lcionline Chapter 476 Dojo, Unlocking New Characters
Chapter 476 Dojo, Unlocking New Characters
Li Mo thought about it and felt it made sense.
Over the years, his family's life has gotten better and better. His father hasn't changed at all; he's still the same good man who is filial to his parents and loves his wife and children.
During a time of famine, his mother lost a child due to exhaustion, and her health deteriorated after that.
Later, when things got better, he tried to conceive for a long time but was no longer able to. So, in his generation, the Li family still only had one male heir.
However, my father never thought of taking a concubine. Other officials' stewards, although they did not have concubines on the surface, all had mistresses in private.
But his father never even considered it.
The hot pot bubbled and bubbled, with the red and white broths embracing each other in a yin-yang symbol.
"I am full?"
"I'm full, young master!"
"Alright, then let's get some rest. We have important business to attend to at midnight!"
"Alright, young master, just call me when we set off."
Jiang Xiaoqi made the most of her one-day holiday.
Jiang Xiaoqi certainly couldn't let go of the owner who was said to be a habitual seeker of immortality by the stern-faced shop assistant at the liquor store.
There's no time like the present, let's do it today!
At midnight, Jiang Xiaoqi woke up Li Mo, and the two headed towards the Taoist temple of the wine shop owner, as instructed by the dark-faced shopkeeper.
The pale moonlight spilled onto the ground, casting a layer of silver frost over their figures.
Actually, today isn't a good day for night travel. The fifteenth of the lunar calendar has only passed a few days ago, and the moon is still mostly hanging in the sky.
While the brightness wasn't enough to clearly see a person's facial features, it was at least enough to make out their general shape.
The owner of the liquor shop lived in the north of the city, where small businesses were located.
The wine shop owner's house was at the end of the alley, which was rather narrow, so Jiang Xiaoqi and his servant simply didn't walk on the ground.
After all, the view from above is better. Who would use their light-footed skills instead of relying on their two legs?
They used their light-footed skills to quickly traverse the rooftops. As they approached the end of the alley, Jiang Xiaoqi suddenly raised her hand, signaling Li Mo to stop.
In the courtyard ahead, a faint fire could be seen flickering, accompanied by a low voice, as if chanting some kind of spell.
The two cautiously approached and peered down from the edge of the roof.
In the courtyard, a person dressed in a Taoist robe was chanting incantations around a Bagua formation, which was filled with various strange magical artifacts.
Flames occasionally leaped within the formation, like will-o'-the-wisps.
Li Mo sniffed, smelled a familiar scent, and turned to look at Jiang Xiaoqi.
Jiang Xiaoqi nodded silently, indicating that she had also smelled it.
Yes, it smells like sulfur, even stronger than it did during the day in the dilapidated temple.
There is definitely sulfur in this makeshift shrine in the courtyard, and of course, there may also be saltpeter and charcoal powder.
Finding the whereabouts of several items so quickly seems a bit too easy.
Just then, the man in the Taoist robe suddenly stopped his rambling and looked up sharply at the rooftop where they were, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
Jiang Xiaoqi knew something was wrong and was about to pull Li Mo away when she saw the Taoist wave his hands, and several silver lights shot towards them like arrows.
The two quickly used their lightness skills to dodge, and silver light flew past their clothes, revealing several barbed darts.
Seeing that his attack had missed, the Taoist priest muttered incantations, and suddenly a thick plume of smoke erupted from the Bagua formation, enveloping the entire courtyard.
When the thick smoke dissipated, the Taoist priest and the Bagua formation had vanished without a trace.
Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Mo landed and rushed into the courtyard to check. They found only some residual sulfur powder and a few pieces of yellow paper covered with strange runes in a corner.
"This Taoist is no ordinary person; he was able to sense our presence."
Jiang Xiaoqi said with a frown.
"Sir, what do we do next? This person just vanished into thin air? This is too bizarre!" Li Mo asked, somewhat bewildered.
"Let's be careful and check for any clues first, then we'll discuss it further when we get back."
The two began to search the yard carefully.
Li Mo found a tattered booklet under a stone bench. The paper was yellowed and brittle, and the writing was somewhat blurred, but some records about alchemy and formations could still be made out.
"Sir, is this thing useful?"
"It's a pill formula. Let's put it away for now. I guess the other party accidentally left it behind."
Jiang Xiaoqi found a small cloth bag in the corner, opened it and found that it contained some cinnabar.
"It seems that this Taoist priest is indeed refining something. Many Taoist priests like to use cinnabar."
"It's not charcoal powder and saltpeter?"
Li Mo thought that the two of them had found the whereabouts of the things from earlier that day, but unexpectedly, only the sulfur matched.
There was indeed no trace of saltpeter or charcoal powder.
Just as the two were about to head back, they heard light footsteps outside the wall. Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Mo exchanged a glance and quickly concealed themselves.
A moment later, a dark figure scaled the wall and entered, seemingly searching for something. After searching the courtyard without success, the figure climbed back over the wall.
"Sir, shall we not give chase?"
"No need to chase, let him run for a while."
"Huh? How are we supposed to chase them if they've disappeared without a trace?!"
Jiang Xiaoqi gave a meaningful smile and pulled the bewildered Li Mo out of the courtyard.
As soon as he came out, Li Mo seemed to understand why his master was so calm.
Some faint fluorescent lights shimmered and flickered in the darkness and under the moonlight.
"Sir, when did you do this?!"
"Hey~ It's just a favor~?"
It turned out that Jiang Xiaoqi had secretly sprinkled strong fluorescent powder on the person while the shadowy figure was searching.
With the fluorescent powder from this system's online store as a guide, there's no need to worry about losing track of someone late at night.
The two followed the fluorescent light quickly, seemingly unaware of the shadowy figure, who hurried along.
About half an hour later, the shadowy figure used the nine-clawed copper hook to leave the city.
Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Mo climbed over the city wall and continued following, feeling that the route looked somewhat familiar.
Sure enough, after another hour or so, the familiar dilapidated temple stood before them.
The dark figure entered the dilapidated temple and never came out again. It seems they hadn't looked at the temple carefully during the day.
There should be a secret passage here, but I don't know where it leads.
It shouldn't lead to the capital. If it did, this person wouldn't need to waste time climbing over the wall to enter the capital; they could just take the secret passage directly.
You won't be detected and don't need to bypass the Great Firewall, so the security level is top-notch!
It would have been unwise for the two not to risk entering the dilapidated temple to find the secret passage.
Not knowing how many enemies there are, and facing a secret passage with no known destination, puts you in a very passive position.
This time, I'll just come along to find out that this dilapidated temple holds an even bigger secret. Didn't the Prince of Xuan Nan offer to lend him manpower?
Why not take advantage of it? This secret passage exploration is perfect for Xuan Nan Wang's men; it's both exciting and challenging.
If they discover any treasures from a previous dynasty, Jiang Xiaoqi will never keep them all to himself. Everyone should share the spoils; sharing is worse than keeping it to oneself!