Eerie Youth

Who was reckless enough to leave words before our own gate?

Jiang Dao's heart instantly flared with rage.

But Pang Lin suddenly revealed a horrified expression and said, "Young Master, none of us slept last night. This could not possibly have been done by a person. There is no such expert in all of Hengzhou City. No matter how powerful one's martial arts, writing such characters would surely make some noise. Yet we noticed nothing unusual. This isn't a person!"

"What?"

The servants all went pale again, trembling from head to toe.

Malevolent Spirits!

Malevolent Spirits again!

"I'm not staying with the Jiang Family anymore! Whoever wants to stay can stay—I'm done serving them!"

Suddenly, a servant cried out in terror and hurriedly fled into the distance.

The other servants instantly descended into panic as well, rushing to grab their things and run.

But Jiang Dao reacted with incredible speed. His body shot up, his long saber left its sheath, and a sweep of snowy cold light flashed out. With a puff, it passed over the fleeing servant's head. Blood splattered as the man's fine head flew through the air.

Thud!

The head rolled onto the ground. The servant's eyes were opened impossibly wide, as though he still had no idea that he was dead.

At this sight, the other servants all screamed in fright and stopped where they were.

"Whoever dares sow chaos among the people will die!"

Jiang Dao shouted sharply. Murderous intent boiled from him as his fingers clenched the steel saber. His gaze was sharp as a blade, as if it pierced into every person's heart.

In an instant, every servant and guard was cowed by Jiang Dao's imposing aura.

All of them were horrified, frozen in place.

"What Malevolent Spirit? I refuse to believe it's a Malevolent Spirit. If it is, then let it come find me. I killed two Malevolent Spirits just last night—where would so many Malevolent Spirits come from? They're merely people playing ghost and god. What's there to fear?"

Jiang Dao's shout rumbled like thunder.

Everyone's ears ached from his roar, their minds buzzing blankly.

At this moment, Jiang Dao could only steady the people.

No matter what, he could not let them all flee. If they escaped, the Jiang Family would collapse.

So even if he had to forcefully keep them here, he had to make them stay.

Pang Lin's expression shifted, and he instantly understood Jiang Dao's intentions. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, this old man was mistaken. This absolutely cannot be a Malevolent Spirit. It must be a person. Perhaps we were too exhausted last night and let down our guard, allowing someone to approach..."

"Everyone, to prove that I am telling the truth, I will now step beyond the red line and see whether anyone dares come and kill me."

Jiang Dao's tone was icy. Pressing a hand against his steel saber, he strode toward the gate.

"Dao'er, be careful..."

Jiang Dalong hurriedly spoke.

He immediately understood the crux of Jiang Dao's words and naturally knew that Jiang Dao was forcibly stabilizing everyone's hearts.

"Don't worry, Father. I will!"

Jiang Dao turned back and nodded.

He had cultivated Eagle Claw Iron Shirt to the realm of one hundred and twenty years later. His skin was terrifyingly tough, his sinews and fascia like hardened cowhide, impervious to blades and spears. He did not believe any Malevolent Spirit could kill him in an instant.

If it were truly that formidable, it would have charged in and killed them last night. Why go through all this trouble with him?

Besides, he had never heard of a Malevolent Spirit that could write!

Therefore, these words had not been left by a Malevolent Spirit at all. They had been left by Spirit Child Palace or another organization that controlled Malevolent Spirits, their purpose likely being only to throw everyone into chaos first.

Jiang Dao gripped his steel saber, his broad body striding forward.

Everyone watched him intently.

Only after Jiang Dao had completely crossed the red line and taken another ten steps without triggering any abnormality did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Making a mystery out of nothing!"

Jiang Dao's gaze was cold as he looked at the red line and bloody words on the ground. Suddenly, he stamped down with his foot. With a boom, he stepped onto a bluestone slab and then scraped forcefully downward.

Crack!

His foot sank into the ground, like an iron plow ruthlessly tearing across the earth. Shattered stones flew everywhere, fierce winds howled, and every trace of red writing was smeared away.

