Number Three truly lived up to being a scholar

Xu Qi'an was stunned. He thought to himself, "Lord Supervisor, you're not going to pull out a mirror and say to me, 'If you're a brother, join the Heaven and Earth Society!'"

While he was still in a daze, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound and looked towards the stairs.

Two iron lumps, one black and one gold, shot out rapidly, whistling past the two Jin Gongs and Xu Qi'an, and flying towards the Supervisor.

The two iron lumps melted during flight, turning into bright, molten iron that splashed towards the supervisor like water.

The two streams of molten iron merged together, outlining the shape of the long sword.

"Hiss hiss"

A misty vapor appeared out of thin air, and it underwent rigorous tempering. By the time it reached the hands of the supervisor, it had already become the blank of a long sword.

The supervisor grasped the blade blank, and with a flick of his other hand along the blade, a dark golden longsword was formed, its color subdued and its edge sharp.

With a flick of his finger, the blade spun and landed in front of Xu Qi'an, slicing into the bluestone slab as easily as cutting tofu.

The two Golden Gongs, who didn't use swords, stared intently at the dark gold longsword.

Is this Alchemy?!

This is clearly magic; shouldn't Alchemy involve extracting and separating substances from bottles and jars?

Xu Qi'an's worldview was severely impacted.

Shocked, Xu Qi'an realized that Jian Zheng's move was not merely a gift; he was slapping him in the face.

He was telling me, "Young man, you know nothing about Alchemy."

The appearance of this sword is somewhere between the Tang sword and the katana of my previous life; it is more curved than the Tang sword and straighter than the katana.

The blade is long and slender, reaching four feet in length, exuding understated luxury and restraint, yet it's undeniably cool.

"You should thank the supervisor," Wei Qingyi said.

"Thank you, Mr. Jianzheng."

Suppressing his joy, Xu Qi'an took off his robe, wrapped it around the blade, and held it in his hand.

This blade is too sharp; it can easily injure others or oneself.

"With this knife, my combat strength will rise by at least one level, no, two levels," Xu Qi'an thought with secret excitement.

Wei Yuan bowed to the Director of the Imperial Observatory and led his three Bureau of Astronomy away.

As Xu Qi'an was going downstairs, he encountered Chu Caiwei and the Princess ascending the stairs, seemingly heading to the Eight Trigrams Platform.

Under the watchful eyes of Wei Yuan and the Eldest Princess, he grabbed Chu Caiwei's hand and strode to the side.

"Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to dinner at Cassia Moon Tower Restaurant," Xu Qi'an said, extending an invitation.

To everyone's surprise, the foodie Chu Caiwei flatly refused, "We're going to the capital later, so we'll stay at the Princess's residence tonight."

The Princess's residence has an endless supply of pastries and delicacies. Although the food at Cassia Moon Tower is delicious, it can never compare to the chefs in the capital.

"I see. We need to be on night duty for the next two days. The day after tomorrow is the day the emperor pays respects to his ancestors, Nightwatchers will be responsible for security." Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and then said, "Then come to my house for dinner after His Majesty finishes his ancestral worship."

He thought, why not just make a simple version of chicken bouillon? Cassia Moon Tower's prices are a bit high.

"Will you make me some noodles?" Chu Caiwei suddenly remembered.

"Um."

"Mm." She nodded.

Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "Looking forward to your arrival."

The two parted ways. Chu Caiwei led the princess upstairs, while Xu Qi'an followed Wei Yuan downstairs. Xu Qi'an looked up and happened to see the princess looking down at him.

Their eyes met, Xu Qi'an grinned, while the princess remained expressionless. After Xu Qi'an was out of sight, she slightly pursed her lips.

Along the way, Xu Qi'an encountered a man in white. He handed the black gold knife to him and asked him to give it to his senior brother Song to forge the hilt, as he would come to pick it up the next day.

After leaving the Star-Gazing Tower, Wei Yuan entered the carriage. Yang Yan glanced at Xu Qi'an and waved.

Can you drive?

Xu Qi'an shook his head. "Who in their right mind would drive?"

Yang Yan nodded, handed the reins to him, and got into the carriage.

"???" Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening.

The leader with the facial paralysis is grooming him for a role.

Eight Trigrams Platform.

Chu Caiwei sat on the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, her little leather boots dangling in the air.

Clutching a bag of candied fruit, I ate it with relish.

The eldest princess stood to the side, her skirt fluttering, looking as graceful as a fairy.

"Your Excellency, I have always had a question," the Princess said in a clear and pleasant voice.

"Please speak, Your Highness." The old supervisor held up his wine cup, his gaze always fixed on the distance.

"The Human Emperor moved into the capital, bewitching my father to cultivate Daoism, and has neglected state affairs for nineteen years. The banditry in Yunzhou is rampant, and disasters occur frequently throughout the land. The court's control over the Southern Frontier is weakening, and the northern tribes Great Feng treacherous ambitions. Great Feng is beset by internal and external troubles." The Princess sighed, "What are you waiting for?"

After a long silence, the princess turned around and saw that the Imperial Censor was asleep with his eyes half-closed.

