"Just friends."
Lin Sheng shook his head slightly, not caring about Zhao Kongfang's words.
He did have a good impression of Cao Ying, but compared to matters of love, the improvement of his own strength fascinated him more.
"Tsk... No wonder you're a blockhead, Brother, I could tell at a glance that Cao Ying was interested in you..."
Zhao Kongfang said, shaking his head and wearing a look of regret.
"You'll understand when you're older..."
...
At night, in the East District of Wanhua City, by Spring Moon Lake.
On the flower boat.
Crack!
A fine porcelain teacup was smashed heavily onto the ground, shattering with a crisp sound.
"Still no news!?"
Shi Yan's face was ashen, and he spoke coldly, looking at the few people below the hall.
"Reporting to the Gang Leader, your subordinate has already sent people to search every place in the city, but the Third Brother's whereabouts have not been found. Furthermore, none of the Third Brother's trusted subordinates know his whereabouts. Your subordinate suspects... the Third Brother might not be in the city, or perhaps..."
A strong man in black below the hall said respectfully, but hesitated at the end.
"Or perhaps what..."
Shi Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, staring coldly at this subordinate.
"Your subordinate speculates that the Third Brother, he... he might have encountered something..."
The strong man in black spoke hesitantly, his words unfinished as his voice abruptly stopped. His eyes widened as he lowered his head, looking at his chest in disbelief.
At this moment, his chest had been pierced by a large hand, and streams of bright red blood flowed out.
With a thud, the strong body of the man in black fell to the ground.
Behind him, a tall, thin man in white withdrew his hand, the bloodstains on it strangely seeping into his skin.
This person was none other than Shi Kai, the Second Leader of the White Dragon Gang, a Martial Artist at Bones Transformation Sixth Layer.
"Brother, you don't need to worry too much. With Third Brother's strength, there are very few people in Wanhua City who can defeat him. It's basically impossible to kill him without a sound."
Shi Kai said in a deep voice, looking at his Brother seated in the hall.
"So in my opinion, Third Brother most likely has something important to do. Perhaps if we wait a few more days, there might be news."
However, after hearing Shi Kai's words, Shi Yan's face remained grim, showing no improvement. After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.
"Second Brother, do you think with Third Brother's caution, if he really had something important, he wouldn't notify you or me?"
"This..."
Shi Kai was silent for a moment, unsure what to say.
According to his understanding of Shi Gu, he seemed crazy but was actually meticulous and acted only after careful planning. He wouldn't do anything risky and wouldn't leave without saying goodbye.
"You're right, in Wanhua City, there are very few people whose strength can surpass and kill your Third Brother, but there are a few who can."
Seeing Shi Kai silent, Shi Yan continued.
"Fang Family Old Ghost, Crimson Whale Hall's Red Hair, and that old fellow Ouyang Bing from Seven Forms Sect. Besides these three, no one can kill Third Brother."
"Brother, are you saying Third Brother's disappearance is related to these three?"
Shi Kai said in a deep voice, as if thinking of something, and added.
"I heard that Third Brother had a conflict with Seven Forms Sect a few days ago, and even Old Man Ouyang came down the mountain. Could this matter have been done by Old Man Ouyang?"
"Not likely. The first person I thought of when Third Brother disappeared was that old fellow Ouyang Bing, but have you seen that old fellow make a move in recent years?"
"Brother, now that you mention it, there really hasn't been. Could the rumors be true? That Old Man Ouyang Bing really injured his Foundation when he broke through before." Shi Kai pondered for a moment, slowly voicing his guess.
"This matter should be true, that old fellow injured his Foundation, but I don't know how much of his strength is left. However, with Third Brother's strength, it wouldn't be that easy for him to kill Third Brother, let alone with the current situation of Seven Forms Sect, he might not dare to make a move on Third Brother."
"Moreover, the hidden agent on Seven Forms Sect's side also sent news that Ouyang Bing has been in seclusion on the mountain since that time and has not come down. So it's unlikely that Third Brother's disappearance was done by that crippled old fellow."
At this point, Shi Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, clenching his fists and making cracking sounds with his bones.
"Therefore, only Red Hair and Fang Family Old Ghost are the most likely. However, Fang Family Old Ghost's attention is basically focused on the beast mine in Congyun Mountain Range, so the possibility of him making a move on Third Brother is also small. Thus, the most likely person is only Red Hair."
Hearing this, Shi Kai frowned slightly and said in a deep voice.
