A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 575 So Fierce
Duan Rong sat in the small kitchen, eating while lost in deep thought. He didn't notice that a pair of eyes were staring at him fiercely from the doorway of the main kitchen diagonally opposite.

Wang Long chewed on his cornbread, his eyes burning with resentment as he stared at the large white steamed bun Duan Rong held in his hand. He knew that Duan Rong's bowl still contained plenty of fatty meat strips, things he had enjoyed just yesterday!
Duan Rong didn't notice Wang Long's gaze as he squatted in the crowd. After finishing his meal, he returned to the small kitchen, washed the dishes, and began preparing various meat and vegetable ingredients for dinner.

Although he lost all his cultivation upon entering the Divine Demon Illusion, his martial arts experience remained. With Duan Rong's original martial arts level, even in this frail body of a seven or eight-year-old child, he could still exert considerable power. Dealing with martial artists like Meng Zongqiu, who were at the Inner Breath Realm, might be a bit difficult, but chopping bones and cutting vegetables would be a piece of cake.

Moreover, Duan Rong had also devoured the spirits of the blades here, and his swordsmanship had become incredibly refined.

With both strength and knife skills, he finished the task Old Man He assigned him in just one hour.

Duan Rong wiped his hands, took off the apron hanging around his neck, and strolled out of the small kitchen.

He stepped out of the small kitchen. Guo Tian and the others were still busy in the yard. Guo Tian, ​​Lu Chu, and three children that Duan Rong didn't recognize were gathered together, peeling potatoes. There were already two large wooden basins piled up beside them... Feeding more than three hundred people, that's no small feat! There were so many potatoes to peel!

The moment Duan Rong stepped out of the small kitchen, Guo Tian looked up and stared at him, and Duan Rong turned to look at Guo Tian as well. Neither of them spoke. Duan Rong walked straight out of the courtyard.

Lu Chu asked, "Did Duan Rong go out?"

"Hmm." Guo Tian simply grunted and then fell silent, continuing to peel his potatoes. Guo Tian held Duan Rong in high regard, after all, Duan Rong had managed to infiltrate the small kitchen on his very first day.

In this way, at least they would have a wider range of information. In fact, although Guo Tian and the others had been working all day, they had also asked the children a lot about things in the village.

The people working here are all seven or eight-year-old children, innocent and guileless. Guo Tian and his friends only need to throw out a topic and they'll start chatting. Guo Tian will also deliberately steer the conversation in the direction he wants to know.

As for why Duan Rong suddenly left the courtyard, Guo Tian felt that Duan Rong must have his own reasons for doing so.

The eight of them shared the same goal: to find a way to kill Meng Zongqiu and his group. If Duan Rong could do it, Guo Tian and the others would do their best to cooperate with him.

Duan Rong walked out of the courtyard and strolled slowly in another direction.

He carried a tree branch in his hand, and whenever he saw a patch of grass, he would tap it with the branch and then go in to examine it to see if there were any poisonous plants.

He used a stick to hit the snake because he was afraid there might be one in the grass. He didn't want to get bitten by a poisonous snake before poisoning anyone else.

In this bandit stronghold, the lives of these children were worthless; if bitten by a poisonous snake, they could only wait to die.

In fact, this is also the reason why Guo Tian and the others were unwilling to accept Jiang Hanyan's plan. They were too weak. If they were to endure in this divine and demonic illusion until they achieved cultivation, they might die before they even reached the Inner Breath Realm.

In this chaotic mountain village, the death of a child or a laborer is, frankly, no different from the death of a dog.

Duan Rong suddenly noticed a large patch of overgrown weeds in front of a courtyard. He walked over slowly, tapped it with a twig, and went inside.

The weeds were dense, so he used a twig to push them aside to make sure he didn't miss any poisonous plants.

Just then, a minor leader, accompanied by several bandits, rode by.

The leader, seated on his horse, glanced at Duan Rong sideways and asked in a deep voice, "You little brat, what are you doing over there?"

"I'm taking a dump!" Duan Rong responded, then unzipped his pants and squatted down. The ankle-high weeds covered his buttocks.

Duan Rong squatted in the weeds until the bandits had gone far away, then he pulled up his trousers and stood up.

He felt an itch on his buttocks, so he carefully examined the spot where he had just squatted and found three cat's eye grass plants there.

Duan Rong shook his head. "This stuff is poisonous, but to kill someone, you'd need at least a whole bundle of it."

Cat's eye grass is too weakly toxic and too troublesome to process. It's simply unusable here.

Duan Rong then investigated further, but found nothing, and left somewhat dejectedly.

There were only three cat's-eye grass plants in such a large clump of weeds. He was losing more and more confidence that he could find poisonous plants in the mountain village.

Duan Rong walked in one direction to the edge of the mountain stronghold, where a tall, round wooden railing stood, about two zhang high, with an arrow tower at intervals.

The arrow tower also served as a lookout tower, allowing the stronghold to spot enemies from afar.

