The Missing Ancient Book

At first glance, that room doesn't seem to have changed much.

The bed is neatly made, and at the foot of the bed against the wall, there is a cabinet for placing the TV.

Further inside, there were three large wardrobes.

You can see that there is a thin layer of dust in the room, but there are no handprints or footprints left.

Chu Tianshu opened the door, raised his hand to stop his second grandfather from entering, and went inside himself.

He was staring at the bed sheet, especially the area near the headboard.

Although no one lived in Grandpa's room, Chu Tianshu used to go there for a stroll when he had nothing to do after a meal, to digest his food.

Especially with the bed, when he gets bored, he'll adjust the horizontal stripes on the sheets to intersect the bed frame perpendicularly.

It wasn't just that it was perfectly vertical; he measured it with a set square.

My own bed, I sweat and toss and turn every day. Even if I use several blankets in rotation, the sheets are already deformed and I can't straighten them into a neat and tidy shape anymore.

Grandpa's bedroom bed is relatively easy to make, so he makes it exceptionally tidy.

Now, the stripes on this bed sheet are clearly crooked.

Chu Tianshu walked to the wardrobe, opened the rightmost door, peeked inside, pressed down on the wooden board, and activated a special mechanism with his Mind Power, which popped out a hidden compartment.

The hidden drawer was completely empty!

This place was originally supposed to contain the original text of "Annotations on Ghost Gate Witch Medicine".

That book was practically an antique; Chu Tianshu used a handwritten copy when he studied it, and kept it in his room.

That antique had always stayed with my grandfather, and he would occasionally look at it, keeping it safe in this hidden compartment.

After his grandfather passed away, Chu Tianshu felt that keeping the ancient book here was both safe and familiar, and there was no need to move it.

It's been stolen!

Chu Tianshu stared at the drawer, his breathing slightly heavy, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

With his Insight Technique, he deeply inhaled and exhaled, sensing the strange aura lingering in the room, especially on this drawer, from the thief's attempt to trigger a special mechanism.

Chu Tianshu carried the drawer into the living room.

Second Master Chu sensed the anger emanating from him and noticed the empty drawer. After a moment's thought, he...

"Your grandfather's belongings are missing? What could he have left behind that would be worth stealing? Could it be the original manual?"

"Right!"

Chu Tianshu gave a muffled reply, placed the drawer on the table, took a transparent plastic box that came with instant noodles, and walked to the corner.

The several medicinal liquor jars in the corner of the living room are all large glass jars, and they are also fitted with water dispenser faucets.

He estimated the quantities, filled three kinds of medicinal wine, then filled mineral water and stirred them with a silver needle.

"When the water stops flowing, the mind is still; when the water stops, the mind is calm; when the mind is clear and undisturbed, there is no disturbance... When you reach the end of the watercourse, sit and watch the clouds rise; the sky is bright and clear, and the sunset glows to protect you!"

Chu Tianshu muttered to himself while stirring the mixture continuously.

The box of amber-colored liquor, after his incantation and stirring, turned transparent, like clear water.

He put the plastic box into the drawer.

The drinks were still spinning, but not very fast.

But after a full ten seconds, it continued to spin at that moderate speed, which seemed rather mysterious.

After a while, fragments resembling bamboo charcoal ash appeared in the wine.

The vortex is slowing down.

Second Master Chu could also clearly see that the debris seemed to have appeared out of thin air, rising from the bottom of the water to the surface.

The "Rosy Cloud Robe Heart and Body Protection Incantation" is a mantra used on people to calm the mind and dispel evil spirits.

However, if the incantation is used on this medicinal wine, it will produce a peculiar effect similar to "yin and yang attracting each other".

It will absorb the evil influences from outside into the medicinal wine.

"It's not enough!"

Second Master Chu was also familiar with this usage.

"The person who stole the item probably didn't arrive in the last few days; you can only detect a very faint aura from them now."

Chu Tianshu thought for a moment, then walked to the bedroom door.

