The news of Zhen Taikang's recovery did not spread out. It was not that he didn't trust the villagers in the village, but rather that this matter was too bewildering. The astute Zhen Taikang almost instantly realized that if this matter were to spread, it would bring great trouble to the Zhen family. Translation:
The innocent man carries the crime of possessing a precious jade token, even among old friends and neighbors who have known each other inside out for most of their lives, it is inevitable that some people will harbor ulterior motives in such extraordinary matters beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.
That night, Zhen Taikang secretly went to Zhen Meng's house's courtyard while it was late and quiet.
The person most delighted to see Zhen Taikang regain his sight was Zhen Debao.
"Grandpa Kang, can you really see now? That's great!"
Zhen Debang's big black face turned into a big black chrysanthemum with a smile.
Zhen Taikang looked at Zhen Debang's face and couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
Why are the younger generations of the Zhen family so careless with their genes? It's one thing for his own grandson to grow up looking sloppy, but this Zhen family's top scholar, the prestigious prime minister, has such a coarse and vulgar appearance. He doesn't look like a scholar at all; instead, he resembles someone who slaughters chickens and dogs.
Could it be that I have been secluded for these decades and the world has changed?
Zhen Meng knew Zhen Taikang's intention and had also discussed it with his family before. He believed that such matters could not be hidden from a seventh-ranked expert like him, so he decided to fully disclose everything to him.
Regarding this old man's past, Baili Qingshan specifically retrieved the files from the Supervision Department of that year. Everyone unanimously believes that this old man can be trusted.
When Zhen Taikang heard that Zhen Meng could create all sorts of amazing dishes out of rotten ingredients, he wasn't too surprised, as he had also experienced it before. He just sternly reminded him, "Meng'er, this skill of yours is too extraordinary. Don't let outsiders know about it, otherwise it will surely bring you trouble!"
Zhen Meng smiled slightly and said, "Grandfather, rest assured, everyone present is a family member. By the way, have you tried using dynamic vision?"
Zhen Tai Kang was startled, "What kind of vision?"
甄蒙冲百里青衫示意了一下，百里青衫弯腰从地上抓起一把小石子，对甄太康说道：“老爷子，请集中精力看我手中的石子。”
After finishing speaking, he raised his hand and shot out more than a dozen stones of various sizes, resembling scattered flowers of heavenly maidens.
Subconsciously, Zhen Taikang's gaze locked onto the flying stones and he was astonished to find that even in the pitch-black night, the stones in his field of vision were still clearly visible. He could even see the dust attached to the stones scattering in the air.
In an instant, he could vividly imagine the trajectory, landing spot, and force of these stones in his mind. He could even inexplicably predict that in the next moment, one of the stones would hit the second branch of the old elm tree three yards away.
As if to verify Zhen Taikang's intuition, indeed a stone hit that branch. Zhen Taikang looked at the old elm tree in silence.
After a while, he slowly turned around and sat back on the stone bench, picking up a teacup and taking a sip. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you have any wine?"
On that night, Zhen Taikang drank and laughed with everyone, living a carefree life.
The next morning, when Zhen Dechong came to pick up his grandfather to go back home, he was shocked to see a group of people sitting and sleeping soundly in a row on the branches of an old elm tree in the courtyard. He was immediately taken aback.
What's going on? Has the owl become enlightened?
Chu Xiu spread thick quilts under the tree for several female relatives in his family. With a helpless expression, he said to Zhen Dechong, "These people drank too much last night and insisted on having a vision contest. This is the result."
Yang Jinghong looks at Zheng Jiuen, who lacks the demeanor of a grandmaster, and sneers, "Some people even want to try if they can see through things. In my opinion, what kind of bedding can be laid for them? With their physiques, they might not even wake up if they fall down."
Su Jin covered her mouth and laughed lightly. Zhen Dechong was somewhat puzzled, but seeing his own grandfather sleeping soundly, he decided not to think too much about it. He bowed his fists to Chu Xiu and the others, and then stayed under the tree, waiting for Zhen Taikang to wake up.
