That was to be expected, though. The old fox himself was quite adept at playing that game, so naturally he would guard against others doing the same to him.
With that thought, he couldn't help but glance at the envelope again and gave a slight nod.
He had done the right thing. Dealing with these ruthless old foxes required extreme caution.
Even though he possessed the talent of immunity to all poisons, he must never let his guard down.
Because immunity to all poisons didn't mean he was immune to every poison. There were even stronger talents above it, which meant there were still some poisons that immunity couldn't handle.
Pushing aside those thoughts, Li Daoqiang looked at Xu Zhi and continued with a smile, "Alright, Brother Xu, you did well on this mission. Go get some rest early."
"Yes." Xu Zhi suppressed the unease he felt about agreeing to Ling Tuisi's request to monitor Li Daoqiang, bowed respectfully, and prepared to withdraw.
"Oh, by the way." Suddenly, Li Daoqiang called him back, speaking gently, "About the matter Lord Ling asked you to handle, Brother Xu, do you have any thoughts on it?"
With a thud, Xu Zhi immediately dropped to his knees, his face pale with terror. "The Great Chieftain sees clearly. I swear I have no intention of betraying you. I am willing to take an oath—if I ever betray the Great Chieftain, may I die a miserable death."
Li Daoqiang reached out a hand in a gesture of support, his expression sincere and firm. "Brother Xu, please rise quickly. I certainly believe in your loyalty. Get up."
"Th-thank you, Great Chieftain." Xu Zhi kept his head lowered, his body trembling slightly as he stood up, inwardly knowing better than to take those words at face value.
He had clearly seen what happened to Li Sanlong and his wife last night—utter annihilation, not even bones left.
No matter how sincere and friendly the Great Chieftain before him appeared, he could never forget that this man had seized power by killing the previous chieftain.
Believing those words would require him to be foolish.
"Brother Xu, no need to be nervous. I was just asking." Li Daoqiang offered another reassurance, then paused and said calmly, "Lord Ling is willing to be friends with us—that's a good thing. Since he wants to know about my situation, go ahead and tell him. It's not like there's anything shameful about it, right, Brother Xu?"
Xu Zhi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly caught on and replied firmly, "I understand. From now on, any letters sent to Lord Ling will first be shown to the Great Chieftain."
Li Daoqiang chuckled twice, showing his satisfaction, and waved his hand.
Xu Zhi understood, bowed once more in respect, and withdrew.
Li Daoqiang sat back down, feeling fairly pleased. The man was sharp—no wonder Li Sanlong had trusted him as a confidant, entrusting him with such an important task as contacting Ling Tuisi. He could continue to be useful.
As for loyalty, he hadn't even considered it.
And whether Xu Zhi would listen to him or be more inclined to follow Ling Tuisi—he didn't care either. It was irrelevant to the bigger picture.
He glanced at the letter Xu Zhi had placed on the side table. There was no signature or any identifying information—that old fox Ling Tuisi certainly left no loose ends.
With a flick of his hand, a burst of inner force shot out, shredding the letter to pieces.
His gaze turned distant, looking out beyond the hall.
Next, that old fox would probably make some probing moves.
That night, after midnight.
In Li Daoqiang's residence, he was still practicing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique.
Though his progress was very slow, it still had some effect. With nothing else to do, he naturally wouldn't waste time.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, staring at the door.
The next moment, the door swung open, and a figure in black, masked and holding a blade, stepped inside. The eyes revealed were filled with cold intent.
Then, "Boom!"
The air exploded with a thunderous roar, like a gale sweeping toward the black-clad figure.
Instantly, the figure's eyes widened in shock, feeling an overwhelmingly heavy pressure bearing down on him, suffocating and deadly.
In that split second, his entire body tensed. Gritting his teeth, he swung his fine-steel blade downward.
With a crack, the fine-steel blade snapped in two. A large hand pierced through the broken blade and slammed heavily into the figure's body.
"Ah~!"
"Thud!"
With a scream, the figure's body flew backward like a ragdoll, smashing through the door and crashing into the courtyard. He writhed in agony, a pool of blood quickly spreading beneath him.
"Who's there!"
The two guards outside the courtyard were startled and rushed in, stunned by the scene before them.
In an instant, they saw their Great Chieftain stride out from the shattered doorway like a dragon or tiger.
"Great Chieftain!"
The two clasped their fists in salute, somewhat uneasy—after all, they hadn't detected this clearly hostile intruder beforehand.
"Call Li Si and Wang Lin over," Li Daoqiang said casually.
"Yes." The two acknowledged and hurried off.
Li Daoqiang looked down at the groaning figure on the ground and said coldly, "Who sent you?"
The figure's mask had fallen off, revealing a pale, contorted face. Forcing himself to endure the pain of broken bones, he looked up at Li Daoqiang with a mix of shock and fear, gritting out, "How can you be this strong?"
"You have one more chance to answer." Li Daoqiang's tone was indifferent, showing no intention of replying to the question, as if the man's life meant nothing to him.
The figure's fear deepened, and he quickly said, "No, don't kill me. I was sent by Lord Ling to discuss important matters with the Great Chieftain Li."
"Oh?" Li Daoqiang responded flatly, frowning slightly. "I wonder what matter requires you to come in such attire, breaking into my Black Dragon Stockade at night?"
The figure instinctively averted his gaze, speaking in pain, "To discuss how to cooperate."
Li Daoqiang's lips curled into a cold smirk. He didn't press further.
He had confirmed the man was sent by Ling Tuisi—that was enough. As for the rest, both sides knew the truth.
Soon, Li Si and Wang Lin arrived.
"Great Chieftain."
The men saluted. Li Daoqiang waved a hand and said sternly, "Take this man away. Interrogate him to see if he's colluded with any brothers in the stockade. Just don't kill him."
"Yes." Li Si and the others responded with grim, slightly savage expressions.
They understood the Great Chieftain's intent—to check for any traitors in the stockade and to teach this man a lesson, as long as he stayed alive.
"Great Chieftain Li, I mean no harm. I came on behalf of Lord Ling," the figure called out in fear.
Li Daoqiang said nothing. Li Si and the others quickly dragged him away, beginning the interrogation that very night.
Li Daoqiang returned to his room, acting as if nothing had happened, and resumed his cultivation.
Half an hour later, Li Si came to report.
"Great Chieftain, we interrogated him repeatedly. We cut off three of his fingers and crippled one leg, but he still didn't say anything. It doesn't seem like he was colluding with anyone," Li Si said with a frown.
Li Daoqiang's expression remained unchanged, unsurprised. Given the man's inner force level—having opened about half of his extraordinary meridians—sneaking into the Black Dragon Stockade unnoticed wasn't remarkable.
He had only wanted to see if there was any collusion. Not getting anything from the interrogation was fine.