It had only been a little over a month since Li Xuan began his Breakthrough to the Marrow Refining Realm. If touching the bottom of the Sun Flame Pond was all it took to achieve it, why wait any longer?
Ignoring Chief Steward Shang's attempt to continue, he immediately sprang up from where he stood, intending to bolt toward the Yuqing Pond.
Fortunately, Chief Steward Shang was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, grabbing the impatient Li Xuan just in time.
"Li Xuan, I know you're anxious, but don't rush. Hear me out first."
Chief Steward Shang said slowly.
"First, the efficacy of the Sun Flame Pond is at its peak on the first day of the lunar month, so you must wait until then to reach the bottom."
Li Xuan calculated the date; there were only a few days left until the first of the month.
"Second, if you want to enter the Yuqing Pond, you need Your Majesty's permission."
"Otherwise, you won't be able to enter the Sun Flame Pond."
Chief Steward Shang said earnestly.
"The Yuqing Pond is guarded by experts; it's impossible for you to sneak in."
Chief Steward Shang naturally knew what Li Xuan was thinking, so he gave this early warning.
"Meow? (Then what should I do?)"
Li Xuan asked anxiously.
There were only a few days left until the first. If he missed this opportunity, he would have to wait another month.
The chance to break through to the Marrow Refining Realm was right before his eyes; Li Xuan had to consider if this might be his last chance for the month.
If he missed this opportunity, he feared he would spend the next month in regret.
To restore the glory of the beast race, Li Xuan was duty-bound.
He had to seize the opportunity before him.
"Meow, woo! (Chief Steward Shang, I want to improve so badly!)"
Li Xuan's sincerity moved Chief Steward Shang deeply.
Chief Steward Shang nodded and said:
"Li Xuan, you are a motivated child. Naturally, I don't want you to miss such an opportunity in vain."
"How about this: Your Majesty has been worrying about something recently."
"I originally intended to resolve it myself, but since you are so sincere, why don't I give this opportunity to you?"
"..."
Chief Steward Shang's words left both Li Xuan and Zhao Feng in silence.
"Meow? (Isn't this bullying an honest cat?)"
Li Xuan spread his paws and questioned him excitedly.
He hadn't expected that the seemingly honest Chief Steward Shang would be waiting for him here.
Even Zhao Feng, who was standing to the side, found it hard to watch.
However, this was his foster father after all, so he just felt embarrassed and turned his head away, having no intention of undermining him.
Who knows if this was Chief Steward Shang's idea or Emperor Yongyuan's?
Zhao Feng felt it was better for him to just stay quiet.
"Ahem, Li Xuan, this is also for your own good."
Chief Steward Shang coughed dryly, feeling a bit ashamed.
Seeing Chief Steward Shang's reaction, Li Xuan suspected he was being coerced.
Li Xuan's large cat eyes darted around, deciding to listen to what the matter was first.
"Meow. (Go ahead and tell me.)"
Seeing that Li Xuan was less agitated, Chief Steward Shang breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"This matter is actually not difficult for you."
"You need to steal something without making a sound."
Chief Steward Shang still had some basic bottom line, unlike Zhao Feng, who always called it "borrowing" but was never seen returning anything.
Hearing this, Li Xuan was somewhat tempted.
After all, this was his old trade, and he still had some confidence.
But what Chief Steward Shang said next made Li Xuan wonder if he had misheard.
"It's just that this item is outside the palace, so you have to come out with me."
Li Xuan blinked a few times, with obvious anger welling up.
"So Emperor Yongyuan spent all that time talking nonsense just to prepare me, teaching me how to survive outside the palace while wearing the di hong bone ring!?"
Realizing this, Li Xuan trembled with rage, breaking out in a cold sweat on a hot day, his hands and feet turning cold.
Can this society get any better?
How exactly do you want us Little Cats to live to be satisfied?
Tears the size of beans fell uncontrollably. This palace was filled with oppression against Little Cats everywhere; when would Little Cats truly be able to stand tall?
Seeing Li Xuan sobbing and pretending to cry, Chief Steward Shang said sheepishly:
"Li Xuan, if you don't want to go, then forget it."
Li Xuan glared, even angrier.
"Meow, meow, meow, woo? (You hyped up the Sun Flame Pond to the heavens, and now you want me to give up? Do you have no humanity?)"
Although he couldn't understand what Li Xuan's meows meant, Chief Steward Shang kept comforting him.
After all, he couldn't bear to deceive a Little Cat not even a year old.
Even after experiencing decades of storms in The Great Within and climbing all the way to the position of Grand Eunuch, Chief Steward Shang had never encountered such a test.
Li Xuan sulked for a long time, but after thinking about it, he still couldn't bring himself to give up the chance to advance to the Marrow Refining Realm.
He lifted his pair of teary eyes, looked at Chief Steward Shang, gestured with his paws, pointing at himself and then at Chief Steward Shang.
Chief Steward Shang quickly replied:
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go with you. If there's a problem, we'll come right back."
"In the entire capital, those who can beat me can be counted on one hand."
"Li Xuan, rest assured, I will definitely protect you!"
Chief Steward Shang promised.
At this moment, Zhao Feng, who had been listening from the side, interjected:
"Foster Father, is the risk high?"
