Jiang Shenglin lit the candle and carefully examined the bottle of potion.
Inside, in addition to python saliva, there were scorpion tails, spotted insects, golden sandalwood, and ghost-head mushrooms. In short, there was nothing that wasn’t highly poisonous. Even a strong and healthy man soaking in it would likely meet his end, but the old man with white hair could endure in the vat for the duration of an incense stick burning, indicating that he possessed some internal strength. As for why he was bound with iron chains, the pain of the poisonous decoction eating away one’s skin and flesh was simply heart-wrenching, and few people could withstand it.
Li Sui asked, “Is there any particular reason for soaking in this poisonous decoction?”
“He can turn himself into poison,” Jiang Shenglin said. “Ordinary people naturally have no need for this, but for those who like to take unconventional paths, it’s like pouring oil on a fire, allowing them to quickly become experts.”
However, such practices eventually had more drawbacks than benefits. It’s quick to achieve success, but even quicker to die. Therefore, generally, not many people would choose this shortcut.
Li Sui took the portrait to the Heavenly Spider Hall.
It was already late at night, but Pan Shi Hou had not yet gone to sleep. His face looked aged with anger and alternated between red and pale. Pan Jinhua stood next to him, looking dejected, and it seemed they were reenacting their routine ‘father lecturing the son’ drama.
Neither of them expected Li Sui to show up at this time. Pan Jinhua was already fed up with his father’s , “If you could have just one-tenth of Palace Master Li’s martial arts skills,” and now that he saw the real deal, his expression soured, furrowing his brow and glaring coldly. This starkly contrasted with Pan Shihou’s eagerly attentive demeanor.
“Nephew, please have a seat,” He smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on his face formed mountains, “I have some excellent tea here. Try it first; if you like it, you can take some back with you.”
“No need,” Li Sui handed over the portrait, getting straight to the point. “Who is this person?”
Pan Shihou opened it and glanced: “This is the owner of the Weeping Willow Academy, Zhang Shen. He passed away just a few months ago.” As he spoke, he lowered his voice, “How about it? Is it true that this family has dealings with Shangru Mountain Villa and the Demon Sect? I didn’t make a mistake in my investigation, did I?”
Li Sui replied, “He’s not dead; he’s currently soaking in the secret chamber of the Weeping Willow Academy.”
Pan Jinhua was clearly surprised, and Pan Shihou was left bewildered, “Soaking?”
“Soaking in the Five Poisons Decoction,” Li Sui said, “He should be practicing some sinister martial arts technique.”
Pan Shihou found it unbelievable, glanced at the portrait again, and still struggled to comprehend, “This is indeed Zhang Shen, no mistake. But he and I were born in the same year, both quite old, with plenty of children and grandchildren, and no worries about food and clothing. Why would he suddenly go and practice sinister martial arts techniques?”
Li Sui shot a quick glance at him, “Since you’ve already found a connection between Shangru Mountain Villa and the Demon Sect, and the Weeping Willow Academy is a contact point for Shangru Mountain Villa, Zhang Shen practicing demonic arts isn’t entirely without reason. Is there anything worth being surprised about?”
Pan Shihou: “…”
Pan Jinhua argued from the side, “Father was just expressing his thoughts. Why must Palace Master Li be so impatient?”
This time he didn’t call him “big brother”—probably because there was no response when he called him that before, and it was embarrassing.
“What gives you the right to speak? Just shut up!” Pan Shihou quickly rebuked his son, then continued to smile apologetically, “It’s me, it’s me being old and confused, speaking without thinking.”
Pan Jinhua looked indignant and turned his head away sharply.
Pan Shihou asked again: “What does my nephew plan to do next?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Li Sui said: “Keep an eye on Weeping Willow Academy. If anything out of the ordinary happens, send someone to inform me.”
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Ol Vel: “Tfr.”
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Ujc Alctej mbeivc’a rajcv la jcv rqbxf eq. Coafg jii, cb wjaafg tbk jccbslcu tlr ojatfg kjr, tf kjr ralii tlr ojatfg. Ktfgf kjr cb gfjrbc ab yf ybrrfv jgbecv ilxf j ugjcvrbc ys jc bearlvfg, rb tf rjlv rjgmjralmjiis, “Qf xffq jc fsf bc atf Qffqlcu Qliibk Cmjvfws, ktja jybea sbe?”
