At 2:15 of the Yin hour, Taoist priests from the foot of the mountain started to go up the mountain one after another. Today was not a day off, so there were not many pilgrims in the early morning.

Zhao Rong did not climb the mountain immediately, but waited for a group of servants and followed them up the mountain. Along the way, he kept his eyes on two familiar people among them, a tall and thin middle-aged man, and an old man with half of his hair white.

Both of them are odd jobs responsible for the sanitation of the Lingguan Temple. Each of them is responsible for cleaning for one day and they take turns.

Zhao Rong concentrated his attention and carefully memorized the characteristics of their steps and behaviors.

When we saw them halfway up the mountain, they did not go directly to clean the outside, but first cleaned the mountain steps and rest pavilions before continuing to climb the mountain.

Zhao Rong suddenly realized that the time these servants came to clean the hall was not fixed every day.

Zhao Rong followed them all the way to the outside of the mountainside. The group gradually dispersed and went to the palace they were responsible for to do their work. Zhao Rong followed the tall and thin servant into the Lingguan Palace.

After entering the hall, Zhao Rong went straight to the seat where he used to copy scriptures. However, this time he did not sit down to copy scriptures. Instead, he packed up his things, said goodbye to the Taoist priest who received him, and said that his relative's illness had recovered and he would not copy scriptures anymore. Then he donated some money with a smile and turned around to leave.

At this time, morning prayers were being held in the Lingguan Hall. There were few pilgrims and it was quite quiet. Zhao Rong was about to go out when he suddenly heard a cat's meow from the back of the hall. Turning back, he saw the sound coming from behind the statue.

The old Taoist in blue who was leading the chanting frowned and opened his eyes, then turned and raised his chin slightly to the tall and thin servant who was wiping the table nearby. The latter understood, nodded and smiled flatteringly, put down the rag, and went to the back to drive away the cat.

Zhao Rong pursed his lips, walked out of the hall and went around to the back of the Lingguan Hall. He knew there was a back door behind the hall. At this time, he saw the tall and thin laborer driving away the cat.

Behind a row of side halls including the Lingguan Hall is a large lush forest, and a bluestone road winds its way to a secluded place.

At this time, the cat escaped onto a jujube tree. The tall and thin servant was holding a bamboo pole under the tree and wanted to drive it away. The cat dodged left and right, leaving the servant helpless. Zhao Rong went to help, climbed up the tree lightly, grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck, and jumped down easily. The tall and thin servant thanked him hurriedly and stretched out his hand to take the cat. Zhao Rong smiled and asked if he could take the cat home for adoption. The servant was stunned for a moment before agreeing and turned back to the main hall.

Zhao Rong carried the cat out of the temple and down the mountain, thinking carefully about the tone of voice of the tall and thin servant. It was difficult to imitate his speech, but he only needed to remember the tone of voice when he drove the cat away.

After observing for such a long time, Zhao Rong determined the timing and plan for action.

The opportunity is at 5:35 on the next holiday.

There are many people on holidays, which gives them an excuse to steal, and after a night of vigilance, the morning is when they are most relaxed.

Before you get started, you need to do some preparation.

First, you have to give some money to the fat Taoist boy and his companions. This is very simple. Just throw one or two taels of silver on the ground on their way down the mountain. The mountain road is rugged, and most people going down the mountain will look at the ground under their feet. Even if they don’t see it, just try a few more times.

The two of them could not control themselves due to their age. If they had money, they would buy books and stay up late to read. As a result, they would feel sleepy the next morning, especially when the blue-robed Taoist priest was taking over and was not in front of them during the morning class.

As for the other two Taoist boys, they would have to find a way to make some noise the night before the action so that they would not be able to sleep, so that they would be like the two fat Taoist boys, and would fall asleep and close their eyes when on duty in the early morning.

There is no need to pay attention to the Taoist priests during the morning prayers, they have to close their eyes and chant. According to observations in the past few days, they will not open their eyes unless there is too much noise. In addition, there are many people on weekends, which can easily distract them and make them less alert to slight noises. What's more, with so many pilgrims watching them, it would be embarrassing if people found out that they did not do the morning prayers seriously.

