Stranger Danger

Chapter 71: Plot Within Plot

Lady Poison’s true name was Cheng Mei. She was a master in the art of poisoning, and the deadliest and most subtle poison was called the Bone Melter. As its name would suggest, it was a colorless, odorless, and airborne poison that liquefied the bones and rotted the flesh if it was breathed in. It only took a short time for her victim to melt into a fleshy puddle. Her ability to kill invisibly was why she came to be known as Lady Poison.

Lady Poison had poisoned Ye Qing with the Bone Melter while he was killing Yan Yuming. She believed that there was no way he would notice as he was distracted. Once he was dead, she would speak with the patriarch of the Zheng Clan, Zheng Feng and request that he rewarded her for taking revenge for Yan Tieyi.

Zheng Feng and Yan Tieyi were sworn brothers and incredibly close. It was natural that he would want to take revenge for Yan Tieyi. He would surely reward her handsomely once he had taken over the Iron Shirt Gang. With luck, he might even make her a Hallmaster.

Of course, the plan hinged on the fact that Ye Qing did not notice the poisoning… and he did.

I need to run!

That was the only thought in Lady Poison’s mind even as she frantically backed away from Ye Qing. However, she hadn’t even moved three meters away from her original location when the air around her abruptly hardened like it was a solid object. She could still move, but she might as well be immobile at the pace she was going.

“Ahhhh! I will kill you even if it’s the last thing I do!” Lady Poison screamed, knowing that it was do or die. Without hesitation, she discharged a cold, dark green true qi that spread to the surroundings in just an instant. Greenish flames crackled within the true qi, and the plants within the main hall withered in the blink of an eye.

Everyone except Ye Qing backed away from the true qi in an instant. Those who had seen the art in action before immediately recognized it as the Green Phosphorus Art. In essence, the Green Phosphorus Art was a poisonous gas made of dozens of deadly poisons. When mixed with true qi, it would create a phosphorus flame that was highly toxic. Anyone who touched the sparks would immediately catch the poison and fall dead in a very short time, and as the practitioner of the art, Lady Poison could spread the poison gas with her true qi and poison everyone and everything within a certain range.

“Oooh, a fellow flame practitioner?”

Ye Qing paid the phosphorus flames no heed, however. He simply raised his left hand and unleashed the Netherflame. Not only did Lady Poison’s true qi caught on fire as soon as the Netherflame made contact with it, the Netherflame easily overwhelmed—no, devoured the phosphorus flame and advanced quickly toward Lady Poison.

Bang bang bang!

Knowing that her life was in grave danger, Lady Poison immediately detonated the pimples and warts covering her whole body. As it turned out, the pimples were hiding many insects that looked like winged centipedes, and they all flew toward Ye Qing from multiple directions.

“You were raising these bugs with your own flesh? Isn’t that a little too much?”

Ye Qing narrowed his eyes a little and clenched his left fist. The Netherflame descended on top of the centipede swarm and turned them to ash without a sound.

“Ahhh… my Phosphorus Centipedes!” Lady Poison screeched in pain and sorrow, but she didn’t dare to linger for even a second longer. She immediately made a run for the exit. However, she stiffened yet again after she took her first step, and it was a different sensation from last time. If it felt like she was wading through extremely hard water before, now her entire body was stiff to the point it felt like full-body paralysis. She couldn’t see her own face, but her complexion had turned bluish black.

Poison? Am I poisoned?

The thought flitted across Lady Poison’s mind. Then, her consciousness blurred, and she abruptly collapsed on the floor.

It’s too—

She couldn’t even form a full thought before she died.

Lady Poison had poisoned countless people her entire life, and in the end, it was a poison that took her life. It was terribly ironic to put it mildly.

“I gave you an out, and you still chose this path. Some people just can’t be helped.” Ye Qing let out a soft sigh before snapping his fingers. A wisp of Netherflame landed on Lady Poison’s corpse and turned it into ash in an instant. With that done, he clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and said,

“Well, it’s unfortunate we have to lose another one of our members, but I am glad that the rest of you are intelligent people!”

He smiled, but it only left the attendees feeling chilled to the core.

