Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

After Gu Yang and Hu Qing returned to their rented house, they faced the cakes that were soiled when their stall was overturned during the day. They felt it was inappropriate to continue selling them to others, but it would be a waste to throw them away.

Hu Qing proposed a suggestion that was both reasonable and avoided waste:

"Brother Gu, although these cakes are no longer suitable for sale to ordinary customers, we can't just waste them. We can clean the mud and sand on the surface and give them to the beggars in the city. Isn't that a good thing?"

Gu Yang thought this suggestion was very good and he took action immediately.

He carefully cleaned the mud and sand off the surface of the cake, trying to keep only those parts that were not seriously damaged and were still edible.

After the two men finished dealing with the cakes, they planned to go out and give them to the beggars, and solve the dinner problem at the same time.

The two men took the cakes and came to the place where beggars often gathered in the north of the city.

Gu Yang silently distributed the cakes to the ragged people lying under the city wall, and then left without saying a word.

When he saw the gratitude on the beggars' faces when they received the cakes, he felt a warmth and satisfaction in his heart.

Gu Yang was preparing to take Hu Qing out for a sumptuous dinner to celebrate their unexpected gain today.

However, when they passed by the county government office, Gu Yang's attention was attracted by a fast and agile figure.

The figure seemed to be climbing over the wall of the courtyard of the ritual room. His movements were light and skillful, and he obviously did not want to be discovered.

Hu Qing immediately became alert: "Brother Gu, this might be a clue. We previously suspected collusion between the county government and Prince Zhu, and this figure might be related to it."

Gu Yang nodded, he knew this might be an important discovery.

He decided to follow the figure to see if he could find out more information.

"We have to be careful and not follow too closely to avoid being discovered." Gu Yang whispered to Hu Qing, while slowing down his pace and trying to follow the figure without attracting attention.

They saw the figure moving quickly in the night and finally coming to a remote alley in the city.

Gu Yang and Hu Qing kept a certain distance, using the cover of night and the surrounding environment to follow carefully.

When the figure turned a corner, the two followed to check, only to find that the figure had disappeared.

There were quiet alleys all around, with no other sounds except the occasional sound of wind and the barking of dogs in the distance.

Gu Yang looked around, trying to find any possible clues or signs, but the dim light and intricate paths in the alley made tracking extremely difficult.

He felt a little confused and lost, not understanding why the figure disappeared so quickly.

Hu Qing stood beside Gu Yang and reminded him, "Brother Gu, there may be many hidden exits or hiding places here. It's getting late now, and I'm more worried that we've been discovered. It's better to return to the rental house as soon as possible."

Gu Yang nodded. He knew that in this situation, blind searching would be useless.

"Ah Qing, you're right. Let's go back first and check again tomorrow. Maybe we can find some clues during the day that we can't see at night."

The two decided to return to the rented house. Along the way, Gu Yang's mind was spinning rapidly, thinking about the possible identity and purpose of the figure, and whether this was related to the conspiracy of Prince Zhu that they were investigating.

After returning to the house, Gu Yang lit the night pearl, and he and Hu Qing began to discuss what had just happened.

They analyzed the figure's possible escape route and why it chose to appear near the county government's ceremonial room.

Hu Qing proposed some hypotheses: "That figure could be a messenger sent by Prince Zhu, or a night-traveling thief. In either case, his appearance could be related to our goal."

Gu Yang agreed with Hu Qing's analysis and added, "We should monitor the county government office more carefully tomorrow. We may even need to conduct some investigations during the day to see if we can find more clues."

They knew that this might be a key step in exposing Prince Zhu's conspiracy, so they had to be cautious and careful.

After some discussion, Gu Yang and Hu Qing both felt a little tired. They decided to practice first to gather their strength for the next day's action.

A night without words...

After a whole night of practice, Gu Yang felt that the power in his body had changed significantly.

When he woke up from meditation in the early morning, he was surprised to find that he had broken through to the late stage of the Body Tempering Stage.

This speed of cultivation was unprecedented for Gu Yang. He felt excited and surprised, and at the same time grateful for the help of Hu Qing and the half petal.

"Aqing, thank you. I feel an unprecedented power. This breakthrough will be of great benefit to our next actions." Gu Yang said to Hu Qing, his eyes flashing with expectation for strength.

Hu Qing was also happy: "Brother Gu, this is the result of your hard work and the result of our cooperation. Now, we should use this power to uncover more mysteries."

After simply packing up his belongings, Gu Yang went to the landlord to resign from the rented house and paid off all the bills.

