The rain had let up.
The wind still howled through the woods.
Li Pingsheng stood beneath the old locust tree, gazing at the muddy water on the ground.
Two puddles of yellow-brown water had formed where the Corpse Dissolving Powder had eaten away the bodies. The rain had washed them out, and their color had faded considerably.
The air still reeked of sulfur and acid.
He took the Bone Whistle from inside his robe.
Zhao Ming's essence blood hadn't washed away. It had shrunk into a dark red bead, clinging to a crevice in the white bone.
The Zhao Family's Mystic Yin Technique really was quite interesting.
Li Pingsheng crouched down.
Earlier, in the Limestone Cave, he'd listened to Zhao Zhentian explain the Mystic Yin Technique and watched the paths Zhao Ming's qi and blood followed as he practiced. He'd more or less figured out how the technique worked.
He extended his index finger and mimicked the way the Mysterious Yin Force was circulated.
His fingertip brushed lightly over the Bone Whistle.
As soon as the essence blood touched the cold force, it dissolved and seeped into the Bone Whistle's grooves.
A green glow spread across the Bone Whistle, and a chill emanated from it.
Now the thing looked like it had been nourished for years by the Mystic Yin qi and blood of a Zhao Family heir.
Li Pingsheng tossed the Bone Whistle beside the yellow-brown puddles.
Then he nudged some dirt over with his toe, covering half of the Bone Whistle.
He took a small porcelain bottle from inside his robe and sprinkled some Corpse Dissolving Powder onto the end of the Bone Whistle.
The powder smoked white as soon as it touched the rainwater, eating several black spots into the bone.
Now it looked as if the Bone Whistle had been splashed with Corpse Dissolving Powder during a fight, then dropped on the ground.
Once he was done, Li Pingsheng stood up.
He glanced around to make sure he hadn't left any traces.
Then he used Wind Treading to leave.
His feet hovered barely an inch above the ground, so the muddy water never touched his shoes.
He went back, changed out of his night clothes, and burned them to ashes in the stove.
Li Pingsheng lay on his bed and closed his eyes.
The trap was set. Now all that remained was to see how the Black Water Gang would respond.
Early the next morning.
The Black Water Gang's headquarters, Justice Gathering Hall.
The gang leader sat in his chair, his face black as the bottom of a pot.
Two shattered jade plaques lay on the bluestone floor before him.
They were the life plaques of Ghost One and Ghost Two.
"What happened? They're dead?"
The men kneeling before him didn't dare utter a word.
"I trained Ghost One and Ghost Two with my own hands."
"Two Bone Refining Realm death warriors went to kill a kid who'd only just entered the Martial Hall's Inner Courtyard, and they didn't come back all night. Their life plaques are broken, too?"
The gang leader rose to his feet.
"Gang Leader, the rain was too heavy last night. We didn't hear anything from the Martial Hall."
"But our informants outside the Martial Hall said Ghost One and Ghost Two went into the back hills and never came out."
A steward replied.
"How could two grown men just vanish into thin air?"
"Come on. Take a few men with me. We'll go have a look."
The rain had stopped, and dawn was breaking.
The gang leader brought a few trusted subordinates and followed the marks left by the death warriors all the way to the old locust grove behind the Martial Hall.
It was an out-of-the-way patch of woods where no one usually went.
He sniffed.
Born with a keen sense of smell, he was especially sensitive to the scent of blood and medicinal powders.
"Gang Leader, there are signs of a fight here."
One of his trusted men pointed to a locust tree snapped in half.
The gang leader walked over and examined the broken trunk.
"A powerful strike. One punch broke it."
"The force was fierce. That wasn't ordinary martial arts."
He crouched and felt around in the muddy ground.
It didn't take long for him to find the two puddles of yellow-brown water.
Fragments of clothing that hadn't completely dissolved remained in the muddy water.
"Corpse Dissolving Powder."
The gang leader's expression darkened further.
"Gang Leader, take a look at this!"
One of his trusted men had found something in a pit beside the muddy water and called out.
The gang leader turned and saw the man holding an object covered in mud, half of it eaten away.
"Bring it here."
The gang leader wiped it with his sleeve.
It was a whistle made of white bone, covered in carved patterns.
"This is..."
He'd traveled far and wide for many years and seen plenty.
