Underneath the thick white funeral drapery, in front of the coffin.

Chen Ji silently observed the scattered silver coins on the ground and suddenly understood the true trump card of Golden Pig’s Official Bet path. The most cautious and death-fearing, yet most gambling-addicted, person had chosen a cultivation path perfectly suited for himself.

So… did Mr. Feng know that Golden Pig was on the Official Bet path and possessed a death-substituting puppet?

He must have known, as the other party had revealed a flaw!

Just a few hours earlier, Mr. Feng had subconsciously said to him, “As far as I know, you have no friendship with Golden Pig, do you?” This sentence was the flaw.

Earlier, in Dragon King Village, Golden Pig had traveled day and night to rescue him. From a normal person’s perspective, it would appear that Golden Pig had an exceptionally close friendship with him, which was why he came to rescue him. However, Mr. Feng did not think so.

Only someone who knew Golden Pig’s cultivation path would understand that Golden Pig came to save him not out of friendship, but because he had placed a bet on Chen Ji himself.

But why did Mr. Feng lie, claiming he intended to return to the Secret Police Department and seize Golden Pig’s Zodiac position?

If the essence of the lie was to conceal the truth, what exactly was Mr. Feng trying to hide by lying?

Chen Ji’s eyes suddenly widened. Mr. Feng was trying to hide his true identity!

At this moment, Steward Liu rushed outside, shouting all the way, “Where are the Black-Clad Guards? Bring that Feng fellow back! We absolutely cannot let the Tiger Armored Cavalry fall into his hands!”

A few black-clad figures quietly emerged from an alleyway. “Steward Liu, please calm down. We will go after him.”

In front of the Liu family manor, Steward Liu had someone bring several carrier pigeons and handed them to the Black-Clad Guards, meticulously instructing them: “You are no match for that Feng fellow. Divide into seven groups and go to the Tiger Armor Camp to find Deputy General Yang and expose him. If Deputy General Yang doesn’t believe you, tell him to come to the Liu family manor and question the Master in person! If this succeeds, write a letter immediately and have the pigeons bring it back!”

One of the Black-Clad Guards hesitated, “But Mr. Feng… he holds the Tiger Tally. The Tiger Armor Camp only recognizes the tally, not the person!”

Steward Liu said in a deep voice, “We can only try. Go quickly!”

“Yes!”

The Black-Clad Guards tucked the pigeons into their clothes, mounted their horses, and rode into the night.

Steward Liu stood there, gripping the doorframe, waiting anxiously. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a pigeon flapped its wings and flew back.

Steward Liu froze for a moment, then immediately extended his arm, allowing the pigeon to land on his wrist. A soldier reminded him, “Steward Liu, there’s blood on the pigeon’s feathers.”

“It’s the blood of the Black-Clad Guards,” Steward Liu said, his expression shifting between dark and light. “Someone outside is ambushing the Black-Clads I sent out!”

Everyone looked up towards the gate. The pitch-black sky was like a devouring abyss, impossible to fill, no matter what.

Steward Liu’s face turned ashen. He raised his voice, “Close the manor gates securely, light torches on the watchtowers, and no one is to open the doors without my command!”

Chen Ji and several soldiers slowly pushed the heavy vermilion-lacquered gates closed. The moment the two doors shut, the Liu family manor became a heavily fortified stronghold.

Steward Liu suddenly turned and walked towards the ancestral hall. “I’m going to find the Master!”

Chen Ji and the other soldiers followed him through a long alley. Steward Liu arrived at the ancestral hall’s entrance and knelt on both knees. “Master, we’ve all been deceived by Feng Wenzheng! I said before that the Tiger Armored Cavalry generals had successive accidents; it must be that Feng fellow secretly manipulating things. This person is full of lies, not a single true word comes from his mouth…”

At this moment, Chen Ji and Steward Liu felt the same way.

That Mr. Feng was like a rogue and powerful deceiver, chaotic and formidable.

He moved freely on the edge of a knife, toying with everyone. Chen Ji couldn’t tell which of his words were true and which were lies.

