Chapter 536: The Unimaginable Real Culprit


    Some people in the vige started to have the sameproblem. Their symptoms were like that of Old Hong. After midnight, they would run away from home andvowsomething. Then, theywould startto burn the homes of rich people.


    At first, there was only one person affected. Gradually,the number increased.Thiswas the real purpose of the spirit!


    This group of people hated evildoersas their archenemies. They even went to the rich housesand robbed themin daylight!Itwas no use to report to the police because they didnt remember what had happened to them or what they had done. The policewerehelpless.


    Old Hongs family members sighed and were worried. Of course, they knew what wascausingtrouble to the vigers.


    Brother Jiulin,wasntthat thing destroyed? asked Hong Tianbao gloomily.


    I didnt know how to answer him. The otherworldly item was imprisoned by my talismans. In theory, such incidents shouldnt happen.


    Li Mazi saw our glum facesandhalf-joked with us. Perhapstheghost of Hong Xiuquan deceived us


    After listeningto Li Mazi, I carefully reyed the incidents in my head. I knew I had underestimated Hong Xiuquan. I had hit him several times andnothing hadhappened to him, so how could myst attack expel him so easily?


    He had fooled me!


    He knew I hada way of dealingwith him. Even if hetchedontoOld Hong, hecouldntdo anything. As such,hepretended to be defeated and let me get the red turban.


    Wewould thinkthat the case was solved andlet our guard down.Thiswould give him time to replenish hissoul, making iteasier for him to find a body to possesster!


    We could say that he had seeded. Those people had lost their minds and started to burn houses and rob people. Hong Xiuquan had taken one step back to advance evenfurther!


    I suddenly jolted up. Hong Tianbao and Li Mazi were startled. They thoughtthat I was possessed, too.


    I didnt talk to them but entered the house. Istarted to recall everythingthat happened inthe past half month.


    At nightfall, Hong Tianbao suddenly called meand toldme that he needed to discuss something with me. He brought me out of the houseand wentto a deserted area. There was no one else but us here.


    There was something wrong with Hong Tianbao. Discreetly, I put up my guard.


    Jiulin, brother!Hong Tianbao lit up a cigaretteand puffedtwice.


    I noddedand signaled athim to continue. He fumed a ring of smoke. Histone was heavy and worried. Ididnt want to tell youthisbut since it haseto this point, Im afraid that if I dont tell you, it will be a real disaster


    Hong Tianbaowas keepinga secret from me allthistime!


    I was a little angry but anger couldnt help me with anything now. Do tell me


    It turned out thatOld Hong had a grudge againsteveryfamily in Jintian Vige!


    Hong Tianbao was doing jade business in another province, so he didnte home very often. Hong Tianjiang was a simple,middle-aged manthathadnt married. Old Hong workedin their fields all the time. In this vige, their family was at a disadvantage.


    The other vigers thought that Hong Tianbao was richdue tohis business, so they wanted to take advantageofthis family. Old Hong was enraged. He quarreled and fought with the others in the fields. Hong Tianjiangcame intime to stop them, so no one was harmed.


    Unexpectedly,as soon asOld Hong smoothened his anger the next day, he found that all hiscropswereburned down!


    Many people were presentatthefight. Old Hong didnt knowwho did thatto his family. Thatwaswhy he had kept a grudge against all of them. Old Hong had called Hong Tianbao to tell him about this. However, Hong Tianbao thought that it was just a trivial grudge.


    Afterward, Old Hong put on the red turban and the strangeincidents started.


    I opened my eyes wide in shock. Did Old Hong have a deal with that otherworldly item? Could it be that helet the otherworldly item control his body to help it fulfill something and that the otherworldly itemwas going tohelp him take revenge? Was that whysome houseswereburned?


    If so, everythingmade sense. Old Hong didnt forget anything, and the video wasnt deleted unknowingly. He remembered everything!


    It was nowonder he had tried his best to protect the red turban. It wasnt his family heirloom! He was afraid that Iwould findout!


    But then, there was one thing Iwasnt clear aboutIfthats the case, why did he tell me about the origin of the red turban?


    Hong Tianbao shook his head. I dont know. Perhaps, my father felt guilty. He has been an honest farmer for his whole life. He has never harmed anybody proactively.


    Thatwaswhy they wanted to keep me here in case something horrible happened.


    Oh, theres one more thing. The red turban youhaveis a fake one. Hong Tianbao threw me a heavier bomb.


    What the heck? Fake? I had risked my life to get a fake red turban?


    Hong Tianbaosaid,Ive seen the red turban my father said was our family heirloom. Its old, so the color cant be that bright. Moreover, it has abloodstainthat looks like a flower. The turban youhavehas a bright colorand is prettyclean.That day, I panickedanddidnt pay attention to these details. Until these twopastdays, when the incidentsstarted to happenagain, I recognized that itwasntthe right red turban.


    I took a deep breath. If that turban is fake, where is the real one? I didnt see your fatherwearred turbans.


    I dont know. I decided to tell you this because I can see that things are getting worse. I dont want to live with this secret as it will trouble me for the rest of my life.BrotherJiulin, we have to count on you now. Whether that red turban is fake or not,awisp of the real ghost is there! Ive been with you for a while, and I now know that the iplete spirit will be weaker without that wisp of soul. Hong Tianbao was smart and hehadthe right analysis.


