The Invisible Crisis

Not far away, Jiang Dao walked over and frowned upon seeing the scene.

A stick and a sugar-coated date.

However, this method wouldn't last long.

As long as the root cause of Hengzhou City's strangeness wasn't resolved, the entire city would fall into chaos sooner or later.

His father could only rely on the Jiang Family's remaining prestige to suppress everyone for now, but if too many people were killed over time, these people would inevitably become uncontrollable.

What was even more terrifying was that if even the guards and martial artists fled, the Jiang Family would truly be finished.

All the current authority of the Jiang Family was built upon the highly paid martial artists and guards.

If they suddenly turned against them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Thinking of this, Jiang Dao shivered again, sensing the escalating crisis.

"It's over, this Jiang Family is really going to be finished..."

He quickly walked out, greeting the middle-aged man and the Taoist beside him, bowing. "Father, Daoist Master!"

"Dao'er, are you feeling better?"

Jiang Dalong quickly inquired.

As his eldest son, Jiang Dao, he was extremely concerned.

After all, this would be his successor.

"Thanks to the Daoist Master's miraculous prescription, I'm much better."

Jiang Dao said.

"Young Master is too kind. Just continue to take the medicine on time."

Changbai Taoist said with a smile, "Master Jiang, about the maidservant?"

"I'll arrange it immediately. I'll have someone prepare it right away."

Jiang Dalong quickly added with a fawning smile.

"Good, thank you, Master Jiang. Actually, Third Miss is also quite good."

Changbai Taoist chuckled and walked towards the room.

Jiang Dao frowned and muttered, "Father, is he targeting Third Sister again?"

"We'll talk about it back home!"

Jiang Dalong's expression turned grim.

The father and son left quickly and silently.

Pang Lin, the head of the guards, ordered his men to quickly dispose of the bodies in the courtyard.

Inside the room.

Jiang Dalong closed the door tightly, his face as dark as water. He grabbed a teacup and smashed it fiercely on the ground.

"That old man wants to bleed the Jiang Family dry! He has ill intentions towards your Third Sister and your Fourth Consort!"

Jiang Dalong gritted his teeth in hatred.

"Then what do you plan to do, Father? Drive him away?"

Jiang Dao asked.

"No, we can't drive him away now. Even if this old man doesn't resort to force, if he leaves and another malevolent spirit incident occurs, how will our Jiang Family resist?"

Jiang Dalong said grimly, "There's only one way now: you and your brothers must go to him again and succeed in becoming his disciples. As long as you learn the skill he has to kill malevolent spirits, then Father can deal with him with peace of mind!"

Jiang Dao frowned.

Easier said than done.

That old man was completely unyielding. He had pleaded with him so many times before, but it was no use.

"Father, how is the situation in Jinyang District?"

Jiang Dao asked.

"It's hard to say."

Jiang Dalong sighed softly. "The old man just went to take a look and said the malevolent spirit had left and there shouldn't be any more trouble. Then he brought his people back."

"The malevolent spirit has left, but what about other places?"

Jiang Dao asked.

"Other places are still very grim. As long as Hengzhou City isn't unsealed, it means the malevolent spirit is still around and could strike at any time. So far, the death toll in the city has reached over five hundred."

Jiang Dalong's tone was heavy.

Over five hundred people...

Jiang Dao's heart trembled. The dangers of this world were far beyond his expectations.

"Father, then let's go find that old Taoist now."

Jiang Dao spoke.

Jiang Dalong nodded gently. "Summon all your younger brothers!"

He, Jiang Dalong, had a large and prosperous family. He had married eight concubines and fathered six sons and eight daughters. Jiang Dao was the eldest, born to his principal wife, which made his status fundamentally different from the others.

When Jiang Dalong was not home, Jiang Dao essentially acted as the acting head of the family.

Jiang Dao quickly summoned all five of his younger brothers.

To be honest, he felt no affection for his five brothers. He didn't know about his previous self, but he certainly didn't. After all, he had only transmigrated three days ago and only had a basic impression of these five.

Without exception, they were all typical parasites, just living off the fat of the land.

"Father!"

"Greetings, Father, greetings, Eldest Brother!"

His younger brothers said with grinning faces.

"Come with me to pay our respects to Changbai Truebeing. This time, at least one of us must be accepted as a disciple!"

Jiang Dalong said in a deep voice.

He walked ahead, leading a group of people, including Jiang Dao, towards the Elegant Gathering Pavilion.

