My Wife Is A Sword Immortal-Chapter 71 - 60: Retrieving the Furnace in Public (Please Favorite!)

Chapter 71: Chapter 60: Retrieving the Furnace in Public (Please Favorite!)

At the time of yinshi, the second period of the day, Daoists from the foot of the mountain ascended one after another. Today wasn’t a day of rest, and there weren’t many visitors offering incense in the early morning.

Zhao Rong did not immediately climb the mountain; instead, he waited for a group of cleaners to follow up the mountain, keeping his eyes on the two familiar figures among them—a thin, tall middle-aged man and an old man with half of his hair white.

Both were responsible for the cleaning of the Spirit Temple, each taking turns on alternate days.

Zhao Rong concentrated and meticulously remembered their walking patterns and behavioral characteristics.

On his way up, he noticed that they did not head directly to the exterior for cleaning, but would first sweep the mountain paths, steps, and resting pavilions before continuing upwards.

Zhao Rong understood that the cleaners did not have a fixed schedule for their temple duties.

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Following them to the midsection of the mountain, the group gradually dispersed to various palaces for their respective duties. Zhao Rong followed the thin, tall cleaner into the Spirit Temple.

Upon entering the temple, Zhao Rong went straight to his usual seat where he used to copy scriptures, but this time, he did not sit down to copy. Instead, he packed up his belongings, said goodbye to the Daoist receiving guests, explaining that his family member’s illness had improved and he would no longer come to copy scriptures. After laughing and donating some money, he prepared to leave.

At that moment, the Spirit Temple was conducting early-morning chanting, and visitors were sparse, making it rather quiet. Just as Zhao Rong was about to leave, he suddenly heard a cat meowing from behind the statues in the Great Hall.

The leading blue-clothed Daoist frowned and opened his eyes, turning his head to signal the thin, tall cleaner wiping the tables with a tilt of his chin. The cleaner nodded understandingly, smiled obsequiously, dropped his rag, and went to the back to shoo the cat away.

Zhao Rong pursed his lips, stepped out of the Great Hall, and circled to the back of the Spirit Temple. He knew there was a back door there, and indeed saw the thin, tall worker attempting to chase away a cat.

Behind the Spirit Temple and a row of side halls lay a large expanse of lush woods, with a winding bluestone path leading to a hidden area.

The cat had fled up a jujube tree, and the thin, tall cleaner stood below, using a bamboo pole to try and drive it away. With the cat dodging left and right, he was helpless. Zhao Rong approached to assist and, with agile movements, climbed the tree, grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck, and easily jumped down. The grateful cleaner quickly thanked him and reached to take the cat but Zhao Rong, with a smile, asked if he could take it home to adopt. The cleaner was taken aback but agreed, then turned to return to the Great Hall.

Carrying the cat, Zhao Rong descended the mountain, carefully pondering the speaking tone of the tall, thin cleaner, realizing that it would be difficult to mimic his way of speaking. However, he only needed to remember the intonation and manner of speaking used when the cleaner chased the cat.

After this extended period of observation, Zhao Rong had determined the exact timing and plan for action.

The window of opportunity would be on the next day of rest, during the fifth period of yinshi.

Days of rest were busy, providing an excuse for a theft, and after a night of vigilance, the morning would be their most relaxed moment.

Before acting, some preparations had to be made.

First, he needed to give money to the chubby Daoist boy and his companion, which was simple: he would drop a couple of silver pieces on the ground on their way down the mountain. Since mountain paths were uneven, people descending would mostly be looking at the ground. If they failed to notice, he would just try a few more times.

The two were of an age that could not control their own behavior. If they had money, they would buy books and stay up late reading, making them drowsy the next morning—especially during the early class when the blue-clothed Daoists were not in front of them changing guard.

As for the other two Daoist boys, he needed to create some noise the night before the action to prevent them from sleeping, ensuring that like the chubby Daoist boy, they would be sleepy and doze off during their morning duties.

