"Thanks to Senior Liu holding the line, I had no worries at my back, so I dared to give it everything I had."
Yang Shi replied with a smile.
"Then it seems I'll have to repay this favor another day."
"Senior, your coming here already saved Yang Shi's life once!"
Liao Cao came in from outside, covering his nose as he began to cough.
"Cough, cough! It's too choking down there. Why don't you come out and talk?"
Police-grade pepper spray was several times hotter than the world's hottest ghost pepper!
Touching the skin felt like being burned by fire. Taking one breath could make the respiratory system collapse, and getting it in the eyes could cause temporary blindness. At close range, a direct hit could strip someone of their fighting ability in a single second.
Even a Half-Step Innate Realm martial artist, caught completely unprepared by such a biochemical weapon and struck by multiple sprays, would have their defenses shattered instantly. Amid frantic coughing, they could not even gather their internal force.
Yang Shi and Huzi each wore a gas mask. Only by blocking out that heavy stench could they complete their two killing blows.
Liu Wuhen, however, showed no reaction whatsoever. The red spray stopped one centimeter from his body, as though it had encountered some obstacle and could advance no farther.
"Huzi, drag his corpse out."
"Got it!"
The two walked out of the basement, followed by several martial artists covering their noses. They were all wandering fighters employed by the Yang Family, and they had been carrying out the operation inside in tandem just now.
Liu Wuhen sighed in admiration. "This old man has roamed the martial world for so many years and considers himself fairly well-traveled, but today... a Body Tempering Fifth Layer martial artist ambushing and killing a Half-Step Innate Realm martial artist—this is the first time I've ever seen such a thing."
"It was all thanks to a few treasures left behind by my ancestors. Only after exhausting every scheme did I barely manage it. If Senior Liu had acted, you could have taken him down in just a few moves."
"Hehe~ Zhao Kuangfeng was also a man of talent. The Gale Saber Technique he created himself was immensely domineering. Had he not stumbled into this affair, reaching the Innate Grandmaster Realm in the future would have been as natural as water flowing into a channel."
"Unfortunately, he accepted a task he never should have accepted."
Yang Shi looked coldly at Zhao Kuangfeng's corpse on the ground, his heart unusually calm. He had held no grudge against Zhao Kuangfeng, but the man had wanted to oppress the Yang Family. That alone had given him a path to death.
From the moment he learned that Zhao Kuangfeng had come for the Fasting Cake recipe, he knew the two of them were already locked in a fight to the death.
Because there was no recipe at all.
Liu Wuhen looked at the cold yet rational Yang Shi, his eyes filled with appreciation.
"Good. Since this matter is settled, I'll be going back. Tomorrow, I ask that Brother Yang Shi continue coming to my residence to treat my Zihan's injuries. You don't know this, but my Zihan hasn't smiled in a very long time."
"Please rest assured, Senior. I will definitely arrive on time."
"Zhao Kuangfeng should have his saber technique and internal cultivation manual on him. If you want to learn them, then learn them. If they don't suit your temperament, I can teach you a few moves as well."
Liu Wuhen left as he spoke. He appeared to use no movement technique, yet in just a few steps, he had reached the courtyard gate.
"Thank you, Senior!"
Yang Shi was thrilled that an Innate Grandmaster Realm expert was willing to personally teach him martial arts.
Liao Cao rejoiced along with him. "I truly never expected that Brother Yang would not only have immortals protecting his family, but also know Senior Liu. No wonder you dared to plot and kill Zhao Kuangfeng. Last night, I was the one who lost my nerve."
Don't say you didn't expect it—even I didn't expect it. The old ancestor is just that damn awesome; there's nothing I can do about it. Yang Shi maintained a mysterious smile.
Outside the screen, Yang Genshuo, who had been watching the situation closely, also smiled.
"Who told me I could see everyone's character card?"
Time returned to the night two days earlier.
As Yang Genshuo was pondering how to defeat the enemy, he heard Yang Shi's plan to kill with a borrowed blade.
Liao Cao said that five years ago in Bluestone County, an Innate expert had intended to establish a sect and take disciples. But because his daughter suddenly contracted consumption, he went out seeking treatment and vanished without a trace.
That man was named Liu Wuhen.
Yang Genshuo had been delighted at the time!
He had seen this man before!
