A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Fenghe Pawnshop is considered one of the larger pawnshops in the eastern part of Yuanyang Prefecture.

Running a pawnshop is no easy business. Besides dealing with troublemakers, this industry is full of shady schemes and tricks that are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

To maintain the pawnshop business, which involves exploitation and embezzlement, one must mingle with all sorts of people to truly succeed.

The owner of Fenghe Pawnshop, named Zhou Yushui, was unremarkable in appearance, with a thin, dark, monkey-like face, but he was quite shrewd and adept at handling affairs. Over the past ten years, Fenghe Pawnshop had become increasingly prosperous under his management. However, this prosperity had come at the cost of countless lives and lives.

Late that night, in the secret room of the pawnshop's storeroom, Zhou Yushui sat alone at his desk, reviewing several pawn slips under the dim light. Several items lay on his desk: a translucent, reddish agate bracelet, a jade thumb ring, and a string of coral beads.

Zhou Yushui fiddled with the jade thumb ring, a greedy look appearing in his eyes. These few high-quality treasures had become a sure thing for him to pawn.

Moreover, such rare items are in high demand and easy to sell. He could make ten times the profit with just one transaction – that's a lot of hard-earned money!

Zhou Yushui was engrossed in playing with the object, unaware that a dark figure suddenly appeared in the shadows of a corner of the warehouse's secret room. The figure, like a ghost, stood there for a moment.

"cough!"

Suddenly, a soft cough echoed eerily in the quiet, secluded room.

"Who!?" Zhou Yushui was startled and looked up, his face pale. There was only one stone door in this secret room, which he had just locked. Why was there a coughing sound out of nowhere?

From the shadows in the corner, a figure emerged, dressed in a blue robe with a serene expression.

Upon seeing that person, Zhou Yushui felt a chill run down his spine. The fact that this person could appear here so silently meant that his cultivation level was far above Zhou Yushui's.

However, after his initial shock, Zhou Yushui quickly calmed down. If this person had come to take his life, he would have attacked directly instead of coughing to warn him.

Zhou Yushui's eyelids twitched, and he said, "What brings you here, sir? Please speak frankly. As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse."

Duan Rong smiled slightly and said, "Good temperament. Insightful and calm enough."

This week, Yu Shui is the person in charge of Yuanyang Prefecture within Zhu He's secular intelligence network. To be able to become the head of an entire prefecture's intelligence system, he naturally possesses considerable skill.

Zhou Yushui was slightly taken aback by Duan Rong's words. He didn't understand. He naturally understood what Duan Rong said, but he didn't understand why Duan Rong said it that way.

At this moment, Zhou Yushui was somewhat unable to guess the identity and intentions of the newcomer.

Just then, Duan Rong uttered the coded communication phrase.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yushui's eyes flashed with shock. He immediately responded with a coded message.

Duan Rong responded with a second coded message.

Zhou Yushui then stood up from the table. He placed the jade thumb ring he had been holding on the table, his eyes turned cold and calm, and his whole demeanor seemed to change, all traces of his mercenary nature vanishing from his face.

But he still didn't speak, he just stood there looking at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong flipped his hand, and a black, wedge-shaped token suddenly floated in front of Zhou Yushui.

Zhou Yushui reached out and took it. In the dim light, he carefully examined the token from front to back. He raised his head, his eyes now filled with respect. He immediately stepped out from behind the desk, knelt down beside it, held the token in both hands, raised it above his head, and said, "Your subordinate, Zhou Can, pays his respects, Your Excellency!"

The code and the token already revealed Duan Rong's identity. Although it wasn't Zhu He or Lord Fan Yuan who came, the code and the token were enough to command him.

Zhou Can is his real name, while Zhou Yushui, who has been the owner of Fenghe Pawnshop for more than ten years, is just an alias.

With a thought, Duan Rong sent the token back into his hand. He put the token in his sleeve and said, "Get up."

"Yes, sir." Zhou Can stood up and stood respectfully.

Duan Rong cut to the chase: "Zhou Can, I've come here today with a task for you to complete."

Zhou Candao said, "Please give your instructions, Your Excellency."

Duan Rong said, "I want you to investigate the statues of gods within the territory of Yuanyang Prefecture that have been worshipped for more than four hundred years."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Can paused in surprise. He had been infiltrating Yuanyang Prefecture for over a decade and in charge of its intelligence system for nearly ten years, and had never received such a strange intelligence mission before.

Seeing that Zhou Can remained silent, Duan Rong's expression hardened, and he asked, "Is there any difficulty in this matter?"

Zhou Can immediately replied, "No difficulty. The spies in each county of Yuanyang Prefecture have been lying in wait for many years. If you want to investigate a deity that has been worshipped for more than four hundred years, you only need to consult the county annals and interview some elderly people. This task is not difficult."

Duan Rong nodded and asked, "How long will it take to investigate this thoroughly?"

After a brief calculation, Zhou Can said, "I will send a message by carrier pigeon to the secret agents in each county tonight. It should take about five days."

