"I?"

Tang Que immediately replied in a frivolous tone.

"My father was a coroner, or a forensic doctor nowadays. I have seen all kinds of corpses since I was a child, and I learned the craft of a corpse sewist from my father. A few years ago, my father passed away, and I discovered the Jiuliu incident from his belongings. Before that, I always thought that only our family was different."

“Now it seems that there are many people like us in this world. Isn’t this interesting?”

After hearing her words, Lu Ban felt that this young lady was really reckless.

And he's a fun guy.

"But why didn't your father tell you about the Nine Ranks?"

Lu Ban was curious again.

Other families or sects attach great importance to the identity of being the descendant of the Nine-Stream, but in the Tang family, they don't even let their daughter know about it.

If Tang Que hadn't searched for the relics himself, the corpse tailor might have been absent from the battle between Xuanjun and the emperor.

Well, it’s not certain whether this Tang Que is really the real person, and what he said may not be true.

Lu Ban's dripping sweat was watching behind him.

He didn't get an answer from Tang Que.

Because Lu Ban felt that the breath around him disappeared.

He glanced and saw that the figure in the cheongsam had disappeared. He didn't know whether she was sent down the mountain, or whether the illusion that was originally created to deceive Lu Ban left because it didn't get what it wanted.

After taking two more steps, Lu Ban saw another figure emerging from the thick fog ahead.

That was Shi Buwen, who had white hair but still a strong and healthy body.

Lu Ban thought about it and finally decided not to call out to the other party rashly. He just moved closer little by little.

After walking a few steps, just when Lu Ban came behind the other person, he suddenly had a sense of déjà vu.

Was it the same with Tang Que just now, who came up behind him little by little?

"Mr. Shi, you don't have to look back."

Lu Ban then spoke.

He saw Shi Buwen put his hand on the holster, as if he could draw his gun at any time.

"I have no ill intentions, I just saw Mr. Shi on this road."

Lu Ban took two steps forward and came to Shi Buwen's side.

The old man was not sweating at all, and the damp and sticky mist seemed to avoid him, leaving no trace.

Lu Ban, who stayed behind, looked ahead and immediately discovered a problem.

On this road, there is only Shi Buwen, not Lu Ban himself!

It’s bad, the problem turned out to be with me.

"This road is very simple. You just need to follow the rules. Two thousand steps is not that long."

Shi Buwen said in a dark voice, he was still on guard against Lu Ban.

"Two thousand level? Isn't it one thousand level?"

Lu Ban asked immediately.

Shi Buwen stopped.

He looked at Lu Ban with a somewhat strange look.

"Who told you that?"

"Mr. He Chong."

Lu Ban answered truthfully.

"Haha, I just followed the tradition and came to visit my friends. I didn't expect that some people would really deceive the younger generation for the position of Xuanjun."

Shi Bu Wen chuckled twice.

"This mountain trail has a total of 2,000 steps, no more, no less. If you don't reach the destination within half an hour, you will be sent back down the mountain. If you stop and wait halfway, I'm afraid you won't be able to get a place."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

Lu Ban was curious again.

"You young people don't know, but we are brothers in the Jiuliu Sect. We are separated only because of various changes. It is normal for fellow disciples to support each other. What's more, compared to the position of Xuanjun, I value benevolence and integrity more. It is harder for me to lie than to ascend to heaven."

Shi Buwen said this as a matter of course and continued to move forward.

Lu Ban followed in silence.

A moment later, Shi Buwen also disappeared.

"Is it level 1,000 or 2,000?"

Lu Ban murmured.

According to He Chong, one should not trust anyone met on the hiking trail, so Shi Buwen must be lying.

But if we change our thinking, what if He Chong was telling a lie from the beginning?

It originally required two thousand steps. In order to prevent Lu Ban from being guided by people on the road, He Chong made up the statement that Lu Ban should not be trusted to deceive them?

This is a classic cycle.

With sweat dripping from his face, he observed the situation on the mountain path, but there was no sign of anyone along the way.

Lu Ban was the only one on this long mountain path.

After walking through 500 steps, Lu Ban suddenly heard some other sounds.

It was not the sound of breathing or footsteps, but the rustling sound of the grass being touched by something and shaking.

Lu Ban looked towards the woods on the left.

There, something seemed to be hiding under the bushes.

A voice came.

“…Help, save me…”

It's a cry for help.

Lu Ban took two steps closer and glanced over with his [True Vision].

He saw a man lying there.

"Mr. Zhang?"

That was the paper cutter, Blind Zhang.

The elderly man, who was nearly 70 years old, was half lying in the grass. He seemed to have been shot. There were several bullet holes on his jacket and blood was flowing out. He looked seriously injured.

"Don't come over here."

Blind Zhang noticed Lu Ban and immediately called out.

"Don't leave this mountain road, or you might meet with something bad."

He gave a reminder.

"Mr. Zhang, why are you here? Who hurt you?"

After looking Blind Zhang up and down, at least based on his current understanding, [True Sight] judged that the other party was a human being.

"Who else could it be? The only person with a gun is Shi Buwen."

Blind Zhang sighed, as if he had trusted the wrong person.

"I thought he was just here to witness the event like me, but I didn't expect that this guy had already betrayed me. He pushed me out of the mountain path and attacked me with a gun."

"When he came, he was with Dai Yuanyang. The two of them were one in the open and one in the dark. Dai Yuanyang couldn't convince us, so Shi Buwen took action. Unfortunately..."

He was breathing lightly and his voice was weak.

"Mr. Zhang, I have a question."

Lu Ban asked.

"How many steps are there on this hiking trail?"

After hearing Lu Ban's words, Blind Zhang was silent for a moment.

"Level 1,500. When you get there, you will see a platform. That is the end. When you get there, ask Master Qi to save me. Don't trust anyone else."

"I see."

Lu Ban nodded and suddenly said.

"Mr. Zhang, why don't you turn back? If you turn back, you will be sent directly to the bottom of the mountain. You can go out and look for help, right?"

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, Blind Zhang was stunned.

"Boy, you are very smart."

Blind Zhang smiled, and the bullet holes on his body seemed to have healed suddenly. His color dimmed and faded, and he turned into a paper figure that was burned at graves for memorial services.

"Is this true or false?"

Lu Ban complained to himself and continued to climb up.