The old man had a face full of beard and a slovenly appearance, yet he spent lavishly. He often came to Yang's Board Game Teahouse to buy Immortal Drifting Milk Tea. He never drank it in the shop, always taking the cup away and returning it the next day.
Whenever Yang Genshuo had nothing to do, he liked flipping through character cards. At the time, he had glanced at this strange man and nearly jumped out of his skin.
The man's realm had been written in glaringly obvious words: Innate Grandmaster Realm!
He remembered the name Liu Wuhen, but he figured the man was most likely a reclusive master. Yang Shi had no need to interact with him yet, lest they incur unnecessary karma, so he never told him.
Since Liu Wuhen was in Bluestone County, there was an opportunity to kill with a borrowed blade.
As long as they could secure his assistance, they could safely survive this calamity.
Besides, if the man's daughter was suffering from consumption, he really did have a solution.
In ancient times, where medical resources were scarce, so-called consumption was a terminal illness. There was no cure, and in the end, patients could only cough up blood and die.
But in modern times, consumption was actually tuberculosis. There were highly effective drugs for it, and with proper medication, it could be cured.
Why did Yang Genshuo know this so clearly?
Because he had contracted tuberculosis in college. He had taken medicine for several months and recovered.
To prevent a relapse, his home always kept those medicines in reserve, stored inside the Safe House.
The next day, Yang Shi visited Liu Wuhen and explained his purpose. He said that an immortal physician had once existed among his ancestors and left behind some medicinal pills. He wished to treat Liu Wuhen's beloved daughter and asked him to act once in return.
Liu Wuhen's daughter was named Liu Zihan. She had been tormented by consumption for a full five years, her body gaunt and her coughing unceasing, her life already like a candle flame in the wind.
Liu Wuhen had sold off his family property to obtain a Life-Extending Pill, barely hanging onto Liu Zihan's last breath. Every day, he used Innate True Qi to regulate her body, forcibly extending her life until now.
What came next was only natural.
The miracle drug took effect in one day, brought obvious improvement in two, and as long as she continued taking it, she would recover within two months.
When Liu Wuhen saw that his daughter could be saved, this Innate Grandmaster Realm expert gripped Yang Shi's hand, old tears streaming down his face!
Zhao Kuangfeng seeking trouble with the Yang Family was no different from personally killing his precious daughter!
Throughout this affair, he had been holding the line in secret, ready at any moment to intervene and dispose of Zhao Kuangfeng.
It was no exaggeration to say that Liu Wuhen had watched even more closely than Yang Genshuo, terrified that Yang Shi, the lifesaving physician for his Zihan, might be harmed.
"Without even making a move, he has left behind a favor. From now on, he'll be Yang Shi's trump card."
That was what Yang Genshuo thought, which was why he supported Yang Shi in using a chain of schemes to personally kill Zhao Kuangfeng.
"Brother Shi! He really had martial arts manuals on him!"
After Liu Wuhen left, Huzi stripped Zhao Kuangfeng naked and pulled out everything on his body.
The two martial arts manuals were the most conspicuous.
"Gale Saber Technique" and "Overbearing Qi Formula."
Liao Cao said in surprise, "He actually cultivated the superior internal cultivation method, the 'Overbearing Qi Formula'! No wonder the Gale Saber Technique carried such terrifying force!"
"This is an internal cultivation manual?"
Yang Shi was at the Body Tempering Fifth Layer. To advance to the Body Tempering Sixth Layer, aside from tempering his bones to the utmost limit, he also needed to find a Qi Nurturing technique. He had originally asked Liao Cao to purchase one for him, but he had not expected to pick one up from Zhao Kuangfeng's body.
"That's right. Internal cultivation manuals also have grades. Successfully cultivating a superior method can grant special abilities. Take this 'Overbearing Qi Formula,' for example—once activated, it makes the muscles hard as iron and grants immense strength."
"Not bad."
Fortunately, the electric batons dealt magical damage. Otherwise, even if Zhao Kuangfeng had stood there and let them strike him, they would have struggled to break through his defenses in a short time.
Besides the two manuals, Huzi also found three healing pills and a small pouch.
When the pouch was opened, five crystal-clear, transparent diamond-shaped crystals were revealed, giving off a faint glow.
Yang Genshuo, outside the screen, perked up.
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