The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 18 It must be you, you old Taoist priest, swindling and cheating!
No one recognized the young gentlemen riding tall horses.

I don't even know if he's a member of the Qian family.

But those few burly warriors dressed in short-sleeved shirts were definitely not faking it.

So a group of villagers who were digging for food in the soil immediately retreated.

It has always been so: do not fight against officials, do not fight against power, do not fight against influence.

Only the man who had spoken hurriedly waved his hand and said:

"Young master, please don't say that. I really wasn't lying. Otherwise, why would I go to Ziyun Temple?"

The young master had already dismounted. His accompanying warriors naturally followed behind.

It was only at this moment that the men were surprised to discover that these female warriors were all carrying weapons, and not the simple broadswords used to exploit loopholes in the imperial court.

It's a proper waist knife!

The workmanship looks even better than what the yamen runners use.

As a result, the men were naturally even more afraid and dared not speak up to support their companions.

The young man himself had no weapon, but he easily grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close.

Clearly, he has practiced martial arts and body training quite often.

"If you're not just spouting nonsense, then tell me, you roughneck, under the clear blue sky, where in my Qian family would you find any supernatural or bizarre superstitions? Especially in my main hall?!"

The young master was furious.

In this era, many families would enshrine ancestral tablets in the main hall. Although some people would choose to build a dedicated ancestral hall.

However, that was ultimately a luxury only the very wealthy and powerful could afford.

The Qian family was certainly not poor, but when the old Qian family house was built, the Qian family was not considered extremely wealthy.

So when the man said he heard sighs coming from the main hall of the Qian family late at night, wasn't that tantamount to cursing the Qian family descendants for being unfilial and incurring the wrath of their ancestors?

Looking at the group of burly and fierce warriors behind the young master, the man trembled all over, and beads of sweat kept streaming down his back.

He pleaded, his voice trembling and choked with sobs, "My lord, please understand! I truly did not lie! Last night at midnight, when I got up to use the restroom, I really did hear a mournful sigh coming from inside!"

"You dare to lie!"

The young man in brocade robes flew into a rage and shouted angrily, "There are the ancestral tablets of my Qian family's twelve ancestors enshrined there. How dare you, a vile scoundrel, slander them? You truly deserve to be beaten!"

The man was pushed to the ground by the young man.

"Somebody come!"

Before he finished speaking, two fierce-looking men, like bears, immediately sprang out from behind the young master and pounced on the man lying on the ground.

Although they didn't intend to use knives, judging by their burly appearance, a few punches would probably make the man cough up blood.

Moreover, given the current situation, it's unlikely that a few punches will be enough to resolve the matter.

Moreover, the man will likely suffer this beating for nothing, not to mention the Qian family's power, just the fact that this matter will be taken to court.

Even the county magistrate would probably think the man deserved it.

Filial piety and brotherly love are of paramount importance since ancient times!
To say that someone's ancestral hall is haunted is to accuse them of being unfilial.

If they were truly unfilial, a reasonable person like the county magistrate would surely protect them. But the question is, could the Qian family be unfilial?
The previous generation had all gone to the prefectural capital to make a fortune, but they didn't forget to leave behind their ancestral home and even hired someone to take good care of it.

So everyone dodged and weaved, fearing that the young master would take his anger out on them and they would suffer a beating for nothing.

Just as the warriors' fists and feet were about to land, everyone heard a sound:
"slow!"

The two thugs immediately stopped fighting and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw a young man who appeared to be a monk. Then they both looked towards their master.

Normally, no one wants to provoke monks or Taoist priests.

The young master turned to look at Du Yuan and said:
"Monk, what are you doing?"

Alright, another monk.
Du Yuan felt a pang of guilt and said, "He's not a monk, he's a Taoist priest. I have a travel permit to prove it!"

Du Yuan showed her travel permit again, and the young master was immediately delighted upon seeing it:

"Hey, so you really are a Taoist priest. What's wrong? Why aren't you in your temple? Why are you meddling in this?"

As he spoke, the young master suddenly said in a deep voice:

"Could it be that you've teamed up with this damned brute to create a charade and deceive the villagers? If so, you've come to the wrong person, because the Qian family is not to be trifled with!"

The young master's words were firm and unquestionable.

It was as if Du Yuan had really teamed up with the rough man to pull this stunt.

However, the men around him did not believe it. Firstly, they really knew the man, and secondly, in their eyes, Du Yuan was indeed not an ordinary person.

Du Yuan couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

After shaking her head, Du Yuan said to the young master:

"Young Master Qian, is that the correct way to address him?"

"Of course! I am Qian Youcai, the second son of the Qian family!"

The name was a bit strange, not the kind of name a wealthy family would give someone. But he was very proud, because it was a name his father had thought of for three days and three nights.

Du Yuan didn't know any of this, nor did she need to. She simply looked at Qian Youcai and said:
"Young Master Qian, if something hadn't gone wrong at your ancestral home, why would you have made such a special trip back, and with such a large entourage?"

Based on what Du Yuan currently knows...

Indeed, trouble has broken out in the southwest of the country, but it is only in the southwest.

The rest of the country was still at peace, so why would an ordinary young nobleman bring back a few armed men at such a critical moment unless it was for some important matter?

Qian Youcai's expression faltered slightly as he said:

"I did hear the message from the steward, but it wasn't some bizarre story made up by some roughneck. It's that someone is trying to ruin the reputation of my Qian family!"

The specifics were not elaborated upon, but it was clear that the steward of the Qian family's old residence had also discovered what the man had mentioned.

Therefore, they hurriedly reported it, which led to the return of the second son of the Qian family.

However, it's clear that the Qian family didn't really think it was ghosts or demons, otherwise it wouldn't have been a young master leading several sword-wielding warriors.

As he spoke, Young Master Qian suddenly grabbed Du Yuan's hand and stared intently at him, saying:

"I was wondering why someone would cause trouble at my Qian family's old residence when my family has always treated everyone kindly. Now I understand, it's because you, you old fox, want to make money and have your eyes on my Qian family, right?"

"You bribed this rough man to create a false sense of mystery and escalate the situation, thereby luring my Qian family to come. Then you'll show up to exorcise demons and collect offerings, isn't that right?"

For a moment, Du Yuan was quite amazed as she looked at Qian Youcai.

I must say, the name wasn't wrong, and the person is quite talented.

Even under normal circumstances, this might actually be the case.

But something's clearly not right now.

With a horse demon, a zombie, and now a ghost, it's not surprising at all.

So, for the sake of my own experimentation and enhancement, and also for the good of this unfortunate fellow.

Du Yuan chuckled and placed her hand on Qian Youcai's hand, which was gripping her wrist, and said:

"Since Young Master Qian is so certain, why not invite me to your old residence to investigate? In any case, it's getting late, and the truth will soon come to light."

Qian Youcai laughed heartily:

"Fine, fine, you old fox, you really don't know what's good for you. I'll make sure you die a thorough death so you can see it clearly!"

(End of this chapter)