Assassination

Master Qin sent Shen Wu to help the Zhao Family. Though Shen Wu was somewhat unwilling, he had no choice but to agree.

When Wei Luo learned the news, he was a little puzzled, but did not dwell on it.

With Shen Wu's innate physique and talent, he truly had a few chances of defeating Yang Xian.

That afternoon, Wei Luo left the residence and headed to the Miscellaneous Ward.

The Miscellaneous Ward had originally been the liveliest place in the outer city, but when Wei Luo arrived this time, seven or eight out of every ten shops along the streets were closed.

There were also few pedestrians passing by, all of them hurrying along.

"The mortal world is but a realm of emptiness; only true void is our homeland. Cast off the fleshly shell to behold one's true nature, and enjoy forever the boundless radiance of pure tranquility."

After Wei Luo passed through several streets and alleys, he saw a group of people approaching him.

The leaders wore white robes and carried incense burners in their arms, followed by dozens of civilians with numb expressions.

"Only those who believe in our faith may attain great freedom and great ease!"

Seeing this, Wei Luo could not help knitting his brows tightly together.

"Young master, all things are empty. Join our faith and enjoy freedom forever."

The Pure Fragrance Cult disciple still wanted to strike up a conversation with Wei Luo, but Wei Luo walked swiftly. After giving him only one glance, he lowered his head and left.

Wang Clan Smithy.

The furnace inside the shop was blazing fiercely. Several smiths were so busy their feet barely touched the ground, and the clanging of hammers rang without pause.

"Boss, can you forge something for me?"

"What do you want forged?"

The smithy owner stopped what he was doing and replied somewhat impatiently.

"I want a suit of armor for self-defense."

The owner froze when he heard that. Privately possessing armor was a grave crime.

He was just about to snap back when he looked Wei Luo's burly frame up and down, then finally spoke.

"Customer, sorry, but the shop recently took on a large batch of work. We truly cannot spare the manpower."

Wei Luo glanced around the shop. The owner was not lying.

Five or six burly men holding hammers were pounding iron blanks beside the furnace, while a pile of iron weapons lay to the side. They appeared to all be long sabers.

"It is only one suit of armor. I am willing to pay more."

As he spoke, Wei Luo took a one-tael gold ingot from his robes, broke it in half with his hand, and slapped one half onto the table.

Although prices had risen sharply recently, that single gold ingot was more than enough to buy the entire shop.

"This is the deposit. You will receive the other half when it is finished."

Wei Luo had gotten that gold ingot from Zhao Xiu. With the Zhao Family facing the danger of annihilation, Zhao Xiu had gone all in.

Master Qin had not taken his things today, so he directly gave both Treasure Fish and the gold ingot to Shen Wu.

Zhao Xiu had also prepared plenty of money for Wei Luo, but Wei Luo had only casually taken some.

The owner's eyes were practically glued to the gold.

Yet unexpectedly, after hesitating for a long while, the owner refused.

"Customer, this... truly will not work. Someone urgently needs this batch of goods. I am terribly sorry. Please try another shop."

Wei Luo was stunned. This owner was actually so trustworthy that he could only take back his money and look elsewhere.

But just then, a young man suddenly ran out from inside the shop.

"Wei Luo, why are you here?"

The man's face was covered in coal dust. Wei Luo stared for several seconds before recognizing Wang De.

Wang De had also been a Sun Family crewman before. When they went to Falling Geese Gorge last time, Wang De had gone with Liu Changle to catch Treasure Fish.

Thanks to the information Wei Luo had casually mentioned, Wang De had even obtained a Treasure Fish.

After exchanging a few words, Wei Luo learned that the owner was actually Wang De's father.

They were forging so many long sabers because the smithy had been forcibly requisitioned. One portion was supplied to the City Defense Army, while another went to the three great families of the inner city.

No wonder Wang De's father had not dared take on any other work.

"Dad, if not for Wei Luo, I probably would not have broken through to the Second Refinement even now. Besides, Wei Luo is Master Qin's disciple now."

Upon hearing this, Wang De's father no longer hesitated and immediately said he would help Wei Luo.

"There are many kinds of armor—inner armor, outer armor, each with different levels of protection. Which kind do you want?"

Wei Luo recalled the flying spike that had pierced through brick and stone that night, and his brows furrowed.

To block Yang Xian's flying spikes, he would likely have to wear several layers of heavy armor.

But that was not what he wanted. Wearing several layers of heavy armor would affect his speed when fleeing.

Soon, Wei Luo spotted the iron anvil in the room, and a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

After discussing it with Wang De's father, he decided to forge a breastplate four inches thick.

Though it would weigh at least several dozen jin, Wei Luo could still bear that weight.

That night, at the Wei Family's new residence.

