Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

The top floor of Gaoyang Building.

Time seems to have frozen.

The exquisite purple clay teapot is empty and full, full and empty again.

Zhang Jingwei had slowly finished two whole pots of tea. It seemed that the tea had no flavor in his mouth, and only the mechanical swallowing movement remained.

The initial "business" topics between him and Shen Kaiyang had long since vanished, leaving only dry, meaningless chatter. Zhang Jingwei would ask about Gaoyang's scenery, and Shen Kaiyang would respond perfunctorily; Shen Kaiyang would mention Yunzhou, and Zhang Jingwei would feign surprise and chime in agreement. Huang Liang sat nearby, his smile frozen, and he could only constantly refill the two "nobles'" water bottles, attempting to fill the suffocating silence with these small gestures.

The air was thick as unmelted honey, yet heavy as lead. Outside the window, the patter of rain had ceased completely at some point, leaving only the occasional drip of water from the eaves hitting the bluestone slabs below, a monotonous yet distinct "tap, tap" sound that was particularly jarring in the dead silence of the room. The fresh air after the rain should have been refreshing, but now it only brought a sense of oppression, a sense of impending storm.

Shen Kaiyang's patience had clearly run out. He set down the teacup, barely moving, and the bottom of the cup clashed with the tabletop, making a crisp, yet dismissive, sound. He forced a last, polite smile, but his voice carried an unmistakable sense of distance and a desire to see him off. "Master Zhang, now that the cooperation has been agreed upon, the details require further consideration. It's getting late, and my master is old and frail, needing to retire early. How about... we call it a day? We can continue another day..."

"No hurry, no hurry!" Zhang Jingwei seemed not to hear the order to leave in the other party's words. He immediately smiled and waved his hand to interrupt him. Instead, he leaned back comfortably in his chair, looking as if he was still reluctant to leave. "Shopkeeper Shen, you and I have had a very pleasant conversation today. It's rare for us to cooperate so happily. How can we end it so hastily? How about... we play a drinking game to liven up the atmosphere? Huang Liang, you're a good player!" He tried to drag Huang Liang into the water.

Huang Liang complained bitterly in his heart, but he could only force a smile and agree: "Your Excellency is right, but..."

Shi Chongshan leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and hummed weakly: "Master Zhang...we are drinking tea."

"Oh! What's so difficult about this?" Zhang Jingwei slapped his thigh, as if he had just remembered something, and said loudly to the maid standing in the corner: "Come here! Bring some wine! Good wine! The strongest Shaodaozi! Today I want to get drunk with Mr. Shi and Manager Shen!" He deliberately appeared heroic.

"Master Zhang!" Shen Kaiyang's voice suddenly turned cold, the smile on his face completely disappeared, and his eyes were as sharp as a knife. "Shen, I don't drink alcohol! My master is old and frail, and he can't drink!"

Zhang Jingwei wasn't the least bit annoyed by such direct criticism. Instead, he seemed to have discovered a new amusement. His gaze shifted to the mute woman who had been silently and submissively standing beside Shi Chongshan. A playful smile played on his lips, and he pointed at her, "Shopkeeper Shen won't drink, and the old man can't drink... so what about her?"

The mute girl had been hanging her head, like a lifeless jade sculpture. When Zhang Jingwei called her name, her body seemed to stiffen slightly. "I won't drink!"

Shen Kaiyang forced himself to suppress his surging anger, and his voice seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth: "Master Zhang! Please respect yourself! Don't tease the servants! Now that the rain has stopped, please..."

"Oh my! Shopkeeper Shen, look!" Zhang Jingwei seemed to have completely ignored Shen Kaiyang's words. He pointed out the window and interrupted him with a look of "surprise". "This rain has no end in sight. It's so annoying! But just when I said I wanted to sit here with you for a while, the rain...it really stopped! Isn't that a coincidence? It seems that God also wants me to stay a little longer!"

Zhang Jingwei stood up and walked to the window, his back to the crowd. He took a deep breath, turned around, and with the "elegant" look typical of a scholar, he stared at Shen Kaiyang with a burning gaze. "Shopkeeper Shen! I see you're well-versed in the classics, and you look like a sage. I'm sure you're also quite talented. On such a beautiful day, with the picturesque scenery outside, why don't we improvise a poem? We'll live up to the reputation of Gaoyang Tower!"

Shen Kaiyang observed Zhang Jingwei's "excited" demeanor, knowing he was determined to stall for time, pressing him with every step, constantly testing his limits. The last shred of feigned calm vanished, leaving only a cold scrutiny and suppressed rage. He spoke coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth: "I...have lived in the mountains for a long time, and am quite uncouth. However, I have long heard that Master Zhang is a man of exceptional literary talent, his poetry and songs unrivaled in Hedong. If I could receive a verse from Master today, it would be a blessing for this building, and for Gaoyang itself."

"Hahaha! Manager Shen, you're too kind!" Zhang Jingwei laughed heartily, seemingly oblivious to the hidden meaning. He stood with his hands behind his back, pacing slowly around the spacious pavilion, his brow furrowed in thought, muttering to himself, "Hmm... Taking Gaoyang Tower as the subject... I need to write about its height, its danger, its extraordinary nature..."

