Chapter 129: The Cicada Senses the Autumn Wind Before It Stirs

Emerging from the Concession, the despondent Liu Yishou carried a small leather suitcase containing the Blood Mass, and was driven by Takov himself to the vicinity of the street where he lived.

As he alighted from the vehicle, Takov once again coldly instructed:

"Liu Yishou, remember, this bottle of Blood Mass in the case is ten times more precious than gold; remanufacturing it would cost a tremendous price, so tomorrow's operation must succeed and cannot fail, otherwise the consequences are something you absolutely cannot bear, do you understand?"

Liu Yishou's face turned pale, and he was as silent as a cicada in winter: "I, I understand."

Takov waved a hand: "Go, I await your good news!"

Liu Yishou got out of the car in a daze, and like a walking corpse, he walked through the streets back to his dilapidated residence.

Originally, as a famous chef in Jinjin, he had been a man of great wealth, living in a spacious three-courtyard house in the inner city.

However, his family had an unfilial son who indulged in drinking, gambling, and opium, and within a few years, he had squandered most of the vast family fortune he had saved, even borrowing many usurious loans; with creditors coming to the door to collect debts, his family had no choice but to move to this somewhat shabby, ordinary small house.

Because he had lost his wife early in life and had never remarried, now that his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson had all been abducted, he was the only one left in the entire house.

He returned to the cold and desolate room.

Liu Yishou sat dejectedly on a chair, then opened the small suitcase he had brought back, staring blankly at the sealed glass bottle inside.

He did not know if the contents of this bottle were truly as formidable as Takov claimed, capable of poisoning a figure who was like a descending Martial Song Star.

Now he only worried whether, after he did as Takov said, the other party would keep their promise and spare his family.

After all, the strength of the two sides was not proportional; he had no room to bargain at all and could only hope that the other party would keep their word.

This was completely no different from gambling; if he bet correctly, his family could be safe and sound and even start a new life, but if he bet wrong, it would be the miserable end of his entire family dying out with no survivors.

And now, he had no choice but to gamble.

Working for foreigners to harm his own compatriots—this was a typical traitor; in the past, after drinking two cups, Liu Yishou had also liked to point out the faults of the world and denounce the foreigners, yet he never imagined that one day he would become an accomplice to them.

And just as his mind was in chaos.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door to his room was kicked open, and then several tall, cold figures carrying a gust of wind stepped inside.

The leader, an old man with a hooked nose who was dressed in plain clothes but possessed great majesty, cast his gaze over and said from a position of superiority:

"Liu Yishou?"

Never expecting that his home would be broken into by a group of uninvited guests, Liu Yishou shivered in fear, immediately closed the small suitcase, and then looked at the intruders in extreme terror:

"Who are you?"

The leading old man with the hooked nose was naturally Mankeduo, the Great Governor of the Niangan Office, who had led elite experts to return to Jinjin after making full preparations.

At this moment, he also immediately noticed the suitcase in the other party's hand, and then his eyes narrowed:

"This thing, did the Sha'e People give it to you?"

Having his most hidden secret exposed in a single word, Liu Yishou's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his voice trembled as he said:

"You, how do you know, who exactly are you people?"

Mankeduo smiled coldly:

"Do you know of the Niangan Office?"

The Niangan Office!?

Liu Yishou's heart shook violently.

As a famous chef, he had served many high-ranking officials and nobles, so he naturally did not lack vision or knowledge, and he had long heard of the great reputation of the Niangan Office.

The Niangan Office was a secret service agency directly under the Great Jin Dynasty palace, the sharpest blade in the hands of the Empress Dowager Xici; it was filled entirely with the elite of the elite, far surpassing the Jingwu Bureau.

Once the Niangan Office made a move, it would inevitably stir up a storm of blood; over these years, countless hidden anti-government partisans, giant bandits, and even those who violated the law with martial arts had been captured and killed, leaving heads rolling and blood flowing like a river. To outsiders, the people within it were synonymous with power, gloom, and terror.

Then, why had he been sought out by these people?

Could it be that his act of being bought by the Sha'e People to become a traitor had been exposed so quickly!?

Forcing down the fear in his heart, Liu Yishou was scared out of his wits and hurriedly knelt down:

"Commoner, this commoner knows of the Niangan Office; my lords, please do not misunderstand, this thing was forced upon me by the Sha'e People, I haven't done anything!"

Mankeduo's gaze was like a knife, carrying a playful tone:

"What did the Sha'e People give you, and what did they ask you to do? Speak honestly and truthfully; if you dare to conceal anything, this old man will take you to the prison and let you taste the methods of our Niangan Office!"

Half a month ago, after preparing to find a way to deal with Lu Yuan, he had immediately gone to the Cangjingdian to retrieve that Five Poisons True Scripture from the Five Poisons Sect after seeking permission from Xici.

