Chapter 49: Chaos in the Night
Inside the bedroom, Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao stared at each other, wide-eyed.
"This feels like a conspiracy, doesn’t it? Lei Zhen is deliberately trying to lure us out."
After hearing Shen Yunjiao’s explanation, Zhao Zuo immediately sensed something was off. If Lei Zhen had truly been injured while robbing and killing someone, he should be hiding in a safe place. At the very least, he wouldn’t let everyone know about it.
"It’s definitely a conspiracy, but it’s also a fact that he robbed and killed over a dozen Artifact Refining Apprentices."
Shen Yunjiao added, acknowledging Zhao Zuo’s point.
"So... we..."
Zhao Zuo looked at Shen Yunjiao’s faint, unreadable smile and immediately grasped the crux of the matter. Lei Zhen had made a fortune, but to draw him and Shen Yunjiao out, he hadn’t hidden the news. Instead, he was using it as bait.
But with such a huge prize as bait, Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao wouldn’t be the only ones to bite. The Tribulation Cultivator groups who lived on the edge would likely take the bait too. Lei Zhen surely knew the danger in this, but to avenge his younger brother quickly, he had no choice but to resort to this desperate plan.
Several idioms instantly popped into Zhao Zuo’s mind: fishing in troubled waters, the snipe and clam grappling while the fisherman profits, the oriole waiting behind... No matter how he analyzed it, tonight was the best opportunity to eliminate Lei Zhen. ’But would the enemy really lose his mind and choose such a disadvantageous, desperate plan?’
He subconsciously rubbed the sleeve of his robe, his expression hesitant.
"I know you’re hesitating, but today is the best opportunity," Shen Yunjiao said.
"The best opportunity, and an obvious trap... It’s like an open invitation to a fight."
Zhao Zuo tried to figure out what Lei Zhen was thinking, but he found himself completely unable to analyze the situation. After all, he had never had any contact with Lei Zhen. With no intelligence, there could be no analysis.
"Let’s go!"
In the end, he agreed to Shen Yunjiao’s plan. It was indeed an excellent opportunity to make a move.
Ever since he transmigrated, Zhao Zuo had made caution his guiding principle. But caution meant thinking before acting, planning before moving; it didn’t mean grinding away his passion and his edge to live a dog’s life. When a risk needed to be taken, he still had the courage to strike at his enemies.
This was also the first time Zhao Zuo had left Qingni Lane at night. The cold night wind was even more biting. To conceal their identities, they both changed into black night-faring clothes, leaving only their eyes exposed.
"Taoist Friend Shen, I was wondering if you have any extra Spirit Revitalizing Pills. I’d like to buy two."
"I do. Just remember to pay me the Spirit Stones when we get back."
Shen Yunjiao extended her hand, passing him not just the pills, but also a palm-sized Beast Hide pouch. Two fine cords, one red and one gold, were wrapped around the opening, and complex, profound Spirit Pattern Paths were faintly visible on its surface.
This was the Storage Bag Zhao Zuo had always dreamed of. He hadn’t expected to achieve this small goal so quickly.
Zhao Zuo took the Storage Bag and first tried to nourish the Spirit Pattern Paths with his Mana. After a few seconds, he felt a faint connection, as if he could sense a space about one cubic meter in volume. The space was currently empty.
Zhao Zuo brought the bundle from his back close to the mouth of the Storage Bag and infused it with Mana. In the blink of an eye, the bundle vanished from his hands and appeared inside the one-cubic-meter space. He infused more Mana, pictured the bundle in his mind, and retrieved it again.
As miraculous as the Storage Bag was, it couldn’t store living creatures, nor did it have the effect of freezing time to preserve things indefinitely.
After a few more experiments, Zhao Zuo had basically mastered how to use the Storage Bag.
"Storage Bags have a limit to how many times they can be used. When you feel the Spirit Patterns inside becoming unstable, it means the bag is nearing its limit. Remember to take everything out beforehand," Shen Yunjiao said, reminded of when she first got her own Storage Bag as she watched Zhao Zuo repeatedly storing and retrieving items.
"What happens if you don’t take things out in time?"
