Chapter 221

Once the plan was decided, they set off under the stars. The five of them walked through the wild mountains and ridges for an entire night, arriving at a dense forest before dawn, where they waited silently for the arrival of night.

Lu Zhongqiu was the grand-nephew of the Tianmu Mountain Sect Master. Once the incident occurred, the investigation by Tianmu Mountain would inevitably be massive. To ensure they were not detected, they had to hide during the day and travel at night.

For an entire day, Liu Xiaolou held spirit stones in his hands, converting true qi and striving to break through the Foot Zu Qiao Yin point. The Foot Zu Qiao Yin point was the last acupoint of the Foot Shaoyang Meridian and also the largest true qi spirit pool of this meridian. Zuo Gaofeng had once imparted his experience to Liu Xiaolou; back then, in order to open this acupoint, he had continuously attacked it for three months, using up as many as five spirit stones!

Liu Xiaolou certainly did not expect to open this vital acupoint in a few days; he simply felt a sense of urgency when he reunited with his few good friends.

Previously, his cultivation base was too far behind, so he didn't think about anything else. Now that he had caught up to a close position and could already see the backs of his friends, the sense of urgency became even more intense.

Everyone was striving forward toward their goals; he absolutely must not be the one holding them back!

It was the time of moonrise again, so they continued their journey. In this manner, by the third night, they finally arrived at Jiashan.

First, they examined the terrain of Wulei Mountain, confirmed the two points where Lu Zhongqiu must pass, and rehearsed the ambush positions and the order of attack at both locations.

After the rehearsal, Zuo Gaofeng frowned: "To take action here, we must plan carefully."

Wei Hongqing also felt it. Although Wulei Mountain was somewhat remote and travelers were rarer, the terrain was too open. The foot of the mountain was relatively flat with sparse trees, which was unfavorable for concealing tracks, and it could easily evolve from an ambush into a forced kill.

It wasn't that he was worried the forced kill would fail. A group consisting of a Qi Refinement Stage 9, Stage 8, Stage 7, and Stage 6, intercepting a Qi Refinement Perfection cultivator by surprise—if they still couldn't kill him, they might as well disband early.

What he was truly worried about was that after evolving into a forced kill, the commotion would be large, the time would be long, and the possibility of being discovered would greatly increase.

They continued to approach the Jiashan market. About five miles away from the market was the designated first ambush point, Guangfu Bridge.

Guangfu Bridge was a stone bridge spanning the old course of the Yuan River. More than a decade ago, the Yuan River changed its course, and the original riverbed turned into a swampy area, so this stone bridge was still in use.

The most ideal ambush point was on the bridge. A few people surrounding him from front and back would allow them to strike at an extremely close distance, maximizing both concealment and surprise.

However, after seeing the site, everyone felt they needed to be prepared for Lu Zhongqiu not crossing the bridge. Because of the winter, this riverbed swamp was clearly lacking water, and dry mud was exposed in many places, so passing directly through the riverbed wouldn't wet one's shoes. And not wanting to wet one's shoes was an important reason for cultivators to choose to cross the river via the bridge—another important reason being to make themselves appear more normal.

The route and ambush points had been inspected. What remained was to do a little groundwork: rob a household to create the illusion of bandits passing through the Jiashan market, covering Lu Zhongqiu's death with a layer of "being robbed on the road," with the goal of preventing Tianmu Mountain from linking this matter to Wei Hongqing.

This household needed to have some wealth but couldn't be too rich or powerful. It had to be easy to rob while also being able to leave evidence. Therefore, the Xie Family Manor located near Guangfu Bridge became the first choice.

That night, three masked thieves kicked open the gate of the Xie Family Manor and immediately incapacitated all thirty-plus members of the Xie household, including Master Xie, who was at Qi Refinement Stage 4, and his son, who was at Stage 2.

When Master Xie was young, he was also someone who mixed in the underworld and often accepted hero invitations, but his cultivation path was too bumpy and full of hardships. Even after passing eighty, he was still at Qi Refinement Stage 4, always unable to break through that barrier between the early and mid-stages of Qi Refinement.

One day, after Master Xie figured things out, he washed his hands of the underworld, built a manor here, stopped struggling for the slim hope of longevity, and decided to enjoy the rest of his life.

A Qi Refinement Stage 4 cultivator, if he gave up on advancing on the cultivation path and decided to enjoy his old age, could usually still manage it as long as he clung to good connections. Thus, the Xie Family Manor had a somewhat flourishing appearance; he not only married six wives and concubines but also had a bunch of sons, which could be considered a happy old age.

It's a pity that flowers don't bloom for a hundred days; tonight, he would have to part with his wealth.

