Xuan Ji paused his cultivation and opened his eyes, exhaling a visible white breath before standing up. He had devised several plans, each with its own flaws. However, he had settled on one particular plan: using a poison he had read about in a scroll against the beggar.
This poison could be created using common herbs easily found by anyone, even by mortals. Xuan Ji had brought these herbs with him before leaving for his journey.
"The purpose of this poison is to paralyze someone. Although it won't affect a cultivator like me, the beggar was injured in last simulation, which will make the poison work. However, it will only paralyze him for a short while. That brief moment will be enough for me to eliminate him. If I had access to more potent herbs, I could have created a poison that would kill him within seconds," Xuan Ji pondered, retrieving various ordinary-looking herbs from his space bag.
He placed the herbs in a bowl and used a round stone to grind them. After five minutes, all that remained was a liquid with a green hue in the bowl half filled.
Xuan Ji approached a nearby tree and snapped off a slender branch. Then he walked towards the handprint on the wall and began applying the poison from the bowl onto it, using the broken end of the branch as a makeshift brush. As he coated the handprint with the entire contents of the bowl, it transformed into a green hue, blending in with the vines and trees on the cave walls.
Xuan Ji had initially considered poisoning the fruits on the trees as well. However, he remembered that the beggar had ignored the fruits last time, heading straight for the handprint instead. This indicated that the beggar either wasn't hungry at the time or was solely focused on the inheritance. Xuan Ji dismissed the idea that someone else might be living there, as the beggar had been taken aback when he encountered Xuan Ji during the previous encounter.
Afterward, Xuan Ji set about erasing any traces of his presence, dismantling his camp and gathering the vegetables he had grown over the years, stowing them in his space bag. He disregarded the fruits but collected coconuts from the trees and placed them in his bag. He carefully eliminated any remaining evidence and concealed himself by climbing a tree, settling on a branch and camouflaging himself among the leaves.
Xuan Ji's plan was straightforward: paralyze the beggar for a brief moment, hit a specific pressure point with a needle to immobilize him further, and then deal a fatal blow to the neck.
As Xuan Ji was not a Qi Gathering cultivator, he could not kill directly by targeting an acupoint. Nevertheless, he had knowledge of pressure points that he learned from the scroll and found this acupoint, while not fatal on its own, was more efficient than others.
Confident in his plan's efficacy, he patiently waited for the beggar's arrival.
…
Little did Xuan Ji know; someone was observing his every move. Xu Han saw Xuan Ji's actions and couldn't help but comment, "Is it that easy to kill a main character?" as he continued observing Xuan Ji.
Xu Han could also view anyone's simulation as a fast-paced movie. He had watched an entire year of Xuan Ji's life in a single minute and was completely informed without missing a single detail. Xu Han didn't feel overwhelmed by it. It was only today that Xu Han discovered this surveillance ability when he tried to connect with the words.
…
Xuan Ji had been waiting for the beggar for two to three days, but he remained patient. His patience paid off when, after another day, he heard approaching footsteps that made him alert. After a moment, he once again spotted the beggar, who looked worn and ragged, his clothes torn and body covered in injuries.
Just like the previous time, the beggar's eyes lit up upon seeing the door. He mumbled something under his breath and moved towards the handprint.
Xuan Ji stayed still, waiting for the beggar to open the door. He was a bit worried that the poison might prevent the door from opening, but his fear was unfounded. The door opened with a burst of Qi, but to the beggar's shock, he found himself unable to move.
Wasting no time, Xuan Ji launched a needle towards the beggar's neck, targeting a pressure point to immobilize him further.
The needle whistled through the air, piercing the tense silence of the jungle before finding its mark in the beggar's neck. The beggar gave a muffled gasp, his body stiffening under the effect of the needle.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Xuan Ji's movements were calm and precise. Xuan Ji was well aware of the stakes. He remembered his previous encounter with the beggar vividly, how a single wrong move had given the beggar an opportunity to counterattack.
The memory of his body dissolving into a goo-like substance was still fresh in his mind. He knew that if he made a mistake this time, he would meet the same grotesque fate.
Slowly, he descended from the tree, his eyes never leaving the paralyzed beggar. He moved closer; his steps almost silent on the leaf-strewn forest floor. He was now only a few steps away from the beggar, whose eyes flickered with the last traces of defiance.
With one final, swift movement, Xuan Ji took out another needle from his sleeves. This time, he wielded it like a knife. Positioning himself behind the beggar, he aimed at the beggar's neck, preparing to deliver the final blow. Yet, he never took his eyes off the beggar's hand.
The fear of the deadly poison that had killed him in the previous simulation was still lingering. With a swift, decisive motion, Xuan Ji slashed across the beggar's neck.
A sudden gush of blood sprayed from the wound, splattering on Xuan Ji's face. The beggar's eyes widened in shock before his body stiffened and then collapsed, lifeless, onto the forest floor.
Xuan Ji stood there, the beggar's blood staining his face, a grim reminder of the desperate measures he'd had to take. He wiped his face with a sleeve, removing the warm, sticky fluid. His plan had been executed flawlessly. But the sight of the lifeless beggar reminded him of the cruel nature of their world.
He took a final, somber look at the scene, the fallen beggar, the painted handprint, the now silent forest. Then, steeling himself for the journey ahead past the gate.