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

Chapter 281 The Cold Moon Murder Night Without a Sound of Wind
Duan Rong rode his horse into the city. He had practiced hard in Wild Boar Mountain for several days and had been running all the way. His face was indeed covered in dust and he looked exhausted.

But at the moment when Duan Rong staggered into the city on his horse, he still urged his mind to move, and his spiritual awareness suddenly spread out, covering the surrounding area.

The hooves of the chestnut horse tapped slowly on the bluestone slabs. After passing several alleys, Duan Rong's heart moved.

A man came out of a tea shop near the East City Gate and followed him closely.

The man was wearing a tattered felt hat and a coarse blue robe. Duan Rong's mind moved, and he focused his spiritual consciousness on the man.

His spiritual sense penetrated the felt hat and Duan Rong clearly "saw" a face.

“It’s Jie Daohan!”

Duan Rong sat on the chestnut horse, swaying unsteadily. Although he tried to keep his body relaxed, his heart was tense and his thoughts were racing like lightning.

Xie Daohan was clearly following him?

The only connection he had with Jie Daohan was Jie Lei’s death!

So, is Xie Daohan doubting him, or has he completely locked on to him?

When did he start to doubt himself?

Duan Rong's mind lit up, and he grabbed the three darts that Tao Rong suddenly shot out on the stage of selecting talents with one hand. This scene flashed through Duan Rong's mind!

After all, Xie Daohan is an experienced criminal lawyer with more than 20 years of experience. He had underestimated this man's sense of smell before and did not expect that he would be exposed!
More than half a year had passed since the case was discovered and it had long been closed. Duan Rong thought that the case had been forgotten by the world.

Although Duan Rong's mind was in turmoil, his behavior was normal.

Xie Daohan followed from a distance behind, his eyes passing through the crowd, staring closely at Duan Rong's back.

He was very confident in his tracking ability, not to mention that he was disguised like this, so he was inconspicuous in the crowd.

Duan Rong first went to the carriage dealership to return the chestnut horse, and then went to the beef soup shop on West Street, where he drank a large bowl of beef soup and ate two large sesame cakes.

At this time, Xie Daohan was sitting in front of a wonton stall not far away. While drinking wontons, his eyes occasionally glanced at Duan Rong's profile in the corner of the beef soup stall.

Duan Rong sat there drinking beef soup, his eyes filled with deep thought.

What he was thinking about was what Xie Daohan would do next?
Is he secretly investigating me, or is he looking for an opportunity to take action against me?

Although Duan Rong had achieved great perfection, Jie Daohan was, after all, a strong man in the True Qi Realm. After all, there was a big realm gap between them, so Duan Rong was still very wary of him.

If he could avoid it, he really didn't want to do it.

The public notice will end in two days, and he will leave Xiangu County at that time. It is not certain whether he will come back in the future.

It would be best if we could find a way to play along with Jie Daohan for two days...

After Duan Rong had eaten and drunk his fill, he burped, then stood up and left the stall in a leisurely manner.

At this time, it was already night time and the lights were just coming on. West Street was bustling and the lights on the street were as bright as stars.

After Duan Rong walked through an alley, Xie Daohan got up from the wonton stall and followed him along the street.

Duan Rong walked along West Street and went straight back to Yuanshun Escort Agency. Although he walked leisurely, his spiritual awareness was covering the entire way, locking onto Jie Daohan's figure.

Duan Rong walked to the martial arts arena in the middle courtyard. Behind him, a dark shadow flashed in the shadow of a tree in the southwest corner of the arena.

Duan Rong's spiritual sense had already swept over and found that Xie Daohan had actually climbed over the wall and entered the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

It seems that Luan Jingfu is dead, Ruan Fengshan is in hiding, and Xie Daohan has already regarded Yuanshun Escort Agency as nothing.

Although the Yuanshun Escort Agency has patrolling guards, they are useless and like waste in front of Jie Daohan, who has achieved the true Qi realm.

Xie Daohan's figure flashed, hiding in the shade of trees and walls, following Duan Rong from a distance.

Duan Rong walked slowly to the door of Liulu, looked at the pile of gifts and visiting cards at the gate, and frowned.

Duan Rong simply ignored the pile of things, opened the gate, walked in, and closed the pile of things outside the gate again.

At this time, Xie Daohan had already flashed to a tall and lush beech tree not far from Liulu.

Xie Daohan hid in the tree canopy and looked into the courtyard of Liulu through the gaps between the branches and leaves of the beech tree.

Duan Rong walked across the courtyard, entered the room and closed the door.

