A room at the Prefect's Mansion in Qiling.

Prefect Feng was seated in the center, surrounded by several guards.

Glaring, one guard swore to him,

"Sir, we are all ready. The signal will be sent at nightfall. Our men will hit both the post house and the Prefect's Mansion to kill all of them!"

Slowly raising his head, Prefect Feng's face went from bright to solemn. His piercing eyes became empty, in the depth of which was inexplicable gloom and sadness.

His right fist clenched so hard that his finger joints snapped as loud as his emotions.

"Eleven years! It's time... to collect the blood debt for Lord Protector Zheng..."

One guard looked at the window when a worrying thought struck him.

"Sir, the young guard by the eunuch's side was a sly one! Ever since they arrived, he's never stopped working with the Eastern Depot Master to make trouble for us."

Prefect Feng retracted his eyes from afar. As if in a reverie, he squinted slightly and sighed,

"So young, but so careful and visionary. He's indeed Leng Qingtang's apprentice. But his face is familiar, and I wonder where I saw him before."

The door opened. A guard rushed in and stumbled.

"Sir, the guy named Yun Guaner... He went to the kitchen!"

...

Kitchen.

Gu Yunxi walked down into the secret room, approaching the truth step by step.

The stairs ware narrow and steep, each of which could hardly fit her whole foot. With one hand holding the lighter and the other on the wall, Gu Yunxi tiptoed towards the depths. Every time she stepped down, she would keep a count in her heart.

She walked down twenty-eight steps in total, and a narrow tunnel was revealed before her eyes.

Horrified, Gu Yunxi stopped moving. The dim light emitted by the lighter cast her slender and dark shadow on the floor and stretched it long.

It might be too late for her to stop here and return to report to the Master.

The watchman was poisoned by food, which resulted in vomiting and diarrhea. Prefect Feng would soon notice the man in a mess. If she had left now, it would have been hard for the Eastern Depot to get into the kitchen again.

If Prefect Feng had found himself cornered, he would have desperately relocated the things in the secret room or attacked the Eastern Depot in advance.

Under the circumstances, she had no choice but to go on.

Swallowing her saliva hard, Gu Yunxi no longer hesitated. She bit her lower lip and stepped forward, continuing to fumble in the pitch-black narrow tunnel.

Endless and dark, the unknown world in front of her was like a bottomless abyss, swallowing her petite body. She was forced to keep walking, but there was no way out.

It was humid and hot here, but she was shivering out of fear as she walked.

It was only fifty steps away. Yet for her, it seemed a long and endless journey.

Before her eyes, the blurry space was suddenly widened.

The choking smell of candles, blood, and excrement lunged at her. Frowning, Gu Yunxi subconsciously covered her mouth and nose.

Holding up the lighter and looking around, she saw that the ground and the surrounding stone walls were very flat, which were built with fine black bricks and white cement.

Gu Yunxi cautiously walked deeper into the secret room, reminding herself to be vigilant at all times and pay attention to any movement. In her mind, she hinted at herself over and over again,

"There are no monsters. Absolutely no monsters! Go further and one can see mountains of treasures and countless deeds of land. Those are the evidence of Feng Yunheng's corruption."

"And I must collect them as soon as possible and return to the Master."

The eagerness to succeed gradually became wild, and Gu Yunxi was no longer cowardly at this moment. She just kept pushing on with the lighter.

Somewhere ahead, there was a sudden rustling in the darkness, followed by a moan as if someone had sighed. She had to pause her steps.

Instantly, her beating heart that was extremely nervous seemed to have stopped. Although her lungs were burning for a breath, Gu Yunxi did not dare to exhale.

At this moment, immersed in the silent and strange darkness, she only felt cold all over her body with her hair standing on end.

Was there something alive?

Looking vigilant, she slowed down her pace and searched for the source of the sound.

Once, she fought fiercely against the wolves under the cliff of Yufeng Mountain. The experience of near-death made her feel that no beasts could easily scare her.

At the end of the secret room, Gu Yunxi finally found a bruised man curled up in the corner.

His hands and feet were tied tightly, and his beard and hair were so dirty as if glued together. The only remaining clothes on him were his white underwear covered in blood and filth, exuding an unbearable stench.

Gu Yunxi was astonished. She didn't expect that this mentally and financially exhausting room was only made to hide a person.

Who was he? Why was he tied up and thrown into this room? Could it be...

The moment a terrible thought popped out of her head, Gu Yunxi was taken aback herself. To confirm her deduction, she held her breath and took a few steps closer to the man.

Five steps away, the man felt the swaying flames in the dark and raised his head to the light slowly and hardly. Finally, his unfocused eyes met Gu Yunxi's horrified eyes.

His chapped and bloodless lips slowly opened. A series of unfathomable mumbles burst out of his dry throat, along with a foul smell.

Immediately, Gu Yunxi's legs seemed fixed on the ground, unable to lift, step forward, or back away.

This bound person... His face and features were exactly the same as Prefect Feng's!

The fact was as she imagined it.

She had suspected that Feng Yunheng, who welcomed the Eastern Depot imperial envoy into Qiling, was disguised by someone else. And it turned out to be true.

Karma always caught up.

To think of it, Feng Yunheng had been the prefect for years and committed every evil. As a result, he was targeted by a mysterious group.

