I Cheated While Cultivating

“The Three Poison Sect, in accordance with the agreement, has provided two packets of ‘Formless Qi Dispersing Powder’.

“Once this poison enters water, it becomes colorless and tasteless, emitting a toxic gas. Ordinary people who inhale it will find their muscles turning to mush, and their internal organs slowly shriveling up.

“Even those with martial arts, as long as they have not opened the Heavenly Gate or connected the bridge between heaven and earth, the poison can cause their inner qi to disperse, their spirit to become languid, and even cause their inner strength to regress.

“The poison is not necessarily lethal but is enough to spread panic, meeting the Young Master’s requirements exactly.

“Please do not forget to return the payment after inspection.”

That was the content of the letter.

The Three Poison Sect is a subsidiary sect of the Plague Emperor Sect, not strong, with its sect leader only being Sixth Rank. Its members are known for their secretive movements and notorious for selling various poisons.

The reason Zhou Heng was taken aback was that he had just entrusted Wu Zongshan to pay close attention to the movements of the Plague Emperor Sect, only to find that he had already had something related to the Plague Emperor Sect in his hands.

If nothing unexpected had happened, the two men he had killed earlier must have been from the Three Poison Sect.

The people mentioned in the letter and the effectiveness of the poison, however, puzzled Zhou Heng greatly.

Shocking Thunder Manor was not a heretical sect; on the contrary, it was a righteous sect famous throughout Pingzhou County, and its manor lord, Wei Zhentian, was known for his hatred of evil.

Even if the Young Master, Wei Gaopeng, was not yet well-known at the moment, he often did deeds like helping poor families in the neighborhood, eliminating the violent to aid the good, sweeping away mountain bandits, and the like.

He didn’t seem like someone who would buy poison to create panic.

But the content of the letter did not seem to be fabricated unless those two men had known in advance that they were definitely going to be killed by someone, and then this letter would fall into someone else’s hands, creating rumors of panic from nothing.

That was obviously not very realistic.

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but fall into deep thought, but with what he knew at the moment, he had no clues.

He had no choice but to turn his gaze to the list beside him.

It listed the details of the procurement of various medicinal materials, including weight, unit price, and sellers.

On it, Zhou Heng also saw a familiar name.

Liao Quancheng.

It was the same Doctor Liao that had been helpless when Yu He was bedridden, infected with ghostly qi, and had to leave.

He was a famous doctor in Huangtong Mansion City and also ran his own pharmacy, dealing in medicinal materials.

This did not prove Liao Quancheng was colluding with the Three Poison Sect, after all, he was merely selling medicinal materials, not responsible for what people did with them.

However, perhaps he could get some clues about the Three Poison Sect from him.

Finding someone from the Three Poison Sect would provide a chance to further find someone from the Plague Emperor Sect.

“Should I go see Doctor Liao tomorrow?”

Zhou Heng stroked his chin and pondered, “But the Three Poison Sect might not leave such a glaring loophole. If they lacked even this amount of caution, how could they continue to be so elusive and difficult to find?

“Hmm, that girl who was being chased by the Three Poison Sect should know more. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep any contact information at that time to avoid trouble.”

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but regret it.

If he had known this would happen, he should have communicated more deeply with that girl.

“Whether it’s successful or not, after looking at the mansion that Wu Zongshan is sending over tomorrow, I’ll go and inquire with Liao Quancheng.”

Zhou Heng had a plan for tomorrow’s investigation, “Well, I also need to be careful about how I ask, so as not to make it obvious that I’m looking for someone.”

The next day, early in the morning.

Zhou Heng got up early, waiting for Wu Zongshan’s people to come over.

He was looking forward to it.

A residence with seven courtyards! If this were on Earth, it would be nothing less than a prince’s mansion.

One can only say that this world truly has expansive land, even ordinary people can live in such large estates.

– Typically, “one entry” refers to the area of a quadrangle courtyard; “seven entries” can be simply understood as seven connected quadrangle courtyards, covering a total area of about two to three thousand square meters.

