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"The plan has gone down the drain," Chen Mu sighed.
"I'm really not cut out for undercover work."
Black smoke tumbled in his palm as the "Bone Reading for Physiognomy" manual disappeared without a trace.
He glanced back at the two men at the door, chatting away.
Then he looked up toward the direction of the spiral staircase.
Chen Mu silently placed his hand on the bookshelf, and a billowing black smoke quietly spread out.
An hour later, Chen Mu, with a darkened face, hurriedly left.
Inside the Five Ghosts Bag, there were now dozens more medical and poison compendiums, as well as swordsmanship secret manuals.
At the entrance of Wu Character Camp.
"Brother Song, call your brothers over, let's go have a good time at Chunfeng Tower," Old Ding said with a beaming smile.
"I wouldn't want to disturb your fun, you go enjoy yourself."
After all, if he didn't enjoy himself now, he might not have the chance to ever again.
Chen Mu sent the overly happy Old Ding on his way, then turned to look at the vermilion gate.
"It seems we're destined but not fated," he mused.
With what had happened with Xing Lao Liu, he dared not stay in the Inner City military camp any longer.
It was all quiet now, but what if someone were to spill the beans?
"Third Rank Shape-shifting Technique is still not enough," he thought.
...
As evening approached, at the Prefectural Government Office of the Inner City, inside a small compartment next to the storeroom where the clerk worked.
The plump Chen Zhushi, who should have been off work and resting, stood in the room with a troubled look on his face.
Candles as thick as a child's arm were lit all around, and the room which had been somewhat dim was now brightly illuminated.
Zong Tai sat at the head seat with a grim face.
He stared at Old Ding, who was kneeling in the middle of the room: "What's the background of that Song Jiang?"
"He's a tough guy from Liang Mountain in the north," said Old Ding with a swollen face, not daring to conceal anything, dressed only in a thin layer of clothes.
He had been having a good time at Chunfeng Tower when someone had knocked him out with a punch just as he had climbed into bed.
Dragged out of bed stark naked, he barely had time to grab some clothes to cover himself before he was brought here.
"Where is Liang Mountain?" Zong Tai took a deep breath.
The loss of dozens of medical and poison compendiums and swordsmanship secret manuals from the Scripture Pavilion was trivial.
They could simply demand their return. And with enough money offered, they could even allow the other party to transcribe a copy to keep.
But he had searched high and low and couldn't find this Song Jiang!
"You mean to tell me he's a hero from Liang Mountain, and you didn't know?" Old Ding looked amazed.
Zong Tai was clueless: "Hero of Liang Mountain? Is that famous?"
"Eating big chunks of meat, drinking from large bowls, and sharing out gold with big scales - the one hundred and eight heroes of Liang Mountain. You don't know?" Old Ding couldn't believe it.
Zong Tai looked at Chen Zhushi, bewildered: "Do you know about this?"
...
Nightfall
On the edge of the Inner City, Lin Heng Neighborhood.
"We can't go back to TaoHua Neighborhood and Shanglin Neighborhood anymore."
Chen Mu and Chen Jia's identities were recorded.
If someone were to investigate, following the records of these two identities, they could track it down.
"Having more than one hideout is useful after all."
The residence he was now living in was three streets away from the old house in Lin Heng Neighborhood.
He had also used a paper effigy to check the house across from the old one, and it was already empty.
Your adventure continues at мѵʟ
"Having stayed in the luxurious residence of the Prefectural Government, I wouldn't want to live in these small houses either," Chen Mu mused as he sipped his tea.
Muttering three syllables, he initiated the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse.
Black smoke billowed, and instantly, a stack of dozens of books appeared on the desk.
Chen Mu sorted through and picked out books one by one.
"Twenty-seven medical and Poison Compendiums; I can continue grinding the Pharmaceutical Technique. Just set it for an hour before sleep."
Chen Mu continued flipping through.
"Three Swordsmanship Secret Manuals, two manuals on hidden weapons. They can only help to broaden my knowledge a bit."
The items were not bad, but for a Fourth Rank Iron Lotus Seed and Sleeve Sword Technique, they were of little use. At most, they could help broaden his horizons.
"The first floor is ultimately a bit lacking."
He had taken these two books simply to make up numbers.
After all, having so many Martial Arts manuals laid out, it felt like a loss not to take a couple.
Chen Mu tucked them away, "I'll look at them if I have time, and never mind if I don't."
"Seven volumes of records on the secrets of Jianghu. That's good, something to pass the time with."
If it weren't for fear of leaving too many gaps on the bookshelf causing the caretaker to notice something amiss, he would've taken even more secrets.
"I need to see what Da Liang's Jianghu is like."
In this world for over three years, he was either holed up at home or busy moving to a new hiding place. He truly lacked understanding of this strange world.
"These four are the main event," Chen Mu said gleefully, pulling out four Shape Cultivation Technique books and couldn't help but browse through them again.
The last one was called Cloudy Mist Shape Cultivation Technique, with one hundred and eight variations in the Breathing Method, which was also quite good.
Compared to the three high-end Shape Cultivation Techniques before it, it was a bit inferior.
But if compared to the Red Falcon Shape Cultivation...
Forget it, let's not compare; a small fry will always be a small fry.
"To think that I've actually amassed ten Shape Cultivation Technique books?!"
Half of them were even high-end Shape Cultivation Techniques.
Chen Mu was somewhat surprised himself.
On such a happy day, why not... Chunfeng Tower?