I am becoming the ultimate demon.

Chapter 57: The Sale of the Ephemeral Flower Brocade, Ambush; Bronze-Rank Assassin, Assassination Li

The next day.

Several scholars secretly sponsored by Ji Lin began to sing the newly composed "Ballad of the Brocade Robe" in teahouses and taverns. The lyrics subtly satirized the Li family for passing off inferior goods as superior ones.

The secret method contained an incorrect formula, which caused color spots to appear on a large number of silks produced by the Li family during the dyeing process.

The meticulously compiled "Secret Methods of Weaving and Dyeing" was sold by Ji Lin to Li Tianming for a high price of one hundred taels of silver through the night patrol's connections in the martial arts world.

This method cannot be too cheap; if it is too cheap, its value will not be apparent.

It can't be too expensive either, otherwise it exceeds its value.

With the Li family as a counterpart, Ji Lin can officially release the real Epiphyllum Brocade.

On the day of the sale, the Ji family's silk shop reopened.

The shop entrance was filled with samples of Epiphyllum oxypetalum for people to admire and inspect.

It attracted a lot of attention at the market, with people of all ages, rich and poor, coming to join in the fun.

Of course, there were also those who angrily cursed in the streets.

"That son of a bitch, the Li family, what kind of garbage are they selling? Look at the Ji family, that's the real deal, a true ephemeral gem!"

"You get what you pay for, this is definitely befitting someone of my status. It makes me look so proud!"

Those gentry and wealthy families kept touching the model displayed at the entrance, looking as if they loved it dearly.

"Shopkeeper, how much is this Epiphyllum oxypetalum?"

The old shopkeeper sighed helplessly and said, "Because the competition is fierce now, the master ordered that it be one tael of silver per bolt of cloth."

These words shocked everyone present.

Ordinary silk would cost at least one tael of silver, and fine silk would cost at least one and a half taels, but this Ji family's Epiphyllum brocade only cost one tael of silver.

Anyone who didn't know better would think the Ji family was there to do charity work.

At first, the gentry couldn't believe it and suspected there might be something fishy going on.

"I want a hundred horses!!" Master Wang suddenly shouted.

His shout suddenly sparked a frenzy of buying.

"I want fifty horses too!!"

"I'm sorry everyone, but due to limited stock, each person can only buy two horses!" the old shopkeeper said politely with a smile.

The scene was in an uproar; the smart ones had already gone back and brought their extended family and relatives to help them buy.

Since most of the gentry knew each other, they could easily recognize those who made repeated purchases.

Many people also preferred to pay homeless people on the street to buy them.

This is exactly what Ji Lin wanted to see.

Meanwhile, at the Li residence, the steward rushed into the hall in a panic.

"Master, the Ji family has spread the word that they are willing to buy our Nanyang silk at half price."

Upon hearing the news, Li Rong flew into a rage: "Outrageous! We haven't settled accounts with them for what happened at the dock last night!!"

"Brother, and that secret technique, it's most likely their doing too!!" Li Tianming slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

However, just as one problem was subsiding, another arose. At this time, the state government had already sent people to investigate the matter of smuggled salt.

All overt and covert transactions in the market have ceased, and many salt merchants, including the Li family, have had a large number of their salt permits frozen.

The Li family, thanks to Zhang Liang's connections, successfully evaded the inspection, and Zhang Liang also profited considerably from the incident.

The Li family was subsequently hampered by new regulations from the state government regarding the canal transport, and their pawnshop was exposed for having many items of unknown origin.

All four pillar industries have been severely impacted, forcing them to once again request assistance from photography studios.

"Hmph, second brother, contact the photo studio right now, we need to get moving too."

That night, the wind and snow continued to batter the land.

A group of men in black suddenly appeared at the dock managed by the Li family.

Only a few people could be vaguely seen sitting idly on the dock, seemingly guarding something.

"Why are there so few people here? Could there be a mistake?" the photo studio hitman said.

"Sir, there's absolutely no mistake. We've been dealing with them for many years, we wouldn't be wrong," Li Tianming said in a low voice.

"According to the spies' reports, much of what's here is silk and gold being transported to the state capital to bribe those above."

After saying that, the group quietly approached the Ji family's warehouse. A skilled locksmith from the Li family easily opened the warehouse door.

The two slowly opened the warehouse door, making a soft creaking sound.

The crowd held up torches and shone them inside, taking a closer look.

The warehouse was completely empty, with only three white walls, and not a single mosquito in sight.

"What? It's empty!!" Li Tianming was shocked.

They've fallen into a trap. Not only will they offend the studio's assassins, but they might also be ambushed by the Ji family.

"Li Tianming, what are you good for? How could such information be wrong?!" the photo studio assassin cursed in a low voice.

"My lord, it was my mistake! Let's go back first, it's too dangerous here." Li Tianming bowed, his face ashen.

"Once you're here, don't leave." Ji Lin led the night patrol team and circled the area outside.

Roar!! Dozens of torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the area around the warehouse.

"My lord, this man is Ji Lin from the Ji family. He's the one who caused all this trouble!" Li Tianming gritted his teeth.

The photo studio hitman nodded. "Alright, saves me the trouble of looking for it."

"Since you've come here to die, I'll reluctantly accept your head."

He suddenly shot out several darts from his black cloak, and with a short knife in his sleeve, he thrust it out with incredible speed.

Suddenly, Ji Lin leaped up and appeared behind him in an instant, startling him greatly.

In his haste, he turned around and, with a quick backhand slash of his short knife, knocked Ji Lin back.

The two were extremely fast, and in just a few breaths they had already exchanged more than ten blows.

What surprised the photo studio assassin even more was that although the person in front of him had no martial arts skills, his strength and speed were by no means slow.

This man's every move was haphazard, like throwing punches at random, yet it carried a chilling, brute force.

Seeing that he was no match for this man, he suddenly took out a pill and threw it on the ground, causing thick smoke to rise.

When the thick smoke cleared, the Li family members, including Ji Lin, had vanished without a trace, leaving only the night patrol members bewildered in the wind.

"Are you kidding me?! The boss is gone too??"

"What are you all standing there for? Go find it!!"

Huang Yu immediately dispersed the group and began searching in all directions.

Meanwhile, Ji Lin was in hot pursuit of the photo studio assassin from earlier.

"You can see me??" the photo studio hitman said in a panic.

"Even if you can turn invisible, I can still see you, let alone a small smoke bomb?" Ji Lin used his spiritual vision to follow his movements.

"Damn it, why don't you chase after them? Why are you focusing on me?"

"They're just a bunch of small fry, but you're different. I've never seen your methods before. You're obviously from a big city."

Ji Lin had basically figured out the man's moves, so he stopped testing him.

He immediately activated [Boiled Blood], and his demonized legs unleashed a powerful jumping force.

He leaped up, swiftly transforming his demonic right hand, and unleashed a massive red fist at the man in black.

boom! !

The man was hit, fell from the sky, and crashed heavily to the ground, where he remained motionless.

"Oh no, I used too much force." Ji Lin immediately went to check on the man's injuries.

He pulled off the man's mask and saw that his neck was visibly blackened and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Only then did they realize that the person had already ingested a deadly poison. If they could jump back, they would find the antidote; otherwise...

Ji Lin took a brass token from his body, which had the words "Photo Studio" printed on it.

In addition, there is an unfinished assassination list...