As a result, in the main hall, apart from the pilgrims and the kind-hearted people who were copying scriptures with their heads down, the only people who had their eyes open were the white-haired Taoist priest who received guests and the servants whose arrival time was uncertain.

It has been observed that the Taoist who receives guests usually goes to the toilet once during the morning class at around 5:15 on the yin hour, which is why he chose this time. However, to be on the safe side, he has to have a second plan. If the Taoist who receives guests does not go to the toilet, then he will go to the toilet.

How to get stuck? It's very simple. Just walk to the side of the Taoist priest who is receiving guests and ask him. The Taoist priest will turn sideways to talk to him, with his back to the table with the Thundering Purple Gold Furnace. He just needs to delay until other pilgrims line up behind him, and then he can get away. The benefit of having many pilgrims on the rest day is reflected again.

The last thing he did was to steal a set of servant's uniform, pretending to be a tall and thin servant, and in order to prevent being caught by the real person during his action, he had to dirty the steps leading up the mountain and the floor of the pavilion for cooling off in advance, thus delaying the servants' time going up the mountain for a moment, and he had to obtain the divine furnace within this moment.

Then comes the course of action.

First, he put on his regular clothes, carried the cat and walked up the mountain along the path. He then threw the cat into the temple from the left wall. When the fifth quarter of the morning hour sounded, he walked into the temple and entered the Lingguan Hall to take a look at the situation inside the hall. If his arrangements worked and met the requirements, he would take action immediately.

He turned and went to the toilet in the southwest corner of the exterior, changed his clothes, and dressed up as a tall and thin servant. He chose him because he was on duty on the day off, and the two of them had similar body shapes, so it was easy to imitate their steps.

Then walk along the path behind the many side halls on the left, go to the back door of the Lingguan Hall, put food inside the door, and attract the cats.

Then go to the main entrance of the hall and enter directly. At this time, you should learn the pace of the tall and thin servant, with your feet turned outward and swaying slightly from side to side when walking. You should master the weight and rhythm.

After the cat meowed, he carried the Tingni Purple Gold Furnace and some small items, and walked out the back door, making noises to drive the cat away.

The reason why he took some other small items with him was to serve as a cover-up after the theft, so that people would not immediately identify him as a target of theft.

And he didn't have to care about the many pilgrims in the temple at this time. Although the pilgrims could see his behavior, because he was wearing a servant's uniform, they would deceive everyone and make them subconsciously make excuses for his behavior of taking the stove.

In this way, the divine furnace can be taken openly in front of everyone.

If everything goes well, I will carry the cat into the deep and dense forest at the back, and use the cover of the forest to climb over the wall and get out.

Finally, there is the escape route down the mountain.

After the stove was stolen, there were three situations in Chongxu Temple: one was that it was not discovered within a short period of time; the other was that it was discovered and immediately taken seriously and fully investigated.

The last type is that although it is discovered quickly, it is not taken seriously at all. It is just reported to the person in charge of Neiguan and then no longer worried about it. As for how Neiguan will deal with it after the report, this is not something Zhao Rong worries about, because he would have already escaped by then.

In fact, in his opinion, the last possibility is the greatest, but for safety reasons, he has to design an escape plan based on the second most dangerous possibility.

Zhao Rong investigated on the spot and found that behind the left wall of the exterior, there was a rugged mountain road winding down the mountain. There were bluestone steps covered with moss. There was a clear, gurgling, cold mountain spring beside the road, flowing along the winding mountain road.

For the sake of caution, Zhao Rong climbed up the stairs and went to the top of the mountain road to explore. On the way, he suddenly smelled a fragrance. He walked a little further up the winding stone steps and saw a large osmanthus forest on the left side of the road. The fragrance was everywhere. Zhao Rong did not care and continued to climb the mountain. Then he saw the green tile and red wall that separated the inside and outside of Chongxu Temple. However, at this time, at the end of the mountain road, there was a vermilion lacquered gate.

