Aid from Afar

Old Zhao had already become a vengeful ghost. The moment he glanced at me and sensed the heavy yin energy around me, he immediately lunged!

Xijun did not let him get near me. She flew over and tangled with him, nearly scattering his soul with a single exchange. She even opened her mouth, wanting to eat him, so I hurriedly shouted for her to stop. He was Zhao Qian's grandfather—I couldn't go all-out against him, could I?

Xijun was very unwilling, but Old Zhao had only recently become a vengeful ghost, and his strength was simply too weak. He was not even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth, so she did not absolutely have to eat him. She merely gripped Old Zhao by the neck and refused to let go.

Old Zhao's entire body could no longer maintain its original form. He was only like a wisp of green smoke, struggling endlessly.

It was no good leaving Xijun to twist his neck like that. If we ran into another enemy, it would be troublesome. I opened the car door and checked the trunk to see if there was an umbrella I could use to collect Old Zhao's soul, but there was none even after I searched through everything. I had no choice but to give up.

Bang! Bang!

Two more gunshots rang out. Who knew what had happened in the manor?

Xijun released Old Zhao. He restored the appearance of a soul, but he no longer dared lunge at me. Instead, he began drifting toward the manor.

I hung up on Lei Qing's call, started the car, backed up, then floored the accelerator and sent it shooting toward the Zhao Family manor!

The Zhao Family manor had fallen into complete chaos. More than a hundred people were scrambling to find places to hide. Some ran to the guest rooms, while others simply crawled into the toilets.

I leaned on the horn and charged to the entrance of the main hall. At a glance, I saw Han Shanshan with a pale face, holding a gun and aiming it at Old Madam Zhao!

Inside the hall, Old Zhao's coffin had already rolled to one side. Old Zhao, dressed in his burial clothes, lay facedown on the threshold, the front of his skull blown apart!

Old Madam Zhao gave an eerie, cackling laugh. She held a fire axe and glared fixedly at Zhao Qian, seemingly oblivious to the bullet hole in her own stomach!

Zhao Qian was so frightened that her face had gone pale. She had laid out red cloth and white rice, and held a bell and peachwood sword, but she had clearly only just begun performing the ritual. At this point, they were completely useless.

Lei Qing held a phone in his left hand and an iron rod in his right. His face was ashen, and he had never seen a situation like this either, so he did not dare step forward. Several of his brothers were crouched on the ground in terror, while another had been shot and was rolling around.

No one knew where Wu Zhenghua had run off to, while Zhao Zhou stood nearby, looking as though he had no idea what was going on.

Zhao Xi and his wife were both dumbfounded, as if they were dreaming. From the beginning of the incident until now, only a minute or two had passed.

Facing Old Madam Zhao's mad actions, Han Shanshan's gun hand had already begun trembling violently. She had her sights trained on the old woman's head!

"Don't shoot! That's my mother! Oh, my mother!" Zhao Yuan was hopping anxiously nearby. No matter how much her mother disliked her, blood was thicker than water—she was still her mother.

"Shanshan! Stop! Wake up!" Zhao Xi ran over, trying to stop Han Shanshan.

"Don't come any closer!" Han Shanshan looked as if she had been possessed. The instant she saw Zhao Xi running toward her, she pointed the gun at him!

"Stop!" I stopped Han Shanshan from firing again and sent Xijun to pull the vengeful ghost out of Old Madam Zhao's body.

Old Madam Zhao's eyes rolled back. When she saw Xijun in red pouncing toward her, she muttered and cursed something under her breath.

Xijun ignored her completely. She ran over, dragged the vengeful ghost out of the old woman, pinned it to the ground, and began devouring it.

The vengeful ghost was black and red all over, looking much like the one belonging to Wang Heng in the morgue. Anyone could tell at a glance that it was ferocious beyond measure. But after Xijun's strength had greatly increased, she no longer regarded it as a threat. She squeezed its body until it split apart several times, then opened her mouth and chewed without the slightest restraint.

All she had left now was a craving for delicacies.

