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

Chapter 578 The Death of Li Tang
Li Tang entered the room and couldn't help but burp. Wu Mingfu had an amazing alcohol tolerance, and Li Tang had drunk quite a bit as well, already somewhat tipsy.

He suddenly caught a glimpse of a plate of cold tofu on the table.

At Wu Mingfu's place, the dishes served with his drinks were all hearty, with plenty of meat and fish. He had just been out in the night wind, and the effects of the alcohol were kicking in, making him feel a bit unwell. This cold dish would be a good way to calm him down.

Li Tang sat down at the table, picked up the plate, and ate a few bites. The tofu with scallions, sprinkled with sesame oil, was refreshing.

After a few bites, Li Tang felt better. He stood up, ready to go to sleep.

As soon as he turned around, he saw the woman sitting on the dressing table. From this position, he could see her fair neck and the strands of messy black hair. Perhaps because he had just drunk some wine, Li Tang's desire was suddenly aroused.

He strode over, grabbed the woman by the back of the neck, slammed her against the dressing table, and shoved his large, alcohol-reeking mouth at her face...

His hands moved like snakes...

Li Tang suddenly grabbed the woman's hair and threw her to the ground. Leaning against the dressing table, a fierce look appeared on his face as he said, "Get on the bed! I'm going to teach you a lesson tonight!"

Fueled by alcohol, Li Tang suddenly became somewhat beastly!
The woman fell to the ground, crying out in pain. She turned her head and saw Li Tang staring at her with a ferocious expression, which made her shiver. She knew that tonight, she would have to spend another night in purgatory.

She stood up with a somewhat numb expression, walked around the screen, and went into the bed.

Li Tang was about to follow him to the bed when he suddenly felt a little dizzy. He thought it was because the alcohol was kicking in again, but then his vision began to blur...

"This……"

Li Tang sensed something was wrong. He shook his head, forced himself to focus, and strained to see clearly. He then saw a reflection in the bronze mirror. The reflection was unmistakably himself, only his face was ashen, like a demon.

Li Tang seemed to realize something, but the next moment his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground like a rag doll...

The woman lay on the bed, filled with unease. The worst torment Li Tang had inflicted on her was that first night; that night, Li Tang was like a wild beast. But she had a feeling that tonight, Li Tang might be even more ferocious than that night!

She bit her lip, overwhelmed by waves of fear...

Half an incense stick's time had passed, and Li Tang still hadn't arrived. The woman felt a little uneasy...

She knew Li Tang's temper, and just now at the dressing table, she clearly saw the lust burning in Li Tang's eyes. Li Tang would not let her go.

Unless Li Tang has some urgent business to attend to and goes out again.

Thinking this, the woman finally couldn't bear the agonizing wait any longer. If Li Tang really went out, she wouldn't be so afraid.

She finally mustered up her courage and decided to go out and see.

"Sir, where are you?"

The woman spoke as she walked around the screen.

She had just turned around the screen when her heart tightened. Li Tang collapsed on the floor in front of the dressing table.

A look of hesitation crossed her face, because she thought Li Tang was drunk and asleep on the floor. If she ignored Li Tang and went to bed herself, she didn't know if she would get a beating today!
She stood in front of the screen for a while, then walked over.

As soon as she got closer, her face froze!
Li Tang's face was covered in bruises; he didn't look like he was asleep at all.

"This……"

She took a few more steps closer, then crouched down somewhat nervously to check Li Tang's breathing.

"Dead...dead?" Her face paled instantly, her legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground.

In a panic, she kicked her legs and backed away, shouting, "Help! Help!"

The two guards standing in the courtyard exchanged a smile when they heard the shouts; the woman had screamed much louder on her first night there.

Seeing that no one came in, the woman cried out, "Third Master is dead! Dead!"

The two guards were startled and rushed in. They saw the woman sitting on the ground, and Li Tang lying on the dressing table not far away.

The two guards were Li Tang's trusted confidants, and they rushed over immediately. When they saw that Li Tang's face was covered in bruises, they knew something was wrong. They checked his breathing and found that Li Tang had already died!

One of the guards turned around, glared at the woman, and cursed, "You filthy bitch, what have you done? How could our master do this?"

The woman was already panicked, and the guard's shout made her even more incoherent. "I...I don't know...Third Master...he's lying there..."

Another guard suddenly said, "Liang Bao, you stay here and guard this place. I'll go and report to the master and the second master."

After the guard finished speaking, he ran out.

The guard named Liang Bao immediately drew his gleaming steel knife with a whoosh, his eyes flashing with malice as he glared at the woman. In his mind, only Li Tang and this woman were in the room, and Li Tang's death must be related to her.

