From street beggar to high-ranking official

The conversation in the room continued.

"An investigation relies on witness testimony and physical evidence." The young swordsman on the right couldn't help but ask, "According to this eunuch, even if we do find the stolen tea, who will testify?"

"That's right. If the Prince Consort really embezzled the tribute tea, then the tribute tea wasn't worth silver. The Prince Consort couldn't have kept it forever; it was probably transported out long ago."

"So we're looking for silver?"

"Can you prove that the silver was exchanged for tribute tea? Steward Zhang has already said that we cannot find the slightest error in the account books."

In an instant, the atmosphere among the young heroes sombered.

They've heard countless stories of chivalrous heroes bringing down corrupt officials, but now that it's their turn, they feel powerless to do anything about it.

"Young heroes..." it was Lu Li who spoke up: "What we need to do is investigate corruption, not stolen goods."

Seeing that the young heroes still didn't understand, Su Ningqing, nicknamed Sword Ruler, also spoke up: "What Eunuch Lu means is that as long as we can find evidence that the Prince Consort embezzled tribute tea, then there's no need for concrete evidence."

"It means..."

"A wild goose leaves its mark as it flies by, and tea leaves its fragrance as it is brewed; the prince consort must have a private storehouse for tribute tea."

"Chengdu Prefecture is so big, where are we supposed to find it?"

"We won't search for them, but those tea leaves wouldn't just fly away on their own; someone must have been transporting them," Butler Zhang reminded them. From the beginning, they hadn't planned to search directly.

The Zhou family has its own connections on official roads and waterways. They invited the Shu Jianmen to keep an eye on the Zhou family.

……

Led by Su Ningqing, the young heroes accepted their orders and departed.

Lu, the official, naturally refused to go.

He was certainly not from a wealthy family, but he couldn't possibly let an outsider like himself do such dirty and tiring work.

"Steward Zhang, do you have any useful cultivation techniques?" Lu Li asked.

He thought about it carefully. Although he had only been in Chengdu for two days, he might have a chance to make some money, but finding a cultivation technique was really difficult.

There are naturally folk martial arts techniques, and the Five Animal Frolics is one of them. Both the elderly and children can practice it, but the eunuchs who have been to the Great Qian Martial Arts Pavilion have long been discerning.

Leaving aside those who are all show and no substance but don't even qualify, ninth-rank martial arts are nothing more than the skills of a peasant. Eighth and seventh-rank martial arts are enough to escort goods or open a martial arts school; only from the sixth rank onwards is it the starting point for sects, gangs, and aristocratic families.

Both "You Ting Nei Jing Jue" and "Wu Guan Wu Fa" are fourth-grade cultivation methods. The former is used by those with disabilities, while the latter relies on their innate talent.

What level would our family reach if we practiced normal cultivation techniques?

Lu Li certainly wanted to make money, but he had gradually become aware of the dangers lurking in Chengdu Prefecture.

Even a lowly eunuch might not be able to live a peaceful life.

Lu Li didn't want the money he had embezzled to end up as a bundle of yellow paper containing three taels of silver to accompany him on his journey to the afterlife.

Steward Zhang was a little surprised that Lu Li would make this request: "The cultivation method that the Zhou family can provide to you, sir, may not be of interest to you."

"It's alright, as long as it works." Lu Li really didn't care.

"Which one does Eunuch Lu want? To nourish his vital energy and spirit, or to prolong his life?" Butler Zhang asked.

The cultivation methods practiced by the direct descendants of aristocratic families are mostly of this type.

It's not that we lack powerful and fierce martial arts techniques, but with the family having developed to this point, shouldn't we enjoy ourselves a bit?

Even so, only a few people can persist in their cultivation.

Firstly, cultivation itself is very tedious, and secondly, not everyone has the talent of Lu Li; it is common to be stuck at a certain level for life without being able to break through, or to be unable to break through.

"We want a martial arts technique that can save our lives," Lu Li said directly.

Ordinary people have limited internal energy, and even if they are very good at fighting, they will be trapped. But if they have lightness skills and can use hidden arrows to kill, the difficulty of killing them becomes several times greater.

Take, for example, the King of Dubu, who killed countless people in the Western Regions. He became famous because of his superb lightness skills. According to his godfather, even a thousand-man army would have difficulty surrounding and killing him. Without a master, even ten thousand men would have difficulty defeating him in the mountains. If it weren't for a master in the court using his offspring to perform witchcraft to curse and cripple him, it would probably have been difficult to capture him.

"I'll go back to the Zhou family right away and find a scroll that my father-in-law will be satisfied with," Steward Zhang said immediately.

Before long, before Lu Li had even finished his cup of tea, Steward Zhang arrived with the cultivation manual.

"Steward Zhang, you're so fast?" Lu Li asked in surprise, glancing at the empty teacup.