The Daoists in the early class did not warrant his attention, as they needed to close their eyes for chanting. According to observations from previous days, as long as there wasn’t a huge commotion, they would not open their eyes. Moreover, on days of rest, with more people around, they were more easily distracted and less alert to subtle noises, not to mention that with so many worshipers watching, being caught not taking their early class seriously would cause them to lose face.

With this, only the white-haired guest-receiving Daoist and the cleaner with uncertain arrival times would remain with open eyes inside the Great Hall.

Zhao Rong had observed that the guest-receiving Daoist usually went for a restroom break around the fifth period of yinshi during the early chanting, which was why he had chosen this moment. However, to be safe, he also needed a backup plan—if the guest-receiving Daoist did not go to the restroom, then he would block his path.

How to block? Simple: he would approach the Daoist, speak up to ask a question, prompting the Daoist to turn and converse with him, back facing the table where the Thunder and Rainbow Purple Gold Furnace was kept. He only needed to delay until other visitors lined up behind him, and then he could slip away. The advantage of having a busy day of rest once again came into play.

The final task was to steal a set of cleaner’s clothes, impersonate the thin, tall cleaner, and to prevent being caught in the act by a True Man, he would have to dirty the stairs and the cooling pavilion in advance, delaying the cleaners’ ascent, and in that brief moment, he would seize the Divine Furnace.

His route of action would then unfold.

First, dressed in regular clothes, he would walk up the mountain with the cat, toss the animal over the left enclosure wall into the temple grounds, and, when the bell rang for the fifth period of yinshi, boldly enter the temple and check inside the Spirit Temple. If his arrangements were effective and conditions were met, he would promptly take action.

He would then head to the southwest corner of the exterior to the thatched hut to change outfits, dressing up as the thin, tall cleaner—chosen because it was his duty day on this day of rest, and also because their body types were quite similar, making it easier to imitate his gait.

After changing, he would take the back path behind the many side halls to the rear entrance of the Spirit Temple, place food inside to attract the cat.

Next, he would proceed to the front entrance of the Great Hall and directly enter. At this point, he needed to adopt the walking rhythm of the thin, tall cleaner, feet turned outward, swinging slightly from side to side with each step, capturing the balance and tempo.

Following the cat’s meow, carrying the Thunder and Rainbow Purple Gold Furnace and some small trinkets as a diversion, he would pretend to drive the cat away while expelling the animal and stepping out the back door.

The reason for taking other small items was to employ the Eye-blocking Technique in the aftermath of the theft, avoiding immediate suspicion being cast on his true objective.

He also didn’t need to worry about the many worshipers inside; although they could see his actions, decked in cleaner’s garb, he would deceive them, leading people to subconsciously excuse his actions.

Thus, under the watchful eyes of all, he would triumphantly seize the Divine Furnace.

After everything went smoothly, he would hold the cat and sneak into the dense forest behind, taking advantage of the forest’s cover to climb over the wall and escape.

The last part was the escape route down the mountain.

After the furnace was stolen, three scenarios could unfold at Chongxu Temple: one, it might not be discovered for a short time; two, it might be discovered immediately and action would quickly be taken to investigate thoroughly.

The last scenario was that even though it was discovered quickly, it wasn’t taken seriously, and someone simply reported it to the internal steward and then didn’t worry about it any further; as for what actions the internal ward would take after the report, that was no longer Zhao Rong’s concern since, by that time, he would already have made a clean getaway.

In his opinion, the last scenario was the most likely, but for safety’s sake, he planned his escape assuming the second scenario, the most dangerous one, as the standard.

Zhao Rong surveyed the area and discovered a winding mountain road behind the left wall of the exterior, with stone steps covered in moss and a clear, gurgling cold mountain spring alongside, flowing along with the twists and turns of the path.

Out of caution, Zhao Rong climbed the steps to investigate further up the mountain. Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance and, following the winding stone steps a little higher, he saw to his left a large osmanthus forest filled with sweet fragrance. Zhao Rong paid it no mind and continued climbing until he also saw the green-tiled red wall that separated the inner and outer parts of Chongxu Temple. However, at the end of the mountain road, there was a vermilion gate.