“Hallmaster Ruan, you’re one of the three Keepers now. Congratulations!”

“R-Right! Thanks, boss!” Ruan Hongluo was caught off guard at first, but happiness quickly took over when she realized she had been promoted.

Before Ye Qing left, he swept his gaze across the hall one last time and said, “I said this before, and I’m going to say it one more time. What happened within these walls stays within these walls, understand?”

“As you command!”

Behind him, everyone bowed toward him and answered as respectfully as they could!

……

Qiao Residence, Rainflower Rest.

“How unexpected. I thought you didn’t have time for my humble abode?”

Qiao Six was sitting at his usual seat and cooking a pot of tea. He looked a lot more relaxed and carefree compared to the last time he saw him.

“Well, I can’t leave my brother alone for long, can I?” Ye Qing answered smilingly while sitting opposite of the information broker.

“And you are… Tao Xian, the Sick Scholar?!” Qiao Six looked at the sick-looking man standing behind Ye Qing with a look of obvious puzzlement. “It’s only been a few days. When did you join the Iron Shirt Gang, Joyless?”

Ye Qing shook and nodded his head in succession. “I didn’t join the Iron Shirt Gang, but the Iron Shirt Gang belongs to me.”

“Okay, my age must be catching up to me, because that sentence makes no sense to me at all!” Qiao Six shook his head wistfully while rubbing his fingers across a tea cup.

Tao Xian chose this moment to speak up, “Don’t you get it yet, Master Six? Boss Ye has become the leader of our Iron Shirt Gang!”

“What?” Qiao Six exclaimed in disbelief. Beside him, Hong Yu was so stunned that her hands shook, and she accidentally spilled some tea across the table. A refreshing scent filled the pavilion quickly.

“If you’re the boss, then what happened to Yan Tieyi?” Zuo Yiyan blurted.

Ye Qing sipped his tea and closed his eyes in satisfaction. “What else? I killed him, of course!”

Qiao Six took a moment to steady himself before asking seriously, “You’re not kidding me, are you? What the hell happened in the past few days?”

Ye Qing shrugged. “I’m serious! Yan Tieyi tried to kill me, so I killed him in return. After that, I procured his gang as compensation!”

“That… that’s it?” Qiao Six just could not believe it. Iron Shirt Yan was one of the most prominent warriors in Anyang, and not even he was a match for that old man. Now, Ye Qing was telling him that he was dead, and he was the one who did it.

Even knowing what he did, Qiao Six could scarcely believe his own ears.

].

Ye Qing pulled back his left sleeve to reveal the Blue Demon Hand. He said casually, “I don’t know what you were expecting, but it really is that simple.”

“That’s Yan Tieyi’s Blue Demon Hand!” Qiao Six blurted. As the greatest information broker in Anyang, of course he knew a thing or two about Iron Shirt Yan’s Strange Artifact. He fell silent for a long time before sighing, “If the Blue Demon Hand fell into your hands, then Yan Tieyi must be dead! Joyless, you… you are the living proof that the young always surpasses the old!”

Qiao Six already knew that Ye Qing was extremely strong, but to be so strong as to kill Yan Tieyi with the Blue Demon Hand equipped? Right now, the young man could probably crush him like a bug if he wanted to.

The information broker could not help but praise himself for making the right choice a few days ago. Had he chosen to fight Ye Qing to the death, the grass before his tombstone would nearly be a meter tall by now.

“You flatter me!” Ye Qing replied lazily while crossing his legs.

“That said, this business isn’t over yet, Joyless. You might have killed Yan Tieyi and controlled the Iron Shirt Gang, but you still have to watch out for—”

“Zheng Feng, right?”

“That’s right!”

By now Qiao Six had regained his calm, and he did not hesitate to warn Ye Qing, “Yan Tieyi once saved Zheng Feng’s life, so they are closer than many blood brothers are! Zheng Feng will come after you for killing his sworn brother!”

Ye Qing did not panic, however. He said, “I know. That’s why I came to visit you today, Brother Six!”

“I’m sorry?” Qiao Six’s expression immediately turned wary. “What are you scheming? I’m just a businessman, you bastard! I can’t possibly help you with this matter!”

