Chapter 673: Laying Out  

“Who’s there?!”

When Yan Liqiang forced open the door, the old man was shocked. Yan Liqiang so fast that when he barged in, his figure was almost like a faint shadow. The old man only sensed a dark shadow rushing toward him. Without thinking, he flung his smoking pipe toward Yan Liqiang and tried to get up from his chair…

However, Yan Liqiang didn’t give a single chance. The old man had only managed to make half a swing as soon as his butt left the chair when he felt a jolt up his arm. His body then went numb, causing him to fall back into the chair again.

The young man wasn’t able to react in time; he only managed to pull out a dagger when he sensed something was wrong. Before he could even strike at Yan Liqiang, his body went numb as though he got electrocuted and immediately fell back into his chair too.

The flame of the oil lamp only swayed in the wind brought by Yan Liqiang’s movements after he had taken down the two targets and rendered them powerless to fight back. The room suddenly dimmed before it brightened up again.

The two men looked at Yan Liqiang who was standing before them, then at the door that seemed like it had never been opened in the first place. Color instantly drained their faces as it didn’t take a genius to figure out Yan Liqiang was an expert with capabilities beyond their imagination. Even if there were a hundred people here, no one would be able to fight Yan Liqiang, let alone two of them.

Clank…! Yan Liqiang tossed the old man’s tobacco pipe and the young man’s dagger on the table in front of them, then cast them a glance. “So, what was that just now?”

The young man looked at Yan Liqiang with fear and hatred in his eyes. Although he couldn’t move his body, he bit his lip and remained silent. When he heard Yan Liqiang’s question, he glanced at the old man.

“Who are you?” The old man composed himself, then narrowed his eyes at Yan Liqiang. “You seem young. Are you the imperial court’s lapdog as well?”

Lapdog? Yan Liqiang smiled. This was the first time he received such an evaluation from someone else, but he didn’t deny it either. “Whatever you say. Right now in the capital region, only the imperial court can deal with the White Lotus Society…”

The old man sneered at Yan Liqiang. “What do you want me to tell you?”

“Who is your Grandmaster? How did you get your hands on the blood corpse? Apart from both of you, are there any other White Lotus Society followers lurking in the capital region?” Yan Liqiang stared into the old man’s eyes as he bombarded him with three questions all at once.

The old man looked at Yan Liqiang and said nothing. His eyes were filled with disdain and the expression on his face reminded Yan Liqiang of those arrested underground political party members he’d seen on the television in his previous life.

“If you dogs from the imperial court want me to betray my comrades, then you may continue dreaming. The day I, Li Dachuan, came to settle down in the imperial capital to serve the White Lotus Society, I prepared for my death. You think I’d be afraid of you? Kill me if you want. Don’t waste your breath!”

“Master! I’ll die with you too!” The young man beside him, who had been silent all this time, chimed in.

“Haha, as expected of my apprentice, Liuzi! It must have been hard for you to follow me around over the years. I failed to give you a good life. I’m afraid we will have to see each other in heaven the next time. By then, surely I will repay you…” The old man spoke heroically.

“My life is given by you, Master! If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve probably been eaten by stray dogs. I will have to repay you once we meet in heaven!” The young man chuckled too.

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The master and his apprentice moved Yan Liqiang a little. He said in a deep voice, “It seems like both of you are from poor backgrounds. But the actions you took tonight would kill millions of citizens in the capital region if the pestilence broke out. You are not making enemies with the imperial court, but with millions of poor citizens like yourselves!”

“The citizens in the capital region are nothing more than hogs and dogs in the imperial court’s eyes. Even if the pestilence doesn’t kill them, they will still be killed in the Heavenly Tribulation in another few more months. If they will die from the pestilence, at least they will go down along with a few scums from the imperial court. That’s not too bad…” The old man smiled at Yan Liqiang. Black blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

“Lapdogs like you who help those bastards in the imperial court and the lousy Emperor… to bully the commoners… will also die sooner or later…”

The old man’s head drooped as soon as he finished speaking…

“MASTER…!” The young man yelled as tears streamed down his face. He raised his head and glared at Yan Liqiang. A bitter smile appeared on his face, then black blood spilled out of his mouth too. His body twitched on the chair a few times before he went completely still.

