[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposed-the-old-n":3,"chapter-i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposed-the-old-n-i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposing-the-old--chapter-57":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I, The Tomb-Raiding Storyteller: Exposing the Old Nine Gates from the Start",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2162637,3627,"Chapter 57","i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposing-the-old--chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi A-si was not a local of Old Changsha; he had lived by the river since he was a child.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Therefore, that skill of his with the nine-pronged hook for catching crabs was something he mastered in his youth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The place where Chen Pi A-si took shelter was a dilapidated temple.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Inside and outside the temple were beggars. Candles and incense burners burned all night in the temple, and the replaced offerings were sometimes thrown to the beggars to eat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi found a spot in the corner of the wall; when the other beggars saw him return, they scattered one after another!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi then took out a wooden board—he had stolen it. The back of the board was painted with red lacquer, and on it were written a few characters: 'One hundred wen to kill one man.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He wiped the wooden board, finished his meal in the ruined temple, and then took the board to set it up at the entrance of the alley, while he himself squatted at the base of the wall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He had been doing this for three days, but not a single customer had come.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In these times, having enough to eat was a problem; who had the money to hire a beggar to commit murder?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just a few words, Zhang Lin had outlined for the audience the image of Chen Pi A-si in his youth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A destitute beggar, with some behaviors that looked like those of a madman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One hundred wen to kill one man?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On what grounds?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the Yangtze River in those days, there were plenty of river bandits and hired killers. Why would someone hiring a killer not look for these local thugs, but instead look for a beggar?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless the person hiring the killer was insane, they would never throw away those one hundred wen!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that the sign had been hanging for three days without a single transaction already spoke for itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the listeners all held a sense of schadenfreude as they looked at Chen Pi A-si.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Lin continued: \"One hundred wen to kill one man—why did Chen Pi set this amount in his youth?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, there is a legend behind this. At that time, there was a scholar named Xi Qi living in the ruined temple.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This man only had seven fingers, yet he could write a beautiful Slender Gold script!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides helping the temple with copying to earn a little money, Xi Qi would also help people write letters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perhaps it was fate; everyone feared Chen Pi, yet only Xi Qi was willing to talk to him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After some back and forth, the two actually became quite familiar with each other.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unfortunately, good times don't last; Xi Qi caught the plague.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One day, he lay on the bed, using the wooden board Chen Pi had stolen as a pad to copy characters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As he was copying, he suddenly began to cough violently, and then he turned his head to look at Chen Pi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xi Qi asked Chen Pi: 'Chen Pi? You have killed so many people, yet you are still a beggar. This shows that you killed those people in vain; you killed them, but it did you no good at all.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi stared at the scholar Xi with wide eyes. He didn't understand immediately, but he suddenly felt he had realized something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xi Qi slowly moved aside the yellow paper with the characters and wrote on the wooden board: 'One hundred wen to kill one man.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He then said to Chen Pi: 'I give these six characters to you. The glory and wealth of your entire life lie on this board.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This was the last sentence Xi Qi said to Chen Pi; not long after, he died of his illness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the audience already had a strange feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chen Pi of his youth seemed very different from the one later on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He killed people, but he also had friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This deceased Xi Qi was actually his friend!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Moreover, what Xi Qi did also had a rather legendary quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the rule of 'one hundred wen to kill one man' was something Xi Qi had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That sentence of his—that Chen Pi's future glory and wealth were all in these six characters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had quite the air of a prophecy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After Xi Qi died, Chen Pi's life did not change at all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He still went to the river to fish for crabs, and the bait for the crabs was the corpses he picked up from the mass grave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Soaked by the river water, bloated and showing white flesh, they were the crabs' favorite.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi didn't mind these crabs caught by dead bodies; he would set up a pot by the river and start boiling them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At this time, a group of fishermen's children threw stones at him and called him a beggar.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi usually ignored them, but today Xi Qi had died, and Chen Pi's mood was very gloomy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He stood up to chase the group of children. The children scattered in a rush, leaving behind only one boy who looked foolish.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This boy was named Chun Shen, and because of his intellectual disability, people called him 'Silly Chun'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi grabbed Chun Shen and threw him into the river.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Children who grew up by the river were all good swimmers, so it wasn't long before Chun Shen swam to the shore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>{Ling Long} 703216220\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But Chen Pi took a wooden stick and kept pushing Chun Shen back into the water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only when he saw Chun Shen flipping his belly and starting to struggle in the water did he stop.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhang Lin said this, some people couldn't help but burst into curses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn! I knew this Chen Pi A-si was a rotten person!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly! He kills people when he's old, and he had signs of it when he was young—bullying a child!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The key is that this child is also a fool. He doesn't bully anyone else, just a fool.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hearing this makes me angry; I want to beat Chen Pi up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The listeners had a very negative opinion of Chen Pi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Lin, however, did not defend Chen Pi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, he continued: \"When he felt bored, he stopped pushing Chun Shen into the water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At this moment, he noticed that Chun Shen wasn't crying, but just staring at him blankly; he seemed too stupid to even cry!