The Golden Silkworm Gu Master stood atop the hill, the mask on his face illuminated by the distant lights, exuding an unspeakable charm.
At this moment, a figure lightly leaped up the hill and stood behind him.
Surprisingly, it was a beautiful woman in her thirties.
Though past her youth, the woman had a graceful and alluring figure, with a special seductive aura in her eyes, still exuding charm.
At this moment, she laughed before speaking.
"I never expected that a once insignificant bandit lair would now create such a big stir."
As she spoke, she gazed seductively at the man in front of her, "Golden Silkworm, you didn't call me here just to admire the scenery together, did you?"
"Of course not, Junior Sister Mengrui, I called you here because I have an important matter to ask your help with."
"Oh? What kind of matter could trouble the famed Golden Silkworm Gu Master?" Duan Mengrui said with a smile.
The Golden Silkworm Gu Master smiled wryly, "Alright, Junior Sister, stop teasing me. I am indeed facing a difficult problem. You know Guan Lun, right?"
"Yes!"
"He's dead!"
"Dead is dead. In our Demon Sect, people die all the time. Besides, I remember you didn't care much about Guan Lun, did you?" Duan Mengrui said nonchalantly.
"It's not his death that troubles me, but the fact that someone is stirring up trouble. Let me show you something."
As he spoke, the Golden Silkworm Gu Master threw over a porcelain bottle, which Duan Mengrui caught and opened to sniff, her expression changing.
"Poison? No, why is there a component of Paradise Sect's aphrodisiac in here?"
"Exactly, this is a strange poison I've never seen, at least composed of five or six different poisons, one of which is indeed Paradise Sect's aphrodisiac."
"This poison is extremely potent; the victim's muscles will stiffen and paralyze, ultimately suffocating to death. It's a sure kill for anyone below a Fourth Realm Martial Artist."
"Do you suspect the Paradise Sect?" Duan Mengrui asked after a moment of thought.
"It shouldn't be the Paradise Sect's doing. They're currently focusing on developing high-level alliances and have mostly withdrawn their forces back to the Great Yan Capital City, so they aren't concerned with external matters. Hence, it shouldn't be their doing."
Duan Mengrui nodded, "Indeed, and not to belittle them, but even if they wanted to, they couldn't create such a poison. Did Guan Lun die from this poison?"
The Golden Silkworm Gu Master nodded, "Alongside him, a Village Chief of Cyan Bamboo Ridge and the Great Village Chief's sister also died."
The Golden Silkworm Gu Master then recounted the events of the previous night in detail.
After listening, Duan Mengrui contemplated for a moment and then said, "This is clearly an attempt to frame you. Fu Tingyuan wouldn't be so foolish as to fall for such a crude trap, would he?"
The Golden Silkworm Gu Master sighed bitterly, "Anyone can see it's a setup, and Fu Tingyuan can see that too. But you don't understand the place the deceased Fu Tingfang holds in his heart. Although I persuaded him last night, I feel this matter is far from over."
"After all, despite everything, it was my men who died with Fu Tingfang last night, and Fu Tingfang still had clear traces of the aphrodisiac. Although I tried hard to cover it up, there's no guarantee Fu Tingyuan won't find out."
"I even suspect the reason he suppressed the matter last night was mainly because he still needs the Secret Medicine I provide him, otherwise, he wouldn't let the matter rest."
Duan Mengrui frowned upon hearing this, "If that's the case, why not just kill Fu Tingyuan or simply leave? What's there to be conflicted about?"
"You don't understand. Fu Tingyuan indeed needs to die, but not yet, because I still need to use him and Cyan Bamboo Ridge's forces to deplete this newly discovered iron mine."
"I have planned for this for a long time, even at great expense to concoct Gu Medicine to secretly poison him, and now I am on the brink of success. I can't just give up."
"So why did you call me here?" Duan Mengrui asked.
"Help me catch the person behind these schemes," the Golden Silkworm Gu Master said seriously.
"Benefits!" Duan Mengrui straightforwardly demanded.
The Golden Silkworm Gu Master sighed, "Junior Sister, I thought given our relationship, we wouldn't need to discuss this."
"Cut the crap. Nowadays, even a father won't help without benefits, let alone us, who only apprenticed under the same master without deep ties," Duan Mengrui said coldly.
"Alright, the benefit is that after catching this person, the formula of the poison will be yours."
"Farewell!" Duan Mengrui turned to leave without hesitation.
"Alright, alright, I was just joking. After it's done, I'll give you an additional ten thousand taels of gold. How about that?"
"Twenty thousand!"
"Junior Sister!"
"Cut the crap!"
"Alright!"
After finalizing their cooperation, the Golden Silkworm Gu Master said somewhat unwillingly, "Junior Sister, you weren't like this before."
"That's because I've matured now, realizing nothing is more real than gold in this world. Moreover, I know you surely investigated for a long time and hit a dead end before thinking of me."
Duan Mengrui was indeed right.
After calming Fu Tingyuan the previous night, the Golden Silkworm Gu Master didn't leave but instead launched an overnight investigation.
But besides the three corpses, he found no clues.
Moreover, most people at Cyan Bamboo Ridge harbored animosity towards them and refused to cooperate, leaving the Golden Silkworm Gu Master with no progress.