Chapter 068

The Hot Spring Villa.

Qiao Man, who was performing a ritual from a distance, suddenly let out a soft “Huh?” and hesitantly lowered his small hands.

“What’s wrong?” Madam Jiang asked immediately.

Qiao Man said in confusion, “That’s strange. I suddenly can’t find him anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Madam Jiang asked with concern. “Is he dead?”

Qiao Man shook his head. “I don’t think so. His aura didn’t fade away slowly; it vanished instantly. Someone must have used a method to hide his tracks.”

There were many ways to hide a person’s presence—perhaps a Magical Artifact, or maybe a Talisman. Qiao Man’s small face crumpled in frustration. He didn’t know what method the Taoist on the other side had used, but no matter how much he pinched his fingers to calculate or how fast the Luo Pan spun, he could no longer pinpoint Jiang Hong’s location.

Madam Jiang couldn’t help but worry. “Then what should we do? The Taoist he found seems to be a very powerful Master. Could it be…”

Very powerful? Just how powerful?

At the very least, the person on the other side truly had some skill, successfully masking Jiang Hong’s movements so that even Qiao Man couldn’t find him.

But Master Xiao Man simply waved his small hand dismissively. “It’s fine, no need to rush.”

“Xiao Man?”

“I can just go to his hospital room to find him!” Qiao Man said with a clever look on his face.

Even if the other side had used some method to hide his tracks, Qiao Man didn’t need to struggle to find him. He only had to ask Madam Jiang and Jiang Yucheng to get Father Jiang’s room number and find his physical body. Once he saw the person, performing a ritual would be even easier. Was there any fear of not finding him then?

As for now, Qiao Man pulled Talisman Paper and Cinnabar from his bag and drew a Concealment Talisman on the spot. He then asked Madam Jiang for a drop of blood to help her mask her biological son’s tracks, preventing the Taoist on Father Jiang’s side from using Taoist arts to find him first.

“Will this work?” Madam Jiang asked nervously. “Will they really not be able to find him?”

“Of course.” Qiao Man tilted his small head back confidently. “Back when I used to break things and use this method to hide them, even my Master couldn’t find them.”

Madam Jiang: “…”

Lu Jianxing opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped: “…”

Having finished all this, Qiao Man still felt a bit unsatisfied. He thought for a moment and asked Madam Jiang, “Is there any incense here?”

“Incense?”

Madam Jiang didn’t understand what he wanted to do, but she pulled out her phone. “I’ll have someone deliver some.”

…

Father Jiang’s hospital room.

The Luo Pan in Daoist Zhu’s hand had been slowly searching for the true young master’s tracks when it suddenly began to tremble violently. It spun rapidly, pointing in random directions like a headless fly, cycling through north, south, east, and west in a chaotic blur.

“Not good.” Daoist Zhu’s brow furrowed. “The direction has vanished.”

Jiang Hong, who had been full of anticipation, felt his heart leap into his throat. “Master Zhu, what does this mean?”

“Someone has masked your biological son’s tracks.” Daoist Zhu glanced at him. “Just like you right now, no one can find him.”

Jiang Hong’s expression changed drastically. “What!”

He immediately sat up from the hospital bed. “Master Zhu, what should we do?”

Daoist Zhu spoke succinctly: “Wait.”

“Wait? Wait until when?” Jiang Hong’s face was grim. “I don’t have much time left. If we keep waiting, I’ll be the first to die. Master Zhu, I gave you so much money, you can’t just brush me off like this!”

“Who said anything about letting you wait for death?”

Only then did Jiang Hong breathe a sigh of relief.

Daoist Zhu slowly smoothed the creases of his Taoist Robe and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the person who masked your biological son’s tracks is the same one who just tried to take your life. We are waiting for the evil spirit I sent to subdue the opponent. Calculating the time, he should be arriving soon.”

…

The Hot Spring Villa.

A dark cloud drifted over, shrouding the magnificent villa in shadow.

