Supreme Emperor of Mist

"Young Master, the armlet..." Lu Qing Yun asked.

"Heaven's Strings, that's what I called it. It is a Precelestial Realm's Heaven-Grade, (Full) Protective Treasure." Qin Lan shared the name of this beautiful piece of Armlet-type treasure he made with Lu Qing Yun as they followed him into his sleeping chamber.

"But... It's too precious... The lady from the Treasure Store said it's worth no less than fifteen thousand pieces of gold coin." Lu Qing Yun lowered her head, feeling that she's not qualified to wear such a treasure on the body of a servant.

"If you, as a disciple of Kuangshan Lu Sect is not qualified, then who is? Should I get a wild dog randomly on the street and put the armlet on it instead?" Qin Lan chuckled. In his opinion, nobody worth putting on Heaven's String more than Lu Qing Yun.

Even Lu Yi, who's also one with the same status and position, lacks the right because he's a man, not a girl. Putting on a female accessory on Lu Yi's rough arm would only depreciate the value of this Heaven's String.

"The house looks different when we're going in just now... It feels dangerous and threatening." Huo Zunjie said.

"Of course," Qin Lan replied.

...

...

Two hours ago.

Qin Lan noticed a small jewelry box thrown aside on the corner of Huo Zunjie's sister's room, which is now being used as storage to keep what they've been hunting.

At first, it hardly catches his attention because of how old it is. But then, a hint of the remnant of spiritual energy made him changed his mind.

It was similar to the spiritual undulation of the expert assailant, who crippled his cultivation at that time. Although quite some time has passed, to Qin Lan, who has two lifetimes of experience, he wouldn't be mistaken on a matter like this.

This also meant Huo Zunjie, or perhaps his sister has some connections with the expert and Jiao Household before this.

Qin Lan then removes the filth to inspect the room further. Although most of the hint related to them is somehow destroyed, he still managed to catch a few clues that are left purely by accident.

Multiple pieces of silver coins slotted by the side of her bed. There's also an exquisite box that has been destroyed along with a burnt scroll made from treated bamboo strips. There's also a needle hairpin, just like what he used to communicate with Huo Zunjie earlier.

(How can a family without a cultivation background possess an identity pin? Seven pieces of silver coins... Although it wasn't much, at least it won't leave Huo Zunjie starved and weakened like the day I rescue him...)

(This means his sister is working behind the scene with the Jiao Household without informing her family. It's likely either to support Huo Zunjie's cultivation talent or his sister in someone with ambition in her mind)

Qin Lan deduction was highly accurate the moment he found a loose brick inside Huo Zunjie's sister's room. Once the brick is removed, a piece of letter of instruction is still hidden in there.

== == == == ==

Lure one of the Qin's young masters out at night in the pretense of enjoying moonlight and companionship. The Night Dragon Corps will take action.

-

50 pieces silver

== == == == ==

(It seems that the Jiao Household has been aiming to get rid of us one after another...)

Qin Lan started to understand the reason behind the constant problem that happened in the Qin Household. With a poisonous thorn living this close to their house without anyone knowing, no wonder the Jiao's is capable of planning a step or two ahead of them most of the time.

Furthermore, Kun Ning's appearance here to attack Huo Zunjie is likely because a part of their plan has gone wrong. He's likely abandoned by the Jiao's and used as the scapegoat to cover their track regarding the Qin Pharmacy's attack.

With everything started to make sense to him, Qin Lan devised a plan that could damage the grand operation of the Jiao Household. Since he already had the intention on how to deal with the buyer of Heaven's Strings, all he needs is to adjust the lethality of their first meeting.

(Perhaps the karmic cycle between us has been going on for quite some time...)

Qin Lan chuckled. He turned his attention to the jar of Yellowtail Fox Demon blood, the parts that used to make offensive treasures, and so forth.

(Five Governing Law of the World... Is a vicious being made from the convergence of Laws)

He took a bottle of Flesh Foundation Pills out and emptied the content into his belly. A portion of the ingredients his followers collected today went into the jar of blood to create a concoction that likely kills a person in contact.

The concoction was then poured into the pill bottles he carried along wherever he goes. A simple, makeshift weapon is then created without a hint of mercy from him is given.

Qin Lan's expression was as ugly as it could be. If there was a piece of a bronze mirror by his side, perhaps even he would be shocked by his own ruthless expression, filled with an indescribable hatred.

Eight pill bottles with the murderous concoctions are placed in the north, south, east, and west direction in the house. The four remaining were hung on the beam supporting the roof, accordingly from Northeast clockwise to the Northwest.

On each of them is a talisman with unknown uses, made by forcing the spiritual energy on the leather of the Yellowtail Fox Demon Beast to its readiness state.

Then, Qin Lan gulped the next bottle of Flesh Foundation Pills to replenish his exhausted spiritual energy. A piece of Essence Metal ingot is taken out and used to recreate another Heaven's Strings, which nothing more than a fake imitation.

Qin Lan has moved whatever worthy of his attention back to the Qin Family Manor the moment the trio returned to the house.

With a palm holding Lu Yi from coming into his trap and ruin the bigger plan behind this, Qin Lan suggested that they return to the manor.

He slid a piece of paper below the imitation Heaven's Strings as they're getting ready to leave. Also, the sack of salt with that identity pin is left inside the house on purpose.

