Madness

Back at home, Deng Yunliang was still somewhat absent-minded. He had never expected Ji Yuan to be such a loyal and sentimental person.

Deng Yunliang had originally seen Ji Yuan living in seclusion and rarely going out, so he had naturally assumed Ji Yuan was a heartless cultivator.

But after seeing him today, he had not expected Ji Yuan to be willing to step in and save Lin Hu.

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

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

After all, he had been the one to drag Lin Hu into gambling...

If Ji Yuan truly held it against him, then as someone at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, what did Deng Yunliang, at Early Qi Refining, have to fend him off with?

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 to die!"

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

He picked up a cup of tea and gulped it down before beginning to consider things carefully.

Ji Yuan was at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, but he seemed very wealthy. Even his Spirit Vessel was of such fine quality. From time to time, Deng Yunliang could hear Green-Yellow Chickens crowing in his backyard, and recently, it seemed that he had even begun raising Spirit Pigs.

Fuck, even what they shit out might be better than what I eat!

Just how rich did he have to be?

He had not realized it 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 anything but small. Not to mention, Ji Yuan was an orphan, which made things even better.

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

Then the most important question arose.

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

And judging from the way Ji Yuan had casually brought up two Spirit Fish last time, that fellow was definitely highly skilled at killing.

There was no way Deng Yunliang could do it himself. Going himself would be seeking death.

If he wanted Ji Yuan dead, he could only find others... Fortunately, Deng Yunliang had spent this period frequenting the large and small Gambling Houses of Zengtou City, and he had indeed made quite a few friends.

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

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

So who should he find? It would be best to hire two people at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining in one go. Then, during the fight, 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 obtain 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 thing... Several names gradually surfaced in Deng Yunliang's mind.

After Ji Yuan returned home, he forgot about what had just happened at the door.

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

For example, this Blackgold Blade.

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

He could control the Blackgold Blade however he wished.

Especially after Ji Yuan had learned to draw talismans, his control over Dharma Tools 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 quit gambling. It seemed that kid really had quit.

As for Deng Yunliang, outsiders seemed to have visited his home these past few days. Ji Yuan sensed two auras coming and going, but since they did not interfere with him, he did not bother with them.

It was not until the third day that he prepared to go out and buy a few Half-Spirit Fish and Green-Yellow Chickens, along with 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 from his Storage Bag, expanding in the wind before hovering behind him.

"Clang—"

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

Unfortunately, Ji Yuan had tempered his body!

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

"Not good!"

A cry of alarm came from outside the courtyard. Immediately afterward, a water arrow shot over, reducing the wooden gate to splinters in an instant.

"Fuck your mother!"

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

With one glance, he saw what was happening.

Two middle-aged men stood by the shore, dripping wet from head to toe. One wore black, the other gray robes. Both exuded the aura of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and their expressions were exceedingly vicious.

Above the black-clothed man's head hovered a Dharma Tool, which was clearly an arm-sized Bronze Nail.

That was obviously what had ambushed Ji Yuan just now.

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

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

Seeing the situation, Ji Yuan immediately understood what had happened.

A gambler... had gambled!

Deng Yunliang truly lived up to the name of gambler. Though he himself was only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, he had dared hire two cultivators at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining to assassinate Ji Yuan.

No sooner said than done.

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

"Go—"

With a soft shout, the short blade vanished in an instant, slashing straight at the black-clothed man with the Dharma Tool. At the same time, he pointed both hands at Deng Yunliang.

Water Drop Finger!

Two streaks of spiritual light 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 at once.

Along with them came a muffled groan.

The gray-robed man, who had remained motionless all this time, suddenly trembled. Then his body toppled stiffly to the ground, becoming a corpse.

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

The black-clothed man turned to look, then turned back in disbelief. "You..."

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

Ji Yuan, standing atop the wall, pointed again.

The Water Drop Finger knocked aside the Bronze Nail.

The Deathbringer Needle instantly pierced in, passing through his body from the center of his brow.

"Bang—"

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

Those two had been hiding in Cloud-Rain Marsh earlier, which was why Ji Yuan had detected nothing at all. Now, good. Let them die in Cloud-Rain Marsh as well.

Having killed the two ambushers in one stroke, Ji Yuan felt nothing much.

For one, their cultivation realms had been lower than his to begin with. For another, they were all empty forms, possessing cultivation but having no idea how to fight with Dharma Techniques.

Take the exchange just now. Ji Yuan had feinted at the black-clothed 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 probably all gambling addicts Deng Yunliang had found at Gambling Houses.

Forget fighting with Dharma Techniques—they had only been thinking about getting rich.

Ji Yuan jumped down from the wall. Deng Yunliang, nearby, had already gone limp at the knees and collapsed to the ground.

When he saw Ji Yuan looking over, he began knocking his head against the ground like a pounding garlic.

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

Ji Yuan was kindhearted and could not bear to see others weeping and sobbing, so he used a Water Drop Finger to end Deng Yunliang's suffering.

When it came to those who wanted 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 addicts, Ji Yuan used three drops of Corpse-Melting Water to erase the traces. At last, he looked around before walking to Lin Hu's door and knocking.

There was no response. It seemed even Wu Qin had gone out on the Spirit Vessel.