"The Storage Bag will explode, and everything inside will reappear out of thin air," said Shen Yunjiao.
The two of them traveled through the snow, and soon they had left the area of Qingni Lane.
The Moyun Market was at the center. Further up was the Moyun Sect. The four major districts were built around Moyun Mountain like a four-squared grid. Three sides of the mountain were covered by an Array, with only a single valley connecting to the Yunlan Mountain Range, making it a well-defended Spiritual Land that was easy to hold and hard to attack.
The four districts were named after the four seasons—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—while the alleys within them started with the characters for Clear, Red, Abundant, and Snow. Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao’s target was Red Willow Lane in the Xia District.
Although the two districts were neighbors, there was still some distance between them. Along the way, Zhao Zuo got a glimpse of the nightlife of this world’s Loose Cultivators. Some were busy hunting Demon Beasts, some were fleeing for their lives from the jaws of Demon Beasts, and others were using the cover of night to engage in the business of Tribulation Cultivators.
All in all, the nightlife in the Cultivation Realm was rich and varied.
After about half an hour, the two had neared the vicinity of Red Willow Lane.
Red Willow Lane was bustling with activity. Demon Beasts and Tribulation Cultivators were on the move, and fighting was breaking out everywhere. It was as if Hell had descended upon the mortal world. The sight of blood and corpses everywhere grated on Zhao Zuo’s nerves.
"Be careful," Shen Yunjiao whispered.
Following Shen Yunjiao’s lead, the two arrived near Lei Zhen’s house, only to find it eerily quiet. There was none of the fighting they had expected. The scene before them left both Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao a bit stunned.
’Could it be that we’re the only ones who were lured by the news of Lei Zhen being seriously injured?’
"Perhaps... Lei Zhen already dealt with his enemies before we arrived," Shen Yunjiao said. She then closed her eyes as if sensing the courtyard not far away. "There are seven people inside."
"Of course, it’s also possible no one else took the bait, and we’ve walked into an ambush?" Zhao Zuo sighed helplessly. ’My plans have not been going smoothly these past two days. Why aren’t enemies just lying in bed waiting to be killed like they do in novels?’
"So what do we do now?" Zhao Zuo asked.
Unperturbed, Shen Yunjiao took out a porcelain bottle from her Storage Bag, poured out two pills, swallowed one, and handed the other to Zhao Zuo, saying,
"Antidote Pill."
Then, she took out a large, thirty-centimeter-tall porcelain vase from her Storage Bag. She unsealed the wooden stopper, casually placed it at her feet, and a transparent liquid could be seen rapidly evaporating into the air until it was gone.
Seeing this, Zhao Zuo took the pill and swallowed it. It tasted slightly sweet, and he felt a cool sensation spreading through his abdomen.
Although Zhao Zuo didn’t know what the liquid in the vase was, he could tell it was definitely a potent and troublesome poison. He hadn’t expected Shen Yunjiao to have such a trump card.
"Aren’t you afraid I might be poisoning you?" Shen Yunjiao’s eyes narrowed, making her look like a cunning little fox.
"No. I trust you."
Three minutes later, Shen Yunjiao took out another identical porcelain vase, opened it, and let the contents evaporate.
"This poison is called Spring Breeze. It’s not highly toxic, but it can make a person’s limbs weak, putting them in a debilitated state. It can also dissolve Mana out of thin air. Because its toxicity is low, it’s very difficult to detect," Shen Yunjiao explained in a low voice.
For some reason, Zhao Zuo felt the effects of this poison sounded a bit... improper.
Then came the third, the fourth... and the fifth vase.
A few minutes later, a loud shout erupted from the previously quiet house.
"Damn it, someone’s using poison! Everyone, take an Antidote Pill, now!"
Shen Yunjiao casually activated a Talisman. A massive fireball lit up the night as if it were day, smashing directly into the house. Amid the flames, screams and wails could be heard as several figures escaped from the sea of fire at great speed.
"Let’s go." Shen Yunjiao twirled her sword in a flourish with her right hand. With a slight shift of her feet, she charged directly toward the distant enemies. At the same time, she pulled out three more porcelain vases with her left hand, threw them near the enemies where they exploded, and the Spring Breeze continued to intensify...