[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful":3,"chapter-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-36":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Even a Gentleman Must Be Careful",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2268656,4429,"Chapter 36: Thirty-Six: The Dao Line of Immortal Alchemists (Seeking Follows and Votes)","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-36",36,"\u003Cp>Thirty-Six: The Dao Line of Immortal Alchemists (Seeking Follows and Votes)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong was awakened by the disappointed glances of others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lay on a desk temporarily turned into a bed, opened his eyes, and stared dazedly at the pitch-black rafters of the courtroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had originally entered that ordinary university because his foreign language skills were abysmal, but he had actually been quite satisfied with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had many outdoor basketball courts; a gap in the wall beside the dormitory was busier than the back gate; on the way to class, a row of ginkgo trees shed autumn leaves, letting him ride his bike through a whirl of golden flakes; the cafeteria lady’s Parkinson’s hadn’t progressed too far, and a bowl of rice cost only five cents—enough to avoid eating dirt; most importantly, the Literature Department’s major was packed with pretty girls and scarce monks, making the classroom feel like a harem, with many lovely girls—even if none matched Xiao Shimei’s wealth, they were far more generous…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine, no more pretending—he was the class heartthrob, naturally nostalgic for the empire he’d built, for the girls who blushed at a single word from him, for his roommates who stayed up all night gaming and grilling with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his family and friends were dissatisfied, believing his talent deserved a better place, lamenting how he’d wasted it, slumped into laziness, and given up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong utterly rejected their devaluation of his university years; perhaps it was excessive pride, or perhaps some disappointed gaze had pierced him—he resolved to take the postgraduate exam, determined to enter a school that would slap every last one of them in the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s it matter to read books? Just the simple mode of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes, people live just to win a single breath of dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, County Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was about to overturn the table and raze the household, was also fighting for a breath called “justice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In recent days, he noticed that the impoverished masses crowding the relief camp outside the city looked at him—their county magistrate—with eyes utterly opposite to those of his past family and friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a kind of hope Ouyang Rong could not describe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They seemed to trust this “radish magistrate,” who wandered aimlessly around the relief camp, meddling in everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ouyang Rong believed he had done little to truly improve their lives: the daily porridge and rice barely filled their stomachs, just enough to stave off hunger; the shelters built only kept out wind and rain, not cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had lost their homes, their fields, even their loved ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having lost so much, Ouyang Rong had merely given them the barest means to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why, then, were they so grateful to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed… because finally, a ruler had treated them as human beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Understanding this world, a fire surged in Ouyang Rong’s chest, rising swiftly and refusing to subside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the pitch-black courtroom, Ouyang Rong could not sleep, rolled off the desk, threw on a thin robe, and went to the East Storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, the moon was a thin crescent, its light dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the East Storage was lit brightly by hundreds of torches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Commandant Qin held his waist saber, blocking the entrance; armored soldiers stood guard on all sides; nearby, elite scouts hid, bows drawn, ready at all times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the East Storage, Old Master Cui and his apprentice clerks worked overtime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang sat upright on a wooden stool placed across the doorway, her chin lifted slightly, sword in hand, eyes fixed straight ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything inside and out was tightly secured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire room was silent except for the clatter of abacuses—everything seemed fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong felt slightly reassured, walked around to inspect, greeted everyone, and asked about the audit progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also checked the barrels of well water prepared in the courtyard—measures against someone desperate enough to set fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with so many ledgers in the East Storage, it was impossible to burn them all at once without detection; that path was already blocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong exhaled softly, glanced at the sky—it was still the third watch, halfway through the night—he thought a moment, then returned to the nearby courtroom to rest again; tomorrow, after finishing the audit, there would be real business to attend to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, as soon as he returned, he met Ban Xi at the courtroom door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This new-arrived Korean maid, wearing a veil, carried a small box and stepped forward cheerfully, “Master, Madam sent some midnight snacks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong glanced at it and nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you. Is everything alright with Auntie?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No trouble at all. Mei Lu Yuan is fine; Madam was just worried about you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good. I’m not hungry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ouyang Rong shook his head, opened the box, glanced inside, then handed the midnight snacks to the government office runners who had brought Ban Xi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take her back to Mei Lu Yuan. Also, deliver these snacks to the East Storage—for Old Master Cui and Sister Xie. Tell them they can rest if tired; no need to rush.