Li Sui gave him a cold glance.
Pan Jinhua felt a sharp pain in his neck and wisely kept his mouth shut.
Li Sui withdrew his gaze: “The Weeping Willow Academy is just a contact point. has been soaking and is on the brink of death, he can’t achieve much.”
Pan Shihou understood and probed: “So, nephew, are you suggesting that we keep an eye on this end, while you go after the Wulin Alliance’s team to investigate Shangru Manor?”
Li Sui stood up, “I’ll leave five people in the city. If there is anything, you can find them at the Wen Book Inn anytime.”
“Why bother staying at an inn? We have plenty of empty rooms at home. I’ll send someone to clean and prepare them right away.” Pan Shihou had always been generous and considerate to him. After saying this, he asked again, “I wonder when nephew plans to leave?”
Li Sui replied, “The day after tomorrow.”
“Then, how about coming to our home for lunch tomorrow—”
“No time.”
“…”
Perhaps feeling that the old man was too humble and pitiful, Li Sui uncharacteristically offered an explanation: “I’m going to the Hydrangea Valley.”
Pan Shihou was flattered, “Ah, yes, yes. The scenery there is great lately, and the flowers are blooming vigorously. You should go there to relax.”
Li Sui left the Heavenly Spider Hall with big strides.
The flowers are blooming vigorously.
….
Zhu Yanyin lay on the bed and asked, “How vigorous is it?”
Jiang Shenglin massaged his acupoints while casually saying, “The entire valley is covered in pink and white, and butterflies flutter about.”
Just hearing this, it seemed quite suitable for Palace Master Li to perform his martial arts skills, and maybe even unleash the Eighteen Forms of the Xiangjun Sword on the spot.
On the other end, Li Sui’s back tingled, and he felt like killing someone.
However, Chi Tian didn’t have the noble enlightenment to come to Baitou City to let Palace Master Li kill him. At this moment, it was unknown where he was hiding in some corner or nook. The scouts from the Demon Sect were diligently sticking to the bank of the Zhu family. However, they were too foolish, even more foolish than that snow-white puff, not worth killing.
Thinking of the snow-white puff, Li Sui’s face darkened even more.
He didn’t know if he was just too full, or if Jiang Shenglin had cast some kind of spell on him. Otherwise, why would he agree to go to the valley to perform shadowboxing? It would make him lose face to admit.
Jiang Shenglin threatened, “If you try to escape, I’ll add bitter gallbladder to your medicine every day in the future.”
Li Sui: “…”
Maybe it was because one word of a gentleman is worth nine sacred tripods, or maybe it was because of the bitter gallbladder. In any case, Palace Master Li ultimately kept his promise and appeared in Hydrangea Valley, dressed in black; you’re all going to die.
Finding an excuse, Zhu Yanyin stealthily sneaked out of the house without bringing either Zhu Xiaosui or any guards to protect him. He sat in Jiang Shenglin’s small horse carriage used for transporting medicinal herbs and entered the mountains. The scenery in the Hydrangea Valley was indeed exquisite, featuring not only pink and white flowers but also murmuring streams. Butterflies fluttered everywhere, and the fragrance of flowers filled the air.
Zhu Yanyin, looking from a distance at Li Sui standing by the stream, felt quite excited. Because Jiang Shenglin was by his side, he wasn’t as afraid as the previous two encounters. He asked in a hushed voice, “When does Palace Master Li plan to start practicing shadowboxing?”
“Right away, immediately,” Jiang Shenglin found a clean and flat stone for him to sit on. Seeing that Li Sui was still standing motionless, he didn’t know if Li Sui was deep in meditation or reciting some mantra. So he went over to urge him, “Do you still need some gongs and applause?”
Li Sui glanced at him: “There are people all around.”
Jiang Shenglin was slightly surprised. He held his breath and listened carefully for a moment, then asked: “….How many?”
Li Sui answered: “Thirty or forty.”
Jiang Shenglin breathed a sigh of relief: “Thirty to forty—it’s not a big problem. Since the other party doesn’t plan to act for the time being, how about this: you first demonstrate your shadowboxing skills to Young Master Zhu, and then I’ll quickly escort him out of the mountains.”