Ye Qing rolled his eyes at him. “You wound my soul, brother. But don’t worry, I’m not asking you to shield me from the Zheng Clan or something. I’m here to make a deal with you!”

“Okay. Tell me!”

Ye Qing sat up straight and turned serious. “Before I get to that, I want you to know that Zheng Feng is going to die no matter what. There is nothing in the world that will change that fact. Of course, I’m aware of your position, so I won’t ask you to help me kill Zheng Feng. I’d rather do this myself anyway.”

“I came here today because I have one, and only one question to ask you: are you interested in the Zheng Clan’s assets and businesses? Of course, I mean after the guy’s dead.”

“What difference does my answer make?” Qiao Six replied unhurriedly.

“If you’re interested, I’ll take seventy percent of the cake and share the rest with you. If not, then this meeting has never happened!” Ye Qing proposed. “There are no free lunches in this world, but this is as free as it gets, brother. You best think carefully before you give me your answer.”

“Free lunch? More like a high rank cultivation art that’s missing a few key pages!” Qiao Six retorted while shaking his head.

“Is that so? Should I take that as a no then, brother?” Ye Qing asked with a half-smirk. He did not seem to be worried in the slightest.

“I never said that!” Qiao Six quickly changed his tune and said, “I think the profits could be distributed a little more evenly though. What if I claim seventy percent of the cake, and the rest goes to you?”

“Do you have no shame? Fine, I suppose I can make a compromise and give you forty percent of the cake.”

“One must keep clear accounts even with their own brother, am I right? But since you’re willing to compromise, I suppose I can take a step back as well. How does fifty-fifty sound?”

“It sounds fantastic. Are we in agreement?”

“We are. A pleasure to work with you!”

……

“You look puzzled, Tao Xian. Are you wondering why I gave up half of our cake for free?”

Tao Xian had been looking weird since they left the Qiao residence. He clearly wanted to ask a question but was afraid he would earn Ye Qing’s wrath, so Ye Qing did the asking for him.

“That’s right!” Tao Xian said immediately. “He doesn’t even need to lift a finger to get half of the profits! How is this fair?”

“Heh. It only looks unfair because you aren’t looking at the bigger picture, and you’re wrong when you say that Qiao Six wouldn’t need to work for it,” Ye Qing replied calmly. “The thing is, the Iron Shirt Gang cannot eat up the Zheng Clan by ourselves. The Zheng Clan is a powerful clan that has rooted itself in Anyang for years. Their wellbeing is tied to many other forces and people’s wellbeing.”

“If I kill Zheng Feng, and the Iron Shirt Gang lays claim to all the wealth they possess, it is inevitable that we will damage some people’s interests and earn their hatred. We will also give off the impression that we are excessively greedy. Once the Iron Shirt Gang has become the target of everyone’s ire, we will be hindered every step of the way.”

Tao Xian dipped his head and mulled over Ye Qing’s words. A long time later, he slowly nodded in understanding.

“That is why Qiao Six said that my offer is like a high rank cultivation art that’s missing a few key pages. Everyone wants a high rank cultivation art, but the fact that it’s missing key pages means that it’s highly risky to practice. If you’re skilled and knowledgeable enough to figure out those pages by yourself, then good for you. But what if you’re not? You’re going to suffer a deviation at best or die at worst, and your enemies are only all too happy to take advantage of your downfall.”

“If you can’t have something all by yourself, then you might as well share it. In this case, I decided that Qiao Six is an excellent partner to share this pie with. In terms of connections, there’s no one who is more connected than our so-called ‘omniscient’ information broker. Qiao Six’s connections will make our wrongdoers at least think twice before they decide to target us. and we would not have to bear everyone’s ire by ourselves.”

“In fact, I would ‘accidentally’ miss out between ten to fifteen percent of our share when it is time to bribe the hyenas to look the other way. I guarantee you that Qiao Six will be plotting the same thing. This way, we will still get the lion’s share of the cake, but no one will hate us for it.”

“You are as wise as you are strong, boss!” Tao Xian praised him from the bottom of his heart.

“It’s not that complicated, really. Greed is good, but too much greed

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