Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

On the side of the lock, in the gap between the door panel and the door frame, there is an almost invisible rune pattern, which seems to be a tiny flaw left by the craftsman during installation.

It is this flaw that prevents the coverage area of ​​the pneumatic traction device from fully extending to the top of the door gap.

His literary skills regarding the character "空" (empty) came in handy.

Although the gap between the door panel and the door frame is almost non-existent physically, in the dimension of space, a gap can be stretched into a sufficiently large channel.

Chen Zhuo placed his palm on the door frame, and the "empty" character script slowly began to operate.

The gap slowly widened, forming a temporary passage that was barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.

He slipped inside and landed silently.

The secret room was small, only half the size of a regular study.

Several luminous stones were embedded in the surrounding walls, emitting a faint glow.

In the very center was a stone table, on which sat a bronze box.

The surface of the bronze box was covered with densely packed runes, just like the small box in the Xie family's accounting office, but much larger.

The box had no keyhole; instead, there was a recessed palm print.

"It seems that this requires the literary talent of a specific person to unlock."

But he doesn't need to.

The fist-sized Originium dimmed once again, and the "Devour" script was activated.

The entire outer shell of the box, along with the runes, was instantly swallowed up.

Inside is a carved stone.

It was much larger than the stone carving I obtained ten years later.

Chen Zhuo didn't examine the carved stone much; now was the time to scavenge, and gathering as many resources as possible was the key.

His gaze shifted from the bronze box to the rest of the secret chamber.

Next to the stone table was a row of bookshelves, on which were several yellowed manuscripts.

He casually flipped open a book and found it filled with densely packed notes on the Wang family's research on the character "噬" (shi, meaning to devour) throughout their generations.

Judging from the handwriting, it was written by at least five or six people, spanning more than a century.

Without further hesitation, he tucked all the manuscripts from the bookshelf into his sleeve.

Just as Chen Zhuo was about to leave the secret room, he noticed a detail.

In one corner of the secret room, there were several miscellaneous items piled up, including a broken bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror was covered with cracks, but under the glow of the luminous stone, a few blurry characters seemed to emerge faintly from the cracks.

Chen Zhuo squatted down and gently touched the cracks with his fingers.

The handwriting was too blurry to be recognized, but he was certain that the stroke structure of the handwriting was exactly the same as the ancient character "噬" on the stone inscription.

These items may be from the same source as the relics, but due to their age, they have lost most of their cultural significance.

He didn't have time to investigate further.

He stuffed the bronze mirror into his bosom and turned to walk towards the crack in the door.

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

At least three people were walking briskly towards the secret room.

Chen Zhuo felt a chill run down his spine.

"It was discovered so quickly? No, it's not targeting him."

The footsteps were hurried, but there were no warning shouts or fluctuations in tone.

Did the patrolmen just happen to pass by, or did the people from Wangjiadian return early?

He didn't have time to think it through. He shrank back into the depths of the secret room and activated his spatial perception to lock onto the movements outside the door.

The footsteps grew closer, and someone was talking outside:

"Third Master said tonight won't be peaceful, and he wants us to patrol a few more times."

Then came the sound of chains being pulled.

Only after Chen Zhuo and the others' footsteps had completely faded away did they use the Empty Word Technique again to slip out through the crack in the door.

The courtyard was now empty.

The black dog was still lying asleep at the gate of the courtyard, and the smoke in the bamboo tube had long since dissipated.

The moon was already beginning to set in the west, and he didn't have much time left.

He wrapped the manuscript, the bronze box, and the broken bronze mirror tightly inside his outer robe, quickly crossed the backyard of the woodshed, and climbed over the Wang family's courtyard wall.

Chen Zhuo abandoned his concentration and ran back to the College of Arts in one breath.

The Academy of Arts was brightly lit at this moment, clearly awakened by the intense battle raging within the Xie family.

After observing for a while, Mr. Chen noticed that the guy who had been keeping watch from the tree had also disappeared.

He had just put his things in the room when he heard Gu Qing'e's voice.

"Instructor Chen, where did you just go?"

"Oh, I just went hunting."

"hunt?"

Gu Qing'e tilted her head in confusion, but seeing that Chen Zhuo didn't offer any further explanation, she didn't ask any more questions.

"Where is your father?" Chen Zhuo asked when she came over alone.

"He went to the Xie family!"

Gu Qing'e's tone was indifferent, yet conveyed an indescribable emotion.

Chen Zhuo, however, was focused on the manuscript in front of him.

He had a premonition that this process of exploring the unknown domain was about to end, and that he needed to acquire more knowledge in this area.

"By the way, didn't you ask me last time why my surname isn't the same as my father's?"

"Why?" Chen Zhuo looked up from the manuscript.

"Because I took my mother's surname, and my mother..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo understood; he thought of the Xie family's situation.

A strange feeling welled up inside me.

"By the way, what are you looking at?" Gu Qing'e quickly composed herself and curiously leaned closer.

When Gu Qing'e leaned closer, Chen Zhuo instinctively covered the first page of the manuscript with his hand.

But her gaze had already passed past his fingers and landed on the ancient rubbing of the character "噬" on the yellowed page.

"This character is exactly the same as the one Wang Zhongting took out at the banquet. Instructor Chen, did you go to the Wang family?"

Chen Zhuo did not answer immediately.

He turned the manuscript face down on the table, got up and walked to the door. After confirming that no one was in the courtyard, he closed the door and bolted it.

"I'll tell you what happened tonight, but after you hear it, don't tell your father."

Chen Zhuo sat back down at the table and looked into her clear eyes.

"It's not that we don't trust Mr. Song, but the less he knows, the safer we are in this matter. He is the dean of the Faculty of Arts; there are some things he cannot know, and if he does, he must express his opinion."

Gu Qing'e nodded seriously.

Chen Zhuo briefly recounted the downfall of the Xie family, the surprise attack by the Wang family, the intervention of the county government's soldiers, and his own experience of sneaking into the Wang family's mansion to search for clues about the inscribed stone when the entire Wang family came out.

He didn't hide the part about the battle, but he glossed over the death of Steward Wang.

After listening, Gu Qing'e remained silent for a long while before blurting out her answer.

"You lied to me! You just told me you went hunting!"

Chen Zhuo was stunned for a second. He didn't expect Gu Qing'e's brain circuits to be so strange now.

Is this the focus right now?

"Isn't this hunting?" Chen Zhuo retorted.

"This...this..."

Her voice grew softer and softer.

"Alright, I guess you could call this hunting."

She turned her head away and stopped looking at the manuscript.

Chen Zhuo ignored her and took out all the spoils of war.

First, there was a broken bronze mirror, which Chen Zhuo guessed was a product from the same period as the stone carving.

The reason is also very simple.

Because the characters on the bronze mirror and the stone inscriptions are from the same source, and the handwriting is exactly the same.

Chen Zhuo first took out the carved stone and began to examine it.

The size is five times the size it would be in the real world.

Judging from its appearance, it should be five characters.

The character 噬 is on the far left and at the top; it should be the first character.

The remaining space was blank, and nothing particularly special could be seen.

"Was it because the required conditions weren't met, or something else? Or was it a scheme by the Wang family?"

Putting aside his doubts for the moment, Chen Zhuo opened the Wang family's research manuscripts.