Chapter 581 - 578: Mo Qi Erupts
With Mo Qi himself now present, all eyes focused on him.
"Exactly. You’re blaming my master’s Medicinal Cuisine for their deaths. Do you have any proof?" Xiao Zhang sneered.
’He knew Mo Qi’s Medicinal Cuisine better than anyone. How could it possibly kill someone?’
’As far as Xiao Zhang was concerned, Peng Wen and his group were just making a scene and looking for trouble.’
’And these bodies... What, did they think just finding a few random corpses counted as proof?’
Peng Wen pointed to the corpse of a young man at his feet. It was bleeding from all seven orifices and reeked of decay. He roared, "This was my grand-nephew! Years ago, he trespassed into a secret domain and accidentally ingested a Poisonous Yin Flower. Luckily, he was treated promptly, and most of the flower’s poison was purged."
"He survived, but the incident left a lingering affliction. For three or four days every month, he would lose all his Cultivation and become incredibly weak."
"For years, we searched for a cure, hoping to purge the last traces of the poison from his body. But it had already taken root in his heart’s core, and every attempt ended in failure."
"It wasn’t until we purchased your personalized plan that his condition finally began to improve."
"We thought our worries were finally over, but just last night, he suddenly dropped dead!"
"Bleeding from all seven orifices, his body decaying at an alarming rate... These are the clear signs of the Poisonous Yin Flower’s toxin flaring up!"
"This damn personalized plan of yours... Not only did it fail to save him, it activated and amplified the Poisonous Yin Flower’s dormant toxins within his body!"
"So shouldn’t we be settling this score with you?"
Xiao Zhang frowned, refusing to back down. "What kind of proof is that? What if he was somehow poisoned by a Poisonous Yin Flower a second time?"
"My grand-nephew has been resting within the clan compound for the past several days. How could he possibly have been poisoned again!" Peng Wen roared.
"Hmph. What if someone in your own family poisoned him?" Xiao Zhang rolled his eyes.
"Utter nonsense!" Peng Wen trembled with rage. "Then what about the other fifteen victims? They come from different families, all of whom suffered because your restaurant’s personalized plan failed, causing their old afflictions to relapse with a violent backlash!"
"One or two might be a coincidence, but we’re talking about sixteen people!"
Peng Wen pointed at Mo Qi. "It must have been you, Mo Qi! You fiend, you did this on purpose!"
"Put your hand down! You can talk, but don’t you dare point at him!" Xiao Zhang couldn’t stand Peng Wen’s disrespect toward Mo Qi and immediately ordered the Demon Sect members to prepare for battle.
"Xiao Zhang, stand down," Mo Qi said, stepping forward slowly.
"Yes, Master." Xiao Zhang’s fierce expression vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile as he backed away.
Mo Qi spared the sixteen corpses a cool glance before turning his gaze to Peng Wen and the others.
"I will only say this once: their deaths have nothing to do with me. So please, release Gu Peng."
What?!
’Gu Peng was captured by these people?!’
Xiao Zhang was stunned. He threatened, "If anything happens to Martial Uncle Gu Peng, I’ll make you pay with your lives!"
Gu Peng and Mo Qi addressed each other as brothers, so Xiao Zhang had shamelessly latched on, calling him "Martial Uncle."
Mo Qi shot Xiao Zhang a look. Xiao Zhang gave an embarrassed smile and ducked his head, not daring to say another word.
Peng Wen and the others exchanged glances. He frowned and said, "We don’t know what you’re talking about. We haven’t captured Gu Peng. Please address the real issue and stop changing the subject! Or you can’t blame us for what happens next!"
Mo Qi possessed a unique ability: he could sense the location of anyone who had consumed his specially prepared Medicinal Cuisine.
Gu Peng was one such person.
Mo Qi could clearly sense Gu Peng not far behind this very group.
That was why he had assumed Peng Wen’s group had captured him.