Gu Yang brought Hu Qing to the alley again last night. He carefully observed every corner, looking for clues that might have been overlooked.

However, despite spending a long time, he still did not find any useful information.

The residents of the alley have started a new day, but no one knows what happened last night.

Gu Yang was a little anxious. He found a seat in a nearby teahouse, ordered some tea and snacks, and said to Hu Qing:

"Today is the last day. The imperial examination begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 PM. Brother Zhao and Brother Li agreed to return in the afternoon. I wonder if they've brought back any clues?"

Hu Qing had no good solution. The two of them couldn't just break into the county government office and search directly. With their strength, they would be killed by the guards before they even entered the door.

"Brother Gu, we can only take one step at a time. After all, the Zhu family is wealthy and powerful, and we are still weak. We can only find clues to bring them down." Hu Qing said helplessly.

Gu Yang and Hu Qing returned to the teahouse near the county government office and continued their surveillance.

They sat in a position where they could clearly see the county government's ceremonial room, ordered a pot of tea and some snacks, and tried their best to act like ordinary tea drinkers to avoid arousing suspicion.

The morning passed slowly, but they did not observe anything unusual. The officials of the county government came in and out, and everything looked normal. There were no new candidates coming to register.

"A Qing, it seems that our surveillance today still has no results." Gu Yang said to Hu Qing in his heart.

Hu Qing reminded Gu Yang to remain patient: "Brother Gu, surveillance often takes a long time and requires very careful observation. We can't give up just because we don't find anything for the time being."

Gu Yang nodded, he knew Hu Qing was right.

So they continued to observe quietly in the teahouse, while also paying attention to the conversations around them, hoping to find some clues.

In the afternoon, Gu Yang went to Lichunyuan to meet with Zhao Tiezhu and Li Wenyuan as agreed before.

As a brothel, Lichunyuan usually becomes lively at night, so it seems particularly deserted in the afternoon.

Walking into Lichunyuan, Gu Yang found that there were only a few waiters cleaning and preparing inside, and the air was filled with the smell of rouge and powder.

Led by the madam, they found the room where Zhao Tiezhu and Li Wenyuan had agreed to stay.

Gu Yang knocked on the door and shouted, "Brother Li, open the door! Brother Zhao asked me to help you with something. I know you are in there. You are capable of robbing men, but why can't you open the door!"

Under the madam's admiring gaze, Gu Yang finished reciting the contact code in shame.

Li Wenyuan quickly opened the door. Gu Yang dodged the madam's gaze and rushed in to close the door.

Gu Yang found that Zhao Tiezhu and Li Wenyuan were dressed in rags, had yellow complexions, and had messy hair. They were nowhere near as elegant as they had been when they first met.

"Gu Yang, you're here." Zhao Tiezhu stood up and greeted Gu Yang immediately when he saw him come in.

Li Wenyuan also smiled and nodded, "We've been waiting for you here for a while. Have you made any new discoveries?"

Gu Yang shook his head. "I've been keeping watch near the county government office for the past three days, but haven't noticed anything unusual. Only last night did someone come out of the ceremony room, but I lost track of them. How's it going over there?"

Hu Qing nodded beside him, but unfortunately Zhao and Li couldn't see him.

Zhao Tiezhu and Li Wenyuan exchanged glances, and then Zhao Tiezhu said, "We've found some traces of bandits outside the city. They seem to be connected to some officials in the county government. We believe these officials may be Prince Zhu's spies."

Li Wenyuan took out a letter and placed it on the table. He kicked open the cabinet door next to him, revealing a tied-up middle-aged man inside. His silky black robe looked dirty because of his struggle.

Li Wenyuan pointed at the man and said, "This person should be a servant of the Zhu Mansion, responsible for communicating with the bandits and transporting money. That letter is a communication of interests between the Zhu Mansion's steward and the bandit leader."

Zhao Tiezhu opened his shirt and peeled off the bandage on his arm, revealing the bloody scar underneath. He said:

"This old guy has actually reached the peak of foundation building and is about to break through. Fortunately, Brother Li is here, otherwise my arm would be broken right there."

Gu Yang looked at the hideous wound and asked worriedly, "Brother Zhao, how are you feeling now? Do you need any medicine? There's a doctor nearby who should be able to treat you."

Brother Zhao waved his hand: "No need, I brought some pills, just take two pills when practicing."

The three began to discuss their findings in detail, trying to find connections and clues.

They realized that Prince Zhu's conspiracy might be much more complicated and involve a wider range than they had imagined.