In the Royal Mausoleum City Wall.
Besides the third courtyard where Treasure City was placed, all the stone lanterns along the Divine Tao on both sides of the first two courtyards had already been lit up.
With pink-based, soapy boots stepping on the bluestone of the Divine Tao.
Wang Cheng, with long swords at their waists, were not heading toward the latrine, but to the Enjoyment Hall at the deepest part of the second courtyard, where the spiritual tablet of "Yili King Zhou Yi," the first-generation Luoyang King, was enshrined.
'They are indeed up to no good.'
Wang Yuan followed them quietly right after administering the drug.
The breakthrough to "Integrated Force" had qualitatively improved his control over his own body. His movements were silent and shadowy, like a ghostly presence trailing behind the two men.
However, just as Wang Yuan was stepping into the second courtyard following them.
"The three owl-headed gods tightly rein the Kui dragon. The Mighty Sword God King slashes evil and eradicates its trace. Purple Qi Rides the Sky, Danxia's brilliance fiercely penetrates..."
Suddenly, an extremely faint voice, reciting what seemed to be a scripture, reached his ears—whistling like the wind, chirping like birds, cold like the killing frost of deep autumn, and decidedly not human.
He tilted his head to listen carefully; the more he moved forward, the clearer and more frantic the voice became.
"Swallowing demons and eating ghosts, standing tall to drink the wind. The sky ripples with agitated wrath, the might of the north carries the edge. Three hundred thousand soldiers, protect my nine layers.
Clearing corpses a thousand miles, dispelling the ominous. Should any little ghost dare approach to witness, the sky-cutting great axe slashes the ghost into five parts..."
In front of his eyes, layers of illusions emerged, surrounding a fierce-looking Evil God with an owl head atop a human body, staring malevolently at him, as if looking at a sumptuous feast.
'Something is not right with this Royal Mausoleum; I mustn't go any further.'
Wang Yuan acutely sensed that his current state closely resembled when he had watched the "Corpse Account Scripture."
Without reading, just by approaching it, sinister and weird knowledge kept drilling into his brain relentlessly, slowly taking root and sprouting.
It instilled in him a strong desire to recite it.
He had a premonition that if he could stay here for two days, earnestly listening, he might very well understand some kind of Divine Power Skill from these scriptures.
Of course, there was also a good chance he would turn into a madman who could do nothing but recite scriptures.
Stopping in his tracks from a distance, he looked up at the Enjoyment Hall but was surprised to see Wang Cheng and his companion, acting as if nothing was amiss, inserting two sticks of top-grade Longevity Incense into the censer in front of the spiritual tablet.
Then they took two vermilion wooden talismans from the offering stand and tied them around their waists.
Wang Yuan then realized that, compared to these members of the Wang Family, he appeared to be somewhat special.
"I've long been sick of that Fool!
No need to wait for the Weirdness in that ancestral hall to act; just wait until the thing underneath gets up at midnight to see how he dies.
That mere 'Medicine Bait,' relying on the fact he's a Fool, actually dares to shout and order around.
When we say there are ghosts outside at night, isn't he scared to the point of not daring to go anywhere?"
"Heh, I'd really like to see what his expression will be the second time he encounters the Weirdness.
The Weirdness in the ancestral hall will have prematurely drained the main-line direct descendant of his Qi Fortune and blessings, leaving him completely clean, which is the irresistible Bait for that thing.
As long as he's in front, we just need to keep quiet, and with this 'Talisman Seal waist tag,' we'll have more than enough to protect ourselves..."
Wang Yuan was shocked to his core—the Royal Mausoleum guarded by generations of the Wang Family actually also housed a Weirdness?
Tomb Guardians could only get through the night safely by relying on "Talisman Seal waist tags" that had been offered for many years?
Watching the two men put on the waist tags and start heading back the way they came, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
'So it's not about that thousand acres of good farmland.
It looks like, before running away, these two grandsons who are so eager to harm your Uncle Thirteen can't be left behind!'
But the method must still be carefully considered.
In Wang Yuan's opinion, if someone resorts to brute force just because they have some power, how are they any different from a gorilla?
He had no so-called Martial Artist's heart. "Taoist Military Skill," along with knives, spears, swords, and halberds, were nothing more than useful tools to him.
Besides, he was just at the Great Success of "Bone and Flesh Outer Appearance," far from being able to act with impunity. Even Wang Cheng's strength was not below his own.
Making up his mind, he took the lead and slipped back first.
...
The night grew deeper.
The two who returned to their seats at the table drank cup after cup of yellow wine with peanuts as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
From time to time, they looked towards the main gate and whispered:
"We've been ready over here for a while; why haven't Master Ge's people arrived yet?
Could something have gone wrong? The bi-centennial grand ceremony for Yili King is approaching, and it's getting increasingly restless atop Beimang Mountain."
Perhaps because they had been drinking, they grew more talkative, and without prompting, they began to reveal some insider information. Wang Yuan pricked up his ears and listened intently.
Hm, revealing things now saves the effort of interrogating them later.