Li Sui met his gaze: “The other side has crossbows.”
“There are crossb—” Jiang Shenglin reacted and was scared out of his wits. He turned around to protect Zhu Yanyin, but halfway up the mountain, a shower of arrows gleaming with silver light had already cut through the sky. Zhu Yanyin sat with his back to the mountain, unaware of what was happening, or even if he faced the mountain, he had no time to react. Seeing Jiang Shenglin suddenly panicking and starting running frantically, Zhu Yanyin was also startled. He just wanted to stand up from the rock when another shadow flew over.
“Ah!”
Li Sui single-handedly embraced him and quickly moved away from the giant rock. His other hand drew the sword from its sheath in mid-air. The sound of metal clashing metal rang out continuously. If it were at night, it would have created a glittering firelight.
Zhu Yanyin was caught off guard and hadn’t figured out what had happened. It was only because Jiang Shenglin had just turned pale with fright – or “pale with medical concern,” he could deduce that there might be another ambush by assassins. This made his legs immediately go weak.
But that didn’t really affect anything, because he was now being carried, slung over Palace Master Li’s shoulder, so he didn’t need to walk himself.
The crossbows only managed to launch two volleys, and the Xiangjun Sword had already forced its way in front of them. Unable to reload new hidden weapons in time, the opponents had to abandon their mechanisms and quickly draw their swords to defend.
Li Sui had a vivid impression of the vomit incident in the Tiger Roar Gorge, so before taking action, he looked at the person in his arms and coldly said, “What are you waiting for? Cover your eyes already.”
Zhu Yanyin, still in the stage of “assassins are terrifying, I want to die repeatedly,” with a blank mind, asked with trembling teeth, “Huh?”
Li Sui landed on level ground, taking up some precious time for murder. He patiently provided education, “Cover the eyes.”
Zhu Yan Yin responded with an “Oh,” stiffly and nervously reached out, covering Li Sui’s eyes.
Palace Master Li in darkness: “…”
The sound of wind whistled past his ears.
Li Sui sidestepped swiftly, pressing Zhu Yanyin’s head against his own shoulder. With his right hand, he swung the Xiangjun Sword in reverse, its dark blade casting a faint glow in the sunlight, barely visible, but moving incredibly fast. In an instant, it was positioned against the neck of the assailant.
After considering for a moment, Li Sui adjusted the direction of his sword and used the hilt to strike the assailant’s head, shattering their skull.
The ambush of thirty or forty people was actually comprised of skilled fighters, all determined to fight to the death. However, in front of Li Sui, they were still not even as formidable as the most fragile of ants. The dull and heavy sword hilt was like a sledgehammer, infused with a thousand pounds of inner strength that penetrated their brains. They didn’t even have time to react before their lives were taken.
Their deaths were extremely swift and clean, leaving no chance for a mist of blood to spray everywhere and scare the delicate and pampered scholars.
Jiang Shenglin stood by the creek, looking up. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the assassination attempt had already quieted down, leaving behind many unfortunate bodies rolling down the valley.
Li Sui held Zhu Yanyin and landed steadily on the ground.
Jiang Shenglin ran forward: “Are they all dead? Why not leave anyone alive?”
Li Sui sheathed his sword: “No need. I know who sent them.”
Jiang Shenglin asked eagerly: “Who?”
Li Sui didn’t answer his question. He lifted Zhu Yanyin with his left hand and frowned, “Are you going to vomit again?”
The young master from Jiangnan turned pale, standing unsteadily.
Jiang Shenglin quickly supported him, blaming Li Sui, “If you’re going to kill, just do it, but why didn’t you send Young Master Zhu back to me first?”
To be honest, was there any need to force him to fly around and be involved from start to finish?
Li Sui irresponsibly replied: “I can’t be bothered to go down the mountain again.”
Jiang Shenglin choked and couldn’t speak: “Are you thinking of drinking bitter gall again?”
Li Sui got angry: “I covered his eyes, smashed those people’s heads with the sword hilt, and there wasn’t even a drop of blood. Is this not good enough?”
Zhu Yanyin’s face turned ashen.
Oh, smashed their heads.
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