At midday, the most popular restaurant in Chang'an, the 'Drunken Immortal Abode', was packed.
'Bravo! Well done!'
A boisterous cheer rang out from the second floor. Everyone looked up to see a man who had once been hailed as a 'descendant of Emperor Wu of Han' leaning against the railing. He held a wine jug, his face flushed and his clothes dishevelled — a veritable dissolute scoundrel tainted by wine, women and wealth.
Beside him, two fighting cocks were tearing into each other fiercely while he rested his feet on a bench. He was arm in arm with several sweaty, stinking thugs and was completely oblivious to the disdainful glances of the surrounding nobles.
[God-level Mimicry: A hopeless scoundrel] [System Feedback: Disguise 120%; successfully misled the judgement of 30 spies in the vicinity.
'Liu Bingyi, you've disgraced the royal family!' a passing scholar exclaimed in anger.
Liu Bingyi let out a drunken hiccup, tilted his head and looked at the other man with hazy, drunken eyes. Suddenly, he chuckled. 'Face? Can face feed you or make you drink? I have money now,' he said, referring to the three thousand taels of gold. If I don't seize the day while I'm young, what am I waiting for, to be buried in the ground guarding a coffin?'
With that, he pulled a heavy gold ingot from his pocket, tossed it casually into the street and laughed wildly. "Whoever can praise my Black General the most, this gold is theirs!"
The street instantly erupted into chaos as beggars and passers-by scrambled frantically for it. Meanwhile, in a private room opposite the Drunken Immortal Inn, Huo Yu, the second young master of the Huo family, was having a private conversation with several high-ranking officials.
'Second Young Master, is this the suspect who broke Steward Liu's leg?' an official scoffed. 'Look at him. Even if you gave him a dragon robe, he'd only use it as a seatbelt. Is this kind of trash even worth our assassins?"
Huo Yu stared at the disgraceful display of Liu Bingyi downstairs. His doubts had largely dissipated. A ruthless man capable of wiping out thirty assassins wouldn't laugh like an idiot in a place like this just to win a few hundred coins.
'Looks like we really overestimated him,' sneered Huo Yu. 'That "Green Ghost" from that night must have been someone else. Perhaps it was a wandering swordsman hired by the Shangguan family to annoy us by using this good-for-nothing's name."
[Eye of Insight] Real-time feedback:
Target: Huo Family Spy, Court Inspector
Real-time psychology: 'This kid is useless; there's no need to worry. We suggest withdrawing Level 2 surveillance to avoid wasting manpower.'
[Ding! Due to the host successfully damaging his own reputation, the [Perfect Incompetent] achievement has been unlocked! Reputation value (negative conversion) +1500! Reward unlocked: Advanced Voice Disguise, which alters your voice and can simulate different people's breathing rates and heart rhythms.
Liu Bingyi feigned drunkenness, slumping over the table with a barely perceptible cold smile playing on his lips.
A bad reputation is a death sentence; the worse his reputation, the safer he is; the more infamous his reputation, the more secure his 'black mask' identity at night. Just as Liu Bingyi was engrossed in his act, Xu Pingjun rushed upstairs.
"Bingyi! Stop drinking, come home with me!' Xu Pingjun's eyes were red-rimmed. Seeing people around her pointing and whispering about her husband tore her heart apart.
She didn't realise it was an act; she believed that her husband had truly given up on himself after his imprisonment.
'Oh, what a pretty young lady! Want to have a drink with me?' Oblivious to the danger, a thug actually tried to grab Xu Pingjun.
'Slap!'
Moments earlier, Liu Bingyi's eyes had been blurry with drunkenness. Suddenly, his right hand shot out like lightning and grabbed the thug's fingers.
In that instant, the drunken look in his eyes vanished, replaced by a chilling, murderous intent.
But he immediately realised that he was acting. Suppressing his murderous intent, he adopted a roguish, possessive posture instead. He kicked the thug to the ground and cursed, 'Get out! You think you can touch my wife? Look at her again and I'll gouge your eyes out and bury them as bean seeds!'
He pulled Xu Pingjun to her feet and they staggered out of the restaurant and back to their dilapidated house in Shangguan Lane. The moment the door closed, clarity returned to Liu Bingyi's eyes.
Seeing Xu Pingjun wipe away tears brought a wave of guilt over him. He gently embraced his wife and whispered in her ear, 'Pingjun, trust me one more time. Soon, I won't need to pretend anymore.'
