Zhang Rongfang recognized the two children.
Before he disguised his identity and joined the caravan, he had met the manager Feng Keqin, who was leading the caravan with these two young men.
According to him, the two were the eldest son and daughter of the caravan's owner. This trip together to escort goods to Great Capital was their first experience.
Zhang Rongfang picked up another piece of garlic sprouts with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
Suddenly, he pushed off with his right leg and instantly stepped on a small black snake that was attacking him.
With a soft thud, the black snake's entire head was flattened, leaving only its tail to struggle desperately for a few moments before slowly coming to a stop.
"Hey! There's another one here!" a customer at the next table exclaimed.
Soon, everyone around noticed the black snake that Zhang Rongfang had stepped on and killed.
"Brother Zhang, you're quite skilled! You must have practiced leg techniques, right?" The guard leader, Lao Chen, gave Zhang Rongfang a thumbs up.
"Not at all, I've only practiced a little bit of Farm Style," Zhang Rongfang, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture.
His current identity is that of an ordinary martial artist who plans to travel to Great Capital) to explore and broaden his horizons.
Because of his family's decline, he had no choice but to leave his hometown and try to make a name for himself elsewhere.
There are actually many such identities.
Many martial artists wandered from place to place, without a fixed abode; this was almost their common status.
After exchanging a few polite words, everyone carefully checked the ground to make sure there were no more venomous snakes before sitting down to continue eating.
After dealing with the situation, Zhang Rongfang sat down to look at the two young masters and ladies of the Feng Family, but there was no one there anymore.
After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
Caravans would never rest in the wilderness at night unless absolutely necessary.
Some who were willing to Hua Qian booked rooms at the Inn.
Those who couldn't bear to leave would set up a shed inside the fence outside the Inn to block the wind, and borrow a fire to make do for the night.
Zhang Rongfang went up to the second floor and entered the room he had booked.
He instructed the waiter to bring up a bucket of water for his bath, and then sat cross-legged to practice his Civilian Skill.
This time, he applied through the Mingjing Palace on Tanyang's side and went directly to the main altar Heavenly Treasure Palace for further study.
This completely avoids the Golden Wing Tower system.
The goal is to avoid attracting attention and to keep a low profile.
There has been no reply from the Heavenly Maiden. Although the main building is still standing and the other Spirit Grade are still there, the situation is becoming slightly unfavorable.
He planned to take a different approach and go to Great Capital to investigate the situation gradually.
It just so happens that he doesn't even Daoist Title yet, so going to the Heavenly Treasure Palace to pay homage to a master and receive ordination is the proper thing to do.
Many Daoists do this: when they are young and strong, they go to the ancestral temple, firstly to further their studies, and secondly because they may find an opportunity to catch the eye of the important figures in the ancestral temple and thus rise to prominence in one step.
It should be understood that in Great Ling, the integration of temple and school is not an empty phrase.
The higher-ups in the Daoist Sect and Buddhist School also wield considerable actual power in the Great Ling.
Even the academies and Academy that were once controlled by Confucian School were now under the jurisdiction of Daoism and Buddhism.
The Assembled Sages Institute, which manages the Great Ling Religion, is also responsible for overseeing the entire imperial education system's assessments.
That is, to establish rules on how to select talented individuals from various academies and Academy, and how to recommend talented individuals for official positions, etc.
These are all under the control of the Assembled Sages Institute.
Such power is rarely seen in the world.
Therefore, there were quite a few people like Zhang Rongfang who went to the Heavenly Treasure Palace for further study after achieving some success.
Just as he was peacefully waiting to begin his spiritual practice.
Inside the Inn's kitchen.
Two small figures quietly approached the open space where the water was being boiled.
The moonlight illuminated their faces.
They were none other than the Feng Family's Twins.
The boy's name was Feng Xin, and the girl's name was Feng Lu. At that moment, the two of them stared at the large pot of boiling water, their eyes blazing with anger.
"That guy actually dared to stomp on my Little Black! I was just teasing him a little, why did he have to be so ruthless! Did you even find out which pot of water that guy wanted?" the girl Feng Lu said viciously.
"Look, the one on the left. What are you planning to do?" Feng Xin pointed.
"Give him something good." Feng Lu chuckled twice.
"You're planning to use the good stuff your master and the others gave you?" Feng Xin asked in surprise. "I think it's better not to, it's very expensive."
The brother and sister were sent to the Azure Leaf Gate to learn martial arts from a young age.
Now that I have completed my studies and returned home, I have encountered many problems along the way, but I have solved them all with ease.
Just when he was feeling quite pleased with himself, he let his two pets out to forage for food during dinner. However, to his surprise, one of them, Little Black, was trampled to death.
"Anyway, we're going to Great Capital with my uncle. With his abilities, he can kill a poor wretch like that guy. It's not uncommon for people to get sick and die on the way."
Feng Lu said softly, a malicious glint in her eyes.
"But what if Uncle Feng finds out?" Feng Xin pressed.
"So what if I find out? As long as he doesn't yell. If he bothers me again, I'll kill him too!" Feng Lu said impatiently.
"Let's not do that," Feng Xin said helplessly. "Those medicines are very expensive. Once we run out of money, we won't be able to refine them at all."
Feng Lu ignored him, took a step, and lightly darted out, splashing lightly into Zhang Rongfang's bath tub before quickly returning to the shadows.
"Alright, this poison is colorless and odorless. Plus, you need to use a lot of hot bath water, which will accelerate blood circulation, hehe, he won't be able to detect it."
By the time they realized something was wrong, the poison had already seeped into their bones, and there was no cure!
