Chapter 146: A Guest to Stay

Chapter 146: A Guest to Stay

"One should indeed be cautious with what one consumes."

Su Mo held the arm of the Green Snake Alliance's leader and slowly stood up.

Beside him, Yang Xiaoyun also rose, casually assembling her Dragon Abyss Spear:

"When Xiao Mo warned me about the tea, I was somewhat surprised. I didn't expect there to actually be something wrong. The Green Snake Alliance leader's methods are truly insidious and hard to guard against; I am impressed."

"How did you manage to detect the issue?"

The Green Snake Alliance leader's face was filled with disbelief, even the intense pain in his arm seemed insignificant to him.

He had believed that his plan was meticulously crafted, with the sect leader personally giving detailed instructions, and his performance had no discernible flaws.

"Your slip-ups were few, only when you handed me the tea, you became nervous because this fat man tried to grab it."

Su Mo shook his head with a smile.

"Just because of that?"

The Green Snake Alliance leader could hardly believe his ears.

When the fat man tried to grab the tea, he had indeed felt a moment of unease, for the tea was the crux of today's scheme.

If it were compromised, everything would have been for naught.

However, even if his expression changed slightly, he had found a plausible reason, and it shouldn't have revealed any flaws.

"That was enough."

Su Mo smiled, "I have no other strengths except for being cautious. The Green Snake Alliance has a poor reputation, so even without your momentary lapse, I wouldn't have dared to drink the tea offered by the Green Snake Alliance leader... let alone with that incident?

"Moreover, the master seems quite confident in your acting skills, but there were some shortcomings.

"When Master Hongyun visited, those two glances were somewhat superfluous.

"While they didn't seem strange at the time, in context, they made me think differently.

"Therefore, I couldn't risk drinking that cup of tea."

The Green Snake Alliance leader's face turned ashen: "Since you were already aware, why didn't you say anything?"

"Accusing someone of wrongdoing without evidence is something Su Mo never does. Not drinking a cup of tea doesn't harm our friendship.

"But accusing you of poisoning the tea... would have been untimely.

"Most importantly, if I had said something then, how could I have easily captured the alliance leader now?"

As he spoke, his fingers tapped several points on the Green Snake Alliance leader's body: "Now, it would be best if the Green Snake Alliance leader handed over the antidote, so we can sit down and talk?"

"Heh..."

The Green Snake Alliance leader's lips curled, a look of determination flashing in his eyes.

The moment Su Mo noticed the change in his gaze, he grabbed the Green Snake Alliance leader's jaw with one hand, preventing him from closing his mouth.

With an internal force surge, he twisted the Green Snake Alliance leader's head and lightly patted the back of his skull.

A series of pops followed...

White teeth clattered out of his mouth.

Su Mo's internal force shook loose all his teeth.

"I apologize, but I really didn't want to search each one, so I made you spit them all out."

As he spoke, he tore a piece of cloth from the Green Snake Alliance leader's clothes, rolled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his mouth, pressing it against his throat.

He then let him lie down and lightly touched his waist and the cuffs of his sleeves.

Three silver needles suddenly shot out from his waist and abdomen, embedding themselves in the ceiling beams.

Su Mo looked up, pursing his lips: "How come these three poisoned needles didn't kill anyone in Evernight Valley?"

"Hmph..."

The Green Snake Alliance leader turned his head, refusing to cooperate.

Su Mo didn't press further, finding nothing in his sleeves and nothing else in his waist except for the poisoned needles.

But when Su Mo removed his belt and flipped it over, he saw various pouches sewn into the inner side.

The medicines inside were sealed in waterproof fabric and wax pills, clearly prepared before coming here.

Su Mo's lips twitched: "Which of these medicines is which? Why didn't you label them?"

"They are distinguished by color."

Yang Xiaoyun rolled her eyes at Su Mo: "Otherwise, if they fell into enemy hands, wouldn't they be able to follow the clues?"

"You have a point."

