Opening Progress: 100%!

The person Meng Nan wanted to kill was named 'Zhou Shan', thirty-eight years old.

At the end of September, this person would advance to the 'Inner Qi Stage'.

Then, in just two short years, he advanced to the 'True Qi Stage'.

At first, no one knew he had advanced to the True Qi Stage, but Zhou Shan was careless in his actions. He was caught in the act while committing a crime and got caught.

That family had recently had a child, only a few months old. Then they discovered Zhou Shan sneaking into their home, smearing the infant with blood, drawing strange symbols.

When he was discovered, Zhou Shan killed them on the spot and fled Yinlian Village.

The incident caused a huge stir.

Furthermore, because several infants had died prematurely in those two years, people began to suspect Zhou Shan. When they exhumed the bodies, they discovered that the infants' corpses had not rotted. They were all shriveled, as if their blood and fluids had been drained.

There were a total of seven such infants.

Only then did everyone realize that Zhou Shan was the one who had poisoned them.

At that time, Meng Nan's eldest and second children had just been born. Encountering this incident made the couple break out in a cold sweat, so Zhao Xiaoshuang remembered it with particular clarity.

She even remembered the families of the seven infants who had died, the year, month, and day of their deaths, with perfect clarity. Although ten years had passed, Zhao Xiaoshuang still felt a lingering fear when recalling it.

"He deserves to die."

Meng Nan cultivated silently, advancing cautiously. He also conducted investigations and gathered intelligence, devising various plans, quietly waiting for his opportunity.

Time flew by.

September was drawing to a close.

On this day, Meng Nan calculated the time precisely. He delivered the Eight Immortals table that had been custom-ordered for Zhou Shan's home a few days prior, and then went to find Qian Yu.

"Meng Nan?"

"Is my table ready?"

Qian Yu was heroic and spirited, of average height, with ordinary looks. She appeared to be in her thirties, and indeed was. She was practicing her saber in her small courtyard at home when she saw Meng Nan approach.

"Not yet."

Meng Nan panted slightly and said urgently, "Aunt Yu, when I was delivering the table to Uncle Zhou Shan's house just now, I noticed something was wrong with him. His eyes were terrifyingly red, like he was about to eat someone. I was so scared I ran away immediately, but the more I thought about it, the more something felt off. When I went back to check, I saw him climbing through Sister Wu's window. He's not really going to eat someone, is he!"

Meng Nan was terrified and extremely anxious.

His voice even trembled slightly.

"Zhou Shan?"

"Let's go!"

"Lead the way!"

Qian Yu, bold and chivalrous, immediately drew her saber and followed Meng Nan towards Sister Wu's house upon hearing this.

Sister Wu's house was not far from Qian Yu's.

The two were in a hurry, their footsteps quick. They arrived in a short while.

BANG!

Qian Yu, rushing in, kicked open the wooden door of Sister Wu's house with her foot as soon as she arrived. Upon entering—

"Zhou Shan!"

"What are you doing!"

Qian Yu's eyes widened in fury!

As soon as she entered, she saw Zhou Shan undressing the three-month-old child in Sister Wu's house and placing it on the bed. Then he bit his finger and began smearing it on the infant, drawing patterns.

It was clearly evil!

"Qian Yu!"

Zhou Shan was deeply engrossed and hadn't noticed her arrival beforehand. He was startled by Qian Yu's sudden intrusion and cursed his bad luck inwardly. He had only just entered, just undressed the child, and had barely finished drawing the first few strokes when Qian Yu arrived. It was too fast!

Why?!

Sweat beaded on Zhou Shan's forehead. Panicked and flustered, he couldn't think of any reason to explain himself. He directly reached out, grabbed the infant beside him, and threw it towards Qian Yu.

Then he leaped, intending to escape through the window.

"Zhou Shan!"

Qian Yu was furious.

She sprang forward, catching the child with one hand and holding her saber with the other. With a few more rapid strides, she leaped through the window, pursuing him.

One saber strike!

One kick!

Zhou Shan was no match for her. He was immediately kicked to the ground, unable to move.

His mouth opened and closed, as if he wanted to say something.

But he couldn't catch his breath, and for a moment, he couldn't speak.

At this moment, Meng Nan rushed forward a few steps and squatted in front of Zhou Shan, blocking Qian Yu's view. He reached out and grabbed Zhou Shan's chin, shouting, "Spit it out! Spit it out!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Yu quickly stepped forward.

She saw Zhou Shan swallow something, unable to speak with choked sounds. Soon after, his limbs twitched, he foamed at the mouth, and his eyes rolled back.

His breathing gradually stopped.

This appearance clearly indicated he had taken a potent poison and was likely beyond saving.

"So ruthless!"

"Who is this person!"

Qian Yu took one look and felt Zhou Shan was beyond help, her expression turning serious.

Drawing a talisman with blood.

Targeting an infant.

Once captured, they would immediately bite the poison hidden in their mouth, leading to instant death.

For someone like this, there must be an even more tightly organized group behind him.

Qian Yu dared not think further.

The more she thought, the more terrifying it became!

"Go!"

"Come with me to find the village chief!"

