Chapter 39 - Poison Asura

"Why...?" was the last word Gang Fung uttered before he succumbed to death's grasp. His neck bled as his body twitched uncontrollably. Gang Fung's brothers, the other guards had already died at my hands. He was the last to be killed.

Blood was spilled on the floor of the once auspicious hall. Five men, first from the main entrance upto the largest dining table, lay dead at various spots; their eyes betraying only two things - hatred and confusion.

I swung my twin swords at the cold air and the blood smeared on it made red blotches on the cropses' clothes. Of course, my swords weren't cleaned with just that one move but they did become less bloody.

I sheathed the swords behind my back and picked up the large bags from the floor. Some of the delicate items had been damaged while fighting but most were safe. I had looted the treasury clean of anything that might help me in cultivation. That meant all top quality pills, herbs, weapons and money that they had.

However, they were disgustingly low in my quality pyramid. Only two breakthrough pills for body tempering, one Luang herb that could assist in purifying internal organs, three jars of tempering powder, 108 needles for acupuncture therapy, and lots of sub par pills for boosting cultivation speed.

I didn't want to take those pills because they would harm my cultivation process in a long run. I didn't even look at the body tempering techniques they had. Such a family with not even one person at meridian opening, what would they even have?

I'd looked at what Gang Shan practiced but meh... it was just fancy names and no real foundation building for latter stages. He had reached 5th rank Visera purifying with sheer accumulation of daily training. Old man had little strength, no wonder he died right after Gang Zheng.

They had weapons of good quality, though. I was going to chose a good sword after I left this place. But before that, I had something to do.

Bending down on the floor, I ruthlessly chopped Gang Xi's right hand. Cold red blood spilled on the floor and I wet the palm of the hand which I held. Using the whole hand as a pen, I wrote two words in bold strokes.

"POISON ASURA"

Now, this name was rather cringey to me but for intimidation purposes, I had to choose some evil sounding words. In the coming days, this title would be the most 'trendy' among high-ranking pracitioners in Pinchu town.

I threw Gang Xi's hand away and left the hall full of corpses without sparing a second glance. Just eight days had passed since the moment I entered this compound. Gang family was finished now, only the heirs Gang Jin and Gang Qin remained.

Those two brats had seen my face that day, but I didn't think they would be any trouble in the future. They didn't seem like geniuses in my experienced eyes. They didn't know I had killed their entire family. Even if they came for revenge after having some divine revelation, it was their misfortune not mine.

Walking at a measured pace, I left the Gang residence. The road was dark and empty. My hot breath mixed with the cold air, forming a mist seen only in winter. Of course, I didn't see that but I could sense two people waiting for me ahead.

"Big brother, I have booked the rooms at Cotton Feather Hotel. Sorry, there were only two remaining-"

"It's okay Chunu, I have something to discuss with Feng Yi here. You walk ahead, we will follow," I said, coming between the two girls.

There was something else that I had ordered Feng Yi to do before leaving the Gang family. I had checked Gang Zheng's body earlier but he didn't have it with him.

"Did you get the black box?" I asked softly as we walked.

"Yes, what is in it?"

"Good, keep it for now. It has expensive things, so don't you lose it."

My bags were already heavy with money and weapons, I didn't want to add a box full of sand on top of this load.

"Ehh... the lights are all out." Chunu spoke from ahead. A large three-storey building stood erect right before us. I couldn't determine its color and exact size in this darkness.

"It seems closed, will they let us in?" Feng Yi asked. Putting the luggages down, she started rubbing her shoulders. Hmph, wear a thin kimono at this cold night and of course you'll start shaking.

"We'll just sneak into our rooms if we have to. Chunu, were you given any keys?" My footsteps were light and she didn't notice me coming beside her until I spoke.

"These two," she handed me two wooden tokens. They were cleverly crafted and each had a different shape at the edge, just like a key. However, they were easy to replicate.

"A-achoo! Let's quickly go inside then," Feng Yi sneezed from behind. What a fool, she could've grabbed a blanket or something while leaving Gang Zheng's room.

It was past midnight and the hotel's main doors were closed. The staff must've thought everyone was in by this time. The windows were also shut, and the area was fully silent except for the occasional whistling of the wind.

"How are we to get in now?"

"Oh shut up, let me think of a way."

"Brother I booked the rooms at the second floor."

We conversed in low voices. After a while, I had an idea. This hotel was near the centre of the whole town. The houses here weren't as packed and even the alleys were wide enough for two horses to walk freely side-by-side.

I asked Chunu more about which alleyway our rooms faced. Indeed, I was going to climb up and enter from the windows.

"Do those windows have locks?" I asked, pointing at the dark shapes not clearly seen right now.

"I... don't know. I didn't check that."

Hearing Chunu, I sighed. Though, I had expected such an answer. She only confirmed that she'd booked the room right above us.

There was no harm in trying. Even if the window was locked, I could just smash it open. That would alert the other customers but if we could quickly enter the room before the staff came to check, there wouldn't be problem...

'As long as I don't break the whole window...'

It was feasible. I placed my hands on the concrete walls of this hotel and sensed the rough edges. I sighed again. There were no motels in this town. They were easy to break open for practitioners and generally didn't give the security that came with height.

'How will I even climb in such dark- Hmm? Is this a pipeline?' I found something surprising. I'd asked Chunu to book the rooms in the most expensive hotel here. This Cotton Feather Hotel had a pipeline directly connected with Pinchu Lake! I could easily climb this thing.

"You two, wait here and guard the bags. I'll climb up." Both girls gasped hearing me, though for different reasons.

"I was thought you wanted to sneak in from others' rooms. They should be fast asleep by now, we don't need to do all that climbing." When Feng Yi put forward this idea, it immediately struck me as the most efficient. I wasn't so conceited dismiss it.

After so much plotting, killing and stealing till midnight, I had been feeling sleepy myself. My thinking was muddled. Feng Yi was cold and she wanted to get in immediately. No wonder she could come up with a quicker way than mine.

"Yeah that's better than climbing. We'll open that window." I pointed to my left side.

"It's late, let's not dilly-dally."