Old Bastard, You Dare Set Me Up?

Early in the morning, Jiang Dao rode his horse back to the Jiang Manor.

"Whoa!"

Upon arrival, Jiang Dao's expression changed slightly.

It seemed something had happened at the Jiang Manor again.

White banners hung everywhere outside the manor gates, along with scattered paper money.

He could even clearly feel an invisible aura lingering around the Jiang Manor.

Jiang Dao immediately dismounted and walked towards the main entrance.

Pang Lin, the head of the guards, noticed Jiang Dao and looked astonished. He exclaimed, "Young Master, Young Master, you're back?"

"Master Pang!"

Jiang Dao immediately bowed and asked, "Where is my father? Has something happened in the manor again?"

"Master is fine, but... last night, another Malevolent Spirit caused trouble, and seven household servants died."

Pang Lin's face was grim.

"What? What did that Changbai Taoist say? How did he explain it?"

Jiang Dao inquired.

"The Taoist priest just took a look and said the Malevolent Spirit has already targeted the Jiang family. He plans to stand guard tonight to deal with it,"

Pang Lin replied.

"Stand guard tonight?"

Jiang Dao's eyes narrowed. "Alright, thank you, Master Pang!"

If the old Changbai Taoist wanted to stand guard tonight, it suited him perfectly.

He could also use this opportunity to see the old Taoist's true strength.

And perhaps test if these Malevolent Spirits could indeed not be dealt with using martial arts.

Jiang Dao bid farewell to Pang Lin and walked towards Jiang Dalong's room.

"Father..."

Jiang Dao pushed the door open and spoke.

"Dao'er, you... why are you back again?"

Jiang Dalong's expression changed drastically. "Did Magistrate Wang not tell you to leave the city?"

"He did let us leave. I was just worried about home, so I came back,"

Jiang Dao shook his head. "But there's something wrong with Magistrate Wang. He let us leave the city, but deliberately set up an ambush outside the city, intending to kill us and seize our wealth. In the end, I killed all of them. As for my younger brothers and sisters, I've arranged for them to temporarily take refuge in Fengzhou City."

"What? What a wicked Magistrate Wang!"

Jiang Dalong's eyes reddened, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

He took so much of his silver, yet he still wasn't satisfied!

He didn't want to leave even a shred of his family's legacy.

That man's conscience had been eaten by dogs!

"Father, don't worry, I'll deal with Magistrate Wang!"

Jiang Dao said.

Jiang Dalong suddenly realized, "Dao'er, you just said you killed those people ambushing you outside the city. When... when did you gain such strength?"

He was both surprised and astonished.

"Father, please don't ask. As long as it's not a bad thing, that's enough. I have my own opportunities, I just never mentioned them."

Jiang Dao replied.

"Good, good son!"

Jiang Dalong gently patted Jiang Dao's shoulder, feeling comforted in his old age.

Among his six sons, if even one turned out to be capable, he could die with no regrets.

"Oh right, the old Changbai Taoist said he plans to stand guard tonight to deal with the Malevolent Spirits in the manor? Father, I request to stand guard with the old Changbai Taoist!"

Jiang Dao said solemnly.

"No, although you've learned martial arts, it's still useless against Malevolent Spirits. Don't take the risk..."

Jiang Dalong quickly said.

"Father, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If it's really impossible, I'll stay far away!"

Jiang Dao replied, "Do we have any good iron at home? I plan to have someone forge a weapon."

"Good iron? Yes, there's a piece of Mystic Iron stored at home from ten years ago that we couldn't sell. I'll take you to get it now!"

Jiang Dalong immediately walked towards the door.

Jiang Dao followed behind him.

Not much time passed.

Jiang Dao found a dark, black lump of iron in his own storeroom, about the size of a basketball.

He grabbed it casually, and the entire iron lump was lifted by him.

It weighed at least a hundred pounds.

"Dao'er, what weapon are you preparing to have forged?"

Jiang Dalong asked.

"A staff, a Mystic Iron staff, the thicker the better."

Jiang Dao said.