Yan Liqiang knew they had poison hidden in their teeth. When the thought of suiciding flashed across the old man’s mind, Yan Liqiang made no attempt to stop him. Under such circumstances, it would be a mistake to let the two of them escape. They wouldn’t survive either if Yan Liqiang left them to the imperial court and the local authorities. Instead, they might possibly be subject to more torture. Hence, this was the best possible outcome for them.

Although the old man didn’t answer the three questions, Yan Liqiang already knew the answers.

The old man only had a one-way communication with their so-called Grandmaster. He didn’t know the true identity of their Grandmaster either. Every time they met, the Grandmaster’s face was covered. The only way to verify his identity was through his identity pass and a greeting etiquette used by the White Lotus Society.

The blood corpse was delivered by their Grandmaster in a large clay pot a month ago at night. Even the time for them to launch the attack and discard the blood corpse was predetermined a month ago. Since then, the old man had never seen their Grandmaster again.

Apart from their Grandmaster, the old man didn’t know any other hidden White Lotus Society followers in the capital region.

Yan Liqiang felt heavy-hearted when he looked at the corpses on the chairs. He finally understood why the imperial court failed to catch those people from the White Lotus Society who were throwing the blood corpses despite sending out so many men. The White Lotus Society had arranged them in the capital region since long ago so they could settle down and put on a convincing disguise. Not only that, but they only had a one-way communication with their higher-ups. After these people received their mission of throwing the blood corpses, they would withdraw as soon as they completed their missions.

In the past few months, many people had been leaving the capital region legally with travel passes or illegally without any. Hence, it was difficult for the imperial court to trace them down. It was also extremely easy for the White Lotus Society to transport all the blood corpses in the clay pots to the capital region a month ago. They only had to find a ship and hire a group of escorts to make this mission a success…

Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but shiver at the White Lotus Society’s shrewdness.

Like the two people who just died, they never showed anyone that they were White Lotus Society followers in the Imperial Capital, nor did they connect with other followers. Instead, they lived as carpenters like silent bombs. Everything seemed like it had been planned for this day. Thinking a bit further ahead, perhaps the White Lotus Society had set things in motion many years ago when they schemed the corpse pestilence attack in the Imperial Capital.

He was the one who leaked news about the Heavenly Tribulation, causing the White Lotus Society to play this card in advance. If news about the Heavenly Tribulation wasn’t leaked, no one knew when they would decide to play the card.

Yan Liqiang left the carpenter workshop with a heavy heart. By the time he returned to the village where the blood corpse was discarded earlier, no one in the village seemed to have noticed anything unusual in the well until Yan Liqiang made a loud noise to wake the residents nearby.

An hour later, the entire village was brightly lit. People were moving everywhere as the entire village was alarmed. Many people had started to gather around the well. A radius of ten meters from the well had been cleared out, and no one was allowed to get any closer.

A few young men who were fully covered from head to toe poured carts of lime into the well. After that, someone poured pine oil inside the well and set it on fire. By the time the fire went out, the well was immediately sealed with soil…

Yan Liqiang didn’t show himself. He hid in the dark and watched the villagers work. After making sure that they handled the situation correctly, he set off and returned to Deer Villa.

By the time Yan Liqiang returned to Deer Villa, the sky was almost bright. He didn’t continue sleeping after a busy night. He instead performed a few rounds of Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, and was brimming with energy again.

Little Li, who was now Eunuch Li, personally came to Yan Liqiang’s courtyard. He told him that Eunuch Liu had returned to Imperial Capital at dawn today and that he wished to meet Yan Liqiang.