Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Situ Qin was slightly astonished. Tilting her head, she looked herself over. She didn’t seem any different.

But she was certain that, like Xie Yuan, her presence had become incredibly indistinct to others.

She glanced at Xie Yuan, then looked away and lowered her head slightly.

’So he used a Secret Technique.’

Noticing that Situ Qin was being well-behaved and had no intention of letting go of his hand, Xie Yuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness the Celestial Concealment Skill works...’

The two left hand-in-hand. With Situ Qin leading the way, they hugged the corners of the walls, swiftly sneaking toward the Inspector General’s mansion.

Back then, there were no streetlights. Everything was illuminated by the stars, the moon, and the lanterns carried by the night watchmen and patrolmen. However, both of them were late-stage External Training practitioners who also cultivated Inner Power. Their senses were sharp, and they could find their way without a lantern. Twice, they spotted lanterns approaching from a distance. They would simply stand in a corner by the wall, and thanks to the Celestial Concealment Skill, the patrolmen couldn’t see them no matter what.

After turning two street corners, Xie Yuan and Situ Qin arrived outside a large estate. On the plaque above the main entrance, the words "Peng Mansion" were written in a flamboyant, cursive script. From a distance, they could see the main entrance brightly lit by lanterns, with two servants standing guard on either side.

Situ Qin pulled Xie Yuan into a side alley. They found a side door, and after a quick look, she gestured that they should enter from above, using the eaves of the door.

Xie Yuan confirmed with a hand signal, then temporarily let go of her small hand. He leaped, pushed off the high wall to gain height, and stretched out an arm, just barely catching the top of the wall’s eaves.

’The wall is really high, and I don’t have any Lightweight Skill...’

He turned and reached down for Situ Qin, but she just gave him a faint smile. Instead of taking his hand, she tapped her feet lightly on the ground, spun up onto the wall, and easily vaulted over.

Xie Yuan froze for a moment. He poked his head over the edge of the wall and saw a garden below. Situ Qin was standing at the foot of the wall, waving at him.

’Her Lightweight Skill is so cool.’

He vaulted over and landed softly. Before he could speak, a small hand actively slipped into his.

Xie Yuan’s heart fluttered. He heard Situ Qin’s voice, as soft as a mosquito’s buzz:

"Where do you want to go first?"

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment before replying in a low voice:

"Mainly the study, and also the pharmacy."

He had already formulated a plan and discussed it with Situ Qin on the way. The best-case scenario was to find evidence of Yu Chunsheng bribing Peng Yue, and to find out why he had consulted with the Pharmacist that one time.

Situ Qin nodded lightly, tried to get her bearings, and said with some uncertainty:

"His pharmacy seems to be in this direction. Let’s head there first."

Xie Yuan followed Situ Qin, sneaking along. They listened for sounds to orient themselves, stuck to the walls, and preemptively avoided the servants and guards. The journey was smooth and uneventful.

Forget the Celestial Concealment Skill; even without it, this bunch of guards wouldn’t have been able to detect them.

They both felt a little relaxed. It seemed the security at the Inspector General’s mansion was rather lax.

That made sense. The Great Li Dynasty had enjoyed a long period of peace, with only occasional skirmishes in a few border towns. The realm was tranquil. Even if there were some master thieves or petty crooks, few would dare to break into a mansion like this. The Six Gates were not to be trifled with.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin quickened their pace. Just as they were about to pass through a moon gate ahead, Situ Qin’s expression suddenly changed. She yanked Xie Yuan down, forcing him to the ground, and dove into a flower bush herself.

Before Xie Yuan could react, he suddenly heard faint footsteps, as if they had appeared out of thin air!

His heart tightened. ’These footsteps are completely inaudible from a distance. It must be an expert.’

The moonlight dimmed as a middle-aged man with his hands behind his back emerged from the moon gate. His gaze was like lightning as he scanned his surroundings.

The Qi and Blood surging from his body was so potent that even from a distance, Xie Yuan and Situ Qin could clearly feel it. He was a master of the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm!

Hiding in the flower bush, they both felt a tangible gaze sweep over them. Their scalps tingled, and they forced themselves to suppress their pounding hearts, remaining perfectly still.

Fortunately, the man didn’t spot them and walked away, step by step.

Only after confirming the man was gone did the two quietly rise, their heads popping out from the flower bush.

They exchanged a look, both feeling the sweat on the other’s palm.

That was too close; they had almost run right into him.

Xie Yuan composed himself and lowered his voice to a bare whisper:

"They only have two masters in the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm. One is on patrol, and the other should be resting. Now that this one has left, it’ll be much safer for us to proceed."

Situ Qin nodded and mouthed her words:

"We should still be careful."

Xie Yuan nodded emphatically. The two continued on, passing through the moon gate and turning another corner, arriving outside the pharmacy.

A lamp was still lit in the pharmacy. They exchanged a look, crept to a side window, and poked a small hole in the window paper to observe secretly.