They imprisoned him, put on the prefect and guard clothes, and pretended to be the officials and guards of the Prefect's Mansion.

In this way, it was not difficult to explain why there were so many holes in the guards' suits. Those should be the evidence that the real guards had been wounded by the mobs when they attached.

A terrifying and ominous premonition filled Gu Yunxi's body.

It seemed that except for Feng Yunheng, the other officials and guards were already gone. No wonder there were many crows on the phoenix tree in the yard.

Crows were scavengers. Corpses of the officials and guards must have been hidden somewhere in this courtyard!

It was such a blessing in misfortune that no corpse was hidden in this secret room. Otherwise, Gu Yunxi was worried that she would scream and flee in a hurry after spotting it.

In addition, Gu Yunxi could be sure that the sound she had just heard by the stove was made by the real prefect, who knocked on the wall and asked for help.

The secret room led directly to the kitchen, and the sound was transmitted through the wall and reached the stove on the other side. It was not impossible.

In any case, those unknown people in disguise must have intended against the Eastern Depot to make such a careful "switch".

The Master was in danger again.

Gu Yunxi turned back to run.

Ascending the steps in one breath and climbing out of the entrance, she found Prefect Feng standing by the secret door. He supported his sturdy against the wall with his right arm, and his indifferent old face was sinister and ruthless.

Seeing Gu Yunxi, his lips under his beard twitched slightly into an evil smile...

...

Leng Qingtang walked anxiously with his hands behind his back. Gu Yunxi had been out for food for nearly two hours. He had to be worried.

He understood the girl.

It would not take her this long to even cook the main course. He was afraid that something had happened and she was in an accident.

Ai Qing and Lu Rong were guarding in the room, and there were two more guards outside the door.

Seeing that the Master worried so, Ai Qing said,

"Master, I'll go looking for Miss Yun!"

Leng Qingtang shook his head repeatedly and kept walking.

"To split up is the easiest way to get lost. Wait a little longer and then we will meet Feng Yunheng. Have everyone armed."

A voice came from outside the door,

"Sir, please inform the Master that Lord Feng had sent me to invite him to dine in the front residence."

"Wait here."

A moment later, a guard came inside to report.

Leng Qingtang squinted calmly with no fear on his charming face.

Helped by Ai Qing, he put on a neat black and green narrow-sleeved casual robe. Then he led his men out of the room.

...

The dining hall in Prefect's Mansion.

Prefect Feng was sitting in the second seat with his ruddy face brightly lit up by the lanterns. His features were relaxed but seemed to show a hint of treacherousness and slyness.

Standing next to him were four guards with swords on their waists. They all looked calm, with no expression on their different faces.

Seeing Leng Qingtang striding into the hall followed by two captains and two guards, a trace of shrewdness shined across Prefect Feng's falcon-like eyes.

"Master Leng, please sit."

Standing up, Prefect Feng raised his right arm to welcome the imperial envoy to his seat.

"Thank you, Lord Feng. Please."

After the greeting, Leng Qingtang sat down in the main seat and glanced quickly across the weapons carried by the four guards.

Slightly curling his lips, he pretended to be unaware.

After Prefect Feng took his seat as well, he carefully cast his eyes to Captain Ai Qing, who stood tall beside the Master.

Noticing that the captain had Leng Qingtang's sword in his arms, Prefect Feng had to drop his head a little and silently pulled up a scary sneer.

The two captains and guards of the Eastern Depot girded up their loins and stayed vigilant for the four silent and cold men on the opposite side.

The tension was tacit at the dinner table. With two parties armed, it would take just a moment for the fight to begin.

The atmosphere became sharp and urgent. Although the two sides had not drawn out their weapons, the fight was already on as they glared at each other, as if they were wrestling with their eyes.

Leng Qingtang raised his eyes calmly. Through the half-opened door, he looked far away at the gloomy dusk outside the dining hall.

The moonlight loomed out and fell on a rough phoenix tree in the courtyard, casting a pale glow. The tree was tall and straight, and its dense branches spread out like fangs and claws, making it even freakier and more somber.

Tilting his jaw slightly up, Leng Qingtang could sniff the restless smell of blood and slaughter under the evening sky.

Looking in the distance, his handsome face turned stern, and his vigorous expression turned sharp.

"Lord Feng, is my apprentice Yun Guaner in your hands?"

Prefect Feng stroked his beard and laughed a little, and then gestured to his men.

One guard went out and came back after a short time. He placed a plate of neatly sliced Sanbai Cake in the middle of the empty round table.

Leng Qingtang's eyes opened wide, staring silently at the plate. Then his countenance changed drastically from mild to dark as if it was covered by a storm.

The exquisite cakes on the plate were made by Yunxi! He knew that Feng Yunheng dared to present it only to provoke him.

"Who are you?"

Leng Qingtang squinted his eyes, gazing angrily at Prefect Feng's blank face. He took his time to utter his question with a voice that was hoarse, intimidating, and cold like a deep pool frozen for thousands of years.

"Why did you pretend to be the prefect of Qiling and hold me here?"

Bland yet treacherous, Feng's eyes were locked on Leng Qingtang's angry face.

"Have you forgotten, Master? When the winter fell on the capital eleven years ago, what happened in that snowy night...?"