Su Mo couldn't immediately distinguish the pills, unsure which one was the antidote for the woman. Looking at the Green Snake Alliance leader, he knew this wasn't the right time for harsh interrogation.

Most importantly, even if he forced the information out, he couldn't be sure if it was genuine.

This venomous snake twisted its mouth, turning the poison into an antidote.

Isn't that just what he wants even more?

Thus, Su Mo had no choice but to first check on Zhuge Changtian and the others.

Zhuge Changtian's face was pale, yet the poison spread rather slowly, taking some time to reach his heart.

With no other options, Su Mo pondered for a moment and then took Zhuge Changtian's wrist, channeling a breath of internal energy. After a few breaths, Zhuge Changtian spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Feeling a significant improvement in his condition, he hurriedly said, "Thank you, Chief Su."

"The job isn't done yet. We still need to figure out which one is the true antidote from this woman to completely cleanse the remaining toxins. Please wait a moment, Chief, I'll help the others expel the poison."

After giving these instructions, he moved to the side of the Red Leaf Gang leader and applied the same method, which worked without fail.

In a short while, he had gone around to everyone.

Only when he reached the large fat man did he find that the toxins in his body were not severe, making him the least affected among them.

Even the blow from the Green Snake Alliance leader seemed to have caused little injury.

The reason for his unconsciousness... it was more like he was sleeping than truly unconscious.

"This person..."

For a moment, Su Mo didn't know what to say, only marveling at the situation.

After this round of treatment, everyone present could barely stand up.

They all thanked Su Mo repeatedly.

"Alright, everyone, for now, focus on your breathing and circulation to resist the poison attacking your hearts."

After giving these instructions, Su Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at the chaos in the courtyard.

From the moment he noticed the Green Snake Alliance leader acting suspiciously, he knew this night would be a good opportunity.

He still had no idea what the Love Spectrum entailed.

In the past, such mysteries wouldn't have bothered him much, but now, with the precedent set by the Tianmen Escort Agency and Yang Yizhi's critical role, he couldn't afford to ignore it.

At the very least, he needed to know who was after this item.

These people had always remained hidden, making it difficult to trace their origins. Now that they had revealed themselves, it was the perfect chance to capture a 'tongue.'

However, forced confessions sometimes yielded unreliable results.

The truth and lies might not be easily discernible.

But when someone is feeling triumphant, they might slip and reveal something genuine. Combining this with previous information would make the answers more accurate.

This was one of the reasons Su Mo pretended to be poisoned and waited quietly.

Originally, Su Mo planned to act the moment the Green Snake Alliance leader tried to kill him.

With a clear intention against an unsuspecting opponent, and given the significant gap in their martial arts skills, the other party would have no chance of escaping Su Mo's grasp.

The sudden intervention of the large fat man was a change neither Su Mo nor Yang Xiaoyun had anticipated.

But this small change allowed Su Mo to detect Li Siyun hiding in the shadows.

This made sense.

Li Siyun had entrusted the Love Spectrum to Su Mo, intending to give it to Yang Yizhi.

If this item were truly important, why would he trust it so easily?

There were too many possible complications, so he naturally followed to keep an eye on things.

His purpose was to use Su Mo as a decoy while he remained hidden, waiting for the hidden enemy to show up.

However, this seemed to involve more than just using Su Mo. When the Green Snake Alliance leader attacked Su Mo, Li Siyun couldn't hide anymore and intended to come to his aid.

Thus, after the large fat man fell, the second person to 'come to the rescue' was Li Siyun.

Now, both parties involved with the Love Spectrum were in front of Su Mo.

This chaotic situation finally became clearer to him.

"Xiao Mo... what should we do?"

Yang Xiaoyun had already assembled her Long Yuan spear.

Su Mo smiled and said, "Since Old Master Li has such profound skills, let's just observe and assist where necessary."

While watching, he couldn't help but think.

Xu Lu once mentioned an organization called the Three Extremes Sect.

The Three Extremes Powder was a potent poison unique to this sect.

The Green Snake Alliance leader and those monks also mentioned the word 'sect leader.'

