Chapter 62: The Qin Family’s Backup Plan

In the hall beyond the fourth gateway, a large group of people had been driven together.

These people were all servants of the Qin residence, crouching or kneeling there in trembling fear.

Wang Tianyou’s gaze swept across the crowd as he said, “I am a kind-hearted man. You are merely servants of the Qin family. Debts have their creditors, grievances have their perpetrators. I am willing to give you a way to live, as long as you tell me where the Qin family’s youngest son is hiding!”

Ding Junhui stood nearby, smiling with chilling coldness.

After hesitating for a while, the servants dispersed, leaving behind a man dressed in a servant’s uniform with a darkened face.

At this moment, his eyes were filled with despair.

“I was wondering how I had guarded the Qin residence so carefully without letting even a fly escape, yet Young Master Qin the Third had vanished.” Ding Junhui walked over and wiped the man’s face. His hand came away covered in black ash. “So you were hiding among the servants. Young Master Qin truly knows how to bend and stretch.”

Qin Huan’s legs trembled as he looked at the two men before him. “Spare my life. I’ll leave Feirong County and never return... nor will I ever become your enemy.”

Wang Tianyou burst out laughing. He walked over and kicked him in the stomach.

Qin Huan flew back a full three metres (~10 ft), crashed to the ground, and rolled around in pain.

“Three months ago, when your Qin family sent people to stir up trouble at the Earth God temple, you certainly weren’t planning to let me live.”

Wang Tianyou’s eyes were full of hatred. Had the Qin family not caused trouble that day, he would have captured that very beautiful female ghost. Then his standing within the family would have risen.

Instead... something went wrong, causing his status within the family to decline.

Ding Junhui’s expression was equally cold.

Wang Tianyou had merely lost some support within his family, but direct descendants of the Ding family had genuinely died at the hands of the Qin family.

This was a blood feud.

Ding Junhui snorted. “Why waste so many words on him?”

As he spoke, he walked over, grabbed Qin Huan by the hair, and dragged him outside.

In a corner of the courtyard stood a menhai. It was essentially a large water vat. In feng shui, it symbolized attracting wealth. Normally it collected rainwater, which could also be used in case of a fire.

And the menhai was filled nearly to the brim.

Ding Junhui directly shoved Qin Huan’s head into the water vat.

Qin Huan struggled fiercely, but the hand pressing down on his head remained steady.

The servants of the Qin residence all turned their heads away, not daring to watch any longer.

Before long, Qin Huan’s struggles gradually weakened until he stopped moving altogether.

Only then did Ding Junhui release him.

Wang Tianyou smiled. “Now we can both report back to our families.”

“Mhm.” Ding Junhui nodded lightly.

And at that moment, the two of them simultaneously looked toward the menhai.

A sinister aura was rising from there.

The motionless Qin Huan suddenly began twisting all over. The movements were extremely bizarre, consisting of constant trembling and grotesque convulsions.

“Not dead?” Ding Junhui was stunned.

Wang Tianyou shook his head. “No. He’s been possessed by a ghost.”

At that moment, “Qin Huan” lifted his head out of the water vat. His appearance had already changed. A large fleshy tumor had grown on each side of his neck. Both had eyes, noses, and mouths, resembling babies’ faces.

“You killed Father, killed Brother... I’m going to eat you!”

The two baby-faced tumors spoke in infant-like voices, their words disjointed and uneven.

Listening to them was extremely unpleasant and made one feel nauseated.

“A wild ghost?” Wang Tianyou was stunned. “How can a wild ghost possess a living person?”

“Who cares what kind of ghost it is? Chop it into ten or eight pieces and it’ll still die all the same.” Ding Junhui grinned savagely.

The sinister look on his face was unsettling enough that Wang Tianyou instinctively took a step backward.

Li Lin did not sleep particularly well that night because he did not dare sleep too deeply. After all, this was not his own territory.

The next morning, he came out of the attic and bought two flatbreads and a bowl of soybean milk on the street to fill his stomach.

Then he noticed many people hurrying toward the other side of the street while discussing something animatedly.

Somewhat curious, Li Lin stopped a passerby, slipped a copper coin into the man’s hand, and asked, “Brother, all of you are heading over there. Did something happen?”

“I heard something terrible happened at the Qin residence.” The passerby pocketed the coin and lowered his voice. “Everyone’s dead. There’s flesh and blood everywhere. It’s horrific.”

Li Lin froze for a moment.

Something happened at the Qin residence...

Had Wang Tianyou and Ding Junhui carried out a massacre inside?

But with their abilities, even if they had slaughtered everyone, it should not have resulted in such a bloody scene.

Li Lin quickly finished the flatbreads and soybean milk, then picked up his red-tasseled spear and bundle before following the crowd.

As soon as he arrived outside the Qin residence, he smelled a revolting stench of blood.

Several pale-faced yamen runners stood nearby, while three Spirit Hunters with white jade plaques hanging from their waists guarded the entrance.

Many passersby would walk to the front of the residence, peer inside, then leave with deathly pale faces.

Several had even vomited.

Using his Willow Catkin Movement Technique, Li Lin drifted onto a rooftop across the street and looked down.

He immediately frowned.

The entire ground of the Qin residence was covered with a layer of dark red and black matter.

Looking more carefully, he realized it was an evenly spread layer of flesh and blood.

So horrific!

Just as Li Lin was sighing, he suddenly looked to the right by instinct. A person had appeared on a nearby rooftop.

“Patrol Hunter Li, my young master invites you. Please come with me.”

Li Lin recognized him as one of Wang Tianyou’s subordinates.

Carrying his red-tasseled spear, Li Lin followed behind.

The two arrived at an inn and then ascended to the third floor.

Pushing open the door to the largest room, Li Lin saw Wang Tianyou reclining against the headboard, his face carrying an unnatural greenish tint.

Walking over, Li Lin exclaimed in surprise, “What happened to your complexion? Were you poisoned?”

Wang Tianyou nodded and said weakly, “I was careless. I won’t die.”

“What happened inside the Qin residence?”

“That old bastard Qin Feng left behind a backup plan. He produced two extremely sinister baby ghosts and fused them with possession into his youngest son. Truly ruthless. For the sake of plotting against us, he didn’t even spare his own son. The result was flesh and blood all over the ground.”

Li Lin looked around. “How is Brother Ding?”

Wang Tianyou fell silent for a while before saying, “He’s dead.”

Li Lin was immediately shocked. “What? How did he suddenly die?”

“Don’t worry. This has nothing to do with you. If the Ding family wants to pursue responsibility, they’ll pursue it against me.” Wang Tianyou coughed twice and spat out a mouthful of blood. The handkerchief was black with a greenish tinge. “Those two baby ghosts were probably created through the Secret Rite of Wraith Womb Gestation. Also, after you’ve read those two manuals and memorized them, burn them. I’m worried that old Qin may have left some hidden trick on them.”

Li Lin nodded.

“Brother Li, you should leave first. Such a major incident has occurred in the Qin residence. If you don’t leave now, Feirong County may be sealed off again.”

“What about you...”

“Don’t worry. I’m a member of the Wang family, after all, and I have some incense affinity with the county magistrate here.” Wang Tianyou forced a smile. “Besides, my current condition really isn’t suitable for traveling.”

“All right. Then I’ll leave first. Until we meet again.”

“Once I’ve recovered, I’ll come to Yulin County and repay the favor I owe you.”

Li Lin left Feirong County. Just as Wang Tianyou had said, he had barely gone any distance beyond the city gate when the gates behind him slowly closed.

Like a gigantic black mouth, they gradually shut tight.