Chapter 31: Tonight, Night Raid on Yangx Kai

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Elder Mengg was actually kind-hearted this time and gave Yangx Kai a few extra stalks of herbs. However, he refused to let Yangx Kai leave, interrogating him about why his strength had progressed so rapidly.

It seemed that news of Yangx Kai tormenting Su Mu and the others had reached Shopkeeper Mengg’s ears.

Yangx Kai still had a favorable impression of Shopkeeper Mengg. Although the old man was eccentric, lecherous, and thick-skinned, he suited Yangx Kai’s tastes just fine.

Since the truth was difficult to explain, Yangx Kai could only claim that he had accidentally eaten a strange fruit upon entering Black Wind Mountain. After that, he suddenly had an epiphany and understood how to proceed with his Cultivation.

Shopkeeper Mengg pondered this for a long while. Factoring in the time of Yangx Kai’s last visit to Black Wind Mountain and his performance over the recent days, he had no choice but to believe the explanation, ultimately attributing it to a fortuitous encounter!

Emerging from the Contribution Hall, Yangx Kai was plagued with anxiety.

He had exchanged all his Contribution Points for herbs, which would probably only last him three or four days. Where was he supposed to get more herbs after that?

Although he could now earn two Contribution Points a day by challenging others, the points earned from these challenges could only be claimed on the eighth day of every month when they were officially distributed. That was nearly twenty days away; how could he possibly wait that long?

Unable to come up with a good solution, Yangx Kai felt helpless and could only bury his head in his Cultivation.

A few days passed by in a flash, and Yangx Kai’s strength at the Sixth Level of Body Tempering Realm slowly stabilized, evidently marching toward the Seventh Layer. Every day, he practiced diligently, almost forgetting to eat and sleep. His hard work had finally paid off.

Compared to Yangx Kai’s good days, Su Mu and the others were living in an absolute nightmare. Over the past few days, Yangx Kai had sought them out every single day to cause trouble, annoying them to no end. They couldn’t defeat him in a fight, nor could they hide from him. They were so frustrated they could die.

Su Mu himself was confident he could defeat Yangx Kai, but the gap in their Realms was too large for him to issue a challenge—he still believed Yangx Kai was only at the fourth or fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Su Mu knew things couldn’t go on like this. If it continued, their group’s morale would completely scatter.

After mulling it over, Su Mu hardened his resolve. He gathered all the Lingxiao Pavilion disciples who had been ravaged by Yangx Kai and announced with a gloomy expression, "Tonight, we will launch a night raid on Yangx Kai and wipe away our past humiliation!"

Since they couldn’t play by the rules, they would abandon the rules altogether!

The crowd was startled. "A sneak attack?"

"Yes," Su Mu nodded.

"I don’t know about this," Li Yuntian hesitated. "Even though that guy Yangx Kai is a bit ruthless, he defeated us fair and square through open challenges. If we sneak over to ambush him at night and word gets out, we’ll probably be severely punished."

Li Yuntian’s words resonated with the majority of the people present.

Su Mu said furiously, "But he’s gone too far! He completely looks down on us brothers, coming after us every single day. If we don’t teach him a lesson, who knows how long he’ll keep acting so arrogantly? I don’t care anymore. I am definitely going to mess with him tonight. Whoever wants to come can follow me, and I won’t force anyone who doesn’t. If something really goes wrong, I, Su Mu, will bear the full responsibility alone. I won’t drag you down with me."

Su Mu spoke with utmost sincerity. Even if some felt this wasn’t a good idea, they couldn’t bear to object at this moment. After all, Su Mu had taken all the responsibility onto his own shoulders; he had done everything a leader could be asked to do.

Li Yuntian pondered for a moment and said, "Alright then. If we succeed, we can show that bastard that we aren’t to be trifled with. Young Master Su, this time I’ll risk my life to go all out with you!"

"We’ll go too," the crowd chimed in unison.

Su Mu smiled and nodded. "That’s more like it!"

That night, the group was in high spirits, gathering in Su Mu’s room right at midnight.