    I sighed. Its no use. We dont know where that spirit is hiding. From the current incidents in the vige, I know the spirit is weakened, but its still very powerful.


    I patted Hong Tianbaos shoulderand askedhim not toworry too much. Ive epted this case, so I will try my best. I dont want to see our good fellows be evildue toa spirit.


    Hong Tianbao heaved a sigh of relief.At thismoment, Hong Tianjiang rushed from a fardistance. He was lookingfor me.


    I exchanged smiles with Hong Tianbaoand thoughtthat Hong Tianjiang had alsorealized thatsomethingwaswrong and wanted to tell me the truth.Unexpectedly, Hong Tianjiang didnt say anything about that. Bad thingshavehappened to a family in the vige. You should go and see yourself.


    Of course, I didntrefuse. Hong Tianbao went home to take care of Old Hong while Ileft with Hong Tianjiangtothat family.


    It was the Li family livingatthe end of the vige. There was a long distance between the Hong familys houseand Li''shouse. Along the way, I chatted with Hong Tianjiang. I was amazed that Hong Tianjiang, a simpleandnice farmer who didnt talk much, could be so talkative today. However, his story wasinteresting enough thatI wasnt bored at all.


    I didntcare too much and thoughtthat perhapsit was becauseOld Hong was all right now.He was probably feelingmuch better.


    We had walked for around ten minutesuntil we reachedthe Li familys house. The sky waspletely dark, but there was no light in that house. There was a table set up in the middle of the courtyard with a flickering candle on it.I saw a shadowsitting there by a flickering candle. However, I couldnt see that persons face.


    Dont be scared. Widow Lis husband passed away a long time ago. Her husband leftherwithason. This family is really poor. To support her son to finish his schooling, sheincurred bigdebts. Thats why she doesnt want to turn on the lights when her son isnt home. She wants to save money. You see, sheonlyhasa candle.


    I understood her storyand followedHong Tianjiang into thecourtyard.


    Unexpectedly, after we entered the courtyard, Hong Tianjiang told me that hehadsomething urgent to do and that he needed to leave now. Ithought it wasso strange. Widow Ligot up from behind the glow of the candleand thankedHong Tianjiang. I thoughtWidow Lis attitude towards Hong Tianjiang was really strange. He had just helped her invite me here, and now she was bowing deeply to himand thankinghim with nice words. I looked at her and had a feeling that shewouldeven want to get on her knees


    When she cametome, I realized thatWidow Li was really beautiful. She was around forty years old, hada standard oval face, big eyes, and a small nose.However, herskin wasnt fair, and her eyes didnt have a bright spirit.If it werentforher living conditions,she would be a very charming woman.


    After Hong Tianjiang left,Widow Li suddenly kept silent. I guessed she didnt know what to say. Itookthe initiative. Why didyou want to see me?


    Widow Lihad hesitated for a long moment. She didnt tell me thereason. Please follow me. Youll see.


    I looked into the house.There wasno beam of light around. How could I see anything? WidowLikept asking me to see. I thought it was no use to stay outside, so I entered the house. It was pitch-ck, andI had to take a long moment to adjust. After a while, I could vaguely recognize the things in her house.


    WidowLisfamilywas really poor, justasHong Tianjiang had told me. Therewasamon saying that best described her house  Ahouse that hadnothing except for the four walls. Her house was almost empty. Her kitchen counter was also in the living room. The house was tiny in general, and I smelled the funny smell of mold. However, I checked around and found nothing special. I didnt know what she wanted me to see so Iturned toask her.


    WidowListood by the light of the candleand lookedat me with her beautiful eyes. Half of her face looked perfect,whilethe other half looked like her skin was peeling off. I thought I even saw something wiggling under her skin. This striking contrast scared me. I almost screamed.


    I was bewildered.Then,Widow Li stooped and blew out the candle. At the moment thecandlelightwas gone, she lifted her headand lookedat me. Hereyes were maliciously strange and reluctant.


    In the next moment, the surroundings changed again. Space began to twist. Iplete corpses appeared in my eyes.After lookingat those withered corpses, I knew theyhad beendead for a long time.


    All the corpses had a red turban on their heads Were they the Taiping soldiers?


    But it wasnt logical. The Taiping soldiers in Jintian Vige were a group of rebellious farmers. They werent establishedon rge scale, and they didnt receive many casualties. However, right now, there were at least several hundred spirits around me.


    Holymoly,didHongXiuquan movethe ghosts of Taiping soldiers here? Does he want to create a new ghost army?


    MuahahaRight asI wanted to move, a figure appeared at the end of the troop line. He leisurely took each step. The red turban was on his head.


    Hesmirked. Withthe corpseslyingaround, he looked extremely cold and sinister.


    I was stunned that it was Hong Tianjiang. Theinandinnocent-looking Hong Tianjiang!


    How do you feel now? This is the army Im going to control to recover my kingdom. Hong Tianjiang sounded contended.


    Why is it you? I couldnt ept it. From his tone, I knew he was the hand behind all ofthisright from the beginning.