The next morning, the atmosphere in the Li family became strange.
Although the servants didn't understand what had happened, they all became cautious in their work, fearing they might be caught in some mistake.
Yin Yang, however, remained unaffected. His greenhouse rarely saw visitors, and the back garden was off-limits to everyone but the masters, making it a very peaceful place.
At this moment, he was lying on a rocking chair. A book hovered behind him, reading its contents aloud with great emotion.
This was one application of Spirit-Bestow.
As for Canned Food, it had gone out to roam again.
Ever since reaching Sequence 8, the side effects brought by Sequence 9 had vanished.
Canned Food no longer needed to wear sunglasses, but it seemed to have grown accustomed to them, still preferring to wear them to maintain a cool appearance.
Squeak, squeak, squeak...
A faint, almost imperceptible sound drifted in.
Upon hearing the sound, the book that was reading aloud immediately drifted back to the shelf, and Yin Yang closed his eyes, pretending to nap.
Bang!
The door was kicked open, and several guards walked in, led by Captain Wang.
Captain Wang seemed a bit off today. His face was flushed, as if he had been drinking.
“Seize him!”
Captain Wang barked an order, and two guards stepped forward, pinning Yin Yang’s arms.
Yin Yang's muscles tensed. He didn't want to expose himself this early.
But these pests had truly begun to annoy him lately.
‘Should I just kill them?’
‘If I kill them here, it increases the risk of my exposure.’
‘The ancestral ritual isn't far off. Should I act now?’
The moment Yin Yang had that thought, the shadows behind him began to churn.
The three ghosts had been dissatisfied for some time; they wouldn't mind starting a slaughter right now!
But at that same moment, Yin Yang heard another faint sound—the flowers and plants at the door were signaling him.
The Third Young Master was here.
Upon hearing this, Yin Yang immediately roared with anger.
“Again! You suspect I'm one of the Third Young Master's people, so you target me like this?”
“How did the Third Young Master offend you!”
“You were the ones who trampled the Third Young Master's flowers before, and you're the ones looking for trouble now!”
“Who's the master here? You, or the Third Young Master?”
Normally, these guards wouldn't say anything extra.
But today, several of them were clearly tipsy; otherwise, they wouldn't have come to bother Yin Yang in the first place.
Combined with the fact that one of their own had his leg broken recently, the mention of old grievances and the stimulation of alcohol made one of them shout back.
“What? You think being the Third Young Master's man makes you special?”
“He just got lucky and was born into the Li family. Otherwise, would he be where he is today?”
“Exactly! Third Young Master? Psh! Who in the entire Li Mansion isn't annoyed by him?”
“Heh heh heh, if I switched roles with the Third Young Master, he’d still be begging for food in the Old District!”
“Hahahaha!”
The laughter of the men was exceptionally arrogant, but Captain Wang felt something was slightly wrong.
They had bullied this little gardener several times, and he had always been submissive. Why was he suddenly so agitated today?
No.
Wait!
Is this kid recording us?
At that thought, cold sweat broke out on Captain Wang's forehead.
The Third Young Master was indeed a petty man, and it was precisely because he was petty that they couldn't afford to offend him!
Just as he was wondering if he should say something to smooth things over, the door was kicked open from the outside again!
The corners of Yin Yang's mouth curled up. He looked at Captain Wang and made a 'you've been tricked' face.
Captain Wang’s alcohol-induced haze vanished instantly. Even without turning around, he knew exactly who was behind him!
“Heh heh heh, switch roles with me, is it?”
“The entire Li Mansion is annoyed by me, are they?”
“Good, good, good. Aren't you jealous of my good birth?”
“Come, let me help you be reborn!”
As the Third Young Master spoke, he grabbed a large pair of pruning shears nearby and lunged, stabbing them into a guard's back.
The guard had drunk quite a bit and was slow to react. Before he could even realize who was behind him, the shears had pierced his body.
“Aaaagh!!!”
The guard screamed. The Third Young Master pulled the shears out and stabbed again, bringing the man down in a few strokes. Blood spilled all over the floor.
Only then did the others snap out of it.
“Th—Third Young Master.”
“Third Young Master, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”
“Third Young Master, you have to believe me, that gardener set us up!”
The Third Young Master laughed even more maniacally upon hearing this.
“Set you up? Hahahaha, quite a setup!”
“He set you up by letting you break into his home and attack him?”
“He set you up by knowing in advance that I’d come to the greenhouse?”
“Don't think I don't know what you've been doing these past few days!”
As he spoke, he lunged at the others with the shears. Captain Wang and the rest didn't dare fight back and could only dodge.
But the greenhouse was only so big, and the Third Young Master was blocking the door. Where could they run?
In a few strokes, the Third Young Master had stabbed them until they were covered in blood. Spirituality began to surface on Captain Wang's body. Seeing this, the Third Young Master laughed loudly.
“That's more like it! Come, Wang Man, make your move against me!”
“Let me see if a Sequence 7 like you is a transcendent or just a dog kept by my Li family!”
That single sentence terrified Captain Wang into complete sobriety.
He fell to his knees with a thud.
“Third Young Master, we were wrong.”
“We'll accept any beating or punishment, but not here in the greenhouse!”
The Third Young Master smiled at that.
“Looking for reinforcements, are you? Want to go find my eldest uncle?”
“Fine, I'll indulge you!”
He grabbed Captain Wang by the collar and began dragging him out.
“Little gardener, follow us!”
“Yes.”
Yin Yang answered. He turned to look at the guard who was gasping his last breaths and said in a whisper:
“Don't worry. You're about to die. Once you're dead, it won't hurt anymore.”
The man looked at Yin Yang with a face full of resentment before exhaling his final breath.
The moment he died, his corpse vanished into thin air.
“Ah! Third Young Master, the body disappeared!”
Yin Yang 'exclaimed' in shock.
“Hmm?”
The Third Young Master and Captain Wang turned back almost simultaneously. As they turned, the other two guards also breathed their last and slowly vanished right before their eyes.
The Third Young Master froze. Captain Wang seemed to remember something and cried out in terror:
“It's him! That mysterious transcendent!”
...
Old District.
The Li house.
“Shuo, what's rotting in your room? It stinks so bad, why haven't you cleaned it up?”
Li Lüe returned home from school with a frown. As soon as he opened the door, he smelled a foul odor.
“Shuo? What are you doing? Didn't you hear me?”
Li Lüe walked to Li Shuo's door and knocked, but there was still no response.
He turned the doorknob, and the door swung open. An even more intense stench wafted out, nearly knocking Li Lüe off his feet.
“Shuo, what did you put in your room?”
Li Lüe looked inside and saw his brother, Li Shuo, standing in the room. He was cradling his own head in his hands, while an incense burner sat atop his neck.
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