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

Chapter 584 Smoke Killing
It was already late at night when a crescent moon rose from the high ridge, its clear light spilling into the village nestled in the valley.

Wu Mingfu lay on the bed in a state of agitation, tossing and turning, sometimes putting the pillow under his head, sometimes taking it out and throwing it aside.

I tried different positions, but I still didn't feel comfortable sleeping.

Each time he turned over, his burly body made the mahogany bed creak.

Actually, he was suffering from an alcohol craving!
Although he drank heavily with Li Tang last night, he was already a heavy drinker, and Li Tang's death had a significant impact on him.

This insomnia has triggered my craving for alcohol!

At dusk, he arrived at Meng Zongqiu's bunker. Meng Zongqiu had just told him to drink less alcohol, so he didn't touch a drop at dinner. He originally thought he could hold out for a few days, at least to give Meng Zongqiu an explanation and prevent him from saying that he had ignored his words.

However, as the night drew to a close, Wu Mingfu felt an increasing, agonizing itch. Suddenly, he stood up, his inner energy surging, and tore the pillow beside him to shreds. He then shouted, "Someone come here!"

The guard at the gate was dozing off when he suddenly heard a shout from inside the room. Startled, he immediately went inside.

He stood at the doorway and called out, "Second Master, what are your orders?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door suddenly opened, and Wu Mingfu was already standing there holding a wine jar. He said, "Go to the small kitchen and ask Old He to get some snacks to go with the wine!"

"Yes!" the guard replied, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Wu Mingfu often drank alcohol at night, and this was a common occurrence in the courtyard. The guard didn't take it seriously at all, and carrying a lantern, he walked along the dark night road towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen courtyard, the children's sleeping shacks were filled with the sounds of snoring. These children were already weak, and the work they did was quite heavy. Even Guo Tian, ​​who was sleeping next to Duan Rong, was snoring softly.

But in the darkness filled with snoring, Duan Rong's eyes kept darting around. After repeated deductions, he finally came up with a solution.

His thinking had reached a dead end. Although he had various poisons at his disposal, no matter how he deduced the method, he could not poison Meng Zongqiu.

Unless he could get into the bunker, which was clearly impossible. Meng Zongqiu wouldn't let him in for no reason! This path seemed to have reached a dead end.

Just when Duan Rong felt he had entered a dead end, and no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't think of a way out, he suddenly remembered the novels he had read in his previous life. Whether it was Jin Yong's "The Deer and the Cauldron" or Er Yuehe's "Emperor Kangxi", they both mentioned a plot: the young Emperor Kangxi killing Ao Bai.

Ao Bai was the first warrior of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, but Emperor Kangxi secretly trained a group of eunuchs. When he felt the time was right, he summoned Ao Bai to the palace, had the eunuchs lie in ambush, and launched a group attack, ultimately killing Ao Bai.

This pattern also applies to the deadlock he's facing now! The eight of them are that group of eunuchs! And Meng Zongqiu is Ao Bai!

The first step is to find a way to eliminate Meng Zongqiu's allies and leave him all alone! This process is similar to recruiting Ao Bai into the palace.

Although poisoning Meng Zongqiu was very difficult for Duan Rong, poisoning the unsuspecting ordinary bandits in the stronghold was a piece of cake for him.

The second step was to set a trap to ambush and kill Meng Zongqiu!
The key is this step. After all, Meng Zongqiu is a martial artist at the second level of the Inner Breath Realm, while the eight of them are just children with no martial arts skills and weak bodies.

Even if Meng Zongqiu were alone and surrounded by them, could they really kill him?

Where is the breakthrough point here?
After much deliberation, Duan Rong suddenly realized that the second-in-command, Wu Mingfu, had the key to the armory, and that the stronghold's armory contained crossbows!
If all the crossbow bolts were poisoned, the eight children would have a chance to kill Meng Zongqiu! However, it's still not foolproof, unless…

Duan Rong seemed to have thought of something. He suddenly twisted his wrist a few times in the darkness, and after a long while, he seemed to mutter to himself, "This weak wrist, is it really enough...?"

Just then, Duan Rong suddenly heard footsteps in the courtyard outside the shack!

He immediately pricked up his ears in the darkness, listening carefully to the sounds coming from inside and outside the shack. He could tell that the footsteps were going into the yard and heading towards the room opposite. A moment later, he heard a voice and the sound of banging on the door.

"Old He! Old He!"

