My virtue is above yours.

Chen Jingxuan wouldn't be mistaken; this smell was the same as the stranger's smell he'd found at the academy—the smell of a thief.

The same smell was also present in the house, and the owner of the smell was none other than Vice Minister Fan.

His mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.

In other words, Vice Minister Fan was the thief who stole the deeds to the academy's buildings and land.

The matter became clear. The deed wasn't lost; it was stolen by Vice Minister Fan. His motives were unknown—perhaps for profit, or perhaps to destroy the academy. By stealing the deed, he cut off the legal avenue for the academy's support from the court, and he obstructed potential donors, ultimately rendering the academy unsustainable and causing its complete demise.

Three questions arose in my mind.

First, why did he steal the book?

Second, why would he do the theft himself?

Third, just now, Vice Minister Fan asked the eldest brother to stop barking, but the eldest brother was still trembling anxiously. It seemed that the eldest brother did not stop barking on his own initiative, but was controlled by some powerful force. What is this force?

Master Fan came over and said, "Let's leave it at that for today. Please think it over carefully, Master Chen. We'll take our leave now."

The two brothers walked out the door and disappeared into the noise of the restaurant.

Chen Jingxuan remained where he was, pondering the three questions he had just asked.

He controlled his senior brother's body, attempting to make him bark again.

But it felt as if some invisible force was choking his throat, making it impossible for him to make a sound, not even a whimper.

He withdrew his consciousness, and there lay his senior brother on the ground, looking at him with pitiful black eyes, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the eldest brother finally managed to let out a weak sob.

Chen Jingxuan guessed that all three questions stemmed from one answer—the path of cultivation practiced by Vice Minister Fan.

It was the virtues required by this path that compelled him to destroy the academies.

The clue to this path is hidden in the spell he just used to silence his senior brother.

Chen Jingxuan led the dog out of Xiaoyue Tower, synchronizing his consciousness with his senior brother to avoid missing any possible olfactory clues in the air.

He walked quickly toward Qingyao Mountain, where there were many books in the library; perhaps he could find some clues there.

He never considered backing down; giving up easily was not in his nature, especially given the threat from the enemy, which only made him feel resentful.

A man and his dog wandered through the streets and alleys. As they passed through a dark alley, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

A disheveled beggar was sitting in the alley, with a tattered straw mat beneath him and a broken ceramic bowl in front of him.

This is the beggar I helped that day.

Seeing that he seemed to be in good spirits and that there were some copper coins in his bowl, Chen Jingxuan went up to greet him and asked, "How have you been these days?"

The beggar grinned: "I recognize you. You gave me a piece of bread last time, thank you."

"It was just a small favor."

Just as Chen Jingxuan was about to leave, he smelled a strange odor coming from the beggar's mouth through his senior brother's dog nose.

The beggar smelled terrible, but when he opened his mouth, there was a faint smell of toothpaste mixed with some other fragrance.

Humans simply cannot smell it, but dogs can detect that faint scent.

Chen Jingxuan concluded that the beggar couldn't possibly afford toothpaste, but where did the taste in his mouth come from?

He asked directly, "Have you ever used toothpaste?"

The beggar chuckled, "I've used it. A few days ago, an adult threw me some white cream, and I thought it was something to eat. He laughed when he saw me finish it and said it was toothpaste, not food. I don't know anything about brushing teeth, but it tasted pretty good anyway."

The toothpaste was formulated by him personally and is not edible at all.

Chen Jingxuan grabbed his hand: "You can't eat toothpaste. Let me check your pulse. It wouldn't be good if you ate something bad."

He checked the pulse; it was steady and there were no problems.

"It's nothing serious, you probably didn't eat much. If you feel unwell later, come to Xinyangfang to see me. I'm doing free medical consultations there."

"Thank you, Taoist priest. I'm in good health, I'll be fine." The beggar smiled and patted his chest.

Reassured, Chen Jingxuan left and led his senior brother back to Qingyao Mountain.

He stepped into the square, and his three disciples, led by his obese roommate Zhao Qingshan, quickly surrounded him, their faces filled with anxiety: "Senior Brother Chen, why are you back?"

Chen Jingxuan pointed to the twelve-story building: "I'll go to the Scripture Pavilion to check the classics."

