Chapter 134: Poisoning

Chapter 134: Poisoning

Under the cover of night, within the Ziyang Escort Agency.

After Su Mo and everyone else had toasted each other, the lively gathering finally began.

At first, everyone was merely praising Su Mo, boasting about his martial arts skills, and seeking advice on training techniques.

However, as the toasts continued and the alcohol took effect, they began to engage in more animated sparring matches.

The topics of conversation also changed.

They either exchanged rumors and gossip from the martial world or boasted about their past, present, and future aspirations.

There were all sorts of conversations, and some even asked when Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun would get married.

This earned Su Mo Uncle Fu's enthusiastic praise.

In a fit of anger, Su Mo downed three bowls of wine in quick succession, leaving the man unconscious.

After several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes, the lively gathering showed no signs of dispersing anytime soon.

Su Mo gave Yang Xiaoyun a meaningful look, then picked up a jar of wine and two bowls, and left his seat.

Winding his way through the hall, he arrived at a room's door.

The room was locked, but Su Mo opened it easily. Inside, Xu Lu sat at a table, sighing deeply.

Seeing Su Mo, Xu Lu jumped to his feet.

"Su... Su Chief."

"Xu Hero."

Su Mo gave him a half-smile, then sat down at the table, placing the wine bowls on it and tossing a bundle onto the side.

"Did you enjoy the food prepared by the kitchen for tonight's banquet?"

He glanced at the barely touched dishes on the table.

Xu Lu hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes... But... I admit, I've really hit rock bottom. If you could just let me go, I'm not much of a person, lazy and gluttonous, good-for-nothing. Keeping me here is just a waste of food, isn't it?"

"Not yet."

Su Mo casually uncorked the wine jar, filled both bowls, and raised one.

"Here, I'll toast to you."

"This..."

Xu Lu hesitated.

"If I wanted to kill you, why would I go through this trouble?"

Su Mo looked at him.

Xu Lu nodded immediately and lifted his bowl, "I'll toast to you."

With a clink, they drank. Xu Lu winced as he finished the drink.

Su Mo smiled, drank his share, refilled both bowls, and sighed lightly.

"In truth, I am somewhat curious about you, Xu Hero."

"Huh?"

Xu Lu was taken aback, "What's there to be curious about me?"

"The graceful shadow that startles the snow, Xu Lu of the Flying Snow. Just your name alone is enough to pique anyone's curiosity."

Su Mo looked at him, "Why does a man of your martial prowess resort to thievery?"

"Well..."

Xu Lu fell silent for a moment, then sighed, "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"I'll think about it."

Su Mo smiled, "But if you don't tell me, I definitely won't consider it."

"Fine, fine."

Xu Lu lifted his bowl again, drank it in one gulp, feeling the alcohol take effect. He took a deep breath, grabbed his chopsticks, and quickly ate a few bites before speaking:

"I'm a low-life, ever since I can remember, I've been wandering the streets, begging, fighting with beggars. On a good day, I might get some scraps; on a bad day, I'd go hungry... But I survived."

Xu Lu slowly began to recount his past.

From his account, his childhood was extremely harsh, yet he was born with a strong will, allowing him to survive despite the hardships.

Later, an old man took him in. The old man was a thief, missing three fingers on his right hand, which he said were cut off after being caught during a failed theft.

From then on, Xu Lu stayed with the old man, who taught him the art of pickpocketing but also warned him that if he ever lost his skills and got caught, he shouldn't stubbornly refuse to yield.

In matters of life and death, bowing and begging for mercy wasn't shameful, especially for a thief.

The old man had taken him in with the intention of finding himself an heir. As he grew older and could no longer steal, he decided to teach someone to steal for his own survival.

To be honest, this was not a noble reason, but for Xu Lu,

the old man had raised him and taught him skills to earn a living, so it was only natural that he would take care of the old man until his last days.

Moreover, the old man had given him a name and taught him to read and write, a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid.

So when he became proficient, and the old man gradually became bedridden, he took on the responsibility of supporting the family.

At first, things went well. Xu Lu, having grown up on the streets, was defiant and decisive in his actions.

Gradually, he began to feel unsatisfied with petty theft and eventually set his sights on the wealthy gentry of the town.

These were the legitimate rich families of the town. Xu Lu spent a month scouting before making his move... but he was caught as soon as he made his attempt.

Speaking up to this point, Xu Lu gulped down his wine bowl, his tolerance for alcohol being rather poor.

At first, he spoke with wit, but later he sank into memories, unable to extricate himself.

"At that time, I really thought I was going to die. The old man taught me how to pick locks and be a thief, but he never taught me martial arts... Of course, he probably couldn't, or else why would he have lost three fingers?"

"I just kept running, running for my life..."

Thank the theory of miraculous survival from falling off cliffs; Xu Lu was chased to the edge of a cliff by these people, but without realizing it, he had reached a dead end and continued to run.

When one is fighting for their life, they truly don't think much about the consequences.

