Li Pingsheng changed into the night clothes he had stripped from a Black Water Gang death soldier. He pulled the mask high over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
He crouched in the shadow of the courtyard wall.
His [Wind Treading] talent activated.
On the street, the night watchman struck his wooden clapper, announcing the third watch.
The night watchman had no idea that a shadow had just whooshed over the rooftops above his head.
The Zhao Family Estate was brightly lit. Guards and servants stood at every third step and every fifth pace, while patrols made their rounds. Security was tight.
But in Li Pingsheng's eyes, the defenses were full of holes.
With his [Martial Wisdom] talent activated, his senses and powers of observation had surged.
The patrol routes, the blind spots beyond the sentries' sight, and the gaps between guard shifts were all crystal clear in his mind.
He didn't even need to commit them to memory. One glance was enough for him to understand everything.
With a few leaps, he bypassed every visible and hidden sentry, scaled the several-zhang-high wall around the Zhao estate, and dropped into the shadow of a flower bed.
The entire process was utterly silent.
According to his original plan, he'd intended to go straight to the room where Zhao Ming slept.
Spoiled young masters like him always had personal trinkets on them, such as jade pendants or seals. Steal one, and it would be enough to frame him.
But just as Li Pingsheng was about to move, his nose twitched faintly.
A hidden, fishy stench drifted over on the night breeze.
The smell was faint, mingled with the scents of earth and rotting flesh. Most people wouldn't have noticed it.
But Li Pingsheng knew that smell.
It was exactly the same as the odor coming from the black worm in the hyena's brain after he'd killed the beast last time.
Li Pingsheng stopped.
His gaze darkened.
What connection did the Zhao family have to the demon beasts and the Gu Insects?
An idea surfaced in his mind.
Li Pingsheng immediately changed his plans.
Stealing something and framing them was just a small trick.
If the Zhao family was connected to the beast calamity in the Outer City, then this was far more serious than he'd imagined.
He drew in all the qi and blood in his body, letting the power of [Tiger Bone] sink into the gaps between his bones.
He pushed his [Wind Treading] talent to its limit, darting through the shadows of pavilions and towers toward the source of the stench: the forbidden area in the rear hills of the Zhao estate.
The rear hills were a stretch of rocky woodland designated as a forbidden area. Security there was several times tighter than in the front courtyard.
Groups of guards held knives and warily watched their surroundings.
Unfortunately, none of that could stop him.
The insight granted by [Martial Wisdom] led him instinctively to the right route for sneaking in. He didn't even need to look.
The guards couldn't sense so much as a stir in the breeze.
Before long, following the stench as it grew stronger, Li Pingsheng reached a corner enclosed by boulders.
The source of the smell was below.
He pushed aside waist-high weeds and found an entrance hidden beneath vines and loose rocks.
The opening was barely large enough for one person to pass through.
It was pitch-black inside, and cold air along with that fishy stench poured out.
It was a limestone cave.
Li Pingsheng didn't go inside. Instead, he circled around to a pile of rocks above the cave and found a well-hidden ventilation shaft.
He lay down beside the opening, held his breath, and made himself as inconspicuous as possible. Then he peered down through a crack in the stone.
Inside the limestone cave, several oil lamps flickered against the walls, stretching the shadows of three people into long, wavering shapes.
Two of them were Zhao Zhentian, the Zhao family's patriarch, and his son, Zhao Ming.
The third was wrapped from head to toe in a loose black robe. He was gaunt, with only a pair of sinister eyes visible, and an icy aura clung to him.
The black-robed man was playing with a dark beetle in his hand.
The beetle crawled back and forth across his withered fingers.
It was one of those Gu Insects.
Li Pingsheng's pupils contracted.
The [Enhanced Cognition] talent had made his hearing exceptionally sharp. Though he was more than ten zhang away, he could still hear the three men whispering in the cave.
"Sir, your Gu Insect is truly miraculous! Hahaha! Just give me a little more time, and I'll make that bastard Li Pingsheng wish he were dead!"
Zhao Ming's voice dripped with flattery and venom. He stared at the Gu Insect in the black-robed man's hand, his eyes feverish.
The Zhao family patriarch, Zhao Zhentian, spoke next. "Sir, why did things get out of hand in the Outer City that time? How did those hyenas we sent end up fighting the Black Water Gang?"
The black-robed man let out a laugh.
"Hahaha... It was just an accident."
"According to the original plan, those Blood Slaves were supposed to sneak into Li Pingsheng's old home and bite his entire family to death."
"Their flesh and blood would have been perfect for feeding the new Gu Insects..."
At those words, Li Pingsheng's fingernails dug deep into his flesh.
So the demon beasts that night had been targeting his family all along!
If he hadn't happened to deal with Master Scar and the hyenas... the consequences were too horrible to imagine.
Killing intent surged in his chest.
But he forcibly used his [Martial Wisdom] talent to suppress the impulse.
The angrier you were, the calmer you had to be.
In the cave, the black-robed man continued:
"Unfortunately, outside the Li family home, they happened to run into Master Scar and Master Qin of the Black Water Gang. For some reason, the two sides started fighting, and that's what alerted everyone."
"Hmph."
Zhao Zhentian sneered, his face bright with smug satisfaction. "Those sewer rats in the Black Water Gang have made their nest in the Outer City. They probably mistook our Blood Slaves for beasts fighting over territory, and the two sides fought each other to a standstill. They might die without ever knowing that my Zhao family was pulling the strings."
"Father, you truly are a genius!"
Zhao Ming immediately buttered him up.
Zhao Zhentian stroked his beard in satisfaction. "It is a shame we failed to kill the family of that detestable Li Pingsheng this time."
"But the plan to use Gu Insects to create a beast calamity in the Outer City absolutely cannot stop. Do you understand?"
"The more chaotic the Outer City becomes, the cheaper its shops and farmland will be. Then our Zhao family can swallow up the entire Outer City for next to nothing!"
The father and son believed they had everything under control, gloating over the Black Water Gang and the demon beasts' "mutual destruction."
They had no idea that Li Pingsheng—the man they had plotted against and dismissed as "lucky"—was watching them from the darkness, listening to their conspiracy.
The killing intent in Li Pingsheng's heart grew even firmer.
"Father, after the Martial Hall Grand Exam, whether Li Pingsheng is alive or dead, you must have Sir make another move!"
"I want to watch those demon beasts tear his whole family to pieces with my own eyes! Only then will I be satisfied!"
Zhao Ming added through gritted teeth, his face twisted with malice.
The last trace of hesitation in Li Pingsheng's heart vanished.
The Zhao family had pushed him too far.
He'd only meant to teach Zhao Ming a lesson.
But now, that wasn't enough.
Not nearly enough!
People this utterly devoid of conscience, who would even target his family, had to be erased from the world!
Every last one of them!
Li Pingsheng swore he would sentence the Zhao family's ringleaders to death!
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