Chapter 36: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Within a few minutes, Li Shishan came back holding a scroll. He went over to a nearby desk.

"Come take a look as well," Li Shiwu told Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong, who followed him over.

Li Shishan spread out the blueprint of the Li residence. The overall layout resembled a Tai Chi diagram, and its internal arrangement was adjusted according to fengshui formations that could cultivate energy and gather spiritual essence.

Wang Sheng only had a superficial understanding of formations, but even he could tell that the fengshui design was quite intricate.

"Fei Yu, Yinglong, you two stay here and eat," Li Shiwu instructed. "Brother, come with me for a walk. I'll take the blueprint and compare it to the actual layout."

Holding the formation blueprint, he walked straight outside. Li Shishan followed closely behind.

Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong frowned slightly. According to their previous discussion, they should have gone together to inspect the fengshui layout and investigate the different areas of the Li residence.

However, since Li Shiwu, their martial uncle, had spoken, they had no choice but to continue eating and drinking as instructed.

"Li Wen, Li Wu, take good care of our guests! Make sure not to neglect them!" Li Shishan ordered.

"Don't worry, Dad. We'll make sure to host them properly."

"I should go with you—"

"No need. Stay here and entertain our honored guests!" Li Shishan shot a glare at his eldest son, who could only smile helplessly and sit back down.

Wang Sheng continued eating, but he also discreetly sent out a wisp of his spiritual consciousness to follow behind Li Shishan.

He was already at the late stage of the Spirit Convergence Realm—just a step away from breaking through to the Seed Formation Realm. With his clarity in swordsmanship, his spiritual consciousness was exceptionally strong—almost on par with his senior sister.

Wang Sheng had no interest in meddling in worldly affairs beyond cultivation. However, now that he had come to the Li residence, exorcised the ghosts, accepted their reward, and agreed with his martial uncle to help uncover the mastermind behind the ghostly disturbances, he naturally had to get to the bottom of things.

***

Holding the blueprint, Li Shiwu walked slowly through the garden with Li Shishan. For several minutes, they remained in silence. It was only when they were farther from the main hall that Li Shiwu finally muttered, "Brother, this haunting is no coincidence. Someone is trying to harm you—no, our entire family. Are you sure you haven't offended anyone?"

Li Shishan's eyes widened. "Someone's trying to harm our family? I—"

Just as he was about to curse, Li Shiwu quickly gestured for him to lower his voice. "Keep it down. Don't let my two martial nephews hear... Brother, think carefully. Could it be that you unknowingly offended someone?"

Li Shishan pondered for a while but eventually shook his head. "Impossible. I've never made enemies with anyone in my life! Even

back then

, twenty years ago, I handled everything properly! If someone wanted revenge, they would've acted long ago!"

Li Shiwu sighed deeply. "It's not easy to raise and unleash ghosts. Do you know how many wandering spirits my two martial nephews exorcised? Over seventy! That was enough to endanger the entire family!"

"Even so..."

"Brother, just be honest with me. Have you crossed anyone in the past few years?"

"Absolutely not. Second Brother, I have never done anything against my conscience—except for that incident back then..." Li Shishan sighed as well. "Forget it. If things don't improve, I'll send the children away and stay here alone. Maybe it's some of my old comrades coming for me."

The two brothers fell into silence. Li Shiwu shook his head, lowered his gaze to the fengshui blueprint in his hand, and carefully examined the surrounding terrain again.

Li Shiwu sighed again. "I'll do whatever it takes to uncover whoever's behind this tonight. Fortunately, I brought Fei Yu along. Had we encountered a corrupt devil, these old bones of mine might not have made it out alive."

***

At the dining table, Wang Sheng remained expressionless as he continued eating and drinking, but he had heard every word of the brothers' conversation through his spiritual consciousness.

What incident are they talking about? He didn't even explain.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He couldn't help but find their secretive manner amusing.

Li Shishan seemed to have done something questionable in the past, leading to some serious consequences. Judging by the Li family's wealth, it was likely related to business.

If he deliberately analyzed it further, he could uncover more details. For instance, the layout of this estate and Li Shiwu's decision to become a Daoist cultivator all seemed to have taken place over a decade ago.

Wang Sheng had no desire to pry too much, though. There was no need to overcomplicate things, especially not while a corrupt cultivator was trying to harm people. As long as he could capture the culprit, the rest...

Wait. What exactly are we supposed to do with the corrupt cultivator once we catch them?

Wang Sheng frowned. He hadn't thought this far yet.

The Hua Republic likely hadn't fully established any special departments to handle cultivators yet. If so, then what could they do with a captured corrupt cultivator? Tie them up like criminals and take them to the police station? Setting aside whether that would be legal or not, what would they even say to the officers?

'Officer, this is a corrupt cultivator who tried to harm an entire family. Please punish him severely!'

They'd probably be chased out with batons. No, being chased out would be the least of their worries. The police could mistake them for con artists and detain them, which would be a real embarrassment.

***

In the quiet room, Li Shiwu avoided Wang Sheng's somewhat amused gaze. Left with no other choice, he smiled awkwardly as he asked, "I've checked the garden. The fengshui layout hasn't been tampered with. Fei Yu, what should we do next?"