He said he felt like he was flying at the moment, and indeed, he seemed to fly, but upon looking down, he realized he wasn't flying; he was falling...

Fortunately, although the cliff was high, there were trees growing haphazardly on the rock face.

His body was stopped by these tree canopies, and at the bottom of the cliff was a pond, which saved his life.

Struggling out of the water, he sat by the pond and realized he probably couldn't climb back up.

Several of his bones were broken, but as they say, a person's fate is hard; in such a situation, he didn't die.

In the valley below, he survived by eating wild fruits, and later found a cave, inside which was a corpse...

There were words left on the cave wall.

"The old man had taught me to read and write, so I recognized them. The wall inscribed the man's life story, sigh, nothing more than boasting.

"He claimed to be from the Ethereal Sect, betrayed and ultimately exiled to the southwest. Even then, those people did not let him go, plotting against him, breaking his legs, and finally pushing him off the cliff.

"Unwilling to accept his fate, he left behind all his knowledge, waiting for a successor...

"However, his martial arts did not include methods to fight or kill, which is probably why he was betrayed."

Xu Lu curled his lips. The man from the Ethereal Sect left behind two sets of martial arts: one called "Ethereal Trace Record," and the other called "Sealing Gate Technique."

The "Ethereal Trace Record" was extraordinary, focusing on lightness techniques to cultivate internal energy. Following the breathing rhythm and movement steps described, internal strength would gradually develop within the body.

The "Sealing Gate Technique" was much simpler. Xu Lu believed it might not even be an internal cultivation technique but merely an excerpt from a certain martial art.

Its main function was to seal acupoints.

According to the records, if one could seal all the acupoints in the body, it would have miraculous effects.

Xu Lu's aptitude in this area was average, and despite his efforts, he never reached that level.

On the other hand, the "Ethereal Trace Record" suited him well. He was naturally fast and had an extraordinary talent for lightness techniques.

At the time, he didn't think much of these two martial arts, but with no way to climb out of the cliff and nothing to do but eat wild fruits, he decided to follow the instructions.

Surprisingly, in less than three months, he had become proficient.

With internal breath and energy, he could leap over twelve feet in a single bound.

Climbing up the cliff along the rock face, leaping between the tree canopies, he managed to climb out of the cliff.

Then, he eagerly returned home.

He thought that with his new martial arts skills, he could live a better life with the old man.

But when he returned, he found that the old man was dead.

Emaciated and curled up in the bedding, he had died of cold and hunger.

"Chief Su, tell me... isn't life meant to be full of suffering?"

Xu Lu poured wine for Su Mo, raising his bowl unsteadily: "I was born to suffer, and no one cared about me except the old man. I thought that once I grew up and became capable, I could make his remaining years comfortable, but I never expected such an outcome.

"But we thieves don't complain...

"There's nowhere to complain...

"This is probably our retribution. The old man might not have expected to die peacefully, so in a way, he passed away contentedly.

"But the greatest regret of my life is that I never knew his name.

"He gave me a name, but I never knew his... the tombstone only says 'Old Man Xu,' sigh... ha... ha."

Su Mo nodded slightly: "Life is often filled with disappointments."

"Yes, yes, you're right."

Xu Lu nodded: "But at that time, I didn't think so deeply. I just felt empty after he died. Being taken care of and being alone are very different... and then I hated those wealthy gentry."

"But to speak of killing, first, I am incapable, second, I dare not, and third... it’s not worth it.

"After all, I stole from him first, so it’s only right for him to catch me. A thief must have the resolve of a thief; otherwise, what’s the difference between me and a bandit?

"So in my anger, I went to steal from his house, day after day...

"One day jewels, the next gold, ha ha, back then my lightness kung fu had reached a certain level, coming and going like the wind. The martial artists they hired were, after all, just third-rate figures in the world of martial arts, not worthy of high regard. Otherwise, why would they stoop to such a level? After all, even when I hadn’t learned martial arts, they couldn’t catch me, let alone now?

"At first, they were furious every day, and they increased their patrols, but they couldn’t stop me at all.

"Later, they became afraid, seemingly resigned to their fate.

"And when I saw this, I found it rather tasteless. In the end, what did it have to do with them?

"It was my lack of skill that got me caught. They were living peacefully, and I stole from them, and then blamed them... it was truly baseless.

"So... it was a rather despicable thing, I returned everything I stole.

"For those few days, I wandered the streets like a zombie, aimlessly strolling until someone was giving out porridge as charity. Seeing me pass by, they forcibly pulled me over to drink a bowl.

"And the person giving out the porridge was none other than the master of that family.

"In fact, he had been doing this for quite some time, once every ten to fifteen days. I never thought much of it before, but now it suddenly seemed very commendable.

"I don’t know what magic that bowl of porridge held, but after drinking it, I felt invigorated.

"Since then, I wandered far and wide, drifting through the martial world, and thus gained this reputation.

"As for why I became a thief, all my martial skills are about running away. When it comes to fighting, I turn and run.