Not long after, a group of people woke up one after another on the tree. Zheng Jiuen, who had the highest cultivation base, was the first to open his eyes. He scanned the surroundings and was deeply amazed to see the owls on both sides standing neatly, as if they had become spirits.
Yan Jinghong couldn't help but sarcastically say, "What's with that look of shock on your face! You are also one of them!"
Zheng Jiuen finally noticed Yan Jinghong's sneering face, quickly jumped down from the tree, and hurriedly ran to her side. Before he could flatter her, Yan Jinghong grabbed his ear and dragged him into the kitchen.
"You think you're strong, huh? You want to see through me, right? You think I'm getting old and feeble, huh?"
The crowd: "......"
As a grandmaster of the second rank in the Exalted Saint Realm, an esteemed existence at the top of the food chain in the entire Great Wu Dynasty, he is now being subdued obediently by a seemingly delicate woman. It truly makes people sigh in amazement at how one force can suppress another force.
Zhen Dechong brought Zhen Taikang back home. Before leaving, the old master patted Zhen Debang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Iron Egg, you have raised a good son! Fortunately, he doesn't resemble you in looks. Tomorrow, let Chonger go to the mountains to hunt for some game, and we'll continue drinking!"
Zhen Debao chuckled and scratched his head, replying loudly, "Alright! I'll have Meng-er prepare some delicious dishes and get a jar of good wine. Tomorrow, Master Kang and Brother Chong will come together!"
Zhen Taikang shook his head and walked away in a daze. Zhen Meng watched as the two figures moved further away and poked his father's waist, laughing and asking, "This old man seems to have a good personality. How about tomorrow I bring a jar of intoxicating wine and let's have a good time?"
Zhen Debang's eyes lit up when he heard the words, nodding vigorously: "Just right, just right! I've only had that wine once, and I still can't forget it until now!"
Baili Qingshan stood coldly to the side, looking down upon Zhen Debang and his son, thinking to himself: This family with such a worthless name can actually come up with such a stylish name like 'Zuisheng Mengsi'. It's truly not easy. But no matter how good the wine is, can it compare to the Monkey Wine made from a hundred fruits collected by the monkeys on the mountainside behind my Moon Mountain Temple? These ordinary worldly people haven't seen anything impressive.
He completely forgot about the shocking subversion of his mindset brought by Zhen Meng's cooking skills.
After having breakfast, Zheng Jiuen began to impart some techniques for throwing and launching hidden weapons with force.
Zhen Meng, his son, Chu Xiu, Su Jin, Yang Jinghong, and even Baili Qingshan, were all present.
After all, the opportunity to learn from a second-grade saint and grandmaster is not common. If his teachings were spread, the entire martial arts world would surely flock to it.
"The force in throwing hidden weapons depends not only on skill, but also on the shape, weight, and material of the hidden weapon. Different hidden weapons experience varying levels of resistance during flight, and based on these forces, different flight trajectories can be achieved."
Zheng Jiuen picked up a small stone and flicked it with his finger. A translucent hole appeared on the trunk of a large tree, which was as thick as five grown men, ten zhang away. There was a wisp of blue smoke emerging from the area around the hole, which was a result of high-speed friction. Please note that the translation provided is only a literal translation and may not capture the full context or meaning of the original sentence.
Even if everyone tried their best to focus their dynamic vision, they could only vaguely capture the trajectory of the flying stones.
Zheng Jiu'en picked up a piece of wood as thick as an arm, representing a knife, and within a few breaths, he carved out a peculiar shape with a thickness of two fingers, pointed at both ends, and a curvature in the middle. At the same time, he explained, "This kind of dart with a curvature, when thrown with a special technique, can achieve a boomerang effect. Watch carefully!"
After finishing speaking, he raised his hand and flicked his wooden concealed weapon out at an odd angle.
