"If the other families get any ideas, they might just decide to get involved as well."
Li Lu frowned and asked, "We’ve gone through all this trouble, and we’re not taking a single thing? Are we just paving the way for others?"
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "The Lu Family’s resources are enough. Once the He Family takes care of the Lu Family, those resources will be ours. Plus, there’s half of Northwest City Street’s revenue for the next three years, which I’ve valued at ten thousand taels of silver. The He Family will deliver it to the Gang’s headquarters tomorrow."
Li Lu was still worried. "But what if they both suffer devastating losses and the other families make a move? Wouldn’t we be left with nothing?"
"Don’t worry. The He Family isn’t that simple. They won’t get swallowed up."
Cheng Zongyang didn’t ntion the Poison Physician. He was well aware that after tonight, He Shujun might beco a Sixth Grade Martial Artist.
Therefore, the He Family would not fall.
’Unless that guy can’t control himself after becoming a Sixth Grade Martial Artist and attacks , ignoring our agreent. If that happens, I won’t even have to lift a finger before He Shujun’s Soul Returns to the Wilderness.’
Of course, even without the agreent’s restrictions, he wasn’t afraid of He Shujun.
"Alright, I’ll get back to it. I’ll also keep people investigating the situations of the various families."
"Hold on."
Suddenly, Cheng Zongyang thought of sothing and went to his study to write a letter. He then returned to the front hall and handed it to Li Lu. "Tomorrow morning, have soone deliver this letter to the Chief Steward of the Li Courtyard. Don’t say anything else."
Li Lu didn’t ask any further questions, simply nodding in acknowledgent.
After Li Lu left, Cheng Zongyang sat in his chair, doing nothing in particular, simply replaying the entire plan in his mind from start to finish.
There had been no major surprises, and any minor deviations from the plan had been corrected.
’My arrangent with He Shujun is about more than just eliminating the Lu Family. We each have our own ulterior motives and are probing one another.’
’As for the letter, that’s just a precaution. I’m afraid that if He Shujun actually attacks , he’ll die too quickly, preventing from maximizing his value.’
’Therefore, it is quite necessary to let the people of the Li Courtyard know that He Shujun has beco a Sixth Grade Martial Artist using the thods of a Poison Physician. I have to gauge the Li Family’s attitude toward the matter.’
He rose, left the front hall, and headed for the rear courtyard.
As he passed a side room, however, he noticed an oil lamp was still lit.
He glanced at the room and confird it belonged to his cousin, Zongying. He didn’t disturb her, however, and returned to his study.
’My cousin ca out here to gain experience, but there’s no way I would let her near a dangerous ambush like this, not that she could handle it anyway. She hasn’t even reached Entry Grade and is still taking Foundation Establishnt dicine Baths.’
Back in his study, Cheng Zongyang hung a sign on the door before entering the Wilderness World.
「North East Street, He Family Estate.」
He Shujun carefully placed the Mother Insect from the Small Jade Box onto the chest of Lu Yan’s corpse, directly over his heart.
The mont he set it down, the eager Mother Insect tried to burrow through the skin on Lu Yan’s chest.
Even though Lu Yan was dead, his skin retained its strength and resilience. In fact, thanks to his Cultivation Technique, it was exceptionally tough.
The Mother Insect’s mandibles couldn’t break through the tough skin, and it could only probe anxiously around his chest.
He Shujun had already anticipated this. He imdiately took out a dagger and sliced open the skin on the corpse’s chest.
The Mother Insect instantly burrowed inside and vanished.
Because Lu Yan’s skin was so tough, He Shujun hadn’t had a chance to act on the road back to Xiangyang. The opportunity only presented itself later, when Cheng Zongyang’s blade had sliced through Lu Yan’s skin and muscle.
He Shujun waited, anxious but not letting his guard down. He retrieved a small bamboo tube from a cabinet, which contained a black paste.
He Shujun scooped a little out and sared it over the wound on the corpse’s chest before putting the tube away and continuing to wait.
’Once the Mother Insect devours the irresistibly alluring Sub-Insect, the scent of this special ointnt will draw it back out.’
In less ti than it takes to drink half a cup of tea, He Shujun saw a black insect, now two or three tis its original size, crawl out of the wound.
Seeing this, He Shujun’s eyes lit up. He swiftly grabbed it and moved to a table.
On the table sat a small stove, a small dicine pot, and half a bowl of a pre-mixed dicinal solution.
He tossed the soybean-sized Mother Insect into the dicine pot, poured in the dicinal solution, then covered the pot and placed it on the small stove to cook.
Having reached this step, He Shujun finally breathed a sigh of relief. But it was imdiately followed by a surge of anticipation!
The charcoal fire roared. Within the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, a thick dicinal aroma began to drift out, tinged with the stench of blood.
About half an hour later, after a series of careful procedures, He Shujun had reduced the solution to a single pill the size of his pinky-fingernail.
"Patriarch!"