Not long after, a series of chaotic footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

A band of bandits carrying torches surrounded the courtyard.

"Third brother! Third brother!"

A burly figure strode in; it was Wu Mingfu, the second-in-command of the mountain stronghold.

"What happened to the third brother?!" Wu Mingfu's voice boomed like thunder.

The guard standing beside Li Tang immediately clasped his hands and knelt on one knee, his eyes filled with sorrow, and said, "Second Master, our master is dead!"

Wu Mingfu then noticed that there was a man lying on the ground behind the guard, and judging from his clothes, it was Li Tang.

"The third one!"

Wu Mingfu shouted and then moved with incredible speed, leaping out like a black tiger. In a flash, he caught the fallen Li Tang in his arms.

Li Tang's face was ashen, and he was already dead. Wu Mingfu's eyes widened in horror!
In this mountain stronghold, he and Li Tang were the most compatible, and they often drank together. He never expected that they had just parted ways not long ago, and now Li Tang was already a corpse.

Just then, the leader Meng Zongqiu walked in, followed by another of Li Tang's personal guards.

Meng Zongqiu was dressed in casual clothes, but even now, he still wore a headscarf that seemed out of place with his loose-fitting clothes, covering his face.

As soon as Meng Zongqiu stepped into the room, he asked in a cold voice, "Second brother, is the third brother dead or alive?"

Wu Mingfu turned his head and said, "Elder brother, third brother is dead. It looks like he was poisoned!"

Meng Zongqiu walked over slowly and saw that Li Tang's face was bluish-black, a clear sign of poisoning. He squatted down and took Li Tang's pulse. Meng Zongqiu was quite knowledgeable in medicine, and after taking the pulse for a while, he said, "He should have just died recently."

He suddenly turned his head, swept his gaze across the crowd, and said coldly, "Who discovered that the third brother was poisoned?" The guard Liang Bao clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to the chief, it was this bitch calling out from inside the room that we discovered it when we came in."

As Liang Bao spoke, he raised his hand and pointed to the woman who had already stood up, but was standing to the side looking rather uneasy and panicked.

Upon hearing this, Meng Zongqiu also looked at the woman.

The headscarf covered Meng Zongqiu's face, but the woman could clearly feel that two venomous eyes were staring at her from the shadows.

Meng Zongqiu coldly asked, "How did the third brother get poisoned?"

The woman's face turned bitter, and her body trembled involuntarily. "I...I don't know."

Meng Zongqiu said, "Say whatever you know. Otherwise, I'll skin you alive and hang your skin on the arrow tower at the entrance of the stronghold!"

The woman's heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, "Third Master... he went to Second Master's for drinks... he was fine when he came back... then, then... he told me to wait for him on the bed... after a while I saw that Third Master hadn't gone in, so I went out to check, and Third Master was already lying on the ground... dead..."

After hearing what the woman said, Meng Zongqiu stood there in silence for a while.

Wu Mingfu could sense that Meng Zongqiu's sinister gaze, hidden in the shadow of his headscarf, was now directed at him.

A flash of anger crossed Wu Mingfu's mind. He glared at the woman and said, "Are you saying that I poisoned my own third brother?"

"No! That's not what I meant! I..." The woman waved her hands and backed away nervously, seemingly quite frightened by Wu Mingfu's fierce gaze.

Wu Mingfu then turned to Meng Zongqiu and said, "Having acquired a few jars of fine wine, I invited my third brother to have a few drinks with me. Elder brother, you never drink, so I didn't dare invite you. My third brother was perfectly fine when he left my place!"

Meng Zongqiu knew in his heart that it was impossible for Wu Mingfu to poison Li Tang. The two had always had a good relationship and there was no conflict of interest between them.

Meng Zongqiu looked at the two guards and asked, "Was there anything unusual when the third brother came back?"

The guard, Liang Bao, shifted his gaze and said, "He reeks of alcohol; he must have had quite a bit to drink. His steps are a little unsteady. But Third Master seems fine; he was even joking with us."

Meng Zongqiu paused for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at the woman standing in the corner. His voice turned icy as he demanded, "Speak! Did you poison Li Tang?!"

According to the guard, Li Tang should not have been poisoned before entering the room. Besides Li Tang, the only other person in the room was the woman in front of him.

Although she looked weak and panicked at this moment, she was clearly the prime suspect!
"Sir, spare my life!" The woman suddenly knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly. "This humble woman wouldn't even dare kill a chicken, how could I dare kill a person?"

Meng Zongqiu suddenly flashed and darted in front of the woman. He was ready to break her hands and torture her severely!
But at that moment, the woman suddenly said, "I remember now! I know how Third Master was poisoned to death!"