"That's all we could do." Steward Zhang said without breaking a sweat, "Sir, are you satisfied?"

Lu Li took it and looked at it.

"Hibernation and Metamorphosis in the Cold Abyss"

"This doesn't seem to be light-footed skill." Lu Li flipped through a few pages.

"May I ask, sir, what is the best life-saving technique in the world?" Butler Zhang asked.

Lu Li disliked this kind of question; in his view, it would be better to just get straight to the point. However, he still pondered for a moment: "Indestructible Vajra, yet a ghostly figure?"

However, Lu Li added, "Even the indestructible Vajra can be surrounded and killed, and the Ghostly Shadow technique is no match for an army formation. So..."

Butler Zhang nodded: "Insects and turtles, and Pallas's foxes can feign death to escape. These animals may be cunning and treacherous, but they always manage to escape with their lives in the end."

After listening, Lu Li found it quite reasonable: "Please enlighten me."

"Death is a natural law. As the saying goes, when a person dies, the debt is wiped out. Your enemies will stop killing you because of your death. A confrontation will end with the death of one side. Death is the best way to protect yourself."

After putting away the cultivation technique, Lu Li secretly became vigilant. If he ever really needed to kill someone seriously in the future, he must remember to crush their head and shatter their heart.

......

In the evening, after changing his clothes, Lu Li returned to the post station to rest. As soon as he opened the door, Xiao Huzi's voice came out.

"Little Lu is such a busy person."

Lu Li looked at the sweaty little tiger with a smile on his face. Although his eyes were fixed on him, he could hear several breathing sounds around him.

"What's wrong with Little Tiger? He's covered in sweat and doesn't even bother to wash himself."

"Hmph, Little Lu, instead of wasting your time bickering, why don't you think of a way to explain things to Eunuch Qian?" Little Tiger said smugly, "Everyone's checking the accounts, following Eunuch Qian's orders, but you're the only one who's disappeared..."

Lu Li was too lazy to listen to the other party's words and pushed him away, but Xiao Huzi was persistent and grabbed Lu Li's clothes.

"Still trying to mess with us? Do you really think we're pushovers?"

Lu Li is usually targeted by unseen forces in the Imperial Horse Administration. It's one thing for Eunuch Qian's adopted sons to drag us into doing things together, and we'll let it go for now. But you, a mere eunuch who's only been here for a few years, dare to act so arrogantly in front of us.

Lu Li slapped him away with a palm strike, using only half of his true energy. Perhaps Little Tiger didn't realize that Lu Li had actually made a move, or perhaps he didn't have time to circulate his true energy to protect himself; a crisp sound rang out.

Snapped!

Lu Li slapped Xiao Huzi's hand against the doorpost, tearing his sleeve and revealing his bluish-red arm.

"Well, Lu Zi really dares to make a move!" Little Tiger's eyes reddened instantly. He shouted, "Let's all come out! There's no need to talk about camaraderie when facing this worthless scoundrel from the Palace Guard!"

At a shout, three eunuchs jumped out.

These eunuchs were ordinary errand boys, and even Lu Li had rarely seen them before. Without answering, they surrounded Lu Li, ready to subdue him.

"Good, good, good, it's good that it's delivered to our door." A fierce glint flashed in Lu Li's gray eyes. He grabbed the package on his body and threw it directly at Xiao Huzi, then strode forward and kicked him.

The true energy was concentrated in his feet, and the little tiger, whose vision was blocked by the kick, was kicked so hard that he jumped on the spot, then squeezed his feet together in pain.

"You can't even possess true qi? Little Tiger has wasted all those years of training." Lu Li sneered, continuing to inflict his cruelty on Little Tiger.

A ninth-rank martial artist can circulate their true qi to enhance themselves, while an eighth-rank martial artist can use true qi to possess their body, which can not only defend against enemies but also crush paper leaves and clothing.

Lu Li reached the eighth rank in martial arts after only half a year of training at the martial arts academy, and ranked first in the martial arts test among all the eunuchs, which shows his outstanding talent.

Those with disabilities can specialize in the "Netherworld Inner Landscape Technique." Even if their aptitude and talent are dull, they can still reach the eighth rank in a few years.

Seeing Xiaohuzi kneeling on the ground, Lu Li had no intention of letting the other party off the hook. If he didn't push things to the extreme today, this kid would dare to harm his family again tomorrow.

Another kick followed, and Little Tiger crashed to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth and nose.

The other eunuchs were about to make a move when they saw Xiao Huzi hitting Lu Li's feet with his head, so they immediately ran away.

They're not stupid; that kick could knock them unconscious on the spot, or worse, leave them crippled.

Eunuchs are adept at changing their tune depending on the wind. Rather than risk being beaten, they would rather report to Eunuch Qian that Lu was bullying his colleague.

The saying "it's better to report than to resort to violence" applies here.