Chapter 19: 19 Courage and Gall

19 Courage and Gall

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly discovered that a cultivation technique had appeared in his mind.

It was a technique that was extremely profound, yet one he was intimately familiar with. Not only was he familiar with it, it was as if he had studied it for over a decade; not only were the words etched into his heart, but he had also fully grasped and understood them, one could say he had mastered it completely.

It was not the Paulownia Luring Phoenix Art, nor was it some "Golden Flower Luring Phoenix Art" or "Silver Flower Luring Phoenix Art"; it was—

The "Divine Bird Bathing in Fire Art".

Where did such a technique come from?

Tang Zhao was astonished. From childhood to now, the only technique he had ever seen was the Paulownia Luring Phoenix Art from last night, but he had only browsed it roughly, like reading a heavenly book. Even with the annotations appearing on his Glasses to help him understand the text, he hadn't had time to study it in detail. How could it be that he seemed to have fully learned such a profound technique?

This technique was absolutely profound. He went through it in his mind and discovered that because he had mastered this technique, even his knowledge had increased by a notch, and many concepts had naturally become clear to him, allowing him to read the "Paulownia Luring Phoenix Art" now, likely even without the help of annotations.

This was too magical! It could likely only be explained by the legendary "Empowerment"! And this Empowerment was not a castle in the air, but a building rising from flat ground—solid, substantial, and without any hidden dangers.

It was just that he couldn't practice it now. After mastering it, he realized that the Mysterious Technique was not a foundational technique that started from nothing, but an advanced technique for a certain stage. Practicing it now was like rowing a boat on flat land; there was no way to proceed. But once the opportunity to practice arrived, he would be able to get started immediately, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

He bit his finger lightly, and after feeling the pain, he recalled the technique again. Finding it still clear, he finally let out a sigh of relief, confirming that this was definitely not a vivid dream.

Fortunately, it was not a fantasy, just a miracle.

Seeing that Tang Zhao remained silent with an unpredictable expression, Wei Zhangle suddenly pointed to the sky and said, "May the heavens be my witness. I will never leak a single word of what I have seen and heard today, otherwise let me die without..."

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment. Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Stop swearing. Can I not trust you? This isn't necessarily something that must be kept secret. I even wanted to ask some expert about the reason behind this."

Wei Zhangle said, "Who you choose to ask is your decision. From my side, I will never utter a single word to anyone."

Tang Zhao thought for a moment, turned solemn, and asked, "Do you also think that we shouldn't mention the strange things we've encountered to others?"

Wei Zhangle also replied with a serious expression, "I humbly believe so. Disaster comes from the mouth. We are weak, and we don't know the gravity of things; we understand nothing. Not knowing what can be said and what cannot be said, it is better to say nothing at all. If we gain more experience in the future and can distinguish good from bad, it won't be too late to tell others then."

Tang Zhao remembered Sui Feng's instructions again and nodded, "Ten thousand words are all appropriate, but silence is better. You are right. I will never tell anyone about what you told me in the temple that night either."

Wei Zhangle said, "Thank you. This is your kindness, but I am merely..."

Tang Zhao frowned and said, "Isn't it tiring to talk like that? What's wrong with you? Did you wake up more distant than yesterday after a night's sleep?"

Wei Zhangle was taken aback and smiled bitterly, "I... I didn't sleep well last night. I felt regret and sorrow in my heart. If it weren't for me yesterday, we should have been able to escape..."

Tang Zhao realized he was referring to the matter of the squinting girl and said, "What is there to regret? If we had followed that person yesterday, perhaps we wouldn't even need to regret it. Because the dead do not regret." He said earnestly, "Being cautious and conservative ten thousand times is fine, but being careless and losing one's life once is too much. So your decision was not wrong. If it were me choosing, I would do the same."

Wei Zhangle sighed and said, "That is so. Once the move is made, there is no regret; regret is useless. If it were just me, I wouldn't change my choice even if I chose ten thousand times. But I implicated you..."

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "Since we share adversity, we cannot avoid facing things together. If it's not listening to you, then it's listening to me. If I were to lose my head for a moment and drag us both to our deaths, would you blame me?"

Wei Zhangle was about to blurt out an answer, but looking at Tang Zhao's solemn expression, he lowered his head to ponder again and said, "You said it yourself, how can the dead regret? Since we are dead, there is naturally no resentment."

Tang Zhao clapped his hands lightly and said, "As you say! If we talk about trust, you trusted me first. In the ruined temple, in order to warn me, you laid out the adventure that concerned your life and livelihood. How is that different from entrusting your life to me? Returning a peach for a plum, how could I hold a grudge over these small matters?"

Wei Zhangle gradually relaxed and said, "That's true. Later, you saved me regardless of your own life—we are also friends through life and death."

Tang Zhao said, "In a single day, first we entrusted our lives to each other, and second, we shared adversity. Can we not be called friends at first sight? We are no less than the virtuous gentlemen of old."