Huo Zunjie went to Ma Ling's house and informed her that the house has been sold. He followed the others and returned to the Qin Family Manor after that.

...

...

"The house looks different when we're going in just now... It feels dangerous and threatening." Huo Zunjie said.

"Of course," Qin Lan replied. It was the present once again after Qin Lan finished calculating the perfection rate of his revenge plan.

"Tonight, Huo Zunjie will stay with me in the manor. Lu Yi and Lu Qing Yun will go to the Western Demon Forest again to collect some resources." Qin Lan said.

"Rest while you could. Zunjie, follow me to my private garden. I have a few questions to ask." Qin Lan said.

Lu Yi instantly let go of his grip on the wheelchair and allowed Huo Zunjie to take over his position. The two of them slowly made their way to the hazy private garden beside Qin Lan's shower chamber.

"Zunjie, what kind of people are your dead parents and sister?" Qin Lan asked. Although his intuition tells him that Huo Zunjie was not related to this, it was nothing wrong with him to be careful.

"My father and mother are a pair of loving couple. They're proud of their job as flower peddlers in this Fu-Rong Town. In this town, nobody dares to say that their skill in flower arrangement is better than my mother."

"My father is straightforward. Although our family's meager income was barely able to support us, he never once complained. I remembered that once while I am sick, he risked his life to hunt a White Marten Demon home just to make sure I get all the nutrition I needed."

"As for my sister, she's not my parent's biological daughter, but they love her like their own. She's kind and gentle, but at the same time, cunning. I remember that she often followed big sister Zhou Mei around to earn some extra cash, saying that she wanted to leave this town." Huo Zunjie started to introduce his family member one after another.

"So, that big sister Zhou Mei of yours, is she someone your elder sister trusted?" Qin Lan asked.

"Yes." Huo Zunjie answered.

"But I know that... There's something between them that cannot be talked about." Huo Zunjie added.

"Like what?" Qin Lan continued with his question.

"Ensnaring married man and a wealthy man for their money. But in the end, I am not worthy of saying anything about it because whatever my sister did... End up as the Flesh Foundation Pill used to solidify my foundation." Huo Zunjie lowered his head.

"Let's hope that everything went on well tonight." Qin Lan said.

(If you're here to seek death, then it was due to your fate. Zhou Mei, let's hope that you have a borderline in your actions...)

...

...

"There! Inside that house!" a group of twelve skillful assassins sneaked into the neighborhood with a specially groomed demon insect. The insect behaves like a receptor seeking for a smell, which guides them accurately to Huo Zunjie's house without much trouble.

One of them softly pushed the door open to inspect the house and its condition. After making sure that there's nobody inside the house, he entered.

"Captain, the treasure is on the table!" he whispered a little louder than he used to.

"Everyone into the house. Beware of ambush!" the captain made his way inside and checked the two remaining rooms. With nothing suspicious found except some old pill bottles, he came to the table and pulled the paper out.

== == == == ==

This treasure is Heaven's Strings. If you're not prepared to pay, leave the Protective Treasure alone and get out.

== == == == ==

"Hahaha! Captain, do they think we're stupid? Leave this treasure and return empty-handed?" another assassin came and took a peek at the letter.

"Shut up. Inspect the house again properly and report all irregularities you've found." the captain said. The feeling of falling into a carefully devised trap made the captain hesitated.

"Don't you think that there are too many pill bottles inside this house, captain?" one of them said. Adding up the four on each side of the room and the ones on the beam, that's eight bottles in total.

"It's a trap!" the captain said.

"Immediately get the door open and leave! This kind of profound formation is far above our understanding!" the captain pushed one of his men to the door to open an escape route.

A few of them started to release their spiritual energy in preparation to defend against a sneak attack. But not a single one person noticed the uniqueness behind this formation deployed by Qin Lan.

At the Qin Family Manor, Qin Lan turned his sight towards the direction where Huo Zunjie's house is located. While at the same time, teaching Huo Zunjie how to execute the "Thousand Miles Travel in a Step" movement art.

"Wait! Keep your spiritual energy back into your body! Why the hell the door is not opening?" the captain lost his calmness. He felt like they've been dancing along on the culprit's hand the moment he pulled the paper out.

"Wait..." the captain noticed something else.

When he pulled that paper, there was a sound of a pebble fallen onto a solid surface.

"Look inside the treasure if there's something in there!" he ordered.

His order made one of his reckless subordinates reached out to the treasure and lifted it up. The Demon Core hid inside Heaven's String has finally made its appearance.

The spiritual energy inside this house run amok at last, which activated all the talisman on the bottles.

Eight bottles of a corrosive substance used to melt corpses exploded and spread all across the house, melting their flesh as the twelve assassins cried in anguish. But their suffering did not end there.

They weren't the real target of Qin Lan's corpse melting liquid.

The real target is, in fact, the Demon Core that was processed and tempered by Qin Lan earlier.

Two extremities collide, and then, an explosion happened.

The twelve bodies with cultivation between second-level to third-level Flesh Refining Layer, combined with the processed Demon Core, created an explosion comparable to a Full Completion Flesh cultivator.

Fire lights up the night sky of the Fu-Rong Town, like a warning to each and every prominent family with dirty deeds in their hand.