The speed of this concealed weapon wasn't very fast, and the onlookers could clearly see its trajectory as it spiraled through the air in slow motion. Some of them even predicted that the weapon would begin to reverse its direction thirteen feet away and hit behind the large tree one second later.
When the hidden weapon was indeed inserted exactly as everyone had predicted, behind the trunk of the big tree, the crowd became extremely excited. They developed a deeper understanding of dynamic vision and began to anticipate the various techniques of hidden weapon manipulation.
Even Chu Xiu and other women are eagerly and earnestly starting to study, after all, this kind of hidden weapon throwing looks very elegant, unlike the roughness of fist-to-flesh martial artists, it won't affect their temperament and image at all.
As the Zhen family was intensely studying the art of concealed weapon throwing, the spy from Zhaihua Tower finally managed to track down the Zhen family estate by following various clues.
Being a spy from the Flying Flower Pavilion of Zhaihua Tower, after infiltrating and observing for several days, I confirmed that the Zhen family estate was guarded by only one warrior in their seventies, holding a seventh-grade martial rank. With my own advanced skills as a sixth-grade Copper Skin expert, it would be a piece of cake to capture an ordinary person with no cultivation whatsoever.
Little did he know that the moment he set foot into the territory of Heyang County, his every move had already fallen into the eyes of the spies from the Supervisory Office.
As a result, the Chen family staged a feigned surrender right under the noses of the undercover agents at Zhaihua Tower.
That night, the disguised spy of the Inspectorate silently approached the wall of the Zhen family's courtyard.
After carefully listening for a while and confirming that there was no one in the courtyard, the spy's hands grasped the wall and, like a gecko, twisted their body and climbed over the wall without making the slightest noise.
He clung to the top of the wall with both hands and cautiously poked his head out to observe. The courtyard was empty under the bright moonlight, and there were no lights in the few houses either. It seemed that everyone had already gone to sleep.
The undercover agent did not immediately take action. His years of undercover and assassination experience had made him exceptionally patient. It was this patience that allowed him to survive unscathed in the dangerous world of bloodshed. He understood that patience was crucial, and he never let his guard down, even when facing seemingly simple tasks.
The undercover agent slowed his breathing and reduced his body's energy to a minimum, patiently lying still in the shadow of the wall until late midnight.
This time is when people sleep the deepest. He slightly moved his stiff joints and silently jumped into the courtyard, stealthily approaching a room in the western wing under the cover of shadows.
The spy approached the window and gently poked a hole in the window paper with his finger moistened with saliva. He took out a bamboo tube from his pocket and blew a puff of smoke from the tube through the hole in the window into the room.
After preparing everything in accordance with the law, the undercover agent patiently waited for about fifteen minutes, knowing that the smoke had taken effect. Then, he headed straight towards the east wing.
Gently using the knife carried on me to unlock the latch, I cracked open the door, allowing the undercover agent to slip into the room like a nimble and agile night cat. Shortly after, the door was quietly closed.
The room was pitch black, with the moonlight from outside failing to penetrate the thin window paper. The undercover agent gripped the dagger in his hand, and attentively listened for a faint breath coming from deep within the room. He carefully determined the direction and silently tiptoed towards the source of the breathing.
The breathing sound became clearer and clearer, and the undercover agent became more cautious. In their line of work, there were countless examples of getting into trouble in the gutter. The closer they were to success, the more they had to guard against complacency.
终于走到了床边，密探也逐渐适应了黑暗的环境，他运足目力，隐约能分辨出床上的人形。
他定了定神，从怀中再次掏出一根竹管，对着床上的人影轻轻吹去。
After waiting for another fifteen minutes, the undercover agent approached with light steps and gently poked the shoulder of the figure on the bed with a bamboo tube. Seeing no response from the figure, the agent bent down and carried the figure on their shoulder, quietly retracing their steps.
Until he leaped out of the hospital wall, he finally let out a sigh of relief, no longer forcing himself to hide his aura. With a person’s shadow on his back, he hurriedly headed west.