"Among our major forces in Wanhua City, the strongest is the old fellow Ouyang Bing. Besides him, it's that guy Red Hair, especially since Crimson Whale Hall has been studying their unique hidden weapons, and Red Hair is quite enthusiastic about it. If his family's incomplete Red Dragon Roar is completed by him, then with careful planning against someone unprepared, it is indeed possible to silently eliminate Third Brother..."
"That's right, what you're thinking is the same as me, which is why I ordered people to probe Crimson Whale Hall." Shi Yan said calmly.
"But Brother, logically speaking, although we've been causing trouble for Crimson Whale Hall during this time, it hasn't reached this point, right? Isn't that guy Red Hair afraid that we'll fight him to the death, a life-and-death struggle!?" Shi Kai was a bit confused.
Third Brother, as the Third Leader of their White Dragon Gang and their Third Brother, was a core figure of the White Dragon Gang. Killing him would indeed easily trigger a major conflict, completely breaking the already unstable situation in Wanhua City.
At that time, the beneficiaries would undoubtedly be the other two factions.
Soon, he seemed to realize something and said in shock.
"Could it be that guy Red Hair has already completed the repair of Red Dragon Roar and produced a large amount of Red Dragon Roar, which is why he is so fearless!!"
"I'm not sure, which is also why I was anxious for you to come over. After all, you have always been in charge of Crimson Whale Hall's side. Now that Third Brother is in trouble, their next target is likely to be you, so it's proper for you to stay here."
Shi Yan said in a deep voice, while also instructing.
"Also, take advantage of this time to have the hidden agent on Crimson Whale Hall's side investigate the situation clearly."
"I understand, Brother. I'll go arrange it now."
...
The next day, at noon.
"We're finally back! Our Listening to the Moon Pavilion suddenly stopped operating. I don't know how much we've lost during this time. I hope we can still recover some."
In the carriage, Cao Luan poked his head out of the compartment, looking at the majestic city walls in front of him, a hint of eagerness on his face.
"Only the business outside the city stopped. At least the Listening to the Moon Pavilion inside the city is still open, but the stock should not be much now. We need to quickly prepare raw materials later."
Cao Ying's voice sounded from inside the carriage. Compared to Cao Luan, she didn't seem anxious.
During this period at Seven Forms Sect, she was pleasantly surprised to find through letters that the business in the city had not been affected and no one had caused trouble, so it could maintain normal operations. This was already a blessing in disguise.
"Gongzi Lin, since we have arrived in the city, we will return to the shop first. Thank you for your care during this time."
Inside the carriage, Cao Ying had a smile on her face and said softly to Lin Sheng.
"Okay, it's been delayed for so long, it's time to tidy up properly. Let Wang Dehai escort you there."
Lin Sheng nodded slightly, and at the same time took out a few banknotes from his Arms, stuffed them into her hand, and then got up and got out of the carriage.
"Lin..."
Before Cao Ying could react, Lin Sheng's figure had already disappeared.
She had to swallow her words and looked down at the banknotes in her hand. They were five large banknotes with a face value of one thousand taels.
Cao Luan, who had shrunk his head back into the carriage, saw the banknotes in his sister's hand and showed a hint of surprise on his face.
"Sister, he's generous for once, just accept it. I didn't expect this bastard... Lin Sheng, although he acts arbitrarily, he's still... uh... still passable."
Ignoring Cao Luan's words, Cao Ying's gaze passed through the carriage curtain lifted by the breeze, her eyes fixed on the crowd, and she clenched the banknotes in her hand.
She really needed this money. The Listening to the Moon Pavilion had just started and had suffered continuous robberies. Not only was there no profit, but they had also lost a lot. Her savings had long been depleted, and she had even borrowed some external debts.
Originally, on her way back this time, she had been thinking about how to borrow some more money from her previous business partners. Now, with these 5,000 taels of silver, it undoubtedly solved her urgent need.
Not caring about what the two people in the carriage were thinking, Lin Sheng had already returned to his residence first.
After all, five days had passed, and he had to quickly confirm the condition of the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey.
He quickly arrived at the residence, opened the door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the listless Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey in the cage.
After all, he had been targeted by people from the White Dragon Gang before, and he was really afraid that someone would covet the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey while he was away. Fortunately, that didn't happen.
It was just a pity that the Spirit Beast meat in the front courtyard was already gone.
He could only get some dried high-grade ordinary beast meat from the room next to it and throw it to the Three-Eyed Spirit Monkey.
Then he went to the large courtyard in the South District.
Compared to the intact residence, the large courtyard was a mess.
It was clear that those people had searched it thoroughly.
