Seeking immortality in a deceitful way starts by making oneself into a puppet

"These bastards, they usually flatter each other, but when something really happens, they all change their faces!"

The housekeeper He Fusheng returned to the house, his pale and thin face full of anger, and he kept cursing in his mouth.

The housekeeper of the He Mansion cursed for a while, but still couldn't get over his anger, and turned to complain to He Ping beside him.

"Master, those gangsters are really nothing. They made a good promise before, we provide money and they provide people...but when it comes time to do business, they all start to change their mind!!"

"How many are willing to come?"

He Ping closed the folding fan in his hand and asked: "I know that there is nothing wrong with Feiyumen and Tiexin Martial Arts School. Taoist Chiling and Master Zhao have a close personal relationship with me and are willing to come and help me. As for the other parents, How about Fenghui over there..."

"Changfeng will be willing to come, but the asking price is this amount."

He Fusheng had a gloomy face and stretched out his hand to count.

"The Shen Ax Gang and the Bamboo Flower Club also want to raise their prices... These gangsters are really suffering from chicken plague. They used to make a living in Sui'an City, and they didn't care who showed mercy!"

"That's it."

He Ping said disapprovingly: "The reward has been increased five times from the original reward of ten thousand taels. The salaries required by these families will be paid as they say. In case of casualties, we will also pay for the casualty compensation for all parties." ...Money, as it goes in, goes out, there’s nothing to worry about.”

"Master."

The butler He Fusheng said in a sincere tone: "Money and money are a trivial matter, but once this matter sets an example, those talented people will think that our He family has lost power and think that we are weak and can be bullied. They will definitely make a fool of themselves when the time comes." , this is the trouble."

"rest assured."

He Ping waved his hand.

"I have a sense of discretion in this matter. By the way, those 'hidden stakes' we raised before should all come in handy, right?"

"Master, you plan to use those people."

He Fusheng was a little surprised.

Since He Ping came to power, in addition to recruiting retainers and maintaining healthy servants, the He family has also secretly cultivated a group of dead soldiers. This group of people is called "hidden stakes" and specializes in acting as spies and spies. He Ping has arranged them to various places. Among the forces, it is used to inquire about news and spy on intelligence. This is also the real reason why the He family's business is getting bigger and bigger.

The people who met Cheng Zhi outside the city and helped him escape to Siding Mountain; and the "guy" at Linjiangxian Restaurant who died in the fire were all chess pieces in He Ping's hands. He always used secret tactics unless necessary. If you don't move, you can play a huge role when needed.

"That's right."

He Ping said calmly: "It should be said that it is at this time that these hidden stakes can be used for their real purpose."

He Fusheng nodded. Finally, he seemed to have thought of something, and said in a deep voice: "Master, last time you asked me to investigate the affairs of the semicolon shopkeepers, and the result was found. After they left He Mansion, they ran to Mr. He Jin went to his other courtyard."

"As expected."

A ferocious sneer appeared at the corner of He Ping's mouth.

"He Jin is really looking for his own death. Originally, it was just the death of his son. I thought you would be more restrained. I didn't expect you to dare to cause trouble for me. It seems that you can't stay after all."

…

Boom!

The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and thunder is coming gradually in the distance.

In Siding Mountain, through a dense forest, a cliff is exposed at the end. There is a small open plain between the forest walls. Looking from a distance, large and small natural caves are scattered on the cliff.

Cheng Zhi hid in the cave. The cave was not spacious, but it was extremely dry and could be lived in.

These days, he stored the supplies he picked up from the corpses of government officials who died after entering the mountain, as well as the dry food and drinking water he carried with him, into the cave.

Of course, it would not be a pity to lose these things. On the one hand, he still has several such strongholds in Siding Mountain, and there is no shortage of food. If things go bad, he can use the hair cut pill to hunt down some prey.

On the other hand, the mysterious senior of the Immortal Puppet Sect would dispatch a ghost-faced owl at night to deliver supplies every few days.

"It's okay if the other things are gone. These gourds filled with powder must never be thrown away. They must be carried with you at all times."

