I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The night was as dark as ink, and the stars were hidden behind thick clouds.

The streets of Liuhua County were deserted, with only the occasional sound of the night watchman striking his clapper echoing in the distance, making the place seem exceptionally empty.

Chang Le Street, Duobao Pavilion.

A dark figure swept past the street corner like a night bird, moving with extreme lightness, without making a sound.

Zhao Wuji was dressed in black, concealing his aura to the extreme.

Instead of going through the main entrance, he went around to the relatively secluded back alley of Duobaoge.

Since Liu Zhengyi has already publicly stated his intention to protect Duobaoge, even at the cost of breaking ties with County Magistrate Zhao Dezhu, Zhao Wuji naturally cannot bring people to smash the store in a big way, as that would be tantamount to directly slapping the county magistrate in the face.

But if they secretly killed everyone inside and burned the place to the ground, leaving no one to testify, even if Liu Zhengyi was furious, he wouldn't completely turn against the Zhao family for a few dead people.

Zhao Wuji looked up at the two-zhang-high courtyard wall, lightly touched the bluestone slab with his toes, and lightly leaped up, landing silently in the backyard of Duobaoge like a falling leaf.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zhao Wuji's brows furrowed slightly.

It's too quiet.

There was no sound in the backyard, not even the chirping of insects that often accompanies summer nights; an eerie stillness permeated the air. As a cultivator in the early stages of the Nascent Soul realm, his intuition for danger far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Something's not right.

Zhao Wuji's mind went on high alert, and he was preparing to turn back.

Just then, a dazzling array of light suddenly shone from the bluestone slab beneath their feet.

Immediately afterwards, four thick beams of light shot into the sky from the four directions of east, west, south, and north, converging in mid-air to instantly form an inverted, semi-transparent light shield that completely enveloped the entire backyard.

The surrounding scenery changed instantly.

The original artificial hill, pond, and stone table have all disappeared, replaced by a hazy, chaotic space filled with a violent, murderous aura.

"A formation?!"

Zhao Wuji's expression changed.

He recognized at a glance that this was not an ordinary protective array, but a real killing array, and of extremely high quality.

The fluctuations of spiritual energy flowing within the formation made even a Nascent Soul cultivator like him feel a pang of fear.

"A fifth-order trapping and killing formation..."

Zhao Wuji felt his throat was a little dry, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

A fifth-order formation is something that can trap or even kill a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. When did Liuhua County produce a formation master of this level?

"Master Zhao, visiting so late at night without even a greeting, isn't that a bit disrespectful of us?"

A deep, resonant voice echoed within the array space.

As the gray fog rolled ahead, two figures slowly emerged.

The man on the left, dressed in a long blue robe, held an array plate in his hand. He had a refined appearance, but his eyes were as deep as an abyss. It was Ouyang Tian.

The man on the right was burly, with bare arms, and carrying a dark gold giant hammer. He exuded a violent metallic aura. It was Murong Hao.

The two made no attempt to conceal their cultivation levels; their spiritual pressure, stemming from their early Nascent Soul stage cultivation, was like two towering mountains, pressing down on Zhao Wuji without any attempt to hide it.

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably.

"Two... Nascent Soul stage cultivators?!"

His voice even changed tone.

Didn't the intelligence report say that Duobao Pavilion was just run by a few independent cultivators?

He estimated that the enemy had at most two or three Nascent Soul stage cultivators in charge, since they lost twenty assassins last night.

But now, standing in front of him are two genuine early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators!

Moreover, the one in the green robe, holding an array plate, was clearly the array master controlling this fifth-order array.

A formation master at the early stage of Nascent Soul, plus a body cultivator at the early stage of Nascent Soul, combined with a fifth-order trapping and killing formation—this lineup would be enough to kill even the heads of the Zhang and Li families, let alone Zhao Wuji.

We've hit a brick wall.

Moreover, it was a barbed steel plate!

Zhao Wuji's mind raced. A direct confrontation would be certain death; he had no chance of escaping.

"Fellow Daoists, it's a misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding!"

The murderous aura on Zhao Wuji's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely forced smile.

He immediately withdrew his magic, clasped his hands together, and lowered his posture to the lowest possible level.

"Misunderstand?"

Murong Hao sneered, slamming his massive hammer heavily on the ground, creating a large crater: "In the dead of night, dressed in black, you scaled the wall into our backyard, and you're telling me it's a misunderstanding? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

Ouyang Tian fiddled with the array plate in his hand, and the gray mist in the array space began to churn violently, with faint lightning flashing in the mist, and killing intent lurking everywhere.

Zhao Wuji swallowed hard, cold sweat streaming down his face.

He knew that if he didn't give a reasonable explanation today, the other party would definitely kill him without hesitation.

"Fellow Daoists, please calm your anger!"

Zhao Wuji quickly took a step back and said urgently, "I am Zhao Wuji, the head of the Zhao family. I had a few too many drinks tonight and was wandering around the city when I accidentally got lost and wandered into your esteemed place. If I have disturbed you two, I am willing to compensate you. I have no ill intentions!"

He didn't even believe this nonsense himself, but he had no choice but to say it now, since he couldn't very well admit that he was there to kill and set fires.

"Master Zhao, it seems your alcohol tolerance isn't very good. You managed to get drunk all the way from the east of the city to the dock."

A calm voice came from behind the two of them.

The gray fog dispersed, creating a passage, and Zheng Yifei, dressed in casual clothes, walked out unhurriedly with his hands behind his back.

Night Owl and Ouyang Zhan followed behind him, one on each side, staring at Zhao Wuji with eyes that looked as if he were already dead.

Upon seeing Zheng Yifei, Zhao Wuji's eye twitched; he recognized the young constable.

Zheng Yifei walked between Ouyang Tian and Murong Hao, looked at Zhao Wuji, and asked in a calm tone, "Were those twenty assassins from last night also drunk and accidentally wandered in?"

Zhao Wuji's face stiffened, knowing that there was no point in arguing any further.

"Officer Zheng, let's not beat around the bush."

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath and decided to lay his cards on the table: "This time, my Zhao family misjudged the situation. I didn't expect Duobao Pavilion to have such a strong foundation. I admit defeat tonight. As long as you let me go, everything that happened last night, as well as the matter with the Tax Bureau before, will be wiped clean."

From now on, in Liuhua County, the Zhao family and Duobao Pavilion will keep to themselves. What do you think?

Zhao Wuji felt that as the head of one of the three great families in Liuhua County, if he took the initiative to lower his head and seek peace, the other party would probably accept the offer and stop.

After all, if they really killed him, the Zhao family would definitely fight to the death, and Duobao Pavilion would not be able to do business peacefully in Liuhua County.