If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

It was past midnight.

The night rain in the capital had just stopped, and the air was filled with a damp, earthy smell. The puddles on the bluestone road reflected the waning moon, which shattered into a silvery white shimmer when the wind blew.

Zhou Yang squatted on a corner of the eaves in the back alley of the Prince Zhao's mansion. He wasn't wearing one of those hooded night clothes that covered his face; those things were too conspicuous, making it no different from having "I am an assassin" etched on your forehead if you walked down the street. He had simply changed into an inconspicuous gray cloth outfit and smeared a thin layer of charcoal ash on his face, blending into the night and becoming completely unremarkable.

The true energy within his body circulated throughout his body, and the abundant sense of power made every pore on his body open up.

Late stage of True Essence Realm.

While not top-tier in this world of high-level martial arts, he's more than capable of being a slippery eel in the murky waters of the capital. Especially when combined with the "Concealment Technique" he just redeemed from the system, he's practically invisible unless he encounters a master-level monster.

"There are so many dogs in this Prince Zhao's mansion."

Zhou Yang squinted, looking at the patrolling guards below. Every three steps there was a guard, every five steps a sentry, and the lanterns they carried formed a long dragon, illuminating the entire palace.

This level of protection is sufficient against petty thieves, but not quite enough against men.

He held his breath, suppressing his heartbeat to its lowest point, moving like a giant gecko, slithering along the shadowy wall. His true energy clung to the soles of his feet, landing silently. Just as a patrolling guard turned around, Zhou Yang brushed past the edge of the lantern's halo, his figure as fast as the wind.

The guard felt a chill on the back of his neck, scratched it, and muttered, "This damn weather, and it's even getting windy."

When he turned around again, the alley behind him was empty, except for a stray cat darting around in the corner.

Zhou Yang had already climbed over two courtyards.

The Prince Zhao's mansion was vast, but he didn't wander around aimlessly. According to intelligence he had previously purchased on the black market, the Prince Zhao's study was located in the "Jingxinzhai" in the backyard. That place was backed by an artificial hill and next to a stagnant pond; the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it was also the most suitable place for filth and corruption.

Upon arriving at Jingxinzhai, Zhou Yang didn't dare get too close. Two guards stood watch at the entrance, one in plain sight and one in shadow. Inside, the lights were bright, reflecting two figures on the paper windows.

He lightly touched the artificial hill with his toes, and his body floated up to the ancient locust tree next to it like a falling leaf. The tree faced the study window, and its lush foliage provided natural cover. He found a branch to sit on and peered inside through the gap in the window paper.

Two people were sitting inside the room.

One was King Zhao, dressed in a brocade robe with dragon patterns, his figure was bloated, his face full of fat, and he was playing with two walnuts in his hands. The other was a thin old man, dressed in a dark green Taoist robe, with deep-set eyes, looking somewhat sinister.

Zhou Yang recognized the style of the Taoist robe.

Tianlijiao.

"Master Xuanji, where are the things?" King Zhao's voice was somewhat impatient, the two walnuts spinning rapidly in his hands. "I took a great risk to send those imperial guards away."

The old Taoist priest, Xuanji Zhenren, raised his eyelids, his voice like two pieces of iron rubbing together: "Your Highness, please calm down. The sect leader said that as long as you succeed, the method for refining the 'Dragon Corpse Puppet' will be presented to you with both hands."

"I don't want empty promises!" King Zhao slammed a walnut on the table. "That old emperor isn't dead yet, and he's recently shown signs of regaining consciousness. If he recovers, I'm finished! What I need is power I can use immediately!"

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat when he heard this from the tree.

Dragon Corpse Puppet?

The name itself didn't sound good. He had heard of some evil techniques in the previous book, mostly involving using living people to create corpses, but using dragons to create corpses was something he had never heard of before.

Inside the room, Master Xuanji chuckled and took out a black wooden box from his sleeve, placing it on the table.

"Your Highness, please take a look."

King Zhao grabbed the wooden box and opened it. Inside, there were no gold or silver jewels, only a piece of bone the size of a palm. The bone was a strange dark gold color, covered with vein-like patterns that were still pulsating slightly.

"What is this?" King Zhao's breathing became heavy.

"This is a fragment of the Dragon Spine," Master Xuanji said. "Although it's only a very small part, the true dragon energy it contains is enough to evolve the 'Bronze Corpse' under the Prince's command into a 'Dragon Corpse.' At that time, it will be impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire. In this capital city, besides the old emperor, who can stop you?"