Duan Rong said, "Alright. I will come again at this time five days from now."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, his figure vanished like a ghost in the next moment.

Zhou Can was taken aback for a moment, then knelt down and said, "Your subordinate respectfully sees you off, sir."

Inside the warehouse, a profound silence reigned. After a long while, Zhou Can couldn't help but shudder. He had never met Zhu He, but Lord Fan Yuan's visits had never been so eerie.

Zhou Can got up from the ground, collected the treasures and pawn tickets that had been pledged as collateral on the table, and then left the secret room to send messages by carrier pigeon to his spies in various counties overnight.

Five days later, late at night, Zhou Can sat alone in the secret room of the warehouse again. Under the dim light, he sat at his desk and began to sort through the replies he had received from various counties.

He carefully spread out the slips of paper one by one on the table, and then took a pen and copied them one by one on a piece of white paper in neat, tiny characters.

After Zhou finished transcribing and confirmed that everything was correct, he placed the slips of paper and the blank paper together, sat there respectfully, and waited for people to come.

About an hour later, Duan Rong's figure suddenly appeared not far from the desk, like a ghost visiting in the dead of night.

This wasn't the first time Zhou Can had witnessed Duan Rong's bizarre appearance. His eyes showed no panic. He rose and knelt beside the table, saying, "Your subordinate greets Your Excellency."

Duan Rong glanced at Zhou Can kneeling on the ground and the curled-up pieces of paper on the table, and said, "Get up."

Over the past five days, Duan Rong had gone to several other prefectures to assign tasks, and only returned tonight at the agreed time.

Zhou Can stood up and stood respectfully.

Duan Rong asked, "Have you investigated the matter I asked you to investigate?"

Zhou Candao said, "It has been investigated and clarified. Please move to the desk, Your Excellency. These notes are all replies from various counties. I have transcribed and compiled them. Please take a look."

Duan Rong walked slowly to the table and sat down. He ignored the curled-up pieces of paper, picked up the blank sheet of paper that Zhou Can had copied, and stared at it intently in the lamplight.

On the paper, the handwriting was elegant and the arrangement was clear, divided into counties and listed line by line.

Duan Rong's gaze swept across the area, immediately identifying Xiangu County and Jiuchong County. This was also his first stop in Yuanyang Prefecture because he had already personally investigated Xiangu County and Jiuchong County. By comparing their findings, he could assess the capabilities of the spies in each county and determine if any had been overlooked.

He devoured the spirit of a city god statue in Xiangu County that had been burning incense for a thousand years, and another mountain god statue in the suburbs that had been burning incense for four hundred years.

The reason Duan Rong had them investigate the statues that were over four hundred years old was because even he couldn't be sure how long the incense offerings had lasted for the statues to comprehend the complex laws of time.

First of all, it's certain that the incense has been burning for a thousand years, because it has absorbed the offerings.

What about the incense offerings of those nine hundred years? He wasn't sure.

The only thing he was certain of was that after four hundred years of incense offerings, he still hadn't grasped the power of the laws, and was still only at the realm of intent.

Duan Rong looked at the information regarding Xiangu County and saw two entries: one about a statue in the City God Temple, approximately a thousand years old; and the other about a statue in a mountain god temple on the outskirts of the city, about four or five hundred years old. There were some further details below, but Duan Rong skipped them.

Duan Rong understood immediately upon seeing the information. The information from the spies in Xiangu County was exactly the same as the results of his on-site investigation.

Actually, this is not surprising. Building a temple is usually a major event, and it is not only recorded in the county annals, but many temples also have inscriptions carved on steles to commemorate and praise the benefactors.

Duan Rong shifted his gaze and saw the information about Jiuchong County, which was followed by only the word "None". This was the same as his on-site investigation.

With the information from these two counties corroborating each other, Duan Rong had a general understanding of the situation regarding the spies' investigation, and it seemed to be basically accurate.

Duan Rong then took the slip of paper and scanned it one by one.

Statues of deities that are over four hundred years old can be found in almost every county.

However, only two counties have statues of deities that have been worshipped for over a thousand years: Xiangu County and Tongbai County. For an entire prefecture to have only two such statues is fewer than he had anticipated.

Tongbai County, located in the southeast of Yuanyang Prefecture, is quite remote, much like Xiangu County. The county is surrounded by the rolling Tongbai Mountains, and the county seat is nestled within them. In fact, Tongbai County is even older than Xiangu County.

According to the information sent by the undercover agents, there are actually three statues of gods in Tongbai County that have been worshipped for more than a thousand years: a mountain god statue that has been worshipped for a thousand years, a city god statue that has been worshipped for two thousand years, and a dragon king statue that has been worshipped for four thousand years.

Duan Rong's gaze lingered slightly on the words "four thousand years," a subtle ripple stirring within him. He raised his head, looked at Zhou Can, and said, "You need to accompany me on this journey."

Zhou Can said, "I have made all the arrangements and am ready to go out with you at any time, sir."

