MJWCATFPITWOC Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Infiltration

Shen Yucheng stared blankly at Li Juemu before him. Years had passed since they last met, and the once clear-eyed youth now carried a touch of composure between his brows, a change that made him forget to withdraw his gaze for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Li Juemu frowned, his tone inquiring.

Shen Yucheng was jolted back to his senses by the voice, and he reined in his emotions. His purpose in coming here today was not to reminisce with an old friend; he subconsciously took a step back, distancing himself from Li Juemu. He lowered his head to conceal the fluctuations on his face, his fingertips curling slightly within his sleeves.

He couldn’t reveal his identity, especially not in this kind of situation, as it would easily invite trouble. Therefore, he had specially disguised himself, adopting an “ordinary” face. He secretly rejoiced in his foresight.

“Reporting to Senior Brother Li, there was an urgent matter at home some time ago, so I specifically requested permission from the sect leader to return and handle it for a while. I only rushed back when I heard that something had happened to the sect,” he said, his head lowered, his tone calm, but deliberately laced with a hint of fatigue, as if he had just returned from a long journey.

As he spoke, he kept a close watch on Li Juemu’s expression from the corner of his eye. He knew that the sect was currently in a turbulent period, and any suspicious person or event would be magnified and scrutinized. And his unscathed appearance was indeed easy to arouse suspicion.

However, what Shen Yucheng hadn’t expected was that the once naive Li Juemu had also grown.

Li Juemu nodded almost imperceptibly, seemingly accepting his explanation. But after a few seconds, he suddenly asked, “Well, that’s quite a coincidence. However, I find your face somewhat unfamiliar. What’s your name?”

“!” Shen Yucheng’s heart sank. He had been so focused on disguising himself that he had forgotten to prepare a suitable name! He was momentarily at a loss for words, his gaze unconsciously drifting to the ground as his mind raced.

Seeing his hesitation, Li Juemu’s expression changed slightly, his tone turning colder: “What, is it inconvenient to say?”

Shen Yucheng raised his head, forcing a smile: “…I’m called Yi Chen.” At the same time, the spiritual energy within his sleeve stirred slightly, and a golden thread silently attached itself to the gatekeeper beside him.

The moment the golden thread infiltrated, the disciples seemed to recall something, suddenly speaking up: “Senior Brother Li, I remember now! He’s a disciple from our thirteenth group.”

Hearing this, Shen Yucheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the golden thread was quickly retracted. He lowered his head, his expression even more humble, fearing that he might reveal a flaw.

Li Juemu looked at the certainty in the gatekeeper’s eyes, his suspicion slightly reduced. He nodded lightly, as if accepting this explanation. But just as he was about to say a few more words, a disciple hurried over, his face flustered.

“Senior Brother Li, reporting, the Lingfeng Sect has sent people to provide support, and they have already arrived at the main hall. Please, Senior Brother Li, go there as well,” the disciple said, bowing and clasping his hands.

Li Juemu frowned upon hearing this, and after a moment of thought, he finally nodded. “Alright, I’ll go right away.” With that, he turned to leave, but he didn’t forget to turn back and instruct, “There’s a shortage of manpower now, Yi Chen, go and tidy up a guest room in the East Pavilion.”

Shen Yucheng lowered his head in response, his voice not loud, but carrying an almost-uncontainable anticipation: “Yes, Senior Brother Li.” His peripheral vision swept across Li Juemu, and seeing that the other had already turned and left, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he turned and walked in the opposite direction, afraid that lingering for even a moment longer would attract more trouble.

The gatekeepers who were left behind stood in place, looking at each other in confusion. They were bewildered, rubbing their foreheads, as if they had just awakened from a dream, and no one could say for sure why they had been so certain in vouching for Shen Yucheng just now.

As Shen Yucheng walked, his gaze quickly swept across the surrounding buildings and layout. To maintain a low profile, his steps were extremely light, for fear of disturbing anyone.

His purpose in infiltrating this place today was to investigate the recent rebellion of the Li family and the secrets between the Li and Liu families.

Thinking of this, the name Liu Mingzhen surfaced in his mind.