The day had originally been calm and sunny, but now, the sky presented a strange sight. If someone were to open a window and look out, they would find that it was still sunny elsewhere; only this small patch of sky above the villa was covered by dark clouds, with muffled thunder rumbling.

Jiang Yucheng was the first to notice something was wrong.

After learning the truth of everything and discovering that his respected father was a cruel monster using his own biological child for Life Extension, he needed time to process it all. Therefore, he had declined the invitations of others and sat alone on the balcony of his room to clear his head.

When a gust of chilling wind swept past, he snapped out of his thoughts only to see a fanged, green-faced evil spirit suddenly stop in front of him.

The evil spirit’s dark, greenish-black face was inches away. It curled its lips, revealing a bloody smile. Jiang Yucheng let out a cry of alarm and scrambled backward in panic, failing to notice he was sitting in a chair. He tumbled to the floor, chair and all.

“Yucheng?”

Madam Jiang’s voice came from outside the door. She had come to have a heart-to-heart with her son. Just as she reached the door, she heard the commotion inside and knocked out of concern. “Are you alright?”

Jiang Yucheng scrambled up from the floor, desperate to put distance between himself and that evil spirit. He shouted in terror, “Mom, I’m fine! Don’t come in!”

“Really?” Madam Jiang said worriedly. “About your father’s business, I think…”

“I’m really fine!” Jiang Yucheng yelled. “Mom, I’m tired, I’m going to sleep now!”

“…”

Whether Madam Jiang was fooled by his words or not, she went silent.

Jiang Yucheng didn’t care if she believed him; his entire attention was consumed by the evil spirit before him. Yes, a ghost, not a person! He couldn’t possibly be mistaken. He was sitting on the second-floor balcony, and this ghost was floating in mid-air outside. Not to mention, the ghost looked incredibly fierce, with terrifying fangs and a body covered in fresh blood—clearly a powerful evil spirit with years of cultivation.

In all his years, he had never seen a ghost. He had only heard about Metaphysics for the first time today, and before he could even process it, he was hit with this visual shock. He frantically grabbed a decorative ornament nearby, gripping the heavy object in his hand. Regardless of whether it would be useful, he held it between himself and the ghost. “Who are you? What do you want? Don’t come any closer!”

The ghost’s mouth split open all the way to his ears, flashing a bloody, savage grin.

“Relax, brat, I’m not eating you,” the ghost cackled with a dry, eerie laugh. “I only collected one person’s worth of incense offerings, and I don’t work for free. Tell me, where is the Taoist?”

Jiang Yucheng swallowed hard. “You… you’re looking for the Taoist?”

“Blame him for being blind enough to offend my employer,” the ghost said impatiently. “Hurry up. Any more chatter and I’ll eat you too!”

Jiang Yucheng hesitated for a moment. Comparing his own strength to the ghost before him was pointless; he couldn’t even match the creature’s pinky finger. Recalling Master Xiao Man’s prowess, he decided to be sensible and pointed the way. “He said he wanted fried chicken. He should be in the dining room right now.”

Eating fried chicken?

That Taoist certainly had interesting tastes.

The ghost abandoned the living boy, asked for the direction of the dining room, and drifted away.

Watching the ghost’s figure vanish, Jiang Yucheng breathed a sigh of relief and weakly set down the ornament he was holding. Soon, however, his heart leaped into his throat again. He looked toward the dining room with worry, gritted his teeth, and bolted out the door, running in that direction.

“Xiao Cheng?” Madam Jiang hadn’t gone far and watched her foster son sprint past.

The aroma of fried chicken wafted through the cracks of the windows. Inside, several figures were enjoying freshly fried chicken paired with cola.

Building up his momentum, the ghost expertly struck a terrifying, savage pose. He hiked up his long robes and, accompanied by sudden howling winds and rolling thunderclouds in the sky, drifted toward the room with a murderous aura.

Bang!

A violent gust of wind blew the window open, slamming it hard against the wall.

The people at the dining table turned their heads at the sound.

