Biochemical weapon

Yu Xiaogang also knew that the success of his threat hinged on whether Li Mingzhu cared about Li Mu.

Li Mingzhu's reaction gave Yu Xiaogang a headache. He could not help asking himself why he had not discovered the true relationship between Li Mu and his grandson sooner.

Yu Xiaogang believed only in familial affection bound by blood. He had absolutely no faith in an adoptive relationship like theirs.

Seeing that his words had sent Yu Xiaogang into deep thought, Li Mingzhu pressed his advantage. "Ganzi, do whatever you want to that old man. Anyway, I'm leaving now."

With that, Li Mingzhu turned and left without looking back, his movements crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Before leaving, he paused and sneered over his shoulder at Yu Xiaogang. "Filthy!"

He even made an exaggerated show of pinching his nose, as though afraid of some unimaginably foul stench.

Yu Xiaogang waited until Li Mingzhu's retreating figure had vanished completely from sight before slowly climbing off the ground.

Perhaps Yu Xiaogang had made some progress, because even Li Mingzhu's parting words had failed to crack his composure.

Seeing Yu Xiaogang act as though nothing had happened was rather surprising.

Yu Xiaogang brushed the dust off himself, his gaze resting quietly on the direction in which Li Mingzhu had disappeared.

He was not brainless. Although his earlier threat had partly stemmed from losing control of his emotions, it might also have been an attempt to test the waters.

Only if Li Mingzhu's emotions changed would the threat have any effect.

What left Yu Xiaogang uncertain was that Li Mingzhu seemed not to care at all. Could he really be heartless and faithless to such an extent?

"Sigh!"

Yu Xiaogang exhaled, as though trying to vent all the frustration he had accumulated lately.

Li Mingzhu, who responded to neither persuasion nor force and had no bottom line whatsoever, left him utterly helpless.

"Hmph! Once I return to the sect, none of this will be up to you anymore," Yu Xiaogang muttered in the direction Li Mingzhu had taken.

A while later, Yu Xiaogang left, and Li Mingzhu's figure slowly emerged in the clearing.

"Yu Xiaogang really won't let go of his crooked schemes!" Li Mingzhu remarked, one hand cupping his jaw as his fingertips lightly rubbed his chin.

Li Mingzhu had only pretended to leave earlier. He had secretly used his domain ability to return and see how Yu Xiaogang would behave.

Judging by Yu Xiaogang's behavior just now, Grandpa Mu was safe for the time being. What would happen later, however, was hard to say.

"Looks like I need to find a way to throw his plans into disarray," Li Mingzhu said with a deep frown.

That afternoon, Li Mingzhu returned to the familiar shop.

At the time, six or seven people were scattered around inside.

The moment Li Mingzhu entered, the shopkeeper behind the counter recognized him.

The shopkeeper was quite curious about Li Mingzhu's visit. His shop was hardly a respectable establishment, and he certainly had not forgotten the pieces of whale rubber this little fellow had bought a while ago.

Whatever his curiosity, the shopkeeper still hurried over to greet him. After all, Li Mingzhu had earned him quite a tidy profit.

"Long time no see, little friend! What do you need this time? I'll give you a little discount!" the shopkeeper said, sticking out his large belly and rubbing his hands together.

Li Mingzhu felt no goodwill toward the enthusiastic shopkeeper before him. He had not forgotten how, for the first time in this other world, someone had taken him for gay!

His tone was stiff. "Give me a piece of whale rubber from a very old whale. I want the strongest effect."

The shop was not large, and the moment he said that, every other customer inside practically wished they could lean their ears closer.

Li Mingzhu's mouth twitched at their reactions.

Sure enough, wherever one went, listening to gossip was human nature.

Li Mingzhu could not be bothered with their reactions and stared straight at the shopkeeper.

"Do you have any or not? If you don't, I'll go somewhere else!"

His stare made the shopkeeper's skin crawl. Just a moment earlier, he had been wondering whether the previous whale rubber had already been used up.

The shopkeeper happened to remember that the treasure passed down from his grandfather seemed to be a piece of old whale rubber! This was the perfect opportunity to sell it to the sucker before him.

"Yes, of course I do. If you can afford the price, dear customer, I'll show you the power of our shop's crown jewel."

"Bring it out and let me see. If the price is right, I'll take it!" Li Mingzhu replied.

Seeing that the shopkeeper did not seem to be putting on an act, Li Mingzhu grew curious too.

"Please wait a moment."

With that, the shopkeeper headed nimbly into the back room, with an agility that seemed at odds with his build.

The back room was really just a storage room. Standing on tiptoe to peer inside, Li Mingzhu saw all sorts of old odds and ends piled throughout the room.

Clatter after clatter rang out as the fat shopkeeper pulled things aside.

The shopkeeper's bent figure shifted back and forth as he rummaged through the clutter.

After a while, the shopkeeper seemed to have found what he wanted, and the noise stopped.

He emerged with a beaming smile, carrying a dark red wooden box.

The wooden box was covered in dust. The shopkeeper raised a hand and brushed off the loose surface dust, slowly revealing streaks of gold along the box.

The layers upon layers of dust on the wooden box made it clear just how long it had been stored away.

The claim that this was the shop's crown jewel certainly had plenty of allure. One by one, the other customers gathered around.

Everyone, Li Mingzhu included, wanted to see what this crown jewel looked like.

Perhaps because there were so many customers in the shop this time, the shopkeeper did not drag things out and opened the wooden box immediately.

"Holy shit, it's toxic!"

In an instant, an indescribable smell wafted out of the box. It spread incredibly fast. Before anyone could react, the entire room was filled with it.

Its foulness was bad enough, but worse still, it stung their eyes. The customers gathered nearby were forced to tears by the fumes.

A few unluckier ones began foaming at the mouth from the pungent odor. One suffered even worse, vomiting until he passed out.

The rest had no choice but to rush out of the shop together, moving so fast they practically cursed their parents for not giving them two extra legs.

Not a single person had reacted in time when the smell burst out. Li Mingzhu had not escaped that disgusting odor either.

If he had to describe it, what Li Mingzhu smelled was a Pro Max version of rotten eggs mixed with rotting fish.

When Li Mingzhu first caught the smell, he would have vomited up everything he had eaten over the past few days if not for his strong self-control.

The odor was so fiercely irritating that it was like a biochemical weapon, viciously assaulting the lining of their nasal passages.

Li Mingzhu reacted quickly, fiercely mobilizing his soul power to form a barrier around himself.

Although his soul power was insufficient and the barrier was thin, it could still block the spreading odor.

Li Mingzhu stared fixedly at the shopkeeper. Seeing the panic on his face left him thoroughly puzzled.

At first, his immediate suspicion was that the shopkeeper wanted to double-cross him. But seeing how miserable the man looked, he slowly lowered his guard.

Having dealt with fishy-smelling goods for years, the shopkeeper had developed a strong tolerance. At least he could still withstand this smell.

Even so, the shopkeeper showed some signs of discomfort. Li Mingzhu alone had already seen him dry-heave several times.

The scene before him left the shopkeeper deeply panicked too. Not only had everyone fled, but one person had also collapsed.

With a face as mournful as though he were attending a funeral, the shopkeeper looked at Li Mingzhu, his expression full of apology!