long silver water snake.

The water snake wanted to launch another sneak attack. How could Li Si tolerate it? His palm struck like an axe, hitting the snake’s head. The water snake wobbled and floated toward the surface like drifting grass. But Li Si wasn’t doing well either. The bitten wrist felt numb and itchy, and before long, half his body began to stiffen. Li Si cried out inwardly: This snake is venomous!

He had to find Cui Yunhai’s corpse immediately, or there would be another wronged corpse keeping company at the pond bottom.

Heaven had eyes. Li Si finally felt a cold human face. Half a chi of yellow sand had settled on the face. Li Si swept away the yellow sand and drew close to that face. The eyes were tightly closed, the complexion purplish, and a three-legged bronze burner was firmly bound to the waist.

The corpse was definitely Cui Yunhai’s!

Li Si fastened one end of the rope he had brought to the corpse and tied the other end around his own waist. His feet pushed off the pond bottom, using the force to swim upward. Just as he neared the surface, Li Si suddenly trembled all over, his heart turning ice-cold, his limbs gradually losing sensation. Li Si bit through the tip of his tongue. The acrid taste of blood jolted him awake, and he used all his strength to sprint toward the surface.

“Splash!” The sound of breaking water pierced the pond’s tranquility as Li Si’s head emerged.

“Over here,” Wu Wen waved. Li Si dragged the corpse toward that direction when suddenly shouts came from ahead. A servant yelled hoarsely, “There seems to be movement at the pond.”

“Movement my ass! At this dead of night, is someone going for a winter swim? Tietou, you’ve been drinking too much again, haven’t you?”

The servant called Tietou grew agitated and shouted, “You’re the one who’s drunk. I really heard movement. Why don’t we go take a look?”

“Tch, fine, but you have to treat us brothers to a midnight snack.”

“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up.”

The firelight moved toward the pond. Li Si’s hands and feet felt like they were weighed down by thousand-pound boulders, making swimming increasingly difficult. Wu Wen anxiously wanted to come down too, but Li Si stopped him. “Don’t come down. It’s useless.”

The patrol team’s footsteps could be faintly heard. Wu Wen made his decision. “No, I can’t leave you behind.”

“Wu Wen!”

Just as the two argued, someone in a hall ahead suddenly shouted loudly, “Come quickly! There’s a thief!”

The shouting came from a woman. Li Si recognized it as that girl Bai Zhenzhu. She had come after all, not listening to him. The servants ran off following the sound. Li Si barely managed to swim to the pond’s edge, and Wu Wen pulled him up.

Figures moved. Lao Sitou and Bai Zhenzhu also appeared.

“My trick of creating a diversion in the east to attack in the west was powerful, right… Big Brother Li, Big Brother Li!” Bai Zhenzhu was just about to boast when she suddenly turned her face and discovered Li Si’s complexion was iron-blue, his lips trembling, collapsing forward in exhaustion. Wu Wen, quick-eyed and fast-handed, immediately caught him.

Lao Sitou turned over Li Si’s wrist and felt it, frowning. “Not good. He’s been poisoned by snake venom. The poison has almost entered his five internal organs. Quickly carry him on your back to find a place to detoxify.”

Tears glittered in Bai Zhenzhu’s eyes as she choked out, “Where should we go?”

“Lin Mang’s small room.”

Wu Wen carried Li Si on his back and rushed into Lin Mang’s small room. Lao Sitou pulled out a gourd bottle from his gray robe and poured out a fingernail-sized pink pill. Li Si had already fallen unconscious. Lao Sitou pried open his teeth and sent the pill into his mouth, then gently pounded his chest, making Li Si swallow the pill.

Lao Sitou also removed Li Si’s upper garment and vigorously rubbed his heart area, helping the heart warm up. Once a person’s heart froze stiff, even immortals would find it difficult to save them.

“Old senior, let me help you.” A pair of trembling small hands touched the ice-cold heart area. Bai Zhenzhu forcibly held back the tears in her eyes. Big Brother Li must survive, even if she had to exchange her own life. Bai Zhenzhu kept praying in her heart.

After about a quarter hour, Li Si spat out a mouthful of thick black blood, then slowly regained consciousness.

Bai Zhenzhu cried and laughed. “You’re awake! You’re finally awake!”

Li Si said weakly, “Don’t cry, girl. I’m fine.”

“Good thing you’re fine.” Lao Sitou let out a long breath. “What bit you was a Silver-Headed King of Hell—extremely venomous. When a person is bitten by this thing, within two hundred steps the toxic blood will definitely attack the heart, causing death by bleeding from all seven orifices. Fortunately, I was pestered by this little girl to come along tonight, otherwise your little life would have been finished. So this little girl can be considered to have saved your life. Including just now when treating your snake poison, she disregarded propriety between men and women, wishing she could take the poison in your place. Tsk tsk tsk.”

“Old senior, stop talking. Big Brother Li is still very weak,” Bai Zhenzhu’s face reddened as if it would burst into flames.