A chilling wind poured into the room, instantly scattering the lingering scent of fried food. Accompanied by the dull rumble of ghostly thunder, they saw a shadow wreathed in black energy appear by the window.

The ghost’s mouth split to his ears as he made his entrance with a cackling laugh, his long braid fluttering amidst the surging Yin Energy.

“Let me see which stinking Taoist…”

At the table, the child who was happily eating fried chicken turned around.

The Long-braided Ghost had just stepped his left foot onto the windowsill when his eyes met those of the child, whose mouth was still dusted with fried chicken crumbs.

The Long-braided Ghost went still.

“Huh?” Qiao Man blinked. “Are you looking for me?”

The Long-braided Ghost said nothing.

The wind died down.

The thunder vanished.

The black energy dissipated.

The Long-braided Ghost slowly withdrew his left foot from the window and shrank his body down inch by inch.

“Sorry, my mistake. Carry on.”

…

“…I was just trying to work!”

In the dining room filled with the scent of fried chicken, under the watchful gaze of many eyes, the Long-braided Ghost wiped tears from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve while pleading his case. “Don’t all ghosts do this? Working for Taoists to earn a bit of food. I was just trying to earn some incense for myself. If I’d known Master Xiao Man was here, I never would have come!”

Qiao Man had just finished his chicken. His hands were covered in grease, so he obediently held them up for Lu Jianxing to wipe clean.

Once his face was wiped, he turned his small head and said, “Even if it’s for work, you shouldn’t help people do bad things.”

The Long-braided Ghost said guiltily, “I looked for several Taoists, and he was the most generous…”

Accepting incense and doing a job in return—wasn’t that how things were supposed to work?

Besides, he wasn’t exactly a righteous ghost to begin with. He had nearly become a Vengeful Ghost once. If Master Xiao Man hadn’t almost blasted his soul into oblivion with lightning, he never would have turned over a new leaf.

After returning from the amusement park, he had gone out to find work. A City was full of talented people, with plenty of Taoist masters—real ones, fakes, good ones, and bad ones. He wasn’t picky about the person, only the pay, and he had earned quite a bit of incense for himself.

Thinking of this, the Long-braided Ghost felt a pang of sorrow. He had been dead for centuries and was powerful among ghosts. When he went looking for work, didn’t those so-called masters offer heaps of incense to hire him? Only Master Xiao Man wouldn’t take him even if he worked for free.

The Long-braided Ghost said with heartache, “Since it’s Master Xiao Man, I’m quitting this job. I’ll give the incense back.”

Qiao Man tilted his head, his hand reaching toward his backpack as a Yellow Talisman shimmered faintly at his fingertips. “But weren’t you already subdued by that Taoist?”

The Long-braided Ghost immediately replied, “Subdued? Of course not! We just signed a temporary agreement. I don’t have much of a sense of professional ethics, you know!”

The group was speechless.

“Is that Taoist’s surname Zhu?” Madam Jiang asked.

The Long-braided Ghost nodded. “That’s the one.”

Madam Jiang said immediately, “The master Jiang Hong hired is also named Zhu.”

Jiang Yucheng’s face turned even paler.

At this, the onlookers were filled with righteous indignation. Maomao spat out a curse, “What?! Baby Xiao Man hasn’t even made a move against him yet, and he dares to come here?!”

“Killing so many people wasn’t enough? He deserves to die!”

“Helping people do bad things every day—that Zhu fellow is definitely no good!”

The Long-braided Ghost’s eyes darted around before he straightened his back. Although he didn’t know the full story, it didn’t stop him from following the wind. “That Taoist was indeed blind to offend Master Xiao Man. Why don’t I go back and teach him a lesson on Master Xiao Man’s behalf? I’ll make sure he never dares to come back!”

The group remained silent.

“Wait.” Maomao suddenly realized something and hid fearfully behind Qiao Man. “How can I suddenly see you?”

“Oh, that’s just for scaring people. Naturally, the more people I scare, the better. I had that Taoist find a way to make me visible to humans. Don’t worry, it’ll wear off soon.” The Long-braided Ghost said with a hint of regret, “This method used to work so well, but unfortunately…”

Several people present had seen ghosts multiple times now. Once was strange, twice was familiar; only the Jiang kid had actually been frightened by him.

