Study

The coffin was still in the main hall, not yet formally placed in the coffin. Monks from Iron Buddha Temple were performing Buddhist rituals, and the concubines of the Marquis of Jianchang were weeping. Former subordinates of the Marquis's household, as well as officials of all ranks from Jiujiang Prefecture and heads of various powerful families, all came to pay their respects. It seemed that he had only passed away in the last few days, as the seven-day mourning period was not yet over. It also seemed that the ceremonial procession from Xingye City had not yet arrived. But after all, he was the second son of the Ruler of Xun Country, a figure of royal rank, so the funeral procession would certainly be a grand affair.

Li Fan scanned the area with his Divine Sense and found that there were no Nascent Soul Stage level bodyguards in the Marquis of Jianchang's Mansion. There were only seven or eight Golden Core level retainers and personal guards, all stationed in the front hall. It seemed that since the Marquis's patron, the Thunder Department Marquis of Jianchang, had left and was later assassinated and crippled, leaving him without any heirs, the Second Prince's position in the succession order had obviously fallen, and he was no longer as sought after. Now that the man was gone, the tea had cooled, and no one was trying to curry favor with him anymore.

Before the Second Prince was granted the title of Prince, this Marquis served as the General of the Garrison Army, representing the Xun Kingdom's royal family in Jiujiang. However, after the assassination, he spent most of his time recuperating in his Marquis's residence. The troops under his command were also distributed to other generals, mainly the Prince of Lu and the Commander-in-Chief Quan Huang, who can be seen as replacements for the Marquis of Jianchang.

Li Fan glanced back at the city's atmosphere. Jiujiang Prefecture was the first gateway to the northeast of Xun Kingdom, almost second only to Xingye in size, so naturally there were many cultivators. Although there was only one Divine Transformation cultivator suppressing the destiny in the Lu Family head of the General of Pacifying the East's Mansion, the Iron Buddha Temple just a few streets away had three genuine Nascent Soul Stage cultivators stationed there. The monk chanting sutras in the Marquis's Mansion had also been specially sent by a Golden Core cultivator. Previously, even the Marquis's caravan had Golden Core cultivators from the Iron Buddha Temple protecting them, so the Iron Buddha Temple's attitude towards the Marquis of Jianchang was probably not particularly disrespectful.

Further away, towards the government offices and academies, Li Fan could still vaguely sense several paper-mâché Nascent Soul Stage. Along the way, he saw that there were still quite a few troops stationed outside the city. Under the noses of a group of cultivators, the possibility of deliberately assassinating a washed-up and obscure useless person like Marquis of Jianchang was relatively small.

Moreover, judging from the atmosphere in Jiujiang Prefecture, there wasn't any particular tension or martial law in the entire city. It seems that the Marquis of Jianchang's lifespan was indeed limited; his health deteriorated after becoming disabled, and it just so happens that his lifespan has ended at this critical juncture.

Li Fan tentatively circled the Marquis's residence two or three times. Seeing that there were no ambushes and the security was not tight, he used an enhanced invisibility talisman and directly burrowed underground to steal the Heavenly Book.

Cen Hun said that the Ruler of Xun Country sent someone to copy the Heavenly Book into the appendix annotations of twelve Qigong diagrams and send it to Marquis of Jianchang for cultivation. But at most, he only found out about it by chance, and he didn't know what kind of Qigong it was or what the book was called. After all, it was the king's express delivery, so it was naturally wrapped up and sent over by the eunuch. Could they possibly open it for security inspection?

To be honest, it's not easy to find. After all, it's a Marquis's mansion; there's too much junk like magic artifacts, Magic Treasure, and jade pendants. Plus, the Iron Buddha Temple is nearby, so the Si Nan is severely hampered. Pointing randomly won't be of much help.

So Li Fan didn't have any particularly good ideas. He figured he'd try sneaking into the study of the Marquis of Jianchang and looking around. The features were quite obvious: a set of twelve volumes on Qi cultivation methods, with secret techniques written in the annotations. If they were laid out together, they should be quite conspicuous, right? In short, he'd just search one by one.

So Li Fan took advantage of the fact that the banquet was still being held outside and sneaked into the study of the Marquis of Jianchang to search through it. Well, you know what, this guy really had a lot of books. In addition to classics, histories, philosophical works, military books, strategies, maps and records of mountains and rivers, and tales of the strange and supernatural. This young marquis was indeed a man of both literary and martial talents, a diligent student who never put down his books.

