The man Meng Nan wanted to kill was named Zhou Shan. He was thirty-eight years old.
At the end of September, he would advance to the Inner Qi Stage.
Then, just two years later, he would advance to the True Qi Stage.
At first, no one knew he had reached the True Qi Stage. But Zhou Shan was careless, and one day, while committing an evil deed, someone caught him in the act. His luck ran out.
The family had welcomed a baby not long before. The child was only a few months old when they discovered Zhou Shan sneaking into their home, smearing blood over the infant and drawing strange, talisman-like symbols.
Exposed, Zhou Shan killed them on the spot and fled Yinlian Village.
The uproar was immense.
And since quite a few infants had died young over the previous two years, people began to suspect Zhou Shan was behind it. They reopened the coffins and examined the bodies, only to find that the infants' corpses hadn't decayed at all. Every one of them was shriveled, as if drained of blood and moisture.
There were seven such infants in all.
Only then did everyone realize Zhou Shan had been the one behind their deaths.
At the time, Meng Nan's two eldest children had just been born. The incident had scared him and his wife half to death, so Zhao Xiaoshuang remembered it especially well.
She even remembered exactly which households the seven infants had belonged to, and the year, month, and day each had died. Ten years had already passed, yet Zhao Xiaoshuang still felt a chill whenever she brought it up.
"He deserves to die."
Meng Nan continued cultivating in silence, advancing cautiously. He also made discreet inquiries, gathering all kinds of information and weighing different plans as he quietly waited for the right moment.
In the blink of an eye,
September drew to a close.
That day, Meng Nan timed everything carefully. He delivered the Eight Immortals table Zhou Shan's family had ordered a few days earlier, then went to find Qian Yu.
"Meng Nan?"
"Is my table ready?"
Qian Yu was a woman of striking, heroic bearing, of average height and plain looks. She looked to be in her thirties—and she was, in fact, in her thirties. She was practicing her saber in the courtyard when Meng Nan arrived.
"Not yet."
Meng Nan panted a couple of times, then said urgently, "Auntie Yu, I just delivered a table to Uncle Zhou Shan's house, and something seemed wrong with him. His eyes were terrifyingly red, like he wanted to eat someone. I got scared and ran, but the more I thought about it, the less right it seemed. When I went back to check, I saw him climbing through the window into Sister-in-law Wu's house. He really isn't going to eat someone, is he?"
Meng Nan looked terrified and frantic.
His voice even trembled a little.
"Zhou Shan?"
"Let's go!"
"Show me the way!"
Qian Yu was forthright and chivalrous. The moment she heard this, she gripped her saber and followed Meng Nan toward Sister-in-law Wu's house.
Her home wasn't far from Sister-in-law Wu's.
Worried, the two hurried along and arrived before long.
Bang!
Qian Yu charged up to the door and kicked it so hard the wooden door flew off its hinges. She rushed inside and saw—
"Zhou Shan!"
"What are you doing?"
Qian Yu glared furiously!
The moment she entered, she saw Zhou Shan had stripped the three-month-old baby in Sister-in-law Wu's home and laid him on the bed. He had bitten his finger and was smearing blood over the infant, drawing strange patterns.
It was obviously something sinister!
"Qian Yu!"
Zhou Shan had been completely absorbed in what he was doing and hadn't noticed anyone coming. Qian Yu's sudden appearance made him jolt in fright. He cursed his bad luck inwardly. He had only just gotten inside, taken off the baby's clothes, and started drawing. He hadn't even finished his first two strokes, and Qian Yu was already here. How could she have arrived so fast?
Why?!
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Shan's forehead. In his panic, he couldn't think of an excuse. He simply grabbed the infant beside him and hurled him at Qian Yu.
Then he sprang toward the window, trying to escape.
"Zhou Shan!"
Qian Yu was furious.
She darted forward, catching the child with one hand and holding her saber in the other. Then she sprang after him, leaping through the window in just a few strides.
One slash!
One kick!
Zhou Shan was no match for her at all. She kicked him flat on the spot, leaving him unable to move.
His mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something.
But he couldn't catch his breath, and for a moment, no words came out.
Just then, Meng Nan rushed over and crouched beside Zhou Shan, conveniently blocking Qian Yu's view. He gripped Zhou Shan's jaw and shouted, "Spit it out! Spit it out!"
When Qian Yu saw and heard this, she hurried over.
It looked as if Zhou Shan had swallowed something. He made choking noises, unable to speak. A moment later, his limbs convulsed, foam poured from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back.
His breathing gradually stopped.
The way he looked, he had clearly taken a deadly poison. He probably wouldn't survive.
"Ruthless!"
"Who could it be?"
One glance told Qian Yu Zhou Shan was beyond saving. Her expression turned grave.
Drawing talismans in blood.
Targeting infants.
If caught, he would bite down on deadly poison he had hidden in his mouth beforehand, dying in an instant.
Someone like him must have belonged to an even more secretive organization.
Qian Yu didn't dare think further.
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became!
"Come on!"
