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The woman asked, “Any news yet?”
She was clearly injured. Her face was pale, and her lips were drained of color.
Boss Wu sighed and shook his head. “I’ve had people checking daily. There are no hidden marks left by the Incense Master anywhere.”
The woman bit her lip. “Could it be…”
“Impossible!” Boss Wu cut her off firmly. “With the Incense Master’s skill, unless he was surrounded by experts from the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, there’s nowhere in the world he can’t go.
“With the Crowned Serpent Spirit protecting him, even if there were many bandits in the mountains, he could slaughter them all in a single night. He’s probably just been delayed by something.”
“You’re right.” She nodded, though worry lingered in her eyes. “The sect has fractured after the leader failed to break through. Several Incense Masters are already showing signs of rebellion. If this continues, the court will pick us off one by one.”
Boss Wu’s gaze hardened. “Let them enjoy themselves a while longer. Once the Incense Master succeeds, he’ll reunify the sect and purge the traitors! Xianyang is about to fall into chaos. That traitor Chu Shan has been sending beggars all over the place! He must know something. Whatever it is, stay inside and do not go out.”
The woman nodded, then asked quietly, “With trouble in Chang’an, and Yuan Qu eyeing us, can this incense hall still be maintained?”
“Don’t worry.” Ruthlessness flashed through Boss Wu’s eyes. “I had no solution before, but now the jianghu of Xianyang is about to erupt. It’s the perfect time to fish in troubled waters.”
***
The night deepened. Inside a side room of the Dao Inquiry Hall, candlelight burned bright.
“Come, drink!” Sha Lifei raised his bowl and drained it in a few gulps, smacking his lips. “That fellow sure is rich, setting out aged Xifeng Wine like this.”
Wang Daoxuan took a sip with his eyes half-closed. “Indeed. It’s sour but not astringent, sweet but not cloying, bitter yet clean, spicy without burning, and fragrant without overwhelming. Truly one of the five perfections.”
Having won the duel, Li Yan was in high spirits. He tore into a chicken thigh, then raised a bowl with them. “Once things in Xianyang settle, we’ll take jobs peacefully, get good food and good drink. None of it will be a problem!”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Sha Lifei laughed, refilling his bowl. “I’ll drink, you two take your time.”
Excuses aside, he just wanted more wine.
“Look at you.” Li Yan chuckled, then turned to Wang Daoxuan. “Daoist, you’ve been cultivating for a long time. You should be able to build the second floor of your temple soon, right? How much would it cost?”
Wang Daoxuan froze, then shook his head. “First we must build yours, or your cultivation may dissipate.”
Li Yan replied seriously, “I’m young. It’s not urgent. Right now, it’s better if you advance. Your strength benefits us more.”
After some hesitation, Wang Daoxuan explained, “The first layer can be built with money alone. But from the second layer onward, rare treasures are needed. For me, who specializes in reading fengshui, Earth Essence would enhance geomancy, and Cloud Moss would strengthen my skills in incantations. They’re not rare, but they are expensive. If we find a treasure-hunter, we could halve our costs, but it takes time.”
“Why think so much?” Sha Lifei waved his hand. “We’ll just do a few big jobs and help you both! How much will it cost? Five hundred taels of silver?”
Wang Daoxuan laughed. “Even the first floor costs at least a thousand taels.”
Sha Lifei went stiff. “A thousand?!”
“Yes.” Wang Daoxuan sighed. “These things may not mean much to the orthodox Daoist sects and established lineages, but for many small folk traditions, preparations have to begin from the very start. Otherwise, even if they find a suitable disciple, they still won’t be able to pass on their art. A great many inheritances were severed because of this…”
Just then, Li Yan frowned slightly and signaled for the two of them to be quiet. Ever since establishing his spirit, he had managed to control his divine ability. Normally, he kept it suppressed and could no longer smell those strange supernatural scents, but his ordinary sense of smell had still become astonishingly sharp. He could sense several new foul odors outside the courtyard wall.
The smell was familiar to him. It was a sweaty stench mixed with sour leftovers, along with the reek of venomous insects. There was no question about it. The stench belonged to the beggars they had run into at the mass grave!
Surprisingly, these beggars had come knocking before the Zhou Family’s retaliation even arrived.
Li Yan quietly instructed the other two, then slowly opened the door and stepped outside with Sha Lifei.
He picked up several broken bricks beside the flower bed, while Sha Lifei planted his hands on his waist, inhaled deeply, and shouted angrily, “Where did these little thieves come from? Take this!”
The moment his words rang out, Li Yan hurled the broken bricks over the courtyard wall.
Several muffled groans immediately came from outside. The intruders were indeed several vicious beggars from the mass grave outside Xianyang.
After hearing that Li Yan had suffered serious injuries, they had come during the night to ambush him. The beggars had acted on impulse and had not informed Mountain Lord, because the man Li Yan had killed that day had been their sworn brother.
Of course, they had also been extremely cautious.
Two among them specialized in controlling poisonous snakes and venomous insects. They also carried cloth sacks filled with black snakes and poisonous scorpions gathered from the grave.
