Madness

Back at his household, Deng Yunliang was still somewhat distracted. He had never expected Ji Yuan to be such a deeply loyal man.

Originally, seeing how Ji Yuan kept to himself and rarely went out, Deng Yunliang had naturally assumed he was a heartless, cold-blooded cultivator.

But after seeing him today, he had never expected Ji Yuan to be willing to step in and save Lin Hu.

Furthermore, Ji Yuan disliked gamblers. Though Deng Yunliang was unwilling to admit it, he could genuinely feel it.

Thinking back to what had happened today, Deng Yunliang could not help wondering whether Ji Yuan would blame him for Lin Hu's gambling.

After all, he was the one who had dragged Lin Hu into gambling in the first place...

If that was the case, then should Ji Yuan truly hold it against him, what could someone at Early Qi Refining use to withstand someone at the Middle Qi Refining Stage?

Deng Yunliang recalled the cold look Ji Yuan had given him when he had asked to borrow money last time. It had been as though Ji Yuan were looking at a... dead man.

Deng Yunliang shuddered, his face turning pale with fright.

"No, I can't just sit here and wait for death!"

As a qualified gambler, Deng Yunliang's first reaction was... to gamble!

He lifted a cup of tea, gulped it down, and only then began to ponder carefully.

Ji Yuan was at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, yet he seemed quite wealthy. Even the Spirit Vessel he used was so good. Moreover, Deng Yunliang occasionally heard Green-Yellow Chickens crowing in Ji Yuan's backyard, and lately, it seemed that he had even begun raising Spirit Pigs.

Damn it, even what they shit out was probably better than what I ate!

Just how rich did he have to be?

He had not known until he thought about it. Once he did... Deng Yunliang's heart stirred even more.

If he could take down this neighbor, the windfall would be no small sum. Not to mention that Ji Yuan was an orphan, which made things even better.

Even if he killed him, there would be no future trouble.

Then came the most important question.

How could someone at Early Qi Refining kill someone at the Middle Qi Refining Stage?

And judging from how Ji Yuan had casually named two Spirit Fish in one breath last time, that fellow was definitely someone exceptionally skilled at killing.

Going himself was definitely out of the question. If he went himself, he would simply be courting death.

If he wanted Ji Yuan dead, he could only find others... Fortunately, Deng Yunliang had spent all this time haunting the gambling dens, large and small, of Zengtou City. He truly had gotten to know quite a few friends.

Though they were all friends he had met at the gambling table, only friends like those would dare risk their lives.

If he had met them in respectable places, who would dare do something like this?

So who should he find? It would be best to find two people at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining in one go. Then, when they fought, one of them would have to perish together with Ji Yuan... It would be even better if both of them perished together with Ji Yuan.

That way, he could gain the possessions of three people for nothing.

Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to hold steady and not be killed by Ji Yuan first... Several names gradually surfaced in Deng Yunliang's mind.

After returning home, Ji Yuan promptly forgot about what had happened at the entrance.

His cultivation had broken through and his strength had increased, so naturally, he needed to familiarize himself with his magical artifacts again.

For example, the Blackgold Blade.

When Ji Yuan had been at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, using it had not exactly been strenuous, but it had always consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy. Now, however, things were different.

He could control the Blackgold Blade however he wished.

Especially after Ji Yuan had learned talisman drawing, his control over magical artifacts had become even more precise.

Ji Yuan then cultivated at home for another two days. Though he did not go out during those two days, he occasionally heard Lin Hu leaving early and returning late.

He said he had stopped gambling. It seemed that kid had really stopped.

As for Deng Yunliang, outsiders seemed to have visited his home over the past few days. Ji Yuan sensed two unfamiliar auras coming and going, but since they did not interfere with him, he paid them no mind.

It was not until the third day that he prepared to go out and buy several Half-Spirit Fish and Green-Yellow Chickens, as well as replenish some Talisman Paper and Talisman Ink.

As he stepped outside and turned to lock the courtyard gate, Ji Yuan suddenly sensed that something was wrong!

A black gleam flashed out from his Storage Bag, expanded against the wind, and hovered behind him.

