It was late at night.

In a courtyard within Ruyi Lane in Chang'an.

Under the cover of night, Yuan Tiangang stood with one hand behind his back. As he slightly raised his face, the mask with fangs and tiger eyes on his face appeared even more sinister and terrifying in the moonlight.

There was another person standing less than ten feet in front of Yuan Tiangang.

It was Ning Daoqi who woke Shi Zhixuan during the daytime when he went to the East Courtyard of the capital city.

At this moment, Ning Daoqi had lost the high-spirited demeanor he had when facing Chu Qinghe in the wild. He was disheveled and looked quite dejected.

While kneeling on the ground, one hand covered his chest and the other supported him on the ground. Blood dripped from the corner of Ning Daoqi's mouth, and his face was as white as tin foil, without a trace of color.

Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, Ning Daoqi stood up with some difficulty and said in a deep voice, "Bad Marshal, do you know what the consequences will be if you kill me?"

However, no sooner had these words left his mouth than a cold laugh suddenly came from behind Yuan Tiangang's mask.

The next second, the Bad Commander flashed in front of Ning Daoqi, grabbed Ning Daoqi's neck with one hand and lifted him into the air.

Although his feet were only a few inches from the ground, Ning Daoqi felt that the air was incredibly thin.

Ning Daoqi's face, which had been pale just moments before, instantly turned bright red.

With his gaze fixed on Ning Daoqi in front of him, Yuan Tiangang's eyes were filled with disdain and mockery, even a hint of teasing, as if he were looking at a clown.

A few breaths later, a hoarse voice slowly emerged from beneath Yuan Tiangang's mask.

"As I said before, in my eyes you are just a dog that I despise. Now, even if you have pledged allegiance to Li Chunfeng, in my eyes you have only gone from being an unwanted dog to Li Chunfeng's dog."

"Do you really think that killing a dog as insignificant as you would cause Li Chunfeng to break ties with me?"

A detached voice, tinged with a hint of cold laughter, slowly rang out. The trace of killing intent mixed within it caused fear to spring up rapidly from all parts of Ning Daoqi's body, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

At this moment, Yuan Tiangang's voice rang out once again.

"The last time you were in the Hidden Soldier Valley was your last chance to survive, but unfortunately, you didn't seize it."

Upon hearing this, Ning Daoqi seemed to realize something, his eyes filled with terror, and he opened his mouth to speak.

However, before Ning Daoqi could utter a single note, Yuan Tiangang suddenly clenched his fists.

In an instant, the powerful force crushed the sound brewing in Ning Daoqi's throat, along with his bones and meridians, into pieces with Yuan Tiangang's blow.

After casually tossing Ning Daoqi's body on the ground as if it were trash, the Bad Commander slowly raised his hand.

Suddenly, a figure flashed into the courtyard and knelt down in front of Yuan Tiangang.

"General."

Yuan Tiangang said coldly, "After cutting off his head, find a gift box and send it to the courtyard where Zhu Yuyan and the others live in the east of the city."

Finally, Yuan Tiangang added, "Be polite."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scoundrel beside him immediately responded respectfully.

"Your subordinate obeys."

After saying that, the thug quickly stepped forward and took Ning Daoqi's body away.

However, at that moment, another figure quickly entered the courtyard and knelt on the ground.

"Reporting to the commander, a corpse was found in Zhao'an Ward in the west of the city half an hour ago. Based on the appearance, it has been confirmed to be the Evil Emperor Shi Zhixuan."

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tiangang immediately turned his head to look at the rogue.

What was the cause of death?

The visitor cupped his hands and said, "Based on the examination of the body, the meridians around the upper, middle, and lower dantian are all broken, and the internal organs are also damaged. It seems that he died from qi deviation."

Hearing the cause of Shi Zhixuan's death, Yuan Tiangang felt a slight sense of relief.

He then waved his hand in acknowledgment.

After the rogue left, Yuan Tiangang suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction in the courtyard.

"Tell Li Chunfeng that the Great Tang Kingdom can only belong to me. If he dares to interfere again, don't blame me for turning my attention to the Great Qin Kingdom. As for whether to preserve or destroy our two-hundred-year friendship, I'll give him a month to consider."

"If he insists on going his own way a month from now, don't blame me."

After saying that, Yuan Tiangang turned around and walked out step by step.

After Yuan Tiangang left, several figures emerged from a rockery in the courtyard, still shaken.

The leader looked at the pool of blood left by Ning Daoqi on the ground and said with an extremely solemn expression, "After quickly relaying today's events to the master, we will leave tonight."