I Want to Book the Whole Place

He had just sent that message and was working on writing a sentence when a series of messages flashed across the jade mirror:

[Part 1: What's the inside story?]

[Part Two: What secrets do you know?]

[Part 4: Is there really a secret hidden in Lake Sanpo No. 3?]

[5: Can you tell us?]

[Six: Amitabha Buddha]

[Nine: Young friend, please speak.]

Xu Qi'an squatted in the stinky outhouse, stunned for a moment.

Everyone seems to be very interested in this matter. Well, it makes sense, after all, it concerns the Great Feng's national treasure sword, such a top secret, no one wouldn't be curious.

In particular, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society are not ordinary people; they all have powerful backers or sufficient strength of their own.

Such people care more about these top secrets, even if they are unrelated to themselves, because these secrets may play an unimaginable role at some point.

[Three: I'm almost certain that it's not a top-tier expert attacking.]

Xu Qi'an didn't rule out any possibility of a definitive answer.

He paused, then wrote the message: [Three: But why should I tell you?]

No one spoke for a long while.

Well, not bad. No one was so clueless as to say, "Didn't we agree to share information and help each other?"

That would be great. If there were trolls or freeloaders in the group, his plan wouldn't be able to be implemented.

Xu Qi'an followed up, saying, "[Daoist Jinlian, I think the Heaven and Earth Society has a flaw. If this flaw isn't resolved, it will forever remain a loose organization composed of people who are only superficially united, and its ability to help everyone will be limited.]"

[Nine: Young friend, please speak.]

[Three: Admittedly, mutual help and information sharing are the tenets of the Heaven and Earth Society, but they are too idealistic. I can tell everyone this secret, but what will I get in return? Nothing.]

I shared this secret, while people like Number One, who enjoy silent voyeurism, contentedly ate the handouts.

After one or two times, I become unwilling to share information or secrets.

[One: Who are you calling someone who's eating handouts?]

Number One seemed a little angry.

I'm talking about you! You love spying on others! Xu Qi'an ignored Number One and continued sending the message: [Daoist Master, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society are from all over the country and don't know each other. They are essentially strangers. Lacking the foundation of trust and commitment, tell me, who would be willing to selflessly dedicate themselves to a stranger?]

Mr. Xu hates nothing more than freeloading and is determined to reject such behavior.

In short: Why should I share my secrets with you?

[Nine: Young friend, what you say makes a lot of sense.]

Seeing this, Xu Qi'an grinned: [It's good that the Daoist Master agrees; I believe everyone else agrees too.]

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society remained silent.

[Three: Master, I have an idea. When you gave me Fragment Number Three, it was sealed and unable to communicate with other fragments. Could we use this to our advantage?]

[Nine: What ideas do you have, young friend?]

Master Jinlian

[For example, I will sell the secret of Sangbo to the Heaven and Earth Society for five hundred taels of gold. Those who want to obtain the information can send me a message through the Earth Book, while the Daoist priest will help to block those who do not intend to buy the fragments of the Earth Book.]

[Of course, I'm not someone who cares about material possessions. But if anyone doesn't have equivalent information, I can allow you to trade in gold and silver.]

"Quickly, quickly use silver to buy my information! I want to buy a mansion in the inner city!" Xu Qi'an changed his squatting position, staring at the mirror with some anticipation.

At this moment, even the stinky outhouse became fragrant.

[Nine: To be honest, although I know the Law Technique to seal the Earth Book, my injuries have not yet fully healed. When I sneaked back to the Earth Sect that day, I awakened a wisp of the Daoist Master's primordial Primordial Spirit, causing the Earth Book to be sealed, and I was also severely injured. If not for that, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state.]

The smile on Xu Qi'an's face gradually disappeared.

He guessed correctly. If Master Jinlian was willing to give the fragments of the Earth Book to the members of the Heaven and Earth Society, he must have a way to restrain and retrieve them.

He guessed the beginning, but not the end.

This means that the private chat function will not be available in the near future.

Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Number One became somewhat anxious and sent a message.

He/She did not want to see the deal fall through.

[One: How about this, you can reveal the secret to us, and we'll give you a promise that can be exchanged for equivalent information, or purchased with gold or silver.]

[Four: However, this still has loopholes. For example, if I exchange an equivalent secret with Number Three, Number Three doesn't lose out, but my secret is obtained by other members without any cost.]