There were only his footprints in the bedroom.

After finding the item, the person must have used some kind of trick, like blowing a gust of wind, to stir up all the dust in the room before leaving, thus erasing their footprints.

If he had carried an electric fan with him and blasted it, Chu Tianshu really wouldn't have been able to do anything, but since he was indoors and had used magic...

Chu Tianshu once again used his Insight Technique.

The Method of Inner and Outer Insight aspects can capture the details of the outside world, but it will also attract a little evil energy.

However, the slightest bit of evil energy absorbed through observation would be neutralized by the boxer's powerful yang energy the moment it touched the body.

Chu Tianshu hesitated for a moment outside the door before saying, "Second Grandfather, if you sense any unusual energy, please remove it."

Second Master Chu walked over and took out a jade pendant hanging around his neck.

This Xianhe pendant is carved with a crane on one side and a crow on the other, one side is white and the other is black. He bought it at a high price when he was young.

"The key to finding dragons in mountains lies in the two words 'Dragon God,' where 'God' represents spirit and 'Dragon' represents substance. Don't assume dragons only dwell in high mountains, for their true form is lost on flat land..."

"When a dragon reaches the plains, don't ask where it lies; just observe the water flowing around it—that is the true dragon. Reciting dragon scriptures without discerning eyesight renders even ten thousand scrolls of truth meaningless."

Second Master Chu held the black side up in his palm, made a hand seal with his left hand while chanting an incantation, and then swept it horizontally in front of his eyes, but there was a hint of doubt on his face.

"I can't sense anything unusual in this room."

"Don't rush!!"

Chu Tianshu's eyes flashed with a light that seemed to expand and contract as he began to take a deep breath.

The length of that breath made Second Master Chu's gaze shift from doubt to surprise, and he couldn't help but scrutinize him.

As he inhaled, the subtle energy that was barely perceptible to Second Master Chu in the room began to flow towards the door.

Like vapor gathering into dew!

Second Master Chu sensed a strange aura faintly appearing in front of Chu Tianshu's mouth and nose.

The black jade pendant was quickly pushed out and waved in front of Chu Tianshu's mouth and nose to capture that aura.

"That should be enough."

Second Master Chu hurriedly walked to the table, pressed the black side of the jade pendant to his forehead, slid it to the tip of his nose, took a quick sniff, and then blew a breath onto the wine.

On the surface of the liquor, it looked as if an invisible hand was poking at it with a black pen, adding dozens more crumbs.

A simple sorcerer can use Mind Power Mind Power to stimulate yang energy or suppress it, temporarily containing external evils.

When necessary, they can perform some simple spellcasting steps using their mouths and noses.

My grandfather was very clean when he used needles to prick people, but when he used needles to prick evil spirits, he liked to lick the needle tip first.

That lick could either increase yang energy or attract evil energy.

What exactly the added effect is, only the person licking it knows; it's very convenient.

Chu Tianshu didn't have this habit. He simply held the needle in his hand, recited the incantation a few more times, and then placed the silver needle on the water's surface.

The silver needle did not sink; it remained in the center of the water's surface. Suddenly, it turned, like a compass.

However, the tip of the needle is pointing southeast.

Chu Tianshu closed the lid of the plastic box, grabbed it, and walked out.

"Wait a minute, why don't you ride a bike? It's too much work to get around on your own."

Second Master Chu went to the corridor to push Chu Tianshu's electric scooter and asked, "Where are the keys?"

Chu Tianshu glanced at it and said, "It hasn't been charged for a month."

Grandpa used to leave behind a car, but when Chu Tianshu drove it to seek medical treatment, it was smashed by a patient who had been possessed by an evil spirit.

Although he received payment and compensation afterward, Chu Tianshu's medication dosage increased, so he didn't change vehicles again, but only bought two electric scooters as backup.

"Second Grandpa, you should go home first. I can walk pretty fast now."

He had just stepped outside the river when he saw a car with the words "Public Security" printed on it driving down the high slope at the entrance of the village.

