Book 1 - What Is A Genius - Chapter 42 - The Secret Exchange

In the sky, the sparsely spread stars shined, seeming like resonant teardrops which were about to fall.
He Yiming left the celebration and roamed in the Cheng residence. He was astonished by the fact that the area occupied by the Cheng Residence was not the slightest bit less than that of the He family.
It should be known that the He family resided under the feet of mountains outside the county town, whereas the Cheng Residence was situated inside the county town.
One outside and the other inside although seemed identical in terms of area, in terms of true worth, the difference was akin to that of heaven and earth.
He Yiming deeply sighed. He was quite moved. Although He family was able to rise quickly relying on their martial strength, in terms of wealth, they couldn’t even begin to compare with the Cheng family.
After walking for a short while, the people around him became exceedingly sparse before he unexpectedly encountered a high wall.
Shaking his head, He Yiming bitterly smiled and was about to leave when his ears vaguely caught onto something. Subsequently, he lowered his body, and like a raccoon, quietly and breathlessly, rushed behind the bunch of rocks nearby.
His movements were extremely nimble. Even his clothes were stuck to his body as he moved. Even if he had moved quicker, no sound would have been produced.
Just as he had properly hidden, a figure appeared on the wall.
The individual only revealed his head as he looked around for a few moments. Spotting no one keeping watch nearby, he nimbly jumped over.
He Yiming watched the man through the gap between the rocks.
The man was wearing a black, skin-tight outfit, but his face was not covered. However, his face was completely unfamiliar. He Yiming had never seen it before.
However, after witnessing the recent actions of the man, He Yiming couldn’t help but become extremely curious.
Going by the influence of the Cheng family in the county town, could there still be a thief that was planning to rob them? This seemed rather inconceivable.
To He Yiming, although Cheng family’s martial strength seemed dull, in any case, the Cheng family represented the power of the authorities. Even the stupidest of the thief would not dare to eye them.
As He Yiming thought up to this point, he immediately gave up on arresting this man, and instead curled up his body even more. He wished to see for himself the reason behind this man’s visit.
Sure enough, that man after coming down didn’t leave immediately, and instead quickly hid in a dark corner.
As He Yiming evaluated the position where that man had concealed himself, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed.
That position was a truly good spot for hiding, and his position behind rockery was far incomparable to it.
After a short while, the man still had not made any movements but He Yiming was feeling somewhat impatient. True that he came outside to escape from the festive atmosphere inside, but he couldn’t remain outside too long. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to avoid a harsh scolding.
He was calculating in his heart if he should capture that man and interrogate. It seemed a much better option than foolishly waiting.
However, as soon as he made up his mind to act, he heard sounds of approaching footsteps.
Feeling slightly excited, he immediately stopped.
A figure could be seen approaching in staggering steps. The smell of alcohol could be smelled from afar, and from the footsteps of this man, it seemed that this man could crumble down any instant. Clearly, this man was completely drunk.
He Yiming glanced at the man’s face and immediately recognized the man’s identity.
This man was actually the Xu family’s member who had been behind Xu Xiangci and Xu Right. However, according to his eldest brother, this man was not a core member of the Xu family, but a sponger whom Xu family had managed to attract.
The reason He Yiming remembered him so clearly was because the former’s stature was exceedingly petite. He was not taller than He Yiming despite being a fully-grown man. An individual with such a stature was naturally quite eye-catching. In fact, one would find hard to forget such a person.
In Tian Luo country, every clan would not only just raise their young disciples with utmost care but would also try to attract people with appropriate strength. Although such people had many titles, they were basically Spongers.
Of course, truly significant people would never come to a small, insignificant area such as Tai Cang county. In the county, the people attracted by the three influential families were only the cultivators at the fifth layer or below.
Once one’s Internal Energy reached the sixth layer, his status immediately would increase by hundred folds and he would immediately leave the county to look for better employers in other regions.
He family didn’t attract any spongers and relied on the servants trained inside the family itself to be their primary battle strength. However, rarely would a servant raised inside the family yield quality results in the Internal Energy cultivation. The third layer was already the limit for them. Furthermore, only about twenty in every hundred reached the third layer.
