Chapter 48: The Secret Compartment in the Bookshelf

"I am around seventy years old this year. If I had any talent for cultivation, it would be impossible for me to look this old." The village chief stroked his beard. "In this impoverished backwater of ours, how could there possibly be anyone with a predestination for immortality? It's just a pity that the Daoist priest left behind immortal arts, but we have no blessing to enjoy them."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xi frowned. No matter how he listened to it, something felt wrong about the whole affair.

That person who had eliminated the demons—in order to prevent them from appearing again in the future—had actually casually handed a manual of immortal arts to the villagers?

This defied all common sense.

Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. One must know that people with talent are selected from thousands, and even if this village had extraordinary luck and happened to find a few individuals capable of embarking on the path of immortality, gathering Qi into the body would still take a considerable amount of time. What should they do if the demons made a comeback during this period?

Moreover, after gathering Qi into the body, one only reaches the first layer of Qi refinement, and they might not necessarily be able to defeat the grievances-born infant running amok outside.

The correct course of action, no matter how one looked at it, would be to search for clues and eradicate the root cause, rather than distributing immortal arts.

Sensing that this matter was far from over, Qin Xi said to the village chief, "Village Chief, I believe that before any cultivators are born in your village, those bizarre entities will likely still run rampant. Why don't we stay here for a while and completely resolve this matter after finding some clues?"

"That would truly be troubling you, Daoist priest!" The village chief bowed repeatedly in gratitude. Naturally, it could not be better for the guests to voluntarily help protect the village.

The village chief himself knew that expecting the villagers to cultivate immortal arts to defeat the infant demon was nothing short of a fairy tale.

"Right on time, the Li brothers at the entrance of the village have newly built a house. The place is spacious and bright, enough to house ten people, though only the five brothers are living there currently," the village chief said with a beaming smile. "I will go speak with them and make sure they use the best rooms to host you."

"Then we shall trouble you."

......

Qin Xi and his group walked toward the home of the Li brothers with their luggage on their backs.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Qin Xi saw a youth even younger than themselves standing there in a horse stance, regulating his breathing.

"Is he practicing the *Mending Heaven Technique*?" Qin Xi raised an eyebrow. Just moments ago, he had glanced at the beginning of that cultivation manual, and the youth's actions were an exact match.

However, not long after, the youth exhaled a breath, his entire body's tendons and bones aching and numb. He must have practiced it incorrectly and disrupted his breathing.

Just as Qin Xi walked closer, the youth let out a very loud and long burp.

Well, well. He had guided the Qi into the body all the way to his stomach.

That could still count as entering the body, presumably.

"Eh! Greetings, Daoist priests! I am the fifth of the Li family. Just call me Li Wu!"

Seeing the four of them approach, Li Wu was naturally extremely respectful. His dream was to become a person on the path of immortality, but alas, he was born in such a remote place. Even though his family had some surplus wealth, he had no access to the pathways of the immortal realm.

The immortal arts left behind by that mighty figure yesterday had reignited his long-buried dream, but after practicing countless times, he finally realized that he might truly not be cut out for this.

Yet, just as he was plunged into utter despair, he saw the dawn of hope.

Members of an immortal sect were actually going to stay at his home! By then, even if the other party answered just a single question related to immortal arts, it would be a supreme stroke of fortune!

Qin Xi smiled to acknowledge him, and Li Wu volunteered to help carry the luggage.

However, when he walked over to A-Ling and prepared to help her carry the Taihang Monument, he exerted all his strength without managing to budge it a single inch.

A light flashed in Li Wu's eyes. Was this the usual training weight for immortal sect disciples? Would he be able to lift this once he successfully refined Qi?

"My elder brothers are still working in the fields, leaving only me to watch the house. Please feel free to eat whatever you like and use whatever you wish, Daoist priests. Don't stand on ceremony."

Bu Weiwei had been waiting precisely for these words. She had been hungry for a long time, and the moment he finished speaking, she darted straight to the kitchen to devour steamed buns.

She was someone who had truly known starvation.

Qin Xi, on the other hand, remained unhurried. This task could not be rushed, and since there was spare time, reading a book was better.

"Where is the study?"

"The second room on the left after entering the door."