The Five Poisons Sect was a famous evil sect from a thousand years ago; when this sect was founded, the Jing Dynasty had not even been born, and it was still the world of the Gan Dynasty.

At that time, it was the end of the Gan Dynasty, and the world was divided among heroes, with smoke and fire rising everywhere and chaos reigning; the then-unknown Five Poisons Sect bet on a rebel army, fighting and slaughtering everywhere, and its Gate Master used a large number of captives to test various virulent poisons, leaving no grass growing and causing great suffering to the people wherever they passed.

Through unscrupulous slaughter and experimentation, the then-Gate Master of the Five Poisons Sect finally compiled and perfected the Five Poisons True Scripture, which made many forces tremble with fear; it was said that the strongest poison recorded in this scripture could poison a Seventh Realm Grandmaster, and even a Heavenly Dipper Grandmaster would find it difficult to resist, making it famous for a time.

But at the same time, because of the unscrupulous and inhumane slaughter and experiments, the Five Poisons Sect also provoked public anger, causing the surrounding warring forces to turn their spears toward it and come together to attack and suppress it.

Facing the siege of several forces, neither the Five Poisons Sect nor the rebel army it invested in could fight off so many opponents, and before long, they were basically wiped out; the Gate Master and the rebel leader died, and only a few stragglers escaped the disaster.

And among these people were the disciples and grand-disciples of the Five Poisons Sect Gate Master, who took the newly completed Five Poisons True Scripture away.

For many years afterward, the Five Poisons True Scripture and its successors would appear in the martial arts world from time to time, and every appearance would inevitably stir up a storm of blood, causing many experts and strongmen to lose their lives.

It was not until later, when the Jin Dynasty took over the country and destroyed the mountains and temples, that after several changes of hands, this poison scripture fell into the hands of the Great Jin Dynasty court, and then it was shelved by the rulers and stored in the Cangjingdian, with no one allowed to read it without permission.

And the reason why generations of the Jin Dynasty valued it so much and did not open it was very simple: the Five Poisons True Scripture recorded many strange and insidious poisons; some left no signs or reactions when poisoned, but the victim would suddenly die three days later.

Some poisons would not cause any damage to the body when taken directly, but once the victim drank water, alcohol, or ate other specific foods, they would immediately form a combination poison in the body, leading to death or disability.

The most virulent ones were those that even top-tier Grandmaster-level experts could not resist.

Such a strange poison scripture was obviously a double-edged sword, capable of hurting others as well as oneself; it was only because the target of this operation was extraordinary that it was being used, otherwise it would not be easily activated on ordinary days.

And while activating the Five Poisons True Scripture, Mankeduo also sent elites from the Niangan Office to Jinjin in advance to investigate, and they also locked onto Liu Yishou, who specifically cooked for Lu Yuan, as their target.

As a result, in this process, they discovered that the Sha'e People seemed to have already approached Liu Yishou in advance, which led to the current scene.

Facing Mankeduo's cold interrogation.

Liu Yishou shivered and immediately confessed everything:

"I'll say it, I'll say it, returning to the lord, it is like this: just a few days ago"

As he spoke, he stumbled through his account of how the Sha'e People had set their sights on him, how they had abducted his son and grandson, and the process by which they had coerced and tempted him.

After listening.

Mankeduo immediately wore a sneer; with a wave of his sleeve, the leather case Liu Yishou had brought back was opened, revealing that vial of Blood Mass:

"Interesting, interesting. These barbarians actually have the same plan as this old man; I never expected them to have such a strange poison capable of dealing with a Seventh Realm Grandmaster."

Beside him, an old man dressed in cloth robes with messy hair and the temperament of an ascetic stepped forward, his gaze appraising the items:

"Changshengtian above, Governor Mankeduo, wouldn't the preparations we have made go to waste this way?"

This person, with a weathered face and an aura as deep as the ocean abyss, was Lugu Ta, one of the three python-robed Great Shamans of Shamanism, and a Grandmaster-level powerhouse who had also stepped into the True Martial Realm.

Mankeduo pondered slightly, then laughed grimly:

"Elder Lugu, that is where you are wrong. We spent so much effort to concoct this 'Meteor Dragon', how could we let it go to waste? I think it would be better to add it to what these barbarians have prepared and let that Lu Yuan have a good taste of it."

'Meteor Dragon' is one of the most extraordinary poisons in the Five Poisons True Scripture. An ordinary person who consumes it will suffer no ill effects, but once someone who possesses Qi consumes it, a violent reaction will occur within moments, causing terrifying damage to the internal organs and heart meridians, leading to death or disability.

To concoct this poison, the several pharmacists under his command had spent a vast amount of time, energy, and rare medicinal materials, and it was only with great difficulty that they had finally succeeded in their trials, so naturally, he could not return empty-handed.

