Meng Anzhi was so frightened that she quickly withdrew her hand, her fingertips tracing the needle knife at her feet. A chill ran straight into her heart, and with each stab, her heart grew colder.
"You're going to kill Jin Shanyao?"
"No... we killed Jin Shanyao together to avenge your mother."
Meng Anzhi looked at him pleadingly, "Can't you come back with me? I'm alone... I'm scared."
"No," Fifth Master Dong refused decisively. "That monster is extremely powerful. Only by attacking in secret can we have a chance of winning."
Meng Anzhi took a deep breath, slightly raised her eyelids, and locked her gaze on his eyes and brows. "Did anyone else know you were here?"
"How can my whereabouts be revealed so easily?" Fifth Master Dong's eyes were gloomy. "If word gets out and that monster escapes, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"
Meng Anzhi didn't say anything more and began to tidy up the medicine tools scattered on the ground.
Upon seeing this, Fifth Master Dong was furious. "What are you doing tidying up at a time like this? Hurry up and go home and kill her!"
"If we don't take the medicine kit back, it will arouse suspicion." Meng Anzhi didn't look up, her voice icy.
Fifth Master Dong cursed under his breath and began packing her medicine box. Just as his gaze shifted, a figure flashed before his eyes, and it felt as if a sleeve brushed against his neck.
He instinctively touched his neck, only to feel a warm, viscous liquid gushing out. He opened his palm and saw it was covered in crimson... blood!
Fifth Master Dong looked at Meng Anzhi in disbelief. He saw that she was holding a needle knife in her hand, and there was no trace of cowardice or fear in her eyes. Her eyes were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.
That damned little slut dared to plot against him. He had planned to use her to kill Jin Shanyao and then get rid of her. He never imagined she'd turn out to be so vicious...
If he had known this would happen, he should have gone to find that boy.
Thinking that Meng Anci could still be used, Fifth Master Dong's eyes suddenly flashed with overwhelming killing intent. Without hesitation, he stretched out his hands and grabbed Meng Anzhi's neck tightly, his knuckles tightening inch by inch.
However, as he continued to exert force, a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly shot through his heart, making it difficult for him to breathe.
What's going on? Why does my heart hurt so much...? Recalling the pain in my arm just now, a bad feeling welled up inside me.
"You dared to poison me... I'll kill you, you little poisonous woman..."
He must die... He'd lived most of his life, seen all sorts of treachery and deceit, yet he'd been fooled by a child.
Like father, like son; she's so cunning at such a young age. Why didn't he just kill her right away?
The more Fifth Master Dong thought about it, the more regretful he became, and his eyes grew increasingly vicious. He wanted to send Meng Anzhi to hell.
Kill this one, and there'll be another... Jin Shanyao cherishes them both so much, doesn't she? Then let her taste the pain of losing her treasures.
You meddlesome thing and ruined my magic array.
You interfered and put me in a dangerous situation.
I'll make you wipe me out completely and destroy my physical body.
I asked you for advice, and now I'm a wanted criminal, like a rat with nowhere to hide...
He must die. As long as he lives, he will be irreconcilably opposed to Jin Shanyao.
Meng Anzhi neither dodged nor flinched, but simply watched Fifth Master Dong go mad, letting the air in her chest gradually thin out, the necklace around her neck burning hot, as if golden light was about to shoot out.
Meng Anzhi silently counted in her mind, one, two, three...
A muffled thud...
Niu Dadan, gripping the carrying pole, kicked away Fifth Master Dong with a furious expression. " Doctor Meng, are you alright? What kind of beast dares to..."
His voice suddenly stopped. He saw that Fifth Master Dong was lying on the ground, clutching his chest, his eyes staring blankly at the sky, and he was already lifeless.
He... he... he killed someone... Niu Dadan was so frightened that the carrying pole in his hand... thud... fell to the ground.
The air seemed to freeze. Meng Anzhi was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Niu Dadan to be here, but quickly regained her composure. "Uncle Niu, is he dead?"
Niu Dadan mustered his courage and put his hand under Fifth Master Dong's nose. No breath came out of his fingertips, which startled Dong Wuye so much that he fell to the ground with a thud.
