In the end, after another thought, Zheng Shaohua turned his focus toward the city's pleasure quarters.
Soon, he discovered an extremely suspicious individual—Li Daniu!
This person had entered the city only today and immediately taken up residence in Xunfang Tower, a property owned by the Zheng Clan!
Fiddling with the jade slip in his hand, Zheng Shaohua murmured softly, "Li Daniu... Heh.
"Get ready. We're going to Xunfang Tower!"
From behind the young man came several voices in assent.
Three late Core Formation realm cultivators stood there, all wearing matching clan robes.
However, embroidered on the chests of all three was a single character: "Consecrated"!
In other words, all three were merely consecrated elders of the Zheng Clan.
Li Guanqi sat by the railing, one leg crossed over the other, leisurely sipping his wine.
With his eyes half-closed, he listened to the moving, gentle lyrics sung by the woman below, gradually becoming entranced.
He plucked two grapes and tossed them into his mouth; the clamor in his ears slowly faded away.
Li Guanqi's hand reached for another grape, but his movement slowed, and he gradually opened his eyes.
He had sensed several hostile auras!
Yet these auras were not directed at him; they were merely several Core Formation cultivators blatantly releasing their presence in an ostentatious display.
Upon arrival, those men sat straight down in the first-floor hall.
Li Guanqi did not pay them much attention. Instead, his interest was drawn to a youth in green sitting several zhang behind him.
The youth had handsome features, flowing long hair, and sharp, well-defined contours.
What caught Li Guanqi's eye most of all was the youth's long, slender fingers.
Except... the youth had six fingers on his right hand!
Along the outer edge of his right thumb grew another thumb-like digit, remarkably nimble.
This was the first time Li Guanqi had ever seen someone born with six fingers whose parents had not severed the extra digit in childhood.
The youth, however, appeared rather introverted, perhaps even insecure.
He constantly kept his right hand concealed beneath his sleeve. Still, his aura was far from weak—late Core Formation!
For a youth who looked no older than eighteen to possess such strength was astonishing.
Moreover, from the way he sipped and savored his tea, he clearly came from a prominent clan and was exceptionally well-mannered.
Just then, the singing girl below slowly stepped down from the stage.
In her place, a woman was carried onto the stage!
A five-string zither was placed before her. Beneath her pure white veil, her exquisite features were faintly discernible.
Yet her eyes showed no delight at the cheers of the audience below; instead, they held a tinge of sorrow.
And when she caught sight of the morbidly feverish gaze of the man sitting before the stage, hatred welled up in her eyes!
The man below, however, seemed to relish the way she looked at him, a sinister smirk tugging at his lips.
Zheng Shaohua looked at the woman on stage, admiring his own handiwork with great satisfaction.
Parting his lips, he commanded her, "Play."
The woman stubbornly remained motionless, her beautiful eyes fixed fiercely upon the man below!
It was as though she was using her defiance to resist the young man.
Zheng Shaohua sneered and crooked a finger.
Immediately, a sickly-looking man who appeared to have just barely recovered from a severe illness was shoved out of a fourth-floor room!
The woman jerked her head up toward the upper floor, tears welling in her eyes as she bit her lip hard.
A noose was slipped around the middle-aged man's neck by two burly men, who then hurled him straight over the edge from the fourth floor!
"Mmh! Mmph!"
The man exerted every ounce of strength, clawing desperately at the rope around his neck with both hands in a bid to catch his breath.
Below the stage, Zheng Shaohua watched this spectacle as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
Leaning back in his chair, he clapped his hands and laughed uproariously, his wanton laughter drawing the attention of many.
Just as some were about to shout out in reprimand, they suddenly caught sight of the young man dressed in splendid brocade.
Instantly, every one of them tactfully clamped their mouths shut.
The Zheng Clan was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Naturally, nothing that unfolded below escaped Li Guanqi's eyes.
With his divine sense spread outward, everything taking place was laid bare before him.
A cursory sweep was all it took for him to realize that the woman had likely been poisoned, leaving her entire lower body devoid of sensation.
Yet right at that moment, he suddenly felt that the veiled woman seemed familiar.
Probing further with his divine sense, Li Guanqi shot to his feet with a start!
"Song Zhi'ang!"
"Why is she here? What happened?"
Indeed, this was none other than the brothel woman who had found Yu Sui'an in the trash heap back then.
'If I'm not mistaken, the man seated below the stage must be the eldest young master of the Zheng Clan who threw a tantrum at Treasure Pavilion.'
Song Zhi'ang was gentle and fragile by nature, and now, holding back her tears, she began to play the guqin.
As the plaintive, mournful melody arose, Li Guanqi noticed the youth behind him suddenly walk up to the railing.
Looking down, the youth became wholly absorbed in the music of her zither.
The corners of his handsome mouth curled up slightly, his fingers unconsciously moving over the tabletop.
It was as though he were playing along in harmony with the woman below.
Zheng Shaohua raised a hand, and with a resounding boom, the heavy front doors of Xunfang Tower slammed shut.
Rising slowly to his feet, he spoke aloud, "I hear an honored guest visited Treasure Pavilion today?
"Which one was it? Come out so I can take a look.
"Let me see what kind of grand figure had that deacon leave me hanging!"
Just then, beneath the puzzled gaze of the six-fingered youth behind him, Li Guanqi slowly stood up.
Then, glancing at the middle-aged man still dangling in midair, he stepped out into the void!
With a lift of his hand, he buoyed up the old fellow, then looked down at Zheng Shaohua and spoke softly, "It was me. What of it?"
Zheng Shaohua slowly raised his head, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at Li Guanqi in midair. With a contemptuous scoff, he said:
"What of it? Hahahahaha!!
"Get the hell down here! In Nanze, no one looks down on me!!"
Boom!
In an instant, the three Core Formation cultivators took to the air, soaring upward.
Li Guanqi thought the man had lost his mind. He glanced down at the tear-stained Song Zhi'ang.
Light flashed beneath his feet, and a chilling streak of sword light flickered across the pavilion in an instant!
Boom!
In a breath, the entirety of Xunfang Tower was cleaved straight in two at the waist!
This spectacle utterly shook everyone present.
The two burly men were instantly decapitated, while the middle-aged man was carried upward by a gentle force.
At some point, Song Zhi'ang's veil had slipped off. She stared blankly at that strikingly handsome face in midair, and at the iconic sword casket behind him!
"It's him...!"
Yet this sword strike did not deter the others. The three late Core Formation powerhouses lunged toward him in an instant!
Clang!
With his sword in hand, Li Guanqi slashed out several arcs of sword radiance in succession!
In an instant, lightning raged through the air as the sword light seemed to transform into a veritable thunder pool. Three headless corpses tumbled from the sky, one after another!
Li Guanqi looked down at the pale-faced Zheng Shaohua and sneered, "I am looking down on you. What can you do to me? Hmm?"
Chapter 272