The Bone Whistle was made from the brow bone of a hundred-year-old ferocious beast.
There was no way anything like this could be found in the Outer City.
He circulated his qi and blood and probed inside the Bone Whistle with his fingertip.
A cold force surged back from within it.
He knew that feeling all too well.
"The Mystic Yin Technique!"
"Zhao Zhentian, Zhao Ming..." The gang leader gripped the Bone Whistle tightly.
"Gang Leader, could the energy on this whistle be from the Zhao Family?"
One of his trusted men stepped closer and asked.
"Who else in Clear Wind City besides that father and son could cultivate such pure Mystic Yin qi and blood?"
The gang leader pieced all the clues together.
"Well, well. The Zhao Family's appetite is enormous."
"Master Scar's death was suspicious."
"He took so many men to the Outer City, and in the end they were all bitten to death by demon beasts."
"I never could figure out why the demon beasts in the Outer City only went after my Black Water Gang."
"Now that I've seen this Bone Whistle, I know it's a Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle!"
"The Zhao Family has one of these, so the beast disaster in the Outer City was their doing!"
"They wanted to swallow up the Outer City's businesses at a low price. Master Scar stood in their way, so they used this whistle to lure the demon beasts and wipe him out!"
One of his trusted men asked, "Gang Leader, what about Ghost One and Ghost Two?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
"We all thought Li Pingsheng was the culprit, so we sent Ghost One and Ghost Two to kill him."
"When Ghost One and Ghost Two were looking for Li Pingsheng, they must've run into an expert from the Zhao Family."
"Ghost One and Ghost Two must have found irrefutable proof that the Zhao Family was colluding with the demon folk—like this Bone Whistle."
"To keep their secret from getting out, that Zhao Family expert killed Ghost One and Ghost Two on the spot, then used Corpse Dissolving Powder to silence them!"
"But in his panic, the Zhao Family expert left behind this Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle that Zhao Ming had been using to nourish!"
The more the gang leader thought about it, the more certain he became.
The fresh Mystic Yin qi and blood on the Bone Whistle couldn't be faked.
It had the scent of essence blood found only in a direct Zhao Family heir.
"That brat Zhao Ming had the evidence right there in his hands, and he still dared to provoke the Black Water Gang!"
The gang leader slapped the tree beside him.
His palm split the thick trunk.
"Gang Leader, what do we do now? Go straight to Zhao Zhentian and demand an explanation?"
His trusted man asked.
"Demand an explanation? Do you think that old fox Zhao Zhentian would admit anything?"
"If they want to play dirty, then I'll play dirty right back."
"Pass down the order. Gather every capable fighter in the gang and keep a close eye on every Zhao Family shop in the Inner City and Outer City. The moment anyone from the Zhao Family is alone, take them out!"
"Yes!"
The Black Water Gang's men withdrew from the Locust Tree Forest.
By then, it was broad daylight.
Azure Cloud Martial Hall, Martial Practice Field.
Li Pingsheng stood in a corner, throwing Thunderbolt Fist punch by punch.
He moved slowly, pausing to catch his breath after each move. His face was pale.
"Pingsheng, take a break. Don't push yourself too hard."
Pei Guang passed by and watched from the side.
Li Pingsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I'm fine. If I keep practicing, I'll recover some qi and blood."
Not far away, Zhao Ming was gathered with several disciples.
He kept making mistakes today. Even his body trembled as he stood in his stance.
"Senior Brother Zhao, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?"
A disciple came over to ask.
"Mind your own business!"
Zhao Ming snapped.
He really hadn't slept well.
Last night, in the Limestone Cave, he'd lost the Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle.
He thought he'd lost control while circulating his energy and shaken the Bone Whistle into the Cold Spring Deep Pool.
The underground river at the bottom of the pool ran so fast that there was no chance of ever finding anything that fell in.
He didn't dare tell his father, Zhao Zhentian, so he could only fret about it by himself.
Li Pingsheng watched Zhao Ming from the corner.
He probably couldn't imagine that the Bone Whistle was already in the Black Water Gang's hands.
Just then, several Black Water Gang spies ran past the Martial Hall's gate.
Li Pingsheng watched them go.
The plan had already succeeded halfway.
Things wouldn't be peaceful from here on.
Before you continue