Wild Dogs

"Master Xu falsely accused me of stealing his things and hung me here."

"Oh, so you're not a member of the Xu family?"

Seeing Yang Fan nod, the old Taoist priest sighed.

"The Xu family is the most insidious; they love murder and arson the most."

The old Taoist priest sized up Yang Fan, a smile creeping onto his ugly face.

"Child, if you promise to do me one thing, I'll save you, okay?"

Yang Fan did not answer.

Offering unsolicited favors is either a sign of malice or theft.

He didn't think the old Taoist priest was doing him a favor by saving him.

But when Yang Fan looked down at the barely alive Xiao Hei, he gritted his teeth.

"If you save Xiao Hei, I'll agree to your request."

"Little Black?"

The old Taoist priest looked around curiously before noticing a black dog buried in the snow at his feet.

He chuckled, pulled off the gourd from his waist, and poured out a dark, murky pill.

"That's easy!"

The old Taoist priest picked up Little Black and stuffed the pill into Little Black's mouth.

Not long after, Xiao Hei managed to stand up.

"It'll survive in a few days, okay? You promised me?"

Yang Fan nodded.

"What do you need me to do for you?"

As Yang Fan spoke, the old Taoist shook his head.

"Don't rush. Let me settle my old grudges with the Xu family first, then I'll talk to you slowly."

The old Taoist chuckled as he spoke.

A squeaking sound came from all around.

Immediately afterwards, countless rats emerged from all directions and scurried into the room.

"what!"

Screams echoed from every room.

"Rats! Where did all these rats come from!"

The Xu family members ran out of the room in disheveled clothes, but their bodies were now covered in rats.

"Master, don't leave me!"

Master Xu rushed out of the room in a fluster, followed by his naked concubine.

"screw you!"

Master Xu pushed his concubine into the pile of rats and ran away.

But he had only taken two steps when he saw the old Taoist priest looking at him with a half-smile.

"Who do you think you are?!"

Master Xu looked at the man nervously.

"I'm warning you, my daughter is an inner disciple of Qingyun Temple. If you dare to harm me..."

"I know, your daughter Xu Longyue is a disciple of Qingyun Temple."

The old Taoist priest interrupted Master Xu and walked towards him.

"You ask who I am? I wonder if Master Xu remembers the Han family in Mulin Town?"

As he spoke, the old Taoist priest glared at Master Xu through gritted teeth.

"It's the Han family that was wiped out by your Xu family eighty years ago."

"You, you're a remnant of the Han family!"

Master Xu panicked immediately. He trembled and tried to run away, but at that moment, the rats had already surrounded him.

"This has nothing to do with me!"

Master Xu hurriedly spoke.

"Those things were done by my grandfather..."

"Hey, you Xu family members wiped out the Han family in order to steal our things. Now it's time for you Xu family members to pay back."

The old Taoist showed no mercy, and the rats completely overwhelmed Master Xu.

Before long, Master Xu was gnawed down to his bones.

After the Xu family was wiped out, all the rats surrounded Yang Fan, their green eyes fixed on him.

"Splash!"

The old Taoist priest untied the ropes binding Yang Fan and handed him a dark-colored pill.

Yang Fan hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should eat it or not.

"Don't worry, I still need you to do things for me. I won't harm you, so you can rest assured."

The old Taoist priest stared at Yang Fan with his green eyes, looking just like a mouse.

Yang Fan knew he couldn't avoid it, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and swallow the pill.

The pill had an extremely pungent smell, so Yang Fan pinched his nose and swallowed it.

Fortunately, although the medicine tasted terrible, his injuries were healing rapidly.

"Child, I saved you, are you going to work for me?"

The old Taoist's withered fingers tapped Yang Fan's shoulder, and Yang Fan nodded.

"That's good, that's good!"

The old Taoist priest spoke with a smile, then reached into the gourd at his waist, took out a token, and handed it to Yang Fan.

The token has a cloud engraved on the front and the words "Qingyun" written on the back.

"This is the Ascension Token of Qingyun Temple. With it, you can enter Qingyun Temple."

Qingyun Temple is a Taoist sect located hundreds of miles away from this place.

But why give him the Ascension Token from Qingyun Temple?

"The day after tomorrow, Qingyun Temple will be recruiting disciples in a nearby town. I need you to take this Ascension Token to Qingyun Temple and retrieve a few things for me."

"As long as you bring the item back, I'll make sure you get your share of the benefits."

Snowflakes drifted onto Yang Fan's neck, and he shivered.

"Master Dao, I'm just a good-for-nothing brat, how could I possibly enter a celestial sect..."

