66: Tool Man

Under the observatory, everything was clearly visible.

Within Chang'an City, there were numerous rivers, eight in total.

Some said, 'Vast indeed are the eight rivers, branching out and differing in their forms.'

Qin Chuan discovered two peculiar locations.

One of them was situated in the northeastern corner of the city.

That spot was where the Wei, Ba, and Jing rivers converged, and strictly speaking, it was already outside the confines of Chang'an.

As for the other place, it wasn't far from here; it was the location of a village.

Both of these places had foreign objects inserted, giving off a sense of impurity and ill omen.

"I caught the tail so easily?"

Qin Chuan was somewhat incredulous.

Just this one glance surpassed the efforts of Duke of Lu and the yamen for an unknown number of days.

But what should he do next?

It was impossible for Qin Chuan to personally venture into danger!

So...

Qin Chuan thought of a method.

The National Academy.

The commotion surrounding Chen Wenyuan's enrollment had somewhat subsided by now.

Truth be told, this group of people didn't really have any ill intentions.

It was merely because of his great reputation, coupled with their internal dissatisfaction.

At this moment, Qin Chuan ignoring them was already seen as a sign of submission in their eyes.

Our side wins!

As for the rest, having a famous classmate was no big deal.

But what this group of people never expected was—

A challenge letter, brightly pasted on the 'campus wall'.

"Tomorrow night at midnight, at the convergence of the Wei and Jing rivers, bring your own weapons. I'll smash your heads in—Chen Wenyuan!"

The Guozijian Students: "???"

Upon seeing this message, the Guozijian Students collectively fell into a daze.

Then, uncontrollable anger surged.

—"You, Chen Wenyuan, we had already decided to let you off, and yet you openly provoke us!"

No, this action could no longer be called a provocation; it was outright jumping in their faces!

"This message, was it really written by that Chen Wenyuan?"

"It should be correct; someone saw him writing and drawing here."

"Chen Wenyuan!!!"

Inside the Prince's Estate, Qin Chuan was leisurely checking his equipment.

First, the weapon—

The Qingfeng Sword, which had grown to the size of a palm.

Currently, Qin Chuan was not short of money; not to mention the dividends from the Xinghua Village chain restaurants, there were also various rewards and distributions.

Thus, the Qingfeng Sword's 'food' standard naturally went up.

However, whether it had reached a certain limit or something else, the Qingfeng Sword stubbornly remained palm-sized and refused to grow larger.

This caused his idea of wielding a three-foot Qingfeng to stabilize the world to fall through.

However, as a hidden weapon, it was convenient.

At the very least, it was already a mature sword that could self-recover.

No matter how far Qin Chuan threw it, this thing could bounce back on its own, asking for food.

The Qingfeng Sword was merely the last resort; Qin Chuan then rummaged through other items in the Bamboo Forest Map.

"Celestial Change Treatise," "Shuidiao Getou," "Qing Ming," "Xiang Shu"...

These poems and essays each had their uses, equivalent to his spell slots?

Besides these, there was also the most crucial assurance—

The Qiao City Wanmin Umbrella.

If he really couldn't win, he could just directly enter creative mode!

Besides these, Qin Chuan also had a trump card!

The next day, at midnight.

The convergence of the Wei and Jing rivers.

A large group of people arrived here in a menacing manner.

They held all sorts of things in their hands.

Swords, spears, and staffs were common; large hammers and axes were also plentiful.

But more often, they were holding a book of poetry and literature.

After all, they were scholars, so they still had to solve problems from that aspect.

When they arrived here, their eyes searched everywhere, but they could only see the desolate riverbank.

Let alone people, they didn't even see a ghost.

"Where is the villain Chen?"

"This Chen Wenyuan wouldn't have the courage to act, but not the courage to appear, would he?"

"He shouldn't be so unwise; if he abandons his word today, all of Chang'an will know tomorrow."

"Heh! If we teach him a lesson today, everyone in the city will look up to us tomorrow."

Just as this group of Guozijian Students were discussing endlessly, one person stood out.

"Quiet, all of you. If this Chen Wenyuan doesn't come today, he will ruin his reputation. There's still some time until midnight, so let's wait a while."

This person seemed to have considerable prestige among the group; as soon as he spoke, everyone around him agreed.

"Indeed!"

"Brother Changsun is right; what's the harm in waiting for him for a moment!"

While these young people were passionately gesticulating and dreaming of thrashing Qin Chuan, they did not notice the eyes observing from the shadows.

No, how could one say 'observing from the shadows'?

A weasel stood upright on a small mound, scrutinizing the group of people before it.

We, the rat kind, walk upright and sit properly!

It was just that these people hadn't noticed it.

While observing, the weasel transmitted the scene in real-time to Qin Chuan, who was in a small boat upstream.

Qin Chuan looked at their vibrant and energetic appearance, feeling greatly comforted.

Very good, full of spirit!

The next moment, under his instruction, the weasel took action.

Like a sage revered by rats, with a wave of its paw, countless water rats scurried out from behind it.

This swarm of water rats rushed towards the Guozijian Students like a tide.

Soon, they were noticed.

"What is that? Heavens!"

"Rats?"

"How can there be so many!"

"Let's exterminate them."

Just as these people were about to act, Changsun Xiu waved his hand to stop them.

"Not so fast; look at these rats."

As he spoke, he watched as the rats on the ground first formed an 'S' and then a 'dot'.

"What is it?"

At this moment, these people also connected these rats with Qin Chuan.

"Is this Chen Wenyuan truly a rat? He actually sent rats to find us."

"That may be so, but all things have spirits. He can even control a swarm of rats. Have any of you heard of such a literary path?"

"The laws and regulations we've learned cannot be used on a large scale. His method... rats, I vaguely have some impression."

"When he mocked a dilapidated household in Qiao City, he once wrote a poem, 'Xiang Shu.' Perhaps..."

Although they were adversaries, these people were surprisingly familiar with 'Chen Wenyuan's' past.

At this moment, the group of rats finally stabilized, forming an arrow pointing in a certain direction.

"This is..."

"Orders followed precisely, truly terrifying... If used in a military formation."

"It's not that easy."

"Don't think too much, let's go! I want to see what kind of tricks he can pull!"

The group, not bothering to marvel, followed the direction of the arrow and the rat swarm.

Before long, they arrived at a river bend.

Upon reaching this spot, the rats instantly dispersed, scattering in all directions.

The Guozijian Students frowned, looking at the desolate scene before them, still devoid of any human presence.

By now, their patience was almost completely exhausted.

Someone shouted:

"Chen Wenyuan! It's a shame your reputation is so great, but do you really want to be such a cowardly rat?"

"Indeed, you challenged us, and we have already come. Why haven't you come out yet?"

"Have the guts to challenge, have the guts to come out!"

"Come out and let you all gang up on me?"

Less than a li upstream, Qin Chuan said disdainfully.

—He had painstakingly led that group of people to that river bend, which was precisely the point where the abyssal aura condensed.

He had originally planned to investigate carefully, but who would have thought that the rats controlled by Xiang Shu would, upon reaching that place, act as if they had encountered a natural enemy, becoming uncontrollable?

This change couldn't help but remind him of the rats and rabbits he had seen in Qiao City before!

Seeing that this group of people was getting impatient, Qin Chuan didn't want to let these tools leave so easily.

He immediately took action.