Feng Lu chuckled softly.
The two turned and quietly left.
The waiter who was boiling water knew nothing about it. He quickly boiled the water and carried the bucket to the front of Zhang Rongfang's room.
Knock knock knock.
With a click, the door opened.
Zhang Rongfang glanced at the steaming bucket of water, opened the door wide, and let him in.
"Sir, your bathwater is ready. Would you like the attendant to help you scrub your back?" the waiter asked solicitously.
"No need," Zhang Rongfang casually handed over a few large coins.
After the waiter thanked him profusely and left, he reached out to test the water temperature.
Slightly hot.
He immediately began to take off his clothes.
Soon, after taking off all but his underwear, Zhang Rongfang walked to the bedside, bent down, grabbed a large rooster from under the bed, and threw it into the bucket.
The rooster was bound by its beak, legs, and wings, and could not move.
Soaked in a bucket of water, it could only keep rolling around.
Zhang Rongfang held the chicken in one hand, suspending its head above the water, and waited quietly.
Every time he takes a bath, he catches some small animals from the neighborhood to test the water.
This is a side effect of the special training that came from the Golden Wing Tower.
After becoming Spirit Envoy, he often suffered from insomnia, constantly worrying about what would happen if his food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were poisoned. Therefore, Zhang Rongfang learned a great deal of experience from the various poisoning and assassination methods of the Golden Wing Tower.
He had just bought this chicken from the Inn; it had many uses.
You can test the food by sharing some of your own rice with it.
You can also test its safety by putting it in the bathwater for a soak.
"Um??"
Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang's expression changed.
The rooster in the bucket was initially full of energy, but after soaking for only a short while, its eyelids began to droop noticeably, its pupils became unfocused, and its struggling movements slowed down considerably.
"There's something wrong with this water!" He quickly got up, threw the poor rooster on the ground, put on his clothes, opened the door, and went out.
Before long, the Inn and the two waiters who were boiling water also rushed over.
When the group arrived at the room, they saw the still-steaming bathtub.
"Who boiled the water just now?" Zhang Rongfang asked in a deep voice.
"Yes, yes, it's me," one of the two water-boiling workers replied tremblingly.
"Why did you poison the water?" Zhang Rongfang carefully examined the two men.
No flaws were found in them.
Moreover, this kind of trap was indeed too crude and clumsy for him.
If he, as Spirit Envoy of the Golden Wing Tower, were to fall for such a trap so easily, the Golden Wing Tower would have been wiped out countless times by now.
"I'm innocent, sir! I really don't know what happened! We watched this bucket being heated, how could it be poisoned in the blink of an eye?! We really don't know anything!"
The two men panicked and immediately knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly like they were pounding onions.
They are still in a daze and don't know what happened.
Looking at the two apprentices in front of him who kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Zhang Rongfang figured that it was probably his imposing size that frightened the two of them.
He immediately waved his hand.
It doesn't seem to be those two who did it. But who is it that came out in disguise and did such a heinous thing?
Is this targeting the Golden Wing Tower's Spirit Envoy, or Zhang Rongfang? Or is it targeting his current identity as an ordinary traveler?
One possibility after another flashed through his mind, and the two little ones, Feng Xin and Feng Lu, also flashed through his mind.
The innkeeper was terrified and apologized profusely, promising to waive all room and board fees and begging him not to report the matter to the authorities.
Zhang Rongfang didn't make things difficult for the group. He went down to the courtyard where the kitchen was boiling water and found that there was no problem.
So they changed the water in the bucket, took another bath, and went to bed.
As for the murderer, with careful observation along the way, he will be caught sooner or later.
Early the next morning.
The Inn started preparing meals for everyone well in advance of their departure.
"That guy didn't fall for it last night?! All that Condensed Dew Incense I poured on him was for nothing!"
In the open space outside the Inn, Feng Lu looked indignant, quite dissatisfied with what happened last night.
"That guy is very alert, maybe we shouldn't mess with him? It wouldn't be good if we got caught," Feng Xin said, frowning.
"It's alright. You only did half-baked things when you were inside the door, but I'm different. Watch me." Feng Lu's eyes darted around, and she quickly came up with another idea.
"I refuse to believe I can't kill you, I'll disgust you to death!"
"What do you want to do?" Feng Xin was taken aback.
"That man killed my Little Black, I want him to pay with his life!" Feng Lu said fiercely. "Red Apricot Powder is not very toxic, but when combined with the fragrance of camellias, it can become a highly potent poison!"
I want you to secretly sprinkle the Red Apricot Powder into that guy's food! Don't worry, the Red Apricot Powder alone is not poisonous and is extremely difficult to detect! Even silver needles and living creatures couldn't detect it!
Only when combined with the fragrance of camellias will it transform into a deadly poison!
"Will this work?" Feng Xin hesitated.
"Don't worry, even High Grade Expert has been defeated by this combination of moves!"
This time, he's doomed!
"But what if Uncle Feng finds out?" Feng Xin was still worried.
"Who does he think he is, a mere servant, daring to interfere in our master's affairs?" Feng Lu said rudely.
"If you push me too far, I'll kill him too!"
The two looked around and, seeing no one was around, quickly went into the kitchen and took advantage of the waiter turning his head to get something.
One of them made an excuse to go to the kitchen to get food and called the waiter.
The other person quickly went in and spat into the large pot of soup that was cooking.
Then quickly stir it with a spoon until nothing is visible, and then leave immediately.
Before leaving, Feng Xin casually sprinkled a little transparent powder into Zhang Rongfang's food bag.
The two moved extremely quickly, releasing the weapon and running away in just a few seconds.