[Secondly: Furthermore, we are scattered across the country. Even if I wanted to buy your secret, how could I get the money into your hands?]

Everyone spoke enthusiastically, expressing their opinions and concerns.

Xu Qi'an smirked. The members of the Heaven and Earth Society valued not only the secrets he possessed, but also the potential profits they saw in them.

If their ideas are successfully implemented, they can also use the information they possess to exchange for rewards.

Sure, sure. There's motivation when there's profit involved; that's what a business gathering should be like.

[Three: Before Master Jinlian's injuries fully heal, how about this: I can tell you the secret, and you can exchange it for equivalent information and gold or silver, but you can pay on credit, no need to pay now. This way, Number Four's concerns will not exist. As for Number Two's concerns, I haven't thought of a solution yet. Well, you can still delay payment and exchange it for equivalent information in the future.]

"Then there's no problem," everyone thought.

[One: I have no objection.]

[Two: Me too.]

[Four: Okay, let's do it the way Number Three suggested.]

[Five: I'm fine.]

[Six: Me too.]

[Three: Why haven't Numbers Seven and Eight spoken up? If you don't offer your opinions, this deal cannot be reached.]

Master Jinlian stepped forward to explain, "Number Seven has been missing since last year. Number Eight is destined for death. Let's exclude them for now."

[Four: But Number Seven is still alive, right?]

[Two: The fragment of the Earth Book from Number Seven is with me. He faked his death for some reason and went into hiding.]

[Three: Then I'm fine with it.]

Xu Qi'an paused for a few seconds, then typed in the message again: [I heard a cry for help coming from Sangbo!]

A cry for help is coming from Sangpoli!

Number Three's casual remark resonated like a thunderclap in the hearts of everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society.

From the lake where the Great Feng Dynasty attained enlightenment and where the national treasure sword is enshrined, cries for help were heard.

Who is calling for help?

Whom can I ask for help?

An eerie silence fell over the Earth Book chat group. After a long while, the usually taciturn Number One sent the first message: [Impossible!]

Everyone immediately turned their attention back to the fragments of the "Earth Book" and waited quietly for a long time, but did not receive a response from Number Three.

Yes, number three is a disciple of the Cloud Deer Academy, arrogant and disdainful of rebuttal.

This also proves that what number three said is true; such a proud student would never stoop to lying.

Number One seemed to understand this as well, and after blurting out his question, he remained silent.

[Four: This is truly unbelievable news.]

[Nine: This secret is of extremely high value.]

[Second: Could something be imprisoned beneath Sangbo Lake? What do you think?]

Number Two offered a guess.

Xu Qi'an's heart skipped a beat; sure enough, he wasn't the only one thinking this.

[Five: Wow, a peerless demon is sealed in Sangboli of the Great Feng Dynasty? Hey, Number One, Number Three, Number Four, you're all from the Great Feng Dynasty, does this remind you of anything?]

[Six: No need to ask, Number One is clearly unaware. As everyone knows, Number One is an important figure in the court. This means that perhaps only the royal family, or even Emperor Yuanjing himself, knows.]

[One: I'll try to look into this, number three. If I make any progress, can I use it to offset your message?]

[Three: Heh, that depends on what you can find out.]

After waiting for five minutes and no one speaking, Xu Qi'an confirmed that these rude netizens had gone offline.

After carefully putting away the jade mirror and leaving the outhouse, I took a few deep breaths of fresh air and felt like I had come back to life.

"If the toilet in my past life was like this, I would definitely be able to correct my bad habit of sitting for half an hour at a time because no one wants to play on their phone in such an environment," Xu Qi'an added in his mind, "A stinky outhouse is the best doctor for treating hemorrhoids."

Back in the side hall, Zhu Guangxiao was practicing breathing exercises when Song Tingfeng flipped through some taboo books about scandalous affairs—not those of Emperor Yuanjing and the beautiful Imperial Preceptor, of course.

"Did you go to give birth?" Song Tingfeng squinted, chuckling mockingly.

"Yes," Xu Qi'an nodded, leaning back comfortably in his seat, and said seriously, "You rascal, that's your child."

Zhu Guangxiao, standing nearby, gasped for breath, opened his eyes in surprise, and glanced at Xu Qi'an.

