"My house is in Bao Lu Lane, number twenty-two, just east of Liang City Gate. Tell my wife... under the bed, the third jar of pickled vegetables. There's a hidden compartment with two small goldfish. She should use them sparingly... enough to last until our child comes of age."
A middle-aged man with a face covered in pustules whispered his last words to Li Huowang, trembling as he tried to suppress his terror.
This was the medicine extractor being sent to the alchemy room today. Li could do nothing to save him. He silently committed the man's words to memory as he watched him walk into the room of death.
Feeling both irritated and defeated, Li turned and walked away.
This was the eighth person. With each passing day, the number of workers in the storeroom dwindled. What tormented Li even more was his own growing numbness. The guilt he once felt over sending people to their deaths was gradually fading.
He was becoming like Dan Yangzi—callous and indifferent, a monster in his own right.
Li wanted desperately to escape this horrific situation. He needed a solution, but finding one was proving to be almost impossible.
How could he, along with a few disabled workers from the storeroom, possibly overthrow someone as powerful and cunning as Dan Yangzi?
The only two weaknesses Li had identified were:
Dan Yangzi's control of "Old Lord You" didn't extend to the first and fifteenth days of the month, when it disappeared for market gatherings.Dan Yangzi was illiterate, and someone in the temple was helping him read the heavenly book.
"What if I sneak into Dan Yangzi's quarters, find the one helping him read, and kill them? Then I'd be the only literate person left. He'd have no choice but to rely on me for the book. At that point, killing him would be as simple as snapping my fingers."
But the thought was quickly dismissed.
While Li knew the location of Dan Yangzi's quarters, he had no idea what traps might be inside or how powerful the reader might be. Charging in blindly would likely lead to his death before he even understood what had killed him.
"What about poisoning his alchemy ingredients?" Li pondered, but he dismissed the idea just as quickly. My alchemy skills are what he taught me. Trying to use his own craft against him would just be suicide.
As Li walked back to the storeroom, his mind churned, searching desperately for a new plan.
At that moment, a sullen young man in a Daoist robe and a square headdress walked toward him. Li recognized him immediately—Zhengkun, Dan Yangzi's inner disciple.
Li didn't know much about Zhengkun. Apart from occasionally seeing him during meals, the man was mostly absent from day-to-day activities.
Unlike the registered disciples, Zhengkun didn't need to manage the affairs of Qingfeng Temple. What he did in his free time was a mystery to Li.
The two passed each other, their shoulders brushing lightly. The moment they collided, Li felt as though he'd bumped into a block of iron.
Zhengkun stopped in his tracks and turned, his lips curling into a mocking smile.
"Xuanyang, you've been very lively around the temple lately. Master seems to enjoy your little tricks, doesn't he?"
Li furrowed his brow slightly but said nothing, turning to leave.
But before he could take more than two steps, a sudden force shoved him from behind, sending him stumbling forward.
Barely managing to steady himself, Li avoided falling flat on his face.
"What's the matter, Xuanyang? Have you forgotten your place? When your senior brother speaks, you listen," Zhengkun sneered, crossing his arms and stepping closer.
"Senior Brother Zhengkun, I still need to prepare the materials for Master's next batch of pills," Li replied evenly.
"Don't you dare use Master's name to intimidate me!" Zhengkun barked. "I've been by his side since the days we were hunted like dogs. You weren't even around back then! Let me give you some advice—keep your head down, do your work, and stay out of things that don't concern you. Got it?"
Li didn't respond with anger. Instead, he stared at Zhengkun, as though deep in thought. The man certainly had a temper, just as Senior Brother Xuanyuan had warned. But perhaps that temper could be used to his advantage.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Zhengkun snapped.
Finally, Li's expression shifted, and he spoke with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Master favors me because of his own reasons. Even if he were to teach me the path to immortality, what does that have to do with you? Surely, Senior Brother Zhengkun wouldn't presume to interfere with Master's decisions, would you?"
Zhengkun froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard.
When he recovered, his face twisted with rage. Forming a hand seal with two fingers, he jabbed Li's left side, driving his knuckles hard into his ribs.
"Immortality? You think you're worthy of immortality? Master hasn't even taught me the method, and you think he'd waste it on you? You're nothing but trash—human refuse!"
The sharp pain nearly caused Li to black out, but he forced himself to smile. I was right, he thought.
"Maybe Master hasn't taught you because your comprehension is too low," Li taunted, his tone mocking. "Not everyone is cut out for cultivation, Senior Brother Zhengkun. If your talent is lacking, perhaps it's better not to waste Master's time."
That struck a nerve. Zhengkun's eyes burned with fury as he jabbed Li three more times in rapid succession. "You worthless trash! You want to die, don't you?"
The pain was excruciating, but Li's laughter only grew louder.
"Go ahead! Kill me! Let's see how Master reacts when he finds out you've been killing fellow disciples!"
Zhengkun froze, his clenched fists trembling. With a snarl, he kicked Li hard in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Idiot!" Zhengkun spat before storming off.
Li lay on the ground, his body wracked with pain. After some time, a pair of broad hands reached down and helped him up.
"Xuanyang, why don't you listen?" Xuanyuan sighed. "Didn't I tell you to respect Zhengkun? Why would you provoke him like that?"
Clutching his aching side, Li grinned faintly. "What's he going to do? Kill me? Master's 'Old Lord You' is watching, isn't it? If any more disciples die, the temple will collapse."
"Old Lord You?" Xuanyuan frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
He doesn't know? Li thought, his mind racing. Perhaps the other disciples weren't aware of how Dan Yangzi monitored the temple.
"Never mind," Li said quickly. "I just meant he wouldn't dare."
"Still, you're just a registered disciple while he's an inner disciple. He may not kill you outright, but he could make your life hell in a hundred other ways."
"Hah, I was born for misery. It suits me," Li quipped with a wry smile.
As he spoke, his thoughts turned inward. Zhengkun had unwittingly revealed a crucial piece of information: even as an inner disciple, he wasn't privy to the secrets of immortality.
Dan Yangzi trusted no one.
But more importantly, Li had seen the look in Zhengkun's eyes. When he mentioned the possibility of learning the path to immortality, Zhengkun's jealousy was unmistakable.
Dan Yangzi's disciples weren't loyal—they were fractured, driven by their own ambitions.
This could be useful, Li thought, his lips curling into a subtle smile. Very useful indeed.