Steward Liu continued, “Master, it’s too late to recall other armies now. The immediate priority is to send someone to find General Zhou and order him to bring the Elephant Armored Battalion for reinforcement…”

Inside the ancestral hall, Elder Liu ignored Steward Liu. He simply stood with his back to everyone, slowly looking up at the mountain-like ancestral tablets on the main altar, and sighed deeply, “If Feng Wenzheng truly started setting this scheme seven years ago, then it’s all over…”

Steward Liu suddenly looked at Elder Liu’s kneeling back. “Master, we cannot just sit here and wait for death!”

“Of course, we cannot sit idly by; that would be undignified,” Elder Liu rose, smoothing his gray cloth robe. “Beat the drums to open the hall, burn incense, draw the death lots, and perform the flag sacrifice!”

At dawn, the sky began to lighten, with a pale glow appearing in the east.

Deep within the high walls of the Liu family manor, heavy drumbeats sounded, growing more urgent with each strike.

From the various houses within the manor, the Liu clan relatives rushed over upon hearing the drums.

Steward Liu led the soldiers to open the manor’s numerous doors. Hundreds of black-clad loyalists, stationed outside the manor, streamed through these doors, eventually gathering densely in front of the ancestral hall, filling the open space and alleys before it.

No one spoke, only watching solemnly as Elder Liu, inside the ancestral hall, took out the long-sealed death lots from under the offering table: sixteen bamboo-filled lottery cylinders.

Elder Liu slowly wiped one of the lottery cylinders with his sleeve and said, “I originally intended to lead you in an uprising, but I didn’t expect to be outmaneuvered, leading to this grave mistake. Today, we open the ancestral hall. Those who draw a death lot will face the enemy with me. Those who do not draw a death lot will leave through the back door. At that time, someone will escort you quietly south, to sail to Java Island. Years ago, I had my eldest son establish properties there, which will be enough for you to live on. Remember, never return to the Ning Dynasty.”

Everyone had thought that Liu Gun’s eldest son had been tonsured and become a monk at Yuanjue Temple in the capital, but they never imagined that the Liu family had long used the strategy of “substituting the plum for the peach” to send him to Java Island.

As Elder Liu said, what noble families should truly seek is not ‘victory,’ but ‘invincibility,’ for only then can they endure.

Steward Liu pleaded, “Master, why don’t you leave? That fast boat can carry over a hundred people! The Eldest Master has already established himself on Java Island; you can stage a comeback there!”

Elder Liu smiled, “If I don’t die, that person in Renshou Palace won’t be able to sleep. My staying here gives him an explanation. Beat the drums!”

The drumbeats became dense again. The wiped lottery cylinders were passed among the crowd. Everyone silently drew their lot. Some who drew a life lot cried tears of joy, while others secretly swapped their life lot with someone else’s. Some who drew a death lot remained silent, while others, unwilling to accept their fate, wailed and fainted.

Elder Liu stood on the steps of the ancestral hall, his eyes filled with the weariness of age.

After an incense stick’s time, those who drew a life lot left the ancestral hall, led by several Black-Clad Guards, their destination unknown. Those who drew a death lot tied white cloth around their heads and wore plain white mourning attire.

Steward Liu suddenly said, “Master, Prince Jing is still in our manor, and he must have been involved in the conspiracy! He is largely responsible for the Liu family’s present misfortune!” Elder Liu remained silent for a long time. “Bring him here. We will use him for the flag sacrifice!”

Chen Ji’s heart sank.

Steward Liu turned to the black-clad loyalists and said, “Go! Bring the Prince, the heir, and the Princess! For the flag sacrifice!”

Chen Ji watched as more than ten black-clad loyalists turned and left. He wanted to follow, but had no reason to.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally began to slowly move, intending to secretly trail them.

Steward Liu turned to look at him. “Where are you going?”

Chen Ji muffled, “Steward, I need to use the latrine.”

Steward Liu suddenly snapped, “Who are you? Take off your face guard!”

However, at that moment, a scream suddenly came from the watchtower of the Liu family manor, interrupting Steward Liu’s thoughts.

Hundreds of people simultaneously turned to look. A shooting star flew across the dim sky, piercing through the loyalist on the watchtower.

When the shooting star extinguished, the sky darkened once more, as if nothing had happened.

This darkness paused for an instant, yet it felt like a long time. The next moment, shooting stars burst forth like rain, dazzling like a flowing silver river, piercing through all the loyalists on over ten watchtowers!