It was not that He family didn’t wish to attract spongers, but the family’s foundation was too shallow and didn’t have the resources to support these spongers.
Of course, relying on their current peak martial strength, they could stand toe-to-toe with the other two families without attracting spongers.
As He Yiming watched the Xu family’s sponger dragging his small and thin frame forward, he suddenly thought of something.
His vision turned towards that dark corner only to find that the man had already come out.
He Yiming involuntarily clenched his fists while saying inwardly, ‘As expected, these two indeed has some connection.”
If he had not seen that man jumping over the wall and hiding in a dark corner, he would have never been able to imagine something like this.
“Why have you come so late?” The man said in low voice. His tone was a bit blaming, “Did something unexpected happen?”
The Xu family’s sponger jerked his body once and completely straightened, not seeming intoxicated in the slightest.
He Yiming inwardly prostrated himself in admiration before the man. This man’s performance was too good. Just now, he had truly believed that the man was drunk. He wouldn’t have been convinced otherwise if not for seeing the scene before him.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to come, but there are just too many people here. Those small children of Xu family were also together and not willing to let me part. It was really hard for me to look for this opportunity.” The drunkard man hurriedly explained.
The man in the black, skin-tight clothes slightly frowned and said, “Fine, don’t speak nonsense. You brought the thing with you?”
“I have.” The drunkard took out something wrapped in an old oilskin and handed it over to the former while saying, “There’s one book in it.”
“Why does it have one book only?” The man’s excited look immediately froze and vision turned sharp as a bit of killing intent emerged on his face. However, the movements of his hands didn’t slow down at all as he snatched the oilskin from the hands of the drunkard.
The drunkard immediately waved his hand and said:
“Don’t misunderstand. You can’t imagine how many difficulties I have to face before I can enter that place for once. It is already quite amazing that I could make copies of one book in a year. If it had been any other person, such a feat would have been simply impossible.”
The man slightly started before his killing intent vanished and he said:
“I understand. However, there’s one more book you need to bring back.”
The drunkard lightly patted his chest as he said:
“You can be at ease. Although I am not done making its copies, about half has already been done. In another six months or so, I can definitely complete the job.”
The man’s eyes shined as he asked, “Very good. When should I contact you again?”
The drunkard thought for a moment before replying: “Half a year later, come to the market outside the Xu family castle. I will think of a method to deliver you the thing.”
“What methods you have?” The man asked, “Their supervision over the inner-castle spongers are so strict, they would give you no opportunities to get out. How will you come out?”
The drunkard laughed, “Their supervision over the inner-castle spongers is quite strict, but the outer-castle spongers are basically free. Once I finish copying the other book, I will think of a way of moving to the outer-castle. Then, I could easily walk out without any problems.”
The man pondered for a few moments before saying:
“This is, in fact, a good method. But can you do it?”
“You can be at ease. In order to accomplish this, our third generation is working as spongers of the Xu family. We have already gained their trust. Furthermore, I have a backup plan as well. As long as I complete making the copies, I will certainly be able to look for an opportunity to leave.” The drunkard said; his voice brimming with confidence.
The man eventually relaxed and said:
“All right, you have done well. If you can get your hands on both books, you would be able to return in a few years. Once you return, the lord will certainly reward you properly. This half year, we wouldn’t be able to contact you again. Be careful and don’t be discovered…..”
The drunkard suddenly extended his hand and made a ‘shut up’ signal with his hand. Subsequently, his body began to shake once more, and at the same time, he began to mutter indiscernible words.
The man immediately responded and retreated back into the dark corner he had been hiding; though he seemed a bit reluctant.
He Yiming was astonished. At this point, he knew that this drunkard was not an ordinary cultivator. His Internal Energy resided somewhere in between the seventh layer or the eighth layer.
Unexpectedly, there was a seventh or eighth layer cultivator among the Xu family spongers. Moreover, on the surface, this expert didn’t seem one at all.
If Tai Cang county could attract such a high-level expert, there was certainly something fishy.
Very soon, a group of people discovered the staggering drunkard and returned back to escort him. Evidently, the group had not come for the drunkard and were instead pulled away from this place by the latter.
After the group left, the man emerged from the dark corner again. He profoundly glanced in the direction of the group and climbed over the wall.