There were so many people in the palace, but Emperor Yongyuan sent Chief Steward Shang personally. It was either because the task was too difficult, or it had to be kept secret, or perhaps both.
"The risk isn't that high, but if I go, it's easier to alert the enemy."
Although an expert's aura can be concealed, it is very difficult to hide it from others in the same Realm.
Because the threat they pose to each other is hard to erase.
Experts of the Upper Three Ranks are very sensitive to danger.
Chief Steward Shang was afraid that there might also be an Upper Three Ranks expert stationed on the other side.
But Li Xuan was different.
With his appearance, he could make the vast majority of people lower their guard against him.
This point alone made him more suitable for this task.
"Li Xuan, what do you think?"
"Do you want to consider it?"
Chief Steward Shang asked.
Li Xuan climbed onto the table, then used his tail dipped in tea to write on the table:
"Tell me in detail."
Only then did Chief Steward Shang smile, already knowing that Li Xuan was tempted.
"We are going to steal an account book."
"In the Southern City's Baoning Ward, there is a place called the Four Treasures Grain Shop."
"This shop has problems, but we cannot directly arrest them, otherwise it will affect Your Majesty's future plans."
Hearing this, Li Xuan frowned.
Emperor Yongyuan was actually going to make a move against a small grain shop; it seemed the owner behind the Four Treasures Grain Shop was not simple, and the matters involved were not small.
"Under the counter of this grain shop, there is a hidden mechanism, and inside is their real account book."
"But only the shopkeeper knows how to open the mechanism."
"This shopkeeper is a dead soldier; if he notices something wrong, he will surely commit suicide."
"His death is not the problem, but I'm worried there might be a self-destruct device inside the mechanism, and if we make a mistake while opening it, the account book will be destroyed."
Li Xuan understood, but still felt curious.
He was just a cat, so naturally he wouldn't know how to open the mechanism.
Li Xuan could sneak in, but he had no way to steal the account book from the hidden compartment.
Chief Steward Shang saw Li Xuan's doubts and immediately explained:
"Li Xuan, but you can bypass the mechanism and take out the account book from the hidden compartment."
When Chief Steward Shang said this, Li Xuan's heart stirred, and he remembered something.
He immediately swung his tail in front of him.
"That's right. You should have noticed these past few days that when the di hong bone ring collects items, it can do so from a certain distance."
"If my predictions are correct, you should be able to use the di hong bone ring to get the account book inside through the counter."
Hearing Chief Steward Shang's explanation, Li Xuan cursed his bad luck.
Thinking about it this way, almost everything Emperor Yongyuan said in the Ganlu Hall earlier was complete nonsense.
Claiming that placing the di hong bone ring at the bottom of the Moon Yin Pond was to encourage the younger generation of the royal family—Emperor Yongyuan really had no shame saying that without blushing.
It seems Emperor Yongyuan had long planned to have him go on this errand.
Seeing Li Xuan's expression change slightly, Chief Steward Shang just chuckled and didn't say anything more.
Ever since Li Xuan went to the Qingshu Hall last time, eavesdropped on Consort Zhang's conversation, and recorded it in detail, Emperor Yongyuan had the idea of using Li Xuan as a secret agent.
This time was an even rarer opportunity, so he made these arrangements to test Li Xuan's further capabilities.
Li Xuan listened to Chief Steward Shang and immediately tested the di hong bone ring's ability to retrieve items from a distance.
He tried putting the teacup on the table inside and taking it back out, testing it several times in a row to probe the limit distance of the di hong bone ring's remote retrieval.
After testing several times, Li Xuan found that this distance was about one chi, neither long nor short.
After figuring out the limit distance, he demonstrated it a few times in front of Chief Steward Shang.
Chief Steward Shang naturally understood Li Xuan's meaning. After watching, he slowly replied: "Although it's a bit of a stretch, there should be a chance."
Since things had come to this, Li Xuan had no reason to refuse anymore.
The biggest threat in leaving the palace was probably someone sensing the di hong bone ring and then attacking Li Xuan to seize it.
But with Chief Steward Shang by his side, and since this was the capital of Great Xing, Emperor Yongyuan should still be able to protect him.
In the end, Li Xuan decided to participate in this operation; after all, he had to soak in the Sun Flame Pond.
Whether he could dive to the bottom was his own problem.
But he definitely had to try.
"What about the time?"
Li Xuan asked his last question.
Chief Steward Shang immediately replied:
"It will be the Acquired."
"I will pick you up in the morning, then we will head to the Four Treasures Grain Shop together, act after nightfall, and return the next morning."
Li Xuan had no objections to this arrangement and nodded in agreement.
"Li Xuan, you've agreed?"
Chief Steward Shang asked happily.
This matter was very important to Emperor Yongyuan's subsequent plans.
If Li Xuan didn't agree, Chief Steward Shang would have to try it himself.
But if he came personally, there would always be many concerns.
Chief Steward Shang feared nothing, except for messing up Emperor Yongyuan's errand.
Even if he messed it up, Emperor Yongyuan naturally wouldn't punish Chief Steward Shang; after all, the difficulty of this matter was apparent.
But Chief Steward Shang could not accept his own failure.
People who could reach their position were all somewhat perfectionists, with extremely strict demands on themselves.
They could tolerate others' stupidity, but they could not accept their own mistakes.