Meng Zongqiu suddenly stopped and said coldly, "Speak!"

The woman said, "It was that plate of scallion and tofu salad. When Third Master came back, he was probably a little drunk, so he used that cold dish to balance things out. I was sitting at the dressing table at the time and just happened to see it. Now that I think about it, there must have been something wrong with that dish."

Meng Zongqiu then noticed the dishes on the table in the room. The dishes hadn't been touched much; only two dishes showed signs of being eaten, while the rest were intact.

The two dishes that had been touched were steamed pork ribs with rice flour and cold tofu salad.

Meng Zongqiu looked at the woman and said coldly, "Nonsense! Everything we import is tested with silver needles. The third brother is at least vigilant enough. Does he not use silver needles to inspect the vegetables delivered from the small kitchen?"

Upon hearing this, the woman lowered her head slightly and said, "These past few days, Third Master has been having me inspect the dishes. Tonight's dishes were delivered, and I was inspecting them with a silver needle. But just as I finished inspecting the steamed pork ribs, Second Master's men came to invite Third Master for drinks. After Third Master left, I didn't inspect the rest of the dishes. I think it must be that cold tofu salad that was poisoned; Third Master ate it and soon after, he was poisoned right here!"

The woman spoke with certainty, because she was certain that the only thing Li Tang had eaten after returning from Wu Mingfu's place was that plate of cold tofu salad. Now that Li Tang was poisoned, it must be because that plate of cold tofu salad was poisoned!
A common mistake people make is that after a little thought and some initial insight, they assume they have discovered the truth.

Moreover, she was contemplating suicide at the time, and once Li Tang left, she had no mind to continue inspecting the vegetables.

First, she didn't check the dish. Second, Li Tang just happened to die after eating it. Doesn't this make sense? The woman suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

Wu Mingfu shouted, "I'm going to grab Old Man He! Is that old bastard planning a rebellion?!"

Meng Zongqiu's eyes, hidden in the shadow of his headscarf, flickered. He felt He Chong wouldn't do such a thing. He Chong had a murder charge against him; this mountain stronghold was his refuge. Why would he poison Li Tang? Wouldn't that be digging his own grave?

Although Meng Zongqiu thought so, he did not stop Wu Mingfu.

No sooner had Wu Mingfu left than Meng Zongqiu walked to the table, opened the iron box on the corner of the table, took out a silver needle, pricked the plate of cold tofu a couple of times, and looked at the silver needle in his hand under the lamplight...

Guo Tian and his men finally finished their evening work in the kitchen. The group of thin, tired laborers dragged their weary bodies toward the shack.

Guo Tian has been sleeping next to Duan Rong for the past few days. The moment he lay down, he knew that Duan Rong was not asleep because his breathing sounded different.

Although Duan Rong did not snore, the breathing rhythm when a person is asleep is completely different from the breathing rhythm when they are awake.

Usually, Duan Rong is asleep when he comes over, so what's wrong with him today? He's still awake.

Duan Rong indeed couldn't fall asleep. Although he was lying there, he simply couldn't sleep.

He guessed that Li Tang might be poisoned tonight!

If Li Tang is poisoned, the aftermath will likely affect the small kitchen.

Duan Rong couldn't sleep because he felt there might be some noise later.

Guo Tian whispered in Duan Rong's ear, "Still not asleep?"

Duan Rong lowered his voice and said, "I can't sleep."

Guo Tiandao: "Is something going to happen tonight?"

Duan Rong said, "Perhaps."

The moment Duan Rong uttered the word "possibly as weak as mosquitoes and flies," a flurry of footsteps echoed through the courtyard.

A group of people, carrying lanterns and wielding steel knives, suddenly rushed in.

Wu Mingfu took the lead and kicked open Old Man He's door. Like picking up a puppy, he lifted Old Man He, who was only wearing a thin shirt and underpants, off the bed.

Old Man He was alarmed. Seeing the towering figure, as large as a small mountain, and hearing the strong smell of alcohol, he immediately knew who it was. "Second Master, what's going on?"

Wu Mingfu said, "What are you doing?! You old bastard, you've done a good job! My third brother was poisoned by the food you gave him!"

"Second Master, you wouldn't dare to talk nonsense! I've been an honest and upright person in this village for so many years, when have I ever had such thoughts!"

"Stop talking nonsense!?" Wu Mingfu threw Old Man He to the bandits who came with him, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he shouted, "And that kid who delivers vegetables, what's his name again? Old man, I'm asking you a question."

Old Man He, with his hands tied behind his back by the two bandits, said, "His name is Duan Rong. He's been delivering the vegetables for Third Master these past few days."

(End of this chapter)