Chapter 63: Miraculous Past Events (5)

The Zhao Family Young Master rushed forward, and Old Li was still in a daze. At that moment, the usually silent and steady Li Litou suddenly dashed out and grabbed the Zhao Family Young Master. It was rare for him, still a teenager, to firmly restrain an adult like that.

“Master, what should we do?” Li Litou turned and asked Old Li.

“Let him go, let him do as he pleases,” Old Li said after thinking for a moment.

“But...” Li Litou was a little surprised by Old Li’s decision, but still released the Zhao Family Young Master as instructed.

The Zhao Family Young Master paid no attention to what they were saying. He rushed over and actually scooped the yellow weasel into his arms, stroking it affectionately as he said with deep attachment, “Shu’er, you’ve suffered. Come, I’ll take you home.”

But the yellow weasel did not appreciate it at all. It struggled desperately in the Zhao Family Young Master’s arms. At this moment, its eyes had also cleared. Anyone with a sharp eye could tell that the weasel was desperately trying to escape.

As expected, after only a few struggles, the yellow weasel broke free from his embrace and bolted away in a flash. No one knew just how much strength it had, but it actually managed to escape so easily.

“Shu’er, Shu’er, why are you running?” The Zhao Family Young Master only chased a few steps before he was grabbed by Elder Zhao, who was already furious to the point of collapse. Yet he paid no attention at all, lowering his head in thought and murmuring to himself. Suddenly, he looked up in delight and said, “I understand now. Shu’er was only frightened. That evil Daoist meant to harm it. Run, run, Shu’er, the farther you run the better. Hide well, I will go find you.”

“You beast!” Elder Zhao was once again overwhelmed with rage and tried to strike him, but he could not even bring himself to raise his hand as he struggled for breath.

At this moment, Chen Liren walked over and supported Elder Zhao. He placed a hand lightly on Elder Zhao’s chest and gently rubbed a few times. The technique had a smooth and rounded flow to it, and unexpectedly, Elder Zhao gradually calmed down.

Old Li stepped forward and said to the Zhao Family Young Master, “My maze formation does not confuse people, does not confuse ghosts, and does not confuse anything at all. It only locks onto your Shu’er. It cannot go anywhere else, and in a while it will return here. If it were not that yellow weasel, even if I trapped it, it would be useless. Do you know why?”

“Why?” The Zhao Family Young Master immediately became alert as soon as it concerned Shu’er.

“Do you remember the day I grabbed you? I took something from you by chance and used it in this formation. There are two strands of it in here, so the formation only targets it.” As he spoke, Old Li extended his hand and showed it to the Zhao Family Young Master. In his palm were several strands of yellow fur.

“It seems you really did hold it quite often,” Old Li said calmly. With a light flick, the hairs drifted into the air and slowly fell away.

At this time, Old Lady Zhao also walked over anxiously and said, “Someone says they know the origin of that yellow weasel.”

The one who spoke about the yellow weasel was an old servant of the Zhao family. As soon as he mentioned it, many people recalled it and quickly echoed him.

It happened three years ago. During that period, the Zhao family lost quite a few chickens, many of which were killed. People living in the countryside were very familiar with such matters at a glance and knew it was the work of a weasel.

In rural areas, weasels were deeply hated. Not only did they steal chickens and livestock, but they were also extremely vicious. Why? Because they would not only steal, but sometimes, when in a cruel mood, they would kill several chickens even if they did not eat them.

So villagers hated weasels to the core.

However, the Zhao family did not pay much attention at first. After all, they had some wealth and did not care too much about a dozen chickens. They simply ordered the servants to catch the culprit as soon as possible and not allow it to harm the livestock again, offering rewards for success.

But the weasel was cunning and usually came out at night. The servants could not possibly stay up every night guarding it. Who knew when it would appear? So someone came up with an idea: bring in a dog. Not necessarily to catch it, but at least to provide warning.

