Li Jun’s elderly father looked at Li Jun, who had been lying in bed and in a coma for several days, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Every doctor that could be invited had been invited, and even the local shaman had performed rituals, but Li Jun remained unconscious.

Li Jun’s father picked up a bowl of clear porridge, scooped half a spoonful, and fed it into Li Jun’s mouth.

"Jun’er, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare your father! Wake up..."

Seeing the porridge spill from Li Jun’s mouth, his father couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into tears of sorrow.

At that moment, Li Jun’s finger suddenly twitched, and then his eyeballs rolled beneath his drooping eyelids as if dreaming in his sleep.

Li Jun’s father saw his eyeballs move and, filled with surprise and joy, continued to call out, "Jun’er, come back! Jun’er, Father is here! Jun’er..."

After a few calls, Li Jun actually opened his eyes.

His father was overjoyed, exclaiming, "Jun’er, my Jun’er. The ritual was indeed effective; you woke up today right after last night’s ceremony."

Li Jun, however, seemed not to hear him and stared blankly at his father. His mind was empty until a few breaths later when his memory returned to him.

Li Jun’s expression suddenly changed as he looked at his father and asked, "Father, what day is it today in the lunar month?"

Li Jun’s father was taken aback but, seeing Li Jun already asking for the date, responded with joy, "Jun’er, today is the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. You have been in a coma for almost five days."

"The eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month?" Li Jun’s face seemed to betray nervousness and pain as he struggled to get up.

His father immediately supported him. "Jun’er, don’t hurry."

But Li Jun pushed him away, got out of bed, and rushed outside.

After lying in bed for five days, his muscles were stiff, and after just a few steps, he suddenly fell to the ground, but Li Jun struggled to get up and continued running outside.

His father urgently shouted from behind, but watched as Li Jun ran farther and farther...

Huang Qing still lived in the dormitory courtyard in the central yard, right next to the room where Duan Rong originally stayed.

The fifth day of auditing the accounts was the most labor-intensive day, and when Huang Qing returned last night, he felt all the bones in his body were scattered. He fell onto the bed and slept like the dead, until the sun rose outside, and he hadn’t awakened...

At that moment, there was a loud knocking on the dormitory door.

"Huang Qing! Huang Qing!" Along with the knocking, Wang De’an’s anxious call was heard.

Huang Qing was finally awakened by the noise and struggled to get up, but felt a throbbing ache in his calves.

Despite this, he gritted his teeth and got out of bed because he recognized that it was Wang De’an knocking.

With a weary face, Huang Qing opened the door, and his fingers hurt from the strain.

As soon as Wang De’an saw Huang Qing open the door, he dragged him toward the rear yard’s accounts room without any explanation, constantly asking him about the events during the audit.

However, Huang Qing had just woken up, his mind was foggy, and as they walked quickly, each question from Wang De’an took Huang Qing a long time to answer. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

By the time they arrived at the accounts room in the rear yard, Huang Qing’s mind had cleared considerably.

Wang De’an led him straight to Xu Shouxian’s east corner room.

Inside the east corner room, Xu Shouxian paced back and forth anxiously, no longer bothering with his ever-present palm-leaf fan. As soon as Huang Qing entered, he began questioning him.

"Are you saying Duan Rong has been auditing the accounts for the twelfth month these past five days?"

"Yes."

"And nearly emptied the account books on the southern four racks?"

"Yes."

Xu Shouxian stood with his hands behind his back, contemplating silently, his face changing unpredictably. "Four racks? Could it be..."

Xu Shouxian was suspicious but uncertain. Just then, Li Jun suddenly pushed the door open and rushed in.

Both Wang De’an and Xu Shouxian were startled. Li Jun had been in a coma for several days, and neither was sure he would wake up, but unexpectedly, Li Jun rushed in.

They barely had time to be surprised when Li Jun uttered something that unsettled them profoundly.

"Old Xu, Duan Rong can understand the structure of the complex accounts... I saw it myself..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shouxian felt a sudden chill run through him. He immediately understood what Duan Rong was up to, though he couldn’t fathom how Duan Rong comprehended such a complicated account structure. However, that question no longer seemed important.

What mattered was that he understood why Duan Rong was blocking the doorway.

This sneaky kid intended to kill him!

Xiao Zongting indeed taught well!

Xu Shouxian knew Duan Rong was a Martial Artist in the Minor Success Realm, not someone easy to deal with.

With a cold look, Xu Shouxian turned to Wang De’an and spoke in a low voice, "Go invite Chief Leader Luan here!"

Xiao Yu stood anxiously pacing in front of Ruan Fengshan’s courtyard in the rear yard.

Duan Rong had instructed her last night to invite Ruan Fengshan to the accounts room in the rear yard early today. But when she arrived, a servant informed her that Ruan Fengshan was not home and had left several days ago and hadn’t returned yet.

This was something Duan Rong hadn’t anticipated. Today was supposed to be the day to report the audit results, and he had assumed that Ruan Fengshan would definitely be present.

Wang De’an left the Escort Agency and quickly went to Luan Jingfu’s residence, which was already close to the Escort Agency.

But upon reaching Luan Jingfu’s home, he discovered Luan Jingfu was not there. He had no choice but to explain someone was causing trouble in the accounts room and begged Luan Jingfu’s son, Luan Bao, to come with him.

Luan Bao, the Deputy Commander of the Guard, was also on duty during these days. As soon as he heard someone was causing trouble in the accounts room in the rear yard, he immediately followed Wang De’an back to the Escort Agency.

Amidst the morning light, a carriage rumbled through the alley in the rear yard of Yuan Shun Escort Agency, stopping at the side entrance of the rear yard.

Ruan Fengshan jumped down from the carriage, his face tired, and addressed Luan Jingfu, who was driving, "How is the injury on your shoulder?"

Luan Jingfu stood at the front of the carriage, holding the reins, his face somewhat pale, with blood seeping through the bandages on his shoulder.

"It’s nothing serious, just a minor injury."

Ruan Fengshan had seen Luan Jingfu get speared in the shoulder and knew the wound was deep, far from minor.

Ruan Fengshan took out a small bottle of Golden Wound Medicine from his belongings and tossed it to Luan Jingfu, saying, "This is top-quality medicine; treat your wound properly once you get home."

Luan Jingfu accepted the medicine, thanked him, and with a pull on the reins, the carriage rumbled toward the other end of the alley.

Ruan Fengshan watched as the carriage disappeared at the alley’s mouth, his eyes flickering.

A few days ago, the Xia County Sub-Branch of the Filthy Blood Sect had an operation in Lin County. Due to a shortage of personnel, they informed the Xianggu County Sub-Branch nearby to send two people.

Ruan Fengshan took Luan Jingfu with him. Ruan Fengshan and Luan Jingfu met and became acquainted because they were both members of the Filthy Blood Sect. Later, when Ruan Fengshan rose to become the Squad Leader at the Xianggu County Sub-Branch after years of working together, he found Luan Jingfu quite loyal and brave, relying on him closely.

Even a few years ago, he had let him become the Chief Leader of Yuan Shun Escort Agency, further demonstrating his reliance and trust in Luan Jingfu.

This is why Ruan Fengshan was willing to sponsor Xiao Yu and Luan Bao’s participation in the Taiyi Sect’s Registered Disciple selection.

Speaking of Xiao Yu, Xiao Zongting dedicated his life to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.

The reason Ruan Fengshan also agreed to sponsor Luan Bao was because, whether in the Yuan Shun Escort Agency or the Xianggu Sub-Branch of the Filthy Blood Sect, Luan Jingfu truly proved to be loyal and devoted.