Chapter 730 - 730: Secret Weapon
Inside Shen Family Manor, Shen Qi was standing face to face with Huangfu Ziyu, trying to persuade her. Suddenly, seeing the fireworks shooting into the sky, Shen Qi's expression changed instantly, and he said gravely, "Treasure Pavilion, something has happened at the Treasure Pavilion!"
Huangfu Ziyu also frowned slightly. She was very clear in her heart, if there was trouble at the Treasure Pavilion, who would be behind it. People from Sha Men would definitely not start by grabbing things; for them, revenge was the most crucial. Only those from the Western Province would think to loot amidst such circumstances.
"Zi Yu, I must go and take a look!" Shen Qi looked at Huangfu Ziyu, hesitated for a moment, then passed the archives bag to her and said, "Zi Yu, I know you will understand all of this. Take these things and go first. Tomorrow, come back, and Old Madam will talk to you about this matter personally!"
After finishing his words, Shen Qi didn't dare to linger and turned to dash straight towards the Treasure Pavilion.
With the archives bag in hand, Huangfu Ziyu fell into silence. Her hatred for the Shen Family was actually not that deep. Everything she had done was just to be able to return to Xi Hang and to revitalize the Huangfu Household. Now that everything had been made clear and she could come and go from Xi Hang at will, did those past little grievances still matter?
Yet, after harboring resentment for so many years, even if she suddenly stopped hating, there was still some confusion and hesitation in her heart, unsure of how to treat the Shen Family.
At the Treasure Pavilion, upon seeing Wang Tian'an signal, Old Madam Shen's expression immediately turned cold. She slammed her Dragon Head Cane heavily on the ground and said sternly, "Wang Tian'an, I originally wanted to give you a chance, not wanting to entangle the Shen Family with too many vendettas. But I didn't expect that not only do you not know when to advance or retreat, but you also vainly attempt to eradicate us. It seems I cannot spare you today!"
Wang Tian'an stood on the side, panting heavily, his eyes flickering with a cold light, and said coldly, "You old hag, if you really have the ability, then kill me directly, why all the nonsense!"
"Do you really think I can't kill you?" Old Madame Shen said sternly.
"Why waste words with her, let's go!" Han Yilong, the most impulsive on the side, roared and charged again, determined to fight to the death with Old Madam Shen. Compared to Wang Tian'an, who wanted to rob the Shen Family of their possessions, he was truly harboring deep enmity against the Shen Family and wished to kill them on the spot.
Wang Tian'an was somewhat calmer. He knew that just by himself and Han Yilong, they could not possibly overpower Old Madam Shen. So, while Han Yilong was clashing with Old Madam Shen, most of the time he was skulking around the periphery, sneaking attacks whenever he could, to mitigate the crises faced by Han Yilong. Even so, his situation was not optimistic, which was indicative of Old Madam Shen's formidable strength.
Earlier, Old Madam Shen had not attacked very quickly, leading them to believe that her strength was just so-so. This time, as soon as Han Yilong charged in, her Dragon Head Cane was lifted straight at his chest.
Han Yilong, having suffered several losses already, dodged immediately upon seeing the attack. But this time, he underestimated the speed of Old Madam Shen. The moment he began to dodge, her Dragon Head Cane suddenly accelerated like lightning and struck his chest squarely. Han Yilong was sent flying and fell to the ground, unable to help spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing Han Yilong's condition, Wang Tian'an was startled. Only now did he finally understand Old Madam Shen's words. It seemed she had indeed not been using her full strength against them earlier. And now, Old Madam Shen was obviously ready to strike with full force!
After knocking Han Yilong away, Old Madam Shen immediately turned her gaze towards Wang Tian'an. Wang Tian'an was no fool, realizing something was amiss, he immediately turned and attempted to flee. But how could Old Madam Shen let him escape? In a few steps, she caught up behind him. Holding the Dragon Head Cane, imposingly, she smashed it down towards Wang Tian'an's back!
Wang Tian'an dodged with all his might, but still could not evade the strike, and was hit hard on the back by Old Madam Shen. The pain made him howl miserably as he fell to the ground. At the same time, Old Madam Shen took a step forward and landed a heavy blow with her palm on his back, sending Wang Tian'an flying.
Wang Tian'an fell next to Han Yilong, vomiting several mouthfuls of blood, his condition not much better than Han Yilong's.
"I said earlier that you should come at me together, but you ******* dodged here and there, and in the end, you're still at a disadvantage!" Han Yilong spat out, angrily saying, "Wang Tian'an, collaborating with you *******, is the biggest mistake I've made in my life!"
A chill flashed in Wang Tian'an's eyes; seeing Old Madam Shen approach with the Dragon Head Cane, he clenched his teeth and suddenly grabbed Han Yilong's right hand lying next to him.
"What are you doing..." Han Yilong cried out in alarm, trying to struggle, but Wang Tian'an had grabbed his acupuncture points, making resistance difficult.
Without a word, Wang Tian'an grabbed Han Yilong and fiercely shoved him out, flinging him towards Old Madam Shen.
