The old Taoist felt a chill run down his spine at the words.
Today, after taking the money, he and his disciple returned to their rented room. His disciple, being attentive and glib-tongued, had even bought small bottles of wine and some dishes to celebrate.
He didn't think much of it. After a couple of cups, dizziness set in, and he realized something was wrong. He tried to get up but found his body unresponsive.
Before he lost consciousness, all he saw was his disciple licking his fingers with his tongue, counting the money in the box.
When he woke up again, his disciple was already dead.
After all, he had lived a lifetime and immediately understood that there was something wrong with the money. Thinking that he had also touched it before, he realized, belatedly, that his fingertips and the corners of his eyes were turning black.
It was poisoning!
His disciple's death was suspicious. Fearing he would die the same way, he dared to come up the mountain, hoping to retrieve the antidote.
In essence, he still possessed some formidable skills that had allowed him to get by.
But just as he set foot on the mountain, a drunkard appeared, scaring him into hiding.
He thought that after the drunkard left, he would explain the situation. At worst, he would give up the money and be granted a chance to live.
Who would have thought that the seemingly refined young man would dare to directly beat the drunkard to death and push the body off the cliff!
This truly terrified him.
He turned to flee but accidentally tripped over the box, thus revealing himself.
"Spare my life!" the old Taoist trembled, "I don't want anything. I'll leave now and never return. I saw nothing tonight, I swear I'll never speak of it again!"
Teacher Song watched the old Taoist with cold eyes, his gaze like that of someone looking at a corpse. He curled his lips and said, "Alright, run then. Run as far as you can."
Upon hearing this, the old Taoist looked up, turned, and was about to run. After only a few steps, he looked back at Teacher Song and asked blankly, "What about my poison..."
"It's almost time," Teacher Song said softly.
As Teacher Song finished speaking, the old Taoist suddenly clutched his chest, his eyes wide open, and fell straight down.
"To die so close, how troublesome," Teacher Song mumbled with displeasure.
Just then, the gate to Teacher Song's courtyard was pushed open, and a woman emerged.
It was already dark, so Xia Qingtian and mobius couldn't see the woman's face clearly. However, upon hearing her voice, mobius visibly tensed up.
It seemed he recognized the owner of the voice.
"It seems this lousy place isn't as good as you reported," the woman said disdainfully. "Two people have died in such a short time, not to mention the two who died before. Song Qi, your hands are indeed dirty."
"Instead of making sarcastic remarks, why don't you come help?" Song Qi's voice was filled with cold displeasure.
"I don't want to touch dead bodies, my nails are newly done," the woman snorted. "Don't worry, I've called my people from Nyx. They'll handle it."
Hearing the woman say this, Song Qi no longer dwelled on handling the bodies and asked, "What is your purpose for coming today?"
"Just to tell you some news. Qin Mei is dead," the woman said. "There's an opening in the organization now. Stop fussing over your potted plants and come back with me."
"My experiments are showing promise," Song Qi clenched his fists by his side. "Once this drug is successfully developed, I won't need to fill a vacancy to be recognized by the organization. I will get my own seal!"
The woman crossed her arms and sneered, "Your experimental products only cause sudden cardiac arrest and death. I can achieve that effect with a single bullet."
"These are just failures. There are still some issues with the formulation. Just give me some time..." Song Qi said. "I've already driven away the Xia Corporation's project team. For a long time to come, no one will bother me. I'll have ample time for formulation. I will definitely create an effective agent!"
"You really are stubborn," the woman shook her head. "Seeing as we were both chosen from the same orphanage, I'm kindly reminding you that they have little patience left for you. Look out for yourself."
As the woman walked away, she said to Song Qi, "Qin Mei is dead. I don't want you to follow her path."
"How did Qin Mei die?" Song Qi's gaze flickered.
"Her identity was exposed. It's said to be related to a woman named Xia Qingtian," the woman sighed. "Live well... I don't have many friends left."
With that, the woman went down the mountain along the path.
Mobius looked at the woman's face in the moonlight, his brow furrowed.
He never imagined that she too was part of that organization.
Their reach was truly far-reaching!
If he hadn't used the Xia Corporation's project to get involved, he would never have guessed.
Through this conversation, Xia Qingtian understood the entire sequence of events and how the people before had died.
However, she had no recollection of anyone named Qin Mei. Was it fair to be framed like this?
All she wanted now was to safely descend the mountain with mobius and quickly report all of this to the police.
Xia Qingtian looked back and signaled to mobius. Mobius nodded secretly. Just as they were about to retreat cautiously, they saw the woman return, carrying a "gift."
"Song Qi, look what fun thing I found," the woman walked back with a cold smile.
"Let go of me! You let go of me!" The little girl with two pigtails thrashed about but couldn't break free.
"!" Seeing Xiao Ni, Xia Qingtian and mobius froze simultaneously.
"You said no one would bother you, but why does it seem so lively here tonight?" The woman threw Xiao Ni at Song Qi's feet. "You know what to do."
Shivering Xiao Ni curled into a ball, looking timidly at Song Qi, "Teach... Teacher Song... I'm scared..."
Hearing Xiao Ni's words, Song Qi's eyes also revealed a hint of reluctance.
"Nyx's people are almost here. You'd better hurry," the woman said, then turned to leave.
This time, the woman did not return. Song Qi half-crouched down.
"Teach... Teacher Song... don't kill me..." Xiao Ni's voice trembled, "Don't..."
"Xiao Ni, don't be afraid," Song Qi reached out to cover Xiao Ni's eyes, his voice trembling slightly. "Soon, don't worry... it won't hurt much."
He didn't want to, he really didn't want to...
But he had no choice.
"Xiao Ni, don't blame me..."