"The old man taught me all my life, but only how to be a thief. I can only do this, nothing else... really."

He said all this in one breath, gulping down the wine in his bowl.

For a moment, Su Mo was also rather silent.

He sighed softly, picked up the bundle he had placed by his feet upon entering, and put it on the table.

Xu Lu, with bleary eyes, looked at Su Mo: "Chief Su, what does this mean? Are you letting me go?"

"Yes."

Su Mo nodded.

Xu Lu immediately perked up: "Really?"

"Really."

Su Mo said: "But the wine you just drank, I laced it with poison."

"???"

Xu Lu widened his eyes: "Chief Su, I opened my heart to you, you can’t do this."

"Stay calm."

Su Mo said: "Your comings and goings are hard to guard against, and I’m still not at ease with you. A little poison makes me feel better."

"..."

Is this human talk?

Xu Lu looked at Su Mo, who looked completely justified, in disbelief.

"Of course, the poison won’t take effect immediately. It will stay in your body’s acupoints, like the Spirit Gate point on your palm or the Wind Market point on your leg... if you don’t believe me, stretch out your hand."

"..."

Xu Lu was half-convinced, half-doubtful.

Su Mo casually swept his hand over Xu Lu’s Spirit Gate point.

In the next instant, Xu Lu let out a loud cry, nearly tearing the roof off.

Pain made him roll around on the ground.

Su Mo went over and stuffed a pill into his mouth, then swept his hand over the Spirit Gate point again, and the pain vanished instantly.

Xu Lu fell to his knees with a thud: "Chief Su... why... why go to such lengths? Just let me go... I really won’t dare to act recklessly in front of you again. As for seeking revenge, even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn’t dare!"

"Don’t worry, don’t worry."

Su Mo helped him up: "I believe you won’t dare, but I’m not entirely convinced, which is why I poisoned you. However, the poison will only take effect once every six months. As long as you come back to Ziyang Escort Agency to get the antidote during that time, I guarantee you won’t die."

"What if it takes effect?"

"Then it will be just like what happened just now. If you can endure it, it will pass in ten to fifteen days, and you’ll have to wait another six months for it to take effect again."

Su Mo said: "You already took an antidote just now. Six months from now, if I believe you truly won’t seek revenge, I’ll give you the second antidote."

"This..."

Xu Lu was stunned, then nodded: "That... that’s manageable... rest assured, I absolutely won’t oppose you again."

"That’s good."

Su Mo nodded and pointed to the bundle on the table: "That day, I went to the banyan tree hollow as you said. This is the silver they left there, which should be for you. Since I’m letting you go, I brought it along. I can’t keep your reward, can I?"

"This, this is too much trouble..."

Xu Lu was momentarily at a loss. Poisoning himself while returning the silver to himself, what on earth was Su Mo up to?

"But don't get too excited yet. I heard they laced this silver with Sanjue Powder, which is poisonous. You must be extremely careful when using it, lest you lose your life."

"!!!"

Xu Lu's eyes widened in shock: "Sanjue Powder!? They, they actually want to kill me and silence me?"

"I'm not sure about that. To be honest, I haven't heard much about this Sanjue Powder."

"I have heard of a sect called the Sanjue Sect, which is very secretive and rarely shows itself. However, they do possess this Sanjue Powder, a poison that causes instant death upon contact with blood, leaving no chance of survival for the victim."

Xu Lu, who had been in pain and sweating profusely, was now half-sober and drenched in cold sweat.

Imagine if Su Mo hadn't gone on his behalf. If he had used the silver without knowing its danger, wouldn't he already be dead?

"Ah..."

Su Mo sighed, "The world of martial arts is full of storms and turmoil. Your fate has been fraught with misfortune since childhood. Now that you walk this path, you must be more cautious. Well, I won't say more. I won't keep you here. Take this silver; how you deal with it is up to you. We will meet again someday. Farewell."

"Really?"

Xu Lu still couldn't believe it, clutching the bag and tentatively stepping out of the door, only relaxing when Su Mo didn't chase after him.

He smiled, "Captain Su is truly generous and upright, inspiring admiration. If so, we shall meet again in the future."

As he spoke, he lightly tapped his foot, but failed to jump...

Both men were speechless. Su Mo slapped his forehead, "My mistake, my mistake."

He hurriedly went over and released Xu Lu's acupoints. Xu Lu then bowed again, "Farewell!"

With another light tap of his foot, he shot up onto the roof, but for some reason, his legs gave way, nearly causing him to fall. After several attempts to steady himself, he finally managed to stand firm and looked back at Su Mo.

Again, they were speechless.

Xu Lu laughed awkwardly, "Drunk... My legs are a bit weak..."

"I understand, I understand."

Su Mo waved his hand, "Get some rest early."

"Farewell, farewell."

After saying goodbye three times, he finally left.

Su Mo couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. After a moment's thought, he turned and returned to the front courtyard training ground.