Yet before they could even approach properly, Li Yan had already detected them.
The bricks smashed their heads bloody, but only stirred up their anger. Ignoring everything else, they tore open the sacks, preparing to throw the poisonous snakes and insects into the courtyard.
Though separated by the wall, Li Yan guessed what they intended from the smell alone. A cold smile appeared in his heart as his hand immediately went to the hilt of his blade.
The moment he willed it, the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin tassel began to sway. He had already discovered the weakness of these creatures back at the mass grave. Since they had been tainted by baleful yin energy, they also feared objects that carried suppressive energy.
Sure enough, the poisonous creatures inside the sacks instantly became agitated. One beggar had only just untied his sack when a venomous snake shot out and bit him directly on the nose. Another fared no better as a huge poisonous scorpion burst out and stung his hand viciously. The cloth sack dropped to the ground, allowing the remaining scorpions to scatter everywhere.
“Ahhh!”
“Run!”
Amid miserable screams, the beggars endured the pain and fled at full speed.
At Li Yan’s signal, Sha Lifei did not chase after them. Instead, he stood in the courtyard and burst into loud laughter. “Such petty trash dares come looking for trouble with your Grandpa Sha? Serves you right!”
After he yelled, the three prepared to return. They knew this was only a minor episode. Though the Beggar Sect had many people, it was a mixed crowd of good and bad alike. The only ones who truly mattered were the core members.
Moreover, they had an even greater hidden danger, the beggars’ den itself. There were many pitiful souls among the ordinary beggars, including children kidnapped and mutilated by the sect, forced into begging daily under constant beatings. They lived lives worse than death.
If too many core members died, those oppressed beggars would likely rebel immediately.
For the time being, the only thing Li Yan and the others needed to do was stay safe until the storm passed. Yet before entering the house, Li Yan suddenly paused thoughtfully and turned around.
Sha Lifei asked, “What is it? More people?”
“No. Someone’s more impatient than I expected…”
Chaotic footsteps echoed inside a dark alley. Several beggars stumbled along while fleeing, fumbling through their clothes for antidote pills and stuffing them into their mouths.
At the same time, they kept cursing each other.
“Didn’t you say Sha Lifei was just a useless fool?”
“That’s what everyone says! It’s not like I’ve fought him before!”
“Stop arguing! Find somewhere to rest first before the poison reaches our hearts…”
Yet just as they exited the alley, four or five men suddenly ambushed them from both sides, wielding long staffs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several crisp cracks sounded alongside the noise of breaking bones. The beggars instantly screamed as they collapsed to the ground, clutching their legs and wailing.
“Mercy, please! We won’t dare to mess around again!”
“Honorable sirs, stop! We’re from the Beggar Sect!”
“From the Beggar Sect?”
A middle-aged man with dark skin and a thick beard slowly emerged from the darkness. He wore a sheepskin vest, and a long whip hung at his waist.
Looking at the beggars, he smacked his lips. “Since when did the Beggar Sect become lapdogs for the Zhou Family? Speak!”
Before the beggars could make excuses, the black-clothed men rushed forward and unleashed a storm of slaps across their faces.
The beggars were instantly beaten black and blue. Realizing they had encountered ruthless people, they could only honestly recount everything that had happened at the mass grave.
***
“So that’s how it is.” The man in the sheepskin vest sneered. “That brat’s pretending to be injured. I thought he was some timid coward, but it turns out he’s troublesome too.
“Bring them back. Tomorrow, send a notice to the Beggar Sect. Tell them if they want to live, they had better stay far away from Xianyang for the time being.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Several black-clothed men immediately stepped forward and dragged the beggars away like dead dogs.
The sheepskin-clad man’s voice echoed out from within the darkness. “Go tell Senior Zhang that the fish didn’t bite.”
In this world, there would always be some who rejoiced while others suffered. While Li Yan and the others drank wine and ate meat, the Zhou Family estate was shrouded in gloom and misery.
Candlelight blazed brightly inside one of the manor’s side chambers.
Zhou Bai lay on the bed, wrapped in bandages and splints from head to toe. His face was flushed red and his eyes screwed tightly shut. The sharp smell of medicine filled the room.
All Eight Vajras of the Zhou Family were present.
Wang Yao, who specialized in medicine, frowned as he examined Zhou Bai’s pulse. After a while, he slowly shook his head. “We saved his life for now, but his organs are damaged, and his bones, muscles, and tendons are all shattered. I fear he may never practice martial arts again…”
The moment Zhou Peide heard the evaluation, his expression instantly turned ugly. His fists audibly popped as he clenched them.
Suddenly, he turned around and lunged forward, grabbing Yuan Qu by the throat and slamming him against the wall.
He spoke coldly, “Asshole, what exactly did you do to Zhou Bai before the fight?!”
Yuan Qu’s face turned red from being choked. Just as he was about to speak, an aged voice rang out from outside. “Why are you grabbing him? I was the one who ordered it.”
Everyone in the room was startled and immediately turned around to bow respectfully.
“Greetings, Master!”
