Chapter 598: Crisis Approaches, Taking the Initiative

Fu Manlun has gone mad, acting with complete disregard for consequences, spreading poison, seizing people, and interrogating them everywhere, stirring up a bloody storm.

After obtaining the clue of the two characters "Heavy Talisman," he immediately set off without a moment's rest, rushing toward Chongguang Cheng.

Chongguang Cheng was already deserted, and the final clue eventually fell to the Thousand Faces Hall in Fucheng.

He was also lucky; a certain martial artist who had attended the auction was bragging while drunk and mentioned the matter of the "Heavy Talisman," which was then reported to his ears by an informant of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

Fu Manlun promptly captured the martial artist, killed his relatives, fellow disciples, and Apprentices one by one right in front of him, and finally soaked him in poisonous water, melting him from skin to muscle, bone, and viscera.

In the end, that martial artist was tortured until only his head remained, and in his dying breath, he confessed the precious information.

At the Su Dafu auction, nine Heavy Talismans were sold as the final items, eight of which were bought by people from Fucheng. The host demonstrated the function of the Heavy Talisman on the spot, sending the well-known local Poison Martial Arts practitioner Qiu Dajun to an unknown location.

After hearing this, Fu Manlun slapped his thigh; he knew Qiu Dajun well, as he was a Servant Lineage of Lu Zhigang. It seemed this fellow had been sent into the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop by a Heavy Talisman.

The answer was obvious: the Heavy Talisman was a treasure capable of sending someone thousands of miles away. The Fucheng Thousand Faces Hall had obtained eight of them at the underground auction, and this was the very means by which Kongque Laoliu had broken into the depths of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop.

That settles it!

Since it was known that the Fucheng Thousand Faces Hall had sent people to Chongguang Cheng, it was not difficult to inquire about them.

The informants in Fucheng soon obtained the names of the group of four.

Pavilion Master Chang of the Rare Treasures Pavilion, Hai Li'er of the Thousand Faces Hall, and the two men Pei Li and Zhou You.

Pavilion Master Chang was not in Fucheng; since returning from Chongguang Cheng that day, even the Rare Treasures Pavilion did not know her whereabouts.

The spies of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop poisoned dozens of people in the Rare Treasures Pavilion in succession, but then found it difficult to strike again.

The Rare Treasures Pavilion spared no expense, bringing out massive amounts of anti-poison and detoxifying medicines to fortify the interior and exterior of the pavilion until it was impenetrable.

Furthermore, they truly did not know Pavilion Master Chang's whereabouts; seven or eight people were interrogated to death in succession, yet they could not spit out a single word.

As for the Thousand Faces Hall where Hai Li'er resided, with Kongque Laoliu holding the fort, only a fool would go there to die! One picks the softest persimmon to squeeze; the remaining targets were Pei Li and Zhou You.

Between these two, Pei Li was relatively easier to handle.

Zhou You's wife, Hua Youxing, had a background in the Medicine King Sect and had extensive connections, so the effect of poison on him was greatly diminished.

Consequently, the pressure on the Jingui Martial Arts Hall increased sharply.

One day the well was poisoned and the kitchen maid washing vegetables collapsed and died foaming at the mouth; the next day a plume of yellow smoke drifted over the wall, landing on the group of Apprentices practicing martial arts and poisoning five or six big lads to death.

Even worse, Pei Li woke up one day, got out of bed, and put on his shoes, only to suddenly feel a warning sign and pull back his foot.

It turned out a poison needle was shallowly inserted into the sole of the shoe; stepping on it would certainly have driven it into his flesh, and the poison would have followed his blood flow, killing him in no more than two or three breaths.

It was impossible to guard against!

Upon investigation, the servant who had placed the poison needle had already seen their entire family perish—they had been poisoned to death! The Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop acted without any bottom line; not only did they have spies and informants, but they could also kidnap innocent people and force them to poison others on their behalf.

In just a few short days, the Jingui Martial Arts Hall suffered heavy casualties.

This was no longer a simple threat; it was a vendetta, a retaliation.

Fu Manlun was also blinded by anxiety; to keep the remaining egg, he had to take radical actions to show Du Taiyue.

