Hu Xiaotian nodded and gestured for him to get on with his own business. He knew the terrain around the Palace Gardens Bureau like the back of his hand and crept toward the Wine Cellar. When he reached it, he saw that the main door had indeed been sealed, with a new, large lock added as well.
Hu Xiaotian drew a dagger from his waist. Since he had intended to enter the palace, he had naturally come prepared. Though he had no knack for picking locks, this dagger could slice through iron as though it were mud. He slashed hard at the hasp. Clang! The dagger severed it, and the heavy lock fell. Hu Xiaotian caught it at once, afraid the noise might alert the junior eunuchs nearby. Fortunately, the Wine Cellar stood in a secluded part of the Palace Gardens Bureau. Back when he had been in charge, he had strictly forbidden the junior eunuchs from coming here without good reason. Although he had been away for several months, the bureau's eunuchs still remembered that rule. Over time, it had become second nature. Unless something out of the ordinary happened, no one came here during the day, much less at night.
Hu Xiaotian ignored the seal on the door, pushed his way into the Wine Cellar, and bolted the door behind him. Since he had come, he had never intended to leave through that door. He knew the cellar's layout so well that he could have found his way with his eyes closed. Besides, he had already made progress in cultivating the Formless Divine Skill, and his eyes could now see clearly in the dead of night.
The secret passages beneath the Wine Cellar could hardly be called a secret anymore. Quan Dean, Li Yuncong, Ji Feihua, and Qiqi