Chapter 534: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom


    No matter what, Hong Tianbao didnt agree to use strong forceagainst hisfather.Being leftwith no choice, we had to take turnswatchingOld Hong throughthe nights to preventhimfrom running away.


    Unexpectedly, Old Hongdidnt leave the house for a few days.At night, he wouldtormentthe three of us, so wewere mentallyexhausted.


    I didnt dare to rx this time. From the previous fight, I could tell that thespirits IQ wasnt low. Perhapshe was trying to wear us outand find the right opportunity to escape.


    Anyway, I couldnt endure staying up so many nights in a row. Tonightwas my turn to watch Old Hong. After a while, I became tired and sleepy. I slowly closed my eyes.


    Drowsily, I thought I heard someone talking. The voice was so close to me that every time that person spoke, the moisture from their mouthreachedmy face. It felt cold and damp, which wasntfortable at all.


    I thought Hong Tianbao and his brother were talking. Instinctively, I waved at the source of the noiseand signaled atthem to move away from me and not to disturb my rest.I extended my hand but didnt touch anything. Nobody was standingor sitting near me.


    I got up immediately. I looked around and saw Hong Tianbao and his brother sleeping on the floorofthe living room. I tensed upand turnedto check Old Hongs room.Thedoor to his room wasopen.


    I rushed there to check; no one was inside. I ran out of the house to see. No one was in the yard, either.


    While I was thinking where Old Hong couldhave gone, a red me illuminated the night sky.


    Ohshoot, that old manwentto burn peoples houses again


    It was all I could think about.Then, I eleratedand ranat my maximum speed toward the me.


    When I reached that ce, I saw many people surrounding the mes. Hong Tianbao and his brotherranafter me.By lookingat theirembarrassed attitude, I knew they had the same thoughtsasme. Old Hongcould haveset this fire.


    The vigers carried water from their houses to put out the fire. The owner of the house was sitting on the ground. He was screamingthat half of his lifes savings were gone


    It took them an hour to put out the big fire. Although no onewashurt, the house was burned down.


    I carefully searched through the crowdbutdidnt see Old Hong. In other words, after he set the fire, hehad runaway. I was afraid that he would do some more damage, so I called Hong Tianbaoand askedhim to go to the field to check.


    Later on, Hong Tianbao took me back to his home. Since it was almost dawn, Old Hong would havereturnedhome already. The otherworldly item wouldnt go out during the day.


    Indeed, when wereturnedtohishouse, we sawthatOld Hongs door was closed. It was obvious that hehad returnedand slept.


    I pushed the door, but it was locked from the inside. Iknocked severaltimes. No one came toopenthe door.


    Arson was a serious crime. I exchanged looks with Hong Tianbao. Right after that, I kicked the door with all of my strength.


    It was goodthatthe wooden doors in the countryside werent really tough. I had easily kicked it open. I spotted Old Hong immediately. He looked shockedto seeI hadkickedhis door open.Hegazed at me withhis opaque eyes. A momentter, he finally pulled himself together. He pointed at my noseand scoldedloudly.You prick! What are you doing?!


    I didnt have time to listen to his nonsenseand saidcoldly,Did you setthat house onfire?


    It wasnt beyond my estimation that he didnt have any impression of what he had done. I had to exert my effort to exin to him that he was possibly controlled by an otherworldly item. And, that the otherworldly item that had controlled him wasthered turban.


    Old Hong didnt believe me. When he heard that I intended to do something with his red turban, he immediately protected his head and screamed, You want my red turban? Youllhave to walkonmydead bodyfirst!


    Hmph, people who be rich inhumanly should be burned to death!


    I then heard a cold voice in my ears, butit didnte from Old Hong.Hong Tianbao was smoking quietly nearby, so it wasnt him, either.


    Could it be thatOld Hong had set that house on fire because the house owner had done something inhuman orbecamerich from fraud?


    I was surprised.Thisold man had repeatedly mentionedsomefamily and healso talked abouteradicating the Qing monsters. Atthis moment, I seemed tounderstand theorigin of the otherworldly item.


    I pulled Hong Tianbaoand askedhim to use the iron chain totemporarilytie and lock Old Hong in his room.


    Hong Tianbao knew that his father wasnt himself. No matter how loud and filthy Old Hongscreamedat his face, he kept an indifferent attitude and locked him up.


    Fortunately, nobodyknewthat Old Hong had set that house on fire. We didnt need to worry about the policingto our door. Not long after that, Hong Tianjiang came home. He slumped on the chair and sighed when he saw his father tied up.


    Sincethe two brothers were home, I told them about my assumption.


    I had a feeling thatthe Hongfamilyhadartionship with Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement.We were in Jintian Vige, the location of theTaiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising.


    During thete years of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial courtstopped doing its workand the people were unbearably tortured by the corrupted officials. They couldnt endure it anymore. At that time, a farmer called Hong Xiuquan stood up. He called the people to join Christianity from the West.He said that peopleshould worship God. Together, they would destroy the Qing monsters. With the helpofYang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, and Xiao Chaogui, the Jintian Uprising seeded.


    Hong Xiuquan established a new nation called the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which advocated to beat the local tyrants and re-divide the fields. He proimed himself as the Heavenly King. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement soon spread to the entire country.All theTaiping soldiers wore redturbans. They thought if they did that, God would protect them and that no mortal weapons could harm them.


