Chapter 20: A Potent Dose

"Master, what should I do? Should I tell the truth to the Fan family and reveal that the ancestors of the Su family have become officials in heaven?"

On the way down the mountain, Daoist Qingxu asked with a deeply troubled expression. After hearing this, Daoist Qingyang shook his head after a moment of thought.

"That is unwise."

"This matter is far too shocking. If our ancestor had not appeared just now, would you have believed that all the ancestors of the Su family had ascended to the ranks of the immortals?" Daoist Qingyang said with a grave expression.

Upon hearing his master's words, Daoist Qingxu also shook his head. Who would believe that the ancestors of a merchant family had attained immortality? Fan Wei had already been suspicious of him earlier. If he were to repeat what the ancestor had just said to Fan Wei now, Fan Wei certainly wouldn't believe it. He might even suspect that Qingxu had concocted a lie to deceive him. At that point, the wrath of the Fan family would be more than he could bear. Thinking of this, Daoist Qingxu looked deeply worried.

"To be frightened by such a minor matter—how shameful," Daoist Qingyang said with a look of dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, and seeing his master's confident demeanor, Daoist Qingxu immediately realized that his master must have a way to help him.

"Master, please save your disciple! The Fan family is not someone I can afford to provoke. I still want to keep my life so that I can provide for you in your old age!" Daoist Qingxu pleaded, looking utterly pathetic.

"Look at how little ambition you have."

"Did Fan Wei see a ghostly shadow when he came up the mountain with you earlier? You can say this..." Daoist Qingyang began to explain his solution with complete confidence.

When Daoist Qingxu finished listening to his master's plan, he immediately looked at him with admiration. His master was indeed a master; even at lying, he was far more skilled than himself.

Soon, the master and disciple arrived at the inn. Fan Wei had been waiting for them there in a state of anxiety. When he saw the disheveled appearance of the two, a bad premonition immediately arose in his heart.

"Daoist Qingyang, what happened to you? Did you catch the evil spirit?" Fan Wei asked nervously.

Hearing this, Daoist Qingyang gave his disciple a look, and Daoist Qingxu immediately sighed and stepped forward.

"Alas. Steward Fan, you do not know this, but the Su family's ancestral grave has long since become the territory of that evil spirit. It absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth there every day; it is no longer an ordinary evil spirit. My master and I exhausted all our strength just to fight that spirit to a standstill. We could not drive it out, let alone capture it."

Daoist Qingxu said with a look of helplessness.

"So you mean that the evil spirit is still at the Su family's ancestral grave?" Fan Wei asked, finding it hard to believe.

Daoist Qingxu nodded.

"Daoist Qingyang, you are a descendant of the Longhu Mountain lineage. Are you telling me that even you are no match for that evil spirit?" Fan Wei looked at Daoist Qingyang, still skeptical.

Hearing this, Daoist Qingyang nodded as if it were a matter of course.

"It has absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for decades. It can no longer be called an evil spirit; it has become a Ghost King. My current cultivation is simply not a match for it," Daoist Qingyang said sternly.

Hearing this, Fan Wei immediately furrowed his brows.

"Could it be that you two are trying to seize that land of good geomancy for yourselves, and thus fabricated this lie to trick me?" Fan Wei said, his eyes glinting. He did not want to give up on that prime piece of land from the bottom of his heart; to him, it represented a great achievement.

Hearing this, Daoist Qingyang’s expression hardened.

"Hmph. If you don't believe me, you can go up and see for yourself." Daoist Qingyang snorted coldly and walked straight out of the inn.

"Steward Fan, everything my master and I said is true. If you don't believe it, feel free to find others to go and see," Daoist Qingxu said, following Daoist Qingyang out.

Watching the backs of the master and disciple as they left, Fan Wei’s brows furrowed deeply. Was the credit he was about to claim just going to fly away like this?

"Someone! Go find me a few more sorcerers. If the ones from Longhu Mountain can't catch a ghost, does that mean no one else can?" Fan Wei summoned a servant and ordered.

"Steward Fan, Longhu Mountain is home to the most powerful sorcerers in our Great Xia. If they have no solution, I fear no one else has the capability either. We should just give up on this land to avoid provoking that Ghost King; otherwise, we might not survive," the servant said, his face filled with dread. Having witnessed the evil spirit yesterday, they did not want to invite trouble upon themselves.

Hearing this, Fan Wei’s eyes turned cold.

"I told you to go, so go! I don't believe that with so many people here, that evil spirit would be able to find us." Fan Wei kicked the servant and spoke viciously. In truth, Fan Wei already believed the words of the master and disciple, but he was unwilling to give up the potential merit and decided to gamble.

Outside the window, Chen Fan saw this and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold sneer.

It seems I need to administer a stronger dose of medicine to this Fan Wei.

In the middle of the night, Chen Fan quietly slipped into Fan Wei’s room. At this time, Fan Wei was already snoring. Chen Fan took out a terrifying mask from behind his back, put it on, and walked toward the sleeping Fan Wei.

"Ugh..."

Chen Fan reached out and gripped Fan Wei’s throat firmly. The sleeping Fan Wei was startled awake, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a terrifying shadow choking him. Fan Wei immediately felt as if he were suffocating.

"That land is my territory. If you dare to harbor any designs on it again, I will kill you."

At this moment, Fan Wei heard a strange sound emanating from the dark shadow. Strangely, he did not see the shadow’s mouth move, yet the voice was audible. This made Fan Wei even more terrified, and combined with his inability to breathe, he lost consciousness.

Only then did Chen Fan release his grip. Looking at the unconscious Fan Wei, Chen Fan removed the mask and leaped out of the window.

"Ah..."

The next day, just as dawn broke, a scream echoed from Fan Wei’s room. The servants nearby, thinking something had happened to Fan Wei, rushed in. But once inside, they saw Fan Wei sitting there, his face deathly pale, though he appeared physically unharmed. The servants looked on with confusion.

"Steward Fan, why is your neck red?" Someone noticed the anomaly on Fan Wei’s neck.

Hearing this, Fan Wei’s face turned even paler. When he woke up that morning, he thought everything that happened yesterday was a dream, but when he looked into the bronze mirror and saw a blood-red handprint on his neck, he realized a real evil spirit had come for him last night, which was why he couldn't help but scream.

"Steward Fan, we looked for many sorcerers last night, but when we told them we wanted them to go to the Su family’s ancestral grave, every single one of them refused in terror. No matter how we threatened or bribed them, they wouldn't go. Besides, if even Daoist Qingyang had no solution, if they went, it would be a death sentence," a servant said as he entered.

This made Fan Wei begin to think about retreating.

"Steward Fan, Chen Fan, the son-in-law of the Su family, is here," another servant entered to report.