Chapter 29: Tong Chuan's Secret Stake

  A master's ability is not just about refining true yuan, strengthening the body and yuan soul, but also requires matching techniques to transform true yuan into various dao methods and divine abilities. Liang Xin now has true yuan, but still doesn't have divine abilities, can neither take objects from a distance nor harm people with sword energy.

  "The Earth Conquering Spirit" is a complete book, but it only contains the art of refining Qi and does not have any magical powers. Liang Xin couldn't learn any magic from his school, so he went to ask Hu Lu, but Hu Lu was very fierce and ignored him...

  Qingmo couldn't see through the subtlety, and a small bump appeared between her eyebrows: "In my opinion, the person who wrote this manual didn't think about cultivating Taoist skills at all." The young lady's thoughts were quick-witted, and she immediately guessed the key point. It turned out that the owner of this manual was a standard recluse, who only thought about enlightenment and ascension, never contacting outsiders, having no enemies, and not intending to fight with others. Therefore, his manual only had physical cultivation methods but no defensive techniques.

  Liang Xin is now robust and full of energy, jumping around like the wind, exerting force to shatter rocks, but unfortunately has no magic to use. In contrast, Qu Qingmo's foundation is far inferior to Liang Xin's, however, she has learned a lot of magic from 'Embroidered Water'.

  "Embroidered Water" is also a strange art, the techniques are unique and do not focus on harming enemies, but rather on displaying soft water illusions to the extreme, including easy disguise, shape-shifting, and dazzling five-colors that confuse and disorient.

  That night, Liang Xin had finished practicing his inner strength and was feeling hungry. He was hesitating between going to dig up bird eggs or eating peaches when a cold light suddenly flashed before his eyes. Under the starry moonlight, he saw a masked man wielding a sharp blade, flying towards him in a pounce.

  Liáng Xīn was startled at first, dodging the opponent's fierce attack with a sidestep. He then revealed a relaxed expression and chuckled: "Big brother, stop messing around! With Master sitting in Huāngǒu Valley, outsiders can't get in."

  The assassin froze in place, tossed aside the dagger with a flirtatious glance, and wiped his face to reveal his true identity - Liu Yi.

  Liu Yi still had some doubts and asked Liang Xin: "Even if you knew it was one of our own people, how did you determine that the one who came wasn't Lao Er?"

  Liáng Xīn burst out laughing: "Second Brother is so arrogant, this kind of boring task will definitely be handed over to you!"

  As soon as the words fell, another familiar laughter came from afar, Qu Qing Shi jumped down from a big tree and nodded at Liang Xin with a smile: "Clever!"

  Liang Xin was overjoyed, it was the first time in five years that his two sworn brothers had come to see him together. He held one hand of Liu Yi and the other of Qu Qing Shi, beaming with joy: "How did you both end up coming... is there food?"

  At this time, Qu Qingmo also heard the sound and rushed over, holding her brother's hand and chattering non-stop. The four siblings walked into Liang Xin's small hut, laughing and talking together.

  As soon as they entered the house, before Liang Xin could speak, Qu Qing Shi took out a package from his bosom and slammed it onto the table with a "thud", laughing: "Open it up and take a look!"

  In the package, several small gold ingots shone brightly. Liang Xin held them in his hand, feeling their weight. After a moment, his eyes lit up with excitement as he gazed at the glittering gold. He looked up, surprised and delighted, exclaiming: "You are... I, I'm going to leave the mountain?!"

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  Under Da Yu's rule, there were nine provinces and thirty-one prefectures.

  Yinzhou is located in the northwest, with many hills and little rain. It is considered one of the poorest states among the nine states of Zhongtu.

  Yinzhou's west side is the famous Kunye Mountain, and its north side is the Saiwai Grassland. It governs four major cities: Zhenning, Jiuan, Tongchuan, and Kuye. Among them, Zhenning City is the state capital. Kuye and Tongchuan were originally border fortresses, but after the great flood, all the barbarians in the grasslands surrendered, and there was no more war, only trade exchanges remained. These two cities gradually became prosperous and developed.

  In these years, Liu Yi and Qu Qing Shi's official career has been smooth sailing. Qu Qing Shi was promoted to a higher rank and is now the commander of the Nine Dragons Temple in Yin Prefecture. As the leader of a prefecture, he wears a blue robe, which is equivalent to a fourth-rank official, and can be considered a high-ranking official.

  Liu Yi also rose from Tongling to Qianhu, garrisoning the heavily fortified Suyan Pass.

  The two brothers, one is the governor of Qingyi Prefecture and the other is the commander of the underworld, are currently enjoying a peaceful life in their respective domains. Although their territories may be somewhat barren, their official duties are relatively easy-going.

  Qing Shi was pestered by his sister and had no chance to speak, Liu Yi smiled and said: "I've discussed with Lao Er, we plan to let you come out of the mountain!" Then, before Liang Xin could cheer, he suddenly turned serious and said in a low voice: "Don't be happy yet, letting you go out is because there's something for you to do!"

  Banshan Temple, Yu Bi Jing Guai, Jin Nan Fei Liu Yan, Ling Long Yu Xiang and the headless person without identity, Song Hong Pao... Five years ago, three brothers found many clues related to Liang Yi Er's past in Kunai Mountain, but these clues were scattered and confusing.

  After investigation by Qu and Liu, there was only one clue left to follow.