"Is everyone ready?" Su Mu asked in a low voice.

The crowd nodded.

"Good. This time, we must make sure that bastard never forgets this for the rest of his life!" Su Mu reached out and tied a black cloth over his face, leaving only a pair of shifty eyes exposed. The others excitedly followed suit.

"Move out!" Su Mu raised his arm and issued the command.

Over a dozen dark figures darted out, quickly blending into the night.

The Lingxiao Pavilion had disciples patrolling during the night, but Su Mu’s group were members of the Lingxiao Pavilion themselves. They knew the patrol routes like the back of their hands and easily bypassed them.

This perfectly illustrated why an inside thief was the hardest to guard against; Su Mu’s current performance was the best example.

Before long, the group converged in front of Yangx Kai’s small wooden cabin. Standing over a dozen yards away, they suppressed their breathing and glared at the pitch-black cabin with righteous indignation.

"There’s no light inside. Yangx Kai must be asleep." Su Mu felt a wave of reassurance and turned to Li Yuntian beside him. "Yangx Kai is quite strong. In a moment, you and I will go in first to pin him down, and then the brothers will beat the living daylights out of him."

"Got it," Li Yuntian nodded.

"Don’t kill him, but anything else goes," Su Mu instructed again, and the crowd quietly voiced their agreement.

"Go!" Su Mu waved his hand and charged toward the small wooden cabin.

The dozen or so figures sprinted quickly through the dark night. Since they had all undergone Cultivation, their movements were entirely silent. Everyone held a breath of pent-up anger in their chests, deeply thrilled by the thought of mercilessly beating Yangx Kai to avenge their past grievances.

Over the past few days, they had been tormented miserably by him.

They were now only a few yards away from the cabin. The cold glint in Su Mu’s eyes deepened, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smirk.

The distance closed further. The cabin’s wooden door was right in front of him, and Su Mu had already reached out a hand to push it open.

Suddenly, a bizarre fragrance wafted into his nose. Su Mu took a light sniff. He felt the scent was a bit strange—not exactly foul, but not pleasant either. It was a smell he had never encountered before.

Although confused, Su Mu didn’t pay it much mind and just kept charging forward with his head down.

Taking one more step, Su Mu’s body suddenly went limp, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. This sudden change shocked him into a cold sweat. In that fleeting instant, it felt as if half the strength in his body had been siphoned away. His mind buzzed, leaving him dazed and overwhelmingly exhausted.

Taking yet another step, Su Mu did a complete face-plant, his nose striking the ground first. Two streams of warm liquid instantly flowed from his nasal cavity, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.

THUD THUD THUD...

A series of consecutive sounds echoed out. Every single Lingxiao Pavilion disciple who had gathered and charged toward the small cabin fell to the ground just like Su Mu. All of them were limp and devoid of strength, leaving them bruised and battered from the fall. Their wails of agony rang out one after another in a lively chorus.

"What’s going on?" Su Mu forced himself to stay conscious and turned his head to ask Li Yuntian.

Li Yuntian tried to struggle to his feet but had no strength whatsoever. He lay sprawled on the ground, gasping weakly for air with an incredibly pale face. He hesitated before saying, "Young Master Su, I’m afraid we’ve been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Su Mu paled in shock.

"And it’s highly toxic..." Li Yuntian tremblingly reached out a hand. "Young... Master Su, I don’t think I’m going to make it. You... you must avenge me!"

Having delivered his final words, Li Yuntian’s head tilted to the side, and he stopped moving altogether.

Horrified, Su Mu frantically called out Li Yuntian’s name, but he couldn’t wake him up no matter how hard he tried. Turning his head to look around, he saw that not a single brother he had brought along had escaped this disaster; all of them had lost their signs of life.

An inexplicable wave of panic and profound sorrow surged in his heart, yet strangely, Su Mu’s mind became completely clear in that very instant.

This was the Lingxiao Pavilion. How could someone have planted poison here? Furthermore, the effects of this poison were so overbearing that it took a mere three breaths of time to snuff out so many lives.