That was quite a coincidence; he simply stopped and waited for a few minutes.

The car pulled up, and Chief Lin got out.

"What? Did we really run into a burglar?!"

Chief Lin handed the cell phone from a sealed plastic bag to Chu Tianshu, and then noticed the box in Chu Tianshu's hand.

"That silver needle tracking trick again? You've never even seen a thief before, how can you track them like that?"

Chu Tianshu said, "This person isn't an ordinary thief. Chief, could you give us a ride?"

Chief Lin asked nervously, "He's not an ordinary person. What did he steal?"

"I hope it's not some big case; I'm almost retired."

Even so, he still casually opened the passenger door and asked, "Let me make a call and find some helpers at the station."

Second Master Chu walked over and said, "No need. You grassroots soldiers don't usually carry guns. You just have a flashlight, a baton, and a riot fork—that's all you have. Whether you call for backup or not doesn't really matter."

"Tianshu and I will go together. We'll get there and take a look first. We don't necessarily have to rush into action."

Second Master Chu opened the back door of the car and got in.

After getting into the car, Chu Tianshu pointed in the direction of the silver needle.

After climbing the high slope at the village entrance, turning a corner, and driving on the main road for a short distance, you turn onto a small road in the neighboring village.

It wasn't until he was heading down from the entrance of the neighboring village that Chief Lin remembered.

"Wouldn't it be too conspicuous to just drive the police station's car there?"

Second Master Chu sighed, "Old Lin, you've really been living a life of luxury these past few years. You make such a fuss over the smallest things. This is just a police station car, not one of those sirens-blaring cars from the city bureau."

It's not uncommon for police cars to drive through nearby villages and towns.

Chief Lin retorted, "Not all city police cars honk loudly. Most of them are in plainclothes, and you wouldn't recognize the cars they drive."

Just then, they saw it from afar.

About 200 meters ahead, there were several cars parked on the bridge and path of a house in this village.

A large group of people were going in and out; some were in plainclothes, and some were in uniform.

Chu Tianshu looked down at the silver needle, which was pointing to that house.

Chief Lin's expression changed.

"Oh no, it seems to really be the Municipal Bureau."

He drove closer, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out to inquire.

Chu Tianshu also got out of the car, but didn't go over; he just stood outside the car and looked at the house.

He was so focused that he could hear not only the conversation between Chief Lin and others, but also the sounds coming from every room in the building.

Second Master Chu got out of the car, his expression one of surprise and doubt. "Isn't this Kong Wenju's house?"

Chu Tianshu turned his head. "You know Second Grandfather?"

"They live in the neighboring village, and they're all experts; of course we've dealt with them before."

Second Master Chu said, "But your grandfather and I don't know exactly what he practices. We only know that he seems to have some expertise in antiques and curios, and he owns an antique shop in the city."

"Hey, maybe they have some genuine items, but the ones in that shop are just handicrafts."

Second Master Chu, getting increasingly agitated, said, "Your grandfather even treated him back then! If this shameless scoundrel really stole your things, I'd spit in his face!"

Chu Tianshu said quietly, "I'm afraid you won't be able to spit on him."

According to these people from the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Kong Wenju did commit a serious crime, but the matter would not fall on Chief Lin and his team.

Because Kong Wenju stole calligraphy, paintings, and rare books from several collectors in the city.

The method was very bizarre; even the victims couldn't explain how the theft happened. The safe they had hidden in was also opened, making it seem as if they had taken the items out themselves and given them to the thief.

But it seems like he's a first-time offender and has no experience in this area.

Clever methods alone are useless; he stole from people he already knew and dealt with regularly.

After questioning several victims, the city police used their connections to identify several suspects, including him.

Then, upon investigation, it turned out that the person had sold the antique shop and had gone on a long trip a few days prior—it was practically an admission of guilt.

As for where they went, the city police were being cautious and did not disclose it.

Chu Tianshu got back into the car and borrowed his second grandfather's phone to call his Brother Baisui.