Daqian Martial Saint

Chen Ping’an peered through the window and looked again carefully. The old Daoist’s figure was truly gone.

’There’s a secret room in here!’

In an instant, Chen Ping’an came to a conclusion.

A person couldn’t just vanish for no reason. There had to be a secret room somewhere inside.

’Something really is fishy here!’

After a moment’s thought, Chen Ping’an walked over and placed his palm on the door.

HUM~

With a slight tremor of his True Qi, the latch on the door jumped up.

Seizing the moment, Chen Ping’an pushed the door open, catching the latch firmly in his hand before it could hit the floor.

He was a prime example of the saying, ”skill begets courage.” Without the slightest hesitation, he walked straight into the old Daoist’s room.

This audacity stemmed from his power. If he were still in the Inner Qi Realm, he would have hesitated. But being at the Profound Light Middle Realm... allowed Chen Ping’an to act with few restraints.

The worst that could happen was that he’d be discovered, and he would just have to flee.

He was doing this primarily because he found the temple suspicious. For one, everyone here had embarked on Martial Dao Cultivation. Then there was the fact that a temple like this existed in the middle of nowhere, and its Temple Master had a secret room in his quarters.

A hidden compartment for stashing treasures would be understandable, but a secret room large enough for a person to enter? That was a bit strange.

Chen Ping’an had also noticed another detail. The supplies that had just been brought back required seven or eight people carrying full loads; it was a substantial amount. From the two Daoists’ prior conversation, today was the monthly supply run, so a late return was normal. The other Daoist had misremembered, thinking it was the ten-day supply run.

In other words, the temple conducted a supply run every ten days. The monthly run was mentioned separately, which likely meant it was different from the usual ten-day ones.

’From what I’ve seen, there are fewer than twenty people in this whole temple. Do they really need so many supplies for just ten days?’

A faint suspicion began to form in Chen Ping’an’s mind.

He closed the door, slid the latch back into place, and returned it to its original state. Then, he began to survey the room. The layout was very orderly, with a full set of furnishings. Chen Ping’an scanned the entire room but found no entrance to a secret chamber, nor any hidden mechanisms.

The old Daoist could return at any moment, so Chen Ping’an’s top priority was to find a place to hide. He first checked under the bed, but unfortunately, it was solid, with only a tiny gap beneath it. It was obviously impossible to hide there.

Chen Ping’an’s gaze shifted, landing on the wardrobes not far from the bed. There were several of them, and the one on the far right looked just large enough for an adult to stand in.

’This’ll do.’ Chen Ping’an went over, preparing to open the wardrobe and see if it was a suitable hiding spot.

Just as his hand rested on the handle, a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind.

’What if I open this door and find the old Daoist standing stiffly inside, staring right at me?’

’The thought of that scene is pretty creepy!’

Fortunately, Chen Ping’an had been overthinking. The wardrobe only contained clothes, nothing like the scene he’d imagined.

After confirming he could hide there, Chen Ping’an began to search the room. But he hadn’t been looking for long when a faint noise echoed from beneath the floor.

’He’s back!’ Chen Ping’an’s expression tensed. He moved swiftly and silently into the wardrobe, then carefully pulled the door shut. The door didn’t close completely, leaving a thin crack in the middle.

The room was lit by candlelight, but it was pitch-black inside the wardrobe. Chen Ping’an could observe the room perfectly through the narrow crack.

Besides, now that Chen Ping’an had reached the Profound Light Realm, he could spiritually perceive his surroundings to a certain degree by concentrating. Even without the crack, he could still get a rough sense of what was happening outside.

The sound of a mechanism grinding echoed, and a section of the floor suddenly sank, revealing a passage. A tall, thin old Daoist emerged from it.

After coming out, the old Daoist walked over to a decorative round table and began turning it forcefully.

CLICK! CLACK! CLACK!

With another faint grinding of gears, the sunken section of the floor rose back into place.

After emerging from the passage, the old Daoist looked troubled and began pacing back and forth.

From inside the wardrobe, Chen Ping’an watched in silence.

Suddenly, the old Daoist stopped pacing. He turned and faced the very wardrobe where Chen Ping’an was hiding.

’Huh?’

Chen Ping’an froze.

’Did he spot me?’

The old Daoist walked toward the wardrobe. Chen Ping’an held his breath, ready to burst out and subdue the man at a moment’s notice.

CREAK!

A wardrobe door creaked open. The old Daoist had opened the one next to Chen Ping’an’s and taken out a long robe.

After changing out of his Daoist vestments and into the robe, he sat cross-legged on the bed.

’This old Daoist...’ Chen Ping’an thought, resuming his silent wait inside the wardrobe.

’To be honest, I was tempted to just jump out and grab him. It’d be so much easier than all this sneaking around.’

’Just brute-force it and get it over with!’

’But on second thought, I should play it safe for now. There’s always time to be reckless if things go south!’

’Wait a minute!’

’Why do I keep thinking about brute force? Am I... really just a brute?’

’No, impossible! Absolutely not!’

...

Early the next morning, the old Daoist awoke from his meditation. The first thing he did was take off the long robe and change back into the Daoist vestments from the wardrobe. Chen Ping’an also noticed him seem to pat the inside of the vestments, as if checking for something.

After doing this, the old Daoist left the room shortly after, closing the door behind him.

Chen Ping’an waited in the wardrobe for a while longer. Once he was sure the old Daoist wasn’t about to return, he pushed the door open and stepped out.

Sounds were already drifting in from outside the room—the Daoists of the temple chanting their morning prayers.

Chen Ping’an glanced at the decorative round table. Without hesitation, he began to turn it, just as he’d seen the old Daoist do the day before.

CLICK! CLACK! CLACK!

The sound of the mechanism echoed as a section of the floor began to sink.

As he activated the mechanism, Chen Ping’an considered the possibility of someone being inside the secret room. ’If I open it now, won’t they discover me? Opening it directly like this isn’t exactly cautious.’

’But if I don’t activate it, my only option is to wait for the old Daoist to open it and then follow him in. Then again, judging by what I saw when he came in, there’s obviously a mechanism on the other side to close the passage.’

’So the whole ”follow him in” plan doesn’t really work.’

’I can’t follow him in, but opening the passage myself risks discovery.’

’After thinking it through, there doesn’t seem to be any other good way.’

’So...’

’Just open it! Brute-force it!’

’Hmm...?’

’Wait! That’s not right!’

’I’m really not a brute!’