Chapter 14: The Thief

  "Quanshui Street is indeed the most prosperous place in Jinghai County, and this place is no worse than some big cities."

  Yang Yun walked casually, feeling the evening breeze blowing over the river surface, and finally stopped at the entrance of a two-story wine building, looking up at the signboard.

  "The guest won't return, good, good name - let's choose this one then." He said and lifted his leg to walk into the gate.

  A young waiter came over with a smile and said, "Welcome, sir! Are you here for the downstairs or upstairs VIP room?"

  Yang Yun glanced around and saw that the seats on the first floor were already half full, so he said, "Let's go upstairs."

  "Welcome, sir!"

  The little servant busily led Yang Yun upstairs.

  The second floor was a room separated by bamboo walls, Yang Yun found a small room near the window, and Xiao Er handed over the menu.

  "Braised pork, honey sauce fire square, pepper chicken, vegetarian crispy eel, stir-fried eggplant, fried fish rolls, osmanthus fish strips, five-cloud ham, three-color steamed eggs, glutinous rice lotus root. Hmm, add another sand pot tofu fish head, six large honey rice dumplings."

  The little servant hesitated and asked: "Sir, will there be anyone else coming here later? Do you want to switch to the larger room next door?"

  "Never mind, just hurry up and serve the dishes."

  "Yes, sir, would you like some wine?"

  "Three years old Huadiao wine."

  The waiter remembered clearly and hurried downstairs to order dishes.

  Before long, all sorts of dishes were brought up like flowing water, and they were arranged in two layers on the table. There were still some that couldn't fit, so the waiter moved over a small table and squeezed them onto it beside.

  Yang Yun pulled up the curtain, took a bite of food, drank a mouthful of wine, gazed out at the flow of people on the street outside the window, and the tour boats passing by on the small river, feeling carefree.

  "Life is short. Even if one's cultivation is successful and they live for tens of thousands of years, it will still pass in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace, like water. To speak of it, perhaps it's not necessarily better than the happiness of ordinary people."

  Yang Yun thought about his past life in the dream, although he had almost cultivated to the peak, but every day was busy condensing his magical powers, breaking through boundaries, refining elixirs and medicines, responding to disasters and calamities, one critical moment followed another, and there wasn't much time for a peaceful life, so he cherished the present even more.

  "Sigh, drinking alone is not fun, it would be better if family members were also here. But no rush, wait until I win the lottery, then they will truly be happy." Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Yang Yun's face.

  The little servant waiting outside the room was secretly licking his tongue, "Geez, this guy looks so refined and cultured, how can he eat so much? - Won't he be hungry for over a dozen days? He ordered so many things, I don't know if he'll have enough money to pay later."

  Yang Yun in the room was slightly drunk, and the wine and dishes on the table had already gone down by 40% or 50%.

  The quiet yuan transforms the essence, and the supply is so abundant that it is running at full speed. The food essences are transformed into strands, condensing in the orifices of the wrists, ankles, etc.

  In the past few days, Shi Hai has already completed the derivation of the Jie Yuan Hua Jing's secret to refining Qi. After all, it is a shallow and simple technique that doesn't require much effort. Unfortunately, the Moon Flower True Classic had originally been derived up to the fifth layer, but encountered an obstacle and had to be retreated back to the third layer for re-derivation.

  Yang Yun's Jiyuan Jingqi Jue had become extremely proficient, and the path of Gongfa was already fixed. Now it has almost become a kind of instinct. As long as he eats more than a certain amount of food, Jiyuan Jingqi Jue starts to run automatically, without Yang Yun having to worry about it.

  The moon rises higher and higher, the moonlight shines in the wine cup, Yang Yun takes a sip, and chants: "When drinking, don't stop. When life is pleasant, one should enjoy it to the fullest, don't let the golden goblet face the moon alone. Haha haha——"

  "It's all over, he's had too much to drink and is starting to talk nonsense. If he uses his drunkenness as an excuse to cause trouble later, it'll be a problem." The waiter was eavesdropping outside the door, feeling anxious in his heart.

  A round of wine and dishes, they ate until the middle of the night, only then was Yang Yun satisfied.

  Most of the food was used as ingredients for the Silent Yuan's Refining Technique, and in reality, only the last two zongzi were left to fill their stomachs. Rubbing his slightly bulging belly, Yang Yun suddenly felt that eating his way through the world wasn't a bad idea after all.

  "I originally thought it was a useless skill, but it actually has such a wonderful use. I can enjoy the pleasure of eating and drinking without getting bloated, and also increase my strength. It's really a win-win situation."

