The sky was not bright, somewhat sultry; dark clouds were approaching in the distance, which indicated that a storm might hit tonight.
Calm and unhurried, carrying the "fake **" mentioned by the blacksmith, he strolled on the street. This item was less than two feet long, and under the watchful eyes of the public, he did not believe anyone would dare to attack him. The Yan Family was not to be trifed with.
His gaze remained fixed on himself; he wandered casually, bought some fireworks and some candles—everything appeared quite ordinary, no abnormalities—at least until he leisurely returned home around noon.
In recent days, Yan Yurou had not visited his home, partly because her injuries had healed, and as an unmarried girl, it was rare for her to frequent a man's house without drawing idle gossip, given her skin was not as thick as his.
It naturally had something to do with their last conversation about Ethereal Violet Pavilion, which had upset her, causing her to sulk.
The front door closed.
His previously relaxed and casual expression immediately tensed!
He ran upstairs, taking the steps two at a time; since entering the house, he hadn't felt those eerie gazes. He knew that there must be people from the Yan Family nearby to help, so the opponents didn't dare come too close.
But this was his chance.
After rummaging under the bed, he quickly pulled out a box, dumped it on the floor, and the sound of metal clashing echoed in the bedroom.
There were steel balls, metal casings, various axles and gears, iron nails and needles, and oddly shaped wooden boards...
This was his trump card.
Jiang Feng himself was a very meticulous person, everything he did was extremely clean, especially after a recent brush with death, which made him extremely cautious.
He checked everything carefully; now with the addition of this fire stick, candles, and the necessary components for the trigger, all needed items were prepared.
Glancing outside the window, it seemed someone flitted through the shadows—a likely assassin sent by Xue Family; yet he remained fearless, simply closed the door, and expressionlessly dismantled the fireworks.
Using a small knife, he scraped out the black powder little by little. The young man's delicate face looked somewhat terrifying at the moment, as he muttered to himself.
"Priming powder, gunpowder, filler, steel balls, wax, also need to saw this thing in half..."
"It is a bit rushed, but two rounds should be sufficient; it's a pity that the heavens couldn't grant me one more day."
"Today is still a rainy day." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⟡fire.net
"Girls from Ethereal Violet Pavilion, no, Lu Luo my dear, you really need to put in some effort, make sure that young master knows that even on a rainy day, he needs to make a few rounds at your place."
"If this fails, it will be hard to find another opportunity in the future."
While talking to himself, he quickly assembled the device in his hands; he remembered both the principle and the structure clearly. If he had more time, naturally, he would try to enhance its power and accuracy, but unfortunately,
he didn't have much time.
This device in his hands was his backup plan; if possible, he hoped he would never need to use this thing, but reality was such that even if he was minced into meat by fairies in his dreams, he still wouldn't dare consider himself equal to the cultivators of this world.
Even if they lacked cultivation talent, they had still explored this path for decades; he was merely a crash learner, and besides, the real combat effectiveness was still an unknown mystery.
Perhaps because he had often been coveted by others for years, he maintained a certain level of vigilance towards anyone; indeed, he had been taught swordsmanship in a force-feeding style by that fairy.
But... if they were just teasing him, what if it all fell apart upon real contact?
Hence, he needed a fallback plan.
As he observed, that Mr. Xue would go to the brothel whenever he had free time, driven by youthful impulses, allegedly spending tens of taels daily—it might not sound like much, but ten silver taels were enough to buy a human life in this era.
A young maid was merely ten taels, even an adult literate maid was only around twenty taels.
"He leaves every day at noon, mingles in the brothel until midnight before returning home."
"According to the information gathered, Mr. Xue would love to live directly in the brothel, but curiously chooses to return home every day after the half past the hour of the Pig."
"Counting the time, it takes about half an hour from the brothel to his Xue Mansion. That bastard is timing his return home just at midnight."
"I heard that the head of the Xue Family manages his household strictly, never allowing his son to stay out overnight. He doesn't care about womanizing, but he's quite attentive to such trivial matters."
"However... it's thanks to this family rule."
Looking out of the window at the crowd rushing home and the rolling dark clouds in the distance, the young man simply pressed his finger expressionlessly, with force.
Then he uttered a phrase completely unbecoming of his age.
"Dark moon, high winds, a perfect night for murder and arson."
A bolt of lightning tore through the sky, rain mercilessly hammered the ground, enveloping Qingshui County in shadows.
The rain that had been brewing for nearly two months finally poured down. For other businesses, such rainy days were unwelcome because they hindered business continuation.
Contrarily, the brothel industry thrived during such times; many customers seemed to have found an excuse not to return home. Even if they would later be scolded by getting their ears pinched by their wives, they could still say with all justification:
"How can one make it back in such heavy rain?"
Indeed, a good excuse.
Unfortunately for a certain young master who was spending the night at Ethereal Violet Pavilion, family rules reigned supreme. Reluctantly, he had to climb off from Miss Lu Luo.
"Mr. Xue is leaving already..."
She stretched out her hand daintily, holding onto the corner of his sleeve with a pitiful look that invited sympathy, and those seductive fox-like eyes nearly made Mr. Xue reach out subconsciously, his movements rough and bold.
"Hehe, girl, we still have some time, how about we get cozy again?"
Wearing a lascivious smile, he pinned the girl helplessly on the bed, while Lu Luo feigned fear and struggled symbolically; yet the allure in her eyes never faded, clearly knowing how to provoke a man's desire to conquer.
"Young Master, it's time to return to the mansion."
Outside, the carriage driver knocked on the door unemotionally.
He cursed harshly but still sulkily pulled up his trousers. If that damned coachman had come just a few breaths later, perhaps he could have finished.
Unhappily walking out of the room, his expression grim. No one looks good when woken from their high spirits to go home.
His face ashen, he stood at the doorway looking at the torrential rain outside, cursing under his breath, but still braved the rain and climbed into the carriage.
Instead of just driving away as usual, the rain-drenched Wang Qi also climbed in.
"Master, there are matters I need to inform you."
"You scoundrel, getting the carriage all wet—why don't you speak outside? Truly lawless!"
Without a trace of cordiality and dripping with rainwater, his face bore annoyance.
He clenched his fist.
Yet thinking about what was to be delivered to Xue Mansion, he held back his voice. Those herbs and elixirs were simple items, but if it were him...
"Young Master, the Family Head is returning tomorrow, and he has brought you many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, including a Body Tempering Pill capable of enhancing one's constitution."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Good, very good, I wonder to what realm I could reach after consuming that Body Tempering Pill, I should at least be stronger than you, shouldn't I?"
He glanced outside the window, already fantasizing before he got the pill; about the future and basking in the adulation of becoming a Cultivator.
Then, when he goes to propose to the Yan Family, he'll fiercely humiliate... no, kill Yan Yurou's useless fiancé right in front of her!