Chapter 810 A Midnight Gift

The night was still and quiet.

Inside a refined residence.

The lamplight cast the shadow of a man sitting at the desk onto the window.

Ouyang Rong paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

These elegant residences were guest rooms used by the Longcheng County Government to entertain distinguished guests.

Shen Xisheng and the imperial envoys from Luoyang stayed here when they came to Longcheng.

After discussing matters with Magistrate Diao, Qin Ying, and others in the evening, Ouyang Rong was brought here to rest.

The reason he didn't return to Meiluyuan was that these few elegant residences were closer to the Longcheng County Government Office, so Ouyang Rong could receive the latest reply from the county government office as soon as possible.

Secondly, with Rong Zhen present, she requested that the Longcheng County government prepare a bathhouse and hot water. Ouyang Rong didn't mind, but since the two had been traveling for many days, she was, after all, a young lady and a noble princess, and the female official in colorful robes represented the emperor's majesty, so she still needed to be clean and presentable.

Just then, since Ouyang Rong had not yet replied to the message that he had asked Magistrate Diao to investigate, they decided to rest at the hermitage for the time being.

Ouyang Rong paced around, stopped at the window, and looked out at the night scene.

Across the street, the Longcheng County government office was still brightly lit. Because of his order, Magistrate Diao and the county government office would have to work overtime tonight.

Although the prince and junior sister had just left last night, the mysterious presence of the White Tiger Guards on the official road outside Longcheng during the day inevitably led to some speculation.

However, just in case, we should first find out where the prince and junior sister are.

Whether they will travel by water or land, and whether their route will be the same as that of the White Tiger Guards.

Avoid making a misjudgment and blindly pursuing it.

The escape route from Longcheng was planned by Pei Shisan Niang and reviewed by Ouyang Rong. It was not fixed but had several alternative plans, including the plan to take a boat from Tanlang Ferry in Longcheng County.

Since the priority is to travel north back to Beijing, speed is not the primary concern; rather, secrecy is paramount. Therefore, altering the route, even if it involves taking a slightly longer detour, is acceptable.

I wonder which route my junior sister and the others chose to travel last night.

However, as long as the county government investigates with all its might, it can always find some clues and deduce the truth.

Because their travel documents were obtained from the Longcheng County government office, they would leave the alias Su when passing through. However, the administrative efficiency was low in this era. If it weren't for Ouyang Rong's order tonight, it is estimated that Magistrate Diao would not be able to see these travel documents in the county government treasury for another half a month.

However, there is one thing that Ouyang Rong doesn't understand right now.

If it really is the worst-case scenario, this group of mysterious White Tiger Guards is indeed Li Congshan and Miaozhen's group who were missed in the Battle of Xunyang, and they even have malicious intentions.

So how did they manage to track down Junior Sister and the Prince? Was there a mole who tipped them off along the way?

However, those few who were able to accompany Li Xian on his journey north had all undergone numerous trials.

Lu Ya, Pei Shisan Niang, and Wang Caozhi go without saying, while Cai Shou, Shun Bo, and others are all old friends of Longcheng who have followed us all the way and are loyal to us.

These people are almost impossible to betray, but from another perspective, if one of them were to betray, the harm would be magnified many times over.

The candle on the table was half-burned, and occasionally a crackling sound could be heard.

Ouyang Rong sat down again and closed his eyes to rest.

Adjust your breathing and calm down.

He first entered the Pagoda of Merit and glanced at the small wooden fish.

[Merit: 4291]

This is the merit gained after the battle at Shuangfengjian destroyed the Buddha statue and withstood the heavenly lightning. It is a net increase. The merit accumulated before the battle was all used up by Cui Hao when the Buddha was destroyed.

Upon closer reflection, although the collapse of the four Buddha statues, including the Donglin Buddha, and the Songde Tian Shu caused a surge in value, the resulting increase in merit was not as exaggerated as some might imagine. Logically, this should have been a matter of great impact...

However, to be precise, this was something Cui Hao did, and it was also Cui Hao's hobby. He was at most an accomplice, so it's reasonable that he didn't take the lion's share.

A moment later, Ouyang Rong opened his eyes and took out the Mo family sword box and other items.

I finally have time to take stock.

First, there are two newly acquired precious magical treasures, seized during the battle of Twin Peaks.

