Returning home, Deng Yunliang was still somewhat distracted because he didn't expect Ji Yuan to be such an emotional and loyal person.
Initially, Deng Yunliang thought Ji Yuan, who had always been reclusive, was a cold and indifferent cultivator.
But upon meeting him today, he didn't expect Ji Yuan to be willing to lend a hand to save Lin Hu.
Furthermore, Ji Yuan disliked gambling people which Deng Yunliang, although reluctant to admit, could indeed feel very clearly.
Thinking back to today's events, Deng Yunliang couldn't help but wonder if Ji Yuan would blame him for Lin Hu's gambling.
After all, it was he who brought Lin Hu into betting...
If that's the case, and Ji Yuan really does blame him, what could he, a mid-Qi Cultivation stage individual, possibly use to fend off someone at the foundational level?
Deng Yunliang also recalled last time when he asked for a loan, Ji Yuan's expressionless look, as if he were looking at a... dead man.
Deng Yunliang shivered, his face turning pale with fear.
'No way, I can't just sit and wait for death!'
As a skilled gambler, Deng Yunliang's first reaction was... to make a gamble!
He picked up a cup of tea, took a big gulp, then began to carefully think things over.
This Ji Yuan is at a mid-stage Qi Cultivation level, yet he seems to have substantial wealth, using such a fine Dharma Ship, and from time to time you can hear the call of the Qinghuang chickens from his backyard, and it seems he recently raised a Spirit Dolphin.
Damn it, he probably eats better than I do!
Just how wealthy is he?
The more he thought, the more tempted Deng Yunliang became.
If he could take over this neighbor, the windfall would be considerable, especially since Ji Yuan is an orphan; that makes it even better.
No troubles even if killed.
So the most pressing question now is,
how can someone at early-stage Qi Cultivation possibly kill someone at a mid-stage?
Moreover, based on how Ji Yuan effortlessly took out two Spirit Fish last time, that guy is undoubtedly someone who excels in killing.
Charging in himself would only be courting death.
He could only resort to hiring someone... Conveniently, Deng Yunliang had been mingling in the gambling dens of Zengtou City for a while and indeed made quite a few friends.
Although they were friends met at the gambling table, only such friends would dare risk their lives.
If met in a proper setting, who would dare undertake this?
So who should he look for, preferably find two fourth-level Qi Cultivation individuals, and when the fight ensues, one must perish together with Ji Yuan… if both could perish together with Ji Yuan, that would be ideal.
In this way, he could naturally acquire the possessions of all three of them.
Of course, this premise relies on himself staying upright and not being the first to get killed by Ji Yuan... Names of a few people started floating in Deng Yunliang's mind.
...
Upon returning home, Ji Yuan also forgot about the incident just before at the gate.
When one's cultivation breaks through, and their strength grows, it is natural to then adapt to their new Magical Artifacts.
For instance, this Black Gold Saber.
When Ji Yuan was at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, using it wasn't quite strenuous, but it always consumed a fair amount of spiritual power, but now it is different.
He could manipulate the Black Gold Saber effortlessly.
Especially after learning Talisman Painting, his control over Magical Artifacts became even more refined.
Then Ji Yuan continued his cultivation at home for the next two days. Although he didn't leave home, he occasionally heard Lin Hu's sounds of leaving early and returning late.
Though saying not to gamble, it appears he truly stopped gambling.
As for Deng Yunliang, the other side seemed to have some visitors at his house these few days. Ji Yuan sensed two varying presences coming and going, but since it didn't concern him, he paid no mind.
Until the third day, he planned to head out to buy some semi-Spirit Fish and Qinghuang chickens, while also purchasing some talisman papers and ink.
Just as Ji Yuan stepped out and prepared to lock the courtyard door, he suddenly sensed something was off!
A black blinding light flickered from the Storage Bag, growing larger with the wind and paused behind him.
"Ding——"
After the clear sound of metal clashing, the Black Gold Saber was repelled back by this immense force, resting against Ji Yuan's back with a mighty strength, if it were any regular cultivator, internal injuries to the viscera would be inevitable from such an attack.