Of course, during the day, if Duan Rong and his group tried to escape from the stronghold, they would be shot dead on the spot by the people in the arrow tower!

Duan Rong stood there, looking out at the lush green mountains and fields beyond the fence, and couldn't help but feel a sense of longing and despair.

In those mountains and fields, poisonous plants were everywhere, and he could identify all kinds of plants. Finding odorless and tasteless poisons, even those that produced toxic smoke, was no problem for him.

Even though they were so close, that single fence imprisoned him.

Duan Rong suddenly realized that a pair of eyes were fixed on him from a watchtower to the southeast. He immediately turned around and walked back the way he came; if he were shot dead, he would have no recourse.

Duan Rong walked back to the kitchen courtyard; it was almost time to prepare dinner. After nearly two hours of busy work that afternoon, he had only found three cat's-eye grass plants, which greatly discouraged him.

Duan Rong walked into the small kitchen, where Old Man He was already standing, tying on his apron.

When Old Man He saw him go in, he glared at him and said, "Where have you been? Have you prepared everything you need?"

Duan Rong said, "Everything is ready!"

Old Man He, his face dark with annoyance, pulled back the black curtain and went inside to inspect the items. He found everything neatly arranged; except for some that needed to be cut on the spot, everything else was prepared and neatly stacked.

"Well done!" Old He praised, then turned to Duan Rong and said, "Alright! I'll take care of the rest! You start the fire!"

Duan Rong then brought over firewood, lit it with a flint, and squatted down in front of the stove to start a fire...

Old He's skills were unparalleled; if he hadn't committed murder, he wouldn't have had to hide in this bandit stronghold.

He spent almost an hour preparing dinner for the three heads of the household.

Old Man He wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, placed a plate of steamed ribs in a food box, looked up at Duan Rong, and said, "The dishes for the Third Master are ready. You can take them over. Carry a lantern and watch your step on the road. If you spill the dishes, you'll be in for a beating."

Duan Rong agreed, placed a lantern diagonally into the handle of the food box, and carried the food box out of the small kitchen.

By this time, it was pitch black. There were a few lights in the mountain stronghold, but the endless mountains all around were dark and heavy, like a crouching giant beast.

As Duan Rong walked, he looked into the darkness in the distance, his eyes gleaming.

Actually, he possessed the art of bone shrinking. Although he hadn't practiced it, his body was already small and thin, and with the techniques for joint movement in bone shrinking, squeezing through the gaps in the fence wasn't difficult for him.

Although there was an arrow tower, it was dark at night, and Duan Rong actually had a way to escape from the mountain stronghold.

But the night was dark, and even though the mountains were full of poisonous plants, he couldn't identify them. Moreover, most of the wild beasts in the mountains hunted at night, and it was easy to die in the mountains if he ran around at night.

Duan Rong carried the food box and followed the path he had taken during the day, soon arriving at the courtyard where the third leader, Li Tang, lived.

When the guard saw Duan Rong carrying the food box, he only opened the lid and glanced at it before letting him in.

Inside the room, candlelight shone brightly, casting dappled light through the open door.

Duan Rong stood in the light, took down the lantern and placed it at his feet, then called out, "Third Master, I've brought dinner!" The room was silent for a few breaths before a clear voice called out, "Come in."

Duan Rong then picked up the food box and went into the room.

Upon entering the room, one could see Li Tang sitting in front of a candle, polishing a gleaming blade, while his newly abducted mistress sat in front of a bronze mirror, applying rouge to her face.

Li Tang slowly slid the white cotton cloth across the blade. Seeing Duan Rong walk in carrying a food box, he said, "Put the dishes on the table."

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong obediently replied "yes," then opened the food box and took out the dishes, one plate and one bowl at a time, and arranged them on the table.

He finished preparing, bowed, and said, "Third Master, the dishes are all set. I'll take my leave now!"

Li Tang ignored him, so Duan Rong tried to leave.

At this moment, Duan Rong heard Li Tang say to the woman, "Where did you put the silver needles you used at noon?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong's heart stirred.

Before eating, Li Tang actually uses a silver needle to test for poison!

It seems these bandit leaders, having spent years risking their lives, have developed a cautious approach to their actions. However, Duan Rong never considered poisoning the food; if he did, even if he killed Li Tang, he wouldn't escape punishment himself!

Even so, Duan Rong slowed down, wanting to see how Li Tang used silver needles to test for poison.

Upon hearing this, the woman picked up an iron box from the corner of the dressing table and said, "Sir, the silver needles are here!"

"Give it to me! I'm hungry!" Li Tang said, and with a swift movement, she sheathed his sword.

The woman gave a charming smile, then took the tin box to the dining table. She opened the tin box, took out silver needles, and began to test them on the dishes one by one.

Li Tang watched her movements from the side. Suddenly, he leaped up and appeared behind the woman, grabbing her waist and then began to kiss her rosy cheeks.

They were munching away, making loud slurping noises!