  Yang Yun calculated the time, it was still a bit early, so he continued to cultivate the Moon Flower True Classic for a while. The Recognizing Sea was a major consumer of his energy, constantly draining the true energy he had cultivated with great difficulty, and he could practice more if he wanted to.

  The wine house lives up to its name "Guests Do Not Return". Although it was already the second half of the night, the waiter was still propping up his spirits and waiting outside.

  Yang Yun walked out by himself, and Xiao Er hastily accompanied him, saying: "Sir, what are your orders?"

  Yang Yun seemed to smile but didn't quite smile as he glanced at Xiao Er, "Nothing's wrong, it's getting late and we should head back."

  "This, this, that..." The shop assistant was so anxious that he was sweating all over his head, thinking about how to ask for the meal expenses. If Yang Yun didn't pay up, the boss would definitely deduct a portion of his wages.

  "Haha, it's just for the meal, take it, there's plenty more as a reward" Yang Yun handed over a silver ingot worth about six taels.

  Xiao Er was overjoyed, this silver ingot settled the meal expenses and there was still a lot left over. It was really worth serving with anxiety for so long. Serving customers in the wine house didn't pay much, relying on tips received. Yang Yun's tip for this meal was enough to top up what he earned in three or four days normally.

  With great respect, Yang Yun was sent off. Xiao Er came to the private room to clean up and was suddenly shocked, "Heavens! They actually finished everything!"

  As he walked onto the street, Yang Yun slightly felt a bit of intoxication. He subtly circulated his Moon True Qi and a refreshing sensation revolved around his head, instantly making him feel refreshed and clear-headed, with all signs of intoxication gone.

  The distant sound of a night watchman striking four o'clock on his wooden clapper came drifting over. "Just in time," Yang Yun thought to himself.

  He came to the county school library with ease, still entering through the old place by climbing over the wall.

  The county school library is quiet and deserted, with no one around.

  Yang Yun arrived at the outside of the yamen, saw that the door was tightly closed, and a copper lock had been added to the outside.

  "As expected, they've already returned." Yang Yun had secretly listened in on Du Longfei and the old runner's discussion and knew that by now they had already divided up the books.

  "It's still locked, fortunately I was prepared."

  Yang Yun took out two iron wires and inserted them into the keyhole.

  "On one hand, he was making a fuss, on the other hand, he sighed, 'Alas, if only we had laid the foundation, it would have been settled with just one Falling Lock technique.'"

  Picking locks with iron wire is a skill that only thieves possess, Yang Yun has never practiced it before, but Yang Yun also has his own methods.

  The faint moonlight shines on the copper lock, and the moonlight contains a kind of spiritual energy. Most of the moonlight is reflected back by the surface of the copper lock, but some of it seeps into the interior of the copper lock.

  There are many kinds of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, which can penetrate into all things, including the human body. This is the foundation of all cultivation. However, unless one is a spiritual being, it is impossible to retain these energies. The first realm of cultivation, refining energy and condensing the aperture, is precisely using these energies to refine the body and transform true energy.

  Yang Yun activated the Moonlight Spirit Eye, and the copper lock reflected the moonlight in its entirety. At the same time, the sea of consciousness began to simulate, as the copper lock's surface reflection of the moonlight was too intense, the sea of consciousness automatically weakened its intensity and strengthened the reflections from within.

  In an instant, a vivid copper lock appeared in the sea of knowledge.

  The outside of this copper lock is just a faint shadow, while the internal structure is clearly visible, even the iron wire that is searching for the locking point is displayed.

  Yang Yun found all the locking points and gently twisted the iron wire. With a "click" sound, the copper lock opened.

  Entering the room, under the dim moonlight, one can see that there are books scattered all over the place.

  Yang Yun walked over to a desk and lit a fire with a match, illuminating the oil lamp on it.

  Yang Yun looked around and found that the scattered books were all "miscellaneous books" unrelated to the imperial examination, obviously Du Longfei's sorting work had been thoroughly completed.

  A neat stack of books was found in the corner of the house, and Yang Yun flipped through a few volumes, immediately confirming that these were the ones Du Longfei had sorted out and planned to secretly take away with the cargo truck the next day.

  "Haha, Du Longfei, you've even taken the money from a poor student like me. This time, I'll just play the role of a night thief and teach you a lesson." Yang Yun found a seal from the county school's library on his desk, and then pulled out a hidden ink, smiling smugly.