She handed the infant to Meng Nan, then picked up Zhou Shan and prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Meng Nan hurriedly said, "Aunt Yu, please don't mention me in this matter. Zhou Shan has two brothers and three sons. If this gets out, I'm afraid— Xiao Shuang is already pregnant, and our humble family can't afford to stir up trouble. Alas! I—"

Meng Nan was both shocked, fearful, and regretful: "It's all my fault! I was too flustered! When I was at Zhou Shan's house, I saw him put something in his mouth. I thought he was eating, so I didn't pay attention. I didn't expect he was taking poison! He's dead now. If only I had known—"

Holding the infant, Meng Nan even regretted being so meddlesome.

"Alright."

"I understand what you mean. Give me the child, and you can go back. Just pretend you know nothing."

Qian Yu was understanding. After a few comforting words, she tied her waist knife to her belt. Then, with Zhou Shan's corpse in one hand and the infant taken from Meng Nan's arms in the other, she strode away.

Sister-in-law Wu's house, like Meng Nan's, was relatively secluded. The commotion had been brief and swift, and no one had noticed yet.

As Qian Yu left.

Meng Nan also sighed, his eyes darting around furtively. Trembling, he quickly departed.

Returning home.

Meng Nan began to review his actions—

Delivering the eight-immortal table.

Finding Qian Yu.

Seizing the opportunity to poison him.

Based on his foresight, Meng Nan had prepared the poison over the past few months.

The specific manufacturing method was not convenient to share lightly.

However, Meng Nan had spent eight years researching it in the future, and he had already mastered it, making the production not difficult.

Even a small amount of this substance, if accidentally ingested, could be fatal, let alone the large lump Meng Nan stuffed into Zhou Shan's mouth, which caused immediate death.

But Zhou Shan was in the 'Inner Qi Stage'. Meng Nan couldn't just have the 'poison'; he also needed an opportunity to administer it.

The two families had little interaction, and coupled with the fact that Zhou Shan was to harm his first infant within two days of his promotion to the 'Inner Qi Stage', today, Meng Nan had no time to wait for more opportunities.

Thus.

He thought of Qian Yu.

Based on Qian Yu's actions over the next twenty years, it could basically be confirmed that she was a righteous and chivalrous person.

Therefore, Meng Nan conceived the idea of using Qian Yu to kill Zhou Shan.

He could also build a connection with Qian Yu in the process.

He calculated the route, the timing, and deliberately arranged for the eight-immortal table, custom-ordered by Zhou Shan's family, to be delivered today. Then, he hid not far from Sister-in-law Wu's house. As soon as he saw Zhou Shan arrive, he immediately ran to find Qian Yu.

All in all.

Planned for months.

Everything appeared to be a coincidence, with no apparent issues.

Only one point remained—

"As a small carpenter, how would I know that Zhou Shan might 'commit suicide by poison', and even act before Qian Yu to stop him?"

This is a point of doubt.

Meng Nan had also laid the groundwork, telling Qian Yu that he had seen Zhou Shan stuffing something into his mouth earlier at Zhou Shan's house, but he had forgotten due to being too anxious and scared. It was only when he saw Zhou Shan's mouth move that he suddenly remembered.

It was barely enough to fool her.

Combined with his previous nonsensical talk about 'red eyes,' 'killing intent,' 'cannibalism,' and so on, as well as Qian Yu personally witnessing Zhou Shan smearing blood on the child and then fleeing guiltily when she caught him.

There was also the motive!

If he exposed Zhou Shan, there was no reason for him to kill her to silence her.

Connecting all these points.

Meng Nan's small flaw should not be a problem.

He even added a final layer of insurance, asking Qian Yu to keep this matter confidential and exclude his involvement, not telling outsiders.

This way.

The possibility of being suspected would be greatly reduced.

Furthermore, what Meng Nan said earlier wasn't entirely false. Zhou Shan was bad, but his family might not be rational. They couldn't get revenge on Qian Yu, but they could get revenge on Meng Nan?

Even if Meng Nan was on guard, how could he guard against a thief for a thousand days?

It was better to strike first; he couldn't fight off that entire family.

So, he decided to keep it a secret and extricate himself.

As for what would happen next--

"Even the wisest man makes a mistake sometimes!"

"Whether there are any oversights, and whether Qian Yu is reliable, cannot be determined with 100% certainty."

"However, a trip to the future timeline will confirm it."

Meng Nan opened his status panel--

Name: Meng Nan

Lifespan: 18/80

Faction: Chashan · Tianlin Cave

Cultivation: Fetal Breath Contemplation

Internal Breath: 19

Root Bone: 1

Cultivation Method: Thunder Illumination Scripture Third Layer

Spiritual Arts: Spirit Wandering Steps (Second Layer)

Skills: None

Unlock Progress: Viewable

[Unlock Progress--]

[Basic Progress: 99%][Mandatory Selection]

[Spirit Sand: 0%][Choose One of Two]

[Sacrifice: 1/1][Choose One of Two][Completed]

"Let's go!"

Meng Nan willed it, consuming 1 point of Internal Breath to complete the final 1% of Basic Progress.

The next moment.

Time and space shifted, and the world turned dim!