Of all the materials, gold was the hardest to obtain.
The other things had some special requirements too, but they weren't difficult to find.
Pure Water, for instance, was simply rainwater that had never touched the ground.
Frozen Rare Earth was a whitish soil found near Nanzhou Prefecture. It was excellent for farming.
The other four items had cost less than one or two taels of silver.
Jiang Yun was a man of principle, so he still dug out a tael of silver and gave it to Xu Xiaogang...
He arranged the five items in the order of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, placing them in a circle on the carpet in the room.
Then he sat in the middle, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and intoned in a low voice:
"Let mind and spirit become one, let breath follow in harmony. Leave room between each breath, and remain unshaken through ten thousand changes."
"Free of delusion and anger, free of desire and craving. Give up nothing, cling to nothing; act without acting, be without self."
His hands formed a series of hand seals. With his eyes tightly shut, his entire presence changed in an instant.
Before long, the five items representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth slowly floated up, circling around him.
As he breathed in and out in a steady rhythm, the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth around them surged rapidly toward the formation.
"Gasp, the Spiritual Energy is so dense." Xu Suwen's eyes widened in astonishment.
The Spiritual Energy poured into Jiang Yun's body at an incredible speed.
It expanded the meridians within him.
Cultivation was the process of using Spiritual Energy to expand one's meridians, allowing the body to contain more of it.
Xu Xiaogang stood in the room and spoke quietly. "Sis, the Magic Power in Brother-in-law's body must have already reached the Daoist Sect's Ninth Rank, the Entry into the Dao Realm."
Xu Suwen, standing beside him, nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "With Spiritual Energy this abundant, he'll probably reach the bottleneck of the Ninth Rank, Entry into the Dao Realm, very soon."
Time passed, bit by bit.
As the formation circulated, the five items representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth also vanished before their eyes.
"Gasp."
Xu Xiaogang plopped down on the floor, closed his eyes, and began breathing in and out according to the Marrow Cleansing Scripture.
"What are you doing?" Xu Suwen asked, stunned.
"Sis, even the Spiritual Energy spilling out is at least four or five times denser than usual."
"It'd be a shame to waste it."
At his words, Xu Suwen came to her senses. She quickly sat cross-legged and began breathing in and out according to the Marrow Cleansing Scripture.
In the next room, Jiang Qiaoqiao watched the three of them with curiosity through the window.
She blinked. It looked like Big Brother was cultivating along with Miss Xu and Brother Xu?
Did Big Brother want to learn martial arts?
An entire night passed, and the three jin of gold was used up completely.
The dense Spiritual Energy in the room gradually dispersed as well.
Jiang Yun opened his eyes and sensed that the Magic Power within him had grown more than threefold compared to the night before.
He couldn't help feeling delighted.
Xu Suwen and her younger brother, Xu Xiaogang, also opened their eyes.
Both wore delighted expressions.
"Sis, I'm almost at the peak of the Seventh Rank, the Muscle Refining Realm," Xu Xiaogang said excitedly.
Then he looked at Jiang Yun with an almost feverish gaze. "Brother-in-law, tonight I'll go to the Vice Prefect again and get some more gold."
Under his stare, Jiang Yun felt a little creeped out.
It was as if Xu Xiaogang might pounce on him at any moment...
"Where's Qiaoqiao?" Jiang Yun opened his eyes and looked toward the room next door.
Jiang Qiaoqiao was fast asleep inside. Only then did Jiang Yun relax.
Over the past few days, Xu Xiaogang had spent his days making the rounds of the officials' residences...
At night, while Jiang Yun cultivated, he and Xu Suwen got to drink in the leftovers.
They never seemed to tire of it.
At dusk, in the Nanzhou Prefectural Office.
Prefect Zhang Wenqi sat at the desk in the main hall. He slammed his hand down on it and berated Constable Qian Bochou, who stood before him. "Five days! And you still haven't found Jiang Yun?"
"Do you know how urgently the Prince's Residence is pressing us?"
Qian Bochou replied respectfully, "My lord Prefect, we've searched every corner of Prefecture City."
"The city gates have been sealed too, but there's still no sign of Jiang Yun."
"If you ask me, that boy has probably already fled beyond the city."
Zhang Wenqi's brow furrowed deeply. He said coldly, "Qian Bochou, don't think I don't know that you and Jiang Yun have been spending a great deal of time together."
"I'll remind you: he's the criminal who killed the Prince. If you dare shelter him, do you know what will happen? You'll be charged as his accomplice."
"Your entire family will be executed."
At those last four words, Qian Bochou's eyelids twitched. He hurriedly said, "Lord Zhang, you know what I'm like."
"I'm a timid man. How could I dare shelter the murderer who killed the Prince?"
"Besides, someone capable of sneaking into the Prince's Residence and killing the Prince isn't easy to find."
At that, Zhang Wenqi picked up the tea on his desk and took a sip. He nodded slightly, his anger easing somewhat, then lowered his voice. "The Prince's Residence said that the old Prince can't be buried until we find the murderer."
"And they offered this much, as long as you capture Jiang Yun."
As he spoke, Zhang Wenqi held up one finger.
Qian Bochou froze for a moment. "One thousand taels? For me?"
"How could you get all of it?" Zhang Wenqi shot Qian Bochou a look and said slowly, "The Vice Prefect, the assistant magistrates, and I have all been unable to sleep these past few days. We've been racking our brains to find Jiang Yun, so naturally we deserve a little something too."
"You should get about fifty taels."
"Don't complain that it's too little..."
Qian Bochou cursed inwardly. Those bastards. I've been busting my ass searching everywhere for the man—even if I've mostly been putting on an act.
And it's freezing out here, with me riding all over the city.
Those fellows sit inside drinking tea, waggle their tongues a little, and take all the rewards.
Of course, though he thought all that, he still smiled and said, "Thank you, my lord. This is more than enough."
Unexpectedly, the parrot in its cage had heard a keyword.
It suddenly opened its beak and cried, "Lord Xu, no money left, no money left, no money left..."
Qian Bochou looked at Zhang Wenqi in surprise. Zhang Wenqi hurriedly coughed, trying to silence the parrot.
Zhang Wenqi had no idea why Xu Xiaogang's personality had changed so drastically lately.
He was even quicker to take bribes than Zhang Wenqi himself.
And he was picky, too. He wouldn't accept silver—only gold.
"Where haven't we searched yet?" Zhang Wenqi hurriedly changed the subject.
"The Nanzhou Prefectural Office," Qian Bochou replied.
"What about Nanmanju Inn?" Zhang Wenqi asked suddenly.
"Nanmanju Inn is home to distinguished guests. If we search it and disturb them, wouldn't that..."
Zhang Wenqi gave a cold snort. "The Prince's Residence is furious. I'm sure the distinguished guests will understand. Search it!"
"Yes." Qian Bochou nodded reluctantly and turned to leave.
Zhang Wenqi called after him, "Remember to explain to those distinguished guests that you're acting on the Prince's orders. This has nothing to do with me."
"Rest assured, my lord."
Qian Bochou drew a deep breath, thinking grimly, This is bad.
But he had already managed to drag things out for five whole days.
He couldn't put it off any longer.
Nanmanju Inn had to be searched.
Before long, he gathered his constables.
Together, they hurried toward Nanmanju Inn.
Soon, Qian Bochou arrived below Nanmanju Inn.
He glanced up at the third floor, at Xu Suwen's room.
Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed so loudly that even people on the next street could hear him. "Seal off Nanmanju Inn!"
"No one is allowed in or out! Search thoroughly! We must find Jiang Yun!"
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