Zhou Yinglong, who was sitting nearby, raised an eyebrow. He naturally understood why the vice sect master was feeling guilty.

Originally, they had planned to inspect the fengshui layout under the pretense of checking the residence. However, Li Shiwu had dragged Li Shishan off for a private conversation, leaving his two martial nephews idling at the table.

"Martial Uncle, we came here to exorcise the ghosts," Wang Sheng answered. "Now that they've been driven away, shouldn't we be leaving?"

Li Shiwu looked troubled. "Well, we haven't caught the mastermind behind this yet, Fei Yu. I really can't feel at ease going back now, so I'll have to trouble you to put in more effort. Once we return, I..."

Wang Sheng raised his hand to stop the vice sect master from making promises of rewards. Deep down, he felt somewhat displeased.

"Logically speaking, you are our senior within the sect, Martial Uncle. Senior Brother Zhou and I should naturally follow your instructions. Once we've found the corrupt cultivator, we also naturally can't just stand by and do nothing.

"However, since this matter concerns your family, it might affect your judgment. We will need to consider your instructions carefully. To that end, I must ask—has your brother ever committed any grave misdeeds that would warrant such retaliation?"

Li Shiwu immediately shook his head. "My elder brother served in the military when he was young. After retiring, he started long-haul freight transport, gradually building his business and accumulating some wealth. I won't claim that my brother is a saint, but he is definitely an upright man who has never done anything wicked."

Wang Sheng nodded. "I'll trust you on that, Martial Uncle."

Li Shiwu quickly asked, "How should we catch the perpetrator behind all this?"

Unknowingly, Zhou Yinglong and Li Shiwu had turned their gazes toward Wang Sheng, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Right now, our only option is to wait for them to come to us." Wang Sheng glanced at the door. "But we shouldn't be too passive either. Let's set something up and lure the snake out of its hole."

"How do we lure it out?" Zhou Yinglong asked.

With a plan already in mind, Wang Sheng smiled slightly.

A few minutes later, Li Shiwu stepped out of the room and went to say goodbye to Li Shishan. He deliberately mentioned returning to the mountains to invite a few highly skilled Dao masters to perform a grand ritual for the family.

Li Shishan immediately patted his chest in assurance, stating that the cost of the ritual was not an issue. The more skilled masters they could invite, the better.

After that, Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong also bid farewell to the Li family, leaving in a rather straightforward manner.

The driver, who had rested for several hours, was now fully energized. He confidently assured his employer, Li Shishan, that he would safely escort the three back to the Wudang Mountains.

As they entered the car, Wang Sheng specifically reminded the driver, "Please don't forget to stop by that shopping mall later. I have to buy some snacks and clothes for my senior sister."

"Got it! No worries!"

The private car drove away, gradually picking up speed.

With the ritual completed and the house finally peaceful, the Li family collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shishan reminded his two sons not to neglect their work. Since everything was settled, they could rest for half a day, but tomorrow, they should return to their respective duties.

Soon, the gates of the Li residence closed, and the surveillance camera at the entrance quietly shifted, pointing toward the cement road outside.

***

About ten minutes later, Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong got out of the car at the shopping mall. Li Shiwu remained in the vehicle, choosing to wait for them in the parking lot.

Time passed, and they still hadn't returned.

"They're not lost, are they? Do you want me to give them a call?" the driver asked.

"No need." Li Shiwu smiled. He then raised his left hand, forming a sword finger and swiftly pressing it against the driver's neck.

The driver's eyes rolled back. He slowly slumped backward and began snoring softly through his mouth and nose.

With his cultivation at the early stage of the Spirit Convergence Realm, dealing with an ordinary person was effortless.

Following Wang Sheng's instructions, Li Shiwu then scanned the surroundings before putting a bit of effort into moving the driver, who weighed around seventy to eighty kilograms, to the passenger seat. He then settled in the driver's seat.

"It's up to you guys now."

Li Shiwu sighed softly and checked his pocket. He fished out his driver's license, renewed just a couple of years ago.

With Li Shishan as his older brother taking care of him, Li Shiwu had lived quite well before becoming a Daoist. Driving was no problem for him. Even at the Wudang Mountains, he often drove around for errands, so his driving skills were quite decent.

After a bit of time, he drove out of the mall's parking lot and headed toward the highway toll booth.

***

Shortly after Li Shiwu left, two young, slender men with long ponytails leisurely walked out of the mall. They were dressed in casual suits and branded leather shoes, and they were each dragging along a black rolling suitcase. They also had sunglasses on, giving them an air of vintage artistic charm.

Their tall and well-proportioned figures immediately caught the attention of many young women, who subtly took a few glances.

"We're really just running back like this?" Zhou Yinglong muttered.

Wang Sheng snapped his fingers. "Let's take a taxi to the hot spring resort near the Li family's residence. Right now, we're musicians here for a vacation anyway."

"Alright, whatever you say." Zhou Yinglong chuckled, finding the situation rather amusing.

Noticing the increasing number of gazes they were getting, he instinctively puffed out his chest a little more.