"Bingyi, what exactly are you plotting?" Xu Pingjun raised her head, tears still glistening in her eyes.
'I'm planning a golden age where we'll never be trampled underfoot again.'
Liu Bingyi stroked his wife's long hair as he gazed at the night sky outside the window. Tonight, the 'prodigal son' will make his final appearance, and the 'black-faced knight-errant' will start to eliminate those who mocked him during the day.
Back home, Liu Bingyi didn't wash the pungent smell of alcohol off immediately. Instead, he slumped into a wicker chair with glazed eyes. He waited until the last 'spy' keeping watch outside left — his disdain was clear — before abruptly sitting up.
[God-Level Mimicry: Cold and Rational Commander — Switch Successful]
'Lei Zhen, Han Zeng.'
Two figures silently descended from the roof beams and shadows.
'Boss, those officials have left. The leader spat as he walked away, calling you a 'disgrace to the Liu clan'." Han Zeng covered his mouth and chuckled, his eyes filled with admiration.
Liu Bingyi sneered as he slowly buttoned his shirt. 'Shame? In this cannibalistic Han Dynasty, only the dead have a good reputation. I want this scum to hide our true weapons.'
He pulled out the 'Chang'an Underground Waterway Map' he had acquired from the system shop. This was the result of his seemingly aimless wanderings during the day, which had actually been scanned with his Eye of Insight.
'Tonight, we won't touch the Huo family's treasury. That would be walking into a trap.' Liu Bingyi drew a red line on the map. 'We're going to "cut off the water".'
He was referring to the Huo family's black market salt trading point.
The Huo family wielded immense power because they had cut off the Han Dynasty's economic lifeline. By robbing this batch of smuggled salt and exchanging it for cash, Liu Bingyi could support an even larger 'special beggar gang'.
[Ding! Host detected about to launch a high-difficulty raid. Tool issued: Bio-odor masking spray (Ancient Herbal Version). This spray can instantly mask the smell of sweat and heat. Even the most discerning palace hounds cannot detect anything unusual.
"Lei Zhen, gather ten men. Put on the specially made black robes and don't carry any knives tonight." Liu Bingyi tossed them a bundle of Powerful Electric Shock Rings (System Customisation: Ancient Bioelectric Discharge Version). "I want you to make those salt merchants think they've seen a ghost without them even realising." At midnight, in a secluded warehouse in the northern suburbs of Chang'an...
The guards were all first-class servants of the Huo family. Their temples bulged and they were all skilled in martial arts. However, the enemy they encountered tonight was far beyond their comprehension.
A dark shadow flashed past. The guard was about to cry for help when the shadow's finger lightly touched his neck. "Sizzle—!" An irresistible numbness instantly coursed through his body. He rolled his eyes back and collapsed to the ground, unable to scream.
Wearing a black mask, Liu Bingyi stood atop a high pile of grain, coldly observing the one-sided harvest below. Rather than rushing in, he used this practical training to hone the "non-lethal crippling" techniques of Lei Zhen and his men.
In less than half an hour, the refined salt, worth thousands of gold coins, had been completely looted. Han Zeng maliciously drew a huge blue ghost head on the warehouse wall.
[Ding! Successfully plundered the economic lifeline of an enemy force. Reputation points +1200.
[Unlocked reward: Advanced Psychological Induction Technique (allowing the interrogated person to reveal core secrets in a semi-conscious state).
Back in the secret chamber, Liu Bingyi looked at the mountain of wealth, his eyes devoid of greed and filled only with unfathomable calm.
'Han Zeng,' he said, 'sell this salt in batches to the city's poor at a low price. Remember, under the name of 'the nameless wealthy merchant from the Western Regions'. I want the suffering people to know that someone is acting on behalf of Heaven.'
'Boss, what are we after?' Lei Zhen scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.
Liu Bingyi slowly removed his mask, revealing a face that looked sacred and eerie in the moonlight.
'What we want,' he continued, 'is "the hearts of the people". When the Huo family's reputation in the government becomes terrible and they are seen as 'oppressors' by the people, I, the 'dissolute grandson of the emperor', can step in and become the Han Dynasty's only saviour."
He turned his head and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His face reeked of alcohol and he raised his wine cup.
'Huo Guang, this first cup is a toast to your arrogance.'