Of course, judging from the condition of the books, I've read more miscellaneous books and military treatises. The words of sages are quite well preserved; look how clean and tidy they are. I don't know how many times they've been read. Of course, young people can understand that...

Li Fan tried shaking the compass against the Si Nan again, and lo and behold, he actually found a book that seemed to offer a chance to find something. However, it didn't look like a Qi cultivation Cultivation Method, so he carefully flipped through it to see if there were any annotations or celestial writings in the pages.

Oh? Isn't this the kind of book with beautiful women in it...? Tsk tsk, the illustrations are terrible, its usability is rather low. And the Ruler of Xun Country wouldn't have a divine book copied into this kind of book and sent it to his disabled son, would he? Most likely not. Hmm... but the plot is quite interesting.

This story is about a young man who encountered a beautiful woman with a purple hairpin. They exchanged glances and followed her to an old house. The woman with the purple hairpin didn't close the door completely, leaving a crack, as if to say, "This humble door is now opened for you." So the young man happily followed her in. Sure enough, the woman with the purple hairpin was waiting inside. When she saw him enter, she smiled and said that he was her new bride and that they would be married that night.

A certain scholar, captivated by her beauty, assumed it was a fleeting romance and agreed to the marriage. The beautiful woman, Zichai, then summoned her sisters for a feast. Four beautiful women emerged from behind the wall to congratulate Zichai on her marriage. The scholar then realized they were not human and tried to escape, but was held back by the women, who dressed them as the bride and each composed a riddle for him to solve. They promised to let him go if he solved it, and to punish him with wine if he couldn't. Unable to answer, the scholar was surrounded by the women, who took turns pouring him wine until he was drunk. He then consummated his marriage with Zichai. Afterwards, they indulged in nightly revelry, sharing the same bed with the beauties in the courtyard, enjoying the bliss of having multiple wives.

After indulging in this pleasure for quite some time, the man began to miss his family and wanted to go home to visit them. So he secretly left the old house, but when he got home, no one recognized him. Instead, they asked him who he was looking for. When he looked in the mirror, he realized he had become a woman. He tried to go back to the old house, but he couldn't remember the way. Finally, he told his family about his private childhood, and they reluctantly believed his story. But they searched for famous doctors, yet none could cure him. And, most absurdly, the doctors discovered that he was pregnant!

So the man had no choice but to stay indoors. After the baby was born, the beautiful woman with the purple hairpin reappeared through the wall, smiling and saying she had come to pick up the bride and child. So the man smiled and followed her through the wall. His family tore down the wall, but they never found him again, and he disappeared without a trace.

Li Fan omitted the details of the battle between the certain student and the five beauties, which cannot be recounted; what remains is roughly this short story.

Of course, Li Fan found it interesting not because the battle descriptions were particularly exciting. He found it interesting not only because the system kept alerting him that "Li Fan's mood has dropped a little" while he was reading, but also because he could compare the annotations in other military books and distinguish them from the handwriting.

This book was written by the Marquis of Jianchang himself. Isn't that interesting?

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, a multitude of guesses forming in his mind, but he couldn't be certain. He wanted to investigate whether the body in the coffin outside was indeed that of the Marquis of Jianchang, but with so many people keeping vigil outside, he probably wouldn't have the chance for a while. Moreover, he sensed with his Divine Sense that someone had arrived.

Li Fan immediately stuffed the book into his arms and disappeared underground.

The study door seemed to be blown open by a gentle breeze, then closed silently again, but the person had already entered.

This must be a cultivator who used an invisibility talisman. Although his form was concealed, he was probably at the Golden Core stage. Li Fan had been using the Gu Guan Method to enhance his Divine Sense, which was why he was able to vaguely see through the invisibility and sense the general location of this person.

From the direction he was standing, you could vaguely tell that he was looking for something, but it didn't seem to be a book. He wasn't flipping through the pages to check the contents; he was just touching things on the desk by the wall, as if looking for a hidden compartment or something similar.

Ha, what audacity! They actually dared to steal from the Marquis's mansion...

Li Fan secretly gathered his strength, estimating and sensing the other party's location. Just as the other party opened a hidden compartment in a desk, took out a box, Li Fan was about to poke out a finger to kill him, a soft 'click' sound suddenly came from the roof!