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runners led Ban Xi away, her expression reluctant; Ouyang Rong then thanked the soldiers guarding the courtroom, spoke a few words, and returned inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he did not lie down again; instead, he extinguished the lamp, sat alone on the chair, head bowed, eyes closed, pinching his nose bridge to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, this courtroom, near the East Storage, was equally heavily guarded: traps lined the courtyard, sentries watched from the roof, waiting for someone to make a desperate move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, even dogs jump over walls when cornered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sitting alone in darkness, Ouyang Rong felt drowsiness creeping in—when suddenly, several crisp wooden fish beats echoed beside his ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Middle of the night? Why did virtue suddenly increase?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young magistrate was puzzled, but no matter how he thought about it, gaining virtue must be a good thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded, closed his eyes in darkness, and rested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang glanced at the midnight snacks sent by her brother, turned to look at Commandant Qin outside, who gave a slight nod—someone had already checked the food, it was safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang turned back, sat upright again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stared into the storage, refusing to eat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Magistrate treats us well,” Old Master Cui distributed the snacks to his apprentices, glanced at the sky, “Eat quickly, then rest only fifteen minutes. Those going to relieve yourselves—don’t wander far. Return promptly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone nodded, rose one by one, stretched, and went out—yet before leaving, each was searched by Commandant Qin and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Old Master Cui remained seated, continuing to organize ledgers, reaching over to take others’ books and flip through them. Others had long grown used to this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Xie Ling Jiang and Old Master Cui remained inside the East Storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang spoke: “Master, rest a while—I’ll guard here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Master Cui shook his head, murmuring only: “Dawn is near.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Any findings in the Liu family’s ledgers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Master Cui sighed, pointing to the stack of confidential ledgers: “No wonder they grow rich every year despite the floods.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang frowned, rose to inspect—when suddenly, she caught a whiff of a sharp, unfamiliar odor, immediately held her breath, and as if sensing it instinctively, snapped her head up:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the warehouse ceiling, a large black gecko… no, not a gecko—a man in a black robe, wearing a bronze beast mask, pressed flat against the stone tiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knew when he had slipped in!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang acted instantly, snatched several writing brushes from the desk, and flung them like flying daggers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast-masked man rolled thrice to evade, then swept his sleeve and hurled something downward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below, Xie Ling Jiang had already lifted her longbow, drawn taut as a crescent moon; before the eye could see the string move, an arrow shot out—*whoosh*—pinning the thrown object to the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Boom!* A three-meter-wide fireball erupted instantly where the arrow struck, sparks flying everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, a desk kicked upward just then caught most of the falling embers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All this happened within a single breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast-masked man, wary, clung to the ceiling like a gecko, crawling toward the only small skylight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trying to run?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang’s brows snapped down; the next instant, she stepped off the desk edge, leapt upward like an eagle soaring into the clouds, light as a feather, and drew her sword to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beast-masked man did not look back, hurled another object—but Xie Ling Jiang deflected it with the flat of her blade, sending it flying ten meters away, where it landed without exploding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang ignored it, closed in, and with a flash of swordlight, split the beast-masked man cleanly in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next second, something strange occurred: the lower half fell lightly to the ground—an empty black robe; the “upper half” continued crawling toward the skylight, its head-sized opening swallowing the upper body whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sorcery? The Dao Line of Immortal Alchemists?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Ling Jiang gritted her teeth, landed swiftly, turned, and burst through the door, shouting to Commandant Qin and the others gathering outside: “Seal all doors and windows—no one enters!”—then chased after the sorcerer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In mere moments, the clash between two Qi Refiners stunned the soldiers; they entered to check, confirmed Old Master Cui was unharmed, then withdrew, sealing the doors and windows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Commandant Qin and the others guarding outside failed to notice: inside the East Storage, Old Master Cui, seated alone, quietly bent down, picked up the cylindrical object named “Burn Heaven Thunder”—the very item the sorcerer had thrown last, which had failed to explode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calmly, Old Master Cui unscrewed the small cylinder, slowly poured its mixture of oily paste and black powder onto the stack of ledgers, then spilled some onto his white hair and body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having done this unseen, the quiet old man reached for the oil lamp on the neighboring desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next second, a familiar male voice rang out from outside the door:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1675,"2026-06-19T21:28:25.445Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b41e973d62d346ae43d285873e31508b94efef013365981c528c35bde9459f25","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-37","even-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-chapter-35",864,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Feven-a-gentleman-must-be-careful-cover.jpg"]