Li Si looked at this girl who had accompanied him all the way. Her every smile and frown, every anger and joy flashed before his eyes, and he kept these images in his heart. Li Si wasn’t ignorant of how to cherish things, but the beautiful shadow buried deepest in his heart was like a knife scraping bone and gouging out his heart, making it painful to breathe. Li Si lacked confidence to make promises to anyone again. Moreover, drifting in the chaotic winds of this troubled world, did he even have the ability to give anyone happiness…

“Girl, thank you.”

Li Si had a thousand words, but in the end, only these five words came out.

Bai Zhenzhu responded with a charming smile, her beauty overthrowing cities.

The hour had passed the Hour of the Ox. Li Si closed his eyes and rested for a moment, then suddenly said, “We have Cui Yunhai’s corpse in hand. Now we must immediately go find Wang Hang. We must strangle the Demon-Men’s conspiracy before it’s revealed.”

Wu Wen was just about to carry the corpse when Lao Sitou stretched out a hand to stop him, turning to look at Li Si. “Can you be certain Wang Hang is still Wang Hang?”

Li Si was startled by these words. The Demon-Men’s targets were all wealthy and powerful people in Yinshuang City. Wang Hang wasn’t necessarily safe.

Li Si thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go test him.”

Bai Zhenzhu’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly said, “Right! Why don’t we just tear off the Demon-Men’s human-skin masks, and they’ll reveal their true faces?”

Lao Sitou grunted and said, “It’s not that simple. As far as I know, there’s a mysterious disguise technique in the Southern Border that can change a person’s facial bones and reshape their skin. If you encounter this kind of supreme disguise master, even if you tear his face to shreds, it’s useless. I think Lin Mang’s disguise technique is no ordinary one and is very likely related to the Southern Border disguise technique.”

“Then how do we test?” Bai Zhenzhu said helplessly.

“There’s a way,” Li Si said. “Even if Demon-Men can change their faces to become the victim and imitate their movements, expressions, behavior, and mannerisms, there are some things in the subconscious that cannot be changed. For example, talking in sleep, the amount of food eaten at each meal, even whether they like to wash their feet and the degree of foot odor—it’s not entirely without flaws.”

“But only the closest people can easily notice,” Li Si paused slightly. “Wang Hang’s wife should be able to provide useful information, but how do we get her to talk?”

“What’s so difficult about that? Leave it to me.” Bai Zhenzhu patted her chest.

“Can you do it?”

“Don’t underestimate me. Women have plenty to talk about with women, and I also have a secret weapon,” Bai Zhenzhu said cleverly and mischievously.

“What secret weapon?” Both Li Si and Lao Sitou stared and asked—both were idiots when it came to women.

The little girl only replied with two words: “Classified.”

The most dangerous place was also the safest. Lao Sitou and Wu Wen stayed in Lin Mang’s small room to wait. Cui Yunhai’s corpse also remained. Li Si and the confident Bai Zhenzhu headed toward Yinshuang City’s yamen.

As dawn gradually brightened, in an open field outside Yinshuang City, a dark mass of troops blockaded the stone bridge connecting the city interior and exterior. Well-trained military units spread out in a horseshoe formation, standing ready in strict formation.

At the very front of the army was General Ningyuan, Sui Bing. Sui Bing looked at the slowly rising red sun and said with a cold breath, “What should come has finally come.”

At the same time, Huo Daozhang, who hadn’t closed his eyes all night, rubbed his sore eyes, stood up, and looked at the little red lights outside the window, murmuring to himself, “It’s almost dawn. I wonder how the young prince slept.”

He spoke very softly. Not far away, mottled tree shadows swayed, just like real people.

And Zhang Xianglin, entrenched in a magnificent residence in the east of the city, was currently resting with closed eyes to conserve energy. Hearing the night watch outside, he slowly opened his eyes. “Is everything properly arranged?”

Half a zhang away from him stood a landscape screen. The screen slightly parted, and two people walked out.

The gray-clothed Chou Kui respectfully said, “General Sui has arrived outside Yinshuang City.”

Wu Du, wearing a purple cloak, said in a slow voice, “The Cui, Wu, Du, Hua, and Lei residences are all properly prepared. Absolutely no mistakes.”

“Good.” Zhang Xianglin praised. “The ten great assassins of the Black Night Seven-Color Hall truly live up to their formidable reputation. Chou Kui, Wu Du, after this great achievement is accomplished, I will request merit for you from Prince Ding.”

“Thank you, sir.”

In the western slum district, the youth A’Mao tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep well. Every time he was about to fall asleep, he vaguely heard sounds of moaning and screaming, just like what he had heard outside the ruined temple during the day.

Finally falling asleep, he dreamed of a tiger with a human face charging over and biting Grandmother and Xiao Qin.

A’Mao suddenly woke with a start, covered in cold sweat… The screaming sounds in his ears seemed not to have disappeared, and the sky was about to brighten.

At the ruined temple in decay, facing the most bone-chilling cold wind before dawn, face after face, vacant and ferocious, sobbed.

Finally, they walked out…