Chapter 104 - 103: Conspiracy
Chapter 104: Chapter 103: Conspiracy
The night was as black as ink.
In the courtyard of Wang Shiming’s home, a few flickering, dim yellow lights shone from several rooms.
A scrawny, dark figure familiarly approached the back door and knocked lightly three times in a steady rhythm.
Soon, Wang Shiming’s cautious, low question came from behind the door: "Who is it?"
"Uncle, it’s me," the dark figure outside replied in a hushed voice.
The door creaked open a crack. Wang Shiming poked half his head out, looked around nervously, then quickly pulled the dark figure inside and bolted the door shut.
"Well? How did it go?"
As soon as he was inside, Wang Shiming asked in a frantic hurry, wringing his hands, his face a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.
A smug look on his face, the man lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, don’t worry, it’s done. The Chen Family dragged the ox over to the tree by the laundry stone platform and tied it up. I went to check. The ox’s belly was sliced open, and the thing inside was gone. The Chen Family must have taken it."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Hearing this, Wang Shiming’s face lit up with wild joy. He said "good" three times in a row and clapped the man forcefully on the shoulder. "You’ve been a huge help."
He paced around the room twice in his excitement, then, as if remembering something, he said hurriedly, "You should head back for now. I’ll have someone send three dan of grain to you tomorrow."
"Thank you, Uncle."
...
Inside the side room, the air was foul.
Shu Qi was curled up in a dilapidated Grandmaster’s Chair against the wall, his small eyes half-closed.
Ya Jiu seemed much more agitated. His burly frame paced back and forth in the room’s only open space, his boots making dull THUD, THUD sounds on the uneven dirt floor.
"Damn it, this godforsaken place doesn’t even have a decent cup of wine!"
Ya Jiu spat. A grumbling complaint rumbled in his throat, his face full of impatience. "Shu Qi, do you think that Chen fellow will actually take the bait?"
Shu Qi didn’t even raise an eyelid, his voice dry and hoarse. "What’s the rush? Fishing requires patience. With the bait we’ve set, there’s no way he won’t bite."
Ya Jiu waved his hand irritably, stirring up a gust of wind. "Patience, my ass! Dammit, who knows how much longer we have to stay in this hellhole."
"It’ll be soon. Within the next couple of days."
Shu Qi slowly opened his squinted little eyes and methodically stroked the few sparse, rat-like whiskers on his upper lip, his tone certain.
Ya Jiu stopped abruptly, stunned. He turned and stared. "Don’t we have to wait for that Chen fellow to practice the Swallowing Essence Technique before we can make our move?"
Shu Qi shot him an annoyed sideways glance. "With the version of the Swallowing Essence Technique we gave him, at his Spirit Realm cultivation level, he could practice until the year of the monkey and still not necessarily suffer a backlash."
"What do you mean?"
Ya Jiu’s brows knitted into a knot. "If there won’t be a backlash, then why did you have me go to all this trouble to set this trap with you? Are you just bored out of your mind?!"
"This is why I say you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed."
Shu Qi gave a cold, sinister chuckle. "If we leave now and spread the news that Chen Li has obtained a secret manual, don’t you think people from the Jianghu will come looking for him?"
Ya Jiu froze, asking in astonishment, "You mean, you want to let those people from the Jianghu kill him?"
"It would be best if they could kill him."
Shu Qi stroked the few sparse hairs on his chin, a cunning glint in his eyes. "But, it doesn’t matter if they can’t. With countless people from the Jianghu showing up, even if they can’t kill him, they’ll absolutely run him ragged.
The more anxious he gets, the more desperate he’ll be to cultivate that Swallowing Essence Technique. And with so many ready-made Martial Dao practitioners available to be used as ’great medicine,’ what do you think? Will he absorb them?
The more he absorbs, the faster he’ll lose his mind. When that time comes, we won’t even need to lift a finger. I’m afraid he’ll just explode and die on his own. Heh heh..."
Realization dawned on Ya Jiu. He slapped his thigh, rattling the bowls and plates on the table. CLATTER. "Brilliant! We won’t even have to do anything! Shu Qi, you’re so damn cunning!"
Just then, the sound of rushed yet deliberately muffled footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
"Who is it?"
