Scripture of Days Past

Chapter 18: Visit

The leader of the Wang Clan soon discovered that the black fur all over Wang Cailiang’s body would grow back almost immediately after being shaved, and he was terrified that his son would be mistaken for a fiend and slain by a Daoist priest. Of course, he didn’t dare to approach the Azure Sun Daoist Temple for help, so he could only call upon the so-called witches and wizards from nearby.

A couple of days quickly passed by, and all kinds of methods were tried in an attempt to reverse Wang Cailiang’s condition. The black fur on his body was shaved over and over again, only to grow back thicker each time, and the leader of the Wang Clan became so distressed that he could barely sleep or eat.

Just as the entire Wang Clan was in a state of crisis, Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi made their way toward the Wang Manor.

As they walked, Chu Qiguang told Qiao Zhi his plan, then asked, “What do you think? Sounds like a good plan, right?”

“Working together with fiends to intimidate and appease... I like it a lot!” Qiao Zhi chuckled, swishing his tail back and forth.

“Be careful so you don’t blow your cover,” Chu Qiguang cautioned.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Qiao Zhi promised confidently. “I was able to sneak into the Wang Manor a few days ago and use the Heavenly Fiend Foundation Establishment Technique on Wang Cailiang completely undetected, was I not? I can come and go from the Wang Manor as I please without any fear of being caught.”

“Alright, let’s split up here,” Chu Qiguang said. “You sneak into the Wang Manor first, and we’ll work together to carry out our plan.”

***

Chu Qiguang knocked on the gates of the Wang Manor, and a servant answered. He looked at him with a disdainful frown and asked, “Zhou Ergou? What’re you doing here?”

Chu Qiguang knew that the man wouldn’t believe him if he said he had come to treat Wang Cailiang’s condition, and there was no way he’d be allowed inside.

If he had Qiao Zhi help him force his way in, then everyone in the Wang Clan would immediately become wary of him, which would only interfere with his plan.

Thus, he offered a strung-up piece of meat to the servant as he said pleasantly, “I have something to report to Master Wang, so I must trouble you to inform him of my arrival. This is some rabbit that I caught on the rear mountain. I hope it’s to your liking.”

For a servant serving under a village tycoon, this was already quite a nice gift.

The servant weighed the meat in his hand and estimated that it was about three to four ounces.

A wide grin appeared on his face as he said, “You can tell me the purpose of your visit first, Brother Ergou, and I’ll surely relay the message to my master. However, I can’t guarantee if my master would be willing to see you.”

“Please ask Master Wang if Wang Cailiang was wounded by a dog ghost,” Chu Qiguang said.

***

The Wang Manor was divided into four courtyards with a total of eight rooms, and at the moment, the leader of the Wang Clan was sitting in the main room with a troubled look on his face.

His name was Wang Chengwang, and as the wealthiest man in the Wang Clan Village, he had maidservants attending to his needs in the day, concubines serving him at night, and plenty of land at his disposal. It was a wonderful life.

The only thing missing was that no one from the Wang Clan had ever been able to obtain an official title in the imperial court through the imperial examinations.

He had fathered four daughters before Wang Cailiang was born, so he had always placed extremely high hopes on his only son, praying that he would be able to fast-track himself into the imperial court through the martial examination.

Not only would that bring honor to their ancestors, it would also come with many imperial court benefits, allowing them to evade more taxes and gobble up more land. With more money, he would be able to buy more maidservants and take more concubines. From there, he could father more sons to excel in the martial examination, and it would be a never-ending, positive, self-reinforcing cycle.

The very thought of it was enough to excite him.

However, his son’s current condition had thrown a massive wrench in his plans.

His son’s back was covered in black, animal-like black fur, giving him a fiendish appearance.

In his current state, there was no way that he could take part in the martial examination. There were strict vetting processes to ensure that no fiends or demons could take part in the imperial examinations. Not only that, but he would be in huge trouble if he were discovered by a Daoist priest.

With that in mind, Wang Chengwang let out a heavy sigh, his expression growing even more troubled.

“Don’t worry, Master. Zhang Da has already gone to see a master of the Imperial Heavenly Dao, and he’ll surely be able to cure the young master,” Steward Wang consoled.

They didn’t dare approach the Daoist priests of the Heavenly Master Religion, so they had to resort to employing the services of other arcane figures.

According to the laws of the Great Han Empire, all other religious entities outside of the Heavenly Master Religion were considered cults, so these witches, wizards, and the Imperial Heavenly Dao that the steward had spoken of were all enemies of the imperial court and the Daoist temples.

However, the Great Han Empire’s control over the world was no longer as strong as it once had been. There was a prevalent culture of superstition, with people willing to believe in all kinds of religions and belief systems, so cults were running rampant.

Right at this moment, the servant arrived outside, then reported, “Master, Zhou Ergou has come to see you.”

“Our master has no time for that idiot right now! Tell him to scram!” Steward Wang snapped.

Both he and Wang Chengwang assumed that Ergou had come to them because of the grain tax, and they certainly had no interest in discussing such trivial matters at the moment.

The servant was about to leave, but after accepting the gift of rabbit meat, he felt obligated to put in a bit more effort. He gritted his teeth to steel himself, then said, “Zhou Ergou told me to ask if our young master was wounded by a dog ghost.”

Steward Wang was just about to shoo him away again, but Wang Chengwang’s eyes suddenly lit up as he asked, “Are you sure that’s what he said? Did he specifically mention a dog ghost?”

The servant nodded in confirmation, and after some contemplation, Wang Chengwang instructed, “Bring him here.”

The servant left, and Wang Chengwang told Steward Wang about the dog ghost incident.

As it turned out, only Wang Chengwang, Wang Cailiang, and several of their most trusted servants knew about the dog ghost attack, and even the clan steward had been kept in the dark up to this point.

Many witches and wizards had come to try and treat Wang Cailiang these past few days, but not a single one had managed to identify that he had been wounded by a dog ghost.

However, Zhou Ergou was somehow aware of the situation, and Wang Chengwang assumed that one of the servants must have spilled the beans.

Once I find out which ungrateful bastard did it, I’m going to beat him to death!

Wang Chengwang’s greatest concern was that the Daoist temple would be alerted to the situation. If that happened, he would have no choice but to bribe everyone in the temple to avert the crisis. Given his modest fortune, it was likely that he would be bled dry, losing both his wealth and his son!

Moments later, the servant returned with Chu Qiguang, who spotted a familiar orange tail up on the rafters. He was immediately filled with confidence, knowing that Qiao Zhi had already successfully infiltrated the Wang Manor.