175: Chapter 55 Yang Kang: I shouldn't be here

"What about the rest?"

Seeing Peng Lianhu suddenly stop reciting, Ouyang Ke, who had sensed some profound meaning in the words, asked subconsciously.

Peng Lianhu replied, "The second and third pages are stuck together. Let me flip them."

After saying that, he instinctively licked his finger with his tongue and successfully flipped to the second page, then continued reading: "The heart is as clear as ice, unperturbed even if the sky collapses. Though ten thousand things change, the spirit remains joyful and the Qi remains calm. Forget the self and maintain oneness, the six senses are firmly settled. Restrain desires and nurture Qi, selfless and without action..."

Ouyang Ke and Master Lingzhi felt something was wrong as they listened.

Although this part was also somewhat mysterious, it clearly had nothing to do with the previous content.

"You aren't just reading nonsense to deceive us, are you?" Master Lingzhi questioned.

Peng Lianhu didn't answer, because he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Ouyang Ke and the others were startled. Looking closely, they found his face had turned purple and blood was seeping from the corners of his mouth.

"He..."

Just as the word for 'help' was about to leave his mouth, Peng Lianhu's head slumped to the side, and he fell silent.

Old Man Liang, Sha Tongtian, and the others gasped in unison, glancing at each other with lingering fear.

Sha Tongtian said with trepidation, "This must be that Meng kid's handiwork. This is far too sinister! If Peng Lianhu hadn't been the first to stick his neck out, we would surely have fought to the death over this manual, leaving us either dead or injured. Even the winner wouldn't have escaped with their life. This..."

He glanced at Ouyang Ke and said with a strange expression, "Why do I feel like he's more like the successor of Western Venom than you are?"

Ouyang Ke's mouth twitched a few times, but he didn't argue.

Because he felt the same way.

Although he was the successor of Western Venom, he hadn't actually used poison many times since making his debut. His most common poison-related method was setting up a snake formation.

Looking at Meng Li, on the other hand...

Ouyang Ke suddenly agreed with the other man's words.

Compared to him, White Camel Mountain's methods of using poison were indeed somewhat beneath notice.

However, he wouldn't admit his lack of skill to these people who were inferior to himself.

He looked at the manual on the ground, waving his sleeve to create a breeze and flip the pages from a distance. He saw that there were indeed words inside, and they looked somewhat profound at a glance, but upon closer inspection, the content was clearly incoherent, and there were even things like ghost scribbles at the back.

It was obvious that this manual was a fake.

Ouyang Ke immediately lost interest. He turned to Sha Tongtian, Hou Tonghai, and Old Man Liang, saying, "Go back inside and check again. This time, don't just take things recklessly."

Old Man Liang and the other two nodded in agreement and turned to investigate.

The hall and the kitchen showed nothing unusual.

So, they planned to check the bedrooms on the second floor. Unexpectedly, just as they were about to go up the stairs, they felt dizzy and unable to stand steadily.

"Not good... poison!"

Old Man Liang cried out in alarm and retreated, sitting down on the spot to circulate his energy and suppress the toxins in his body.

Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai did not possess his high poison resistance and collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Master Lingzhi and Ouyang Ke were both startled.

Then, Ouyang Ke quickly walked over to Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai to check their condition.

"How is it?" Master Lingzhi asked, following him.

Ouyang Ke replied, "They're just unconscious."

Master Lingzhi breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a wary face, "That Meng Li's mind and methods are far too bizarre. It's better not to take this carriage."

Ouyang Ke nodded and then went to explain the situation to Xie Bin.

Xie Bin felt a great sense of fear after hearing this. Thinking about everything, he felt angry and said, "In that case, just set it on fire and burn it."

Ouyang Ke opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

He planned to return to White Camel Mountain once Wanyan Honglie was cured, first to verify his own background, and then to wait for Ouyang Feng to finish his secluded meditation. Meng Li's methods and strength both surpassed his own; without Ouyang Feng, he didn't have much confidence in facing the man again.

