Chapter 200 - 198: Aren’t You Talking About Me?

Chapter 200: Chapter 198: Aren’t You Talking About Me?

The third watch of Midnight tolled.

The Zhao Mansion, in the study.

Several candelabras and an old-fashioned green glass-shaded desk lamp were lit, brightly illuminating the spacious study.

Sandalwood burned in a brass censer on a mahogany shelf, its blue smoke curling upwards, lending an air of peace and tranquility to everything.

Zhao Jigang stood before his desk, his back as straight as a pine tree. With one hand, he lightly held up a sleeve, while the other unhurriedly ground the ink.

He dipped the brush, scraped the tip, and set it to paper.

The fine Wolf Hair Brush, saturated with thick ink, landed on the snow-white Xuan paper, yet it produced a dry, grating "SHA... SHA..." sound, almost like scratching.

Zhao Jigang’s brush moved slowly, heavily. Every horizontal and vertical stroke pressed through the paper, as if he were holding not a brush, but a dull, rough blade, grinding it back and forth.

On the Xuan paper before him, there was only one word, written over and over again—"Death"!

One after another.

From neat to frantic, from clear to blurred.

Throughout it all, the expression on Zhao Jigang’s face never changed, as placid as a deep pool or an old well, without a single ripple.

But the ink flowing from his hand grew darker and murkier, carrying an irrepressible malevolence. It nearly bled into clumps, like pools of spattered, still-wet blood!

"SWOOSH—CRASH!"

The window lattice cracked open. A cold wind gusted in, making the candlelight flicker and carrying with it the thick stench of blood.

Zhao Jigang’s movements froze. The brush tip hovered in mid-air, a drop of ink hanging, but not yet falling.

He didn’t look up, but seemed to know someone was standing before him. In a placid tone, he asked, "Was it a success?"

The figure who had slipped into the room like a specter let out a sharp, twisted sneer. He raised a hand and flung a bloody, tattered bundle of cloth, slamming it onto the desk in front of Zhao Jigang.

"SPLAT—"

The bundle ruined the characters freshly written on the desk. The bloodstains on the cloth mixed with the ink on the Xuan paper, dyeing it a filthy, dark red.

"A success?!"

The sudden intruder was a gaunt man in his fifties. His hair was sparse, his skin a ghastly white from lack of sunlight. His cheeks were sunken, his teeth protruded slightly, and his eyes had a faint greenish tint. He looked just like a zombie that had crawled out of a tomb.

At this moment, one of the zombie-like man’s shoulders was bizarrely caved in and wrapped in bandages. He reeked of blood and medicinal herbs.

He glared at Zhao Jigang and started cursing, "You said there were only a few Tongxuan cultivators, one Half-step Gratitude, plus a few rusty guns and a bunch of lackeys in that garden... So what happened?

I ran into Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong of the Formless Demon Sect!

A success? How was I supposed to succeed?! Where could I have possibly succeeded!"

"Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong?"

Zhao Jigang finally looked up, his gaze landing on the man’s collapsed shoulder. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes. "You’re sure it was him?"

"I saw him clear as day!"

The fear in the man’s eyes had yet to fade. He ground his teeth. "The Dragon Elephant Skill at the Great Success stage! It hit me right here, you think I could be mistaken?

Besides Ji Shaotong, who else in the world today could have cultivated the Dragon Elephant Skill to such a realm?

If I hadn’t escaped so quickly, I would’ve died there tonight!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jigang showed little surprise. Instead, he murmured, "As I expected..."

The man’s expression changed drastically when he heard this.

"You knew all along!"

He let out a sharp cry and lunged forward like a phantom, a withered claw striking for Zhao Jigang’s face!

Zhao Jigang’s brows knitted as he raised a hand to block.

The candlelight in the study was torn about by the force of their clash, flickering wildly as shadows danced.

After several exchanges, a sharp CRACK echoed out, and the man was sent flying backward by a wave of soft but sinister force.

"Have you gone mad?!" Zhao Jigang shouted.

"You knew Ji Shaotong was hiding in that garden all along, but you tricked me into going! You were clearly sending me to my death!

Zhao, you started this, so don’t blame me for finishing it! I’ll take you down with me today!"

The man was now "stuck" flat against a corner of the ceiling, his green-tinted eyes and ferocious expression making him look just like a giant bat.

Zhao Jigang snorted coldly.

"I ran into a young fellow who practices the Dragon Elephant Skill before, which made me suspect Ji Shaotong might be behind him, but I couldn’t be certain...

You, the Corpse Bat King, are famed for your peerless Lightweight Skill. You could escape even from a Heart Intent master. If I wasn’t going to send you to investigate, who else would I send?

Besides..."