  "Speaking of which, Liu Yi deliberately lowered his voice: "Old Three, do you still remember Tian Ce Men?"

  Liang Xin immediately nodded, and at the time when Liang Yier was assassinated by Song Hongpao, he mentioned a sentence: It's not that Tian Ce Men is not working, it's not that you, Song Hongpao, are not working! What a pity.

  Liu nodded in satisfaction and continued: "All other leads have been cut off, only this Tian Ce Men can be pursued."

  Qing Shi Jie Kou: "Tian Ce Men is just an ordinary human faction, registered in the government. Its power is quite general, and unlike other Jianghu factions, this faction does not control any industry or commerce. The economic source relies entirely on the disciples' membership fees, it can even be said that it's simply a martial arts hall."

  Perhaps it is because of this way that there is no conflict of interest with the outside world, so the history of Tiān Cè Mén is not short, and it has been established for 800 years.

  Tian Ce Men has only one main altar, located in Bian Guan Tong Chuan, which is one of the four prefectures under Qu Qing Shi.

  As for its history, there's nothing special about it. Since ancient times, Tongchuan has been a border fortress, with constant wars and battles. Some retired or disabled soldiers settled here, and in order to strengthen themselves and protect themselves, they passed on some combat skills from the military to their children and younger generations, thus forming a school of martial arts. The disciples under this school were mostly descendants of military personnel.

  Qu Qing Shi and Liu also changed their appearance several times to secretly visit Tian Ce Men, but they still couldn't find any suspicious places.

  Qu Qing Shi continued, "Since the investigation and secret visits did not reveal anything unusual, we need a mole who can keep an eye on Tian Ce Men for a long time, waiting for him to make a mistake."

  As he spoke, Qu Qing Shi let out a deep sigh: "We can handle the open investigation and secret visits, but we can't do the long-term undercover work. This case is related to Lord Liang's old case, so it must be handled by our own people. However, my trusted subordinates all died in the mine."

  Liang Xin nodded hastily in agreement, while Qu Qingmo was also silent now, looking pitifully at his sister.

  Qu Qing Shi ignored his sister and continued to say to Liang Xin, "The money is for you to rent a shop near Tongchuan Strategy Gate, to be used as a secret stake."

  Liu also chimed in from the side: "Old Three, have you thought of what business you want to start yet?"

  Liang Xin burst out laughing and replied without thinking: "Restaurant!"

  Qing Shi continued to instruct, "Tongchuan is one of the four prefectures under my jurisdiction, but the Qianhu of the Green Robe Guard there is not my person, he is the trusted aide of the Grand Manager. Our matter cannot be known by him, so this covert operation will have to rely on you to take charge of it yourself. Except for special occasions when we need to exchange messages, we won't interfere with you."

  He said, "If you lose all the capital I gave you and can't make a living in Tongchuan, then get out of here and go back to Houzigou!" He paused for a moment, his face suddenly becoming serious: "Listen carefully, losing money is nothing, but don't even think about resorting to evil ways to make it!"

  Liang Xin nodded in agreement. At this time, Liu also patted Qing Shi's shoulder and lightly pointed to the little girl Qing Mo who had not spoken for half a day.

  Qing was so angry that her eyes were red, and she looked like she would burst into loud crying at any moment.

  Qing's eyes sparkled with amusement as he stroked his sister's hair and said, "A seventeen-year-old young lady, always hanging out with a monkey, isn't quite right."

  Qing Mo listened to his tone and suddenly a bright smile burst forth on her face.

  Qu Qing Shi hastily waved his hand to stop her cheers, and asked seriously: "Your Embroidered Water Illusion Technique must be truly cultivated well, I will let you go out of the mountain with Liang Xin... Create an illusion of an old man for me to see."

  He responded with a crisp and lively tone, his body quickly turning around, and when he turned back, he had already transformed into an approximately sixty-year-old, affable-looking stout old man. Not only did his appearance change, but also his attire and hairstyle changed simultaneously, without any flaws no matter how one looked at him.

  Qū Qīng's embroidery-like magic was vivid and lifelike, Liáng Xīn was just about to applaud loudly, but unexpectedly Qū Qīng's stone face twitched, as if startled, his body trembled, and then he slapped the table with his hand, cursing: "Nonsense!"

  Liu Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing and raised his thumb in praise: "Exactly like it!"

  Liáng Xīn couldn't help but lean in close to Liǔ Yì and ask in a low voice: "Who does he look like?"

  "Brother and sister's real dad!"

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  Qu Qing Shi and Liu Yi seemed to have something else on their minds, and after a detailed entrustment, they left the Monkey Valley at dawn the next day. Before they left, Liang Xin specially asked Qu Qing Shi where his ancestor's tomb was located, but the latter shook his head, saying that even the old Qu family didn't know where Liang Yi Er's grave was.

  Liang Xin and Qing Mo stayed for another day, bidding farewell to Chou Niang, Yao Wang and the group of monkeys. Chou Niang was not good with words, only repeatedly entrusting them with a few sentences: "Be careful of enemies, pay attention to your body, don't fight, come back often."

  The demon king calabaza was in a dilemma, he didn't have any treasures that could be used by human cultivators, they were all monkey spirits and ghosts, occasionally collecting some immortal branches or spiritual grasses, but immediately putting them in their mouths, however, they still had to give something to their disciples, after hesitating for a long time, they simply pretended nothing was wrong, loudly instructing their disciples not to lose the prestige of the Monkey Valley...