    Countless Taiping soldiersfell, but they were reced by the new waves of soldiers. Thepeople of the great Qing Dynasty were frightened. They had lost a lot ofnd to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, the tremendous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement eventually faileddue tointernal and external troubles. The Qing Dynasty chopped Hong Xiuquan into pieces and put his remains intoacannon. They shot the cannon to set anexample of punishment to the rebels.


    I thought that Hong Xiuquan didnt want to ept his failure. A wisp of his soul had dwelled inthered turbanand waswaiting for a chance to resurface!


    Of course, the two brothersdidntbelievemy assumption.


    Hongtian Baosaid,Most of the people in this Jintian Vige are the descendants of the rebellious soldiers. If it happenedasyou said, whydidn''t ithappen toother familiesin this vige? Why did it happen tomy family?


    I said nothing but was persistent with my guess since it was the only reliableoneI had until now.


    Hong Xiuquanwasthe King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was normal that he didnt want to ept his failure. At that time, the Taiping HeavenlyKingdommovement had imed half of the country. Hong Xiuquan was unwilling to give up this supreme power.


    Anyway, the brothers were stunned by my speech. In the end, theydecided to trust me. If wehadthe correct direction,our next moves weresimple. We needed to make Hong Xiuquan ept the fact that his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was gone. We would need to reythe wayhis rebellious force was defeated.


    However, to ensure nothingwould gowrong, I decided to make everything clear. I told the brothers to find a n to get the red turban. I needed to check the red turban to see if that spirit was the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan.


    However, for a few days in a row, wedidnt havea chance to take action. Although Old Hong was tied up,whenever we wentnear him, he would scream and struggle hard.


    The situation was beyond my estimation. I originally thought it was simr to other otherworldly items. Butfrom the current situation, I guessed this otherworldly itemwas very strong. Its purpose was probably to restore the ancient kingdom!


    Old Hong had been locked up for three days. Hong Tianbao served him well every day, butsince Old Hong always tried tochase him away, the burlyandfatty manweptsometimes.


    Iwassad for him. Itfelt as if asharp thornwas growingin my heart.


    Old Hong didnt cooperate with us, so my investigation had encountered aroadblock. I leaned against the wand thought aboutwhatstrategy I should useto get that red turban.


    Old Hong was strangely guarded against me. Last time, Hong Tianbao and I had broken his door.I guessed that the incidentmust havegiven him some trauma.


    If the other party had been a little boy, I could have directly taken action. Unfortunately, he was ankyandsenile old man. If I forcefully took action, I would provoke the spirit in his bodyand maybe even causeOld Hongs death.


    Jiulin, brother. Hong Tianbao came to me. He leanedagainstthe wall next to me and slowlysatdown. His image in mymindhadgonefrom a jade trading businessman to a small business boss who had just gone bankrupt. He looked dispirited.


    Duringthese pastfifteen days, he was the one that had to bear the mental pressure and strain the most.


    I looked at him and didnt know what to say tofort him. The current situation wasnt positive. I could only pat his shoulder to calm him. Brother, dont worry. We can solve this.


    He gave me a nod and puffed his smoke deeply. Then, he rubbed his face. He looked better afterward.


    After tryingtosmile, he said, Brother Jiulin,Im a straightforward person, sojust tell me the truth. Isthe current situationvery troublesome?


    Yeah,this isrtively hard to solve! Ive been watching your father these days. Hismindhas beenaffected. Moreover, hes really old. Ifthings continuelike this, his bodywont be able tobear the consequences. I told him what wasworryingme.


    After listening to me, Hong Tianbao put out his cigarette. Three days. Give me three days! I promise you I will take the red turban off his head and give it to you.


    Then, he seemed tohave madeup his mind on something very important. In my eyes, his footsteps became heavier. I didnt know what method he would use to get the red turban, but I was sure it wasnt a good method.


    Except forhandingmeals, Old Hong wouldnt let anybody approach him. If Hong Tianbao hadeptedthis tough task, Iknew that I shouldprepare thenecessary items!


    I carriedspirit talismans and refined salt with meat all times.Moreover, in a countryside vige like this,there were plenty ofgranr foods. I could always get them at the critical moment.


    However, I still needed one thing. I needed a top-Yang attribute item to activate the Heavenly Dipper Formation. Mostotherworldlyspirits wouldnt dare to enter the Heavenly Dipper Formation. But if thespiritwas really Hong Xiuquan, he wouldnt be afraid of my formation. I needed anotherpirto supportmy Heavenly Dipper formation!


    If the otherworldly item had chosen Old Hong, Old Hong would be in danger. I needed to use the extrapirto protect him.


    Since I couldnt leave this ce and the Hong brothers didnt want other people to know that his father was in grave trouble, I had to call Li Mazi.


    Li Mazi was as despicable as usual. Hey man, I know you cant live without me!


    Iughed and scoffed. Then, Ibriefed him about the situation. Within three days, you must bring the purple y teapotI gosttime to Jintian Vige.


    When he heard my stern voice, he stopped teasing me. I promise that before the sun sets tomorrow, you will see me.


    After hanging up the call, I couldnt help but smile to myself. I thoughtthat my buddy over there was still useful.


    AfterI had preparedeverything, I returned to my roomand tooka nap.I was wornout. OnceLi Mazi came and I got the red turban,it would bethe critical moment.


    Ihadto put myself in the best fighting mode beforehis arrival!