Han Anbo said, "Everyone in the Night Guard has a file. You can just ask Lord Zhou for them directly; it’ll be more complete than what we could find. Observing a person’s fate takes a long time and requires the right opportunity and place. For instance, it’s best not to do it inside the Night Guard Office. Just checking files isn’t enough, either. I’ll find some reliable informants to track their movements."
"You know Fate Skills too?" Li Qingxian asked.
"I know a little about everything," Han Anbo said.
"Are the informants reliable?" Li Qingxian asked.
"No problem. They do this kind of thing all the time and have never messed up. At worst, I’ll just give them more tasks to do so they won’t know our true intentions," Han Anbo said.
"Alright, I trust Brother Han."
The three of them discussed some details and returned to the Night Guard Office.
Li Qingxian headed straight for Chunfeng Inn, thinking about how he would resolve this matter as he walked.
’No matter how strong a Fate Master is, they still need people to help them. Brother Han and Yur Ping are both trustworthy. As for how to deal with Wei Yong and Tao Zhi, I’ll have to see their Fate Grids first before deciding...’
Upon entering Chunfeng Inn, he saw Zhou Chunfeng wasn’t there. Li Qingxian found a casual book about Fate Skills on the bookshelf and started to read.
For some unknown reason, ever since he’d gotten his foot in the door with Fate Skills, Li Qingxian had become more patient when reading Life Books.
This time, he read for a full half hour before his mind felt tired. He put down the Life Book and looked for a work of fiction.
"Huh?" Li Qingxian soon discovered a novel titled *Chronicles of the Fate Master*. It was a thick stack of volumes, so he excitedly took them down and began flipping through from the beginning.
The book’s introduction explained that the author was once the subordinate of a Fate Master. He had traveled far and wide with the Fate Master, who eventually retired to the mountains. The author then returned to city life and wrote this book to record the events of the Tiankang Year.
After he had been reading for a long time, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door, followed by Zhou Chunfeng’s slightly hoarse, soft Jiangnan accent. "Was it you who sent Hong Cheng to the Divine Prison?"
Li Qingxian turned his head and looked at Zhou Chunfeng. As expected of the Beautiful Scholar, his figure was tall and straight, his features handsome, and he seemed to glow in the afternoon sun.
"Uncle Zhou, he clearly violated the Ministry of Revenue’s taboos and was arrested by Luo Jing. What does that have to do with me, Li Qingxian?"
Zhou Chunfeng shook his head. "Are you going to tell me you’re a Sunshine Boy next?"
"You can tell, Uncle Zhou? I really am," Li Qingxian said.
Zhou Chunfeng glanced at the novel in front of Li Qingxian, walked behind the desk, and sat down in the yellow pearwood armchair carved with crane patterns.
"If Wei Yong can keep his cool, he’ll stay quiet about this today. If he can’t, he’ll definitely come looking for trouble," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Oh." Li Qingxian’s expression was calm.
"I’d rather he come right away. If he doesn’t, it will be more difficult to handle."
’Planning something nasty?’ Li Qingxian thought. ’What a coincidence. Me too.’
"Mm. What did you come here for today?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Mainly about the new team deputy."
"Let’s just have Han Anbo do it," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Uncle Zhou, my legs went numb from standing in the Disciplinary Hall this morning. At that moment, I swore a secret oath that one day, I, Li Qingxian, would also get to sit in a chair. So... could you see about promoting me to Senior Tenth Grade to prepare me for my advancement to Ninth Grade?" Li Qingxian was all smiles.
Zhou Chunfeng was exasperated. "Not only do I have to clean up the mess you made, but now you want a promotion too?"
"Those are two separate matters."
Zhou Chunfeng picked up his Cow Bone Fan, swayed it gently, and said, "To be promoted to Senior Tenth Grade, you need to be able to spar with a Ninth Grade for a hundred rounds. If I recall, you haven’t even mastered the basics of your Saber Technique."
"That brings me to my main point. How about you get me a Thunder Skill secret manual? I saw Sister Youfei in action—lightning, wind, and fire—CRACKLE, BOOM, it was so impressive," Li Qingxian said.
"You think Thunder Skills are that... Hm. Since you have the Divine Sky Thunder Seed, your Cultivation of Thunder Skills would indeed progress at lightning speed. But don’t you want to be a Fate Master? Don’t bite off more than you can chew," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"They don’t conflict. Fate Skill as my main path, Daoist Skill for self-defense," Li Qingxian said.