He paced to the window and back again, each step trodden on Shen Kaiyang's nerves on the verge of exploding. In the elegant pavilion, one could hear a pin drop, the only sounds were Zhang Jingwei's footsteps and his deliberately drawn-out, word-by-word voice:

"The dangerous building is a hundred feet high..."

He stopped and looked up at the roof with carved beams and painted buildings, as if feeling the grandeur of the building.

"I can pick the stars with my hands..."

He stretched out his hand and made a light shaking gesture towards the few sparse stars in the clear night sky after the rain outside the window, with a vague smile on his face.

He had been doing this for several minutes.

Huang Liang looked expectant and said, "Go on..."

Zhang Jingwei also wanted to continue, but his brain seemed to be stuck and he couldn't remember which two sentences were the next.

Zhang Jingwei waved his hand and said, "My poems always have a certain critical tone, so I won't write any more next time."

at this time.

"Ding-a-ling-ding-a-ling--"

A clear, rapid sound of copper bells with a certain specific rhythm rang out.

The sinister expression on Shen Kaiyang's face froze the moment he heard the ringtone! Instead, it was replaced by an extremely rare and completely unexpected look of astonishment! His sharp gaze didn't look towards the door, but suddenly, with an expression of disbelief, he stared fixedly at the ceiling above the Accord!

This abnormal reaction made Zhang Jingwei's heart tremble! This ringtone...seemed beyond Shen Kaiyang's expectations?

Before anyone could react to the meaning of the ringtone, then—

"Crack!"

An extremely crisp metallic sound, like a mechanism snapping into a groove, came clearly and without warning from the ceiling above everyone's heads!

"What's that sound?!" Zhang Jingwei exclaimed in surprise.

“Crack—crack—boom!!!”

A deafening roar, like the snapping of a wooden beam, erupted suddenly, accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of wood tearing and a large amount of dust and debris rustling down!

In the center of the elegant pavilion, a massive, dark, square hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling, decorated with an exquisite caisson. A heavy flap, disguised as a ceiling, was suddenly pushed open from the inside by some force, hanging diagonally on the edge of the hole, precariously crumbling. Broken wood chips and years of accumulated dust poured down like a waterfall!

This sudden change stunned everyone! Shen Kaiyang's surprise instantly turned into rage! Zhang Jingwei hadn't expected this to happen, and his eyes were filled with surprise and suspicion!

Even more unexpected was that as the hole opened, two voices, clearly muffled but still clearly audible in the dead silence of the accord, spoke out unobstructed from the pitch-black hole, filled with complaints and confusion:

"Hmm? This... where is this? It's dark... How come it's another mezzanine? It feels so narrow!" A muffled voice with a strong nasal tone (Liang Dahai) came out.

"Shh! Keep your voice down! I seem to hear... hear the young master's voice? Right down there!" Another voice (Qian Ming) sounded anxious and nervous.

"I heard it too! It seems... there are a lot of people?" Liang Dahai's voice was full of doubt.

"I told you not to touch anything! Who knows what you pressed just now! What if we are pushed down again, we will have to go through a lot of trouble to find the elevator to come up! Hurry up, find the young master first!" Qian Ming's voice was filled with fear and complaint.

This conversation, which sounded like a casual chat in one's own backyard and was completely out of tune with the tense atmosphere downstairs, was clearly heard by everyone.

Zhang Jingwei felt his vision go dark, and a surge of powerlessness washed over him. He suddenly raised his hand to support his forehead, the forced composure on his face completely breaking, leaving only a wail of "Stupid teammates have let me down!" He practically gritted his teeth, using an extremely awkward, yet somewhat concealing tone, as he gave a dry laugh to Shen Kaiyang, whose face had turned livid. "Heh... heh... this Gaoyang Tower... has been in disrepair for ages... and there are rats... and these rats are making quite a racket... ..." His explanation was so pale that even he didn't believe it.

However, Shen Kaiyang no longer had the heart to listen to his clumsy cover-up.

When the key words "mezzanine," "elevator," and "looking for the young master" came through the hole above his head, all the astonishment, suspicion, and rage on Shen Kaiyang's face were instantly replaced by a bone-chilling murderous intent as cold as the Netherworld! The last trace of hypocrisy belonging to the "immortal" in his eyes completely disappeared, leaving only the naked, predatory gleam!

"Good! Very good! Zhang Jingwei!" Shen Kaiyang's voice was like a steel knife scraping at bones, each word laced with deep hatred and cold murderous intent! He abruptly stood up, his wide Taoist robe fluttering without a breeze! As he stood up, his right hand reached into his arms like lightning!

At this moment when murderous intent broke out!

"Squeak-"

The heavy flap that was hanging at an angle at the entrance of the cave and was shaky was suddenly pushed to the side by a big hand covered with dust and cobwebs!

Then, a head with messy hair and a face covered in black ash cautiously poked out from the dark hole! Liang Dahai's eyes, filled with a bit of confusion and curiosity, swept across the luxurious yet extremely strange room below, and finally landed on Zhang Jingwei, who was holding his forehead with a look of despair on his face.

He seemed completely oblivious to the soul-freezing murderous intent emanating from downstairs. With his trademark loud voice, he shouted at Zhang Jingwei, "Shut up! Isn't the young master right here? What are you looking for? You almost made me fall!"