But what exactly was the Three Extremes Sect? It was hard to tell for now.

And who was Li Siyun?

He knew he was being watched the moment he mentioned the theft of the Golden Jade Cone.

What connection does this Golden Jade Cone have with the Mandarin Ducks Scroll?

Could the people from the Heavenly Blade Sect that day be related to what’s happening now?

What do these people really want?

As thoughts raced through his mind, he suddenly heard the leading monk shout:

"Everyone, come in!!!"

Rustling sounds!

The monks guarding outside the hall rushed in.

However, this also caught the attention of the Jiaolong Association pirates, who realized something was amiss and began to surge in as well.

Zhuge Changtian, glancing up, quickly barked:

"Stand down!!!!"

His voice was easily recognized by the Jiaolong Association members, causing them to hesitate.

Then, Zhuge Changtian roared angrily: "Surround this hall, don’t let a single one of them escape!!!"

"Yes!!!"

Outside the hall, the response echoed like rolling thunder.

Only then did Zhuge Changtian breathe a sigh of relief.

If the Jiaolong Association members had been allowed to flood into the hall, chaos would have ensued, giving these monks an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Su Mo glanced at Zhuge Changtian and said with a bow: "Great Chief, your foresight is remarkable."

"…Chief Su, don’t joke. We’ve really messed up tonight."

Zhuge Changtian chuckled bitterly: "If it weren’t for Chief Su spotting the flaw and keeping a reserve, we would truly have no place to bury our bodies today."

Su Mo remained silent, only raising his eyes to observe the changes in the scene.

With the remaining monks joining the fray, the old man surnamed Li was immediately at a disadvantage.

His staff flew about, his staff techniques still extremely sharp, but he was already struggling to cover all fronts.

Seeing himself falling behind and Su Mo still standing idly by, Li Siyun couldn't help but shout:

"You brat, why aren’t you helping?"

"Old Master Li’s prowess is unmatched. I, on the one hand, lack experience in the world and don’t understand the viciousness of evildoers, and on the other, my martial skills are meager and insignificant. I truly dare not come forward and make a fool of myself. Please forgive me, Old Master Li."

Hearing this, Li Siyun spat out a mouthful of blood: "You, you brat, you’re completely different from your father, holding grudges like this?"

Su Mo's eyes twitched: "What do you mean, Old Master Li? You know my father?"

"Heh, he was a great hero…"

Just as he said this, he was punched on the shoulder, stumbling back a few steps before continuing: "Completely unlike you, this cunning brat."

Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun exchanged a glance.

The Mandarin Ducks Scroll given to Yang Yizhi, and yet knowing Su Mo’s father?

As Su Mo’s gaze shifted, he said to Yang Xiaoyun: "Xiaoyun, be careful. These monks might try to rescue someone. I’ll be right back."

"Alright."

Yang Xiaoyun nodded, her Dragon Spring Spear turning, the spear tip angled downward, the Great Supreme Scripture silently circulating, alerting all around.

Earlier, Su Mo had both rescued and bound people, and none of these monks had approached, not just because Li Siyun’s martial arts were formidable, keeping them all engaged.

More importantly, Su Mo was still there, and any of them rushing forward would have been courting death.

At this critical moment, their previous plans had all fallen apart, and their only option was to retreat.

So that sudden shout was indeed meant to create confusion and give them a chance to slip away.

But Zhuge Changtian acted swiftly, foiling their plan once again.

However, with their numbers, if they could capture Li Siyun, there might still be a chance, especially since Su Mo seemed content to stand by and watch.

But unexpectedly, after a few words, Su Mo also joined the fight.

This truly left them in a difficult position.

"Get out while you can, don’t linger!"

The leading monk shouted angrily, his palms moving with the fluidity of clouds, swiftly approaching Li Siyun.

Li Siyun’s face changed, his staff spinning, the staff head thrusting out, clashing with the monk’s palm with a loud bang.

The monk retreated three steps, then turned to flee.

But as he turned, he saw someone standing at the door, fist raised and ready to strike.