It was just a pity that besides poisonous insects, there was nothing else in this large courtyard.
Ignoring the mess in the courtyard, he went directly into the room where the poisonous insects were bred.
As soon as he entered, he saw two incomplete, black and gray corpses on the ground.
The corpses were dressed in rags, seemingly beggars from the street.
Apparently, some beggars had targeted this large courtyard during this time, sneaked in, and were then attacked by poisonous insects, directly meeting their end here.
As if sensing someone entering, a part of one of the beggar's incomplete bodies suddenly bulged. The next moment, with a whoosh, a black shadow shot towards him.
However, before it could get close, its head was caught by Lin Sheng.
This was a venomous snake with black scales and a round head, precisely the poisonous insect originally in the pond named Black Scale Snake.
But the Black Scale Snake at this time had undergone some changes compared to before.
There were a few small dark red lines on its originally black scales, and its size was a circle larger than before. As its mouth opened and closed, it emitted bursts of foul smell, clearly containing potent venom.
This venom was naturally nothing to Lin Sheng.
However, for ordinary people or even low-level Martial Artists in the Body Tempering Realm, the foul smell it emitted alone would probably be enough to cause them to die from poisoning.
At this moment, although the Black Scale Snake's head was gripped, it showed no intention of giving up struggling. Its tail quickly wrapped around Lin Sheng's neck. Unfortunately, Lin Sheng shook his hand with force, and the Black Scale Snake's raised tail hung down weakly.
It hung limply in Lin Sheng's hand like a large black noodle.
Lin Sheng's gaze swept across the room again, lingering on some scale residue with traces of blood and a few bare flower pots in the corner. A hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"I didn't expect those people not to touch these poisonous insects."
It seemed that the poisonous insects originally in the pond had all gone into the Black Scale Snake's belly, and the plants that promoted mutation had also been eaten cleanly by it.
This was somewhat unexpected.
He had originally thought that since the outer courtyard was in such a state, the poisonous insects in the room should not have been spared, but he didn't expect that those people from the White Dragon Gang didn't touch these poisonous insects.
However, after a moment of thought, he understood the reason.
The potent venoms he cultivated were highly toxic. Although they had some value, ordinary Martial Artists probably avoided them, not to mention the effort of capturing these poisonous insects. One wrong move could potentially cost them their lives, so it was no wonder they had no interest in these poisonous insects.
Moreover, the appearance of this Black Scale Snake seemed to show signs of mutation, and the progress was quite a bit faster than he had originally anticipated. This was also an unexpected bonus.
Thinking of this, his mind moved, and information about the Black Scale Snake appeared in his mind.
【Beast Name: Black Scale Snake (Ordinary Grade High-Level)】
【Covered in black scales, body length three feet, agile, highly venomous snake species, due to swallowing a large number of poisonous insects and poisonous plants, has a tendency to mutate, venom is stronger...】
【Integration Requirement: Poison Corrosion Buff 1】
【Integration Effect: Poison Corrosion Buff 3, Agility Increase 1】
"The Poison Corrosion Buff has reached three points!?"
Seeing the Black Scale Snake's information on the panel, a smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
He hadn't expected the effect to be even more significant than he had imagined. Originally, the Black Scale Snake's Poison Corrosion Buff was only two points, but now it had increased by one point.
Don't underestimate this one point. The effect of the Poison Corrosion Buff is even more rare than basic attributes.
After all, the Black Tiger Ape's Poison Corrosion Buff was only one point.
Three points of Poison Corrosion Buff had already reached a quite powerful level.
Thinking of this, he inserted his finger between the Black Scale Snake's scales, and then with a thought, chose to integrate it directly.
A few breaths later, the integration was successful.
As for the Black Scale Snake, it was obviously listless. Lin Sheng took out a Blood Qi pill from his Arms, crushed it, and threw it into the Black Scale Snake's mouth. After seeing its breathing stabilize, he threw it into the pond.
At the same time, his right hand had turned black, as if stained with ink. Ignoring this, Lin Sheng activated the toxic blood of the Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm. With the Black Scale Snake's venom buff, he could feel that this martial art within his body seemed to be more effortless.
"I can collect some more potent corrosive poisonous plants, preferably like Star Dew Grass, then the efficiency of Three Corpse Soul Severing Palm will undoubtedly be greatly improved..."
Without a suitable avian Spirit Beast to integrate, the progress of Qingniao Chasing Star Finger is not optimistic. However, now that he is back in the city, he can first make it his main cultivation method and enter the Blood Transportation Realm.