Song Tingfeng shivered, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and lowered his head to continue reading.

He considers himself to be a carefree, outgoing person who always has a smile on his face. He's the kind of person who can get along well with anyone.

But when facing Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng felt that he was still a gentleman.

Often, even when you know the other person is joking, you just can't get used to it and give in.

"Let's go to the Imperial Academy of Music tonight," Song Tingfeng suggested. "I'll invite a few colleagues, we can all go and have some fun. After hanging out for a while, we'll be on the same side."

After a pause, he said solemnly, "After what happened with Yang Jinluo and Jiang Jinluo, there are quite a few people in the yamen who are jealous of you and dislike you in private."

You need to socialize more, instead of spending all your time with me and Zhu Guangxiao.

Zhu Guangxiao opened his eyes and nodded in agreement. "Yes, I often hear people talking badly about you behind your back."

Xu Qi'an, who originally didn't want to play with them, hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

He was not a hot-blooded young man; he deeply understood the principle that the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind.

Since joining the Nightwatchers, I have indeed neglected social interactions with my colleagues, mainly because I spend all my time meeting with Wei Yuan and mingling with the Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy, which has made my standards a bit too high.

So, under Song Tingfeng's guidance, he found a few familiar men who were also working under the Silver Gong Li Yuchun, and arranged to go to the Imperial Academy of Music entertainment venue) with them that evening.

Of course, there was no question of who was paying. Everyone knew the price of the Imperial Academy of Music a type of entertainment venue), and ordinary people couldn't afford to pay such a price.

However, Xu Qi'an casually said, "Let's book the entire Yingmei Pavilion. I'll take care of it."

The gong players were instantly energized and aroused.

Archives and documents, archives for documents of type A.

The sandalwood incense burned, its bluish smoke trails straight as lines, and sunlight streamed through the lattice windows, casting regular, orderly patches of color on the ground.

Wei Yuan closed the thick "Thirteen Codes of the Great Feng," pondered for a moment, then got up and took out a copy of "Chronicles of the Nine Provinces: Western Regions" from the bookshelf.

The sandalwood burned to ashes, and the ashes fell into the small stove.

Wei Yuan closed all the books, wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, and before he knew it, the pile of books beside him had reached shoulder height.

"Godfather, what have you discovered?" Nangong Qianrou finally got her chance.

"I think I know what happened," Wei Yuan sighed.

"What secrets does Sangboli hold?" Nangong Qianrou asked.

"This is not something you should know." Wei Yuan shook his head, his face serious as he warned, "Forget what happened today. Do not investigate further, and do not discuss it in private."

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou bowed their heads simultaneously. "Yes."

Dusk, scattered points.

Including Xu Qi'an, the ten Nightwatchers entered Imperial Academy of Music with their heads held high.

During this period of intense Capital Evaluation in the capital, when officials were terrified and silent, the Nightwatchers could roam freely within the Imperial Academy of Music.

"Ningyan, will the courtesan Fuxiang really see us?"

"I've heard that the most beautiful courtesan, Fuxiang, hasn't entertained guests in a long time,"

"Is Meiying Pavilion really going to let us have the whole place to ourselves?"

The men with gongs were somewhat skeptical, because the Imperial Academy of Music) was a place that welcomed scholars the most, and all kinds of entertainment programs were geared towards serving scholars.

This reflects the prevailing social atmosphere.

Although the Nightwatchers monitored all officials and were quite domineering, they maintained a system of checks and balances with the officials.

If someone misbehaves in the Imperial Academy of Music), the Ministry of Rites will be very happy and will be eager to seize the opportunity to impeach the Nightwatchers.

Therefore, if the Fuxiang was unwilling to entertain them, the gong-wielders had no choice but to leave, losing face in the process.

However, Xu Qi'an's suggestion of a multi-person game was too tempting. After hearing it, the Nightwatchers angrily denounced Xu Qi'an for being immoral and indecent, but when asked if they would go, they readily agreed.

Upon arriving at Yingmei Pavilion, the crowd of gongs slowed their pace, highlighting the unremarkable Xu Qi'an amidst the throng.

Xu Qi'an took off his waist knife, patted the little turtle's buttocks with the scabbard, and said with a relaxed smile, "Go tell your wife that I want to book the whole place."