As soon as Duan Rong entered the main room, he immediately squatted down and looked through the crack of the door at the crown of the tall beech tree outside the courtyard. He knew that Xie Daohan was hiding in the dark crown.

Duan Rong paced back and forth in the main room, thinking about countermeasures!

Xie Daohan is obviously a rather difficult opponent.

He is a martial arts expert, after all, he is a strong man who has achieved the true qi realm.

He has a special status and is the chief constable in charge of criminal cases in a county.

Moreover, the conflict between the two was irreconcilable, and there was no room for a showdown or negotiation. After all, he was the one who killed his own nephew Jie Lei!
However, there was one thing Duan Rong was sure of, that was that Xie Daohan had absolutely no evidence! Otherwise, Xie Daohan would have captured him when he entered the city, and would never have been hiding here in disguise.

Duan Rong quickly realized that Xie Daohan was wary of his identity and the sensitive timing of the public announcement.

If Jie Daohan was just suspicious and following him, he would have to find a way to drag it out and pretend to be nice to him to get through the last two days...

If Jie Daohan has already locked onto him and is going to attack him secretly, then Duan Rong will have no way out and can only fight to the death...

Duan Rong took stock of his own methods. Even if he faced Jie Daohan, who was in the True Qi Realm, he would not be without a chance of winning if he could handle it properly. At least, he still had the poinsettia poison left by Shen Ping!
Moreover, Duan Rong had another advantage, that is, he had already discovered that Jie Daohan was following him, while Jie Daohan thought that he was the one who was in the dark and took every step ahead.

If he could make good use of this, he could turn the tables on the enemy!

Duan Rong moved a throne over and sat at the door of the main room, staring at the courtyard outside through the crack in the door!
If he releases his spiritual sense, he can naturally see through everything under the coverage of his spiritual sense, but long-term and large-scale coverage of his spiritual sense is very exhausting to the soul.

And he might face a fierce battle tonight, his soul has other uses, and he must not waste it all on exploration. Duan Rong sat there and picked up the porcelain kettle at his feet, which he had just taken out of the pot. There was still a small pot of cold water in the porcelain kettle.

Duan Rong held the porcelain kettle, placed it on his legs, carefully opened the lid, and then flipped it with one hand, and a small red porcelain bottle appeared in his hand.

Inside that porcelain bottle is the poinsettia poison!

The poison that Shen Ping spent his entire life developing also has a certain effect on strong people in the Qi realm.

Duan Rong briefly looked away from the courtyard, lowered his head, opened the porcelain bottle, and poured some red medicine powder into the kettle.

This medicinal powder is red and odorless and dissolves in water.

Duan Rong put the porcelain bottle back into his sleeve, then raised his eyes through the crack in the door to glance at the courtyard outside. He saw the tall and lush beech tree not far outside the courtyard, its huge black crown still motionless.

Duan Rong then drew out his oxtail knife, holding the knife in one hand and the kettle in the other. He raised the kettle slightly, and a thin line of red water flowed out from the spout of the kettle, pouring onto the blade that was faintly visible in the dark night!

Duan Rong is poisoning his oxtail knife!

This was the first time he had poisoned his weapon!
Jie Daohan is truly the most powerful opponent he has encountered since his soul traveled through time. Duan Rong cannot hold back any longer!

The oxtail knife in Duan Rong's hand was slightly tilted, and a light red liquid, like blood, slowly flowed from the handle to the tip of the knife and dripped onto the ground.

After Duan Rong finished watering one side, he turned his wrist and continued to water the other side.

He poured water on both sides of the oxtail knife until the kettle in his hand was empty, then he stopped and left the knife against the door to dry.

Duan Rong looked at the courtyard outside through the crack in the door!

On this chilly spring night, there was strangely not a single breeze. The willow branches, already soft in spring, hung there, swaying slightly...

A cold crescent moon has risen in the west, casting its dim light onto the rooftops...

Duan Rong's eyes were fixed on the dark tree canopy not far outside the courtyard. He knew that Jie Daohan, who was hiding in the tree canopy, was also staring at him.

The two of them just faced each other silently in the darkness...

A crescent moon has moved away from the roof and risen above the treetops...

There was a faint sound of a night watchman knocking on a gong in the street. Judging from the time, it was already midnight.

As the night watchman's clapper blasted, the dark crown of the beech tree suddenly shook. Duan Rong was startled and saw Jie Daohan's figure leaping out from the tree crown like a giant bird. It touched the wall with its toes and landed in the courtyard.

At this moment, Duan Rong opened the door without hesitation with a creak!
As soon as Xie Daohan landed in the courtyard, he heard a creaking sound from the door of the main room. He immediately dodged and hid in the shadow on the side of the kitchen. He poked his head out cautiously and looked over here.