Zhao Rong lightened his steps and approached the gate, crouched down, and reached out his index finger to touch the hinge. With a light twist of his fingers on the rusty spot, it seemed the gate was infrequently used.

Zhao Rong felt somewhat relieved. He then continued down the mountain road and near the foot of the mountain, he found several secluded routes suitable for escaping with the furnace.

And when he would walk down the mountain road carrying the furnace, he should have about fifteen minutes’ time. By then, Gui should be able to successfully control the Thunder and Rainbow Purple Gold Furnace and shrink it down to the size of a fist, making his escape even easier.

Zhao Rong exhaled softly; with this, everything was ready, except for an east wind.

What was the east wind? That was the rest day coming in four days.

Suddenly, Zhao Rong furrowed his brows, recalled the hidden sentry in the Observatory Tower that had nearly exposed him, and felt alarmed. He returned to scout the area, rehearsed his plan, and indeed found that parts of his escape route were within the sentry’s view.

Zhao Rong secretly feared the close call; plotting this scheme was like walking on a tightrope – one misstep could lead to complete failure and doom, especially since this was Chong Xu Temple’s stronghold. He had to be cautious, yet even more cautious.

After some thought, Zhao Rong re-planned his route. He preferred to take a slightly longer detour to avoid the sentry, seeking the safest course.

In the following days, Zhao Rong spent time feeding the cat, bonding with it, and imitating the gait and tone of the thin and tall laborers, while he repeatedly refined his plan and often went to the outer temple to carry out practice runs, attentively perfecting every new detail he thought of.

A few days before the rest day, he remembered something and went down to the area below Taibai Mountain, where he entered some bustling restaurants and pubs. Pretending to be an ordinary pilgrim, he loudly touted the efficacious blessings of the Spirit Temple in the outer temple, claiming that after praying for only a few days, his family member had recovered from an illness, and now he had come especially to fulfill his vow.

His actions caused a stir among the many pilgrims and became a hot topic of discussion. As a result, the Spirit Temple was expected to see even more visitors on the rest day.

A loss may stem from a tiny oversight, and since his own strength was not overpowering, he could only expand his chances of success bit by bit and accumulate advantages.

In a blink of an eye, three days passed, and the east wind was near.

The night before the rest day, Zhao Rong rented a carriage in the city, drove it alone, and stopped in a wooded area at the foot of Taibai Mountain.

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He then infiltrated the small house of the thin and tall laborer, stole a set of laborer’s clothes, and turned to leave. However, just before leaving, he looked back at the thin and tall laborer, who was fast asleep on the kang bed.

In fact, his plan included an even better option: to dispose of the thin and tall laborer directly, which would likely leave his theft of the Thunder and Rainbow Purple Gold Furnace undiscovered for a short time, giving him more time to escape.

Zhao Rong shook his head, left quietly, and carefully climbed up the mountain, scattering leaves and debris in the pavilion on the mountain path, then turned to go back down.

At last, Zhao Rong approached the house of a fat Daoist boy called Nan Xiao, noted the light on in his house, and then turned to the houses of two other duty Daoist boys, noting they were deep in sleep. He quietly tossed prepared small animals like mice inside to disturb their sleep, ensuring they couldn’t rest well for the rest of the night.

At the hour of Yin, the mountain bells rang, the Daoists started their silent meditations, and the market became lively.

Zhao Rong held the cat, took the small path up the mountain, threw the cat over the wall, and entered the temple to wait.

At the fifth segment of the hour of Yin.

Passing through the Great Hall, he glanced quickly and headed to the outhouse, changing clothes and donning a hat.

Moving northwards, to the back door of the hall, he dropped food on the ground and went towards the main entrance.

He entered the hall with his head down and a stagger in his step, reached the table, and started to wipe it down.

Cat meows at the back door.

He picked up the Divine Furnace, took some small items casually, shouted to drive the cat away, and walked out the back door.

Holding the cat and heading north, he dove into the woods, climbed a tree over the wall, and strode away…