There were several packets of medicinal powders on Cheng Zhi's body, which contained several different types of medicinal powders. Some were used to obliterate odors and prevent hounds from tracking them; there were also medicines that could repel mosquitoes in Siding Mountain; and they were made from the feces of a raptor called the Sheep-Eating Eagle The potion made can drive away falcons; the most powerful thing is a strange powder called "soul-inducing incense", which will attract the attention of monsters when applied to the body.

The senior told him that there was a mandrill hidden in these four-top mountains. It lurked day and night and was extremely ferocious. As long as this "soul-inducing fragrance" was used skillfully, his life would be safe.

"In addition to these, there is also this map, which should be drawn by the Orion woodcutter in the mountains. The drawing method is very rough, but the grasp of the terrain is rare and accurate..."

He took out an animal skin map from his clothes. This map showed the topography and landforms around Siding Mountain, including the current situation in the mountain. The drawings were very detailed.

This picture was naturally obtained by He Ping from the hunters who moved out of Siding Mountain. It is a unique copy and difficult for outsiders to obtain. This is why Cheng Zhi was able to escape and ascend to heaven during several searches of the mountain. Gein had more in his hands. This map.

"It's just, how long do I have to stay at Siding Mountain? And, that mandrill in this mountain..."

At this time, from deep in the mountains, a beast roar could be heard faintly in the wind and rain. When Cheng Zhi heard this sound, his heart seemed to tremble.

"This one-horned mandrill is such a ferocious monster. The group of officials who chased me last time were also unlucky to be targeted by it."

Cheng Zhi felt that he could see the red and black blood, the broken limbs and heads, the miserable shouts and howls of the people, and the sound of swords clashing without closing his eyes - slightly recalling what happened that day. , he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

There was another "boom" sound, lightning flashed outside the cave, and a slightly rickety silhouette was reflected in the rain curtain.

"……Who is that?"

Cheng Zhi raised his head and suddenly stood up. The cave he was in could overlook the dense forest below. Just then he accidentally raised his eyes and unexpectedly noticed a figure in the dense forest.

"I've been discovered!"

He suddenly became nervous and stared in the direction of the dense forest.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and scorching thunder roared in. At this moment, the light bursting on the clouds made Chengzhi's face look as pale as a ghost.

No, the figure that could only be seen in the forest is now missing, like a ghost.

(Am I blinded?)

Cheng Zhi asked himself, but felt that this was not the case.

"I read that right...could it really be haunted again?"

He was a little uneasy, and it was strange to say that since he escaped from the ghost village that day, he had been trapped in a bloody nightmare every night, and woke up from the devil every night. Sometimes he could feel it as soon as he closed his eyes: From a dark corner, a pair of cold eyes stared at him.

"……elder sister."

He curled up his back, as if his whole body was curling up into a ball, and murmured at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, a huge black shadow swept away its huge wings, cut through the rain, and flew towards the cave.

"Ghost-faced owl?"

wrong!

Although that strange bird is good at flying at night, on this rainy night, there is thunder and lightning in the sky, so the bird will not fly over!

"Wait! What the hell is that?"

Cheng Zhi suddenly opened his eyes wide and saw clearly, he saw the black shadow shrinking its wings and turning into a human figure and falling down.

"Who are you?"

He was so frightened that he stepped back, and a black palm with dull light grabbed his right hand.

Cheng Zhi's right wrist was aching. The five fingers holding his wrist were made of wood, with strange carvings and jagged joints. It seemed like a weird big hand made of a material that looked like wood but not wood.

"Children Chengzhi, don't you recognize me?"

This man was covered in a green robe, with only his head and face exposed, his long hair disheveled, and his face wearing a wooden mask that looked like facial makeup.

It was an owl-shaped mask. The hook beak is detailed and the carving is extremely fine. If it weren't for the rough bird feather patterns surrounding the mask, it would almost give people the impression that it is a living creature.

"Senior Chixinzi."

Cheng Zhi's mouth was open, he didn't expect this person to be here at all.