As I watched the vengeful ghost being dragged out of the body and pinned down to be devoured, Zhao Zhou was still pretending to be confused and foolish. But I vaguely noticed a sudden flash of coldness on the face of his son, Zhao Yi, standing beside him.

Once the vengeful ghost had left her body, Old Madam Zhao collapsed into a pool of blood.

Han Shanshan still held the gun firmly, aiming it at Zhao Xi and the group behind him. Even Zhao Qian thought she had been possessed.

Only I knew that she was carrying my talisman. Unless the ghostly entity was more powerful than Xijun, there was no way it could enter her body. The only exception would be if it knew her birth date and used a life talisman to perform a ritual, drive out a ghost, and possess her.

I hurried over and wrapped my arms around her, then easily took the gun from her hand. Han Shanshan stared blankly at me. When she realized it was me, the tension in her body eased, and she came back to herself. "Xia Yitian, I killed someone. I think I killed someone..."

"Old Madam Zhao isn't dead yet, and neither are the people over there. Don't worry!" I quickly reassured her.

Han Shanshan hugged me so tightly that I could not push her away. I really had no idea whether what she practiced was grappling or wrestling!

Still, Han Shanshan had made some progress. In the morgue earlier, she had not even dared draw her gun, but today she had fired five shots. Although she had panicked and shot at anyone she saw, it was still much better than before. Maybe she would stop trembling the next time.

I really had no idea what her brain was made of.

"What are you standing around for? Get a doctor to stop the bleeding! Take her to the hospital!" I shouted at Zhao Xi.

Only then did Zhao Xi react. He ran to call the manor's doctor. Before long, a group of doctors came running over under the escort of Zhao Xi and the Ren Family's relatives, steeling themselves as they administered emergency treatment to Old Madam Zhao. Then, somehow, someone brought an ambulance over, and they hurriedly loaded Old Madam Zhao up to take her to the hospital.

At that moment, two familiar figures hurried over from the parking lot. When I looked, I saw that they were actually Uncle Hai and Lin Feiyu.

Uncle Hai looked grave. When he saw me, he called out from a distance, "What happened? How did gunshots break out?"

I was somewhat delighted. Both of them were Arcane Sect practitioners I knew, which meant reinforcements had arrived. I asked, "When did you get back, Uncle Hai?"

"We arrived after one in the morning. We've been waiting in the parking lot outside. We hadn't even gotten enough sleep in the car before the gunshots jolted us awake." Uncle Hai sighed.

"It was all that brat Huo Dadong. Look how he's tormented these two old bones of ours." Lin Feiyu spat.

Huo Dadong's judgment was truly impressive. Once he heard that I had called Han Shanshan, he knew something would happen at the Zhao Family manor, so he had warned Lin Feiyu and Uncle Hai early and had them wait outside.

"Little Han, what's the situation?" Lin Feiyu looked around. Old Madam Zhao had already been placed on a stretcher. Although he had guessed part of what happened, someone still needed to explain it.

"I don't know... I went out to get water for Qianqian. When I came back, I saw Old Zhao rising from the coffin. He opened it and went after Qianqian, and then Lei Qing, who was at the entrance, pulled Qianqian away. When I saw Old Zhao nearly grab her, I fired. That was when he reached the doorway. Then the old lady took an axe and tried to chop Zhao Qian from behind, so I fired again..." Han Shanshan said, still shaken.

"Then what about that fellow?" I pointed at A Biao, who was sprawled on the ground beside Lei Qing.

"This... I shot him by accident. Who told him to keep waving around in front of me?" Han Shanshan stuck out her tongue. "He looked fierce. How was I supposed to know whether he was good or bad?"

I was utterly speechless at Han Shanshan.

Uncle Hai furrowed his brows and carefully listened to Han Shanshan's account, while Lin Feiyu began professionally examining the corpses.

After trying repeatedly to attack Zhao Qian, my patience had reached its limit. Without a second thought, I walked over and kicked Zhao Zhou, who was trying to flee, to the ground. Before he could recover, I demanded, "Where's that old bastard Wu Zhenghua? Talk, or I'll make sure you die here today without even knowing why!"

