Afterwards, Xiao He kept a close eye on the development of the case.

Since the scene had been disturbed by people from the bar, the police have not yet found the presence of a third party. Instead, they have preliminarily determined that Li Zhicheng had a conflict with the perpetrator, and the tragedy was caused by the two attacking each other.

But after investigating the bloodstains left at the scene, something even more surprising happened—

This murderer was also a wanted fugitive! His name was Shi Wei. Years ago, he brutally murdered his lover and parents, and fled with money after committing three murders. The police have been searching for him for seven years!

I never expected him to appear here, let alone be involved with Li Zhicheng!

Unfortunately, after this appearance, he disappeared without a trace again, and the police lost track of him once more, unable to arrest him.

However, the case of "Zhu Laosan" has finally come to an end after more than 20 years.

The victim's family members personally came to Shanghai to thank the police and the film crew. They said that if the film crew hadn't brought Li Zhicheng to their door, they might never have received a satisfying answer before they died.

Although Li Zhicheng was not brought to justice, they were relieved to know that he had not had a good life over the years and was even murdered by others in the end.

Director Hou Rongxuan was beaming with joy, never expecting such good fortune to happen to their crew. He quickly called Xiao He back to reshoot the scenes, determined to bring the case to a complete conclusion.

...

A few days later, Xiao He, having finished reshooting "Killing Life", officially joined the crew of "The Thief Catcher".

"The Thief Catcher" was recommended to Xiao He by the veteran writer Zhuo Jianhua. The director and screenwriter were the same person. Xiao He met the person once when he received the script. He was a young man who looked about the same age as him, named Lin Yipeng.

Lin Yipeng just graduated from Dongxi Theatre Company last year and currently has no notable works to show for it, and is virtually unknown in the industry.

If it were a normal actor, there's a high probability they wouldn't take this role. After all, martial arts films are in decline now, with virtually no market. Even if they gritted their teeth and finished filming, they could only be released on online streaming platforms. And a director like Lin Yipeng is an absolute disaster.

However, Xiao He is not a normal actor—for him, as long as he can "kill," that's enough. When the two of them are together, neither of them should look down on the other.

Moreover, from a reader's perspective, Xiao He's "The Thief Catcher" is indeed a fairly good work.

The story takes place during the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty. At that time, the emperor was obsessed with art and neglected state affairs. Corrupt officials ran rampant, the economy was on the verge of collapse due to war and corruption, taxes were heavy, and the people lived in dire straits.

The protagonist is a江湖捕盗客 (jianghu budao daoshi, a kind of江湖捕盗客 ...获金猎客, a kind of江湖获金猎客, a kind of江湖获金猎客, a kind of江湖获盗客, a kind of江湖获盗客, a kind of江湖获盗客, a kind

During a manhunt, the protagonist is unwittingly drawn into a salt smuggling case and becomes the central figure in the pursuit of multiple forces. However, the protagonist himself has no clue about the situation and doesn't even know why he is being hunted by so many people.

Thus, the protagonist can only constantly maneuver between these forces to escape, using his connections in the martial arts world to investigate and uncover the true mastermind behind the official salt smuggling case.

The plot is rather old-fashioned, still telling the core story of "the greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people." However, the protagonist is not a traditional righteous hero, but rather a money-grubbing "miser." Moreover, there are many plot twists later on, which is refreshing.

If Xiao He hadn't been aware that he had no martial arts or action skills, he would have really wanted to shamelessly ask Lin Yipeng to audition for the lead role of "Jiang Rushuai".

Jiang Rushuai is indeed a very charismatic character. He is highly skilled in martial arts, and his emotional and intellectual intelligence are both excellent. He manages to live a carefree life despite navigating multiple factions, truly embodying the meaning of "leaving without a trace after accomplishing his task, concealing his merits and fame."

Of course, Jiang Rushuai killed a lot of people—basically everyone who was chasing him in the story was killed by him. Xiao He could imagine how happy he would be if he could "kill" so many people.

However, he was just a cook.

After changing his clothes and makeup, Xiao He sighed and sat at the entrance of the dilapidated inn, watching Lin Yipeng direct the staff to move things.

Director Lin Yipeng was a thin young man with pale skin, who looked somewhat frail, but when directing on set, he had a very commanding presence and could keep the rest of the crew in check. Based on their brief first conversation, Xiao He knew that Lin Yipeng was a very principled person, and no one could easily change his mind.

Oh well, a cook it is.

Xiao He is currently playing a character named "Shen Jue," a cook at Penglai Inn, who is also a martial arts master who has lived in seclusion for many years. He was once famous throughout the martial arts world for his fearsome boning knife, but later chose to work as an ordinary cook at Penglai Inn, doing odd jobs for the landlady and dealing with troublesome guests.

Don't overthink it. Their inn doesn't make human flesh buns; it's just a place to grow flowers, plant trees, and cultivate one's mind.

Jiang Rushuai was a good friend that Shen Jue met while traveling in the martial arts world. Whenever Jiang Rushuai passed by Shen Jue's place while chasing rankings, he would shamelessly come in to freeload and even borrow money from Shen Jue—the kind of money he never paid back. It can be said that Shen Jue didn't chop Jiang Rushuai up to raise flowers because he truly regarded him as his best friend.