Among the martial arts he had learned, the Mad Demon Staff Art was the highest level, so using a Mystic Iron staff would allow him to perfectly unleash this technique.

As for the saber techniques, he could also unleash them with the Mystic Iron staff, using the staff like a saber.

"Good, I'll go find someone to forge it right away!"

Jiang Dalong said.

He immediately went out and called for servants to fetch a master craftsman from the city.

"Dao'er, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Father will arrange food for you!"

Jiang Dalong quickly retreated.

"Okay!"

Jiang Dao nodded.

Time passed quickly.

An entire day passed by without a sound.

It was evening again.

The sun was setting in the west.

The sunset clouds dyed the horizon red.

The entire Jiang Manor was soon adorned with lanterns of all sizes.

Changbai Taoist, dressed in a blue silk robe with a cold expression, looked at Jiang Dao beside him again and asked, "Young Master, have you thought it through? Do you really want to stay up with this old Taoist?"

"Yes, I'll trouble the Taoist to watch over me!"

Jiang Dao nodded.

"Mmm."

Changbai Taoist nodded lightly and said no more.

He sneered inwardly.

This Jiang Dao, after only two days of martial arts training, truly thought of himself as someone important, daring to stay up with him?

Little did he know that the Jiang Manor was already being targeted by an extremely terrifying force.

When the time came, the entire Jiang Manor would be wiped out.

He had already made plans to flee.

Originally, the old Taoist intended to flee tonight, but since Jiang Dao dared to stay up with him, he didn't mind setting him up before he fled.

In any case, the entire Jiang Manor was going to die sooner or later, so whether it was sooner or later made no difference.

Even a third of the population of the entire Hengzhou City would have to die to appease it.

Setting up Jiang Dao, and then absconding with the Jiang family's wealth, would be perfect for him to make a clean getaway.

Night fell.

The vast Hengzhou City instantly turned pitch black.

In the room of the deceased maid.

Changbai Taoist sat upright, holding a cup of freshly brewed hot tea, quietly savoring it.

Beside him, Jiang Dao held a steel saber and sat on a chair, motionless, like a statue.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Unknowingly, it was as if a layer of dark clouds had drifted by, obscuring the moon and stars.

The courtyard instantly became completely dark.

Even with the lanterns lit, it still appeared dim and hazy, as if covered by a curtain of iron.

Jiang Dao, inside the room, narrowed his eyes instantly, sensing something was amiss.

Then, he pricked up his ears and vaguely heard the sound of children's laughter.

"Hee..."

"Hee hee hee..."

Jiang Dao's heart trembled.

This laughter!

It was the same as in his dreams!

Jiang Dao's five fingers clenched tightly around the steel saber's scabbard, holding his breath. His gaze was sharp, and his muscles were tensed to the extreme.

"Tch..."

The Changbai Taoist glanced at Jiang Dao subtly, a hint of a scoff on his face.

Did this young master really think martial arts could deal with malevolent spirits?

Let alone dealing with the spirit children from the Spirit Child Palace, it was absolutely impossible to even deal with ordinary malevolent spirits.

When he faced the malevolent spirit later, he would understand true despair.

"Hee..."

"Hee hee hee..."

The eerie laughter grew closer.

It seemed to echo throughout the entire courtyard.

It was as if a strange child was playing outside his courtyard.

"Young Master, aren't you going to take a look?"

The Changbai Taoist said with a smile.

"Where the Taoist goes, I go!"

Jiang Dao replied in a low voice.

The Changbai Taoist smiled slightly, gently placed the teacup in his hand on the table, his wide sleeves billowing as he walked out of the room.

Jiang Dao immediately stood up and followed closely behind, his eyes sharp.

The courtyard was dark and deathly silent.

As soon as the Changbai Taoist stepped out of the room, his body suddenly flashed, and a cloud of white smoke shot towards Jiang Dao.

Jiang Dao's expression changed, and he quickly covered his face.

But the next moment, he dispersed the smoke and rushed forward rapidly.

He saw that the courtyard was pitch black and eerily silent.

The Changbai Taoist had already vanished without a trace.

"That old geezer dared to set me up..."

Jiang Dao narrowed his eyes.