"Clang—"

After a crisp clash of metal, the Blackgold Blade was actually forced back by the tremendous impact and pressed against Ji Yuan's back. The force was immense; had it been an ordinary cultivator, this single blow would likely have left hidden injuries in all five viscera and six bowels.

Unfortunately, Ji Yuan had tempered his body!

He rolled into the courtyard with the momentum and even shut the gate behind him.

"Not good!"

A startled cry came from outside the courtyard. Immediately afterward, a water arrow shot over, instantly reducing the wooden gate to splinters.

"Fuck your mother!"

Spiritual energy surged wildly around Ji Yuan. Four Water Shields instantly appeared and hovered around him as he leaped onto the wall.

With a single glance, he saw exactly what was happening.

Two middle-aged men, drenched from head to toe, stood by the shore. One wore black, the other a gray robe. Both radiated the aura of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, their expressions exceptionally fierce.

Above the black-clad man's head floated a magical artifact, which was unmistakably a Bronze Nail the size of an arm.

Clearly, that thing had been what ambushed Ji Yuan just now.

Had his reaction been any slower, he might have been a corpse lying on the ground by now.

Besides them, Deng Yunliang stood at the gate of his own courtyard, clutching a Water Arrow Talisman in each hand. His gaze toward Ji Yuan was filled with panic.

Seeing this scene, Ji Yuan immediately understood what had happened.

A gambler... had gambled!

Deng Yunliang truly lived up to the name of gambler. Despite being only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, he had dared hire two cultivators at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining to assassinate him.

No sooner said than done.

Ji Yuan had only just set foot atop the courtyard wall when he activated the Blackgold Blade.

"Go—"

With a quiet shout, the short blade vanished instantly, slashing straight toward the black-clad man with the magical artifact. At the same time, he pointed both hands at Deng Yunliang.

Water Drop Finger!

Two spiritual gleams shot forth. Without another word, Deng Yunliang threw out the two Water Arrow Talismans in his hands.

They collided, and the sounds of metal and water droplets exploding rang out together.

Along with them came a muffled groan.

The gray-robed man, who had not moved at all until then, suddenly convulsed. Then his body toppled stiffly over, becoming a corpse.

His eyes were wide open, unwilling to close even in death.

The black-clad man turned to look at him, seemingly unable to believe it. He turned back around. "You..."

Before he could finish speaking, a faint red gleam appeared before his eyes. Instinctively, he recalled his magical artifact.

Standing atop the wall, Ji Yuan pointed again.

The Water Drop Finger knocked the Bronze Nail away.

The Deathbringer Needle shot in instantly, piercing through his glabella and passing through his body.

"Bang—"

The corpse fell backward into the waters of Cloud-Rain Marsh.

The two men had hidden in Cloud-Rain Marsh earlier, which was why Ji Yuan had not detected them in the slightest. Now, it was fitting that they died in Cloud-Rain Marsh as well.

Having killed the two ambushers in one stroke, Ji Yuan felt little about it.

For one thing, their cultivation realms had been lower than his. For another, they were all showy forms without substance, possessing cultivation but having no idea how to fight with spells.

Take that exchange just now. Ji Yuan had feinted at the black-clad man and Deng Yunliang, while the Deathbringer Needle had actually targeted the man in the middle. Yet that man had not even formed a few Water Shields.

They were likely gambling ghosts Deng Yunliang had found in gambling dens.

Forget spell combat—they had only been thinking about getting rich.

Ji Yuan jumped down from the wall. Nearby, Deng Yunliang's legs had already gone limp, and he had collapsed to his knees.

When he saw Ji Yuan look his way, he began kowtowing like a pounding garlic mortar.

"Ji... Senior Ji, Brother Ji, spare me, Brother Ji."

Ji Yuan was kind-hearted and could not bear to watch others weep and snot uncontrollably, so he used a Water Drop Finger to end Deng Yunliang's suffering.

When it came to those who sought to harm him, Ji Yuan had only two choices.

Either be killed by them, or... kill them.

After gathering the nearly nonexistent wealth of the three gambling ghosts, Ji Yuan used three drops of Corpse-Melting Water to erase the traces. At the end, he looked around before walking to Lin Hu's door and knocking.

There was no response. Presumably, even Wu Qin had gone out on the boat with him.