Ya Jiu stopped dead in his tracks, looking warily at the door.
A sharp glint flashed in Shu Qi’s small eyes.
"Upper Gods, it is I," Wang Shiming said in a hushed voice.
CREAK!
The door was pushed open, letting in a gust of cold wind that made the oil lamp’s flame flicker violently.
Wang Shiming walked in, his face beaming with joy. His voice trembled with excitement as he unconsciously wrung his hands on his lapels. "Upper Gods, great news! It was a success! Chen Li... Chen Li took the secret manual."
"It really worked?"
Hearing this, Ya Jiu slapped his thigh hard. The flesh on his face quivered with excitement as he let out a suppressed, low laugh. "Haha... Shu Qi, the plan worked! That Chen fellow really took the bait!"
Shu Qi’s face, however, showed no trace of joy. Instead, his brow furrowed, and his small eyes stared sharply at Wang Shiming. "How do you know? Tell me everything, in detail!"
Wang Shiming felt his hair stand on end under Shu Qi’s gaze. He quickly recounted, in full detail, how he had sent someone to check on the ox’s belly.
"This is bad!"
After listening, Shu Qi’s expression changed drastically. He shot up from his chair, his voice urgent and furious. "Idiot! He’s turned our own trick against us! We need to go, now!"
"Go?"
The smile on Ya Jiu’s face froze instantly. He asked, stunned, "Why? Wasn’t it a success? Aren’t we going to wait for him to suffer a backlash from his Inner Qi while cultivating that martial art, and then ambush him?"
"Like hell we’ll wait!"
Shu Qi was fuming. He pointed at Wang Shiming’s nose and cursed, "This useless fool who’s more of a hindrance than a help! What kind of person did you find?! I warned you a thousand times, as long as that ox wasn’t in Chen Li’s cowshed or nearby, we absolutely could not act rashly, lest we alert the enemy! And now? He’s probably set a trap for us!"
"No way," Ya Jiu said, still half-doubting. "Maybe he just thought the ox was going crazy and moved it farther away."
"Let’s go, now!" Shu Qi didn’t want to explain any further. He grabbed Ya Jiu’s arm and started to rush for the door.
When Wang Shiming heard they were leaving, he panicked.
’I’m in deep trouble,’ he thought desperately. ’I’ve given so much these past few days, I even rode a pig for them! If these two just up and leave, won’t I have suffered a huge loss?’
Besides, if Chen Li found out he had conspired with these two to frame him, he would never be let off the hook. He immediately rushed forward and grabbed Shu Qi’s sleeve. "Upper Gods, if you leave, what... what will I do? If Chen Li finds out I was involved, he’ll never forgive me. I’m begging you, take me with you! I’ll... I’ll be your slave."
Being held back, an extremely impatient and vicious glint flashed in Shu Qi’s eyes. He violently shook off Wang Shiming’s hand, his voice thick with killing intent. "Take you with us? You ruined our great plan and you still expect to live? Idiot. Try to be smarter in your next life!"
That look sent a shiver down Wang Shiming’s spine. He realized the danger, but it was already too late.
"Die!"
Shu Qi’s hand clamped around Wang Shiming’s throat like an iron pincer.
"Urk... ghh..."
Wang Shiming’s eyes bulged. Desperate, gurgling sounds escaped his throat as he struggled in vain.
CRACK!
A crisp crack of breaking bone echoed.
Wang Shiming’s head lolled to one side. The light in his eyes instantly dimmed, and his body slumped limply to the ground.
"Kill them all. Make it quick!"
Shu Qi let out a savage laugh and immediately shot out of the room, rushing toward the other rooms in Wang Shiming’s house.
Ya Jiu followed, his face expressionless, but his hands moved just as fast.
Wang Shiming’s son heard the commotion and had just poked his head out when Ya Jiu’s figure erupted forward. He struck out with a palm, the immense Palm Force directly shattering the son’s heart meridians. The man died on the spot without so much as a grunt.
The two of them slaughtered the remaining members of the Wang Family as if they were butchering chickens and sheep.
The thick stench of blood began to fill the courtyard.
"Go!"
Shu Qi barked. Heedless of anything else, the two pushed open the creaking wooden gate of the Wang Family courtyard, reeking of blood, and prepared to melt into the night.