King Zhao's eyes gleamed as he greedily stroked the bone fragment: "Good...good stuff! With it, I can finally taste what it's like to sit in that chair!"

Zhou Yang observed the scene detachedly from his perch in the tree. Information about the bone fragment rapidly updated on the system panel.

[Fragment of the dragon's spine (extremely damaged)]

[Status: Suppressed by a seal]

[Purpose: A key material for repairing the Divine Weapon Dragon Spine]

[Note: This thing smells strongly of decay; don't wear it if you don't want to die.]

"There's one more thing." Seeing that King Zhao had put away his things, Master Xuanji changed the subject. "The sect leader has ordered that the whereabouts of the second fragment have been found."

King Zhao looked up: "Where?"

"Wanfo Temple," Master Xuanji slowly uttered three words, "below the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda."

King Zhao frowned: "Wanfo Temple? That's a royal temple; not even a fly can get inside normally. Besides, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is said to be suppressed by an Arhat formation. How are we going to take it?"

"Therefore, we need Your Highness's manpower." Master Xuanji stroked his beard. "Three days later is the annual 'Buddha Bathing Festival' at Wanfo Temple, attracting many worshippers. Your Highness can arrange for a group of assassins to infiltrate and create chaos. I, this old Taoist, will take the opportunity to sneak into the pagoda and retrieve the item."

"You want my men to go and die?" King Zhao's face darkened.

"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub," Master Xuanji said calmly. "Does Your Highness no longer want to be emperor? Besides, once you obtain the second fragment, the two can be combined to deduce the location of the 'Nine Dragons Carrying the Coffin' formation. At that time, the dragon vein of the Great Jin Dynasty will be at Your Highness's disposal."

King Zhao remained silent for a moment, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes: "Very well! I will make the arrangements immediately! Three days later, at Wanfo Temple, I will make sure their blood flows like a river!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yang had already made up his mind.

Wanfo Temple, Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, Nine Dragons Carrying a Coffin.

These words didn't sound like something amicable. However, now that he knew the whereabouts of the second fragment, he had no choice but to wade into this mess.

He changed his position in the tree, gently tapping the trunk with his fingers.

grab?

That's for sure.

However, taking direct action would be too foolish. Zhao Wang's men would serve as cannon fodder to draw fire, while the old Taoist priest from the Tianli Sect would sneak into the tunnel to steal things. All they needed to do at the last moment was to double-cross the other party.

What's this called?

This is what they call "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade." Zhou Yang was very satisfied with this plan.

The conversation inside continued, but it was all about trivial details, such as how to plan the retreat route and how to cover up the traces.

Zhou Yang wasn't interested in listening.

He'd already gained a lot today. Not only did he learn about the collusion between King Zhao and the Heavenly Principle Sect, but he also obtained a clue to the next fragment.

Now that we have the intelligence, it's time to get down to business.

Zhou Yang glanced at a pavilion not far away, which was the Zhao Prince's storehouse. When he climbed over the wall earlier, he had paid special attention to the fact that although there were many guards at the storehouse entrance, most of them were dozing off.

After all, who would dare to steal from a prince's house?

Zhou Yang dared to do that.

Since he was already here, he couldn't leave empty-handed. That was his principle.

He slid down the tree silently, like a shadow brushing against the wall as he made his way to the warehouse.

The warehouse lock was as thick as a bowl, looking quite intimidating. Zhou Yang didn't use his knife; instead, he pulled a thin wire from his pocket. This was a "master key" he had previously acquired on the black market, more than capable of dealing with ordinary locks like this.

He held his breath, pressed his ear against the door, and gently fiddled with the wire in his hand.

"Click".

With a soft click, the lock opened.

Zhou Yang's lips curled into a smile. The security measures in the Zhao Prince's mansion were not even as good as those of a nouveau riche in the countryside.

He slipped into the warehouse and closed the door behind him.

The room reeked of a strange mixture of musty smells and medicinal herbs. Through the dim light filtering through the window cracks, Zhou Yang saw shelves piled high with boxes of various sizes. He casually opened one; inside were neatly arranged silver ingots. He opened another; inside were several bolts of brocade.

"Tacky."

Zhou Yang curled his lip; carrying these things would only be a burden. His gaze swept over several sandalwood boxes in the corner.

That's where the elixirs are kept.

He walked over and opened the first box. A fragrant aroma wafted out, and inside lay a withered ginseng root, its roots turning yellowish-brown.

Century-old wild ginseng

[Purpose: To increase lifespan by 5 years]

[Review: Average quality, barely edible.]

