Transmigration with Cheat Codes Chapter 46.1: Startled Bird

Nanjia Fort boasted a variety of flowers and trees, among which there was a vast plum forest. From a distance, Meng Jintang saw a woman practicing swordsmanship in the plum forest. The sword qi stirred, causing plum blossoms to flutter down like snow.

In the martial world, prying into others' martial skills easily led to disputes. Anyway, within the fort, there was more than one plum forest. Meng Jintang stopped in her tracks, intending to turn around and avoid any conflict.

The woman in the woods was none other than Liu Yueyan. Because she loved the scenery in the plum forest, she came here for her morning exercises.

When she saw a girl wearing a fur coat and a veil, walking towards the woods but stopping halfway, she suddenly realized—she had heard that besides martial artists, there were also some wealthy guests from families with business dealings with Nanjia Fort during this commemoration.

Swinging a sword like this might scare innocent passersby. Immediately, she sheathed her sword and walked briskly towards Meng Jintang, saying, "I am Liu Yueyan from the Danzhou’s Liu family. Are you two here to enjoy the scenery in the plum forest?"

Seeing the situation, Meng Jintang also smiled and said, "I am Meng Jintang from the Hanshan Sect. Having nothing to do this morning, I was just strolling around with my junior brother, Chen Shen."

She first introduced herself by name, and then, following the etiquette commonly observed in the martial world, praised the other party's swordsmanship with a couple of compliments.

Due to severe coughing yesterday, Meng Jintang's voice sounded slightly hoarse as she spoke.

Seeing that Meng Jintang was a young girl, Liu Yueyan felt a slight fondness upon their first meeting.

Noticing her hoarse voice and the thick clothing, she took out a small bottle from a pouch around her waist and handed it over, saying, "The weather has turned cold recently. This is the winter pear paste from my family. I hope that you will kindly accept it, in case it's needed at any time."

The other party's gesture instantly reminded Meng Jintang of the past, the exchanges of small gifts among her female classmates before she crossed over. She smiled and accepted it, then reciprocated with an embroidered pouch containing Deodorizing Fragrance Pills.

The material of this embroidered pouch was good, but besides a small ‘Meng’ character, there were no other patterns on the surface. It witnessed the entire process of Meng Jintang's journey from learning to abandon the art of embroidery.

Liu Yueyan, curious, asked, "What is inside the pouch?"

Meng Jintang smiled and said, "Just a few leisurely made fragrance pills."

[System: Obtained exclusive medicine from Liu Yueyan's hands - [Liu Family’s Winter Pear Paste].

Task Requirement: Reverse-engineer the formula for Liu Family Winter Pear Paste through research on the substance.

Task Deadline: None.]

After finishing her sword practice, Liu Yueyan planned to have a meal. She noticed Chen Shen standing behind Meng Jintang holding a clay pot, deducing that the two had some business in the plum forest.

Without uttering an invitation, she exchanged a few words of greeting and took her leave.

Dots of white plums in the forest, juxtaposed with the accumulated snow on the branches, created a beautiful contrast. It was unclear whether the fragrance emanated from the snow or if the plum blossoms had congealed into ice.

Meng Jintang lightly brushed the air, and while the plum blossoms remained undisturbed, the fine snow clinging to the petals floated up one by one. Like drifting willow catkins, they slanted into the clay pot.

Her proficiency in collecting various types of water was quite high now, and in no time, the clay pot was filled.

[System: Obtained winter snow - Pure snow collected in winter, with a hint of plum blossom fragrance.]

Meng Jintang smiled and said, "Later, let's get some fresh dried meat and firewood, and play around roasting them on the snowy ground. It will have a unique flavor."

She wandered aimlessly, not adhering to any specific direction. In the distance, she vaguely noticed a building, and judging from its appearance, it seemed to be a charcoal shed.

Generally speaking, a charcoal shed is not too far from the kitchen. However, it was evident that the building in front of her was a standalone structure without a direct connection to the other buildings.