Since he could do nothing about the Thousand Faces Hall, he deliberately made things difficult for those who helped, like Pei Li.

"This is not good; if Pei Li falls, won't I be next?"

Zhou You thought he could not go on like this; there is no logic in guarding against a thief for a thousand days.

During this time, Pei Li had been tormented to the point of exhaustion; if not for the fact that he was deeply loved by the people, such a large martial arts hall would likely have seen all its Apprentices and Disciples run away, forcing it to close down.

He was also worried about his parents at home; his parents were old, and even unclean food would give them an upset stomach, let alone fierce, man-eating poison.

"Fu Manlun, it is time to send you on your way." That day, Zhou You refused the company of Qi Qingdi and the others, walked out swaggeringly, and went to visit Pei Li's martial arts hall.

When he went out, many people were very surprised to see him.

At such a critical juncture, Zhou You actually dared to go out; was he not afraid of retaliation from the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop?

It was no longer a secret that it was Zhou You and Pei Li who had escorted the people from the Thousand Faces Hall to Chongguang Cheng, obtaining the precious Heavy Talisman, which led to the feat that made Kongque Laoliu famous in one battle.

It was hateful that the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop bullied the weak and feared the strong, not daring to retaliate against Kongque Laoliu, but instead targeting Pei Li and the others.

By this time, the area around the Jingui Martial Arts Hall had become a no-man's-land, and the households within a radius of ten miles had moved away one after another.

Walking on the street, there was no sound of chickens or dogs, not even the chirping of insects or the scurrying of mice; the world was deathly silent.

From this, it was evident that the people of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop had wreaked havoc on this area.

To clear weeds, one must cut the roots; to treat the symptoms, one must first address the root cause!

Zhou You thought that to achieve success in one battle, he must sever the claws of the Ten Thousand Poisons Secret Workshop, and the first to bear the brunt was Fu Manlun.

The biggest problem now was that the enemy was in the light, and he was in the dark.

The methods of Poison Martial Arts were best suited for assassination and sneak attacks; the effect of a smear of poison powder was sometimes more intimidating than a thousand troops.

The opponent was hiding in the shadows, poisoning and seizing people everywhere, yet their specific whereabouts could not be found.

This might be trouble for others, but it was not for Zhou You.

His alias Lu Zhigang had first-hand information, and the date of Fu Manlun's departure had already been notified to him.

The panel was triggered by this, opening a brand-new mission: "Trial Project (Five-Star): Kill Fu Manlun."

The target was clear; a red dot on the map was shining brightly, hiding inside a building in Fucheng.

This building was located within this no-man's-land, near the Jingui Martial Arts Hall.

Zhou You's outing this time was indeed to visit Pei Li, but he could not go empty-handed.

Before visiting, shouldn't he prepare a gift? Other gifts were too light; none were as full of deep affection as Fu Manlun's head.

"Bring the wine, quickly!"

Fu Manlun kicked out, and the corpse of the young girl on the bed, which had already gone cold, fell to the floor with a thud.

Ever since he lost one egg, he had become increasingly moody; even though he was impotent, he still enjoyed torturing young girls to death on the bed, using extremely cruel methods.

He was hiding here and should have been cautious, yet he wantonly enjoyed beauty and strong liquor.

A group of henchmen immediately brought more jars of wine. Someone even fawned, "It's crude outside, and we don't have the Boy-Fed Poison Wine you love to drink; please make do with some bland, thin wine."

"Bah, go and catch people for me to soak in wine, quickly."

Fu Manlun's eyes were filled with ferocity, his eyeballs blood-red, "You were half a beat slow; I will have your lives."

The henchmen's scalps went numb; the ground in the backyard could barely hold any more corpses, and if he kept killing like this, they would have to be stacked onto the roof.

Turning their backs to find a way, they heard Fu Manlun's frantic roar, "Lu Zhigang, this is all your fault; one day, I will make you wish you were dead."

Sigh, Lu Zhigang is riding high and is deeply valued by the Old Ancestor, you had better save your breath! You have already been exiled to atone for your crimes, yet you still think about such nonsense.

All these scenes and events were taken in by Zhou You, and he knew the opportunity had arrived.

(End of chapter)