The disciples said nervously, "No, no! Jiang Zhen is on duty in the Scripture Pavilion. If she finds out you come back, she'll definitely cause you trouble. You can't beat her."

Jiang Zhen is a green-robed disciple at the Qi Nourishing Realm, while Chen Jingxuan is only a green-robed disciple at the Chao Che Realm. The other party already knows how to fight using Qi and magic. If they really fight, they probably won't even be able to touch each other.

"But I must go to the library today."

After discussing it for a while, Zhao Qingshan and the others said, "We'll distract Jiang Zhen so you can sneak in quietly."

"Okay. But why should you help me?" Chen Jingxuan asked curiously.

Zhao Qingshan winked at his friends, signaling them not to tell anyone that they knew about Chen Jingxuan's illegitimate child. He said with a grin, "Because we're roommates, we have to help each other."

On the fourth floor of the twelve-story building, in front of the towering pavilion three zhang high, Jiang Zhen sat alone at the table, engrossed in reading scriptures.

Ever since she robbed Chen Jingxuan's Xinyangfang last time, her master has punished her by making her work on Qingyao Mountain.

The abbot's exact words were: "Since you are so unwilling to be assigned to duty in the city by the sect, then go to the Scripture Pavilion to read books."

Even if nothing major happens while on duty in the city, you can still accumulate cultivation points by practicing medicine.

Now it's all over. Sitting at the entrance of the library, I hardly see anyone all day. It's a real waste of time.

Jiang Zhen yawned, rested her chin on her hand, and rubbed her beauty mark with her fingers.

Besides the registration booklet, there was also a sheet of Xuan paper for practice, which was densely covered with the three characters "Chen Jingxuan".

I wrote it down and then crossed it out. The whole sheet of paper was pitch black.

"It's all that treacherous and cunning bastard's fault that I've ended up like this. I'll make him grovel before me."

Footsteps came from downstairs, and several disciples in green robes came up, the leader being a large, fat man who was as wide as two people.

The fat man braced himself on the table with one hand, causing the table to sink slightly.

The fat face grinned, revealing unsightly wrinkles: "Senior Sister Jiang."

Jiang Zhen didn't even glance at him, pushed the booklet forward, and coldly said, "Register."

Zhao Qingshan and the others surrounded the table, blocking Jiang Zhen's view so that she could not see the path leading to the main gate of the Sutra Repository.

Zhao Qingshan, with his hand hidden behind his back, gently beckoned Chen Jingxuan to pass quickly.

Chen Jingxuan bent down and tiptoed inside.

Jiang Zhen frowned slightly and craned his neck to look behind Zhao Qingshan and the others.

Zhao Qingshan quickly shouted, "Senior Sister!"

Jiang Zhen immediately turned her gaze to the annoying fat man: "What are you going to do?"

Zhao Qingshan was at a loss for words: "I...I..."

Jiang Zhen said disdainfully, "I know what you're going to say. Every year, there are plenty of people like you among the new disciples. You're just attracted to my good looks."

"Huh?"

Zhao Qingshan had long heard that Jiang Zhen was arrogant and extremely narcissistic. Every year, many new disciples were indeed captivated by her beauty, but they soon realized that this girl was simply impossible to get along with.

To cover for Chen Jingxuan, he went along with what the other person said: "That's right, I've long admired my senior sister."

Jiang Zhen kept her head down, reading her book, and sneered, "With your pig-like appearance, don't say such shameless things in front of me. Just seeing your oily face makes me so disgusted I can't even speak."

She then turned her ire on the other two: "And you two, one as skinny as a maggot, the other as black as pig bristles, did you both fall off this pig? If you want to borrow books, you'd better go in properly. If you're trying to disgust me, don't blame me for chopping you into minced pork."

Jiang Zhen never looked up at the three of them.

Zhao Qingshan and the other two were heartbroken. They clenched their fists tightly, wanting to punch Jiang Zhen in the face.

They told themselves that it was all for Senior Brother Chen's sake, and they had to swallow their pride!

Chen Jingxuan, who had slipped into the scripture pavilion, overheard these words from behind the door and felt genuinely sorry for Zhao Qingshan and the other two: "It must have been tough for them to withstand that female demon with their dignity. Old Zhao, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought you were gay."

He quickly went deep into the library to find the books that could solve the mystery of the Vice Minister.