A picture of Peach Blossom Spring... The only surviving fake Ding sword of the [Humble Scholar], with two shafts made of blood bronze.

A string of eighteen-bead Buddhist prayer beads... Before Cui Hao stole the formation and destroyed the Four Directions Buddha and the Heavenly Pivot, he used all the secret gold on the field to forge the [Emperor Wen] counterfeit cauldron sword, which could summon the golden sword energy of [Emperor Wen].

Now, it appears that the Four Great Buddhas and the Great Zhou Ode Heavenly Pivot have been destroyed, making this the only surviving counterfeit sword of the Wen Emperor, which holds special significance.

In addition to these, the new acquisitions also included a string of cracked sandalwood prayer beads and a wooden pipa.

The former was a gift from the sage to him, and its previous owner was Lin Cheng.

Although he could only "avoid death once," he had already used it all when his vest fell off and he escaped from Twin Peaks that morning, but Ouyang Rong did not discard it.

Because he remembered something.

Since the fake tripod of Emperor Wen contains mithril, does this string of cracked wooden prayer beads also contain a small amount of mithril?

However, Cui Hao left early after the battle, and time was short, so Ouyang Rong didn't have time to ask.

If this deduction is correct, then if the sandalwood prayer beads are wrapped in mithril, it means that they can be recast into a counterfeit tripod.

Perhaps it can be reused as a counterfeit of his natal sword, the "Craftsman's Tripod."

I put away the prayer beads for the time being.

He looked at the wooden pipa.

The old musician saw it off before he passed away.

Ouyang Rong brought the pipa closer to the lamplight and examined it carefully.

It was found to be relatively new and unremarkable. Considering that the old musician came from a family of carpenters, it seemed to have been handmade by the old man.

Back when the old musician was in Xunyang City, he seemed to really enjoy listening to the pipa music played at Xunyang Tower.

Ouyang Rong pulled himself out of his thoughts, infused some spiritual energy into the strings, and played for a while... but couldn't discern anything amiss.

The wooden pipa was placed aside.

He was lost in thought, and then he recalled Yuan Huaimin's insensitive remark about "harmonious marriage" that day.

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

That old man is such a jinx.

After examining the new items "apart from the white sturgeon wandering in the yard," Ouyang Rong turned his gaze to his old companion, the Mo family sword box.

A snap.

The sword case is opened.

He reached into the box, and silvery-white arcs of electricity coiled around his fingers, spreading along his right palm and across his right arm, making every hair on his body stand on end.

It is the Thunder Essence Silk that Thunder Magic cultivators dream of.

Apart from a slight tingling sensation, Ouyang Rong's right palm was unharmed.

Inside the room, only a single lamp illuminated the scene. A young man in a scholar's robe was seen taking several items from a box, one by one, with his silver-white hand.

Luminous pearl, mirage mask, square face mask, red lotus sword seal, red and black talismans, etc.

There was only one red and black talisman left, and Cui Hao had used up all the prepared tubes of spirit ink.

There's no need to panic about that. With a clever plan, we can continue to squeeze more out of her. There's no other way; with great power comes great responsibility. We can only make things difficult for the Fairy Maiden...

The luminous pearl was intact. Unlike the "crafted" pearl, which had experienced all the heavenly lightning strikes, it had only withstood one strike and seemed to have no aftereffects.

But that was the ninth level of golden heavenly lightning, and Ouyang Rong had a vague feeling that it wasn't that simple...

After taking out all his possessions from the box at the table, Ouyang Rong reached into the box with his right palm once more.

A flash of lightning streaked across the room.

He experienced the state of "craftsmanship".

Inside the box is a cage of lightning punishment.

[Craftsmanship] Unable to move.

For an active little guy, this is like being locked in a dark room – pure torture.

I could faintly hear the trembling and mournful cries of swords.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips.

This battle between the two peaks allowed him to vent his pent-up frustrations.

But there are gains and losses.

[Craftsmanship] is trapped by "Thunder Punishment Cage" and cannot be used temporarily.

The swordsman who lost the Ding Sword was as if he had lost his left and right arms.

The merits of the small wooden fish, compared to the six or seven thousand before the war, have also declined.

There's also the revelation of the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower, the destruction of the Donglin Buddha... The aftermath of the battle at Shuangfeng Peak is significant, and he needs to carefully manage the aftermath.