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi looked at Chun Shen and felt that this little brat was a bit like him when he was young—it made no difference whether he lived or died. Thinking this, he kicked Chun Shen back into the water and turned to leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the days that followed, Chen Pi relied on fishing for crabs to survive, and at night he went to the market to set up his stall to kill people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The children by the river still came to make trouble as usual, and Chen Pi didn't take it to heart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once winter arrived by the river, crabs were almost impossible to catch, and with soldiers and police all over the city, he didn't dare to steal or rob. Chen Pi went to the pier to find some manual labor to get through the winter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At this time, still no one patronized him to ask him to kill, and he couldn't help but start to wonder if Xi Qi's words were just the ramblings of a dying man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One day, he was setting up his stall again when he suddenly felt a pain in his head—he had been hit by a stone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He opened his eyes and saw Chun Shen, dragging his snot, throwing stones at him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi was a bit stunned, recognizing this as the 'Silly Shen' he had kicked into the water before.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This little brat hadn't died, and he had even gained weight; truly, fools have their own luck.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the moment he was dazed, two stones from Chun Shen hit him hard on the head, making him see stars.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After not seeing him for a while, this fool had become much more skilled at throwing stones.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi stood up, and Chun Shen immediately turned and ran, hiding behind a sturdy man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sturdy man looked up at Chen Pi; his features were very similar to Chun Shen's.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The two locked eyes, and the sturdy man didn't speak, just blocked the way in front of Chun Shen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yangtze River trackers were very fierce and united. Chen Pi instinctively took a step back, his murderous intent rising again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But he suddenly remembered that this man was one of the foremen at the pier, and everyone at the pier listened to him. Now that the pier was busy, if he went up and fought him, he would definitely be the one to suffer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi glared at Chun Shen and retreated, comforting himself that he now had a price for killing—he shouldn't do any more killing that brought no benefit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi watched as the man patted the back of Chun Shen's neck, and Chun Shen ran off along the river embankment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He ran to a boat—it was a small fishing boat on the river—and a woman carried him onto the boat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clearly, this family were fishermen making a living by the river; they fished in the river during spring, summer, and autumn, and pulled boats in the winter. The whole family must have lived on the boat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chen Pi watched that family for a long time, and there was an indescribable feeling in his heart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Zhang Lin finished speaking, the venue had gone quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tone of this story was like the winter riverside of the Yangtze—somewhat desolate and bleak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also an indescribable feeling that made one's heart feel heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially with Chen Pi staring blankly at that family; no one knew what he was thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it also seemed that everyone knew what he was thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Pi was an orphan; he probably had never experienced what it was like for a family to be together, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the future, he respected Er Yuehong and Ya Tou—was it also because his master and mistress were the only ray of light in his life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At night, Chun Shen's family was eating and talking, and Chun Shen's sister mentioned Chen Pi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She said that Chen Pi had watched their boat for a long time by the river, and also said that Chen Pi had a rule of 'one hundred wen to kill one man'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chun Shen, who was eating with his head down, heard this and suddenly looked up to ask his sister: 'Does killing people mean you get your head chopped off?'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chun Shen's father and sister both told him not to worry about such things and to just eat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At night, the family was fast asleep when they suddenly heard a commotion outside.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chun Shen's sister put on her clothes and heard her father shout: 'Water bandits are here!'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the time Chun Shen's father rushed to the bow of the boat, he immediately saw a half-naked man squatting there—broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his skin as white as snow, and his whole body dripping with water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The man turned to look at Chun Shen's father and said he wanted a bowl of water to drink.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When Chun Shen's father saw the man's appearance, he knew he was an expert in the water and didn't dare to have a conflict with him, so he poured the man a bowl of water.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The man drank the water and threw out a small yellow flag, on which was written 'Exemption Flag'.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The man said he was a 'Cannon Head' of the Huang Kui Gang, and with this Exemption Flag hanging on the boat, the water bandits wouldn't collect money from his family's boat in the future.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As the Cannon Head spoke, he began to grumble, saying that he, a dignified Cannon Head, was now assigned to 'pick flower drums'—he had to pick eight flower drums before he could go back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As he spoke, he pulled a rope from the stern of Chun Shen's boat; on the rope were several human heads.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chun Shen's sister recognized at a glance that it was the family from the neighboring boat who often played with Chun Shen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The little girl's head had already been half-severed, and Chun Shen's sister screamed in terror.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the Cannon Head counted the heads calmly, only to find that three were missing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhang Lin said this, the listeners were already feeling distressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Picking flower drums' was actually like soldiers in the past cutting off heads to trade for military merit—it had to be a sufficient number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that it was winter, there were few boats on the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man could become a Cannon Head of the water bandits, so he was someone who killed without blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three flower drums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chun Shen's father, Chun Shen's mother, and Chun Shen's sister—exactly three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some people couldn't bear to listen anymore; this family was probably too unlucky to encounter this Cannon Head, and they likely wouldn't survive the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, at this moment, they heard Zhang Lin say: \"The Cannon Head discovered that the heads were missing, so he turned around and smiled at Chun Shen's father.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"While smiling, he said: 'Oh, damn, sorry, old man, the number of flower drums isn't right, I have to borrow your heads to use.'\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Before Chun Shen's father could react, the Cannon Head had already pinned Chun Shen's sister down, and with a very practiced movement, used a small knife to cut the neck flesh until it was only connected by the spine, then with a hard twist, Chun Shen's sister's head was snapped off.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2295,"2026-06-16T21:55:26.381Z","2026-06-16T22:03:03.495Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","28331b0f5a6c9e32e4f2e3f3d7af358a65d4880e7de304e38ebf3068b230a8f5","i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposing-the-old--chapter-58","i-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposing-the-old--chapter-56",577,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-the-tomb-raiding-storyteller-exposing-the-old--cover.jpg"]