There are people on the roof!

Li Fan had no choice but to hold back, while the cultivator was also alarmed. He didn't even dare to take the box and jumped directly onto the roof beam. Almost at the same time, the skylight was pried open, and a thief dressed in black leaped into the study.

The thief rolled on the ground and stood up. He had his face covered with a triangular scarf, and his figure was exceptionally slender and thin. It was unclear whether he was a minor or a woman. Moreover, he had not practiced proper internal energy cultivation; he was just a martial artist with excellent lightness skills. At first, Li Fan thought he was just an ordinary servant, and although he had found out about him, he didn't pay much attention. Who would have thought that he would leap and bound, climb the roof, and jump into the house?

This petty thief wasn't acting recklessly. He didn't rummage through the bookshelves or touch the desk; instead, he groped around, reaching out to feel the floor tiles and gently tapping here and there with his knuckles, as if searching for something.

Li Fan knew what the thief was looking for, after all, he was hiding underground. He clearly saw a hidden compartment under the brick layer under the desk, with a box inside. But the box was very small, not like one for storing books. Moreover, there was no spiritual energy inside, so it was probably just gold, silver, or a seal, something that cultivators wouldn't be interested in.

Hurry up and grab your things and leave.

Li Fan and the Golden Core on the roof beam remained silent, glaring at the thief crawling on the ground. It was a pity this idiot was just crawling around on the ground, unable to use his Divine Sense to investigate, only able to probe by sound, knocking and tapping, not afraid of attracting attention...

With a creak, the outer courtyard gate opened.

The thief was startled and crawled along the ground like a gecko until he reached the window and hid under the bed.

Then the person outside tiptoed to the study door, pushed it open with a creak, and revealed a bald head.

He was a monk. He looked to be in his early twenties, but he seemed to have only just Foundation Establishment. His breathing was chaotic, and his skill level was quite poor. The fact that he could enter and leave the Marquis's residence at this time meant that he must be a monk from the Iron Buddha Temple who had come to perform religious rites. Of course, the fact that he sneaked into the back study meant that he was definitely not there to perform religious rites.

Li Fan wanted to roll his eyes. Goodness, there were so many people coming and going that it was almost enough to fill a mahjong table.

The monk also 'secretly' sneaked into the study, but his infiltration skills were terrible, even worse than the thief under the bed, who at least was a professional.

This monk was clearly just there to freeload, trying to get some benefits from the Marquis's residence. He looked around, then looked again, taking a couple of scrolls of calligraphy and paintings from the shelves, and some jade paperweights and inkstones from the desk, casually stuffing them into his cloth bag. The most outrageous thing was that he even dared to take down all the landscape paintings on the wall behind the bookshelf, rolling them up to carry them away! How could the Marquis not notice?

Li Fan frowned. Was the Marquis's residence far too lax in its defenses? Did they think they could just come and go as they pleased?

Before he could think it through, yet another person walked into the courtyard.

Hearing the door open, the monk panicked and tried to jump onto the roof beam, but couldn't reach it. He then tried to crawl into the bed, but couldn't squeeze in. So he crouched down behind the bookshelf, pressed against the wall, and covered his head, as if afraid of any reflection.

However, the one who pushed open the door this time was a woman dressed in white mourning clothes. She looked to be in her early twenties, probably just a concubine in the Marquis's mansion. Her eyes were red from crying, and she was beautiful and charming. In addition, considering the added bonus of being a widow in mourning, Teacher Li Fan could give her a high score of over 80, but not quite 90.

She entered the study without saying a word, and stood blankly in front of the desk, lost in thought. She then picked up a box from the table—the one the Golden Core cultivator on the beam had sought—and opened it to look at its contents.

Li Fan's Divine Sense was also unable to probe inside the box, so he knew that the box must be sealed with talismans Fa Yin. There must be a reason why the contents of the box could attract a Golden Core cultivator to steal it, but at this time, it was still unknown.

Unexpectedly, before the woman could wait long, another one arrived from outside!

This time, Li Fan was truly numb. He watched as the young man, who was also dressed in plain hemp clothing, with a rather agile figure and handsome face, entered the study. This man also had the cultivation of Foundation Establishment, and he was clearly from a military academy, exuding the air of a masculine man.