"Is this what rich people stock up on?" Zhou Yang shook his head. This stuff was far inferior to what he had seen on the black market before. But even a mosquito's leg is meat, so he unceremoniously pocketed it.

He opened the second box. This time it contained a bottle of pills.

[Peiyuan Pill (Medium Grade)]

[Purpose: To solidify the foundation and assist in cultivation]

[Evaluation: Basically, this is like candy for those in the early True Essence Realm.]

Zhou Yang didn't let it go either, stuffing the whole bottle into his pocket.

He was like a middle-aged woman browsing a market, picking and choosing in the warehouse. There were many valuable elixirs, but few were truly useful to a "pay-to-win" player like him.

After browsing around, he selected about half of the medicinal herbs. There were two reasons why he didn't take them all: first, he couldn't carry them all; although his physical body was stronger, it had limited weight-bearing capacity; second, taking them all would be too obvious and easily alert the enemy. If he took half, that King Zhao, being so foolish, might have to check the accounts for a long time before discovering it.

"Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."

Zhou Yang patted his bulging chest and walked out contentedly.

As soon as I stepped out of the warehouse, a cool night breeze blew by.

He subconsciously tightened his collar, preparing to return the way he came and climb over the wall, when suddenly, a bone-chilling cold rose up his spine.

He was all too familiar with this feeling.

Someone was watching him.

It wasn't a patrolling guard; their gaze was cold and viscous, like a venomous snake crawling on your back.

Zhou Yang didn't stop walking, nor did his expression change; he maintained his crouching, stealthy posture. He merely tightened his grip on the short knife hidden in his sleeve.

"Who?"

He silently recited it in his heart.

The gaze came and went quickly. Just as he was about to turn the corner, the feeling of being watched vanished.

It was as if what I had just felt was an illusion.

But Zhou Yang knew that there were no unfounded illusions in this world. There were still experts in the Zhao Prince's mansion.

Moreover, he is a highly skilled master who keeps his abilities extremely hidden.

He didn't turn around, but pushed off with his feet, instantly leaping several meters away and disappearing into the night in a few bounds. Now that he'd been discovered, staying any longer would be suicide. Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to intend to attack, or perhaps had some reservations.

It was already past midnight when we got back to the inn.

Zhou Yang slipped into the room, locked the door, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He dumped all the stolen medicinal herbs onto the table, the pile of bottles and jars gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

"System, take inventory."

[Ding! You have obtained a century-old wild ginseng, which can be exchanged for 5 years of lifespan.]

[Ding! You have obtained one bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pill, which can be exchanged for 2 years of lifespan.]

[Ding! Obtained...]

A series of notification sounds rang out. This trip wasn't in vain; all things considered, he had actually gained a considerable amount of lifespan. Combined with his previous savings, he could now indulge in some extravagance.

Zhou Yang sat at the table, toying with the short knife in his hand, his eyes calm.

Tonight's gains were substantial, but they also exposed a problem. The hidden expert in the Zhao Prince's mansion made him uneasy. The owner of that gaze was definitely above him in cultivation, possibly even a grandmaster.

"The waters of this capital city run deeper than I thought."

He muttered to himself.

However, the deeper the water, the bigger the fish.

Three days later, at Wanfo Temple.

The King of Zhao wanted a dragon corpse puppet, the Heavenly Principle Sect wanted a nine-dragon coffin, and the Emperor wanted to stabilize the dragon vein. Everyone had their own agenda.

Zhou Yang, on the other hand, only wanted to get his hands on that fragment of the dragon's spine and, incidentally, see if he could make another fortune.

"Wanfo Temple..."

The outline of that magnificent temple appeared in Zhou Yang's mind. It was a sacred Buddhist sanctuary, yet it concealed a demon-suppressing pagoda, beneath which lay fragments of a dragon's spine.

This combination is ironic no matter how you look at it.

He lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, staring at the dark beams.

I need to prepare some things tomorrow. Since we're going to make our move at a place like Wanfo Temple, a short knife alone won't be enough. I need to get some sleeping potion and some protective magic items.

Most importantly, a message needs to be sent to Qin Shuang, that aloof and wealthy woman. How could the Imperial Guards be absent from such dirty and tiring work?

If he could get the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Prince Zhao's men to clash, and then fish in the mud, that would be perfect.

Zhou Yang grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"King Zhao, I've taken your money. And I'll take your life as interest as well."

The night watchman outside the window struck the clapper.

It's almost dawn.

Zhou Yang closed his eyes, his inner energy slowly circulating. He needed to rest well for the rest of the night. After all, the next few days were unlikely to be peaceful.

The night in the capital is just beginning to heat up.