This is a loss.

But the gains were also considerable.

The two counterfeit swords, along with those of Emperor Wen and the commoner, all fell into his hands.

It can temporarily replace [Craftsmanship] for his protection.

In addition, he received teachings from Cui Hao, the patriarch of the Cui clan of Qinghe, and mastered the "Kui Xing Talisman," a top-level Confucian art that was suspected to be lost.

There is also the legendary Qi-refining technique "Peach Blossom Spring Sword Formation" involving the [Dingjian]. You can try setting up this formation for [Craftsmanship] to break free from the shackles of lightning punishment.

In addition, there is a floating white sturgeon whose purpose is currently unknown.

Ouyang Rong stared at the objects on the table, muttering to himself in a daze:

"Looking at it this way, it seems like we've made a profit, but this means the Merit Purple Mist will start to become scarce again..."

He stroked the bronze mask that resembled a fox's head.

"Senior Cui left too quickly, only saying half of what he meant. Most importantly, he hadn't yet taught the Qi Refining Technique of the Fox-Faced Fang Sorcerer's lineage. According to him, the Fox-Faced Fang Sorcerer's lineage is very special and strange. As long as you can collect the fake body of a Qi Refiner of the corresponding lineage, your dantian can imitate the spiritual energy of the corresponding lineage and activate the Qi Refining Technique of that lineage."

"In other words, if there were a Taoist's avatar inside the Mirage Beast Mask, the Merit Purple Mist could be omitted, and the Divine Pardon Order could be used directly. The Kui Xing Talisman is also a Confucian art of the scholar's lineage. Right now, using it can only be replaced by the Merit Purple Mist."

"These two counterfeit swords are open to all spiritual energy from cultivators of various Dao lineages. I can use and activate the spiritual energy from my own Dao lineage, but it is quite costly. If my seventh-grade dantian is exhausted, I will have to use the Merit Purple Mist to replace it."

Ouyang Rong had a slight headache and muttered:

"It feels like these four thousand merits aren't enough. They're gone in no time if I'm a little careless. Not to mention I have to always reserve three thousand merits for the final touch of the Divine Decree, so I can use them up when I reawaken Senior Cui next time..."

He rubbed his face.

Staring at the objects on the table, he remained silent for a long time. Then, as if remembering something, Ouyang Rong turned around and immediately went to get the talisman paper.

Once he was ready, he buried himself in drawing a Kui Xing talisman.

Inside the Pagoda of Merit, one hundred merits on the small wooden fish disappeared.

At the same time, a wisp of purple light flashed past the Kui Xing talisman, and the talisman "whooshed" into the bronze scroll lying quietly on the table.

The scroll slowly unfurled without a sound.

Some "wrinkles" appeared on the drawing paper.

Following Cui Hao's example from that day, Ouyang Rong tried to put the luminous pearl, bronze mask, and gold mask into it one by one.

The paper surface resembled water, with each object sinking into it, creating a ripple with each new object.

Furthermore, he also noticed that within the Peach Blossom Spring depicted in the painting, there were ink wash patterns corresponding to various objects.

Ouyang Rong's face lit up with joy.

That really works.

He studied it further, consuming some of his merit points, and finally discovered the pattern: the space in the painting was roughly the size of the wardrobe where Miao Si had lived before.

Anything can be stored except for living things.

It's more convenient than storing items in a sword case.

It just makes room for the sword case.

This spatial drawing technique, I wonder if it was the masterpiece of Wu Daozi, which Cui Hao stole.

Anyway, it's his now.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside.

It seemed that a group of people met and talked outside the courtyard gate.

Ouyang Rong's ears twitched. He hid his belongings, put on his clothes, and went out.

At the courtyard gate, a group of maids left carrying empty plates, leaving behind the beautiful young woman's silhouette.

A beautiful figure walked alone into the courtyard.

Ouyang Rong asked in surprise, "Rong Zhen?"

Rongzhen was bare-faced, her black hair was wet, she wore no hairpins, and her small face still had a faint pink hue after her bath.

Like a lotus emerging from clear water.

She was wearing an elegant, snow-white nightgown, carrying a clean, fresh scent of soapberry, as she passed by Ouyang Rong.

He carried a small bundle on his arm and held a steaming bowl of soup in his right hand.