Li Fan initially thought he was a guard on duty, but to his surprise, the man suddenly darted into the room and, in full view of everyone, grabbed the Marquis's concubine and began groping her! The concubine was initially startled and almost cried out, but after recognizing the man, she readily threw herself into his arms, her body going limp.

Li Fan and the other onlookers, "..."

Seriously?! The Marquis of Jianchang's body is barely cold, the banquet guests outside haven't even left yet, and you two are already playing around like this, daring to have your fun in the study?!

Of course, these two audacious individuals didn't actually go all out. They were probably just holding back for too long. They started by kissing each other passionately for a while, only to be jolted awake by knocking over a pen holder. After a little restraint, they embraced, whispered sweet nothings, and snuggled together.

In short, all the scenes are the kind that can be broadcast on TV, the kind of scenes that are common in idol dramas. At most, the hair is a little messy and the clothes are a little loose, but there are absolutely no scenes that go too far or show too much skin!

In short, after the man finished eating, he put his arm around his concubine and said, "Prime Minister Lu sent us to escort grain and provisions into Luoyang. We will probably not see each other for about a year."

The concubine, her voice trembling with tears, cried, "Why are good things always so hard to come by? The Marquis had clearly promised us both, why did he suddenly leave like this... Waaah..."

The man was also heartbroken and hugged her to comfort her, saying, "Sigh, just bear with it for another year. When I return, I will ask my wife to give you to me."

The concubine was overjoyed upon hearing this, and the two embraced again, rolling onto the bed. They lingered there tenderly for a while before reluctantly parting. The concubine straightened her clothes, wiped the rouge from her neck and lips, and prepared to return to the front hall to avoid arousing suspicion.

Just as the concubine was about to leave, she suddenly exclaimed "Oh!" and turned back, saying, "It's all your fault for being in such a hurry; I almost forgot the important matter I called you here for."

"What? You want to see me? Isn't that the important thing?"

The concubine blushed and spat at him, but was overjoyed, saying, "Isn't my lord lacking cultivation methods? Last month, the king sent many gifts, as well as some health-preserving and qi-cultivating Cultivation Method. The marquis is feeling down and says he can't concentrate on studying them. Why don't you give them a try?"

"The method of breathing exercises?" The man shook his head and smiled. "What I lack is the proper method to cultivate the divine elixir. Health-preserving qigong is not very useful for our body-strengthening... But it's alright, it's all thanks to your kindness. Whatever you give me, I will keep it in my heart."

So the two of them cuddled together again, exchanging some cheesy, lovey-dovey words. Finally, the concubine spoke, "Wait here, I'll go to the study and get it for you."

Then, as she spoke, she took out a bronze mirror from the box, with a talisman pasted in the center. She hung it in front of the door, reached out to press the talisman down, and then paused, smiling as she asked her lover, "By the way, you haven't stolen anything from the manor, have you? You can't even think about it!"

The man chuckled and shook his head, then sat down on the bed. "I know how powerful this treasure is, how could I dare?"

The woman laughed, "I knew you wouldn't dare. Anyway, just tell me what you need first, and I'll get it for you."

Li Fan frowned, suddenly realizing that this matter was not so simple.

At this moment, the concubine peeled off the talisman, and instantly a golden light shot out from the mirror. Because the concubine was standing close enough, the light shone directly on her head, instantly burning her beauty to white bones, turning the bones into charcoal, and half of her body was melted by blood, leaving only half a piece of flesh lying on the ground.

The golden light instantly split into four beams. One swept across the man's waist, slicing him and the thief hiding under the bed into four pieces. Another beam passed through the wall, burning the classics on the bookshelf, along with the bald man hiding behind them, to ashes. The third beam shot straight at the thief on the roof, who roared and burst out of the house. Unfortunately, his escape light, along with his legs, was severed by the pursuing golden light. Although he didn't die, he was mangled and rolled down from the eaves of the mansion, landing on the dining table in the front hall with a loud crash, startling the guests who were eating.

Of course, there was one last beam, shining into a deep hole underground, brushing past Li Fan and burning a piece of his sleeve.

It wasn't that the shot missed; Li Fan made a quick sideways movement, narrowly avoiding the bullet.

That was all the mirror could do; it only unleashed its divine power once, and the bronze mirror, like a red-hot branding iron, emitted billowing heat and fell silent.

Li Fan broke out in a cold sweat and swallowed hard.

Damn it, why is it so hard to steal a divine book...?