So Liu Mingzhen was actually related to the Li family…

He recalled that when he and Li Juemu were completing the Jitan Village mission, he had inadvertently mentioned that the incense burner in the village was made by Liu Mingzhen, and Li Juemu’s expression at the time had clearly been a little off.

Unfortunately, he was young at the time and didn’t delve into it, only assuming that it was fatigue after the mission. Now that he thought about it, the relationship between the Li and Liu families might have had a secret connection as early as then.

Shen Yucheng secretly clenched his fists. He knew that the affairs of these aristocratic families involved a great deal, and unless one was a core member of the Li family, it would be impossible to uncover the truth.

Among the core members of the Li family, the only ones he was familiar with were the Li brothers. Unfortunately, their cultivation was profound, and they had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, making it impossible to easily use puppetry to interrogate them. He could only find another way.

Therefore, he had resorted to this desperate measure, personally infiltrating the secret areas of the Li family to find out the source of the conflict between the two families.

Only then could he understand why Liu Mingzhen had intersected with Bai Guchen back then, and how they had colluded to inflict the disaster of extermination on a village of mortals.

As dusk gradually fell, the mountains around the Dingxu Sect were shrouded in a thin mist. Shen Yucheng was planning to find an inconspicuous place to wait until late at night before taking action.

Just as he was thinking of ending the day there, he suddenly remembered something – he had inadvertently overheard in the Kexiang Building that the Li family’s young master had been seriously injured and was still recovering in the war between the two families. Thinking of the perfectly unharmed Li Juemu just now, it seemed that the Li family’s young master that everyone was talking about was Li Yuan.

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard a faint sound, coming from far away and approaching from within a wooden door.

“I thought the Lingfeng Sect would send someone of importance, but it’s you. It seems that the Lingfeng Sect’s manpower is not very sufficient,” a man’s voice rang out coldly, with a hint of sarcasm.

Another low voice slowly echoed, with a contemptuous tone: “Rumor has it that Young Master Li was seriously injured, but it seems that the rumors are true. His brain is indeed not very good.”

The two chatted casually.

Hearing this, Shen Yucheng unconsciously held his breath, hiding in the shadows to the side, quietly mobilizing his divine sense to investigate. He saw three figures sitting in different positions inside the house.

And that low voice…felt a bit familiar.

He wanted to continue eavesdropping on the content of the conversation inside, but as soon as he took a step, the wooden floor creaked “squeak–” perhaps because it had been in disrepair for a long time. This little sound was so clear in the silent night that it couldn’t be ignored.

Shen Yucheng’s pupils shrank suddenly, his back instantly cold, and he secretly cursed.

For a moment, his mind was in a mess, with only one thought left – get out of here, as fast as possible.

The three people in the house obviously heard the sound as well, and the conversation came to an abrupt end, replaced by a suppressed silence.

“There’s someone outside the door.”

Mo Yifeng’s voice was low. He stood up, walked to the door with extremely light steps, and suddenly pushed the door open.

There was no one outside the door, only a silent darkness.

He squatted down, reached out and touched the floor, then gently rubbed his fingers together, saying thoughtfully: “There’s a very weak trace of spiritual energy remaining here…but it seems to have been left a long time ago. But if it was left just now, this person should be a master.”

Li Juemu was flustered after hearing this: “Then should we ignore it?”

Li Yuan, who was sitting on the high seat, said in a slow and unhurried voice: “Those with low cultivation, no need to chase; those with high cultivation, can’t be chased.”

.

At the moment the wooden door opened, Shen Yucheng only mobilized a trace of spiritual energy to his feet, like a slippery fish, escaping the scene. He didn’t even have time to see who came out of the door, only knowing that if he was caught, things would probably become extremely troublesome.

The night deepened, and the starlight between the mountains was sparse. Shen Yucheng unknowingly came to the disciples’ lodging area, wandering in the empty courtyard, wondering where to hide next, but unexpectedly felt a force from behind, suddenly pulling him backward!

“Hey! Are you new here? Why are you wandering around outside when it’s dark?” A thick voice rang out from behind, the tone very impolite.

Shen Yucheng stood in place, at a loss, and turned back to see that he had been pulled into a simple lodging room. The room was not large, but the furnishings were complete, and the wooden bed emitted a faint woody fragrance.