Zhao Rong walked lightly to the door, squatted down, stretched out his index finger to touch the joint of the door hinge, and twisted it lightly with two fingers. There was already rust, so this door should not be opened often.

Zhao Rong felt quite relieved, and then he went down the mountain along the road. He found several secluded routes near the foot of the mountain, which made it convenient for him to escape with the furnace.

And when he walks down the mountain road, he should have half a quarter of an hour to successfully control the Thunderous Purple Gold Furnace and shrink it to the size of a fist, which would make it easier for him to escape.

Zhao Rong let out a sigh of relief. Now everything was ready, except for the east wind.

What is the east wind? That is the holiday four days later.

Suddenly, Zhao Rong frowned, remembering the secret sentry in the attic of the observatory that almost exposed him. He was startled and went back to investigate and rehearse again. He found that part of the escape route was indeed exposed to the sight of the secret sentry in the attic.

Zhao Rong was secretly afraid. This plan was like walking on a tightrope. If he was not careful, he might fail and be doomed. After all, this was the base of Chongxu Temple, so he had to be cautious.

Zhao Rong thought about it and replanned the route. He would rather take a detour to avoid secret sentries just to be safe.

In the following days, Zhao Rong fed the cat and cultivated a relationship with it, imitated the tall and thin laborer's footsteps and voice, while repeatedly pondering the plan and often rushed to the scene to conduct on-site simulations. Occasionally, when he thought of new details, he would carefully improve them.

A few days before the holiday, he remembered something and went to the foot of Mount Taibai. He found some crowded restaurants and taverns, pretended to be an ordinary pilgrim, and loudly advertised that the incense burning at the Lingguan Temple was very effective. He only prayed for a few days and his relative recovered from his illness. Now he came here specifically to fulfill his wish.

This operation caused a lot of discussion among the pilgrims. As a result, there should be more people coming to the Lingguan Temple on the day of rest.

A thousand-mile journey can be destroyed by a single ant hole. Since I am currently not strong enough, I can only increase my chances of winning and accumulate advantages little by little.

In a blink of an eye, three days have passed and the east wind is coming.

On the night before the holiday, Zhao Rong rented a carriage in the city, drove alone, and stopped in a forest somewhere at the foot of Taibai Mountain.

Afterwards, he sneaked into the tall and thin servant's room, stole a set of the servant's cloth clothes, turned around and prepared to leave, but before leaving, he turned back to glance at the tall and thin servant who was sleeping soundly on the kang.

In fact, there was a better option in his plan, which was to get rid of the tall and thin servant directly. In this way, after he took away the Tingni Purple Gold Furnace, he would not be discovered for a short time, which could also buy him more time to escape.

Zhao Rong shook his head, left quietly, climbed the mountain cautiously, spread fallen leaves and dirt on the mountain road and in the pavilion, and then turned down the mountain.

Finally, Zhao Rong went to the house of the fat Taoist boy named Nan Xiao. Seeing that the light was on in the house, he turned and went to the houses of the other two Taoist boys on duty. Seeing that they were soundly asleep, he quietly released the prepared mice and other small animals into the house to disturb their sleep, and then kept them restless in the middle of the night.

At one o'clock in the morning, the bell on the mountain rang, the Taoist priests came to an end their meditation, and the market became bustling.

Zhao Rong held the cat, climbed the mountain along a small path, threw the cat into the wall, and went into the temple to wait.

Yin time, five quarters.

He passed by the main hall, took a quick look, and went to the toilet to change his clothes and put on a hat.

Move north to the back door of the hall, throw food on the ground, and go to the main gate.

He walked into the hall with his head lowered, his steps swaying, he approached the table and reached out to wipe it.

The cat meows at the back door.

He picked up the altar, took some small items, drove the cat away, and walked out the back door.

He carried the cat to the north, went into the forest, climbed a tree and climbed a wall, and strode away...