Chapter 21: Who Do You Think You Are, Daring to Act Recklessly Before Me?

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Upon hearing this, Qian Youcai hurriedly suppressed all his emotions and knelt down once more. One strike, two strikes... The ancestors of the Qian family delivered eleven consecutive blows to their unworthy descendant. Qian Youcai remained silent throughout—not out of resilience, but because by the second strike, he could no longer utter a sound. By the sixth blow, he was knocked flat onto the ground. Just as Du Yuan had said, everything had been fine until now, but after Qian Youcai’s rare return, instead of immediately performing ancestral rites to apologize, he had even held a banquet at the door. This truly angered his ancestors. By the twelfth strike, Qian Youcai felt as if his soul had nearly been torn apart, with only a fragment left. His entire being felt light, almost as if ascending to immortality. After a long while without any movement, Qian Youcai thought to himself that it must be over now. After all, he had endured twelve blows—one for each ancestral tablet. Another strike would surely kill him. Thinking this, he tried to rise. Despite the excruciating pain, he now felt his injuries were not as severe as he had imagined. It seemed the ancestors had held back, not wishing to truly harm him. Feeling immense relief, Qian Youcai planned to inform his family at first light and to learn from Du Yuan how to properly perform ancestral rites to please the ancestors. But as he pondered this, a sudden sound pierced the air from the direction of the ancestral tablets. Alarmed, Qian Youcai was filled with dread. “It’s not over yet?!” Just as he prepared to bow his head and endure more punishment, he heard the sound of a hard object striking a bamboo beam. Following that came Du Yuan’s cold snort: “The Qian ancestors punish this unfilial descendant, which is none of my concern and well deserved. But who do you think you are, daring to impersonate them before me and deceive with trickery?” Wait, wasn’t it my ancestors who just struck me? Qian Youcai quickly lifted his head to look. Du Yuan was holding a lantern handle firmly above his head, while an iron rod struck the bamboo handle. Undoubtedly, the iron rod was aimed at Qian Youcai’s head—one blow like that and he would be killed instantly! “Ah!” Qian Youcai was terrified, forgetting all pain as he scrambled to his feet and rolled behind Du Yuan for cover. “Daoist, what is happening?” At the moment he dodged, he saw the iron rod striking the lantern handle vanish into thin air.

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“Th-this, could there be a malevolent spirit in my house?” “Not a spirit, but an evil entity.” Du Yuan smoothly withdrew the lantern, letting it hang at his side. The warm yellow glow cast a thin golden layer over the blue brick floor, but as it touched the east wall, the light suddenly turned a cold, dark green. Seeing this, Du Yuan stomped toward the east wall and said, “Wretched beast, reveal yourself!” Suddenly, the paper on the east window tore open. Qian Youcai watched as the vanished iron rod hovered three feet outside the window, poised to flee. The rod was shrouded in sticky black mist, resembling a snake shedding its skin halfway. As the black mist slithered along the window frame, eerie giggling echoed out. The sound sent shivers through his head, while onlookers crowded together in fear. “Daoist, what is that thing?!” “Don’t panic, blade ready!” With his empty hand, Du Yuan reached out and instantly drew a sword from the waist of a nearby warrior. Under the amazed gazes of the crowd, he passed the blade through the high-flaming torch, igniting it before sending the fiery sword flying toward his hand. Then, with a raised finger, he commanded, “Go!” The fiery sword immediately pierced the black mist, stabbing it just before its tail could escape. Moments later, the flames spread along the blade, engulfing the mist entirely. A blood-curdling scream followed—truly a terrifying sound. Once the blaze subsided, everyone saw a piece of pitch-black snake skin pinned to the window frame by the sword. “What is this?!” The crowd was speechless at the sight. Du Yuan exhaled deeply and lowered his guard, muttering, “Neither demon nor ghost—how laughable.” This was very different from the harmless horse demon Zhou Da had once encountered. This was the first time Du Yuan had met a malevolent creature bent on causing harm. At first, outside the main hall holding the lantern, Du Yuan marveled as the Qian ancestors descended from their tablets one by one, each striking Qian Youcai once with the cane of the family patriarch, Qian Shouye. After each blow, the ancestor handed the cane to the next and solemnly bowed to Du Yuan. If not for Du Yuan’s presence, this unfilial descendant might never have realized his misdeeds, perhaps causing the tablets to lose their sanctity. Du Yuan felt justified and increasingly invested as he watched. He also noticed that after bowing to him, each ancestor vanished from the spot.

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Presumably, they departed because their wishes were fulfilled. But as the last elder left and Du Yuan moved to help Qian Youcai up, he saw an iron rod shaped like a snake’s tail aimed at Qian Youcai’s head. Sensing something amiss, Du Yuan immediately intervened with the lantern handle, stopping the blow—leading to the scene just described. Du Yuan was uncertain what the creature truly was or whether he could subdue it. Yet he knew that to maximize his power, he needed to remain calm and inscrutable before all. Fortunately, this entity was no match for his dignified presence and was thoroughly burned away. Yet the burning was so complete that even the remaining snake skin at the window was reduced to nothing but ash. Du Yuan had intended to inquire further about the creature but, recalling his recent encounter in Qiaoshui Town, he suspected this was something similar to that spirit pearl. Unwittingly, he might have provoked a mysterious force. At this realization, Du Yuan felt a mix of frustration and helplessness. What was it about Qing County that attracted wave after wave of such trouble? Or perhaps it was an entire faction he had angered? But if it were the same person from before, that individual would surely have shouted for the perpetrator. Damn it—if another asks who I am, I’ll just say I’m from the Doushuai Palace! If they want to find me, they can seek out Lao Jun’s alchemy furnace! Yet why come to this place? Was it coincidence, or was there something remarkable here? Could it be this ancestral hall itself? Realizing this, Du Yuan looked up at the hall. At first, he couldn’t discern anything unusual, but with prolonged gaze, he saw a wisp of blue smoke from the incense burner in front of the Qian family tablets drift toward Qian Youcai. The ancestors’ blessings were profound and protective! Could it be that the creature was truly targeting this ancestral hall? After some thought, Du Yuan said to Qian Youcai, “Though your family is unfilial, you have nonetheless accumulated considerable blessings.” Hearing this, Qian Youcai smiled sheepishly, “That’s all thanks to our ancestors. Though our family tradition calls for donating grain during years of disaster, since my father’s generation... well, Daoist, please forgive me!”