Zhao Jigang stared at the zombie-faced man on the ceiling and sneered. "Back then, you learned to devour Demons and practice martial arts with that group of lunatics from the Yingjing Martial Arts world. You ended up with Demon Poison seeping into your bones and developed a nasty habit of eating human hearts raw.

Ripping out hearts and drinking blood is one thing, but of all people, you had to pick a Noble from the former dynasty, provoking them into sending an Inner Court master to hunt you down across a thousand miles...

If I hadn’t taken you in all these years, capturing people for you to eat and drink their blood to suppress the Demon Poison, you would have died countless times over.

Now I ask you to do one thing for me. What? You have a problem with that?"

The man’s expression shifted dramatically upon hearing this. He finally slid down from the ceiling beam, huffed, and said, "Now that we’ve provoked Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong, what’s your plan?

Don’t blame me for not warning you. You’ve never seen him at his peak; you don’t know how terrifying he is.

The two of us alone are no match for him..."

"I am, of course, familiar with the great name of the Demon Elephant."

Zhao Jigang’s expression returned to its calm state as he spoke slowly, "If I dared to send you to test the waters, I naturally already have a plan to deal with the situation...

Back in the day, Ji Shaotong’s savagery was monstrous. He nearly slaughtered half of the Jiangzuo Martial Arts world. What kind of reaction do you think his old enemies will have when they find out he’s still alive?"

"You want to spread the news that Ji Shaotong is in Shenghai?"

Zhao Jigang was noncommittal, merely saying in a level voice, "Before you went, I had already contacted the ’Black Tower’.

Over the years, the bounties on Ji Shaotong’s head have accumulated to the point where they could probably buy half a city. Plus, the people from the ’Black Tower’ have always been very interested in the ’Dragon Elephant Wisdom Seal’ he possesses...

Calculating the time, the masters from the ’Black Tower’ are probably already on their way."

The man frowned and thought for a moment. "’Black Tower’ people aren’t exactly the reasonable sort. Even if you bring them here and they manage to kill Ji Shaotong, what’s in it for us?"

He clutched his collapsed shoulder and said hatefully, "I can’t have taken this hit for nothing, can I?"

Zhao Jigang lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. "You’ve practiced Zombie Fist your whole life. It seems your brain has become rigid as well..."

Zhao Jigang casually placed the Wolf Hair Brush in his hand onto its rest. "You’ve been in Shenghai for so many years, yet your perspective is still stuck on the old grudges of the former dynasty’s martial arts world," he said faintly.

What era do you think this is? So what if you reach the pinnacle of martial arts? Even a reincarnated Grandmaster might not be able to withstand a few rounds from a Western World heavy cannon."

Zhao Jigang slowly walked out from behind his desk. The candlelight stretched his shadow, casting it across the wall of bookshelves.

"Whether Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong lives or dies is irrelevant.

The important thing is to keep him occupied.

A storm is brewing in Shenghai. Vice Mayor Nan Xiangcheng, appointed by the Xin Republic Central government, will soon take office.

This is a time when he needs people, especially powerful experts. I’ve already made contact. Once the ’Black Tower’ has Ji Shaotong tied up, and his old enemies arrive to further muddy the waters..."

He turned to the Corpse Bat King, a sharp glint in his eyes. "...that will be the time for you to help me achieve greatness and rise to the next level."

The man’s expression was blank after hearing all this.

He had always been a creature of the night. In all his years in Shenghai, his mind had been consumed with how to drink blood, suppress his poison, and cultivate his skills. When had he ever paid attention to the changing political tides of Shenghai Beach?

The clashes of power and exchanges of interests in the halls of government were matters far too remote for him.

He was utterly baffled by Zhao Jigang’s speech, yet he had the distinct feeling that it was something profound and formidable.

However, while he didn’t understand, someone else did.

"CLAP—CLAP—CLAP!"

Outside the study, the sound of clear, slow clapping suddenly rang out, followed by a low voice that drawled, "Well said."

Inside the room, the expressions of Zhao Jigang and the other man changed in an instant. They whipped their heads toward the source of the sound.

"Who’s there?!"

Before the word was even out, the study door swung inward without a sound.

At the same time, all the candles in the room were extinguished as if snuffed out by an invisible hand, plunging the room into darkness! Only the old-fashioned desk lamp remained, casting a dim, fragile, yellow glow.

At the edge of that halo of light, an exceptionally tall and burly figure stood silently in the doorway.

His face was shrouded in the deep shadow cast by the doorframe, impossible to see clearly. Only a pair of eyes, like cold stars, pierced through the gloom to fall upon the two men.

"Who am I?"

The visitor stepped into the study, gently closing the door behind him with a backhanded motion.

He looked at the two men in the room with a smirk and said in a low voice, "Weren’t you... just talking about me?"