Wei Zhilin went inside and took out an earthenware pot. He scooped several handfuls of snow from the ink bamboo, packed them into the pot, then returned indoors and lit a charcoal fire to melt the snow and brew tea. Before long, the snow water boiled. He poured it into the little red-clay stove, and the fragrance of tea filled the room.
Wei Zhilin took a sip. As he savored the lingering fragrance on his tongue, the middle-aged man whose figure resembled smoke appeared again.
"Reporting to the Academy Head: we have completed our investigation. A student named He An entered the courtyard without permission and stole branches of ink bamboo. Before coming, he spoke with Lu Zhengqing."
Wei Zhilin nodded slightly. The man turned and left, disappearing in an instant.
Before departing, Imperial Preceptor Li Xingzhi had entrusted Wei Zhilin with a secret force cultivated within the Knowledge and Practice Institute. It numbered over a hundred, each member possessing astonishing cultivation. To Wei Zhilin's surprise, two had even reached the true self realm, while most of the others were at the pinnacle of dao union.
Wherever such a force was placed, it would be a terrifying power no one dared underestimate.
Wei Zhilin slowly savored his tea. For He An to act with such reckless audacity, Lu Zhengqing must have put him up to it. It seemed that old fellow still bore a grudge over that matter.
Only after drinking until the tea grew weak and tasteless did Wei Zhilin rise and leave. Seeing that it was already noon, he clasped his hands behind his back and walked to Lu Zhengqing's residence.
Standing outside, he looked at the snow blanketing the roof and the smoke still rising from the chimney, then knocked. "Are you in, Zhengqing? I've come to