Qin Xi walked into the study. Bu Weiwei was devouring steamed buns, while A-Ling accompanied Jiang Baiqiu to watch ants in the courtyard.

Utterly peaceful.

Looking at the books on the bookshelf, Qin Xi saw that most of them were classic texts related to the imperial examinations. It seemed the Li brothers intended for Li Wu to pass the examinations to become an official and stop dreaming about cultivation.

Ghosts and spirits generally only appeared at night, and since he had nothing to do, he might as well read until evening.

Besides, he was a Confucian cultivator; reading more books was only right.

Just as Qin Xi picked up a few volumes of *Imperial Examination Real Questions*, *Five Years of Imperial Examinations and Three Years of Simulation*, and *Eight Sets of Imperial Examination Political Sprints* to see how this world conducted civil service exams, he suddenly noticed something amiss.

This bookshelf... why was it so thick?

The part of the bookshelf protruding from the wall was a full two feet deep, but it was obvious that placing books did not require nearly that much space. Furthermore, the inner edge of the bookshelf had a distinct level difference from the wall, measuring a full foot.

Qin Xi curled his fingers and tapped lightly on the interior of the bookshelf, producing a crisp, hollow sound.

The section of the bookshelf against the wall was empty.

That left only two possibilities: either the carpenter who made this bookshelf wanted to design it this way, or...

This bookshelf had a hidden compartment!

Qin Xi narrowed his eyes and began to observe closely, checking for anything resembling a mechanism.

A pile of books was placed haphazardly on the third shelf. This spot was the most inconspicuous, but Qin Xi felt precisely that this inconspicuous place was the most likely to conceal a mechanism!

He moved the books from the third shelf and gently pushed the wooden board against the wall. With a creak, the board began to move slowly.

Indeed!

Yet halfway through, Qin Xi suddenly wondered whether doing this right after arriving at a villager's home was somewhat immoral.

This should be their family's most important secret, yet he was casually prying into it. He asked his conscience: did he still have any?

None.

Therefore, Qin Xi continued pushing the wooden board.

Which decent person puts a hidden compartment in their own bookshelf?

He was here to collect clues, and naturally, such suspicious objects had to be searched.

When the wooden board was pushed all the way, the space inside the hidden compartment became accessible by hand.

Qin Xi reached out and indeed touched quite a few books hidden within. Looking left and right, he pulled the books out like a thief.

"Ah!"

The moment Qin Xi saw the cover, he was instantly startled, goosebumps erupting all over his body! It felt as though he were looking at some ancient forbidden text!

"Th-This is!"

*The Inexpressible Two or Three Things Between Me and the Private School Female Tutor*

Wow.

The cover was illustrated with fine brushwork, extremely explicit, and the art style was in no way inferior to the various doujinshi Qin Xi had seen before transmigrating.

Then Qin Xi reached back in and pulled out another one.

*Possessing Perspective Sorcery, I Seized the Weakness of the Academy Fairy*

"It seems this world's artistic mastery is quite good; they even developed perspective arts." Qin Xi appraised the book with the eye of an art critic.

*At Half a Century Old, I Surprisingly Acquired a Hypnotic Magical Treasure*

"Hoh, there are even illustrations, so lifelike!"

Qin Xi could not put it down, preparing to study these books with a critical gaze.

"Daoist priest, the meal has been prep—"

At that moment, Li Wu walked in from the doorway and caught Qin Xi studying physical education knowledge.

Qin Xi raised his head and waved the book in front of Li Wu.

"Yours, I presume."

The moment Li Wu saw that Qin Xi had discovered his beloved books, he was filled with lingering regret.

He should have long realized that his petty cleverness could not hide from someone on the path of immortality!

Now, to salvage the situation, he could only do this!

"...... Daoist priest, please don't tell my elder brothers!"

"What? Afraid of getting beaten?" Qin Xi smiled, looking extremely amiable.

"If they find out, they'll definitely take them and never return them! A borrowed item never comes back!" Li Wu made a mournful face. "Please, Immortal Master, don't tell them!"

"..."

It seemed these books were very important to him.

However, in order to study the local customs and practices of this world, Qin Xi considered this a necessary sacrifice.

"Then lend them to me to read for a couple of days."

"Wuwu, fine."