Does the Household Have a Ghost Without Even Knowing It?

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Wang Ping put it into action. Just after noon, he changed into a fresh set of clothes, put on a bamboo hat and straw rain cape, tucked a long string of copper coins into his pocket, and followed his memories out of Former Village. Without wasting a moment, he headed toward Longxing County, the nearest county town he knew of.

He walked for roughly another two hours.

At last, a city came into view—the towering gates, the soldiers standing guard, and the bustling market spread out beyond the city walls.

This was the "Grass Market."

Ninety-nine percent of the people gathered here came from rural villages and mountain hamlets outside the county town. As for the "good citizens" inside the city, they would never come near a place like this.

That said, the Grass Market could still be called "small as a sparrow, yet complete in all five organs." At the very least, daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt could all be bought here, and at even lower prices. The quality might be a little worse, but Wang Ping was in no position to be picky.

Before long, Wang Ping followed his memories to a rice shop in the Grass Market.

Yet in the next instant, he abruptly stopped.

At the entrance of the rice shop, a yamen runner dressed in black with a saber at his waist was sneering at the shopkeeper, his fingers lightly tapping the counter inside.

"Old Chen, it's time to hand over this month's customary payment."

The rice shop owner was an old man past forty, his face covered in wrinkles, black hair streaked with white, back bent with age. Hearing this, he hurriedly took out a string of copper coins.

"Rest assured, Master Liu. I had it prepared for you."

With that, Old Chen was about to untie the string and count out the proper amount.

But in the next second, the tall yamen runner called Master Liu suddenly reached out and snatched the entire string of coins from Old Chen's hand.

"Master Liu!? This..." Old Chen's expression tightened.

"Why are you babbling?" The yamen runner impatiently waved a hand. "This will do. Deduct the extra from next month's customary payment. Saves me the trouble of wasting time."

After saying that, he glanced at the shelves in the rice shop, casually grabbed a bag of fine rice, and tucked it into his arms. He clearly had no intention of paying. Then he swaggered toward the next shop. Wherever he passed, the crowd lowered their heads and stepped aside. No one dared meet his gaze.

He was every inch a street-clearing tiger whose accumulated authority ran deep.

As for Old Chen, he could only offer a bitter smile.

Behind him, a young man around twenty had witnessed the entire scene. He could not help gritting his teeth and muttering, "That Liu the Skinner has gone too far..."

"Bastard, what nonsense are you talking about!"

The moment those words came out, Old Chen's face changed drastically. He quickly turned around and heavily smacked the young man, signaling for him to shut up at once.

Then, seeing that although the young man had fallen silent, his face was still full of resentment, Old Chen could only shake his head helplessly.

"You're still young. Lord Liu is already one of the better ones."

"No matter what, life can still go on, and business still needs doing... Endure a little grievance, and it will pass. I lived through things the same way when I was your age."

From a distance, Wang Ping watched the entire scene with a calm expression.

Only after Master Liu had finished making his rounds along the entire street and returned to the county town in satisfaction did Wang Ping walk up to the rice shop and say softly, "Uncle Chen, half a bag of fine rice."

Old Chen immediately turned around. Wearing the amiable smile of a businessman, he called for the young man behind him to help. Measuring the rice and calculating the money were done in one smooth motion.

"One hundred and thirty-three coppers altogether."

"Uncle Chen, can you round it down a little?" Wang Ping asked shamelessly.

"Young man, I'm only running a small business too..."

After some haggling, Wang Ping successfully saved himself one copper coin. However small a mosquito was, it was still meat. Only then did he pay for the rice in satisfaction.

Besides that, he still needed to buy a piece of refined iron for forging knives.

Though he could still use leaves as substitutes for now, if he truly wanted to get started with the [Plain Moon Lotus Blade], he needed to forge a flying knife of his own.

"One penny can stump a heroic man."

If he had not become an undercover agent for the county yamen, jumping back and forth to eat from both sides, let alone precious refined iron, he probably could not even afford the fine rice he had just bought.

Leaving the rice shop, Wang Ping wandered around the Grass Market, specifically browsing the stalls of small peddlers to see whether he could pick up a bargain. Every bit he could save was worth saving.

Along the way, Wang Ping also overheard plenty of passersby chatting.

The topics were all over the place—marriages among sons and nephews, everyday trivialities—but the subject that came up most often was news from inside the county town.

"Have you heard? A Transcendent has arrived in the city!"

"I heard it's a hall established by the Wandering God True Person. The authorities even conscripted laborers for it. It's enormous, in the Shenghua District on the eastern side of the city."