An apprentice was on duty inside, but he was already fast asleep at his desk, snoring.

Situ Qin volunteered. She silently lifted the side window, vaulted inside, and chopped the back of the apprentice’s neck. Then, like a gust of wind, she swept through the pharmacy’s rooms before returning to the window with a smile.

"It’s clear. The little apprentice should sleep soundly till dawn now."

Xie Yuan vaulted inside, let out a breath, and said in a low voice:

"Let’s split up and search. See if you can find any recent prescription ledgers or anything like that."

Situ Qin nodded, and the two quickly got to work.

The pharmacy was for the Inspector General’s private use and wasn’t very large. Situ Qin quickly finished searching the desk next to the apprentice and found a stack of rough paper.

"I didn’t see anything else, just a few draft prescriptions. This might be a clue. If it were a common medicine, the old Pharmacist wouldn’t need to keep revising the formula."

Xie Yuan took them and saw that the several prescriptions were indeed largely the same, differing only in a few ingredients, as if the writer had been deliberating.

He nodded, tucked the drafts away, and whispered:

"Let’s go to the study."

"Wait."

Just as Xie Yuan was about to leave, Situ Qin pulled his hand, pointing with a grin at the medicine cabinets:

"Lord Peng’s collection of medicines is quite complete, you know."

Hearing this, Xie Yuan glanced over and discovered that several of the precious main ingredients from his cultivation formula were all here!

His eyes lit up, and he whispered:

"Miss Qin, you’re tempting me to do wrong!"

Situ Qin shot him a charmingly fierce glare:

"We’ve already broken into his house. It would be a waste not to take them. Besides, you’ve definitely made a mortal enemy of this Inspector General. It’s just a matter of time."

While grabbing a cloth bag to fill with herbs, Xie Yuan looked at Situ Qin with a smile:

"But it seems Miss Qin isn’t too fond of him either?"

"That Peng Wei is too annoying. And as for Peng Yue, he’s controlled the law and prisons of Yunzhou for years, practicing nepotism and handling cases based only on silver. There have been too many miscarriages of justice. He’s long overdue for some misfortune!"

Situ Qin stepped forward to help Xie Yuan pack the herbs.

The medicinal herbs weren’t heavy or bulky, so packing them didn’t hinder their movements.

This was an unexpected windfall—a cloth pouch filled to the brim with precious herbs!

’Now I have the herbs to help with my Inner Power.’

Xie Yuan tied the pouch to his belt and chuckled:

"Now we’re accomplices, a pair of petty thieves."

"Pah! That sounds awful."

The two slipped out of the pharmacy. Now that Situ Qin had a point of reference, she got her bearings and quickly led them to the courtyard where the study was located. The rest of the way was safe.

The study was much more heavily guarded than the pharmacy. In addition to the two servants at the courtyard entrance, another two stood guard at the study’s door.

But as long as there were no masters of the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, thanks to the wondrous Celestial Concealment Skill, they could walk right past the guards without being noticed.

They climbed the wall into the courtyard, crept to the study’s back window, used their Inner Strength to break the latch, opened the window, and slipped inside.

Shrouded by the Celestial Concealment Skill, the creak of the window didn’t alert the guards at the door at all.

Using the torchlight from outside, Situ Qin surveyed the spacious study and the complex documents on the desk. She leaned close to Xie Yuan’s ear and said:

"How should we search? Go through them one by one?"

Xie Yuan felt a fragrant breeze tickle his ear and shivered. He instinctively squeezed her hand, causing Situ Qin to let out a low cry:

"What are you doing?"

"Don’t stand so close..."

"You’re holding my hand, how can I not be close?"

"...Don’t breathe into my ear. It tickles."

"Who—who breathed on you? You’re being fresh!"

"You were the one breathing on me, okay? Who’s being fresh?"

"You!"

They bickered quietly for a moment. Fortunately, they were both aware of their situation and kept their voices so low they were practically just mouthing the words. Even without the Celestial Concealment Skill, the guards outside wouldn’t have been able to hear them.

Xie Yuan pouted, deciding not to argue with the young miss any further. After a moment of thought, he whispered:

"If it’s ledgers or evidence, they definitely wouldn’t be left out on the desk. We should look for hidden spots, secret compartments, that sort of thing. Anyway, we have until dawn..."

Before he could finish, a small, warm hand suddenly covered his mouth.

"Shh!"

Xie Yuan thought Situ Qin was still sulking, but he saw her listening intently, her brow slightly furrowed.

"...eet..."

"...eet... Lor..."

"...Greetings, my Lord!"

The sound of the greeting grew clearer and closer, almost right outside the study door.

Their eyes widened as they stared at each other, their hearts suddenly racing.

’My Lord?’

’The Inspector General, Peng Yue, why would he come to the study at this hour?’

CREAK.

The study door was pushed open, and an imposing, middle-aged man strode right in.