Chapter 486: How Do You Use This Thing?

Xiao Er hugged Tuan Tuan, rolled in a tumble under the altar table, hiding behind the amber‑yellow table curtain that hung down to the floor.

Lu Qi supported Xiao Ningyuan, pressed his toe forcefully on the altar, and leapt onto the beam.

Footsteps outside grew increasingly chaotic, coming from far to near.

The whispered mutterings of several eunuchs drifted in.

"It's the middle of the night, why are you shouting nonsense?"

"Just now I heard a 'Clack!' from inside! It was crystal clear! No one's inside, it must be the ancestor's spirit manifesting!"

"Should we report to the Empress Dowager?"

"The Empress Dowager is sound asleep now, you go? I wouldn't dare."

"Is there a thief?"

"Did you fall asleep? Thieves don't steal gold and jewels, what would they steal in the Three Purities Hall?"

"We're all on night duty; if something truly goes wrong, none of us can escape responsibility! Let's go! Let's all go in and see!"

A moment later, a "Squeak—" sounded, and a crack opened in the hall doors.

Three or four eunuchs crowded at the doorway, peering inside.

Inside the hall, silence reigned, with only three statues standing quietly.

"What noise is there? Isn't everything fine?"

"Let's light the candles, this darkness is terribly creepy."

"Light them, light them! Keep the hall doors wide open! We'll watch from outside; once we survive this night, it won't concern us."

A eunuch fumbled out a fire‑starter, trembling as he lit the candlestick on the altar, and the hall instantly brightened.

Xiao Ningyuan inwardly lamented; this was trouble—let alone finding the rest, if these eunuchs keep guarding the door like this, leaving the Three Purities Hall will be difficult.

When daylight shines fully, they'll be unable to hide at all.

Behind the table curtain, Tuan Tuan held her breath, her little face pressed against Xiao Er's chest.

Xiao Er protected her with one hand, while the other hand rested on the knife hilt at his waist.

Several eunuchs hurriedly paced around the hall, inspecting.

"Did you hear wrong? There's nothing!"

"Maybe a stray cat ran in and bumped into something?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes lit up; she quietly slipped a thread from her cloth rabbit in the Embroidered pouch at her waist, muttering low: "Cats and mice, come here to play!"

She released her little hand, a faint glow flashed, and the thread vanished.

The next moment,

"Pat—" a light sound.

The eunuchs shivered in unison: "Who? What moved?"

In the next instant.

"Squeak!"

A large gray rat burst out from under the altar, panicking and darting wildly around the hall.

"Meow!"

A plump big calico cat sprang from an unknown corner, chasing the rat in a chaotic sprint through the hall.

The candlelight flickered, the cat and mouse chased, colliding and producing light sounds everywhere.

"Ouch! So it's these two beasts!"

"You scared me to death!"

The eunuchs breathed a sigh of relief, muttering as they drove them away.

"Go, go, go! Get out!"

The cat and the mouse leapt nimbly over the threshold, disappearing into the night.

Silence returned to the hall.

The eunuchs stared at each other; one forced a dry laugh: "Let's go, let's go, what a fuss."

They blew out the candle, left, and shut the hall doors again.

Footsteps gradually faded.

Xiao Er, cradling Tuan Tuan, slipped out, while Lu Qi and Xiao Ningyuan floated down to the ground.

Tuan Tuan pounded her chest, her little face flushing with excitement: "The little mouse ran so fast! The big calico cat is amazing!"

Xiao Ningyuan rubbed her hair, smiling: "They're all no good, Tuan Tuan is still the best."

He looked up at the Whisk in the hand of the Grand Pure Moral Celestial Venerable: "Just one more item left."

Lu Qi leapt, reaching for the Whisk, but unexpectedly the Whisk was lodged in the statue's hand, and he pulled it out effortlessly.

Caught off guard, he lost his balance and began to fall off the altar; Xiao Er hurriedly leapt, grabbed him, and their bodies swayed on the altar, knocking over a candlestick.

"Clang—"

The few froze instantly, and sounds from outside rose.

"What's that noise again? Let's go in and see."

"It's probably those two beasts again, forget it, if you want to go, I'm too lazy to bother."

"Then I won't go either."

Everyone held their breath, listened a moment longer, then relaxed.

Lu Qi and Xiao Er wiped the cold sweat from their faces, took the Whisk, and leapt down.

Xiao Ningyuan patted his chest, picked up the Whisk, and examined it carefully repeatedly.

Lu Qi slowly ran his hand over every inch of the Whisk, bringing it close to scrutinize the seam between the silk thread and the handle's end, finding no flaw.

Xiao Er tried twisting it left and right, pulling up and down, even lightly tapping the handle, but found no seam at all.

"It should be right here," Xiao Er whispered, "but how do we open this thing?"

Xiao Ningyuan frowned, lifting his eyes to look at the dark night outside the hall doors.

Having entered the palace at midnight, they reckoned it was already past the third watch; if they didn't hurry, leaving would become difficult.

Lu Qi looked at him: "Should we take it back first? Looking for it later is better than wasting time here."

Xiao Ningyuan fell silent for a moment: "Taking it away is easy, but if they notice the whisk is missing tomorrow, they'll grow suspicious and tighten patrols. Then it'll be even harder for us to come back in and rescue the Seventh Prince."

He looked at the whisk: "Try again; if it really won't work, put it back as is and try again tomorrow."

Having said that, he handed the whisk to Tuan Tuan: "Be good, take a look."

Tuan Tuan had been standing tired and plopped down on the cushion before the offering table.

She reached out and took it, turning it over in her hands as if it weren't a treasure held by a deity but merely her toy: "Big brother, how do you use this?"

Xiao Ningyuan replied: "Just like this…"

He made a vague gesture, turned his wrist, and swept outward: "Wafting away dust, purifying the Daoist field—meaning to brush away worries, letting the heart clear itself."

"Oh, Grandpa Taoist Priest always held it like that, but I've never seen him use it." Tuan Tuan nodded half‑understandingly, rose from the cushion, and gripped the whisk's handle.

"Is it like this?" She imitated her brother, turned her wrist, and gave it a strong flick!

"Whoosh—"

The whisk's threads traced an arc in the air, and at the instant the tip reached its highest point—

"Swish!"

A thin, dark shadow shot out from the end of the whisk's handle, straight toward the hall's ceiling!

"Oh no!" Xiao Er sprang up.

He flipped mid‑air, bracing his left hand against the offering table for leverage, his right arm shooting out, fingers curled like claws, and he made a fierce scoop in the air.

Xiao Ningyuan's heart felt like it would leap out of his chest.

Xiao Er caught it!

He drifted down and slowly opened his palm.

Lu Qi hurried forward, opened the paper packet in his hand, and found nine bronze sword tips!

Tuan Tuan happily shook her head and giggled, whispering, "I found it!"

Xiao Ningyuan stared for a moment, then shook his head and laughed—could it really be this simple?

We all treated it as a supreme treasure, examining it carefully, but only Tuan Tuan saw it as just a whisk.

It seems Taoist Priest Xuanwei set this mechanism not to hinder later generations but to enlighten them—obsessive seeking yields nothing, only those free of attachment can perceive the truth.

Lu Qi wrapped up the sword tips, handed him to him, rose and leapt, then carefully returned the whisk to the deity's hand.

"Let's go."

Xiao Er hoisted Tuan Tuan onto his back, and the group slipped silently out of the Hall of the Three Purities, retracing their steps.

Just as they entered the secret passage, Tuan Tuan loudly declared, "Big brother, I want to rescue Twelfth and Noble Consort De too!"