A few breaths later, Old Man He put on his clothes and opened the door. He saw a guard holding a sword and carrying a lantern standing outside the door. He recognized him at a glance as a guard from the side of the second-in-command, Wu Mingfu.

Old Man He picked at his eyes and asked, "Does Second Master want some snacks to go with his drinks?"

“That’s right!” the guard laughed. “That’s all our master has to do! You’ve figured out his temperament perfectly.”

Old Man He said, "It's the middle of the night, and with limited ingredients, I can only make a few simple ones!"

The guard said, "That's alright. Our master mainly drinks; he's not picky about food."

Old Man He said, "Alright. I'll have someone deliver it to you once it's done."

The guard said, "Old He, hurry up, don't keep our master waiting."

Old Man He said, "Don't worry. It's not like it's the first time I've made midnight snacks for Second Master."

As he spoke, Old Man He put on his clothes and walked out of the room, while the guard left with his lantern.

Old Man He went into the shack where the children slept. He groped his way to the dilapidated wooden table in the corner, blew on the tinderbox, and lit the oil lamp there.

Dim light soon filled the low shack.

Under the lamplight, the children on the communal sleeping platform were sprawled out in all sorts of strange positions...

Old Man He walked to the innermost part, where Duan Rong usually slept. Under the dim light, Duan Rong was fast asleep with his legs curled up.

He reached out and shook Duan Rong.

Duan Rong, however, remained unconscious.

Old Man He patted him and called out, "Duan Rong, get up! You have work to do! Don't sleep yet!"

Duan Rong then turned his head and looked at Old Man He with a sleepy expression.

Old Man He said, "Don't sleep, finish your work before you sleep. Go and start the fire in the small kitchen!"

Duan Rong rubbed his eyes and got up.

When Old Man He saw that he had gotten up, he hunched over and left the shack. As soon as Old Man He stepped out of the shack, Duan Rong's sleepy face instantly became clear.

He had already thoroughly devised the plan to ambush Meng Zongqiu. He originally intended to wait for an opportunity to implement it, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came just as he finished his deduction.

It's like someone just brought you a pillow when you were about to doze off.

Now that the opportunity had arrived, Duan Rong was no longer going to wait. The plan he had devised was interconnected, and once initiated, the entire process would have to be pushed forward.

He glanced at Guo Tian and the others on the communal bed; they were all fast asleep, exhausted from the day's work. They actually all had a copy of the plan, but Duan Rong wasn't going to discuss it with them.

Because there's no time to lose! He has to start this plan now!

The biggest advantage of starting now is that the fact that Dr. Hu Jin was murdered may never have a chance to be exposed! This will save us a lot of trouble!
Moreover, now that the plan has been figured out, the opportunity to launch it has come again! We can't postpone it just because we don't have time to discuss it with Guo Tian and the others!

Be aware that delay may lead to unforeseen changes!
Who knows when the next opportunity to start will come! What if something unexpected happens in the meantime?
We'll have to discuss this with Guo Tian and the others later. But by then, it won't really be considered a discussion anymore.

When Duan Rong entered the small kitchen, Old Man He was cutting braised beef. He only glanced at Old Man He before going to the stove to start a fire.

On the steamer rack on the stove, Old Man He had already placed several kinds of steamed dishes. As the fire blazed up, the aroma began to waft out...

After Old He finished preparing several cold dishes, the steamed dishes were almost done. He came over, lifted the lid, placed the steamed dishes into the food container using a towel as a base, and then added a few plates of cold dishes as well.

After finishing everything, Old Man He took off his apron and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

In just a short while, he had already prepared eight dishes. This is because he always prepares well, and he never runs out of things to pickle or braise. He even pickled three jars of salted duck eggs.

Old Man He looked at Duan Rong and said, "Take it to Second Master. It's dark at night, so watch your step."

Duan Rong hummed in agreement and walked towards the food box. Old Man He had already turned and left the small kitchen. Seeing Old Man He leave, Duan Rong suddenly crouched down and darted behind the black curtain, went to the jar of pickled salted duck eggs in the corner, and took out a small porcelain bottle from it.

Duan Rong opened the porcelain bottle, poured some of the powder out onto a small piece of yellow straw paper, folded the paper, and stuffed it into his sleeve.

After he finished doing all this, he stepped out from behind the black curtain, picked up the food box, and left the small kitchen.

Duan Rong carried a food box and a lantern, walking through the dark night towards the courtyard of the second-in-command, Wu Mingfu. This was not the first time he had brought Wu Mingfu some snacks to go with his drinks at night.