This single display shocked everyone once more.

Pang Lin, Fang Biao, Wang Xing, and the others in particular were all stunned, as though witnessing a god.

Such strength was simply unimaginable.

Even after training martial arts for a hundred years, one surely could not accomplish this, could one?

He simply did not seem to possess a body of flesh and blood!

"Father, Master Pang, it's fine now."

Jiang Dao turned back and said.

"Good, as long as it's fine. As long as it's fine!"

Jiang Dalong hurriedly said, "Dao'er, you haven't slept all night. Rest at home for the day first. This afternoon, we can think of a way to leave?"

"I'm not sleepy yet. You all have breakfast first. I'll take a look around the city."

Jiang Dao shook his head.

The words on the ground had made him think of many things.

From last night's lantern bearing the character for death to today's blood-red line, everything indicated that some force had set its sights on the Jiang Family.

And only two Malevolent Spirits had ever attacked the Jiang Family.

One was that Spirit Child!

The other was the Malevolent Spirit they had encountered last night.

Thus, Jiang Dao changed his mind again. He intended to take a walk through the city first and gather information, ensuring everything was safe before leaving.

The streets were bleak and desolate.

In the past, many vendors would come out early in the morning to sell food—stir-fried rice noodles, donkey rolls, buns, wontons, and the like. But now, the entire Hengzhou City was thick with Death Qi. Even in broad daylight, few pedestrians could be seen on the streets.

The occasional passersby all hurried away with anxious expressions.

More people stood in their homes' upper chambers, looking outside with worry written across their faces.

Jiang Dao wandered around the streets. Only half an hour later did he arrive near the city gates.

At the southern gate, many wealthy merchants had gathered, shouting that they wanted to leave. Yet heavily armed troops stood guard beneath the walls, waiting in strict formation and refusing to let anyone pass.

These wealthy merchants were the people who had bribed Magistrate Wang last night, those whom he had promised to grant a few spots to leave the city.

Unfortunately, Magistrate Wang had been killed by Jiang Dao, and authority over the city had now fallen into other hands.

"No one is permitted to leave now. The magistrate is dead, and I have the final say in all of Hengzhou City. Without orders from the imperial court, whoever dares leave the city without authorization will be beheaded on the spot! I do not care what terms you reached with Magistrate Wang before. In short, no one is allowed to leave!"

Suddenly, a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted general with tiger-like eyes blazing in all directions shouted sternly.

"General Gongsun, for the sake of our friendship over all these years, leave a branch of incense for our Liu Family!"

"General Gongsun, please show mercy! We only ask that you open a side gate and send out a few of our descendants!"

"Please, General Gongsun, raise your hand and show mercy!"

Many people begged bitterly.

"Insolence! I have said it already: no one is allowed to leave. Whoever keeps chattering will be seized at once!"

The general shouted.

A black-clad Eerie Youth slowly emerged from atop the city wall. His long hair was black, his eyes were black, his clothes were black—even his fingernails were black, dark and sharp. His entire body radiated an invisible, gloomy aura.

The moment he appeared, he instantly drew everyone's attention.

Almost everyone who looked at the Eerie Youth involuntarily felt chill after chill run down their spines, inexplicable terror rising in their hearts.

It was as though... they were facing a walking corpse.

There was even a faint stench of decay wafting from him.

"Who wants to leave?"

The Eerie Youth spoke calmly, lightly running his palm across the wall beside him.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The wall rapidly began to blacken and rot, leaving behind an eerie black handprint. White mold quickly sprouted from its palm, as though it had weathered countless years, while the wall itself began to peel away at once.

The wealthy merchants were all deeply stunned by this strange sight.

Combined with the young man's utterly black pupils, devoid of even the slightest trace of white, a casual sweep of his gaze made everyone feel a chill in their hearts, as if a massive hand had seized them tightly.

The crowd trembled and hurriedly scattered, no longer daring to clamor about leaving.

Jiang Dao's heart tightened.

What a terrifying young man!

This... was this truly a person?

Even with his current martial arts, he felt that this seemed to be a corpse!?