Just as an ecstatic He Shujun was about to swallow the pill on the spot, he heard his steward’s voice from outside.
"What is it?" He Shujun frowned.
"The Xu Family has stuck their nose in it! They’ve seized five of the streets and alleys near their territory, and our n have all been captured!"
He Shujun’s face fell!
’So, the Xu Family really did make a move!’
"What about the Lu Family’s side?" He Shujun asked, not opening the door.
"We’ve basically taken control. But a small group is still putting up a desperate fight. Our casualties are considerable."
"Hmph. Ignore the Xu Family for now. We’ll deal with them after I erge from my seclusion. Focus all your efforts on taking down the Lu Family. And one more thing, try to capture their Martial Artists alive."
The steward was taken aback, unsure what his Patriarch was planning. He said urgently, "Patriarch, about the Xu Family..."
"Enough! We will discuss it after I’m done! Just focus all your efforts on capturing the Lu Family mbers!"
"Yes!" The steward could only agree, feeling helpless.
Inside the room, He Shujun took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, he swallowed the pill.
A thick, foul taste exploded in his mouth, but He Shujun ignored it. After he swallowed, a vast wave of vital energy slowly began to radiate from within him!
His own vital energy rapidly surged to its absolute peak.
Seeing this, he went out into the courtyard and began to execute his Body Refining Technique, rapidly consuming and absorbing the dicinal power in his body and making it his own!
「Northwest City Street.」
The n of the Lu and He Families clashed in the streets. Without Lu Yan to lead them, and with their forces picked apart by the well-prepared He Family, the Lu Family quickly found themselves at a disadvantage.
Lu Wufei was frantic. His father’s disappearance, the He Family’s sudden assault... even an idiot could see the He Family was behind it all.
But the question now was: where was his father?
’Without Father in command, how can the Lu Family possibly be a match for the He Family!’
"Young Master!"
Just then, the n sent to follow the trail returned, bringing with them a boy in tattered clothes.
Lu Wufei hurried forward, and the torchbearers behind him quickly followed.
"Did you find him?" Lu Wufei demanded imdiately.
One of the family guards imdiately cupped his fist and replied, "Not yet, but we found a boy who’d been knocked unconscious in the corner by a house. After I questioned him, he said a man in black knocked him out."
Lu Wufei’s expression tightened. He whipped his head around to look at the scrawny, trembling boy. To keep the boy from misspeaking out of fear, he did his best to suppress his own urgency and asked in a gentle voice:
"Don’t be nervous. We won’t hurt you. Tell what you saw, and I’ll give you money or food to eat."
Hearing this, the boy’s head snapped up to look at Lu Wufei. He stamred, "You’ll really... really give money?"
Lu Wufei nodded.
"I... I ca out to see if I could find sothing to eat, but... but I saw soone on the rooftops, jumping... jumping across. It startled , and I fell off the wall. He... he saw , ca back... and knocked out. Oh, right! He was... he was carrying two people."
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Lu Wufei’s eyes. He threw all other concerns aside and pressed urgently, "The man? Which way did he go?"
The boy seed startled by his intensity. His trembling hand pointed eastward. "He... he went that way."
"East Street!" Lu Wufei followed the boy’s finger with his gaze, a look of grim certainty in his eyes. ’Just as I thought!’
"The He Family!"
A vicious glint appeared in his eyes as he yelled, "Stop tangling with the He Family’s n! We’re going to their estate to rescue the Patriarch!"
"Yes, sir!"
The n roared in unison.
Imdiately, the group of twenty n—ten Eighth Grade Martial Artists and ten Ninth Grade Martial Artists—fell in behind Lu Wufei and charged toward the He Family estate.
No one paid the boy any mind.
’If I can’t save my father,’ Lu Wufei thought, ’it doesn’t matter whether the Lu Family fights back or not—the outco will be the sa!’
’The Li Family won’t interfere in disputes between Lower Three Grade Families. Otherwise, I could have swallowed this humiliation and used the Li Family’s influence to keep the other families in check.’
’But now, I can only rely on myself!’
’As for seeking help from other families to resist the He Family?’
’That would be no different from trading one tiger for another!’
The boy, who had seed scared witless, watched the Lu Family mbers recede and vanish into the night. A slow smile spread across his lips.
’Hehe, the Gang Leader’s mission is complete.’
He imdiately turned to head back to the gang and claim his reward.
His happy footsteps echoed through the familiar alleys. He occasionally splashed through puddles that had collected in the low-lying areas in front of houses after the recent cleanup, soaking his tattered straw sandals. But he didn’t mind in the slightest, muttering to himself:
’The Gang Leader said he’d reward with ten taels of silver and let join the Gang. With that money, Mom and Dad can finally get dicine for their sicknesses. And I, Ye Shaoning, will finally get my chance to join the Gang and begin my Martial Arts Training. Once I beco a Martial Artist, my family will finally be able to live a good life...’
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