By the time he realized it, the fist was already in front of him.

For a moment, he could not break free and could only cross his hands to shield his chest.

With a dull thud, the monk was instantly immobilized on the spot.

However, Su Mo did not even spare him a glance, sidestepping to face another monk. With a casual palm strike, the monk changed his footwork three times, but Su Mo's palm seemed to cover the entire world, making it impossible for him to escape no matter how he moved.

Gritting his teeth and stomping his foot, he gathered all his internal strength into his palm and clashed fiercely with Su Mo.

In an instant, the monk flew backward like an arrow released from a bow, blood splattering the sky, and when he landed, he had no breath left in him.

At this point, the leading monk who had been struck by Su Mo's fist began to bleed from all seven orifices, fell over, and died.

Su Mo's steps did not pause for a moment as he casually entered the crowd, either punching or slapping.

These monks, though none of them were simple characters, each capable of being a chieftain along the river.

But under Su Mo's hands, they could not withstand even half a move.

The harder they fought, the faster they died.

On the contrary, those who could not resist and were slapped on the arms or legs or punched by Su Mo managed to barely survive.

Such martial arts left Zhuge Changtian and others staring in amazement.

They had never even heard of such skills, let alone seen them.

In the water dungeon, they knew Su Mo's martial arts were unfathomable, the handcuffs and leg irons like mere trinkets.

Later, when he fought the Shadow Envoy, it took only a few moves before the envoy died at Su Mo's hand. Though they knew he was powerful, they could not see clearly.

Now, however, they saw everything clearly and distinctly.

Whether it was Zhuge Changtian, the leader of the Red Leaf Gang, the arrogant chief of Jiaolong Water Village, or the female heroes of Cold Moon Palace,

Each one of them drew a sharp breath.

They asked themselves if they stood opposite Su Mo, would they be any better off than these monks? They might fare even worse...

Among them, Li Siyun's eyes twitched wildly.

Zhuge Changtian and the others had not engaged these monks, so they did not know the true extent of their skills.

He, however, had fought them for quite some time.

Though he believed that none of them could match him in a one-on-one fight,

He also knew that when they fought together, their tactics were extremely formidable, nearly causing him to stumble.

Yet, once Su Mo stepped in, these people could not even put up a fight.

It was like a towering man bullying a baby in the moonlight.

How did this boy train his martial arts?

Even if...

Thinking of this, he felt a vague unease.

In just a short while, the surrounding monks were either dead or injured. Li Siyun subconsciously supported himself with his cane as Su Mo approached him.

He saw Su Mo smile slightly, "Old Master Li, it has been a long time."

"..."

Li Siyun forced a dry laugh, "Commander Su's divine skills are awe-inspiring."

"Su is young and inexperienced, lacking the discernment to judge people."

Su Mo waved his hand, "Old Master Li is a great man of this era; please do not joke with me."

"I dare not, I dare not..."

Li Siyun hurriedly said, "Today's matter is settled. I have important business to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After saying this, he turned to leave.

But after taking just one step, he froze, unable to move.

He felt a piercing aura rise, and a terrifying sword intent subtly pressed against the back of his neck.

This sword intent was not as grand as the Heavenly Rainbow Heart-Asking Sword, nor did it have various transformations.

It was solely a deeply contained intent, ready to unleash at any moment.

If he made even the slightest movement...

There would be only one outcome: death!

"Where are you going, Old Master Li? We've met after so long, wouldn't it be a waste not to stay and chat a bit more?"

Su Mo's voice came from behind, each word piercing his heart.

Li Siyun sighed helplessly and looked back at Su Mo:

"I don't believe you would kill me."

"Do you believe you can really leave this door today?"

"… I believe you."

After saying this, Li Siyun plopped down on the ground with a thud:

"Fine, fine. If you won’t let me leave, then I won’t. Humph, young people these days don’t know how to be grateful… I just saved your life a moment ago. And what do I get? Not only did you take advantage of my kindness to lure me out, but you’re also so rude… sigh, the world has truly changed, the world has truly changed."