"Youfei didn’t teach you?"
"She’s afraid her master would scold her, so she won’t teach me," Li Qingxian said.
Zhou Chunfeng got up and went into the back room. A moment later, he returned with a paper-wrapped package that had a Yellow Talisman stuck to it.
"Inside is a copy of the *Five Thunders True Method* I came across by chance in my youth. It’s said to originate from the Divine Sky Ancient Sect. I showed this book to old Mr. Jiangg Zhijian, and he said it’s an authentic copy, no worse than the Celestial Cloud Sect’s own *Five Thunders True Method*," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"This must be quite valuable, right?" Li Qingxian took it carefully. The yellowish-brown, thick, hard paper was sealed tightly, and faint currents of air flowed over its surface, revealing traces of Magical Power.
A Cinnabar Yellow Talisman was affixed right in the center.
"Selling it for thirty to fifty thousand taels wouldn’t be a problem. Remember to return it after you’re done with your Cultivation," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Let me take a look first." Li Qingxian used the method Jiangg Youfei had taught him, touching a finger to the Talisman Paper and sending a sliver of Magical Power into it.
The bottom edge of the Talisman Paper lifted gently, and the thick paper wrapping slid open to the sides, revealing a thread-bound ancient book with a blue-black cover, a full inch thick.
On the cover were seven large words: *Five Thunders True Method Collection and Annotation*.
Li Qingxian’s head snapped up, and he stared at Zhou Chunfeng.
Zhou Chunfeng lowered his head and sipped his tea.
Even as a novice Cultivator, Li Qingxian understood the value of a cultivation manual with collected annotations. Thirty to fifty thousand? A Major Sect would absolutely be willing to pay three to five hundred thousand for it.
Li Qingxian carefully opened the book and began to read the foreword. The more he read, the more shocked he became.
Every single person who had annotated this book was a famous figure in the Cultivation Realm: Wang Dujiang of the Divine Sky Direct Lineage, the founding grand minister Xu Zhiping, the founding Sect Leader of the Five Thunders Sect Li Shaowei, the renowned Thunder Skill master Zhangg Yunyan, and so on and so forth.
"Uncle Zhou, which Major Sect’s den did you raid for this?" Li Qingxian asked.
"I happened to find it in the Night Guard’s Storage Room. It didn’t have a cover back then and was mistaken for a common antique book. I saw that the calligraphy was powerful, far beyond the skill of an ordinary person. I flipped through a few pages and was utterly astounded. So... to prevent a pearl from being hidden by dust, I took it out, added a cover, and personally wrote the title on it. Can’t you tell that’s my handwriting on the cover?"
Li Qingxian flipped back to the cover, gave a light cough, and forced a well-behaved smile. "I could tell it was your handwriting from the start, Uncle Zhou. Only calligraphy like yours is worthy of a tome annotated by masters and penned by celestial beings."
"Keep it safe. Remember to re-attune the Spirit Talisman with your Magical Power to prevent others from opening it," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Yes. Uncle Zhou, this book is a pain to carry around. It would be great to have a spatial Treasure. How can one get a spatial Treasure? Like Ye Han’s Qiankun Ring, or your Qi Fortune Fish Pouch," Li Qingxian asked.
"Qiankun Rings are artifacts from ancient times; the method to create them was lost long ago. Such Treasures are exceedingly rare, so don’t even think about it. If you really tried to take Ye Han’s Qiankun Ring, you would definitely suffer a backlash from his Fate Grid. A Qi Fortune Fish Pouch can serve as a substitute for a Qiankun Ring. However, like all Qi Fortune Treasures, they belong to the Imperial Court. Once an official retires or dies, the Imperial Court reclaims them. They are not allowed to circulate outside."
"What a pity." Li Qingxian carefully wrapped the book back up, sent his Magical Power into the strip-shaped Yellow Talisman, and sealed the book.
"If there’s anything you don’t understand, wait for Youfei to come by in a few days and have her give you some pointers," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Okay. I know where Qingxiao Temple is, anyway. I can go ask her for help."
Zhou Chunfeng shook his head.
"Oh, right, Uncle Zhou, do you have any Life Books? Or where can I buy them?" Li Qingxian asked.
"Most of the Imperial Court’s Life Books have been collected by the Astronomical Bureau. For now, just focus on practicing your Fate Measuring Sect’s Fate Skills. Once you reach Senior Ninth Grade, I’ll take you to borrow a few."
"Uncle Zhou, you’ve got some serious pull!"