Zhao Zhou froze. He had not expected me to kick him outright. But when he saw my unfriendly expression, he still hesitated, wanting to speak but not daring to.

"Not talking? Xijun, tear his son's head off!" I called Xijun over. She quickly reached Zhao Yi and extended both hands!

"Wait! I'll talk! I'll tell you!" Zhao Yi gave in. Unlike his father, he did not have the nerve to shoulder this. "Master Wu told my father that he had gone to hold down the fort in the back hills of the manor. He said he was waiting there for you."

"Zhao Zhou! You're too heartless! You actually colluded with an Arcane Sect practitioner from elsewhere to deal with your own father and mother?" Uncle Hai cursed angrily.

"Brother Hai, which one are you talking about?" Lin Feiyu was still somewhat dazed.

"Who else? Wu Hua—the man who made a name for himself around here when he was young with Maoshan ghost-exorcising arts!" Uncle Hai's face darkened.

"That guy? I heard he was driven out of our county, then reformed, changed his name to Wu Zhenghua, and joined the Confucian Sect?" Lin Feiyu sucked in a breath.

"Who knows? Maybe he's gone back to his old trade." Uncle Hai gnashed his teeth.

When the relatives heard that even Uncle Hai and Uncle Lin were saying this, how could it be false? They all glared furiously at Zhao Zhou. Zhao Xi and Zhao Yuan reacted the most. Zhao Xi snatched Lei Qing's rod, while Zhao Yuan grabbed a broom. Both had suffered at Zhao Zhou's hands. There was no way they would forgive him easily.

"Uncle Hai, don't make wild accusations! I didn't do anything! Don't think you can frame me just because you're old!" Zhao Zhou had not expected Uncle Hai and Lin Feiyu to arrive either. This clearly differed from the plan, which was why he had not dared answer when I questioned him earlier.

All the Zhao Family's industries had previously been signed over to his name. He had intended to kill Zhao Qian, sever Old Zhao's inheritance, then pin the blame on his own mother and let her enjoy her twilight years in prison. If I really dared show up, he would lure me to the back hills and have Wu Zhenghua deal with me.

Once every future threat had been eliminated, he would be able to sit securely like a fisherman on the bank and take over the entire Zhao Family business. He had not expected his calculations to go awry. Han Shanshan, carrying a gun, had ruined his plan, and Uncle Hai and Lin Feiyu had even arrived. That was why he had not dared reveal that Wu Zhenghua was waiting for us in the back hills, afraid that he would provoke Wu Zhenghua later.

"Zhao Zhou! Our parents raised you for all these years! Is this how you repay them?" Zhao Xi grabbed the rod and swung it at Zhao Zhou, knocking him flat with one blow.

"Brother An! What are you standing around for? This isn't my brother at all! Beat him to death! I'll take responsibility if he dies!" Zhao Yuan was fierce as well. She thrust the broom at him, shouting for blood. Her husband, Liao An, had also arrived, and when he heard her yelling, he rushed over to beat Zhao Zhou too.

The other relatives were all outraged. Those who did not join in shouted from the side for Zhao Zhou to be beaten to death.

"That's enough! Stop! Do you have no awareness of the law?" Lin Feiyu was a police officer. Of course he could not stand by and watch them beat someone to death, so he intervened.

Zhao Zhou crawled up half-dead and looked gratefully at Lin Feiyu.

"Brat, if you don't want to be beaten to death here, you'd better lead us there obediently. We're going to meet that old bastard! He was driven out of the area back then, and now he actually has the nerve to come back! Little Lin, are you coming?" Uncle Hai spat, then rubbed his hands.

"We're already here. How could I not go when you put it that way, Brother Hai? Right, Brother Xia, would you care to take a trip to the back hills with us two old fellows?" Lin Feiyu had been fired up by Uncle Hai's words. He had come to engage in a battle of magic this time, so how could he put on airs in front of me, his junior? Yesterday, through a twist of fate, that fellow from the Wang Family had ruined his spell in the morgue. He had not even gotten to display a fraction of his strength and had been terribly frustrated.

"Wait. There's still one here." I frowned and looked toward the main hall.