At this time, the courtyard was dark, with only a crescent moon casting a dim shadow.

I saw that the door of the main room was opened. Two breaths later, a figure slowly walked out from the darkness in the room.

Xie Daohan looked at Duan Rong who walked out of the main room and stood at the door in the dim moonlight.

Duan Rong stood there, looking around vigilantly. Seeing that everything was quiet, he suddenly saw a flash of his figure and jumped onto the top of the wall.

Xie Daohan watched Duan Rong's figure disappear over the wall, his eyes fixed, and he immediately and quietly chased after him.

Duan Rong went out late at night and was so cautious, it is very likely that he was going to meet someone, and he might be able to dig out some other secrets by tracking him all the way.

Duan Rong rushed out of Yuanshun Escort Agency, displayed his lightness skills, and ran through the criss-crossing alleys at a speed as fast as a ghost!

Xie Daohan followed behind, secretly impressed by Duan Rong's superb Qinggong skills.

Duan Rong was a young boy from a poor family. In just one year, he completed a stunning turnaround and became a registered disciple of the sect. In addition to his own extraordinary talents, he might have other secrets.

When Xie Daohan thought of this, he stared at Duan Rong's flickering figure in front of him, fearing that he might lose him by accident in the dark night...

Duan Rong's figure was swift, and he suddenly jumped out from the alley in front.

Xie Daohan leaped up like a swallow flying over water and landed at the entrance of the alley. He hid in the shadow of the alley entrance sideways and looked out.

Outside the alley is the wild lake behind the City God Temple.

That night, strangely, there was not a single breath of wind. The lake was as still as glass. A crescent moon was reflected in the water. The shadows of the trees and reeds by the lake were all silent because there was no wind. There was not even a trace of noise. The world seemed to be in a dead silence.

Duan Rong's figure suddenly paused and he stood by the lake.

Xie Daohan hid in the shadows at the entrance of the alley, his brows furrowed.

Duan Rong came to the lake late at night. Could he have contacted someone? Maybe he was not the only one who committed the Jie Lei case!

He has accomplices!
Just as Xie Daohan was thinking, Duan Rong's figure suddenly disappeared by the lake.

Xie Daohan glanced around. The shadows of the trees by the lake were silent, so where was Duan Rong?

Xie Daohan immediately lowered his body and rushed out of the alley as fast as a civet cat.

Xie Daohan's figure flashed, and after a few leaps, he came to the place where Duan Rong's figure disappeared. Xie Daohan raised his eyes and looked around. The lakeside was completely silent, without even a ghost.

Xie Daohan had been staring at Duan Rong's figure. He was sure that Duan Rong's figure disappeared suddenly, and the shadows of the trees around him were silent, without a single shadow swaying around...

Xie Daohan's eyes narrowed and he slowly drew out the sword from his waist. The long and narrow blade flashed with a faint cold light.

Xie Daohan took the lead and tiptoed slowly to the place where Duan Rong disappeared.

He was clearly staring at Duan Rong's back, but Duan Rong disappeared out of thin air at that place. Something must be wrong when something is abnormal, so he had to be careful.

Xie Daohan walked there, and there was nothing there under the cold moonlight.

Dry weeds clung to the ground, with only a few green shoots poking out. Next to a rotten tree stump lay a broken pottery jar...

Xie Daohan approached, his eyes filled with astonishment, and he looked around for a moment!
At this moment, there was a loud bang!
The pottery jar beside the tree stump suddenly exploded. Amidst the flying fragments, Duan Rong's figure suddenly appeared, and the afterimage of a plum blossom appeared next to his hand!
Within a short distance, two points of cold light burst out and went straight into Jie Daohan's eyes!
Xie Daohan was shocked when he saw two cold lights coming into his eyes!

Xie Daohan's true energy surged and exploded, and he wanted to retreat to avoid the two cold lights!
But at this moment, he suddenly felt dizzy and his steps trembled.

Duan Rong used the bone-shrinking skill to hide in a pottery jar, and used his spiritual sense to investigate everything. Just now, he seized the opportunity and shot out two plum blossom needles while releasing the spiritual soul wave almost at the same time!
Xie Daohan's mind went blank in an instant, and two plum blossom poison needles, with a flash of cold light, shot into his eyes!
At the moment when the two plum blossom needles were successful, Duan Rong flashed his knife in mid-air and was about to stab towards the heart of Jie Daohan's chest!

But at this moment, the shock of the soul wave had faded, and Xie Daohan swung his sword in return, and with the surging true energy, he forced Duan Rong back.