Old Madam Shen strode forward, and upon seeing Han Yilong being thrown over by Wang Tian'an, without saying a word, she struck him down with her cane. Her pace was unslowed as she continued pursuing Wang Tian'an.
Wang Tian'an threw Han Yilong out and immediately turned to flee, simply wanting to use Han Yilong to buy some time. However, he didn't anticipate that Old Madame Shen's target was not Han Yilong, but him. She relentlessly pursued him, closing the distance between them.
Seeing that Old Madame Shen was about to catch up with him, Wang Tian'an suddenly spun around to run, trying to dodge her. But how could someone with the speed of Old Madame Shen be evaded so easily?
Old Madame Shen took a swift step forward and grabbed Wang Tian'an, who tried to dodge, and effortlessly threw him to the ground. Advancing again, she raised her Dragon Head Cane to smash down on Wang Tian'an when he suddenly twisted his head around, swung his hand back, and a puff of white smoke erupted from his palm, enveloping Old Madame Shen in its midst.
As soon as the white smoke appeared, Old Madame Shen felt that something was amiss, and immediately held her breath, retreating several steps. But in the end, she couldn't escape the embrace of the white smoke, which engulfed her body. After stepping back a few paces, she felt her strength rapidly draining, her legs went soft, and she collapsed to the ground.
"How could this be? How could this be?" Old Madame Shen slumped on the ground, feeling no discomfort, yet completely devoid of any strength.
"Did you hold your breath?" Wang Tian'an slowly stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and sneered, "Humph, you old hag, you are indeed shrewd. But what use is that cleverness? Do you really think that holding your breath would be effective? Let me tell you, my Poison Powder, upon contact with the body, will immediately make you soft and weak, leaving you without a hint of strength!"
Old Madame Shen's complexion drastically changed. No wonder she couldn't evade the white smoke even by holding her breath; it turned out that the smoke simply needed to make contact with the body.
On the other side, Han Yilong watched this unfold with great joy and excitement, saying, "Damn it, if you had used this thing earlier, wouldn't it have been over by now? Why fight for so long?"
"You know nothing. This is my secret weapon!" Wang Tian'an retorted angrily, "I wouldn't have resorted to using this secret weapon today if this damn old hag hadn't been so difficult to handle."
"Who cares about a secret weapon. Facing the Shen family, were you still planning to hold back?" Han Yilong curled his lip and asked, "By the way, what exactly is this poison smoke? How is it so potent?"
"Heh heh..." Wang Tian'an sneered, walking slowly to Han Yilong's side and said, "This poison smoke is actually..."
While speaking, Wang Tian'an also discreetly grasped the Soft Sword at his waist. As Han Yilong paid close attention to what Wang Tian'an was about to say next, Wang Tian'an suddenly thrust the sword forward, piercing Han Yilong's heart.
"You... you..." Han Yilong, clutching his heart, couldn't even utter any extra words. He never imagined that it would be his own ally who killed him.
"Bloody idiot, you're useless. I told you it's a secret weapon, which means anyone who knows about it must die. You keep asking, it's like you want a shorter life!" Wang Tian'an kicked Han Yilong a few times, scoffing, "Some Old Demon Han you are. I thought you were capable. I wanted you to help me against the Shen family; who'd have thought you'd be utterly useless in the end, and I still had to clean up all by myself!"
On the other side, Old Madame Shen, witnessing Wang Tian'an killing Han Yilong, couldn't help but frown deeply. But at that moment, she didn't even have the strength to move, let alone confront Wang Tian'an or escape.
Having dealt with Han Yilong, Wang Tian'an immediately turned his attention to Old Madame Shen and sneered, "Now it's your turn, you old hag. Heh heh heh, this poison smoke, originally intended for your Shen family. But now, giving you a taste won't make any difference. After all, tonight, the Shen family will surely be doomed!"
Old Madame Shen, weakened on the ground, stared hard at Wang Tian'an and suddenly said solemnly, "What is your relationship with Ning Qianshu?"
Wang Tian'an, who had been sneering, suddenly had his smile freeze, replaced by a trace of panic.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand!" Wang Tian'an replied gravely, but there was still a hint of guilt in his eyes.
"Besides King Yan Ning Qianshu's Bone-Piercing Tendon-Softening Powder, what other poison can penetrate the skin and cause such rapid loss of strength?" Old Madame Shen glared at Wang Tian'an and said solemnly, "You are definitely a descendant of Ning Qianshu!"
Hearing Old Madame Shen's words, Wang Tian'an's face turned various shades of red and pale. After a long silence, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "You old hag, you know too much. But as often is the case, those who know too much don't live long!"
"Wang Tian'an, you speak of invading the Shen family, establishing your own faction, and challenging Helian Tiehua. However, you're nothing but a pawn for Ning Qianshu. Everything you do is for Ning Qianshu and his people!" Old Madame Shen said through gritted teeth, "No wonder, twenty years ago, you dared to betray the Chen Family. It turns out, you were Ning Qianshu's planted pawn in the Chen Family all along!"