Cultivation is just so scientific!

Li Shiming walked into the garden. He did not see Chief Escort Wang, but he was very sure that Chief Escort Wang was watching him.

He arrived at the fake mountain where they had agreed to meet. By this time, the sky had grown somewhat dark, and the plant shadows around were flickering.

"Chief Escort Wang, I have brought the medicine!" he said as he set down the food box.

"The young master indeed keeps his promises!" Chief Escort Wang emerged from behind the fake mountain, saying with a smile.

His complexion was paler than it had been during the day, suggesting that his injuries were more serious than Li Shiming had imagined.

Li Shiming opened the food box to reveal a large bowl of medicine inside.

Chief Escort Wang took a strong whiff of the medicine and showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

Being a veteran of the Martial World, just by this sniff, he could determine whether the medicine was right or not.

He had chosen Li Shiming precisely because, although smart, Li Shiming was like a blank page, a scholarly young master who, when threatened, was very unlikely to retaliate.

Considering Li Shiming's social circle and the fact that only the Magistrate and his son lived in the Magistrate's residence, it was even less likely for Li Shiming to come into contact with any nefarious dealings. Chief Escort Wang believed that it would be difficult for Li Shiming to even find poison if he wanted to.

It was not hard for Li Shiming to buy other things, but as the Magistrate's son, who would dare sell poison to him? If anything went wrong, it would be a serious problem.

Moreover, with Chief Escort Wang's experience, it was impossible for poison to elude his nose; in this regard, he had undergone special training.

Without the ability to identify poisons, how could one escort valuables outside? They would have been tricked long ago.

In fact, the bowl of medicine indeed had no problems; it was completely brewed according to Chief Escort Wang's prescription, and the herbs used were also of the best quality.

Li Shiming took the bowl of medicine out of the food box and offered it to Chief Escort Wang.

"Chief Escort Wang, I have done what you asked of me. When will my poison be cured?" he asked in a heavy tone.

Chief Escort Wang was very pleased with Li Shiming's attitude, this concern for his own life was exactly what he wanted.

"Brew this medicine two more times tomorrow, and tomorrow night I will hand over the antidote to you," Chief Escort Wang said with a faint smile as he took the bowl of medicine.

"Please keep your word, Chief Escort Wang!" Li Shiming said with a grim expression.

After speaking, he picked up the food box and turned to leave, seemingly angry that he had not been cured of the poison.

In reality, he was worried that if Chief Escort Wang's poisoning acted up, he might have enough strength left to kill him out of spite on the spot, which is why he hastily made his escape.

Just now, when he handed the bowl of medicine to Chief Escort Wang, he had taken out the Acacia Poison Protein from the spatial machine room and put all the Acacia Poison Protein into the bowl without leaving a trace.

Since the Acacia Poison Protein was directly introduced into the bowl and did not immediately mix with the medicine, any potential scent would not be detected by Chief Escort Wang.

Not to mention that the quantity of Acacia Poison Protein relative to the bowl of medicine was not large and had no distinct odor; even if it had been placed directly into the bowl, there was a very high probability that Chief Escort Wang would not detect it.

The so-called ability to identify poisons comes from regular contact with all known poisons, becoming familiar with the characteristics of these poisons' scents, thereby achieving the ability to identify them.

But Acacia Poison Protein had never appeared in this world before, and the poison-identifying ability could not detect such a potent poison.

Li Shiming quickened his pace and briskly left Chief Escort Wang.

Chief Escort Wang couldn't wait any longer, lifted the bowl to his mouth, and downed it into his stomach.

His injuries were not slight, and he had been sustaining himself with temporary medicines, waiting for this secret healing medicine's effects.

As the medicine entered his body, Chief Escort Wang felt a familiar warmth arising, a sign that the healing secret medicine was taking effect.

But immediately, he began to have difficulty breathing, and his whole body started to tremble uncontrollably as his temperature shot up rapidly.

"The medicine's poisoned!" Chief Escort Wang tried to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat and could not come out.

Given his already injured body, the effect of the Acacia Poison Protein, at a lethal dose twenty times higher than normal, quickly became apparent.

The intense abdominal pain and muscle spasms prevented him from moving at all.

Chief Escort Wang thought of Li Shiming's delicate features; he could not imagine that he, an old hand in the Martial World, could be poisoned by a scholar, a young master, especially when he was on his guard.

An overwhelming sense of shame and reluctance made him want to regain control of his body.

His Inner Qi churned frenziedly inside, trying to expel the toxins, but he was clueless about what the poison was or how to deal with it.

The bowl of medicine he had earlier, in an attempt to absorb its power faster, he had stimulated his inner abdomen to enhance absorption; now, it was too late to expel the toxins.

His face turned purple due to the inability to breathe.

Li Shiming, standing twenty meters away behind a tree, was able to see Chief Escort Wang's condition clearly in the darkness, thanks to his heightened senses and the moon's glow.

Instead of checking on him when Chief Escort Wang fell poisoned to the ground, Li Shiming simply waited quietly.

The Acacia Poison Protein he formulated, according to the records, was a substance easily absorbed by the body; once ingested, unless one was in a modern hospital with advanced medical resources and knew exactly what poison it was, there was no hope of saving the victim.

As his life slipped away, Chief Escort Wang still could not understand why Li Shiming was so resolute, even willing to die alongside him.

After all, he had seen Li Shiming take the Three-day Soul-breaking Pills himself, just as he had claimed—apart from their unique antidote, no renowned physician could administer a timely cure.

With confusion and reluctance, he stopped breathing.

Li Shiming still did not move; he stood behind the tree, observing Chief Escort Wang.

It was only after assuredly ten minutes, seeing no slightest movement in Chief Escort Wang's chest, that Li Shiming confirmed his death.

He cautiously approached Chief Escort Wang's corpse, remaining vigilant throughout; dealing with such an experienced figure in the Martial World, he dared not be careless.

Looking at Chief Escort Wang's corpse, his face contorted in death, Li Shiming felt the urge to vomit.

In his previous life he was an ordinary person, and in this life, a scholar; he had never been near a corpse, so not throwing up now was already quite good.

Bearing in mind that Chief Escort Wang was killed by him, it was his first kill and yet he remained relatively composed.

He found a tree branch and began searching through Chief Escort Wang's corpse.

Besides a sword, Chief Escort Wang had some silver fragments on him, but nothing else.

Li Shiming was well aware that the cultivator would not have troubled Chief Escort Wang without reason.

Moreover, he had gone on a killing spree at Tianxiang Building, slaying seven dart heads from Weiyuan Escort Agency.

From the case records, it was understood that acts of violence by cultivators were extremely rare, with no incidents recorded in Nanling Prefecture in recent decades.

The authorities also suspected that Chief Escort Wang possessed something that the cultivator wanted, which had brought about this fatal disaster.

Li Shiming wanted to kill Chief Escort Wang not only to prevent him from going mad and harming people in the prefecture, but also because he was curious about what the cultivator might want.

Now that Chief Escort Wang was dead and the item was not found, it left him somewhat disappointed.