Chu Caiwei said irritably, "Princess, don't pay any attention to this old geezer. He's already quite old; he can live for as many years as he can."

The eldest princess glanced at her. The Bureau of Astronomy only had one female disciple, and everyone doted on her. Only she dared to speak to the director of the Observatory like that.

"Are you very familiar with that gong?" The eldest princess changed the subject.

"Yeah," Chu Caiwei smiled, her crescent-shaped eyes narrowing, "Xu Ningyan is a talented person, and he speaks very well. I think he's quite interesting."

Health Preservation Hall.

Master Hengyuan, who had been waiting quietly among the surrounding residents for two days, finally witnessed something unusual.

A low-ranking official, dressed in a green robe embroidered with quails, led a group of craftsmen into the health center. Soon after, a series of clanging and banging sounds came from inside, continuing until dusk.

Master Hengyuan waited until nightfall, confirming that there were no Nightwatchers or Bureau of Astronomy in white robes from the Imperial Observatory lying in ambush nearby, before leaving the household and entering the Yangsheng Hall to investigate.

To his surprise, the main gate of the health center had been replaced, the uneven ground had been paved with bluestone slabs, and the weathered stone tables and benches had been replaced with new ones.

Doors, windows, eaves, and all kinds of utensils have been repaired or simply replaced.

The burly "Lu Zhishen" stood in the courtyard, silent for a long time.

The old clerk who managed the health center was a light sleeper. Hearing the noise, he woke up, picked up a lantern, and went out to investigate.

"Master Hengyuan, you're back?" the old clerk exclaimed with delight.

"You don't need to go begging for alms anymore. The imperial court just allocated funds to make up for the silver owed from previous years, and they even sent craftsmen to repair the courtyard this afternoon."

"Appropriation of funds?" Master Hengyuan asked in a low voice.

"Yes, two hundred taels of silver," the old clerk said with relief. "The children and the elderly in the courtyard will have their expenses covered for next year. I plan to give each of them a set of winter clothes tomorrow. Ah, it's just in time, otherwise many of my old friends wouldn't have made it through the winter."

Xu Qi'an was startled awake in the middle of the night, feeling annoyed. He thought to himself, "What kind of lunatic is chatting in the group in the middle of the night?"

He pulled the mirror from under his pillow, walked to the table, lit a candle, and glanced at the message.

[Six: Number One, Number Three, have you discovered my hiding place?]

[Two: You bald geezer, why are you making so much noise in the middle of the night?]

Number two has a terrible temper and seems to have been woken up as well.

[Nine: What happened?]

Master Jinlian popped up, reminding the members of the Heaven and Earth Society that something must have happened to Number Six.

Number One didn't speak; he was probably spying on the screen again.

Xu Qi'an, unsure of the situation, also remained silent.

[Six: Ha, I didn't expect my hiding place to be exposed so quickly. It's alright to tell you. I brought all the children I rescued from the health center in Dongcheng here.]

This place has been barely surviving, with a few old officials who also have nowhere to go, and a group of homeless children and lonely elderly people.

But today, the imperial court suddenly remembered this place and sent people to repair the courtyard and make up for the silver owed from previous years. The old clerk had gone to the Ministry of Revenue several times, but was turned away each time.

I know that without a special reason, it's impossible for the funds to be allocated.

If it were the Nightwatchers came looking for him, Number Six wouldn't be surprised. But the fact that Number One and Number Three were able to find his hiding place so quickly took Lu Zhishen by surprise.

[One: It wasn't me.]

Number One immediately denied it.

If it's not Number One, then it must be Number Three. Number Three truly lives up to his reputation as a scholar from the Cloud Deer Academy. Because of the Pingyuan Earl's case, he uncovered Number Six's background, but instead of taking any action against Number Six, he quietly helped him from behind the scenes.

Number Three truly lives up to his reputation as a scholar.

The members of the Heaven and Earth Society felt a growing sense of admiration for Number Three, and their appreciation for his character deepened.

[Two: Did you do it, number three?]

"It wasn't me, I didn't do it, don't flatter me." Xu Qi'an remained silent.

If I don't explain, I'll take it as an admission. If people find out the truth later, I can still say: I didn't admit it either!

In addition, Xu Qi'an thought of something. The day before yesterday, he sold Number Six to Wei Yuan. With Wei Yuan's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to find out Number Six's location based on the clues he provided.

So many children were rescued on the 6th, what should be done with them?

If it were Xu Qi'an, his first choice would definitely be to check out the various health clinics in the capital.

According to Number Six, besides Wei Yuan, who else can command the people of the imperial court?

Of course, Number One also has that ability, but he/she just denied it.

The murderer who killed the Earl of Pingyuan was found, but instead of arresting him, the murderer made up for the money owed to the orphanage and sent people to repair the courtyard.

"Wei Yuan," Xu Qi'an whispered in the dim candlelight.

P. S.: I'd like to recommend a book. "The Villain is Invincible." It's an urban fantasy novel by Erbao Angel and Lao Siji.

Yes, Erbao is awesome!