Seeing that Peng Wen didn’t appear to be lying, Mo Qi closed his eyes and focused his senses.
According to his senses, Gu Peng was in terrible condition. He already had one foot in the Ghost Gate.
And near Gu Peng were four very familiar auras.
It was the lingering scent of the Medicinal Cuisine he had prepared for Qin Hai, He Jincheng, Feng Gong, and Gu Weitian!
’So it was them!’
Combining this with a few clues he’d noticed on the sixteen corpses, everything suddenly clicked for Mo Qi.
’Heh!’
’I haven’t even settled the score with you for the assassination attempt, and now you’re stirring up more trouble.’
’Do you think I, Mo Qi, am some kind of pushover with no temper?!’
’Did you think that just because Elder Ku Mu is gone, I’ve become someone you can toy with as you please?’
’It seems my last show of force wasn’t enough. It gave them the mistaken impression that I rely on cheap tricks and clinging to powerful backers.’
’Then this time, I’ll have to get ruthless!’
’A dog must be beaten until it feels the pain in its very bones—until it would never dare to oppose me again!’
"Mo Qi, are you even listening to me?!" Mo Qi’s silence made Peng Wen feel completely ignored, and he flew into a rage.
Mo Qi looked up at him. "A man your age should know better. Can’t you use your head? You’re being used as a pawn and you don’t even realize it!"
"You’re too insolent!" Peng Wen began to channel his Immortal Essence, ready to strike, but Mo Qi’s next words stopped him cold.
"If I truly wanted to harm all of you, would I let this all come to light right after Elder Ku Mu left? Are you insulting my intelligence, or your own?"
That made sense.
If Mo Qi really intended to harm them, why would he choose to let the plot unravel when Elder Ku Mu wasn’t around to protect him?
"Alright, Qin Hai, He Jincheng, Feng Gong, and Gu Weitian. Have you enjoyed the show? If you’ve seen enough, then come on out. If you want to kill me, just do it yourselves. Why drag so many innocent people into this? Aren’t you tired of this whole ’murder by proxy’ scheme?"
Among the crowd, the expressions on the faces of Qin Hai and the other three turned grim.
’How does he know we’re the ones pulling the strings?’
The four of them were completely baffled.
The tracking ability of the Medicinal Cuisine was so esoteric that no one would believe it even if they were told.
So, even if they wracked their brains, they couldn’t imagine how Mo Qi had uncovered their plot.
In truth, their plan to kill by proxy could be considered perfect.
Against anyone else, this trap they had laid would have worked. Their target would have been unable to defend themselves, hunted down by the experts of sixteen different families, and ultimately died without anyone knowing the truth.
"What should we do? Do we reveal ourselves?" He Jincheng asked.
Gu Weitian steeled himself. "What’s there to be afraid of? I’ve been wanting to chop him to pieces myself for a long time! The Master of the Doomed Mountain Range isn’t here, so today is the day Mo Qi dies!"
With that, Gu Weitian appeared, dragging the half-dead Gu Peng with him.
Left with no other choice, Qin Hai and the others followed close behind.
"Mo Qi! Do you admit to luring my nephew, Gu Zetao, to his death in your restaurant?" Though furious, Gu Weitian was no fool. He launched his accusation before Mo Qi could speak, seizing the initiative.
Mo Qi nodded. "That’s right. I killed him. And he died in my restaurant."
Gu Weitian gave a sinister smile and turned to the crowd. "Everyone, you heard him! As the Shopkeeper of this restaurant, Mo Qi doesn’t just fail to protect his customers—he lures them to their deaths right inside! This is clearly a den of thieves that devours people whole!"
"If he dares to kill his own paying customers, is there anything he wouldn’t do?"
"That’s right!" Qin Hai and the others stepped forward to back up Gu Weitian. "Mo Qi’s past actions have already proven that he is an out-and-out Demon—even more wicked than those monsters from the Demon Sect!"
PS: Fourth update’s here! Blep blep blep blep.