Qiao Man was curious. “What did he tell you to do?”

“Just… just scare you,” the Long-braided Ghost said vaguely. “You know how Taoists fight their battles… it’s just that sort of thing…”

Minor injuries at best, death at worst. Of course, he wouldn’t dare take a life, not with someone watching over him.

Before Qiao Man could react, the Long-braided Ghost immediately added, “Thinking back on it now, that man named Zhu is truly detestable. I really want to give him a beating on behalf of Master Xiao Man. As for this ‘magical duel’ business, I’m quite familiar with it. Isn’t it just a fight? I guarantee a win! As long as Master Xiao Man says the word, I will consider it my duty to lead the charge!”

He sniffed the air, his eyes greedy. “I can already smell the incense… I don’t need much, just a little bit. Just a tiny bit will do.”

The incense was something Qiao Man had asked Madam Jiang to find. It was high-quality incense used in Taoist temples, originally intended for another purpose.

But now, another Taoist had sent a ghost to his doorstep-even if that ghost had defected instantly-this was absolutely intolerable!

So it was a duel, then! Although he had never tried it before, Xiao Man had seen his Master duel with other Taoists. He had studied this!

And he had learned it!

Qiao Man set aside half of the incense, pulled out Yellow Talismans and Cinnabar from his backpack, and began drawing talismans on the spot.

Once they were finished, accompanied by the sound of the Long-braided Ghost loudly gulping, Qiao Man set up a temporary ritual altar. He lit the incense and the ghost-summoning talismans.

Soon, a cold wind swept through the dining room.

…

In the hospital room.

Master Zhu waited with full confidence for a long time until he finally saw the malevolent ghost he had dispatched drifting back.

He was extremely confident in this duel. This malevolent ghost was one he had found with great difficulty. It had been dead for many years and carried deep resentment, making it a tyrant among ghosts. When he first encountered it, he had been scattering incense by the roadside to attract spirits. This ghost had drifted in from who-knows-where, kicked and punched the other spirits aside, and hogged all the incense for itself. Afterward, with a fair amount of effort, he had signed a temporary agreement with the ghost. In duels with other Taoists, it had helped him gain the upper hand several times.

The only pity was that he had originally wanted to take this malevolent ghost as his permanent servant, but the ghost refused no matter what.

No matter. As long as it was useful.

Master Zhu broke into a smile, about to ask for the results, when he saw the ghost he’d sent stop outside the window and gesture to something behind it.

Soon, a crowd of ghosts gathered outside the window, over a dozen stories up.

“Come on, come on, line up. Everyone head this way,” the Long-braided Ghost directed the queue in an orderly fashion. “Pay attention, it’s this window. Don’t take the wrong path, don’t disturb other living people, and don’t take this opportunity to do anything wicked.”

The doors and windows were tightly shut, yet one pearl-white soul after another drifted through the walls and glass. They packed the hospital room to capacity, chest to back, leaving almost no room to step.

Master Zhu was speechless.

Living people couldn’t see the room full of ghosts; they could only feel the temperature suddenly plummet. Even with the heater on, it was colder than the outdoors. Jiang Hong’s teeth chattered from the chill as he said tremulously, “Master… Master Zhu, what’s happening? Why did it suddenly get so cold?”

The ghosts jostled one another. “Hey, who stepped on my foot?”

“Who touched my butt?!”

“Move over a bit, I can’t breathe!”

“Where’s the guy? Where is he? Which one is the person Master Xiao Man is looking for?”

“Is it that Taoist?”

The ghosts paused, turning their heads in unison to look over.

Several malevolent ghosts with bulging muscles and hulking frames pushed through the crowd. Their massive forms surrounded Master Zhu, looking down at him with fierce, distorted expressions as they rubbed their fists together. “Is it you?”

Master Zhu: “…”

Master Zhu: “……”