Unwarranted Calamity

Lyu Dongfang took the prayer cushion and laid it on the floor:

“Yeah. See his lazy eye and his limp? He actually used to look pretty decent before. It was all the Huang family's doing that wrecked him like this.”

“Isn't that just an unwarranted calamity? He did nothing wrong, yet simply because Old Master Huang believed he had a spiritual calling that could aid his grandson's cultivation, the Huang family brought ruin to his entire family?

If this is true, the Huang family is straying far from the orthodox path. Even if by some stroke of luck they accumulate merit and amass incense offerings, they can never attain immortality.

First and foremost, they would never survive the trial of heavenly lightning.”

Nan Zhi knitted her brows and asked in return:

“And yet Huang Shiduo is still willing to work for the Huang family now? Besides, with the Huang family acting so rampantly, do the authorities do nothing about it?”

She had heard a bit about Beidong's Chu Ma culture in the past.

It was said that those with a spiritual calling were destined to undergo Chu Ma. Otherwise, the animal spirits would constantly haunt and torment them until they could no longer endure it and had no choice but to give in.

There were quite a few ordinary people who worked and lived normal lives, only to suddenly go mad one day, speaking incoherently and acting more like beasts than humans.

—That was usually because a “Great Immortal” was forcing them to become a Dima.

“How could the authorities not care? Ever since the founding of the republic, the authorities' primary target for crackdowns has been our Five Families. Forcing people to become a Dima is something almost no one dares to do anymore.

Nowadays, when spirits look for Chuma disciples, it has to be entirely voluntary. They also have to actively register, and staff members conduct regular follow-up visits. It's exceptionally strict.

Whoever dares to break the rules—regardless of whether they're foxes or weasels—their whole den gets rounded up and sentenced according to our national laws.”

A glimmer of sympathy surfaced in Hu Manni's eyes:

“However, Huang Shiduo's situation is a bit complicated. His parents had a history of mental illness, and after investigating for a long time, the authorities found no evidence proving their deaths were linked to the Huang family.

On top of that, during the official investigation, Huang Shiduo actually went to the authorities himself to testify, stating it was all an accident and had nothing to do with the Huang family.

Without evidence, the case was left in limbo all this time. Huang Shiduo assumed the name of Old Master Huang's grandson and remained with the Huang family ever since.

With the strict scrutiny over the past two years, the authorities have likely kept a close eye on the Huang family. They've quieted down considerably and no longer dare to randomly torment people into becoming a Dima.”

At this point, Hu Cuiying abruptly cut in, her voice brimming with dread:

“During the years of the government's severe crackdowns, they were truly ruthless. Across Beidong, so many wild gods, unauthorized temples, and all sorts of rogue ghosts and spirits that dared to deceive or harm people were wiped out.

I remember a stone giant over a dozen meters tall that was close to becoming a spirit. It used to stand by the river, luring people in to drown.

Later, the authorities dispatched troops directly to bombard it with artillery until not even dregs remained. Tsk tsk tsk... and then there was that dead woman whose corpse was licked by a cat and turned into a monster; the government personnel handled that as well.”

What? You ask why demons fear humans?

Are you kidding? Minor demons like them only knew a few petty spells and could communicate with ghosts. Did people really think every single demon was a Demon King?

Handling cases required evidence, and the authorities didn't have the time or energy to harm wildlife without cause.

However, if enlightened demons stirred up trouble and got caught—especially if their hands were stained with human lives—all it took for artillery shells to come crashing down was a single set of coordinates.

Looking back at the major purges in Beidong over several rounds, very few old demons managed to survive to the present.

Those who lived to this day were either genuinely clean or hidden exceedingly deep.

Rumor had it that Bai Sangu, the current head of the Bai family, had once been cornered in the mountains and transformed into her true form to deliver medicine to the army.

The Five Families of Beidong had essentially been treading a gray zone, keeping a low profile to develop stealthily. Only with the Spiritual Resurgence over the past two years had their lives improved a bit.

As for the Huang family—

“‘Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.’ In the eyes of the universe, there is no difference between humans and demons, but commit too much evil, and disaster will eventually catch up.”

Nan Zhi spoke with hidden meaning: “No wonder they offered me a gift the moment we met. Turns out they fear the Demon Suppression Division investigating to the very end.”

It was just hard to tell what scheme the Huang family was actually plotting.

Whether they wanted to turn around and pledge allegiance to the Demon Suppression Division or use the Demon Suppression Division to leverage the Demon King was anyone's guess.

Yet even if the Huang family were to defect, their motives could hardly be trusted.

—Passing over a fellow demon, the Demon King, to instead curry favor with the opposing Demon Suppression Division—who would believe there wasn't something fishy going on?

However, Nan Zhi didn't find the situation troublesome.

At worst, she would counter soldiers with generals and water with earth.

After all, when official authorities took action, they needed to gather evidence, which inevitably tied their hands.

Her Demon Suppression Division, on the other hand, only needed to confirm “yes” or “no” before executing evil demons.

It seemed her trip to Beidong had indeed been the right call.

...

That night, inside a Chinese-style main hall, six elderly people—men and women—sat upon huanghuali chairs.

Bizarrely, no lights were turned on in the hall, save for a few oil lamps resting on the tables.

The wicks flickered, casting faint, pea-sized points of light.

The shadows cast on the wall behind them outlined slender, beastly silhouettes.

Huang Shiduo kept his eyes lowered, standing quietly among the juniors below the dais without uttering a word.

“Eldest Brother, that little wench didn't give us any face at all! The person we sent was turned away at the first meeting, and she didn't even accept the gift. This is a blatant slap to our Huang family's face!”

An octogenarian suddenly spoke up, yet the voice that came out was the gruff tone of a middle-aged man:

“If you ask me, we should quietly find someone to finish her off. As long as we do it cleanly and pin the blame on those foxes, wouldn't that pit Qingmeng Mountain against the Demon Suppression Division?

Let's see if those fox brats can still act smug then!”

Everyone's gaze converged on the main seat at the head of the hall, fixed upon a decrepit old man enveloped in death aura.

The old man appeared to be well into his nineties, his skin mottled with age spots, his eyes cloudy, and his flesh sagging. Sitting there, he resembled a flesh-and-blood Arhat.

Someone handed him a dry tobacco pipe mixed with human ashes.

“Third Brother.”

The old man took a deep puff, exhaling a mouthful of black smoke. In the next instant, his entire demeanor shifted—predatory as a wolf and sharp as an eagle, his gaze vicious:

“Do you think everyone is an idiot? The moment that girl dies, the Demon Suppression Division will come charging in right after.

They won't care who made the move. When that time comes, let alone the Hu family, all of our families across Beidong will be buried alongside that girl.”

The tension in the hall froze, the atmosphere dropping to absolute zero.

“Eldest Brother, don't blame Third Brother for being anxious. We've already offended Qingmeng Mountain beyond repair. Isn't it a bit too late to try connecting with the Demon Suppression Division now?”

A white-haired old woman chimed in with urgent concern, though her voice was coquettish and sweet:

“Eldest Brother, what on earth are you thinking? Could you tell us so everyone can put their minds at ease?

Right now, the Hu, Liu, and Bai families have all sided with the Qingmeng Mountain Demon King. If we keep dragging this out, aren't we just asking to be wiped out?”

Those around her voiced their agreement one after another, and the weasels of various sizes in the shadows nodded along.

—The demon residing within the body of that old man at the head of the hall was none other than the current head of the Huang family, Old Master Huang.