Chapter 297: Rooting Out the Grass

Outside Daguanyuan.

On an adjacent street, there stood a dilapidated mansion.

The grounds were overgrown with weeds, covered in cobwebs, and filled with dust everywhere, looking as if it had long been uninhabited.

Yet at this moment, in a side room in the backyard, a light was shining.

Inside the room, several figures were surrounding one person in the middle, observing him while conversing in low voices.

The person sitting in the very center was a middle-aged man with a sharp beak and monkey cheeks, wearing a black robe.

At this time, he had his eyes closed, sitting cross-legged in meditation, motionless.

Beside him were lit candles and sandalwood incense.

Wisps of incense smoke rose and swirled around him, making him appear hazy and quite mysterious.

Standing to the side was a person in a brocade robe, holding a folding fan; it was none other than Wei Xiaohouye, who had wanted to enter Daguanyuan during the day.

To his left stood a long-bearded middle-aged man, who was sneering: "Xiaohouye, rest assured. There are few in this Lin'an City who practice Soul Refining. That brat would never dream that a soul would sneak inside, and the young ladies and maids in the garden certainly wouldn't suspect it either. Even if Yao San's soul drifted right before their eyes, they wouldn't be able to see it..."

Another attendant nearby chuckled and said with an envious face: "It's a pity that none of us are cut out for practicing soul techniques. Brother San's skill is truly unfathomable; it's just like an invisibility technique. Even if he went in and finished peeking at the young ladies and maids in the garden, or lay down to sleep with them, no one would ever discover him."

The other attendants also discussed it with faces full of envy.

Wei Xiaohouye shook his folding fan and said: "It's not that simple. I heard Yao San say that this skill can only deal with ordinary people. If he encounters a martial artist or someone with vigorous blood and Qi, he wouldn't dare to get close. Of course, dealing with those weak women in Daguanyuan is naturally more than enough."

Just as he finished speaking, Yao San, who was sitting in the middle with his eyes closed in meditation, suddenly shuddered and opened his eyes.

The sandalwood smoke swirling around him also suddenly dissipated.

The group was delighted to see this, thinking his soul had returned.

Wei Xiaohouye hurriedly closed his folding fan and asked impatiently: "Yao San, how is the situation? Did you succeed in casting the Illusion Dream Technique?"

Yao San sat in place with his eyes wide open, yet he remained motionless and didn't utter a sound.

The group immediately became suspicious and uneasy.

The long-bearded attendant to the side said: "Quiet first. Perhaps he just cast the Illusion Dream Technique and exhausted too much Soul Power; now that his soul has just returned to his body, he needs to rest for a while."

The group dared not speak and waited patiently.

But after waiting for a long time, Yao San still sat in place motionless, without any reaction.

At this moment, the long-bearded attendant also realized something was wrong and immediately called out: "Brother Yao? Have you returned?"

Wei Xiaohouye's expression turned grave; he immediately stepped closer, extended the folding fan in his hand, and tapped his shoulder lightly, saying: "Yao San?"

Who would have thought that at this very moment, Yao San suddenly opened his mouth to shriek and lunged at him with an "Ah!"

Wei Xiaohouye was terrified and hurriedly dodged to the side.

After missing his lunge, Yao San fell flat on the ground in a sorry state, then suddenly opened his mouth and burst into loud laughter. As he laughed, his body twitched, and a moment later, his body stiffened and went still.

Everyone was terrified and looked at each other in dismay.

Wei Xiaohouye's face was ugly, still shaken, and he said: "What is going on with Yao San?"

The long-bearded attendant immediately stepped forward cautiously and flipped Yao San over, discovering that his face was pale, his eyes were wide open, his pupils were dilated, and he was no longer breathing.

At the same time, his entire body had actually turned ice-cold.

He was greatly shocked and said with a trembling voice: "Yao San... he is dead..."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Dead?

The long-bearded attendant's face turned white. After checking carefully once more, he raised his head and said: "Xiaohouye, Yao San's soul might not have returned. I fear that..."

Wei Xiaohouye's face was extremely gloomy, and he said in disbelief: "In that Daguanyuan, there is actually an expert capable of seeing souls!"

The long-bearded attendant reacted immediately, stood up in a panic, and said: "Xiaohouye, this is no place to stay for long. We must quickly..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly discovered that the heads of the two attendants standing behind Wei Xiaohouye tilted, and they actually fell right off their necks!

"Xiaohouye! Watch out!"

The long-bearded attendant screamed in terror and hurriedly threw a punch behind Wei Xiaohouye.

Another thin attendant, who was a Martial Artist Fifth Realm, also immediately turned around and threw a punch.

"Bang!"

However, both of them hit nothing.

"Boom!"

With an explosive sound, the window to the side suddenly shattered. A massive fist appeared abruptly and smashed into the head of the Martial Artist Fifth Realm attendant, directly shattering his brain and killing him instantly!

A figure appeared before the three remaining people in the room.

He was wearing a Confucian robe, had a tall stature, a handsome appearance, and a graceful demeanor; it was none other than the Matrilocal Son-in-law of the Bai Family seen during the day!

"It's you! You actually..."

The long-bearded attendant's eyes widened, but before he could finish speaking, Luo Zijun's second punch had already smashed toward him.