Lugu Ta frowned slightly:

"With two strange poisons combined, that Lu Yuan will likely die on the spot; wouldn't that make it impossible to perfectly fulfill the Old Buddha's decree?"

Mankeduo, however, mused:

"This person's background is a mystery, and his cultivation and strength at this age are unprecedented; he is truly no ordinary person and cannot be judged by common logic. This old man always feels that using either the Blood Mass prepared by the Sha'e People or the 'Meteor Dragon' alone is not safe enough."

Lugu Ta nodded slightly:

"Governor Mankeduo's concerns are also reasonable, but to prevent this person from returning to the West immediately, it would be better to reduce the dosage of 'Meteor Dragon' appropriately."

Mankeduo nodded: "Good, we shall do as Elder Lugu says."

As the two exchanged words, Liu Yishou had already understood something, and his lips trembled as he said:

"Two lords, what are you doing?"

Mankeduo smiled eerily:

"That's right, just as you heard. This old man will not stop you from doing what the Sha'e People want you to do, but when you carry it out, you need to add one more thing."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to signal, and his subordinates immediately stepped forward to present a wooden box the size of a palm.

After opening it, inside was a small porcelain bottle, which he placed on the table alongside the bottle of Blood Mass.

Mankeduo smiled:

"This medicine is also colorless and odorless; it can be put into wine and dishes without anyone noticing. I want you to add it to that Lu Yuan's meal tomorrow. Do you have any problems?"

Although he did not know why the people from the Niangan Office wanted to take action against Lu Yuan, in this situation, there was clearly no room for him to refuse.

Liu Yishou looked as if his parents had died, his smile uglier than crying:

"No, no problem."

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

Having been threatened by both sides and having reached the point of giving up, Liu Yishou adjusted his mindset and returned to Guangwu Hall early in the morning as if nothing were the matter.

Others had no idea what had happened to him; even though Chen Zhantang had asked with concern, Liu Yishou, having already made up his mind, did not reveal a single thing.

In the morning and at noon, he forced himself to stay calm, and whether it was the medicinal cuisine he made for Lu Yuan or the communal meal he made for the disciples, everything was as usual.

But as evening approached, he became increasingly panicked, unable to sit or stand still.

At this moment, the sun was setting, and exhausted disciples were walking out from the back door of the hall one after another, preparing to eat.

In the kitchen, a clay pot was bubbling and boiling, and the rich aroma of meat and medicinal herbs filled the air, refreshing the heart and spirit.

Liu Yishou looked at the clay pot in front of him, then looked at the other few helpers busy in the kitchen, took a deep breath and said:

"The disciples will be here to eat soon; you go and set the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks. I can handle it here by myself."

The few helpers did not suspect anything, immediately agreed, and all went out to carry tables and set bowls.

After the kitchen was temporarily empty, Liu Yishou, with a nervous look on his face, came to the pot, quickly took out the containers holding the Blood Mass and 'Meteor Dragon' from his bosom, and quickly poured the liquid inside into the pot.

He threw the containers under the stove, then quickly picked up a wooden spoon to stir the clay pot, trembling as he muttered in his heart:

"I'm sorry, Hall Master Lu, please don't blame me."

After stirring for a while, he leaned down and sniffed; feeling that the pot still smelled fragrant with no strange odor, he immediately used a wet cloth to carry the clay pot to the side and shouted outward:

"A Hua, Xiao Li, you two come over and take the medicinal cuisine to Hall Master Lu!"

"Coming!"

The two young helpers busy in the courtyard heard this and immediately walked into the kitchen, then without a word, picked up the clay pot and the bowls and chopsticks, and headed toward the separate courtyard where Lu Yuan resided.

As for Liu Yishou, he hurriedly untied his apron, gave a random excuse to the other helpers that he had an urgent matter, and hurriedly left the hall through the back door.

After all, according to Takov and Mankeduo, the two strange poisons he had used were extremely toxic and would take effect in just a few moments; if he didn't leave quickly before the incident, he certainly wouldn't be able to get away.

Just as Liu Yishou hurried away from the back door, the two kitchen helpers also delivered the medicinal cuisine to Lu Yuan's separate courtyard.

As usual, they pulled the rope bell at the entrance, and only after receiving a response did they enter the courtyard and place the medicinal cuisine on the stone table in the garden pavilion.

However, this time, just as they put down the medicinal cuisine, Lu Yuan, who had walked out of the quiet room, felt his gaze shift slightly, as if he had sensed something.

He came to the pavilion and looked at the steaming, fragrant pot of medicinal cuisine, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the two who had delivered it:

"Besides you two, who else has touched this medicinal cuisine?"

(End of this chapter)