Without any hesitation, I walked into his room, stood at his desk, and looked around.

Just as Ouyang Rong was about to ask a question, she said without turning her head:

"It was just delivered. They said you told them to make it before you were admitted to the hospital this evening."

She paused, then turned her back to her, head bowed, and asked softly:

"For me?"

"Um."

Her voice lowered even further:

"That's thoughtful of you."

Rongzhen turned around and looked into his eyes.

The atmosphere around the table was subtly ambiguous.

On the contrary, Ouyang Rong was the first to feel embarrassed and avoid eye contact:

"Warm yourself up, you might have to travel tomorrow morning."

She stared at Ouyang Rong for a moment, then raised her chin in acknowledgment.

"Help me wipe it down."

Ouyang Rong turned his gaze and saw that her long, black hair, which was draped over her right shoulder, was wet.

He took a dry towel, went behind the young woman, and wiped her face with his eyes down.

Rongzhen lowered her head slightly, picked up the porcelain bowl, and sipped the fresh fish soup in small sips, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering from time to time.

I don't know if it was the scalding milky white fish soup that had just come out of the pot, or the electric shock from his fingertips that occasionally touched the skin of my neck.

Ouyang Rong wiped it very carefully.

At one moment, his fingertips touched the girl's soft, red ears.

Rongzhen suddenly grabbed his wrist, her hand trembling slightly as she drank half a bowl of fish soup from her pink lips and placed it in his hand.

The young woman's usually aloof voice trembled slightly, just like the soup bowl:

"The night is cool, drink half a bowl."

Ouyang Rong took the bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp, the warmth flowing into his stomach.

As I was drinking, I heard her say:

"I like your hairpin."

Ouyang Rong asked, almost as if possessed, "Which hairpin?"

Rong Zhen had already taken out the jade hairpin with mandarin ducks from her sleeve. Upon hearing this, she paused, her small face filled with doubt:

"What else could it be? You only gave me a hairpin..."

At this point, the girl in the nightgown suddenly paused, her gaze shifted downwards, and her face gradually grew hot, revealing a captivating blush.

Ouyang Rong shook his head with a serious expression: "I was a little distracted and talking nonsense. Don't take it seriously."

Rongzhen bit her lip, buried her head deeply, and composed her expression for a long while before raising her small face to indicate the hairpin in her hand, her tone rigid and serious:

"The Dao patterns inside, are they your work? Are you going to give them to me?"

Ouyang Rong didn't think much of it:

"Uh-huh."

Rong Zhen's eyes were as dark as night, staring straight at him:

"Do you know how precious it is? It's the only one of its kind, a relic of the first lamplighter of this prison, and it was almost lost... You just gave it away without even reminding me."

"Oh, it's good that it's useful to you. You can take it and use it."

Hearing his unpretentious and casual tone, Rongzhen took a deep breath and pointed with her slender finger to the small bundle she had brought to the table.

“You have given me a gift, and I will return the favor with a gift.”

Ouyang Rong glanced at it and asked directly, "What's inside?"

Rong Zhen looked away, her face cold and her tone as hard as ice. Ouyang Rong couldn't tell whether she was angry or not.

"Isn't this what you like? Here you go. Don't bother me anymore, hmph."

Before Ouyang Rong could speak, footsteps echoed in the courtyard.

"Prefect Ouyang".

It was Qin Ying's voice.

Rongzhen quickly looked around and with a "whoosh," hid inside the bed curtains in the inner room.

Ouyang Rong straightened his eyes and went out to greet the person.

As soon as the door opened, Qin Ying strode into the room, unaware of anything amiss. Her first words made Ouyang Rong's eyelids twitch:

"We have news from Magistrate Diao's side! The White Tiger Guards are heading in the same direction as the Prince and his men. One group left at midnight, while the other passed through Longcheng at sunrise the next day."

"In addition, someone saw that the leaders of this group of White Tiger Guards are a man and a woman who look similar to the portrait you provided. They should be the Thousand Ox Guard Li Congshan and the female official Miaozhen you mentioned."

Ouyang Rong frowned.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a little fortunate... The prince and junior sister did not continue to wait for him after waiting an extra day. It was either at Li Guo'er's request or at the junior sister's decisive decision. Otherwise, he would have really run into this group of White Tiger Guards with inexplicable intentions!

(End of this chapter)