Wu Mingfu loved wine, and he especially loved drinking at night!

As Duan Rong walked along the road, he mentally went over the plan he had come up with earlier, not overlooking a single detail. If he sensed even the slightest flaw, he would immediately stop the operation.

After all, the green ghost shadow was in his sleeve, but whether or not he used it was up to him!
Duan Rong walked all the way to the past, and when he saw the two dim yellow lanterns hanging in front of Wu Mingfu's courtyard in the distance, he made up his mind to poison Wu Mingfu tonight!
Along the way, he went through the process again, confirming that the plan he had come up with earlier was flawless in every detail.

He walked to Wu Mingfu's courtyard and saw the guard dozing off with his head slumped over in the dim light.

Duan Rong said, "I've brought vegetables for Second Master!"

Upon hearing this, the guard stirred and looked up at Duan Rong. This was the third time Duan Rong had delivered supper to Wu Mingfu, and the guard already recognized him. He said, "Quite fast! Go inside, the Second Master is waiting!"

As the guard spoke, he opened the courtyard gate.

Duan Rong carried the food box and lantern inside. He crossed the courtyard, put down the lantern under the corridor, and stood there with only the food box in his hand, calling out, "Second Master, the food is here!"

"Come in!" A deep voice came from inside the room as soon as Duan Rong finished speaking.

Duan Rong then carried the food box inside. As soon as he entered, Wu Mingfu said, "Put the dishes out."

In the lamplight, Wu Mingfu was sitting at the table, holding a wine jar. He had already drunk half a jar of wine and reeked of alcohol.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he carried the food box to a small table not far from the main table, where he placed the food box down. On that table, an oil lamp was lit.

In the past, Duan Rong would simply place the food box on the edge of the table, but today he took a few extra steps and placed the food box in front of the table.

However, Wu Mingfu didn't pay attention to this minor difference. The small table wasn't far from the main table anyway.

Duan Rong opened the food box and placed the dishes one by one on the table in front of Wu Mingfu.

Wu Mingfu had already begun examining the food with a silver needle. Although he was a heavy drinker, he also valued his life! Li Tang had just been poisoned, so how could he not be careful?
While he was inspecting the dishes, Duan Rong was facing away from him at the table. He picked up a plate of cold dishes from the food box with one hand, but his right hand suddenly brushed past the oil lamp on the table.

A clump of powder was sprinkled into the lamp oil, and a few pale green bubbles immediately appeared on the surface. Duan Rong carried the dishes in both hands and placed the plate of cold beef salad in front of Wu Mingfu.

Then, Duan Rong brought out several more dishes, and the foam in the lamp oil gradually disappeared.

After all the dishes in the food box were served, Duan Rong took the food box and stood in front of the table, blocking the oil lamp and thus blocking Wu Mingfu's view.

After Wu Mingfu finished inspecting the dishes, he looked up, and Duan Rong smiled, bowed, and said, "Second Master, all the dishes have been served! I'll take my leave!"

Wu Mingfu grunted in response. For some reason, he felt that this kid was acting a bit strange tonight! Could it be that he was still frightened by what happened with Li Tang?
However, Wu Mingfu's doubts were fleeting and he didn't pay much attention to them. He picked up a piece of beef, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a swig of strong liquor, swallowing it down with it!

Old He's spiced beef is braised to perfection! It's made with the finest spices, and not too much, so that the spices don't overpower the flavor of the beef.

Wu Mingfu ate very happily!
Duan Rong turned around and glanced at it. By then, the foam in the lamp oil had completely disappeared.

He closed the lid of the food box, then carried the empty food box out of the room, closing the door behind him.

At this moment, Wu Mingfu was focused on eating and drinking, his mind entirely on satisfying his appetite, and he didn't notice Duan Rong's little actions at all!

Duan Rong carried the empty food box and walked into the dark night. After taking a few steps, he looked back at Wu Mingfu's courtyard. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but in that short time, the light in the window of that room seemed to have dimmed a bit.

Inside the room, Wu Mingfu ate and drank heartily. He didn't notice that the orange lamp on the table not far away had now turned a faint green, and wisps of smoke were rising from the flickering flame...

Although the green ghost had a strange fragrance, it became odorless and tasteless after being burned into smoke by the flames. Its previous faint fragrance had long been suppressed by the smells of alcohol and food in the room…

(End of this chapter)