This idea was approved. Coincidentally, at that time the Zhao Family Young Master was raising a dog, a large wolfhound that was said to be a rare breed.

First, the Zhao family had no other dogs.

Second, the Zhao Family Young Master was relatively approachable.

So the servants boldly asked him, and he agreed. He said, “My Black Tiger is extremely fierce. It can fight wolves. A mere weasel is nothing to it.”

So at night, the dog was taken to guard the chicken coop. For the first two nights, nothing happened. The dog did not bark and no chickens were killed. But on the third night, something happened that enraged the Zhao Family Young Master.

The dog was bitten to death. It only managed a few cries before it was brutally killed, with its throat being the fatal wound.

Not to mention that the dog was valuable, it had also developed a deep bond with the Zhao Family Young Master over the years. How could he not be furious?

Someone at the time suggested, “This weasel might have become a spirit. Otherwise, how could it kill such a large wolfhound? Young Master, a spirit like that should not be provoked. Perhaps we should let it go?”

Why did they say this? Because the Zhao Family Young Master had already decided to bring five male servants, recruit five strong villagers, and with a total of eleven people guard the chicken coop until the weasel was killed.

In general, the Zhao Family Young Master was reasonable. He did not blame others and understood that the weasel was the culprit. It was just that the villagers were somewhat superstitious and afraid.

Warnings were given, but the Zhao Family Young Master was determined, so everyone could only brace themselves and go along with it.

So, eleven people guarded the chicken coop for five days without any results. By the sixth day, everyone was exhausted. Even with daytime rest, it could not make up for the lack of sleep at night.

In the middle of that night, even Old Master Zhao and Old Lady Zhao came to persuade him to give up.

But by coincidence, just at that midnight hour, the yellow weasel appeared. With the help of traps and the eleven people, they actually managed to capture it.

At that time, the weasel was not as large as it was now, only slightly bigger than normal. Its back fur was pale yellow, somewhat whitish, but not as white as it was now.

No wonder they failed to recognize it at first glance.

After being captured, the weasel seemed surprisingly intelligent. It first trembled in fear, then later even made gestures of pleading, with tears appearing at the corners of its eyes.

Unfortunately, people in the countryside had seen such “bowing” behaviors from old weasels before and were not surprised. Moreover, their hatred toward weasels ran deep, so no one showed mercy.

Only Old Lady Zhao could not bear it and said, “I think we should let it go. It looks like it knows it was wrong.”

As soon as she said this, the weasel actually nodded repeatedly. Even the onlookers clicked their tongues in amazement.

However, the Zhao Family Young Master picked up a thick wooden stick and refused, saying, “Black Tiger had such a deep bond with me and was so loyal. If I do not avenge it, it would be unjust. Besides, what about the chickens it killed? Is its life a life, but Black Tiger’s life and the chickens’ lives are not?”

He was extremely stubborn, as could be seen from his attitude toward Shu’er.

Old Lady Zhao, seeing she could not persuade him, gave up.

Holding the wooden stick, the Zhao Family Young Master walked step by step toward the weasel. At this moment, the weasel’s tears flowed even more violently, but he remained unmoved, and the stick came down.

The first strike made the weasel let out a tragic squeal and blood spurted from its mouth. Old Lady Zhao could not bear to watch and turned away.

On the second strike, something unexpected happened. The weasel suddenly released a thick burst of foul smoke. The smoke was not only disgusting but also spread widely, and almost everyone in the courtyard could smell it.

What was worse, the smoke caused dizziness and nausea. Some people even vomited.

“It’s too foul. This is far worse than an ordinary weasel!”

“Why do I feel like vomiting?”

“Ugh...”

The courtyard was instantly in chaos. The Zhao Family Young Master was in the worst condition. Not only was he vomiting, he was already close to fainting, since he was the closest to it.

Yet his second strike had still landed earlier, even harder than the first, though it lost its aim.