"So they're recruiting servants?"

"My second uncle works in the city. He told me himself that the doors of that hall are practically being trampled down. Who knows how many people want to go in and become servants."

"Exactly. The authorities posted an official notice: anyone who gets into a hall opened by a Transcendent as a servant will have their entire Household immediately exempted from taxes and levies. Who wouldn't be tempted after hearing that? It's just that people like us were born under unlucky stars and can only scrape by outside the city. Otherwise, even if we had to squeeze until our heads broke, we'd go give it a try."

"Isn't that the truth..."

Listening to the discussion, Wang Ping could not help becoming curious. A Transcendent, backed by the authorities, and even servants' households could have their taxes remitted?

With that thought, he listened even more attentively.

Fortunately, he was not the only ignorant one. After listening along the way, he really did piece together most of the information and gained a rough understanding of where these Transcendents came from.

Simply put, these so-called Transcendents were a group of alchemists favored by the current Sage of the Great Shun Dynasty. It was said that they could refine elixirs of immortality, earning the Sage's deep esteem. That was why the county authorities had opened every green light for them, helping build halls and recruit servants.

"They're probably a pack of swindlers. Nothing new."

Having made his judgment, Wang Ping did not dwell on it further. He was only listening for the excitement, after all. Only those masters inside the city would fuss over such matters.

Thus, nearly another two hours passed.

At last, Wang Ping stopped before an iron shop and set his sights on a piece of refined iron. Since it was relatively small, its price was also lower.

Normally, such a small piece of refined iron would be difficult to use for forging weapons, but since he wanted to forge flying knives, it suited his needs perfectly.

But just then—

"Don't turn around."

A faint voice reached his ears, steady and forceful. Wang Ping's hand, which had been idly turning over the refined iron, suddenly froze, though he swiftly kept his expression under control.

He's here!

The superior responsible for making contact!

Thinking this, Wang Ping immediately looked toward the iron shop owner and said softly, "Boss, is your iron fully smelted? If it's pig iron, I'm not buying."

The owner immediately frowned.

"Young man, you must be joking. I run a blacksmith shop and have some reputation in this Grass Market. If you want wrought iron, how could I possibly sell you pig iron?"

Wang Ping ignored him.

His conversation with the owner was merely something he had casually started. In essence, he was using it to communicate with the superior making contact, who knew where he was hiding at the moment.

Sure enough, the voice came again.

"How are things?"

Wang Ping opened his mouth. As he spoke to the blacksmith shop owner, his lips formed entirely different words. Astonishingly, the shape of his mouth and the words he spoke were completely unrelated.

This was how he normally communicated with his superior as an undercover agent of the county yamen. There was no need to pass suspicious little slips of paper. He only needed to stand somewhere the other party could see him, casually find someone to talk to, then use lip-reading to convey the intelligence he wished to pass on.

"I have already become Shouchong's disciple."

"I am now the hall master of the White Lotus Sect hall in Former Village... but Shouchong seems to have realized that the county yamen has an undercover agent within the White Lotus Sect."

"If this continues, I risk being exposed."

Wang Ping formed each word with his lips, separating the lip-read message from what he was actually saying. He had spent several months learning that skill before mastering it.

Soon, the voice came again.

"Don't worry. At present, I'm the only one in the entire county yamen who knows you're an undercover agent, and your identity file is absolutely confidential. Shouchong cannot possibly catch you."

Yet Wang Ping did not feel reassured upon hearing that.

Instead, he felt somewhat helpless. "Sir, we agreed at the start that we would wrap this up after three years. But three years became another three years, and now I'm already a hall master."

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be hasty."

His superior's voice remained calm. "I also want to wipe out the White Lotus Sect as soon as possible, but you must understand that this is a major matter. If we do not move, so be it. But once we move, we must succeed."

"We cannot bear the price of failure."

"Former Village is the White Lotus Sect's nest. That old man Shouchong has made many arrangements there. If we rush in recklessly, he may discover us and escape."

"So if we want to close the net, either you find out the location of every sentry post within Former Village, or find a way to lure Shouchong out of Former Village..."

"Easy for you to say... Hm?"

Wang Ping had just been about to argue when he suddenly froze. His previous conversation with Shouchong flashed through his mind. "Wait... there may really be a chance."

He suddenly grew excited.

"In two days, Shouchong may go to River Village!"

"...What?"

The superior's voice changed at once. "Are you certain? Where did you get this information?"