The woman's hand, which was holding the silver needles, was twisted behind her back by Li Tang, causing her excruciating pain. She dared not utter a sound of complaint, but only frowned and silently endured it...

Duan Rong, carrying an empty food box, walked to the doorway and glanced sideways, just in time to see this scene.

I wanted to see how to test for poison with silver needles, but instead I saw a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey.

Duan Rong did not stop. He picked up his lantern and walked out of the third leader's courtyard.

The moment Duan Rong stepped out of the courtyard, he thought of a brilliant way to poison someone, but he had a poisonous plan but no poison to use!

Those three cat's-eye plants can only poison a few ants at most.

Duan Rong racked his brains for a solution the whole way. When he returned to the small kitchen, he knew that Old Man He had already come back. The empty food boxes of the First and Second Bosses were already placed in the corner.

Duan Rong put down the food box he was holding and went to the stove. He opened the pot lid, and a fragrant aroma wafted out.

His mouth watered instantly!
To be honest, he was quite busy that day; his feet were practically never stopping.

Duan Rong wolfed down his dinner, let out a burp, and then walked out of the small kitchen.

After Guo Tian and the others finished dinner, they still had to wash the dishes and utensils before they could go to sleep!

Duan Rong glanced at them only once before heading straight to the shack where he slept, while the children in the yard looked at him with envy.

After entering the shack, Duan Rong lay down on the large communal bed where he had lain the night before.

Exhausted, he lay down and kicked off his shoes, only to find a sharp pain in his feet. When he got up, he discovered that two blisters had formed on the soles of his feet.

There was no other way! His straw sandals were rubbing against his feet, and he had been running all day!
And he has to run again tomorrow! He needs to find poisonous creatures within this mountain stronghold! He can identify all kinds of herbs, but if he can't find any poisonous creatures, won't all his skills in using poison be wasted?

With these thoughts in mind, Duan Rong drifted off to sleep.

When Guo Tian and the others returned to the shack, Duan Rong was already snoring softly. During the day, Guo Tian had planned to discuss countermeasures with Duan Rong that evening, but not only was Duan Rong asleep, he himself was exhausted after a long day, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. His mind was completely blank; what was there to discuss?

As soon as Guo Tian and the others touched the bed, they instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Duan Rong was half asleep when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back, as if he had been hit by something.

He immediately woke up and saw a long, narrow black shadow, like a stick, coming straight at his head!

Although Duan Rong was physically weak, he was proficient in various martial arts styles. With a quick flip, he dodged the attack, and the long, narrow black shadow was slammed onto the dormitory bed with a bang.

Duan Rong then noticed a figure standing not far away. He immediately leaped up and stepped on the figure's face.

The two fell to the ground together and began to wrestle.

Then, a desperate scream rang out from the darkness!
"Duan Rong! Let go!..."

That was Wang Long's cry! But the cry was changing, as if it was being choked by something, and it gradually weakened!
The children in the shack were immediately awakened, and someone used a tinderbox to light the oil lamp!
On the ground next to the communal sleeping area, Wang Long's hands were tied behind his back, and his head was being twisted by Duan Rong's legs. Duan Rong was all twisted up like a pretzel, tightening his grip on Wang Long's neck more and more!
Wang Long was covered in sweat, his face was pale, the veins on his forehead were bulging, and he made a muffled "ah" sound in his throat, but he could no longer speak.

If Duan Rong continues to strangle him like this, Wang Long will probably be strangled to death in a few more breaths!

"Duan Rong, what are you doing? Release Wang Long!" Several children from Wang Long's village surrounded him, but were immediately blocked by Guo Tian and his group.

At this moment, seeing that Wang Long was about to die, Duan Rong suddenly relaxed slightly. Wang Long's throat suddenly started to move like a bellows, producing a sound similar to a donkey's braying.

Duan Rong said, "If there's a next time, I'll strangle you to death!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he jumped up, picked up the rolling pin that had fallen from the communal bed, and smashed it on Wang Long.

Wang Long had clearly used this rolling pin to hit Duan Rong.

Wang Long sat on the ground, panting heavily, seemingly oblivious to the rolling pin hitting him.

Duan Rong glanced at Guo Tian and said, "Guo Tian, ​​let's go to sleep!"

The eight people then lay down on the large communal bed.

"Wang Long, are you alright?" Several children from the village looked at Wang Long and asked with concern. As they got closer, they noticed that the ground beneath Wang Long was wet.

Wang Long was so scared that he peed himself! He sat in the puddle of urine, his eyes filled with terror!

He was just a seven or eight-year-old child, but for a moment just now, he really felt like he was about to die! He even felt that Duan Rong really wanted to kill him!

It took Wang Long a while to come to his senses. He turned his head and looked at Duan Rong sleeping on the communal bed with fear! At this moment, he felt no resentment, only boundless fear.

He never expected that Duan Rong, who seemed so dull and taciturn, would be so ruthless! Like a wolf cub!
(End of this chapter)