"Last time, when we joined forces with the Qingzhou Deserters, we failed to deal with Wang Meng and let him escape with his life. Now he's come to ruin our plans again tonight."
Making a move against Wang Meng in Dongsheng Town was too risky. There were too many people near his home. If word got out and his younger brother, the bannerman, found out I was behind it, his brother would go berserk. No one could stop him then.
Mister Li kept racking his brains for a solution.
"Old Tang, go to the storehouse and withdraw two hundred taels of silver. Give it to Wang Meng and ask him to make things convenient for us."
"If he absolutely refuses, have two men keep watch near his home for twelve hours. Report to me at once if anything happens. I refuse to believe those two can hide in Wang Meng's house forever without coming out."
"Yes, sir!" Steward.
"Bang." "Bang." "Bang."
Hearing the knocking from outside, Wang Meng opened the main gate and found the same group of people standing there.
"Are you people sick? Don't you sleep at night? You brought so many people to stand outside my door and guard it for me?"
Hearing Wang Meng's complaints, Steward Tang took out a Silver Note from his robes with a smile and held it out.
"Captain Wang, my master wishes to offer you a small token of his goodwill."
"We ask that Captain Wang make things convenient for us. I guarantee that we'll take one look inside and leave."
Wang Meng took the Silver Note and promptly shut the door in their faces.
"Go back and tell your master that I accept his goodwill. As for searching my home, forget it."
Watching Wang Meng's outrageous maneuver, Steward Tang's face turned dark. Knowing they would not be able to search Wang Meng's home tonight, he turned to the guards and said:
"Leave two men here to keep watch. Report to the master immediately if anything happens in the courtyard. The rest of you, come with me."
Hearing the footsteps outside gradually fade away, Wang Meng held the two-hundred-tael Silver Note in his hand and walked to the room where Luo Yi and the other man were staying.
He placed the two-hundred-tael Silver Note in front of Luo Yi and said with a grin:
"Xiao Yi, you really are my lucky star! Even in the dead of night, people are rushing over to give me money."
Looking at the two-hundred-tael Silver Note, Luo Yi thought, That much?
Then he recalled the Demon Soul Pearl that had fallen from Elder Qi's stomach and guessed that the people who had sent the silver were very likely accomplices of demons.
He hurriedly asked, "Uncle Wang, who sent this silver?"
"It was the steward from Mister Li's residence. Xiao Yi, judging from your expression, did you think of something?"
He pointed at Second Qi, who lay on the ground like a dead dog.
"Uncle Wang, the three of them ambushed me tonight. I killed one of them in return, and a jet-black pearl fell from that man's corpse."
He concealed the part about the system Panel absorbing the Demon Soul Pearl.
"As soon as I picked up the pearl, it gave off a stream of black smoke. A figure with a pained expression appeared and disappeared within the dark mist."
"Uncle Wang, do you know what this pearl is?"
After hearing Luo Yi's description of the Demon Soul Pearl, Wang Meng's expression changed drastically!
"Xiao Yi, the pearl you're talking about is called the Demon Soul Pearl, also known as the Human Pill. To demons, this thing is an incredible tonic."
"Some of the more powerful demons will implant it inside a martial artist's body."
"Once the Demon Soul Pearl enters a martial artist's body, it will constantly devour the martial artist's vital essence and use it to nourish itself."
"As time passes, the martial artist that has been parasitized will gradually be sucked dry by the pearl until he becomes a dried corpse. Once the martial artist's remaining value has been wrung dry, the demon will retrieve the pearl."
"Besides you, has anyone else seen this black pearl?"
Luo Yi shook his head. "No!"
"That's good! That's good! They don't yet know that you discovered their collusion with demons. They probably won't throw caution to the wind and attack me tonight."
"But we still need to prepare in advance. Any demon capable of condensing a Demon Soul Pearl must be at least a fifth-rank demon, with strength equivalent to a martial artist in the Five Organs Realm."
"The Five Organs Realm? Uncle Wang, this demon is that powerful? If it attacks us, won't we be doomed?"
Seeing the panic on Luo Yi's face, Wang Meng hurriedly said:
"Why would a demon in the Five Organs Realm take an interest in this lousy place of ours? The fact that this demon chose to work with trash like Mister Li means it was very likely seriously wounded."
"However, even a fifth-rank demon, despite being seriously wounded, is not something martial artists in the Skin Refining Realm can oppose."
"With such a terrifyingly powerful demon hiding in town, the entire Dongsheng Town is unsafe."
"Fortunately, Mister Li sent us these two hundred taels of silver. Xiao Yi, as soon as dawn breaks tomorrow, we'll move to Yunlu County first."
"All right, Uncle Wang."
Luo Yi nodded. Dongsheng Town was far too dangerous now. His strength was still too weak, so he needed to leave this place of trouble.
After the two finished discussing their plan, Wang Meng went to the next room and woke his sleeping wife and son. Together, they packed up the valuable possessions in the house.
Seeing Wang Meng begin to pack, Luo Yi looked at Second Qi, who lay on the ground like a dead dog.
Now that he knew these men's exact identities, there was no way they could take this man with them while fleeing for their lives tomorrow.
Luo Yi decided to investigate and see whether there was also a Demon Soul Pearl hidden inside Second Qi's stomach.
This was Wang Meng's home, after all. To avoid splashing blood around and contaminating the room, Luo Yi carried Second Qi to a corner of the courtyard and drew the Dao from his waist. With a full-powered slash, he struck down—
His entire chest split open. Second Qi, who had been poisoned, died without even managing to cry out, "Woohoo!"
Looking at the organs scattered across the ground, Luo Yi plunged his hand straight inside and began feeling around.
Before long, he felt a round, hard object inside Second Qi's stomach.
He picked up the Dao beside him and sliced open the stomach that contained the Demon Soul Pearl. The pearl fell out.
Looking at the pearl on the ground, Luo Yi had just picked it up when the Demon Soul Pearl transformed into a strand of black smoke and burrowed into his body.
At the same time, a notification popped up on the system Panel, stating that his Energy Points had increased by ten.
Looking at the twenty Energy Points displayed on the Panel, Luo Yi immediately spent one Energy Point on Introduction to Poisons.
The black mist originally inside Luo Yi's body floated out, transformed into specks of starlight, and merged into the center of his brow.
As the starlight continuously flowed into him, Luo Yi felt his mind grow clear. Countless complicated principles of medicinal theory surged into his mind, like wisdom poured directly into his skull.
Host: Luo Yi Age: 16 Realm: Skin Refining Grand Completion Skills: Basic Archery (Grand Completion 125/400) Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Grand Completion 1/400) Introduction to Poisons (Beginner 1/20) Traits: None Energy Points: 19 (One Energy Point increases skill progress by 10)
"Introduction to Poisons reached the beginner level just like that?"
Looking at Second Qi, who was so thoroughly dead that he could not possibly die any further and had never woken up before his death, Luo Yi felt more and more strongly that mastering poisons was important. Once he ventured through the martial world, he would inevitably encounter opponents who used poison.
Looking at the Panel, he only needed twenty points of progress to upgrade Introduction to Poisons again.
He filled it directly, spending ten Energy Points to raise Introduction to Poisons to perfection.
Vast amounts of knowledge about identifying herbs and poisons, preparing and using poisons, and refining Alchemy pills for use in the Body Refining realms surged continuously into his mind.
At that moment, Luo Yi felt as if he had immersed himself in the art of poisons for decades.
He knew the knowledge in Introduction to Poisons like the back of his hand. He could even draw inferences from one example and develop some new poisons and antidotes.
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