Wei Zhangle's skin was ultimately not as thick as Tang Zhao's, and he said, "I dare not compare myself to the sages of old, but to emulate their character a little is enough. Furthermore... I still respect you as my young master."

This last sentence was, of course, a joke, and Tang Zhao also laughed, "It won't be too late to respect me when I pay you your wages."

Wei Zhangle let out a long breath and reminded, "Brother Zhao, you should put away the things in your hands."

He was referring to the letters and gold filling Tang Zhao's hands.

Tang Zhao realized, hurriedly stuffed the letters back into their original envelopes, and felt them slightly heavy in his hands.

Wei Zhangle did not intervene and said, "When they came to deliver food this morning, I took it for you. It's a pity they didn't come inside, otherwise this whole table... You are too careless. Wealth should not be exposed, and this place is not safe."

Tang Zhao thanked him and said, "Who knew I would sleepwalk? I didn't expect to have gold either." He explained a few things, but the matter of the Glasses was too magical, so he only gave a rough account of the series of events from being refused at the Xue Clan gate the day before to being gifted the gold.

Wei Zhangle was speechless after hearing it and said, "Brother Zhao... If I were you, upon sensing gold and silver inside at the Xue Clan gate, I would never dare to carry it on me like this."

Tang Zhao said, "Yes, it's inconvenient for travel, and the road is not safe. But I have no place to stay, and I don't know where to put it..."

Wei Zhangle shook his head and said, "No—you should have dug a hole to bury the letters first, then immediately fled through the small path—what if they framed you?"

Tang Zhao said, "Ah?"

Wei Zhangle said, "Like this, not saying it openly but secretly tucking away gold and silver, only the Xue Clan knows, and no one else does, so naturally there are no witnesses. By evening, they bring officials to arrest the thief, intercept you halfway, say you stole things, open the letters, and catch you red-handed with the stolen goods. What if they hand you over to the officials for questioning or even beat you to death on the spot? Even if you died, you wouldn't be able to clear your name as a thief!"

Tang Zhao listened, breaking out in a cold sweat, and said, "There... there is such a thing?"

Wei Zhangle said, "There is everything in this world." Having said this, he thought of yesterday's event and added, "Of course, it's possible I'm overthinking it; it doesn't always happen."

Tang Zhao said, "Why go to such lengths? What is there to gain from such trouble?"

Wei Zhangle said, "There are many reasons... it could be revenge, it could be to silence someone, it could be for some goal, whether it's wealth or beauty, or to eliminate future trouble, or even just because they find you annoying. They say an innocent man is guilty of his own treasure, but someone like me who has nothing can sometimes inexplicably get in someone else's way. It's not to say everyone is so insidious and vicious, it's just that I only know how to use the darkest speculations."

The more Tang Zhao thought about it, the more terrifying it felt, and he said, "You all warn me like this, which shows I don't understand the ways of the world. Sigh... the things under heaven are so... fortunately, this time it's not. This time it shouldn't be."

He repeated it twice, and finally, he had a judgment.

This time, it was not malicious!

Using gold and silver to frame someone is already very extravagant; there is no reason to add a cultivation technique on top of it. For such an important technique, if any trouble appeared halfway, that would be a huge risk. Xue Daxia was ultimately well-intentioned; he was lucky this time.

However, if what Wei Zhangle said really happened, he would definitely have fallen into the trap.

If such a thing happened, it wouldn't mean Tang Zhao was stupid for not being prepared; if it didn't happen, it wouldn't mean Wei Zhangle was dark-hearted for speculating like that. It was just that the two had different circumstances, different experiences, and therefore, their knowledge and thoughts were completely different.

He asked again, "Now that we are in a place like this, how should we protect our property?"

Wei Zhangle pondered and said, "We haven't met that official yet, and our future is unclear. You should keep it hidden on your person for now. If it really is a disaster, if you have the gold, you might have a chance to bribe your way out, and perhaps there will be a glimmer of hope. If it's not a disaster, then find a suitable time to bury it in a hidden place and take it out after the matter is over."

Tang Zhao nodded. This was a steady and reliable idea, and for now, it seemed to be the only way.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Come out quickly, the official wants to see you."

Both of them stiffened at the same time. Tang Zhao said, "Coming." He casually washed his face in the water basin that was miraculously divine last night but now looked completely ordinary, combed his hair, and walked out first.

There were bailiffs waiting outside, leading the two through the courtyard. It turned out that although this courtyard was the main courtyard, it was also the back courtyard; in front, there was another courtyard where the Master received guests.

Just as they entered the front courtyard, they heard someone say angrily, "What exactly is the... official playing at? Who is he to receive guests on behalf of our Manor Master?"

Tang Zhao recognized the voice; it was the maid Yuan Qing.

Then someone said, "The Town Guardian will have his own explanation later. Be quiet, do not be impulsive and ruin the big event; you cannot afford the consequences."

Just as the door curtain rustled, someone rushed out, and it was indeed Yuan Qing, whose face was pale with anger.