You can do it!

The old Taoist priest gave a sinister smile.

"According to the rules, Qingyun Temple must accept anyone who holds an Ascension Token upon entering the mountain, no matter what."

"With the Taoist priest's ascension decree, are you still afraid that Qingyun Temple won't accept you?"

The old Taoist's hoarse voice drifted over.

Seeing that Yang Fan was still hesitating, the old Taoist's face darkened.

"I'm giving you a golden opportunity, and you're unwilling?"

The old Taoist's face turned cold.

He gave a sinister smile, took out a small drum, and gently tapped it.

"Thump!"

As the drumbeats began, Yang Fan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach, so intense that he writhed on the ground in agony.

The little black dog hurriedly crawled over and kept licking his cheeks.

"I added something to the pill you just took!"

"I saved your life. If you don't want to go, you can die now."

The drumbeats grew louder and louder, and Yang Fan was in excruciating pain.

"Yes, I'll go!"

The old Taoist priest then stopped drumming and looked at Yang Fan with a kind expression.

"That's right. Don't worry, after it's done, I'll take you as my disciple and teach you immortal techniques!"

"I wonder what the Daoist master wants me to retrieve?"

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Yang Fan asked cautiously.

"The first item is a jade pendant, which is on the eldest daughter of the Xu family. You need to find a way to get your hands on it."

The old Taoist priest spoke with a look of gritted teeth.

"A jade pendant?"

"But the young lady has been up the mountain for several years now, I'm afraid I won't be able to get my hands on her."

The old Taoist priest shook his head and took out a dark bottle from his gourd.

"These contain some sleeping potions that are effective even against immortals. Try to drug her."

"When the time comes, the person will be yours, and the jade pendant will be mine."

"The eldest daughter of the Xu family is as beautiful as a flower; you've gotten such a good deal."

Looking at the dark bottle, Yang Fan had no choice but to bite the bullet and take it.

"The second thing is that there is a sword tomb in Qingyun Temple, and there is a wooden sword hidden in the tomb. You need to find a way to get that wooden sword out for me."

The old Taoist priest spoke with a sigh on his face.

"If it weren't for my advanced age and the fact that my cultivation techniques would be discovered, would I have let you have this opportunity so easily?"

Seeing Yang Fan's bitter expression, the old Taoist shook his head.

"Wait for me at the mountain god temple outside the village a month from now."

The old Taoist priest's hoarse voice came through, sounding as unpleasant as the cry of an owl in the wind.

"Don't even think about escaping. The Daoist Master has planted a Gu worm in you. You'll need to take the antidote every month, or the Gu worm will crawl out of your stomach and devour you completely!"

Yang Fan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly clutched his stomach, as if something was about to burst out.

"Go ahead, as long as you do a good job for Master Dao, you'll get your share of the rewards."

As the old Taoist priest spoke, he glanced at the Xu family, gave a sinister laugh, and led the swarm of rats away silently.

.......

Yang Fan didn't get up until long after the old Taoist had left.

Seeing the tragic state of the Xu family, Yang Fan shuddered.

After putting on his tattered cotton-padded coat, Yang Fan wanted to leave.

Such a terrible tragedy has happened to the Xu family; it's bound to cause a huge uproar tomorrow.

Yang Fan absolutely couldn't stay here any longer, but before leaving, he had to leave something for his family.

Yang Fan found some copper coins and gold and silver on the Xu family members, and then carefully wrapped them up.

He then immediately left the Xu family's house and went outside the Yang family's house.

Looking at the still-lit lights, Yang Fan took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and went inside.

"Fan'er, why are you back?"

When Yang Fan returned, his mother was startled.

If a servant leaves his master's house without permission, he will be skinned alive if caught.

"Mother, it's alright, the Xu family is finished."

Yang Fan gritted his teeth and said this, then knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Mother, your unfilial son will no longer be able to serve you. As for why, please forgive me for not being able to say."

Yang Fan burst into tears. He wiped the tears from his face and then took out all the gold, silver, and copper coins.

"Mother, with this money, you and my sister can move to town and live a better life."

Her mother had never seen so much gold and silver before, and she was so frightened that she covered her mouth.

"You, you could it be...?"

Yang Fan quickly shook his head.

"No, it's just that I'm about to embark on a long journey, Mother, please take care!"

After saying this, Yang Fan kowtowed twice and hurriedly left.

The longer you stay at home, the more dangerous it is for your family.

"Fan'er!"

The mother followed anxiously outside, but all that remained was a trail of footprints stretching into the distance...