...

After Meng Li withdrew and left his traps behind, he didn't linger, directly using Lightness Skill to follow the route and catch up with Yang Tiexin and the others.

After a period of hurried travel, he caught up with them at a ruined temple.

As soon as he reached the entrance, the sharp-eyed Huang Rong spotted him. She first breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then said to Mu Nianci, who had her back to the door, "Sister Mu, turn around and look."

Mu Nianci turned around as told. The moment she saw Meng Li, she immediately ran toward him. It looked as if she originally wanted to throw herself into his arms, but realizing the setting was inappropriate, she braked at the last second. Instead, she stared at him, looking him over while asking, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Meng Li replied with a smile, "Of course I'm fine."

Guo Jing and Yang Tiexin's family also stood up together to greet him, asking if Meng Li was injured.

Only after confirming he was completely unharmed did they relax and ask about the situation.

Meng Li briefly explained what happened after they left, including the traps he had left behind.

After the story was finished, Huang Rong first clapped her hands in delight, then said with some regret, "Your poison methods are indeed brilliant, but the poison was too light. If you had been a bit more ruthless and poisoned them all to death, then we wouldn't have to worry about Wanyan Honglie coming back again."

"Then Uncle Yang's family could truly rest easy."

Guo Jing was pure and kind-hearted. Hearing Huang Rong talk about poisoning people to death, he felt it was improper and wanted to offer some advice, but thinking of how Wanyan Honglie had caused both his and the Yang family's destruction, as well as Yang Tiexin's family's current situation, he swallowed his words.

Yang Tiexin, Bao Xiruo, and Mu Nianci's thoughts were similar to Guo Jing's.

Yang Kang, on the other hand, quite agreed with Huang Rong's words in his heart.

Meng Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You truly are the daughter of the Eastern Evil; your temperament is indeed eccentric."

He then explained, "Although I have many poison methods, what I usually carry with me is mostly for emergencies and self-defense."

"If they were all lethal poisons, what if I accidentally harmed a good person?"

"Besides, what Wanyan Honglie's confidant said carried a threat, but it was also the truth."

"If I really killed Wanyan Honglie within the Song borders and word got out, there would surely be big trouble."

Huang Rong felt okay hearing the first part, but hearing the latter, she couldn't help but say indignantly, "It's clearly him who committed the evil first, and he's still so brazen after doing so. Yet we have to be so cautious when removing evil and can't pull it out by the roots—this world is truly absurd!"

Guo Jing and Yang Kang also felt stifled.

Yang Tiexin, Bao Xiruo, and Mu Nianci were equally angry, but having seen more of the world, they felt more helpless than anything.

Meng Li remained silent.

Even in peaceful times, there is no shortage of absurd people and events, let alone in these chaotic times.

He didn't care to complain about injustice; he only intended to eliminate it.

Xie Bin had tried to use moral kidnapping on him, using 'the greater good' to pressure him.

Once the matters here were resolved, he would let the man experience the meaning of 'the hero violates the laws with his martial arts' and 'when a warrior is enraged, blood will splatter for five paces'.

The next day, the group continued their journey toward Zhongnan Mountain.

Knowing that Wanyan Honglie would not pursue them, they weren't in as much of a hurry as before.

However, they encountered a small issue: seven people and four horses weren't easy to distribute.

"Elder Brother Meng, you ride one alone, and Younger Brother Kang and I will ride one together," Guo Jing said upon realizing this.

Huang Rong rolled her eyes as she heard this and adjusted without hesitation, "Brother Jing, give your horse to Elder Brother Meng and come over here to me."

"Let Sister Mu and Elder Brother Meng ride together."

"Huh?" Guo Jing was stunned.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Hurry up, don't delay our journey."

"Oh, okay."

Soon, the distribution problem was solved.

Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo were together.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong rode together.

Meng Li and Mu Nianci were snuggled together, one in front of the other.

Yang Kang: "..."

Perhaps I shouldn't be here, but should be...