Wei Hongqing and Liu Xiaolou were currently or had previously mixed in high-status righteous sects, so for safety's sake, it was inconvenient for them to show their faces. Therefore, those who took action were Zuo Gaofeng, Tan Bazhang, and Fang Bu'ai. To heighten the atmosphere and leave evidence, everything was communicated between Fang Bu'ai and Master Xie. The young man used the style of the Row Sect to threaten Master Xie, with an accent closer to Lingnan in his Xiangnan tone, forcing Master Xie to hand over spirit stones.

In this day and age, which loose cultivator dares to hoard spirit stones?

Such a small household of loose cultivators naturally had no spirit stones in their treasury. Any spirit stones that could be earned were used by Master Xie to cultivate his precious son. So, unsurprisingly, Zuo Gaofeng and the others only found gold, silver, and valuables, which added up to about five hundred taels of silver.

Everyone knew the Xie family must still have hidden silver kilns and couldn't possibly have only five hundred taels of assets. But this trip wasn't for this bit of silver. After sweeping the silver away, the few, in order to "vent their anger," kicked over the tables and chairs in the main hall, set fire to a jujube tree outside the courtyard when leaving, and strode away.

With such a case as a foundation, when Tianmu Mountain investigates the case in the future, they will likely link it to the Xie family's affair.

Soon, the news that the Xie family had been robbed by a group of strongmen spread. For a time, the wealthy families near Jiashan were all in danger, busy burying their gold, silver, and valuable items in the ground, which goes without saying.

Just speaking of this moment, Lu Zhongqiu was already on his way back. This trip was no different from the past few years; he had handled things smoothly and efficiently. The most core spirit materials for brewing Bamboo Leaf Green had all been purchased and placed in his storage bag: thirty purple bamboo shoots, fifteen catties of ghost-skirt bamboo fungus, and eight taels of jade bamboo flowers, costing a total of forty-five spirit stones.

This expenditure was cheaper compared to previous years, so he still had fifteen spirit stones left. He had already decided that he would keep ten spirit stones for himself, and the remaining five would be turned into the public account, which could also earn him a performance review of being capable of handling affairs.

In this way, his accumulated private property could reach two hundred spirit stones. Then, he would plead with his grand-uncle, Sect Master Lu, to use these two hundred spirit stones to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill refined by the sect, striving to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. By then, marrying Lu Yanshi wouldn't lead to people pointing fingers at his spine.

After bitterly pursuing her for many years, and holding leverage, this arrogant woman was finally moved by his sincerity and agreed to marry him. Once he thought about how he could be intimate and fly together with Lu Yanshi, the recognized genius of the inner sect who was expected to chase after Lu Yuanlang in the future, he couldn't help but feel his whole body burning with heat.

Amidst the heat, he would occasionally think of the outer sect manager, Wei Hongqing. And whenever he thought of this name, he couldn't help but feel crazy jealousy and anger. Such a good woman, actually pressed under a lowly wild cultivator for five whole years—what was she thinking? After they married, how should he face the gossip of others?

It was truly a great shame and humiliation!

What he was most wary of was Lu Yanshi. Although Lu Yanshi agreed to marry him, she never let him make it public, and was even less willing to share a room with him in advance. Most likely, she was still thinking of the one surnamed Wei in her heart. He must plan a way to drive the one surnamed Wei out of the sect and then make him disappear from the world forever. In this way, after a few years, everyone would slowly forget him, right...

Pondering this problem along the way, Lu Zhongqiu entered the Jiashan market without realizing it.

Yet he didn't stop at any of the inns in the market, but cautiously entered a roadside eatery. Without stopping at all, he walked straight through the hall, turned out of the market, and arrived in front of a manor. He looked up and saw the large jujube tree outside the manor gate, and couldn't help but be stunned.

Was this jujube tree struck by lightning? How did it burn into such a state?

The manor gate was wide open, and Master Xie rushed out, wailing as if he had lost his parents: "Young Master Lu, my young master, you must be the master for my family!"

After entering the gate and offering fragrant tea, Master Xie told the whole story. His delicate sixth concubine also rushed over to accompany him, sitting on Lu Zhongqiu's lap and wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Hearing this, Lu Zhongqiu was burning with rage: "These Xiangnan thieves are so bold, daring to come to Jiashan to cause trouble. Don't they know this is the territory of my Tianmu Mountain? Old Xie, don't worry, I will definitely find a way to investigate this matter for you. Whatever the thieves robbed, I will make them spit it out tenfold!"

He then comforted the sixth concubine: "Alright, beauty, don't cry. Serve me well tonight, and later I will vent this anger for you!"