Wang Cheng seemed unconcerned about his companion's worries:
"You worry too much. Master Ge is a "Red Seal Mage" who has received the "Divine Talisman" and has properly entered the threshold of a sect. He is qualified to pursue the lofty Immortal Dao of immortality.
His subordinates are Strong People from all over the world. It's not unlikely that they have been taught a few Taoist Skills and Immortal Laws. There's no reason for us to worry."
"Just need to arrive before midnight and it won't delay the real business,"
"But have you felt the aftereffect of today's drink a bit strong, and your head is dizzy?"
"Shouldn't be, right? With yesterday's incident, I'm still feeling hairy inside, and to gather some courage, I ended up getting a bit drunk in the process.
"It's all that fool's fault."
"..."
Perhaps the alcohol emboldened the faint of heart, or maybe the sense of nearing the end of their task made them less cautious in their speech. After all, this 'Fool' couldn't understand anything aside from eating.
Suddenly.
"So it seems that the 'Corpse Account Scripture' that invited the 'Weird' was penned by that Magician, Master Ge?"
"Nonsense, who else but him? Hm?"
While chatting in dribs and drabs, Wang Cheng and his companion suddenly realized something was amiss, and jerked their heads up to look at the "Fool" who had abruptly interjected.
But now his eyes were clear, and although his brows were slightly furrowed from the unexpected news, there wasn't a trace of the foolishness he had displayed before.
Clang!
Like seeing a ghost, their hearts pounded wildly, more terrifying than when they had heard him talking about having a grandfather the day before.
"No! Wang Yuan has been a fool since he was little, you can't be him, who are you really?!"
Their only mistake was that Wang Yuan had always played the part too well. After fifteen years of gradual influence, even if someone told them the truth, they'd probably only give them a sympathetic look reserved for fools.
Could a fool have been acting the part since the age of three? Who would believe such preposterous nonsense?
Clang! Clang!
However, their long-standing tacit understanding still prompted both to unsheathe their swords and leap forth, intending to capture this "Wang Yuan" first.
Every family's 'Taoist Military Skill' comes in two sizes.
The minor skill is 'Martial Arts,' also known as 'Hundred-Man Enemy Skill' or 'Military Soldier Skill;' the major skill is 'Military Strategy,' also called 'Ten Thousand Enemies Skill' or 'General Skill.'
The strength of a Taoist Soldier is certainly closely related to the soldier's own quality but when it comes to battle formations, what's more important are the tactics.
Whether it's a formation of two to three people or several thousand, once in formation, their might surges dramatically, incomparable to fighting alone.
The two, one with 'Integrated Force,' one with 'Inner Strength,' formed a small formation, daring to confront any existence before them, be it any Taoist Soldier.
However.
Facing the cutting chill of the blades, Wang Yuan simply shook his finger and uttered three words:
"Fall! Fall! Fall!"
As if cursed, the two who had just roused their Qi-Blood and Power suddenly felt weak at the knees and indeed 'thump,' 'thump' fell to the ground.
"Knockout...drug?"
The two felt completely limp, with numbing muscles and dizzy vision. Just lifting their heads was an effort that drained all their strength.
This was because the sudden exertion of force triggered the drug already accumulated within their bodies.
Without moving a muscle, Wang Yuan methodically finished off the last piece of elbow meat, let out a satisfied belch, and with a smile that seemed to seek approval, he said to them:
"I mixed it myself, not bad, right?
The ingredients come from the mandala flowers on Beimang Mountain, with the main components being scopolamine, hyoscine, and atropine...forget it, it's no use talking about it to you illiterates.
This drug combined with alcohol is a perfect combination; powerful and with a superb anesthetic effect.
Truly a must-have when wandering the Jianghu, bulk orders receive a discount, dear friends!"
"Despicable!"
Wang Cheng and his companion felt a sense of magical realism. A fool who suddenly wasn't a fool anymore had become adept at concocting drugs, and their decade-long perceptions shattered in an instant.
Rather than feeling ashamed, Wang Yuan bore a look of it being only natural:
"I prepared several plans. It wasn't necessarily about drugging you at first.
But then, who could resist the tantalizing food and drinks when you two went to the privy together, leaving me alone here?
With such a rare opportunity, if I didn't seize it to use the knockout drug, would I still be human? Even a fool couldn't resist such a fatal temptation!"
'Your reasoning is sound.'
Plagued by sorrow and rage, they thought if only you hadn't been such a convincing act, who would have trusted you so much?
Wang Yuan stood up, wiping his hands clean on Wang Cheng's body.
He casually picked up a Tiger Head Saber that was standard for Tomb Guardians from the ground.
The handle was inlaid with a copper tiger's head, the blade forged from refined iron, smooth as water. With a gentle blow, the chillingly cold sharp edge emitted a solemn and murderous ring.
Clang—!
As the blade turned, it rested on Wang Cheng's neck, but Wang Yuan's voice was even colder than the blade:
"Alright, our time is precious.
Come on, tell Uncle Thirteen, besides that thousand acres of land my family owns, what else did Wang Yunhu and that Magician, Master Ge, really plan to do? Why did they bring in the 'Weird' to harm me?!"