Anti-fraud manual for the cultivation world

Will we be discovered?

Has he found us?

Where was it exposed?

Run without looking back?

No! Running will only make me more likely to die.

We must turn back!

Listen to what he has to say.

I must look him directly in the eye; if my gaze wanders, I'll be more easily exposed. Luckily, I'm injured now, so I can use my injury as a cover and make some slightly unnatural movements.

In an instant, countless thoughts swirled in Li Gu's mind.

He didn't continue walking forward, but slowly turned his head: "What can I do for you, sir?"

His gaze fell on Hua Qianfang's face, intending to meet her eyes without flinching.

Unexpectedly, Hua Qianfang didn't look at him at all, but instead looked at the chaotic battlefield not far away.

Li Gu had no choice but to ask again, "What advice do you have for me?"

Hua Qianfang still didn't look at him, her gaze distant, but this time she finally spoke: "You're the constable who persuaded the Yangtze River Gang not to participate in the war?"

Li Gu's heart skipped a beat: "How did you know?"

He met with Green Tiger in the middle of the night near the dock controlled by the Yangtze River Gang. There was no one else around at the time. How could Hua Qianfang possibly know about this?

There was only one answer then, and it was told to him personally by the Green-skinned Tiger.

Li Gu's heart sank: Damn it, the Yangtze River Gang and the Demonic Sect are cooperating?

Hua Qianfang did not answer Li Gu's question, but clapped twice: "Young man, you are quite good. You are really eloquent. You persuaded the Green-skinned Tiger with just a government gazette."

Li Gu asked in a low voice, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Hua Qianfang flicked her finger, and a low-grade spirit stone flew up and slowly landed in Li Gu's palm: "I want to ask you something! I've been standing here for ages, and with so many constables and yamen runners, why isn't anyone using a knife?"

Li Gu was slightly startled. What kind of question was this? The Demonic Sect had always opposed the imperial court and must know a lot about its affairs. Why would he ask me a question he was sure he knew the answer to?

Are you making fun of me?

No, this is a test question.

Since he had spoken with the Green-skinned Tiger, he must know that I was a new constable. It's just that Prefect Hong set up a smokescreen for us, so that no one in the entire yamen knew how many days the four of us newcomers had actually been here. Therefore, Hua Qianfang was not sure if I was one of the four livestock that escaped from Flower Valley.

He was testing whether I was a real constable.

Li Gu immediately recalled Zhang Yi's words to him on their first night here: "Since we're going to pretend to be constables, we need to know everything a constable should know. Come, let me tell you..."

Li Gu racked his brains, recalling everything he had learned that night, then took a deep breath and replied in as calm a tone as possible, "So that's what you wanted to ask. The 'Divine Land Code' stipulates that: all horse archers and salt patrol archers are allowed to carry bows and arrows, but other officials, constables, and thief catchers are not allowed to carry guns or knives."

"The Regulations for Government Affairs of all prefectures, states and counties also uniformly stipulate that the weapons of constables on duty are double iron rulers, bamboo boards and hemp ropes, and it is strictly forbidden to bring or carry knives and axes themselves."

After reciting it, Li Gu shrugged and showed a regretful expression: "I also want to take a sword and chop my opponent into seventeen or eighteen pieces, but the higher-ups won't allow it."

Hua Qianfang: "Oh? So that means you know swordsmanship?"

Li Gu broke out in a cold sweat again: How should he answer this? "Don't you know how to use a knife?"

wrong!

If Hua Qianfang suspects me, then saying "I don't know swordsmanship" is useless; it might even imply that "I'm wary of him."

Li Gu tossed the low-grade spirit stone in his hand and chuckled, "Normally, I wouldn't casually tell others what skills I have. But since you've given me a spirit stone, I'll consider you one of my own. To be honest, I not only know how to use a knife, but I'm also an expert with superb knife skills. I'm one of the best among the younger generation in the yamen. If the yamen allowed me to carry a knife, I'd be sure to kill several petty scoundrels every day."

Hua Qianfang said, "Oh? May I see your swordsmanship?"

Li Gu smiled awkwardly: "I'm injured, so I can't really play my game right now."

Hua Qianfang: "It's alright. As long as it's slightly out of shape, it doesn't matter if I don't exert any force."

As soon as he finished speaking, the steel knife in the hand of a Hankou gang member in the distance suddenly flew out of his hand. The Hankou gang member was fighting with a yamen runner while brandishing his knife. The steel knife inexplicably flew out of his hand. The gang member was completely dumbfounded. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the yamen runner swung his fire-and-water stick and knocked the Hankou gang member to the ground with one blow.

The steel blade flew and flew, like a red dragonfly in the blue sky, across the entire battle circle, and arrived in front of Li Gu. It even spun half a circle in mid-air before shoving the hilt directly into Li Gu's hand.

Li Gu was secretly shocked: Just what level of cultivation does Hua Qianfang have? This move is something even a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't do! To snatch a weapon from a Qi Refining cultivator's hand from such a distance using only true qi is something a Foundation Establishment cultivator definitely couldn't do.

Hua Qianfang laughed and said, "What's wrong? Why are you spacing out?"

Li Gu quickly said, "Your Excellency is truly amazing. I never imagined your cultivation level was so high."

Hua Qianfang had a smile on her lips, but there was no smile in her eyes...

Li Gu recalled the arrogant constables and yamen runners in the TV series, and their faces when facing important figures. He then tried his best to portray that ridiculous manner: "Since you are so powerful, then... my mediocre swordsmanship is probably not up to your standards... this... that..."

Hua Qianfang: "Try it out."

Li Gu took a deep breath, swung his sword, and used it as a ruler... employing the Zhang Family Nameless Ruler Technique that Zhang Yi had taught him.

Hua Qianfang only glanced at it twice before turning her head away.

His gaze returned to the battlefield not far ahead, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned down, as if he had lost interest in continuing to talk to Li Gu. He waved his hand and said, "That's enough, you can go now."

Li Gu said, "My swordsmanship should still be..."

"Let's go!" Hua Qianfang's voice turned cold.

Li Gu breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but his face wore the expression of a child who had made a mistake: "Then I'll go."

He turned to the two servants and said, "What are you standing there for? Help me walk."

The two constables were already stunned by Hua Qianfang's incredible long-range sword-snatching, standing to the side not daring to breathe, while inwardly they were frantically complaining to Li Gu: "Are you stupid, new constable? You don't even recognize the Jiangzhou Hall Master of the Demonic Sect, yet you're chatting with him here? Are you out of your mind?"

Now that they heard they could leave, they felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly grabbed Li Gu and ran.

Li Gu was playing his part perfectly, muttering to himself, "What are you two doing? If you're going to leave, there's no need to leave so fast. That gentleman seemed quite kind; he even gave me a spirit stone."

The two constables wished they could cover his mouth. They ran hundreds of meters away in a flash, turned two streets, and then stopped, panting heavily, saying, "Officer Li, from now on, when Prefect Hong isn't around, if you see that person, run as far away as possible. Don't go near him and talk to him."

Li Gu looked like an idiot: "Why? Why exactly?"