The charcoal storage shed stood alone, surrounded by a wide expanse of snow.

Meng Jintang was speechless.

An isolated house, a rarely visited location, snow-covered ground without footprints, and an unexpected protagonist passing by—no matter how you looked at it, it gave off a vibe of a murder mystery in a locked room.

However, Meng Jintang calmed down for a moment and thought it shouldn't have been the case. After all, the martial arts system in ‘Martial Arts Ascension’ was quite fantastical, specializing in solving various complex cases.

If a body had appeared in a locked room, the first reaction wouldn't have been a locked-room murder but rather the presence of a skilled expert capable of reaching valuable places from a distance.

As for the snow-covered ground without footprints, it couldn't have proven that no one had entered the charcoal shed since the snow stopped—yet, within a distance of two or three zhang, a skilled practitioner could have easily traversed the area, not to mention the possibility of martial arts techniques that leave no footprints in the snow.

Chen Shen whispered, "The door is locked, but the lock seems to be hanging on the side."

The lock had been intentionally lifted, so although it looked like it was locked, it wasn't. In other words, anyone with the intention could have entered and taken a look.

Meng Jintang nodded and said, "Thanks for the reminder, Junior Brother. I'll go take a look."

Chen Shen: "...Take care, Senior Sister."

Even though his intention was to warn her of potential danger that needed to be avoided, for Meng Jintang, places that were somewhat dangerous but didn't seem to hide instantly fatal traps were worth approaching to trigger any hidden plot points.

She wasn't worried about any bad people hiding in the charcoal shed. With Meng Jintang's current internal strength, if she couldn't hear any breathing inside, it would mean there were no living beings present, unless she encountered a truly top-notch expert who came down to experience life.

Meng Jintang's figure lifted, as if carried by the wind, gently floating to the other side.

Her sleeves had not yet touched the door, but a gentle force automatically pushed the door open. Sunlight slanted in, revealing neatly arranged charcoal braziers inside.

Meng Jintang roughly understood the significance of this building. The purpose of the charcoal shed wasn't to provide fuel for the kitchen, but to supply charcoal for guests at Nanjia Fort. Due to concerns about fire hazards, it was located at a distance from guest rooms and the forest.

However, if anything unexpected were to happen, it might not be entirely preventable. After all, there's a saying about fire taking advantage of the wind, and with the lush vegetation within the fort, even under normal circumstances, a fire might not spread to other areas. Still, once the wind started blowing, anything could happen.

So why was a place like this not guarded?

The charcoal shed was dimly lit, and a considerable portion of the charcoal braziers placed outside had been taken. Meng Jintang walked slowly into the shed, and the air was filled with fine charcoal dust.

Her posture was graceful, like willow catkins floating in the air. Shelves and the ground were covered in a layer of black ash, yet as Meng Jintang walked through, not a single footprint was left behind.

Even though the interior lacked illumination, with high enough internal strength, one could see in the dark. Meng Jintang silently observed for a while and noticed that the number of charcoal fires in the innermost part wasn't right—it was missing a significant portion.

Because the charcoal braziers were arranged in an extremely orderly manner, any deficiency would be quite noticeable. If it weren't in the innermost part, it would probably be detected at the first opportunity.

Meng Jintang pondered. If it were the servants within Nanjia Fort taking the charcoal braziers, for the sake of convenience, they would surely start from the outermost ones. If they took from the innermost ones, could it be for some specific reason, perhaps to avoid being noticed by others?

In just a moment, from entering to leaving, she floated away and floated back. Seeing Meng Jintang landing gracefully, Chen Shen took a step forward and asked with concern, "Senior Sister?"

Meng Jintang didn't answer. She stood with her hands behind her back, looking up at the distant snow. Suddenly, she said, "It's very quiet here."

When walking in the gardens of Nanjia Fort, you could occasionally hear the movements of the guards hidden in the shadows.

Chen Shen fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Indeed, it's excessively quiet."