Bronze Ghost Mask

Nighttime, outside the house.

Fang Yuan stood quietly in front of two wild dogs, observing their reactions after taking the poison pills.

One of the wild dogs was lying lifeless on the ground, while the other was whining and howling.

Observing one of the dogs drop dead, Fang Yuan nodded faintly.

"The wild dog that took the poison pill died on the spot, while the other dog took the antidote made from Gypsophila and is unharmed until now. However, if there is no follow-up antidote, this seemingly unharmed dog will also drop dead within half a year."

The poison he concocted would cause immediate death if not countered with an antidote. On the other hand, if an antidote was administered, the dog would remain unharmed for up to six months. However, without continued use of the antidote, it would eventually meet the same fate.

"With the help of this poison pill, many things in the future will be much easier."

After observing for a while, Fang Yuan dealt with the dead body of the dog and returned to his room.

The primary reason he learned medical skills from Lin Yue was to Master the art of poisoning, facilitating the rapid expansion of the organization he was building. With the assistance of this poison pill, Fang Yuan believed that everything in his future plans would proceed smoothly.

He now possessed a potent tool for rapidly growing his influence.

Inside the room, Fang Yuan looked at the bottle containing the poison pills, his gaze thoughtful. "Although the effect of this poison is good and aligns with my expectations, the technique for concocting it is still too basic. Moreover, the ingredients used are relatively common. If encountered by a skilled medical practitioner, it may still be detoxified."

After all, Lin Yue had taught him medical skills rather than the art of poisoning. Although Fang Yuan could now concoct poisons, his techniques were still crude and vulnerable to being deciphered.

However, Fang Yuan was confident that there wouldn't be too many people capable of unraveling his poisons.

"But I still need to strengthen my knowledge of the art of poisoning to create poisons that others can't easily decipher."

With this thought, Fang Yuan tidied up his belongings and retrieved many items from under his bed–a long knife, a medicine bottle, night clothes, packets of powdered medicine wrapped in paper, and a bronze ghost mask.

Wearing the night clothes, Fang Yuan strapped the long blade and medicine bottle to his body. Then, he turned his gaze to the bronze ghost mask.

The bronze ghost mask was covered with cloud patterns, exuding a mysterious and eerie aura. The nose and mouth areas were concealed, with only two hollows for the eyes.

Fang Yuan put on the bronze ghost mask, hiding his entire face behind it. The mask revealed only his captivating eyes.

"Let the operation begin!"

After putting on the mask, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth.

During the month of studying medical skills with Lin Yue, he had investigated some information about Ye City and learned which targets were suitable for his actions.

Thinking about the information he had gathered, a cold light flickered in Fang Yuan's eyes.

In this era, those who became wealthy or held power over ordinary people often had dirty hands. Therefore, the people Fang Yuan had chosen were those who had blood on their hands and abused their power.

With this thought, Fang Yuan quietly left the courtyard without disturbing the three orphans he had adopted or the servants and cooks he had purchased.

Outside, Fang Yuan identified the direction and headed towards the predetermined location.

The streets were deserted, as it was curfew time, and no one was outside.

Fang Yuan, concealed in the shadows, swiftly moved towards his chosen destination, arriving at the location he had scouted earlier.

A mansion appeared before his eyes.

"We're here."

Looking at the imposing mansion in front of him, Fang Yuan nodded silently.

"I still need to be cautious. After all, Ye City is not like Willow Leaf Town. These wealthy families, although lacking warrior guards, still have some defensive measures. It's said that every wealthy family in Ye City keeps hand crossbows for defense against warrior attacks."

Although this world resembled ancient times in his previous life, there were still some differences. The imperial authority in this world was not as powerful, so wealthy families owning crossbows and armor was not unusual.

Even though Fang Yuan's strength was good now, getting hit by a hand crossbow would still result in being pierced through.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yuan leaped over the wall and landed inside the mansion.

Thud.

A soft sound was made when Fang Yuan landed, causing a slight noise.

"Woof, woof!"

It seemed that a dog was alerted, and its barking could be heard in the distance.

Fang Yuan stood up nonchalantly, scanning the surroundings in an instant. With the help of the faint moonlight, he discerned everything before him.

Rooms, walls, bamboo groves, artificial mountains...

After surveying the surroundings, Fang Yuan took out a bag of powdered medicine, sprinkled some on himself and into the air casually.

He was eliminating his own scent.

After completing all of this, Fang Yuan moved to a concealed spot and silently waited.

After a moment, the sound of footsteps grew closer to the place where he was hiding, accompanied by the rattling noise of chains.

"Weird, no one around?"

A servant hurriedly approached, leading a wolfhound. Glancing around and seeing nothing unusual, the servant kicked the dog that was sniffing the ground with its head lowered.

"Smell anything?"

As if understanding the servant's words, the wolfhound raised its head and shook it slightly.

"Useless dog, wasting my time. I thought someone was sneaking in over the wall."

Muttering complaints, the servant looked around again, found nothing unusual, and then led the wolfhound away from the area.

Seeing the servant leave, Fang Yuan emerged from his hiding place.

"Not discovered, so the next steps should be easier."

Smirking beneath the bronze ghost mask that concealed his face, Fang Yuan hid in the shadows and proceeded towards his destination.

After a while, overcoming various obstacles without alerting anyone, Fang Yuan finally arrived at his intended location.

"This room should be Huang Xinchang's bedroom."

Leaning against the wall, Fang Yuan looked at the large house in front of him and nodded slightly.

If the layout of this mansion was correct, then this room should be the Master's bedroom.

"Huang Xinchang, the family head of the Huang family, controls nearly half of the restaurants and various shops in Ye City. The family is wealthy and influential, second only to the warrior families in Ye City."

In Ye City, there were warrior families with their own established clans, but Fang Yuan wasn’t intended to deal with them currently.

With these thoughts, Fang Yuan walked out from his hiding spot, the concealed expression beneath the bronze ghost mask revealing a slight smile. He then hid in the shadows and moved towards his intended location.

After a long while, overcoming layer after layer of obstacles without alarming anyone, Fang Yuan finally arrived at his destination.

"Looks like they're all asleep."

After listening for a moment at the door, Fang Yuan took out his long blade and slowly slid the latch away.