'Boss, the fire has spread to the tung oil barrels in the warehouse,' said Han Zeng, running back and sweating profusely. 'What should we do about the guards who were knocked down?'
Liu Bingyi stood in the wind, his black cloak billowing in the night breeze. He pulled out several packets of modern special fluorescent powder that he had bought from the system shop. In ancient times, this powder would have been seen as a ghostly green light.
'Sprinkle this powder on the warehouse door and draw the two large characters "Han Wu",' said Liu Bingyi. 'I want the officials who come to investigate tomorrow to see "Emperor Wu manifests, punishing disloyalty" at first glance, not "theft".'
Since we're putting on a show, we need to elevate it to the level of 'divine intervention'.
[Ding! The host has used ancient superstitions to misguide politics, triggering a special critical hit! Gained Reputation Points: +2000! New system function unlocked: False Scene Construction (can temporarily alter the visual persistence of a local environment). (For 24 hours only!)
Without hesitation, Liu Bingyi activated the new function, creating the illusion for the unconscious Huo family servants that they were 'greedily dividing the spoils in their sleep'. When they awoke, not only could they not explain where the valuables had gone, they also became 'traitors' to the Huo family because of the extra gold coins.
As dawn broke, Liu Bingyi removed his mask and put his wrinkled, wine-scented robe back on.
He staggered down the streets of Chang'an. At that moment, the night watchman in the West Market began ringing the morning bell.
'Halt! What are you doing?' A patrol of city guards stopped him.
Liu Bingyi's eyes were unfocused. He leaned against the wall, vomited and mumbled, "Drink!" 'Keep drinking... Young Master Huo... you're a good man... let me borrow your fighting rooster next time...'
Seeing that it was the infamous 'dissolute grandson of the emperor', the city guards wore disdainful smiles and fanned their noses disgustedly to mask the stench of alcohol. "So it's Liu Bingyi! Get lost! Don't cause a scene in the street. Do you think someone like you can stop Lord Huo from returning from court?" Liu Bingyi chuckled foolishly and staggered away.
Back at his home in Shangguanli, Xu Pingjun sat anxiously by the door. Seeing Liu Bingyi in such a drunken and distraught state, she could no longer hold back her tears. She picked up a bowl of hangover soup that she had prepared earlier and angrily handed it to him.
'How long are you going to keep this up?' Liu Bingyi took the bowl, and the moment he lowered his head, all the frivolity in his eyes vanished. He could smell the expensive honey in the soup — money that Xu Pingjun had saved to buy him rouge.
'Pingjun,' he said, taking a sip of the warm soup, his voice low so that only she could hear. 'Look out of the window. After the sun rises, Chang'an will change.' Sure enough, within half an hour, the entire city of Chang'an was in an uproar.
Headline: The Huo family's private salt warehouse was engulfed in 'heavenly fire', with a green light visible for miles around.
Popular rumour: The title 'Emperor Wu' appeared on the warehouse gate, and dozens of guards were arrested for dividing the spoils. They were suspected of corruption within the Huo family, which enraged the late emperor.
The court was shaken: Upon hearing of 'Emperor Wu's manifestation', several upright censors disregarded Huo Guang's authority and collectively submitted a memorial demanding an investigation into the Huo family's embezzlement of salt profits and disturbance of ancestral spirits.
In the Huo residence at this very moment, Huo Guang angrily threw a stack of memorials in Huo Yu's face, saying: 'This is the mess you've made! I told you to keep an eye on the black-faced knight, yet you've turned the family warehouse into the late emperor's 'manifestation site'! What about Liu Bingyi?" 'My lord, that good-for-nothing was completely drunk at Zuixianju last night. The city guards saw him vomiting in the street this morning.' Huo Yu knelt on the ground, his face full of grievance.
Huo Guang closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. 'Could what I did really have made the late emperor uneasy in the afterlife?'
[Eye of Insight] Feedback:
Target: Huo Guang's real-time thoughts: 'I have served the government my entire life and have never believed in ghosts or gods. But how do I explain this 'green light'? Liu Bingyi is no longer a threat. It seems there are others in the court plotting against me.'
Meanwhile, Liu Bingyi sat in his courtyard, teasing the bald black dog and listening to the distant rumours. A confident smile spread across his face.
The first stage, 'identity concealment', has been achieved. Next, he would use this huge sum of money to visit the 'sickly young man', Liu Fuling, at Changle Palace.