They passed through a long corridor and several courtyards before arriving at Changbai Truebeing's residence.

"Is the Daoist priest here?"

In the courtyard, Jiang Dalong smiled and asked loudly.

"It's Master Jiang!"

A cheerful voice came from inside the room. Changbai Truebeing opened the door and smiled, "Has the Third Miss arrived?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze swept over them, and the smile on his face immediately froze.

No women?

A group of men?

Changbai Truebeing frowned tightly, instantly understanding Jiang Dalong's intention. He deliberately lowered his voice and asked, "Master Jiang, are you playing a joke on me? What is this?"

Jiang Dalong chuckled and stepped forward. He casually took out a purple sandalwood box from his sleeve and said with a smile, "Daoist priest, I was fortunate enough to obtain an 800-year-old wild ginseng. I intend to offer it to you, and I hope you will accept it."

"800-year-old ginseng?"

Changbai Taoist's eyelids twitched slightly. He smiled and said, "Why must Master Jiang be so polite?"

He casually accepted the purple sandalwood box, gently opened the lid, and glanced inside.

Besides a thick, purple ginseng root, there was also a thick stack of silver notes.

The largest denomination was 1,000 taels.

There were at least a dozen of them.

The smile on Changbai Taoist's face became even more brilliant. "Master Jiang is so kind, it almost makes me feel embarrassed."

"What are you saying, Daoist priest? We hit it off the last time we met. These are nothing. It's just that about the matter I mentioned to you last time, could you please reconsider? With so many people in my Jiang family, is there really no one who can become your disciple? Even an apprentice would be fine!"

Jiang Dalong pleaded earnestly.

Changbai Taoist's expression darkened, and he resolutely shook his head. "If they can't learn, they can't learn. I already said last time that spirit exorcisers are born. It depends on their own bloodline. If it's in their bloodline, they can do it. If it's not, no method will work. Even if I accept them, they won't be able to learn anything in the end!"

"Is there really no way?"

Jiang Dalong was unwilling.

"No!"

Changbai Taoist shook his head and said, "Master Jiang, don't be too persistent. Even if your Jiang family cannot produce spirit exorcisers, you still have me. As long as I am here, I can ensure that your Jiang family will have no worries!"

Jiang Dao's mouth twitched.

The old man really wanted to freeload off the Jiang family and not leave.

"Daoist priest, if they were to learn martial arts, would that have any effect?"

Jiang Dao couldn't help but ask.

"Learn martial arts?"

Changbai Taoist sneered. "Martial arts are merely trivial skills. They are fine for dealing with ordinary people, but they have no effect whatsoever when dealing with malevolent spirits. Eldest Young Master, I advise you not to mess around. If you injure yourself, it won't be good for you, don't you agree?"

"Father has a mother, but it's better to have yourself. Even if martial arts have no effect against malevolent spirits, learning them for oneself can't be a bad thing, right?"

Jiang Dao said in a muffled voice.

"Then the Eldest Young Master should just learn diligently. Why come to me to say all this?"

Changbai Taoist said with extreme disdain, looking at Jiang Dalong. "Master Jiang, don't forget the maidservant we agreed upon."

"Of course, of course. I'll arrange it right away!"

Jiang Dalong repeatedly said with a fawning smile.

Changbai Taoist snorted, glanced at Jiang Dao again, and turned back into the room.

Jiang Dalong's face instantly turned terrifyingly grim. He clenched his fists, turned around, and said in a low voice, "Let's go, we're going back!"

He was seething with anger, desperate to smash something to vent his frustration.

He had just handed over thirty thousand taels of silver notes, and it hadn't even made a ripple.

"Father, I want to learn martial arts!" Jiang Dao said.

Jiang Dalong paused his steps, then turned back to look at Jiang Dao, astonished. "Dao'er, you... are you sure? This isn't just something you're saying in anger!"

"I'm sure!" Jiang Dao nodded dully.

The Jiang Family, though seemingly prosperous now, was actually on the verge of collapse at any moment.

If he didn't have some strength of his own in the future, he wouldn't even be able to keep the guards in line.

"Good son, I'll have someone arrange it for you right away!" Jiang Dalong patted Jiang Dao's shoulder with relief. He suddenly glared at his other five sons, scolding them, "A bunch of useless good-for-nothings! Have you seen your elder brother? When will any of you be able to save me trouble like your elder brother? All you know is eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling every day. You'll all end up ruined by whoring sooner or later!"

The younger sons all chuckled sheepishly and lowered their heads.