Liu Shiye paused and said, "Back then, the governor accidentally took away a secret treasure, and He Haoyu also came in pursuit, claiming he possessed the method of immortality..."

"At that time, I found it very strange. I'd seen too many Jianghu swindlers. Those so-called immortality con artists had long been declining. In chaotic times, even using the method of seizing the dragon vein and ascending the throne to deceive people was much easier than using immortality. Wasn't He Haoyu being a bit too foolish to come up with immortality?"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but nod slightly. If I were in Liu Shiye's position, I'd have the same doubts.

The scam of immortality was quite popular in the Qin and Han dynasties, but it gradually declined during the Tang and Song dynasties.

Although the emperors of the Ming Dynasty still firmly believed in the art of elixirs, their focus was no longer on immortality, but on ascending to become immortals.

In the Qing Dynasty, except for Yongzheng, no emperor ever took any more elixirs, and the scam of immortality completely disappeared in the long river of术道 (Shu Dao, esoteric arts).

There was once a joke in the esoteric arts: "Whoever says they have immortality, I'll cut off their head first. If they can still live after a single strike, then I'll talk to them about immortality."

This saying was not only useful in the esoteric arts but also circulated among the feudal dignitaries. Back then, He Haoyu made a bet with the governor and even invited the descendants of a family of executioners, just to break through the governor's last line of defense?

Liu Shiye seemed to see through my thoughts and continued, "The content of He Haoyu's bet with the governor was that he could be beheaded, but he had to be taken back to the governor's mansion and lie in a closed room for an hour. After an hour, he would surely live."

"The governor brought his body back according to the bet. An hour later, he indeed walked out of the room. The knife mark on his neck was clear."

"At the time, I still didn't believe he could live forever. Taking advantage of the other party's inattention, I deliberately pushed his head. He Haoyu was furious after his head fell to the ground and cursed at me. He also asked the governor to take him back to the room again."

"At that time, I knew that He Haoyu didn't have immortality. He was a ghost. A ghost who came back to life in broad daylight. His so-called immortality was a scam that used himself as a gamble."

"This scheme was too big and too perfect. Which swindler would risk his own life to deceive people? He Haoyu just did that, and I knew that what he was plotting was not just money and fame. With his means, these things were easily obtainable! He must have had even bigger schemes."

Liu Shiye sighed here and said, "However, when I saw the governor's eyes, I knew that it was useless for me to say anything. I was doomed to die."

"People! Once they are bewitched by ghosts, no matter how you argue or remind them, they won't believe you even a little bit."

"I knew I was dead, but I was not reconciled!"

"Giving me a complete corpse was the governor's biggest bottom line, so I used this bottom line to survive. While He Haoyu returned to the room, I went back to my room and committed suicide. I attached my ghost to that gourd. I gave the corpse to the governor to please He Haoyu."

Liu Shiye said with a hint of self-mockery, "I survived, watching my corpse being exposed to the public. A strategist! You really can't follow the wrong lord, otherwise, the end will be too miserable. I did it for gratitude... Forget it, I won't talk about it."

Strategists have a very strange phenomenon. Many strategists originally had world-class talents but died because they followed the wrong lord. They themselves also knew what the end would be if they didn't encounter a wise ruler, but they refused to change their allegiance.

Whether it was loyalty, righteousness, or some other reason, only they themselves could probably explain it clearly.

However, I was not interested in Liu Shiye's past: "The statements of the four people in the archives were left by you?"

Liu Shiye nodded and said, "Of course, I've already suffered once, so I can't suffer a second time. Unless I find someone I can trust, I will never help him again."

I stared at Liu Shiye and said, "You brought me here because you trust me?"

"No!" Liu Shiye said in a deep voice, "I brought you here because you are a madman. If I don't bring you in, you will drag the entire archives down with you. I don't want to disappear yet."

Liu Shiye's answer didn't surprise me. Or rather, this was the answer I wanted, otherwise, I wouldn't have believed him.

However, Liu Shiye's next words surprised me secretly.

Liu Shiye said, "In the Small Underworld (Xiao Huang Quan), He Haoyu is an invincible existence. The reason why he hasn't taken action is just because you haven't found him. It's not difficult to let you find He Haoyu, but there is only one way to defeat He Haoyu. That is..."

Liu Shiye said word by word, "You die once first!"

"The reason why the underworld is feared is because it is the real place of rewarding good and punishing evil between heaven and earth. Sinful souls will never escape punishment when they enter the underworld. If you want to come and go freely in the Small Underworld, you have to be like He Haoyu, take a knife and wash away your sins. Do you dare?"