Obtained

Skinny Dog slipped into the darkness, then suddenly dismantled himself, turning into black smoke that seeped into the ground.

The next instant, inside Wang Yitong's room!

Skinny Dog raised his head, glanced at Fang Zhixing, and transmitted, "I found the martial arts manuals. They're in the study, in a brocade box with carved patterns behind the bookshelf."

Fang Zhixing was delighted and asked, "Nothing went wrong, did it?"

Skinny Dog hesitated before replying, "I ran into a big white cat. That thing attacked me, so I bit it. I might have bitten it to death."

"A big white cat?"

Without betraying anything, Fang Zhixing continued chatting idly with Wang Yitong.

Before long, clang, clang, clang~

The sound of a gong rang out.

"Something happened. Hurry!"

Wang Yitong's expression changed. He abruptly rose to his feet and rushed out the door.

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing got up and followed him.

Skinny Dog ran out after them, worriedly asking, "Did I make too big a mess?"

Fang Zhixing remained calm and said steadily, "Don't panic. As long as your real body is well hidden, it'll be fine."

Skinny Dog understood and turned back into the room.

Soon, Wang Yitong and Fang Zhixing followed the sound of the gong to the outside of the study.

The person beating the gong was the steward. Two trembling maidservants knelt beside him.

Before the two maidservants lay a large white cat, motionless. Blood streamed from its neck, the stains slightly blackened.

There were also two people standing before the white cat.

One old, one young.

The old man looked to be in his sixties. His temples were grizzled, his beard flowed in the wind, and his cheekbones jutted out. His left eye was cloudy and white, seemingly blind.

He wore a black robe and was extremely lean. His right eye was sharp and bright.

The youth appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen. He looked ordinary, even somewhat ugly. His eyes were small and his nose large, giving his features an unbalanced look.

Wang Yitong whispered, "That is the eldest young master, Luo Xiangpeng. The black-robed elder beside him is his master, Sun Gongchang. At his peak, he was an expert of the Giant Python Realm. He once used a pair of Eagle Claws to peck out the eyes of the Black Mountain Twin Heroes, earning quite a reputation. In his old age, he retired from the martial world and devoted himself to teaching the eldest young master martial arts."

Understanding dawned on Fang Zhixing, and he could not help taking another look at Sun Gongchang.

Not long after, Luo Kegong arrived as well, shouting, "What happened?"

The steward hurriedly replied, "Master, the white cat raised by the eldest young master was bitten to death by a dog."

Luo Kegong snorted impatiently. "I thought something serious had happened. Isn't it just a dead cat?"

Luo Xiangpeng's face twisted viciously as he roared, "Father, that wasn't an ordinary cat! Sister Qianqian gave me that cat!"

Luo Kegong slapped his forehead, his expression changing drastically. "Oh no, how could I forget? That white cat was the gift your Sister Qianqian gave you? It's over, it's over!"

Luo Xiangpeng anxiously said, "If Sister Qianqian finds out I let the cat she gave me die, she definitely won't like me anymore."

Suddenly, he fixed his gaze on the two maidservants kneeling on the ground and cursed, "It's all you two wretched sluts' fault! You couldn't even protect my cat! I'll beat you to death!"

He lunged at one of the maidservants, first punching and kicking her, then grabbing her hair and dragging her across the ground.

"Spare me, Eldest Young Master! Spare me!" Blood ran from the maidservant's mouth and nose as she clutched her head and wept.

Fang Zhixing narrowed his eyes at the sight.

But Wang Yitong seemed long accustomed to such things and showed no surprise.

"Where did this stray dog come from?"

Luo Kegong was angry too. He questioned the steward, "Does anyone in this household keep a dog?"

The steward hastily replied, "There is one watchdog, always tied at the entrance. Other than that..."

He turned his head toward Fang Zhixing.

Fang Zhixing remained composed and cupped his hands. "Master, this lowly one also keeps a small dog, but it could not possibly have harmed this white cat. From this afternoon until just now, my dog and I have been together the entire time."

As he spoke, he casually glanced at Wang Yitong.

Fortunately, Wang Yitong caught on and took the initiative to say, "Master, I can testify. When it happened, Brother Fang and I were chatting. His little dog stayed by our side the whole time."

Upon hearing this, Luo Kegong instantly came to a conclusion. "Then a stray dog must have wandered into the residence."

The steward quickly said, "Master, do not worry. I will organize men at once and search the entire estate immediately."

"Go!"

Luo Kegong barked furiously.

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing promptly said, "Sir, Brother Wang and I can help search as well."

"Good. You two go too. You must find that stray dog for me," Luo Kegong said at once.

The two personal bodyguards turned and left.

As they walked, Fang Zhixing asked quietly, "Old Wang, what kind of temperament does the eldest young master have?"

Wang Yitong snorted. "Just as you saw. Whenever he loses his temper, he beats maidservants to vent his anger. This year alone, he has beaten two maidservants to death."

Fang Zhixing fell silent.

Seeing this, Wang Yitong quietly reminded him, "Brother, that's how children of prominent families behave. Their status is exalted, unlike ours. To them, killing commoners is no different from killing chickens or dogs."

After a brief silence, Fang Zhixing asked again, "Who is this Sister Qianqian they mentioned?"

Wang Yitong replied, "Luo Qianqian, the prefectural governor's daughter. You don't know? Luo Kegong and the prefectural governor are half-brothers from the same father. I hear the two of them are very close."

Fang Zhixing understood.

Before they knew it, the night had grown late.

The entire estate was searched back and forth several times, yet the stray dog was nowhere to be found.

Everyone had been thoroughly worn out.

Later, someone discovered a rather concealed dog hole.

Then, the clever steward came up with a solution.

They would buy a white cat of the same breed to replace the one that had been bitten to death.

After all, Luo Qianqian had never seen what the white cat looked like after it grew up. Any white cat would do.

Only then did the village head and his son stop and return to sleep.

The others also dispersed and went back to their rooms to sleep.

After all that commotion, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted and soon fell asleep.

Fang Zhixing did not sleep. He and Skinny Dog quietly left the room and made their way to the study door.

"The door is locked. What do we do?" Skinny Dog asked.

Fang Zhixing had already thought of a plan. He pushed the door open a crack and transmitted, "Squeeze through."

Skinny Dog was small. He turned sideways and wriggled a few times, actually managing to squeeze inside.

"Hurry, open the window," Fang Zhixing directed.

Skinny Dog immediately ran beneath the window. He first jumped onto a chair, then onto the windowsill, and used his teeth to shift the latch.

"Done!"

With a gentle push from Fang Zhixing, the window slowly opened.

He climbed in through the window as moonlight spilled across the window frame.

"The brocade box is over there!" Skinny Dog ran toward it.

Under the faint moonlight, Fang Zhixing walked up to the brocade box.

The box was not locked and could be opened directly.

Inside were five martial arts manuals.

Inch Fist, Iron Mountain Art, Black Tiger Skill, Mantis Fist, Eight Trigrams Palm.

Fang Zhixing directly picked up Iron Mountain Art, walked to the window, and began reading under the hazy moonlight.

Skinny Dog asked, "The other four martial arts look pretty good too. You don't want them?"

Fang Zhixing replied, "Biting off more than you can chew gets you nowhere. A person shouldn't be too greedy."

Skinny Dog said, "What if the other four martial arts are even better than Iron Mountain Art?"

Fang Zhixing did not respond, focusing entirely on reading Iron Mountain Art.

However, after reading the introduction at the very beginning, his brows had already twisted into a knot.

"Only the first two layers..."