Chapter 183: Muscle-Softening Powder

Deep in the night, inside the side chamber of the dilapidated temple.

Just as everyone was fast asleep, five people suddenly opened their eyes.

Afterwards, the few of them stood up in unison and walked outside.

That man surnamed Zhao saw this and suddenly opened his eyes, casting a glance in the direction the few had left.

After a flash of sharp light, he made no further movements.

Outside the door, the five walked to a corner, exchanged a look, and squatted down; then, one of them whispered, "Boss, you were signaling us inside just now—is there something you wanted to say?"

Hearing this, one of them nodded and said, "That's right. Everyone heard clearly inside just now; if things are truly as the one surnamed Zhao said, then this child is worth far more than the wealthy merchant inside."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other four were shocked.

"Big Brother, do you mean to change the target and make a move on the child outside?"

The leader among them stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "That's right. Since it's a risk either way, why don't we, the Qishan Five Tigers, do something big today? Let's just pull off one major job, retire from the pugilistic world, and live out the rest of our lives in peace."

Hearing the leader's words, the others frowned, and one of them couldn't help but say, "Boss, but the other side has many people, and they are people from the imperial court; I'm afraid it won't be easy to make a move."

After this was said, the others also nodded one after another, echoing their concerns.

"That's right, Big Brother. A quick look shows there are at least eighty or a hundred of them, and they don't look like they lack Martial Arts skills."

"Exactly. In my opinion, it would be better to keep following this wealthy merchant. Although the profit isn't as big as the one in front of us, we can still squeeze out quite a bit of silver, and most importantly, it's much safer than this one."

Hearing his brothers' words, the leader sneered and said, "I have long grown tired of the killing in the pugilistic world. If I didn't have the choice before me this time, I might have continued living in a daze just like before."

"But now it's different; we have a choice."

"How could it be the same as before? Even if we kidnapped this wealthy merchant, how much silver could we demand in the end?"

"At most a few thousand taels. Split among us brothers, it's only a few hundred taels each, which would be spent in a month or two."

"But this kid in front of us is different. With so many people escorting him, he is definitely the son of a high-ranking official in the imperial court. If this job is done, it wouldn't be impossible to demand a hundred thousand or eighty thousand taels of silver. When that time comes, each of us brothers will have tens of thousands of taels; wouldn't it be wonderful to wash our hands of this life completely?"

Hearing their leader's words, these people's eyes lit up.

They, the Qishan Five Tigers, were famous kidnappers in the vicinity. Because they acted with extreme ruthlessness, even if a ransom was paid, they would usually kill the hostage anyway.

Therefore, very few people knew what they looked like.

This time, they had found a new target: the wealthy merchant inside.

Thus, the few of them had also disguised themselves and mingled among that group of people.

Seeing that they were about to make a move in a day or two, they hadn't expected to encounter this situation today.

Now, hearing their Big Brother's words, they were all somewhat moved.

Although most of these five were blinded by greed, there was still one smart one among them.

The second-eldest among them spoke up and asked, "Big Brother, the other side has strength in numbers. Even though we brothers have high Martial Arts, we are no match for so many people. I wonder if Big Brother has a good plan?"

Hearing the second brother's words, the others immediately came to their senses.

No matter what, Zhu Gaoxu had a hundred people on his side; how could the five of them easily deal with that?

The leader clearly had been prepared; hearing his brother ask, he immediately pulled a package from his bosom.

The packaging was wrapped in yellow oil paper.

After opening it, it was a white powder.

The few were all people of the pugilistic world, and were even known for their underhanded tactics, so they were no strangers to this.

"Muscle-Softening Powder!"

Hearing the low-voiced exclamation of his brothers, the leader nodded and said, "That's right, it is indeed Muscle-Softening Powder. Although this doesn't look like much, it is more than enough to drug these eighty or a hundred people."

"Among us, the third brother has the best Lightness Skill. In a moment, you go to the roof of the Great Hall and, without anyone noticing, sprinkle this Muscle-Softening Powder all over the hall. Once the drug takes effect, we will rush in and capture that kid before anyone can react."

"As long as we capture that kid, the others will be nothing to fear. With that kid as a hostage, I imagine the others won't dare to make a move against us."

Hearing their Big Brother's words, everyone's eyes lit up.

They all nodded in admiration of their Big Brother's resourcefulness.

Seeing his brothers' trust in him, the leader felt a moment of pride.

With everything said, the leader re-wrapped the yellow paper and handed it to the third brother.

Seeing this, the third brother nodded, leaped out of the temple in a few bounds, and then disappeared completely.

The others held their breath, found a place out of sight to hide, and kept their eyes on the movements inside the Great Hall.

Yet at this moment, Zhu Gaoxu did not know that danger was approaching.

Having walked for a whole day, he had long since gone to play chess with the Duke of Zhou.