Immediately after, heavy hoofbeats resonated from outside the Liu family manor. The sound of hooves spread from the north to the east and west, completely surrounding the vast estate that had stood for centuries.

At this moment, a loyalist, whose abdomen had been pierced, lay on the watchtower, shouting with his last breath, “The Jiefan Guards are here! The Thousand-Year Army is here too!”

Steward Liu roared, “What about the Tiger Armored Cavalry?”

But the loyalist had already fallen silent.

The Tiger Armored Cavalry, who were supposed to be blocking the roads and setting up defenses, had been led away by Mr. Feng to an unknown location. The Thousand-Year Army and the Jiefan Guards penetrated the Liu family’s defenses and arrived directly before them.

Steward Liu said grimly, “The Thousand-Year Army? Prince Jing truly is involved! Master, let’s just kill Prince Jing on the spot… Wait, where’s that soldier who was here a moment ago?”

Interrupted by the Celestial Steed, Steward Liu looked again to where Chen Ji had been, but Chen Ji was already gone.

At this moment, Elder Liu sighed softly, “The Emperor, Prince Jing, and the Eunuch Faction have been planning against my Liu family for many years. We have lost, and it is not unjust. Steward, take some men and try to hold them off, to buy some time for the clan members who drew the life lots.”

Steward Liu led his men towards the main gate to provide support. “Quickly go to the main entrance! Block them! Don’t let them rush in!”

As his words fell, with a loud crash, the vermilion-lacquered main gates of the Liu family manor were forced open from the outside. The two heavy doors slowly toppled inward, raising a cloud of dust that swirled in the air.

The black-clad loyalists who had just arrived at the gates stopped in unison. They tried to peer through the dust to see who was coming, but could only make out a blurred figure slowly emerging from the swirling particles.

After a few breaths, a man in white robes and a white mask stepped over the threshold. He fanned away the dust in front of him with his right hand and smiled as he looked at the hundreds of loyalists crowded in the alley before him. “Oh, so many people here?”

The white mask was adorned with faint golden dragon patterns, crafted with gilt. In the regulations of the Ning and Jing Dynasties, anyone found daring to wear dragon patterns faced confiscation of property and execution, unless the item bearing the dragon pattern was personally bestowed by the Emperor.

Steward Liu instantly felt as if facing a formidable enemy. “White Dragon?!”

White Dragon, as if no one else was present, slowly pulled a token from his sleeve and said, “The Royal Command token is here. Those who see it must kneel in reverence, as if His Majesty himself were present.”

Steward Liu and the loyalists remained expressionless and unmoving. White headbands were tied around their foreheads.

White Dragon paid no heed. He tucked the Royal Command token back into his sleeve and said with a smile, “If you don’t want to kneel, so be it. Anyway, everyone here is guilty of a capital crime.”

Steward Liu said coldly, “Lord White Dragon truly thinks highly of my Liu family, to come in person.”

White Dragon let out a laugh. “If I didn’t come in person, I’m afraid it might not be entirely secure.”

Steward Liu’s face contorted. “My Liu family will not surrender easily…”

Before he could finish, a voice suddenly echoed from above them. “I advise you not to move, or you’ll be the first one killed.”

Steward Liu looked up to see Luminous Rabbit and Cloud Ram on the rooftop to the left of the alley, dressed in black athletic attire.

Luminous Rabbit sat high on the eaves of the roof ridge, her legs dangling and swinging. Cloud Ram stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest. Both looked down at the loyalists with smiling eyes.

Steward Liu was filled with doubt and alarm. “You… weren’t you banished to Lingnan?!”

Luminous Rabbit played with the jade pendant on her collar button and said with a grin, “The climate in Lingnan is hot and humid, and there are many venomous insects. We simply decided halfway there that we didn’t want to go anymore.”

A voice came from the other side. “Steward Liu, if you don’t want to die, obediently put down all the weapons in your hands.”

Steward Liu turned his head again. Golden Pig and Dream Chicken stood on the rooftop on the opposite side, effectively trapping the hundreds of loyalists in the alley between them!

White Dragon, Celestial Steed, Golden Pig.

Dream Chicken, Luminous Rabbit, Cloud Ram.

All six Zodiacs had arrived!