"Take me to the Fort Lord!"
She handed the infant to Meng Nan, then grabbed Zhou Shan and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Meng Nan hurriedly said, "Auntie Yu, please don't mention me in this. Zhou Shan has two brothers and three sons. If word gets out, I'm afraid—Xiaoshuang is already pregnant, and we're just an ordinary little household. We really can't afford to get dragged into this. Ah, I..."
Meng Nan looked shocked, frightened, and remorseful. "It's all my fault! I panicked too much! 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 never imagined it was poison! Now he's dead. If only I'd known..."
Holding the baby, Meng Nan even seemed to regret getting involved.
"Enough."
"I understand. Give me the child and go home. Just pretend you don't know anything."
Qian Yu was considerate. After reassuring him, she buckled her saber at her waist, picked up Zhou Shan's corpse with one hand, and took the infant from Meng Nan with the other before striding away.
Sister-in-law Wu's home was much like Meng Nan's, tucked away in a quiet spot. Everything had happened so quickly that no one else had noticed.
Once Qian Yu had left,
Meng Nan sighed and hurried off, furtive and trembling.
Back home,
Meng Nan began to review everything—
Delivering the Eight Immortals table.
Finding Qian Yu.
Using the chance to poison Zhou Shan.
Taking advantage of his foreknowledge, Meng Nan had prepared poison well in advance over the past few months.
The exact method of making it wasn't something he could casually pass on.
But he had spent eight years studying it in the future, and had long since mastered the art. Making it was no trouble.
Even a small dose could be fatal if swallowed by mistake, let alone the large clump Meng Nan had stuffed into Zhou Shan's mouth. It had killed him on the spot.
But Zhou Shan was at the Inner Qi Stage. Having poison alone wasn't enough; Meng Nan also needed a chance to administer it.
The two families had little to do with each other. And Zhou Shan was going to harm his first infant victim today, just two days after advancing to the Inner Qi Stage. Meng Nan didn't have time to wait around and seek another opportunity.
So,
he thought of Qian Yu.
Judging from Qian Yu's actions over the next twenty years, she was clearly a good person, brave and chivalrous.
That was why Meng Nan had thought to use her to kill Zhou Shan.
He could also use the chance to build a connection with her.
He had planned the route and timing carefully. He deliberately delivered the Eight Immortals table Zhou Shan's family had ordered that very day, then hid near Sister-in-law Wu's house. As soon as Zhou Shan showed up, Meng Nan ran straight to find Qian Yu.
From beginning to end,
he had planned it for months.
It all looked like coincidence, with nothing amiss.
There was only one flaw—
"How would a humble carpenter like me know Zhou Shan might 'take poison and kill himself,' and then try to stop him before Qian Yu could?"
That was suspicious.
Meng Nan had also laid the groundwork. He had told Qian Yu he'd seen Zhou Shan put something in his mouth earlier, at Zhou Shan's home, but had been too panicked and frightened to remember. Only when he saw Zhou Shan's mouth moving had it suddenly come back to him.
It might just pass muster.
And with all the nonsense he'd spouted earlier about Zhou Shan's "red eyes," his "killing intent," and "eating people," plus Qian Yu seeing with her own eyes Zhou Shan smearing blood on someone else's child, then fleeing in a guilty panic when she caught him—
There was motive, too!
He had exposed and reported Zhou Shan. There was no reason he would then want to silence him.
With all those details strung together,
Meng Nan's little slip probably wouldn't matter.
He had also added one last layer of protection: he'd asked Qian Yu to keep the matter secret and leave him out of it, not telling outsiders about him.
That would greatly reduce the chance of anyone suspecting him.
Besides, what Meng Nan had said earlier wasn't entirely a lie. Zhou Shan was a bad man, sure, but his family might not be reasonable. They couldn't get revenge on Qian Yu, but what about Meng Nan?
Even if Meng Nan stayed on guard, he couldn't spend every day watching out for enemies.
Better to strike first. That whole family couldn't kill them all.
He might as well keep it quiet and distance himself from the matter.
As for what came next—
"Even the wisest man can make a mistake!"
"Who knows if I've overlooked something, or whether Qian Yu can be trusted? I can't be a hundred percent sure."
"But I can confirm it by making a trip to the future."
Meng Nan opened the panel—
Name: Meng Nan
Lifespan: 18/80
Faction: Chashan Cave
Cultivation: Fetal Breath Contemplation
Inner Breath: 19
Root Bone: 1
Cultivation Method: Thunder Illumination Scripture, Third Layer
Techniques: Spirit Wandering Steps (Second Layer)
Skills: None
Unlocking Progress: Viewable
[Unlocking Progress—]
[Basic Progress: 99%][Required]
[Spirit Sand: 0%][Choose One of Two]
[Sacrifice: 1/1][Choose One of Two][Completed]
"Let's go!"
Meng Nan's thoughts stirred. He spent 1 point of Inner Breath to complete the final 1% of the basic progress.
In the next instant,
time and space shifted, and heaven and earth fell dark!
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