The stronger the mental power, the shorter the duration of the brief blank caused by the vibration of the soul wave!
Xie Daohan's loss of consciousness lasted only a blink of an eye, less than a breath.

This time is even shorter than Duan Rong expected!
In the close-range attack just now, even though Duan Rong had achieved the state of great perfection, he was still almost had his throat cut by Jie Daohan.

Duan Rong's eyes were filled with fear. He glanced at the oxtail knife in his hand under the moonlight and saw that a thumb-sized gap had appeared in the middle of the blade.

Xie Daohan's true energy was circulating rapidly, and the powerful true energy in his body passed through his eyes, and two silver needles shot out immediately!

Xie Daohan looked at Duan Rong, who was terrified in the moonlight, and smiled strangely. He was about to attack with the knife when he suddenly felt a blur in front of his eyes, and his eyes were suddenly covered with a layer of mist.

Although Xie Daohan's internal Qi circulated and resisted the poinsettia poison that was spreading throughout his body, a layer of the surface of his irises had already been corroded by the poinsettia poison on the plum blossom needles.

Therefore, at this moment, Xie Daohan's vision was as if covered by a layer of frosted glass.

Xie Daohan was shocked and felt a chill down his spine.

The poison on the silver needle was so powerful. You know, under the protection of his true qi, even the corpse-rot poison could not corrode his eye membrane in a breath.

This means that this kid actually has a poison that is even more powerful than the corpse poison!

This poison will have a certain corrosive effect even if it encounters a strong person in the True Qi realm.

However, he had been in the martial arts world for many years, so how could he not know that there were such powerful poisonous creatures in the world!

Under the coverage of Duan Rong's spiritual sense, he could see every detail, so he naturally noticed the change in Dao Han's vision.

Duan Rong's figure was erratic, and he attacked Jie Daohan with a knife. He wanted to take advantage of Jie Daohan's damaged eyesight and then attack with the knife!

As Duan Rong approached, Xie Daohan's ears twitched, and with a flash of knife shadow, the oxtail knife in Duan Rong's hand flew backwards. Duan Rong's scalp felt as if it was electrified, and he felt a chill and numbness. He retreated violently, but Xie Daohan suddenly turned sideways and hit him on the ribs with the knife.

Fortunately, Duan Rong had mastered the Cloud Snake Step at the state of great perfection in Wild Boar Mountain. His body was several times faster than before, but even so, Jie Daohan still broke two of his ribs and his internal organs were also shaken.

Duan Rong stood firmly several feet away from Jie Daohan and spat out a mouthful of thick blood.

Fortunately, he dodged quickly, and Xie Daohan's eyes were damaged, so he had no time to land the previous blow, otherwise that blow would have taken his life!
Duan Rong wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with fear!

Xie Daohan leaned his body slightly sideways, holding the sword across his chest, his ears trembling.

Duan Rong noticed Jie Daohan's ears. He didn't expect that Jie Daohan had the ability to identify locations by sound.

And that night, the weather was not good. There was not a single breeze and total silence, which was just the right environment for Li Daohan to locate the target by sound.

Duan Rong's figure suddenly flashed, and the shadows of plum blossoms bloomed beside his hand.

In the afterimage of the plum blossoms, flying needles were shot out almost silently!

But even with such a secretive flying needle, the imperceptible sound was still detected by Jie Daohan's sound identification method, and all the flying needles shot by Duan Rong were knocked down by him.

"Kid, feel free to use whatever tricks you have. I've been in the martial arts world for half my life, what kind of storms have I not seen?!"

Duan Rong panted and picked up the oxtail knife that had just been knocked away by Jie Daohan at his feet.

Duan Rong held the oxtail knife with two broken edges in his hand, but he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

He had to bear it. The gap in realm was indeed like a chasm that was difficult to cross!
He has already achieved the state of great perfection and is only a step away from the state of true qi.

Moreover, we have used all the means and gained the upper hand!

But given the current circumstances, it would still be difficult for him to kill Jie Daohan.

However, he has been completely exposed in front of this person. If he doesn't kill Li Daohan, there will be endless troubles.

There was a look of hesitation in Duan Rong's eyes.

In fact, he has another method that he can use, which is that he can use the soul wave again!

He had tried it repeatedly in Wild Boar Mountain. With his current spiritual strength, he could only use the spiritual wave twice at most!
But after two times, his spiritual consumption will reach its limit, and he will feel waves of pain!
However, Duan Rong's soul had already been consumed a lot. Whether it was the release of his spiritual consciousness or the fight with Jie Daohan, it took a lot of consumption on his soul.