Alas, Ji Yuan had undergone body refinement!
Taking advantage of the momentum, he rolled back into the courtyard, shutting the door behind him.
"Not good!"
A startled cry came from outside, followed by a Water Arrow shooting in, shattering the wooden door instantly.
'You motherfucker!'
Ji Yuan's surrounding Spiritual Qi surged wildly, forming four Water Shields which instantly appeared and hovered around him, and he leaped onto the courtyard wall.
With just one glance, he understood what was going on.
Two middle-aged men, drenched from head to toe, stood by the lakeside, one in black, the other in a gray robe, both exuding Qi Cultivation level four aura, their expressions full of ferocity.
The man in black had a magical artifact floating above his head, unmistakably a bronze spike about the size of an arm.
Clearly, it was this contraption that had just ambushed Ji Yuan.
If his reaction had been slower, he might already be a corpse lying on the ground.
In addition, Deng Yunliang stood at the doorway to his courtyard, clutching a Water Arrow Talisman in each hand, his glance towards Ji Yuan quite flustered.
Seeing the situation, Ji Yuan immediately understood what was happening.
The gambler... made a gamble!
Deng Yunliang truly lived up to the name of a gambler, though merely at the third level of Qi Cultivation, he dared to hire two fourth-level Qi Cultivation individuals to assassinate him.
As quick as lightning.
Ji Yuan stood atop the courtyard wall in the blink of an eye and had already urged the Black Gold Saber.
"Go——"
He gave a light command, and the short saber vanished instantly, slashing straight toward the black-clad man with the artifact, while his hands pointed towards Deng Yunliang.
Water Drop Finger unleashed!
Two streams of Spiritual Light shot out, and without a word, Deng Yunliang threw the two Water Arrow Talismans he held in his hands.
Collisions occurred, with the sounds of metal and water droplets exploding meeting simultaneously.
A muffled groan followed.
The gray-robed man, who had remained inactive, suddenly quivered and then dropped dead, becoming a corpse.
Eyes wide open, dying with grievances unavenged.
The black-clad man turned his head for a glance, seemingly unable to comprehend as his face turned back, "You..."
Before he could finish his words, a faint hint of red light appeared before him, prompting an instinctual summoning of his artifact.
Standing atop the courtyard wall, Ji Yuan extended a finger again.
Water Drop Finger flipped the bronze spike.
Fatal Needle swooped in at once, piercing straight through his glabella.
"Bang——"
The corpse arched backward, falling into the waters of Cloud Rain Marsh.
The two had hidden in Cloud Rain Marsh earlier, causing Ji Yuan to fail in detecting them, now it's good, they'll die in this Cloud Rain Marsh as well.
Having slain the two attackers at once, Ji Yuan felt nothing significant.
First, their cultivation realms were inferior to his from the start, and they were just showpieces, filled with cultivation but ignorant of magical combat.
Like in the recent encounter, Ji Yuan pretended to attack the black-clothed man and Deng Yunliang, whereas the Fatal Needle went straight for the one in the middle, yet he didn't even form a few water shields in response.
They must all have been gambling addicts Deng Yunliang met in gambling dens.
Don't talk about magical combat, they were solely thinking of striking it rich.
Ji Yuan leaped down from the courtyard wall, and to the side, Deng Yunliang had already collapsed to his knees, kneeling on the ground.
Upon meeting Ji Yuan's gaze, he kowtowed like a pecking hen.
"Ji... Elder Ji, Brother Ji, have mercy Brother Ji."
Being kindhearted, Ji Yuan couldn't bear the sight of others sniveling in distress, so he resolved his suffering with one Water Drop Finger.
Towards those plotting his harm, Ji Yuan only had two options.
Either be killed by them or... kill them instead.
Collecting the nearly valueless treasures of the three gamblers, Ji Yuan used three drops of Corpse-Dissolving Water to erase the traces. Upon looking around from left to right, he went to Lin Hu's door, and knocked.
No response, thinking both Wu Qin and he must have gone out on a boat.