This estate is also located in the most bustling North District of Huangtong Mansion City, and if you were to calculate the house price, it could be worth about five to six hundred thousand silver taels.

Unfortunately, this is a property seized by the prefectural city’s yamen and could at most be awarded as a reward for someone to have residential rights.

It cannot be sold.

Finally, under Zhou Heng’s expectant gaze, Meng Xing, the number one handyman of Huangtong Mansion, hurried over.

The formidable Eighth Rank martial practitioner of the prefectural city’s yamen, who had been sent by Wu Zongshan to take Zhou Heng to see the house, had indeed gone to great lengths.

However, Meng Xing himself did not seem to feel as if he was being forced into service; on the contrary, he was quite willing to interact with Zhou Heng.

After all, at a glance, Zhou Heng was a martial path prodigy with boundless potential who could possibly become a major figure of the Middle Third Rank, and perhaps even a Grandmaster one day!

As a small city yamen officer with neither background nor connections, opportunities to get to know such important figures were scarce, so he had to cherish this.

“Master Zhou, the carriage is already prepared, please come with me,” Meng Xing said with a smile. Behind him was a quite lavishly decorated carriage that he had rented at his own expense specifically to pick up Zhou Heng.

“Thankyou, Officer Meng,” Zhou Heng replied, understanding the situation upon seeing the carriage. He said to Meng Xing, “Officer Meng, please join me. We have a coachman.”

“No need,” Meng Xing shook his head, smiling, “This was specially prepared for you, Master Zhou, I’ll be fine outside.”

“Officer Meng is thoughtful,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, and without insisting further, he got into the carriage.

As the dawn’s rosy clouds gradually dispersed, Zhou Heng arrived at the large estate in the North District carried by the carriage.

The vermilion gate, the stone lions guarding the estate, and the long surrounding wall gave him a sense of a powerful aura, which was simply worlds apart from the room he had previously rented.

Many people in this area had already heard that the estate, which had long been seized by the prefectural city’s yamen, was about to welcome a new resident and were very curious about who would be moving in.

So when Meng Xing arrived with Zhou Heng’s carriage, many people immediately turned their gaze in their direction.

Men, women, old, and young, all with eyes full of envy.

After all, to say that this estate was the largest and most luxurious in the North District of Huangtong Mansion City was no exaggeration; living here had once been many people’s dream.

And when Zhou Heng lifted the curtain of the carriage door and stepped out, the crowd present immediately erupted with excitement.

“My goodness! So young! So handsome!”

“This… he looks to be only seventeen or eighteen years old! Mmm, he looks a bit familiar, this young man.”

“It’s Zhou Heng, the Zhou Heng from the Longxing Martial Arts Hall in the East City District, the seventeen-year-old Ninth Grade master who made it onto the Human List!”

“A seventeen-year-old on the Human List! And so handsome, love it!”

“I really want to have his babies!”

Cries of astonishment rose one after another, with many parents secretly resolving to push their own children to practice martial arts more seriously when they got home.

Look at Zhou Heng, practicing martial arts, making it onto the Human List, and now he’s got everything!

If their own children didn’t practice martial arts diligently, they’d be beaten!

Zhou Heng ignored the exclamations of the people, and led by Meng Xing, he pushed open the grand doors of the estate and stepped inside.

His first impression was not of luxury.

But of desolation.

And an inexplicable, gloomy atmosphere.

Furthermore, the carvings on the screen wall before him were somewhat peculiar.

Upon entering the door, the first thing he saw was a brick screen wall carved in the shape of a square.

Carved on it was a three-legged bird standing in the sun, poised to soar into flight, but two of its legs were bound by cloud-like patterns, unable to break free.

A three – legged crow?

Zhou Heng’s brows furrowed slightly, turning to look at Meng Xing beside him, he inquired, “Officer Meng, do you know why this estate was seized by the prefectural city’s yamen and who the previous owner was?”

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