"Meng... he's dead... dead, dead..." Niu Dadan looked at Meng Anzhi in horror.
Meng Anzhi withdrew her gaze from Fifth Master Dong, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips.
He said in a hoarse voice, "Uncle Niu, thank you so much for saving me. If it weren't for you, I would probably be dead here today. Could you accompany me to the government office to report this to the authorities?"
Niu Dadan instinctively wanted to escape, but then he remembered that Meng Anzhi came every month to treat his son's illness. She was such a good person, and he couldn't let her go to jail just because he accidentally killed someone.
He suppressed his overwhelming fear and said in a trembling voice, "Let's go... let's go report to the authorities... a life for a life, even if it means death, he can't let Doctor Meng be harmed."
Niu Dadan helped Meng Anzhi up, and the two stumbled and ran towards the government office.
The alleyway returned to silence.
A wisp of green smoke drifted from Fifth Master Dong's seven orifices, gradually rising into the air and condensing into the shape of Xuanjizi. His soul twisted, glancing maliciously at the alley entrance.
The next moment, his gaze fell on Fifth Master Dong's jade thumb ring, which imprisoned Fifth Master Dong's original soul. Long before the incident, he had set up Shared Life Incantation.
Only when Fifth Master Dong's physical body dies will his soul be separated... Now that Fifth Master Dong is dead, the ghost messengers will arrive soon.
He planned to take advantage of this opportunity to squeeze Fifth Master Dong's soul out of the jade ring, hide inside, and wait for someone to wear the jade ring so that he could slowly squeeze out that person's soul and thus obtain a new body.
Xuanjizi's plan was perfect, with escape routes almost everywhere. Unfortunately, he underestimated Jin Shanyao's strength. The moment he made his move, his soul was bound by a domineering Spiritual Power.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free. The Spiritual Power around him tightened, and a phantom image gradually appeared before his eyes—the image of the Jin Shanyao.
She grabbed Xuanjizi by the throat with one hand, tightening her grip inch by inch under his terrified gaze. Without uttering a word, she crushed his soul to pieces.
If Xuanjizi had confronted him directly, Jin Shanyao would have respected him somewhat, but he shouldn't have harmed the two children.
And Lu Chi even managed to let someone escape right under his nose.
It seems I didn't send enough walnuts...
As the Spiritual Power dissipated, the Xiaoli jumped off the roof and walked to Fifth Master Dong's side. It placed its paw on Fifth Master Dong's jade thumb ring and gently crushed it, releasing Fifth Master Dong's soul.
He stared blankly at his own corpse, his expression shifting from disbelief to agonizing pain. Before he could even groan, the arriving Black and White Impermanence bound him with iron chains and led him to the Underworld.
Inside the Anzhi Hall, Jin Shanyao felt a slight warmth in her abdomen, and her Merit points were much higher than before.
But she felt no joy whatsoever; Xuanjizi even called her a monster in front of Anzhi.
That child is very perceptive; it could take him a long time to figure it out.
Before long, the alley entrance was crowded with onlookers.
When Su Wenqian arrived with his constables, he immediately recognized the deceased as Fifth Master Dong, a wanted criminal by the imperial court.
He had Constable Wang carefully examine the scene, and then summoned the coroner to examine the wounds on Meng Anzhi's neck.
The coroner said to Su Wenqian in a deep voice, "Sir, if we had arrived any later, Miss Meng might not have been able to be saved."
Su Wenqian nodded and asked Constable Wang, "Has anyone seen it nearby?"
"We've visited all the places in this area. They said Doctor Meng is here to provide free medical consultations, but they've never seen Fifth Master Dong before."
Su Wenqian looked at Niu Dadan, whose legs were trembling, and said, "Tell me what you saw."
Niu Dadan's mind went blank, and he stammered, "This morning I went to carry heavy loads, and the employer gave me two meat buns, but I couldn't bear to eat them... I wanted to take them home for my wife and children."
As I passed the alley entrance, I was almost hit by a roof tile... I looked up and it looked like a cat...
"What is all this nonsense?" Constable Wang was about to reprimand him for not getting to the point when Su Wenqian glared at him and shut him up.