Chapter 27: I Loathe Lecherous Scoundrels Above All Else!

Seeing the youth in the red robe collapse, the scholar reached out to touch him, only to feel a corrosive, stinging sensation spread from his hand, while his internal spiritual power began to melt away like snow in the sun.

"What kind of poison is this? How could it be so potent!" The scholar silently pulled his hand back, leaving the youth lying on the ground.

"Lin Wenjun, what kind of enemy have you provoked?"

"I was careless. This is no ordinary worldly poison; it is a toxin refined by a poison cultivator." The youth’s face was twisted in agony, laced with a flicker of terror. "Brother Zhang, save me!"

He had initially dismissed the idea of common toxins. After all, ordinary poisons could only harm the flesh and blood, reaching the internal organs to induce disease. As a cultivator at the middle stage of Qi Refining, he possessed spiritual consciousness and could perform internal observation to detect the intrusion of toxins immediately. By channeling his spiritual power to flush them out, he could purge any ailment and remain immune to all poisons.

But this poison had attached itself to his spiritual power. Without realizing it, he had instinctively tried to circulate his power to purge the toxin, which only provided an opening. The more he exerted his power, the deeper the poison sank.

The scholar sighed. "Little Lin, I want to save you, but I am helpless against the arts of a poison cultivator. Just hold on a little longer. I will contact our people to send you back to Guangnan County. The manager is there, and he will surely have a way."

"Back to Guangnan County?" The youth thought of his current state. Putting aside whether he could survive the journey, he had yet to complete his mission or perform any meritorious service. Why would the manager waste resources on him? It was nine-tenths certain he would be left to fend for himself. Even if he survived, his future would be ruined.

"Brother Zhang, I beg you, save me! I am willing to swear an oath: if you save my life today, I, Lin Wenjun, will follow your lead forever, with never a second thought!"

"Alas, Little Lin, it is not that I won't save you, but I truly lack the ability." The scholar shook his head and sighed.

The youth's eyes dimmed, filled with despair.

"Little Lin, who is your opponent? To drive you to such a state—we must avenge you when we encounter them!" The scholar put on a show of righteous indignation. "No one is allowed to bully the Lin family!"

Hearing this, the youth felt a surge of rage, but his expression soon darkened. "I... I don't know who he is, but he must be from the Prince Fu estate! If we kill everyone in the estate, we will surely be avenged!"

The scholar grasped the gravity of the situation, his scalp tingling. "You haven't even seen him, and he wounded you like this?" Although he held the youth in low regard, he respected his strength, or they would not have been traveling together. In the eyes of their manager, the three of them were roughly equal in power. If the youth was so easily defeated, their own prospects were grim.

The large man beside them also looked on with horror, already contemplating retreat.

"I was just caught off guard!" the youth hissed viciously. "If he were truly some great expert, why would he hide and use such underhanded, ghostly tactics like poisonous gas? Even after I was poisoned, he didn't dare to pursue. I suspect he only has a few tricks with poison."

"What you say does hold some truth." The scholar felt a weight lift from his heart, though he remained cautious. "Regardless, Prince Fu is a member of the Yue royal family; it is reasonable that a master would be by his side. It is fortunate that you accidentally forced him to reveal his tracks today; otherwise, we might have suffered a great loss when we launched our own attack. These poison cultivators rely on their elusive, invisible methods, but once we are on our guard, their threat is halved."

"By the way, what of the secret agent you contacted? And the map of the estate?"

"Our task of seizing silver to support the southern uprising is secondary; assassinating Prince Fu is the priority. Once he is dead, Changning County will be leaderless and fall into chaos, allowing our forces to strike. We can also use this as an opportunity to test the reaction of the Yue imperial house."

The youth’s eyes shifted, recalling Ding Le, whom he had burned to death with a fireball. "I didn't see him. These worldly martial artists are all self-important; I doubt our control methods could force them to obey. Perhaps it was he who betrayed me."

"Is that so?" The scholar was skeptical, but seeing the youth's reluctance to speak further, he stopped questioning and asked about the poison cultivator's methods.

"...His poison is intangible and formless. I only smelled a strange fragrance, hmm?" The youth was describing the scene when he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" The scholar had been simulating the battle in his mind, imagining how he would defend himself in the youth’s position, when the image suddenly froze at the youth's words. He felt a flicker of annoyance. Things were already a mess, and now that the youth had so little use left, he couldn't even perform his duty well.

"Do you... do you smell a fragrance?"

"It seems... there is one?"

The scholar and the large man took a deep breath. At first, it was a faint, clean scent, but then it grew rich and heavy, like orchid and musk.

"That is the fragrance!"

In an instant, the expressions of all three changed drastically.

"He is here!"

"Too late!" A hoarse, elderly voice suddenly echoed in their ears. "I live here in seclusion and have no intention of involving myself in your grievances. However, I despise lecherous thieves who ruin the innocence of women. You two may leave, but this lecher must remain!"

"This is spiritual telepathy! The intruder is a master at the late stage of Qi Refining!" The scholar and the large man immediately stood back-to-back, guarding against an enemy they could not see.

The scholar chanted a mantra, and a layer of golden light, like armor, bloomed over their bodies. The large man's muscles bulged and tensed, his frame suddenly growing taller. Yet, there was no joy in their faces, only a chill running down their spines.

The gap between the late and middle stages of Qi Refining might seem small, but the difference in power was akin to that between a common martial artist and a cultivator. A single technique using spiritual consciousness to manipulate objects could kill them without leaving a trace. No wonder the poisonous gas had been invisible—the attacker had wrapped it in his spiritual consciousness and delivered it directly to them. How could they have noticed? By the time they smelled the fragrance, they were already deeply poisoned.

Fortunately, learning from the youth's experience, they did not rashly circulate their power to purge the toxin; instead, they used their spiritual power to wrap the poison, waiting for an opportunity to expel it from their bodies.

"Lin Wenjun! What else did you hide? Which lady did you go to ruin to bring such a powerful enemy upon us?" The large man glared, cursing the youth for dragging them down.

The youth was speechless, trembling. No wonder he had felt a surge of alarm at the time; beyond the poison, a late-stage Qi Refining master had been watching him from the shadows. But now, poisoned and trapped, he had no way to escape.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Yu, you cannot leave me behind! If you do, you will have no way to answer to the manager!"

The scholar, who had been hesitating, felt his heart turn cold at the veiled threat. He cupped his hands toward the empty air. "Senior, are you speaking the truth?"

"I give you three breaths. After that, even if I am loath to waste my spiritual power on you here, do not blame me for what follows."

"Three..."

"Go!" The scholar grabbed the large man’s arm and, without a moment’s hesitation, abandoned the youth. The two smashed through the room's outer door and leaped into the water.

The water rippled, and within moments, all was quiet.

"No!" the youth cried out in despair, his eyes filled with hatred. "The manager will not forgive you for this!"