It was already deep into the night, yet candlelight still shone from Wei Luo's room.

He was bent over his desk, reading intently. Nearly a hundred books on medicinal principles and herbs lay on the table.

Wei Luo had asked Zhao Xiu for all these books.

Although Wei Luo was merely swallowing dates whole and barely memorizing them, they could still greatly shorten the time needed for deduction.

[Ten-String Antidote Deduction]

[Time Required: One Month]

If he finished reading all these books, the time should be reduced to less than half a month.

Pages turned, paper rubbing against paper.

But suddenly, Wei Luo's hand froze halfway through turning a page, and he turned to look in a certain direction.

He had already broken through to the Three Refinements at the residence today, and every aspect of him had improved tremendously.

His five senses were among them. Within a radius of more than twenty meters, he could hear even a needle drop.

"So they finally came."

Listening to the faintest movements outside, a sharp glint flashed through Wei Luo's eyes as he pinched out the candle flame.

The bright moon hung overhead when two black shadows suddenly swept over the wall.

"We are sure this is the right house?"

"Yes. Second Refinement, a Sun Family crewman, knows a fist technique. With the two of us working together, he will have no escape from calamity."

"Then let us do it quickly. Kill him, then return to report."

After whispering a few words, the two men crept toward the house. Both were at the Second Refinement; once they drew close to the rooms, they could tell which one had someone inside.

After circling half the courtyard, the two locked onto Wei Luo's location.

"This is the room. Sounds like he has already fallen asleep."

Slowly drawing their gleaming sabers, the two kicked open the door and hacked wildly at the bed.

After only two strikes, both men suddenly stopped.

"Something is wrong! This does not feel right!"

"It is a trap! We—"

Before the man could finish speaking, Wei Luo dropped from the ceiling beam and threw a thunderous punch!

Bang!

The sound of a skull shattering was like the death-calling tune of a demon.

The man died on the spot.

The remaining man was splattered across the face with brain matter. How could he still fail to understand what had happened?

Bone-deep cold flowed from his head to his feet.

"Damn it! Three Refinements! The intelligence was wrong!"

The man swung his saber down with all his strength. There was no fancy saber technique in it; he was taking the path of fighting life with life.

Wei Luo lightly tapped the ground with his toes and shifted slightly aside, easily dodging the strike.

But the man's desperate attack had been false; fleeing for his life was true.

After the slash, he threw away his saber and ran outside as if his life depended on it.

But Wei Luo moved like a ghost. Before the man could even escape the courtyard, Wei Luo caught up to him.

With a sweeping kick, he sent the man flying sideways into a huge bluestone in the courtyard.

"Spare me, hero! I was merely following orders, forced into it by circumstances!"

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, the man immediately scrambled up, knelt on the ground, and repeatedly kowtowed.

Wei Luo stepped closer and looked down at him.

"Who gave the orders?"

"The Pure Fragrance Cult, Envoy Yang Xian! Spare me, and I will recommend you to join the cult.

At the Three Refinements, you can become an envoy in the cult, with lofty status. There are also all kinds of supreme martial arts within the cult..."

The man cherished his life greatly and poured everything out in one breath, saving Wei Luo the trouble of forcing a confession.

Wei Luo was not surprised to hear it was Yang Xian.

Clearly, Yang Xian wanted to use Wei Luo's death to warn the Zhao Family.

But what concerned Wei Luo even more was that Yang Xian was not the strongest person in the Pure Fragrance Cult. Above the many envoys, there was someone who oversaw them all.

"You also have experts who practice force?"

Seeing the man nod, Wei Luo thought for a moment before asking another question.

"How did Yang Xian learn that the Zhao Family possessed the formula for the Bone Sculpting Pill?"

He had long suspected something was wrong with the Zhao Family's situation. The Zhao Family was not so foolish as to spread such news everywhere.

Yet the Pure Fragrance Cult had targeted the Zhao Family the moment it appeared. If there were no traitor within, he would not believe it even if beaten to death.

"This... I do not know very clearly either, but I have heard some rumors. Would you like to hear them?"

"Oh? Rumors? Let me hear them."

"It is like this..."

Seeing Wei Luo was interested, the man edged closer, while his sleeve gave a light shake and he gripped a dagger.

The second before he intended to strike, he caught sight of the inexplicable smile at the corner of Wei Luo's lips, and an icy chill suddenly rose in his heart.

Thud!

Two forces stacked together to form Layered Wave Force. Wei Luo's punch directly blasted the man's entire chest cavity apart.

The force of the punch penetrated the man's body and entered the huge bluestone behind him. The stone cracked and creaked, instantly splitting into a web of fissures.

Before dying, the man could not even speak. He could only stare straight at Wei Luo.

It turned out Wei Luo had known what he was thinking all along. He had merely been toying with him.