Hearing his son was hauling night soil and carrying a pig, the temple master was so furious he went down the mountain himself

Sweat beaded on Yang Fugui's forehead as he hurriedly kowtowed.

"This humble servant would not dare; the patriarch would never have such an intention."

"Let's do it that way."

Gu Moran leaned back, his tone casual.

"Go back and thank Boss Yang for me; the people of the south of the city will remember him."

When Yang Fugui left, his steps were much heavier than when he arrived.

Only after Liu Ruyan and the others had gone far away did they reopen the old file.

"He's making this a protective charm for himself."

Gu Moran picked up the visiting card and lit it over the candle flame.

The flames licked the four characters "Grateful for Prince Yi " and quickly burned the paper into curled ash.

Whether a talisman works or not depends on what sins he has committed.

He dropped the ashes into the copper basin and then looked at Liu Ruyan.

"The people from Cypress Village should withdraw for now; stop trying to probe the Yang residence."

Liu Ruyan nodded.

Night fell upon Mount Qingcheng.

When the eight assassins rushed back to the Daoist temple, the gates were already locked.

The man in the lead raised his hand and knocked on the door.

After a long while, the sound of the wooden latch being moved could be heard from inside the door.

A young Daoist priest on night watch peeked out, and his expression changed when he saw who it was.

"Didn't you all go to Yi Prefecture with the young master?"

The lead assassin put down the bundle on his back, revealing the food bag and travel expenses inside.

"I request an audience with the Abbot."

The young Daoist dared not delay and turned to run up the mountain.

Eight people stood outside the door, snow falling on their shoulders, but no one raised their hand to brush it off.

Before they left Yi Prefecture, Gu Moran had two cotton-padded coats, a bag of dry food, and enough money for their return trip to the mountain. He even returned their old belongings intact.

The leader of the assassins remained silent the entire way.

He remembered the latrine bucket in the dungeon, the bitter taste of the Essence-Locking Powder after it entered his mouth, and Gu Moran sitting by the stove, casually saying, "Going home for the New Year."

If one wanted to humiliate someone, Prince Yi had countless ways to do so.

But the other side let them go.

The sound of a bell echoed from deep within the Daoist temple.

Not long after, a gray figure descended the stone steps.

Pu Qinghe wore a cloak, his hair and beard were all white, but his steps were extremely steady. The wind swept up the fallen leaves, and when they fell not far from him, they were swept away by an invisible force, and not even half of them could touch the hem of his clothes.

Everyone knew that the abbot was angry, and the eight assassins knelt down in unison.

Greetings, Abbot.

Pu Qinghe stood on the stone steps, his gaze first sweeping over their faces before settling on the bundles on their backs.

Where is Yunshan?

The lead assassin bowed and said, "The young master is still in Yi Prefecture."

Why did you all come back first?

The assassin paused for a moment, then recounted the events that had occurred in Yi Prefecture City from the beginning.

The young master entered the city under the alias Pu Hua.

Write words on the wall of a public toilet.

He was punished by Prince Yi to pick night soil.

I was chosen as a piglet.

The eight people who broke into the Prince's mansion at night were captured.

In a dilapidated temple south of the city, the young master killed Zhao Wuxu.

Finally, he was punished for "acting bravely and righteously" by having to carry manure buckets for another three months.

The mountain breeze rustled through the stone steps.

Pu Qinghe's face gradually darkened.

He closed his eyes, pressed his fingers to his temples, and suddenly regretted letting his son go down the mountain.

His son's medicine that day couldn't make him faint at all; he could smell the drug, but he still pretended to be unconscious.

He originally thought that his son had secretly led people down the mountain to find clues about the old members of the Liu Clan in Mount Qingcheng, and also to find out what kind of people Prince Yi really was.

This can also be a good opportunity for them to gain experience.

And the result?

Cleaning the walls.

Carrying manure.

Holding a pig.

I also have to work as a laborer for three months.

"You brat."

Pu Qinghe cursed.

His voice wasn't loud.

However, the pine branches beside the stone steps were bent downwards by the force of the energy.

The assassins lowered their heads even further.

One of them couldn't help but defend Pu Yunshan.

"Master, the young master is not incompetent. The problem lies in the extremely tight defenses of Prince Yi's Residence. The young master did try to rescue us, but we didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect anything?"

"None of us expected that Prince Yi had no intention of killing us."

Pu Qinghe looked over.

The assassin lowered his head even further, his voice hoarse.

He let us come back and even gave us travel expenses.

Pu Qinghe remained silent.

He could tell that the eight people were already in a state of confusion.

Most of the Green City disciples are orphans or descendants of former subordinates. It is their rule to pledge allegiance to their master and fight to the death. Unless they are truly convinced, they will never say a good word for the enemy.

"Repeat everything you saw, word for word."

Pu Qinghe turned and walked into the hall.

Eight assassins followed them inside.

The charcoal brazier was burning brightly. Pu Qinghe sat at the head of the table and listened to them talk about how Gu Moran only hanged people without killing them, and how he released people back to the mountain before the end of the year.

As Pu Yunshan knelt and kowtowed, a small crack appeared in the teacup beside Pu Qinghe.

That bastard rarely kneels before even me, yet he knelt before a prince he'd only known for a few days?

After the assassin finished speaking, the hall remained silent for a long time.

Pu Qinghe raised his eyes.

"What kind of person do you think Prince Yi is?"

The eight people looked at each other in bewilderment.

The lead assassin gritted his teeth and finally whispered, "I can't see through it."

"Can't see through it?"

"They only used traps to capture us, locked us in a cellar, and used many methods, but they never interrogated us."

"If he wanted to use the young master, he should have tortured us long ago, but he didn't."

Pu Qinghe tapped his fingers on the back of the chair.

Gu Moran.

The legendary sickly prince.

He repaired irrigation canals, built outhouses, opened trade routes, and took in displaced people. He also used fireworks to signal with tattered flags, drawing out the old people scattered throughout Shu Region one by one.

I originally wanted to wait and see.

But now, his son is trapped in Yi Prefecture City and is forced to carry manure buckets for others.

Pu Qinghe grew angrier the more he thought about it.

That brat has always been afraid of getting tired from sword practice and afraid of getting pain from boxing, but he's always been diligent in stealing my medicinal wine. How come he managed to embarrass Mount Qingcheng so much after just one trip down the mountain?

"Guanzhu."

The young Daoist priest entered from outside and cautiously asked, "Should we send more men, or perhaps send a message to the young master?"

Pu Qinghe stood up and grabbed the longsword from the shelf.

"No need."

"And what about the young master...?"

"I will go and see for myself."

He tossed the cloak behind him, sending a wave of heat through the fire in the charcoal brazier.

The eight assassins hurriedly got up.

"Abbot, the mountain path is difficult to walk, you—"

Pu Qinghe paused for a moment as he walked to the entrance of the hall.

"No road is too difficult for this old man to walk."

He raised his hand, pushed open the palace door, and walked out.

A fierce wind was blowing in my face, and at the end of the stone steps was a bottomless cliff.

In the blink of an eye, Pu Qinghe had arrived at the edge of the cliff, his clothes fluttering in the mountain wind.

The next moment, the rocks beneath his feet trembled, and he was already leaping off the cliff.