Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

As night deepened, Chen Zhuo's figure darted swiftly through the streets and alleys of Qingshan County.

The scholarly aura emanating from the Xie family compound has gradually faded.

The battle was clearly nearing its end, but that was none of his business.

At this moment, the defenses of the Wang family mansion are at their weakest point.

Such an opportunity will not come twice.

The Wang family mansion is located in the southeast corner of Qingshan County, and its area is a whole circle larger than that of the Xie family mansion.

The courtyard wall is over ten feet high, and the top of the wall is covered with blue tiles, with fine runes faintly visible between the tile seams.

It is a warning formation; although it is not of high grade, it is more than enough to deal with ordinary thieves.

Chen Zhuo stopped under a crooked willow tree and spread his senses out.

There were two guards at the main gate, both of them Sequence Nine warriors, chatting in hushed tones.

There are four patrolling guards in the front yard, two in a group, walking back and forth along a fixed route.

The lights were on in the east wing, and two people were sitting inside.

Judging from the fluctuations in their auras, one was a manager at the ninth level of the hierarchy, and the other was an ordinary person who was organizing the account books.

There was a row of side rooms in the backyard, most of which were dark except for the one on the far east side, which still had a faint light on.

There is a small, separate courtyard on the west side. The gate is locked, and a small black dog is squatting at the entrance.

He quickly calculated the time.

The Xie family's battle is over, but the Wang family could return at any time.

He only has half an hour at most.

Chen Zhuo circled around to the northwest corner of the Wang family compound.

The courtyard wall here is next to a bamboo grove, and the moonlight is mostly blocked by the bamboo leaves, creating a blind spot.

He activated the "Moon" script, gaining a brief state of concealment under the moonlight. His figure transformed into a semi-transparent phantom, silently vaulting over the courtyard wall.

Upon landing, there was a woodshed and backyard, piled with firewood half a person's height and several empty water tanks.

He crouched behind the woodpile and waited for a moment to make sure he hadn't disturbed anyone, then crept toward the detached courtyard on the west side.

Chen Zhuo's judgment was simple: if the Wang family kept the original stone carving in their mansion, they wouldn't have placed it in the busy front yard, the accounting office, or the storeroom.

The reason is simple: these places are too easily discovered by servants by accident.

The inscription is the Wang family's most core secret, held by only a few people. It must be hidden in a remote place with extra protection.

The black dog at the entrance of the small courtyard on the west side is the best proof.

The black dog lay in front of the gate, its chin resting on its front paws, looking as if it were dozing off.

But Chen Zhuo noticed that its ears were always erect and would turn every few breaths.

"As a hybrid of demon and beast, its sense of smell and hearing far surpasses that of ordinary dogs, making it especially alert at night."

Chen Zhuo silently analyzed the situation.

We cannot force our way in.

Since that's the case, he took a pebble out of his sleeve and flicked it towards the woodshed with his finger.

A pebble landed on the woodpile with a soft thud.

The black dog suddenly raised its head, turned its ears toward the woodshed, but did not get up or bark.

It just stared in that direction for a while, then lay back down.

"It neither chases nor makes a sound. This means its mission is not to attack the intruder, but to guard the door while simultaneously sending out warnings inside."

Chen Zhuo made his own judgment.

If he walks straight over, the black dog will most likely not pounce on him, but it will send out some kind of signal in an instant, waking up the entire Wang family.

He needs to temporarily render the dog unconscious, but he cannot kill it.

A dead guard dog will be immediately discovered by other patrolmen.

Chen Zhuo thought for a moment, then searched around the backyard of the woodshed and found a few things.

He crushed the dried mugwort and mixed it with a powder of herbs he had seen in the academy's pharmacy.

If the book records this correctly, it is a powder that has a temporary numbing effect on a dog's sense of smell.

It was originally used to scare away wild animals in the wild. He had seen it on the inventory list of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He didn't expect that there would be one in the Wang family's woodshed.

In just a moment, a powder preparation specifically designed for demonic beasts was completed.

Chen Zhuo used his literary energy to combine with the powder and sent it far away.

The black dog wrinkled its nose, sneezed, shook its head twice, slowly lay down, and closed its eyes.

"The effects won't last long! We need to act quickly!"

Without further hesitation, Chen Zhuo quickly crossed the gate and climbed into the courtyard.

The courtyard was very quiet.

The main house has three rooms, but only one of them has a light on.

Chen Zhuo concealed his breathing and moved closer to the room with the lights on.

The windows were covered with mulberry paper, obscuring the view inside.

He heard breathing; there were two people.

One is heavy and sturdy, the other is stable and steady.

The heavy one is dozing off, while the steady one is turning the pages.

"...Third Master, it's already this late, aren't you going to rest?"

The person who was dozing off seemed to be awakened by the sound of turning pages, and asked while yawning.

"I can't sleep," another voice said, old and deep.

"How's it going over the front yard? Any news coming back?"

"Not yet. But don't worry, this time Wang Kui is leading the team, with three scholars and five martial arts masters, plus that sword. The Xie family won't be able to withstand it."

"I'm not worried about the Xie family." The aged voice paused for a moment, "I'm worried about other unknown factors."

"Isn't it just Song Zhiyuan and a new scholar? At most, one is at sequence eight and the other at sequence nine; they can't cause any trouble!"

"I hope so. You stay here and keep watch. I'll go check the back."

Footsteps approached the door.

Chen Zhuo immediately moved to the shadowy area behind the house, and at the same time, the "Moon" script was activated again, and the hidden state under the moonlight enveloped him in a semi-transparent phantom.

The door opened.

An elderly man in his sixties came out. He had gray hair, a thin figure, and wore a dark blue silk robe with a string of copper keys hanging from his waist.

He didn't carry a lantern, but walked confidently into the depths of the courtyard.

Chen Zhuo followed silently ten steps behind him. As the concealment of the Moon-shaped scripture faded, he retreated into the shadows.

The old man stopped in front of the innermost room in the courtyard.

It was an inconspicuous side room, with an old door and dusty windows, looking like a long-abandoned storage room.

But the old man took a copper key from his waist.

Chen Zhuo noticed that the key gleamed with a very faint silver light under the moonlight, clearly indicating that it was a magical key engraved with runes.

The door opened.

The old man went inside and came out again a moment later, carrying an oil lamp.

He locked the door again and walked back.

Chen Zhuo waited until he was far away before approaching the door.

The rune lock on the door appeared to be a single one, but after Chen Zhuo carefully scanned it with his spatial perception, he discovered that there was also an invisible energy traction device hidden beneath the rune lock.

If brute force is used to break through, a warning spell will be triggered, sealing off the entire courtyard.

The conventional unlocking method requires turning two keys simultaneously: one is the copper key the old man just used, and the other is most likely on another key figure in the Wang family.

But he doesn't need a key.

Because he doesn't need to open the door.

Chen Zhuo placed his palm on the door panel, feeling the structure of the rune lock.

He could roughly understand the principle behind this lock.

Centered around a "lock" character inscription, surrounded by three smaller runes with the "warning" radical, a simple sealing system is formed.

Cracking the blocking system takes time, but he doesn't need to crack it.