"Xiaohouye! Run!"

The long-bearded attendant turned to flee almost without any hesitation.

To destroy a soul, kill a Martial Artist Fifth Realm expert with one punch, and take a man's head silently—how could he dare to fight such a terrifying figure? "Swish!"

Just as he was preparing to leap out the window, a cold glint suddenly sealed the window.

Although he did not see clearly what it was, he immediately felt a terrifying aura of danger strike his heart. He hurriedly stopped his momentum, and just as he was about to dodge to the right, a roar suddenly entered his ears.

That roar went straight into his mind, straight into his soul, causing his body to shudder and freeze in place.

Although it was only for a brief second, the fist carrying terrifying power behind him had already smashed heavily into his back.

"Crack!"

The long-bearded attendant's back instantly caved in, and then, that fist actually pierced straight through his back and emerged from his chest.

"Ah—"

With a scream, the long-bearded attendant's vision went black, and he died on the spot.

At the same time.

Wei Xiaohouye had already fled out the door with the remaining attendant.

However, just as the two of them escaped to the small courtyard, a Flying Sword as black as ink suddenly appeared, instantly severing the attendant's head and blocking Wei Xiaohouye's path.

"Young Master Luo, spare my life..."

Wei Xiaohouye was terrified out of his wits and immediately fell to his knees with a "thud," begging for mercy.

Both martial arts experts had been killed in an instant; at this moment, he naturally knew that he definitely could not escape, so he could only kneel and beg.

"It is my fault, I was wrong. I swear, I will never go to Daguanyuan again, and I will never step foot on this street again..."

"If I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning!"

He kowtowed with loud thuds while making his vow.

Luo Zijun flicked his sleeve, retracted the Flying Sword, and looked at him, saying, "You might not know this, but I love making oaths the most. Therefore, I really dislike it when others make them."

Wei Xiaohouye hurriedly added, "Young Master Luo, we have no grudges between us. If you let me go tonight, I will never speak of this, and I will never cause you trouble again. You should also know that I am the son of the Marquis of Weiyang. My father currently manages the grain for all of Daliang and is highly regarded by the Queen. If you kill me, he will certainly do everything in his power to find the murderer. By then, even if you are a member of the Bai Family, you will..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish, Luo Zijun had already struck him with a punch, causing his head to burst open instantly, killing him on the spot.

"I only believe that dead men tell no tales..."

Luo Zijun extinguished the souls of the few, searched them, found a Storage Bag on the long-bearded attendant, and then took out the Corpse Dissolving Water given to him by his senior sister and dripped it onto their bodies.

In a moment, the corpses of the few had all turned into a pool of pus.

"Whoosh!"

He used the Liehuo Finger to ignite the pus, and in an instant, all traces were burned clean.

As for the signs of fighting in the room, they naturally had to be eliminated as well.

He lit a fire directly, setting the entire house ablaze, and the flames soon swallowed the entire wing room.

In any case, no one lived here.

After doing all this, he left.

Returning to Daguanyuan, he took a bath by the rockery and flowing water, letting the running water wash away all the bloodstains and odors, before he returned to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Inside Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Bai Qingtong was hugging her sword, leaning against a pillar in the corridor, lost in thought.

At this moment, she suddenly heard a sound, immediately stood up straight, gripped her sword hilt, and looked sharply toward the path outside the garden.

A familiar figure appeared.

When Luo Zijun entered from the doorway, she was stunned for a moment, widened her eyes, glanced at the window behind her, and then looked at him, saying, "Brother-in-law, weren't you cultivating in the room? When did you go out?"

At this moment, she suddenly saw firelight rising outside Daguanyuan, illuminating half the night sky.

Luo Zijun said, "While you were daydreaming, I went out and killed a few people."

"Ah?"

Bai Qingtong was full of astonishment: "Killed whom?"

Luo Zijun did not hide it from her, nor was there any need to, and said, "The son of the Marquis of Weiyang, the one who came to pick a fight during the day."

"What? The son of the Marquis of Weiyang? You... you killed him?"

Bai Qingtong was immediately startled.

She had already heard about the events of the day after entering Daguanyuan. She had assumed that given the status of the Marquis of Weiyang and the Bai Family, the matter would end there. Who would have thought such a thing would suddenly happen!

"Brother-in-law, that Marquis of Weiyang is currently highly regarded by the Queen and is at the height of his power. How could you..."

"He sent people to Daguanyuan tonight."

Luo Zijun briefly recounted the sequence of events and said with a calm face, "Since they bullied their way to my door, how could I let him off? If I let him go this time, who knows when he might come again, and his methods might be even more despicable and shameless next time. I am not here often, and if I happened to be away one day... therefore, the only way to solve this matter is to kill him, cut the weeds and dig up the roots, and end it once and for all."

"But..."

"There are no 'buts.' Even if the Marquis of Weiyang finds out, I would dare to confront him before the Queen..."

Luo Zijun looked indifferent and said, "You don't need to worry; it won't implicate the Bai Family. He is merely a Marquis who manages grain. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people in Daliang who can manage grain, but there are very few who can help the Queen massage her legs."

Bai Qingtong: "???"

(End of chapter)