Preparations in the Dark

Chen Ye looked at Su Guang and asked, "Brother Su, I need a type of poison, preferably one triggered by scent, and potent enough to take down a Dragon Elephant martial artist. You spent eight years in the Feng Family; have you ever heard of such a thing?"

Su Guang pondered for a moment, his brows knitting together. "When I was with the Third Young Master, I dealt with the Medicine Gang a few times and knew some old acquaintances in the medicinal trade. I heard them mention a poison called 'Mandala Flower Poison'. It dissolves instantly in water, but it requires Black Fat Insect Powder to take effect. Once struck, an ordinary person would surely die."

Even a Dragon Elephant martial artist, with their formidable physique, would be left completely numb and would need at least an hour to recover."

Chen Ye clapped his hands and smiled. "That is exactly what I need. Do you have a way to get it?"

Su Guang shook his head with a bitter smile. "I have already been cast out by the Feng Family. Those people in the Medicine Gang might not grant me that favor, and even with silver, it might not be for sale."

Chen Ye smiled nonchalantly, patting him on the shoulder. "Not necessarily. Tell me, has the Feng Family spread the news about the Third Young Master being poisoned?"

"Not at all," Su Guang recalled. "I heard from my old brothers that the Third Young Master's funeral was held in secret; they didn't make it public at all. This is a scandal for the Feng Family, so even if outsiders know, they certainly don't know much."

"Good," Chen Ye said, his eyes gleaming. "Then would they know you have been expelled from the Feng Family?"

Su Guang's expression froze, as if he had been enlightened. "It seems... they might not know."

"Then that settles it," Chen Ye said with a hint of craftiness. "As long as you don't reveal it yourself, who knows what the situation is inside the Feng Family right now? You go to your old contacts in the Medicine Gang; they will recognize your face. If you don't mention being expelled, they will treat you as one of the Feng Family's men."

Su Guang lowered his head and thought about it, finding the logic increasingly sound.

He remained silent for another moment before saying, "But I need something to prove I am from the Feng Family. Just a face and a bit of past friendship won't be enough for them to hand over such a poison."

Chen Ye smiled.

It was quite a coincidence.

He reached into his robe, took out a jade pendant, placed it gently on the table, and pushed it toward Su Guang.

Su Guang picked it up in confusion, seeing the character "Zhou" carved into the jade. He asked, puzzled, "This is..."

"The personal jade pendant of Third Madam Zhou."

Su Guang and Zuo Dongxi looked at Chen Ye in unison; they were truly surprised.

They never expected Chen Ye to possess something like this.

Su Guang picked up the jade pendant, cupped his hands in a formal salute, and said with a solemn expression, "Brother Chen has gone to such lengths; it would be inexcusable if I couldn't handle this. Give me a few days, and I will bring the medicine to you."

"Be quick!"

Chen Ye said, "We cannot interfere with the Dragon Elephant martial artists of the Liu Family and the Cui Family, so we don't need to worry about them for now. Let's focus our target on that group of desperate outlaws. Once the medicine arrives, I will have to trouble Brother Zuo to get that group to ingest it."

Zuo Dongxi laughed heartily, patting his chest. "You can rest easy on that, Brother Chen. We rough men aren't good at head-on combat, but we are experts at these sneaky, underhanded tactics. If things don't go as planned, you can hold me accountable."

"I will go with Brother Su to provide cover from the outside, just in case someone tries to tip them off and ruins our plans."

"Good," Chen Ye said, feeling a weight lift from his heart. "Once these preparations are ready, I will explain the details to you one by one."

They talked until late into the night. By the time the Fengqing Restaurant closed, the three of them stood up to leave.

When Chen Ye walked out of the restaurant, the night wind was chilly.

He stood at the mouth of the alley for a moment.

In the distance, the lights of the Cui Mansion flickered faintly.

He pulled his collar tight and turned, disappearing into the night.

The next morning.

A lackey from the Patrol Horse Gang sat squatting at the entrance, shaking his legs in boredom and looking around.

When Chen Ye emerged, he immediately stood up to greet him, bowing and scraping. "Master Chen, you're awake? The gang leader told me to take you over."

Chen Ye glanced at him. The young man was not very old, thin as a bamboo pole, and looked as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

Yesterday, at the Fengqing Restaurant, he had mentioned going alone to scout the Liu Family's ambush site outside the city to make some preparations.

Zuo Dongxi had assigned a reliable lackey from the gang to lead the way.

"What is your name?"

"Master Chen, the little one is called Skinny Monkey. You can just call me Monkey."

"No formal name?"

The young man grinned, revealing a row of yellowed front teeth. "Heh, my family died early, so I never had a formal name. I'm just used to being called Monkey. If you really want to be respectful, people outside might call me Chen Er at most. You should just call me Monkey."

Chen Ye nodded, asking no further questions.

"Lead the way, let's go take a look."

"This way, Master Chen."

Having experienced many storms throughout his life, Chen Ye had inevitably developed the blood-soaked aura of a martial artist, which exerted an invisible pressure on others.

When Monkey walked beside him, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

He simply felt an instinctive urge to restrain himself.

He abandoned his usual gang-like demeanor, kept his head down, and hurried along, not daring to be the least bit careless.

Xiangguo Temple is located on a mountain fifty li outside of the Capital City.

Setting out from the Capital City, one must travel about twenty li along the main road, followed by thirty li of winding mountain paths to reach it.

According to the intelligence gathered previously, the Liu Family intends to make their move along that thirty-li stretch of mountain road.

The two men jogged along, and after about an hour, they arrived at the section of the road that the group of martial artists had been scouting repeatedly.

"Master Chen, this is the place."

Following the direction Chen Monkey pointed, Chen Ye looked over.

He saw that the mountain path ahead consisted of a section flanked by dense forest on one side and a narrow rocky passage on the other.

On the side with the dense forest, the canopy blocked out the sun, and the undergrowth was thick, making visibility extremely poor.

There were natural shallow trenches and earthen slopes within the woods, making it an excellent place to hide people.

Chen Ye walked inside.

The fallen leaves underfoot were thick, crunching with every step.

However, if one were careful enough, these slight noises could be masked by the sound of the wind and the chirping of birds in the forest.

After passing this stretch of forest path, one reaches the narrow rocky passage.

On one side of this road was a steep cliff, several zhang high, with a smooth surface that was difficult to climb.

On the other side was a deep ravine and precipice, making it impassable.

The mountain path narrowed abruptly here, wide enough for only one carriage to pass, leaving no room to maneuver.

Between the forest section and the rocky section was a bend, which perfectly blocked the line of sight.

If the narrow rocky passage ahead were blocked, the desperadoes prepared by the Liu Family could strike from behind to seal off the retreat, which would be enough to catch the Cui Family off guard.

It was a place naturally suited for an ambush.

Chen Ye spent a long time feeling around the area, ensuring he had a clear grasp of everything before finally leaving.

On the way down the mountain, he passed a flat area nestled between two mountains, which the locals called "Wang Family Valley."

On both sides of the road were square plots of farmland, with scattered ponds used for irrigation.

After glancing at it a few times, Chen Ye became thoughtful and committed this terrain to memory as well.