"He told me himself." Wang Ping tried to remain calm as he continued. "It cannot be ruled out that he deliberately used false information to test me, but it could also be true."

"No, it should be true."

His superior spoke excitedly. "There has indeed been unusual activity from the White Lotus Sect at River Village. Well done! Wang Ping, after this matter, you will be one of the county yamen's own."

"The reward silver will not be lacking either."

"Thank you, sir."

Before long, the voice disappeared. Wang Ping no longer wasted words with the iron shop owner, who was visibly getting red-faced with anger, and decisively bought the refined iron.

Then he turned and headed back to the village.

At this moment, his mood had begun to soar. His superior had decided to close the net, which meant this tightrope-walking undercover life was about to end.

By then, he could take a large sum of reward silver and live as a wealthy idler in the county town, lying flat and waiting for death. Even if the court shamelessly withheld his reward silver, he could simply loot the White Lotus Sect's assets and run, change his name and identity, and still have no need to worry about the rest of his life.

Just thinking about it was a little exciting.

Wang Ping's buoyant mood lasted until he returned to Former Village and saw the young Daoist Xie Shi at the village entrance. Only then did he gradually calm down.

"Senior Brother Xie?"

"Come with me. Master wants to see us." Xie Shi said blandly, "I went with you to the Grass Market in Longxing County, and Master wishes to speak with you."

Thump, thump!

Wang Ping's heart skipped a beat, but his face revealed nothing. He simply nodded, then followed Xie Shi all the way to the rear courtyard of the Daoist temple.

"This disciple pays respects to Master."

Seeing the old Daoist seated beside the shrine, Wang Ping wasted no words and immediately prostrated himself fully. But this time, Shouchong did not tell him to rise.

Then, an aged voice drifted out.

"There was once an expert who took a fancy to a young man. He accepted him as a disciple and taught him martial arts. That young man was clever like you and meticulous in his work."

"But sadly, someone discovered that he was a ghost of the imperial court."

In the next instant, Wang Ping felt a chill at the center of his brow. A faint sting came with the liquid trickling down, staining half his vision red.

"Why did you betray me?"

Wang Ping knew that the [Lotus Blade] was currently pressed against the center of his brow.

In that instant, his thoughts raced. This was a scene he had imagined countless times in the dead of night. He had once been scared to death by it, yet now that it had truly come—

He became calm instead.

Without hesitation, he raised his head, allowing the blade to cut open his brow as blood poured down like a stream. His eyes were full of grievance. "Cult Master, you suspect me?"

He decided to gamble.

He would gamble that his meeting with his superior in the Grass Market outside the city had been hidden well enough, that Shouchong had no evidence and was merely trying to trick him. Therefore, he had to deny it to the bitter end.

"Why should I not suspect you?"

"Only you and Xie Shi knew that I planned to go to River Village."

Shouchong gave a cold laugh, then took out a slip of paper and tossed it before Wang Ping. On it was a single line: [There is a mole. Abort the operation!]

Only then did Wang Ping understand: it was not just the White Lotus Sect that had an undercover agent in him. The county yamen also had an undercover agent from the White Lotus Sect!

"Do you see now?"

Shouchong gently pressed the blade forward, his voice icy. "I must have gone senile, raising a ghost in my own Household without knowing it. How do you intend to explain yourself?"

"It truly wasn't me!" Wang Ping desperately shook his head.

"If it wasn't you, was it me? Or was it him!" Shouchong turned his head and looked at Xie Shi.

"Ah?" Xie Shi froze. He had originally been looking forward to watching a good show, but now he immediately panicked. "There is absolutely no such thing! Master, I am your disciple!"

"So what if you're my disciple?"

Shouchong remained unmoved. "Does being my disciple mean you would never betray me? Over all these years, you are far from my only disciple. Do you think none of them have ever betrayed me?"

"And today, you went to Longxing County with Wang Ping, didn't you?"

"That... was Master's arrangement."

"It is also possible that you anticipated it beforehand."

As they spoke, the atmosphere in the room had already grown tense to the extreme.

But just then—

Boom!

A tremendous crash shattered the tense atmosphere. It sounded as though the gates and walls had been blasted apart. Immediately afterward, boiling cries rose from all around the Daoist temple.

"By imperial decree, we purge the bandits!"

"The White Lotus Bandits have rebelled against their superiors and brought disaster upon the countryside. Their crimes cannot be forgiven!"

"Brothers, the county magistrate has spoken! For every bandit killed this time, the reward is ten taels of silver. Whoever kills the White Lotus Bandit leader will receive five hundred taels!"