In this case, if he uses the Soul Wave again, it is very likely that his own soul will be exhausted.

The moment his spirit and soul are exhausted, he will definitely fall into a coma!

In that case, even if he killed Li Daohan, there would be a certain risk of him being exposed!

While Duan Rong was struggling with his inner struggle, Xie Daohan was actually moving slowly!
"He wants to leave!?"

Duan Rong's eyes finally fixed and he made up his mind: Jie Daohan must die!

Duan Rong suddenly attacked Jie Daohan with a knife. Jie Daohan twitched his ears and turned his knife to meet the attack.

Duan Rong flashed and shouted, "Captain Jie, I was the one who killed your nephew Jie Lei. Today I will send you and your nephew to the underworld to reunite!"

Xie Daohan said angrily: "You little thief! I knew it was you!"

Duan Rong spoke to stimulate Jie Daohan to speak. The moment Jie Daohan opened his mouth, Duan Rong urged his mind and a soul wave attacked Jie Daohan.

Xie Daohan's body froze and his mind went blank for a moment.

Duan Rong then flipped his hand and three poisonous needles shot into Jie Daohan's mouth.

The blade in his right hand moved almost at the same time, about to cut Jie Daohan's throat.

The attack of the soul wave lasted only a split second.

Xie Daohan woke up immediately, and heard whistling sounds in his ears. He retreated violently and narrowly avoided Duan Rong's throat-slashing knife!

But the three poison needles shot deep into his throat!
The venom spreads with the saliva!
The poison needles in the eyes can diffuse into the body along the capillaries in the eyes!
So he circulated his true Qi and forced the poison out!

But at this time, the poison entered the throat and stomach and spread!
It is not something that can be sealed with just a transfer of true Qi. He must transfer the true Qi throughout his body to control the poison from entering the body and spreading to the heart meridian.

Xie Daohan immediately sat cross-legged by the lake, holding the knife in one hand, and making a palm with his left hand, slowly pressing from his chest to his dantian!
He is using his luck to force poison!

How could Duan Rong waste his luck on controlling the spread of the poison in his body? He immediately used the Cloud Snake Step and attacked with a knife!

Xie Daohan's ears twitched, and he had to deal with Duan Rong's attack with a knife while using his luck to force out the poison!

But after all, he was only a warrior at the first level of the Qi realm, and the Qi in his body was far from strong enough. Moreover, he needed to be distracted to deal with Duan Rong's harassment.

Gradually, the poison got out of control and spread throughout his body!
Xie Daohan's whole body turned red, like a cooked shrimp.

Duan Rong noticed the changes in Dao Han's skin color. He knew very well that this was a sign that the poinsettia was severely poisoned.

Duan Rong's blade became more powerful, forcing Jie Daohan, and had already cut several cuts in non-fatal parts of Jie Daohan.

Although these injuries were not fatal, Duan Rong's weapon was poisoned with the poison of Poinsettia.

Xie Daohan watched as the poison spread throughout his body and became difficult to control. Even more new toxins seeped into his body from the minor wounds inflicted on Duan Rong!
The attempt to force the poison out has failed, the poison is out of control!
Xie Daohan suddenly jumped up and gave up forcing the poison out. At this moment, he was ruthless and wanted to die together with Duan Rong.

Duan Rong was extremely tired at this time, but he still held on and started fighting with Jie Daohan!

Xie Daohan obviously underestimated the power of the poinsettia poison. He was already deeply poisoned, his body shape and Qi were in disarray, how could he be a match for Duan Rong!
Xie Daohan staggered and retreated step by step. Duan Rong's knife flashed. He clenched his teeth and almost bit his lips. He wanted to stimulate himself with the pain and not faint.

Xie Daohan had already retreated to the lakeside, when Duan Rong suddenly jumped up, and with a slash of his oxtail knife, he slashed off half of Xie Daohan's head from his temple upwards!
Half of Xie Daohan's head fell to the ground with a clang like a coconut shell, and his brains splattered all over the ground!
His body also fell into the wild lake with a splash.

Duan Rong cut off Jie Daohan's head in mid-air with a knife. He used up the last bit of his strength in this cut.

At this moment, Duan Rong's spirit was completely exhausted. His eyes turned black and he passed out. He fell to the lakeside and lay there motionless.

Xie Daohan's body fell into the lake, creating ripples and shattering the moon's shadow in the lake!
The cold light of the waning moon shone on the lakeside. Xie Daohan's half-cut head was still beside the unconscious Duan Rong, swaying like a tumbler...

(End of this chapter)