Duan Rong nodded. Working with shrewd and capable people can indeed make things much easier sometimes. This week, Can had obviously anticipated the possibility of going out and had already made preparations in advance.

Duan Rong tossed the note into his sleeve, stood up, and said, "Alright, let's go now."

"Yes, my lord."

As soon as Zhou Can finished speaking, he felt a blur before his eyes. The next moment, he found himself high in the night sky, with a bright moon hanging overhead. Looking down, he saw a dark expanse hundreds of feet below, with the rooftops of houses faintly visible, resembling fine tiles in the moonlight.

The dark figure in front of him was Duan Rong, and Zhou Can could see Duan Rong's profile.

The next moment, they transformed into streaks of black light and hurtled off in a certain direction. As they hurtled off, the afterimage of the moon hanging high above them was stretched and flickered infinitely, like a constantly flowing Milky Way.

Throughout the entire whirlwind, everything around them was distorted, but Duan Rong remained perfectly still in front of Zhou Can, his sideburns hanging down naturally without moving an inch.

Zhou Can felt himself being swept up by a mysterious force, hurtling forward through the fragmented darkness of the night, yet he felt no wind, as if he were moving without moving.

Zhou Can stared blankly at Duan Rong in front of him. He knew that the cultivation level of this person in front of him far exceeded his imagination. A sense of awe and respect, and even a faint fear, was slowly growing in his heart.

Because the surroundings were like fragmented shadows of the night, Zhou Can's perception of the passage of time was confused. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt that the scenery around him suddenly froze, and the originally broken and flowing scenery returned to a solid state.

Zhou Can was shocked to find that they were already above a city, with rolling mountains all around them and a moon on one of the mountains, looking down at them like an eye.

High in the air, Duan Rong looked at Zhou Can beside him and asked, "Who is the head of the secret agents in Tongbai County?"

Zhou Candao said, "Magen Mountain."

Duan Rong asked again, "Where?"

Zhou Can's eyes narrowed, and he didn't understand Duan Rong's meaning for a moment.

Duan Rong noticed his confusion and said, "The city below is Tongbai County."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Can's face showed an expression of extreme astonishment. Tongbai County was quite far from the capital of Yuanyang Prefecture, nestled in the mountains to the southeast. Although he was somewhat disoriented by the passage of time amidst the raging wind, he was certain that it hadn't been long before they had arrived in Tongbai County.

Zhou Can seemed to catch his breath before coming to his senses. He stammered, "In...in Stone Alley...Ma's Tofu..."

"Ma Genshan?! Ma Family Tofu?!" Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly, and his divine sense suddenly spread out, instantly enveloping the entire city.

His divine sense searched the darkness and quickly found Ma's Tofu. Outside a courtyard, a tattered, dark brown flag hung on a bamboo pole, embroidered with the four characters "Ma's Tofu".

With a thought, Duan Rong wrapped Zhou Can up and transformed into a black ray of light, shooting towards a corner in the southwest of the city below.

Zhou Can felt a blur before his eyes, and the next moment, he found himself in a rather dilapidated courtyard.

It was pitch black all around, except for a low, tiled house that emitted a dim yellow light, from which came strange, creaking sounds.

Zhou Can was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had been to this courtyard before; this was Ma Genshan's courtyard!

Zhou Can turned his head and looked at Duan Rong as if he were looking at a ghost, his eyes filled with fear.

Duan Rong simply stood there with a gentle expression, knowing that his actions must have greatly frightened Zhou Can.

Seeing that Zhou Can's pale face had recovered slightly, Duan Rong said softly, "Go and call him out."

"Yes, sir." Zhou Can bowed slightly and then slowly walked towards the low tiled house.

Zhou Can knew that Ma Genshan made a living selling tofu in Tongbai County. Every night, he would grind and press the tofu, and then set up his stall to sell it early the next morning. At this moment, he was obviously still grinding tofu.

Just as Zhou Can reached a short distance from the tiled house, the sound of grinding tofu inside abruptly stopped. The next moment, a figure shot out. In the darkness, the figure was seen holding a dagger, aiming for Zhou Can's face.

Zhou Can was at the fourth level of the Inner Breath Realm, which was already considered a master in the secular world, while Ma Genshan was only at the first level of the Inner Breath Realm.

Zhou Can grabbed Ma Genshan's wrist and said, "Ma Genshan, don't panic! It's me!"

In the darkness, Ma Genshan was suddenly startled, shook off his hand, and said, "Lord Zhou! You didn't even send a message by carrier pigeon before coming to my door in the middle of the night. You're going to scare me half to death."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Can glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye. He was also suffering in silence, unable to express his bitterness. In the blink of an eye, they arrived; even if he wanted to send a message by carrier pigeon, it wouldn't be in time.

At this moment, Duan Rong slowly walked over, saying as he went, "It's not your Lord Zhou's fault, I'm the one who sent him here."

Duan Rong brought Zhou Can to Tongbai County because he lacked the contact information for the intelligence officers in each county. These people all communicated directly with Zhou Can, the intelligence officer in the prefectural city, and they only answered to him. (End of Chapter)