"What should we do with this piece of trash, then?" The elder with the thick right arm glanced at Li Erpang, who was slumped on the ground.
Elder Big Head frowned, clearly disgusted by Li Erpang's "peculiar tastes."
"Trash like him is no use to us alive."
Li Erpang trembled all over when he heard their conversation. He hurriedly crawled over and fell to his knees, pleading:
"My lords, spare me! I can help you find Toji! I know where he is! I can take you to him!"
Elder Big Head sneered, his voice tinged with mockery:
"I already know where he is. Why would I need you to lead the way?"
A flicker of despair passed through Li Erpang's eyes when he heard this. He knew his life was forfeit, but he still had so much money, so much wealth, and he hadn't had time to enjoy it.
He didn't want to die yet.
His voice thick with tears, he begged for mercy and started to move closer:
"My lord, I... I really do want to help you. Please, spare me..."
Before he could finish, the elder with the thick right arm saw him approaching and immediately raised his hand. His right arm stretched several meters, and his fist, carrying powerful Soul Power, slammed into Li Erpang's head.
With a bang, Li Erpang's head burst apart, sending blood and brains flying. Pale matter splattered across the entire floor, leaving an utterly gruesome sight.
Li Erpang's body twitched a few times before collapsing to the ground, motionless.
The two elders looked at Li Erpang's corpse, their eyes full of disgust.
"Second Brother, even you thought he was disgusting. What exactly did he do?"
Seeing his curiosity, Elder Big Head couldn't help asking:
"Do you really want to hear it?"
"Forget it. Judging by the look on your face, that bastard must have done something disgusting." The elder with the thick right arm shook his head repeatedly. "Second Brother, give me back that bottle of water you haven't finished."
"What's wrong? Do you need to wash your hands too?"
"Yeah."
The two elders left, cursing as they went, leaving a bloody mess and Li Erpang's corpse behind.
Soon afterward, someone came to Li Erpang's estate and knocked on the door.
But after waiting a long time, he received no answer.
Puzzled, he then caught a strong smell of blood coming from inside.
"Did something happen in there?"
He had come here on an assignment from Liang Wu.
Seeing that something had happened to Li Erpang, he took it upon himself to push open the door and enter. There, he saw that no one in the estate was still alive.
Corpses lay everywhere; even the servants hadn't been spared.
"Who did that disgusting gay bastard Li Erpang offend?"
When he entered the hall, he saw Li Erpang's headless corpse. Blood covered the entire floor, making for an utterly gruesome sight.
The sight turned his face deathly pale, draining it of all color, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He scrambled out of the house and ran straight back toward the Soul Fighting Arena.
Meanwhile, inside the Soul Fighting Arena, Liang Wu had already arranged the details of the "Hongmen Banquet."
He had made special preparations in a VIP private room at the Soul Fighting Arena, arranging a "special" banquet. Supposedly, it was for Toji and Li Erpang to meet, but in reality, it was meant to lure Li Erpang into the trap.
"My lord, everything is ready," Liang Wu said respectfully to Toji. "Knowing his character, he'll definitely come."
Toji nodded and was just about to say something when he saw someone rush up to Liang Wu in a panic.
The man's face was pale, and his breathing was ragged. A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, no less, yet he had been scared out of his wits.
"Boss... Boss Liang... something terrible has happened!"
"What is it? Take your time," Liang Wu said, frowning.
"That damned gay bastard Li Erpang is dead!" The subordinate hurriedly told him everything he had seen after entering the estate. "There wasn't a single person alive. It looked like a revenge killing. Li Erpang must have offended someone ruthless."
Liang Wu's expression turned strange, and he couldn't help looking at Toji.
There was a ruthless man standing right in front of him.
If Toji hadn't been with him the whole time, he would have suspected Toji had unleashed his might. But Toji shouldn't have been that strong.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to use a stratagem.
"Stop looking at me. It wasn't me." Toji pressed on, "Could you make out any clues?"
The subordinate stammered, "I-I don't know. I didn't take a close look. I just saw that Li Erpang was dead, his head was gone, and everything inside it had come out. I've never seen anything that disgusting in my life. I nearly threw up."
Liang Wu and Toji exchanged a look.
Toji said, "Come on, let's go take a look at his house. We might find something."
Liang Wu quickly understood what he meant:
"Take over his assets? I like it. The Soul Fighting Arena hasn't had much income lately anyway."
Toji also called Uncle Zhang, and the three of them went together to Li Erpang's estate to investigate.
The three soon arrived outside Li Erpang's estate.
They could smell the pungent stench of blood from a distance.
Father Zhang frowned. "It looks like things are bad inside."
"Let's go in and take a look." Liang Wu stepped forward first and pushed open the door.
The three then cautiously entered Li Erpang's estate. At the sight before them, they all drew a sharp breath.
The entire estate was in chaos. Corpses lay everywhere, and blood covered the ground. It was an utterly gruesome scene.
"Wh-what happened here?" Father Zhang asked quietly.
Liang Wu shook his head:
"It looks like Li Erpang really did offend someone ruthless."
Toji swept his gaze around the estate, finally settling on Li Erpang's corpse. He walked over, crouched down, and examined it carefully:
"There are no signs of a fight at the scene, which means the killer was stronger than everyone here."
"And Li Erpang didn't even activate his Martial Soul. His expression before death was one of despair, and there's no sign he resisted at all. I'd guess someone with at least a Soul Saint's cultivation came here, and that person also held a very high position. Li Erpang didn't dare resist at all, or even self-destruct."
Liang Wu and Father Zhang exchanged a look, both surprised by Toji's explanation.
"How did you figure that out?" Father Zhang couldn't help asking.
"Simple." Toji stood up and looked around again. "Liang Wu, see where his property is and whether it's been looted."
"Yes, my lord. I'll search..."
Liang Wu understood at once and immediately did as instructed.
Before long, Liang Wu found it.
"My lord, the storeroom is here."
The three passed through the bloody scene at the estate and arrived at Li Erpang's storeroom.
Although the storeroom door was shut tight, Liang Wu knew there had to be plenty of things hidden inside.
After all, Li Erpang had been a nobleman and a businessman, and he had no shortage of money.
Liang Wu activated his Martial Soul and, gripping its blade, split the lock on the storeroom door with one strike. He then stepped forward and gently pushed the door open.
The door creaked as it slowly opened, revealing mountains of wealth inside.
Countless treasures and natural treasures were piled together in the storeroom, giving off an alluring glow.
A dazzling array of precious medicinal herbs, rare metals, and Soul Tools filled the room.
What shocked the three most was that one corner of the storeroom was piled high with thick stacks of gold notes. Each stack was bound with red string and bore the emblems of Heaven Dou City's major banks.
Liang Wu entered the storeroom, casually picked up a stack of gold notes, and flipped through it. The numbers on them made him draw a sharp breath:
"Th-this is at least several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"Count it and see how much there is altogether." Toji glanced at it, then turned to the natural treasures.
There were exquisitely decorated boxes piled up one after another, and Toji couldn't resist opening one for a look.
He discovered that they were all filled with highly nourishing items such as Whale Rubber.
There were both hundred-year-old and thousand-year-old ones.
"There's actually... this much?"
Toji was stunned for a moment, then couldn't keep the joy from showing on his face.
I've struck it rich!