He raised his eyes to look at the person who had grabbed him, a burly young man with deep and distinct features, smiling to reveal a mouthful of white teeth, which felt like a type that would be loved by people.

The young man looked him up and down, and suddenly exclaimed: “Hey, you look too much like a girl–”

Shen Yucheng’s face instantly sank, as if he had eaten shit, and his eyes seemed to write “Say that again and see what happens.” The young man froze, realizing his slip of the tongue, scratched his hair, and said with an embarrassed smile: “Ah, sorry, sorry, I don’t think before I speak, don’t mind!”

Shen Yucheng sighed, too lazy to argue with him, and asked sternly: “You just said not to walk outside at night, what do you mean by that?”

The young man raised his eyebrows, looking at him with disbelief: “You really don’t know? The sect has been in such a mess recently, it’s very dangerous everywhere at night, and you still dare to wander around, you’re pretty brave!”

Shen Yucheng was stunned: “What danger?”

Seeing his confusion, the young man simply moved a chair and sat down.

It turned out that the source of the Dingxu Sect’s rebellion had encountered a series of attacks, targeting the disciples at night with cruel methods, causing panic.

Later, it was found that the culprit was someone from the Liu family, and the two sides had a fierce battle because of this. Although the war had temporarily come to an end, there were still unidentified people attacking the disciples, which made the sect exhausted.

The young man pointed to the empty bed and said: “The one next to me was seriously injured in the war a few days ago and can’t come back for the time being. If you don’t mind, just make do with it for now.”

“Thanks.” Shen Yucheng nodded, casually patting the dust on the bed.

“By the way, I’m called Qin Feng, come find me if you need anything.” The young man grinned, then yawned and went straight to sleep.

Shen Yucheng sat quietly on the edge of the bed, listening to Qin Feng’s gradually steady breathing.

Outside the window, a lonely moon hung in the night sky, and the moonlight sprinkled on the ground. The time had come, he got up gently, pushed the door open, and his figure disappeared into the darkness.

He bypassed several patrol points along the way, and finally came to the front of the sect leader’s library, which he had explored during the day.

This building seemed particularly oppressive in the night. The blue tiles reflected the moonlight.

Shen Yucheng looked up at the building, took a deep breath, concentrated and opened his divine breath. When he raised his eyes again, his pupils were instantly dyed with golden light, his vision became sharp, and even the internal mechanisms of the wall were clearly visible.

After some careful cracking, he successfully entered the interior, but he was already covered in sweat. He felt that the most difficult thing was to find those mechanisms and be careful not to step on the traps. If he accidentally triggered the mechanism, then all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Coming to the library, the library of each big sect hides their highest secrets, so it is not allowed to enter unless the sect leader trusts him or the next sect leader.

Shen Yucheng flicked the dust off his body. He believed that the place most likely to contain information recording the “secret affairs of the Li and Liu families” was here.

The library was terrifyingly quiet, and the air floated with a kind of oppressive atmosphere. Shen Yucheng glanced around and quickly locked onto a row of bookshelves labeled with the words “Li Liu”. He roughly counted them, and there were actually more than fifty books, and his scalp tingled.

So many? How long will it take to see them…

Shen Yucheng frowned, and a sense of irritability welled up in his heart.

However, just as he was about to browse through them, he suddenly heard a faint sound in his ear.

“Click.”

A soft sound was amplified countless times in the quiet space, and Shen Yucheng froze instantly, his hairs standing on end. He slowly turned his head, staring at the direction of the door, his heart beating like a drum.

He swallowed his saliva, and countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

No way……

In the middle of the night, which good family would come to the library?

However, the next moment, the door shook slightly, and a cold white moonlight shone in through the crack in the door, and the sound became clearer.

“Squeak–”

The door was pushed open a crack from the outside, and Shen Yucheng quickly shrank behind the bookshelf, holding his breath, only revealing one eye to observe secretly.

But when he saw the figure of the person outside the door, his pupils shrank suddenly, and his heart seemed to be gripped tightly by an invisible hand, suddenly accelerating.

His pupils dilated, staring at the figure slowly walking into the library, unable to look away.

…How could it be him?