Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

As a Taoist well-versed in human nature, Yi Chen naturally had a knack for crafting stories.

The essence of lying still aims to deceive and conceal.

Some say that the most sophisticated lies are made up of nine truths and one falsehood, but in reality, this is a fallacy.

Tao has no high or low, as long as it works.

Nine truths and one falsehood are just to make one's lies appear more truthful.

Being an expert in this field, Yi Chen had even written reports in his previous life that were entirely true, with no falsehoods.

Hmm, everything was true, all verifiable at random, but the conclusions drawn from those facts were false, thereby achieving an alternative goal of concealment...

The means are diverse, but the ultimate goal is still to deceive and hide.

Seeing the Family Head Linglong's convinced eyes, Yi Chen speculated that this enchanted land was probably real, but the black mist being a product of this land was likely a red herring.

"Taoist, how long do you plan to stay in Lingyang City? If it's for a while, why not stay in our Ling family's fortress?"

"That way, accommodation, food, and travel would be much more convenient. In Lingyang City, our Ling family still has some influence," Linglong said, putting down his wine cup and looking at Yi Chen with a profound look in his eyes, like a deep lake without a bottom.

Even Yi Chen, who had seen countless people, could not discern any trace of falsehood.

"Family Head is too polite. Since the mystery of the black mist has been solved, I should naturally leave in a couple of days."

"However, I have a certain fate with a child in the city and would like to train him for a while before taking him with me. The City Lord would not mind, I presume," Yi Chen replied with a smile.

Just as Yi Chen was planning to exchange pleasantries with Linglong, suddenly a young girl's angry shout erupted outside the door.

"Get out of my way, let me in!"

A girl with an angry, frost-covered face barged into the hall.

Her attire was quite exotic, wearing a black cotton undershirt with a white dress draped over it, the hem of the skirt just reaching the knees.

She wore a pair of black leather boots on her feet, and her legs were wrapped in sock-like black silk, the stockings twisting and winding out of the leather boots, enhancing the shapeliness of the girl's legs.

"It fits the gruel ceremony."

"Just don't know if it smells like feet." Your next journey awaits at empire

The get-up caught Yi Chen's eye and made it shine.

The girl glared fiercely at Yi Chen, grabbed the wine jar in front of him and threw it fiercely to the ground, then pointed at Linglong and scolded:

"Father, not even a month after mother left, you consort with these coquettish wenches, hosting banquets and drinking, is this Taoist a decent man?

You never used to be like this, you... you've disappointed me deeply, you're not my father."

Upon finishing, her eyes reddened, and she left the hall in tears, followed by her maids hurrying after her.

Yi Chen: "..."

An unwitting speaker can speak volumes, and Yi Chen silently withdrew his hand that was resting on Mei Ji's thigh, his glance inadvertently lingering on Linglong.

"The dog's life was brief, that is my daughter Ling Yun. I apologize for this embarrassment, Taoist. She is not usually like this. Perhaps tomorrow I can host another banquet to apologize to you?" Linglong offered an apologetic bow to Yi Chen, looking like a doting father.

"Family Head, please tend to your matters. Thank you for your hospitality, but I need to go train my foolish disciple," said Yi Chen, and with a chuckle, he flashed out of the fortress, while Linglong rushed off in the direction his daughter had gone.

...

...

"Something's not right, this Ling family must have a big secret."

"The change in Lingyang City that Wang Ba dreamt of is mostly related to them."

"Could it be that some evil entity has replaced Linglong, secretly arranging something?"

Inspired by the girl's angry accusation, Yi Chen's imagination began to run wild, and with thoughts on his mind, he headed towards Wang Ba's house.

When he was invited by the Family Head, he had Little Miao follow Wang Ba as he left.

As soon as Yi Chen appeared, Wang Ba and Little Miao came running over, with Wang Ba's eyes red as if he'd been crying, which Yi Chen found odd: "Could it be he's been crying over his studies? Uh..."

"Taoist brother, you're finally back. Something's happened," Wang Ba said with a quivering voice.

"What's so alarming? Don't panic, take it slow." Yi Chen patted Wang Ba's head, trying to calm him down.

Through Wang Ba's disjointed explanation, Yi Chen learned that Duck Egg's good friend Dog Egg had gone missing.

"Dog Egg said he was going fishing yesterday, to catch fish to help build up my strength, but Aunt Lin came over just now and said Dog Egg was missing, and so were his friends he went with."

"Taoist brother, I think..." Duck Egg began, his sleeve swiping at his nose, but Yi Chen interrupted him before he could finish.

"No, you don't think," said Yi Chen forbiddingly.

"Taoist brother, in life, you need to have loyalty. Dog Egg is my brother," Duck Egg tried to argue, not willing to give in.

"If you try to foresee events, I can't guarantee how long you'll live; you'll die, do you understand?" Yi Chen said, resigned.

"But in life, you need to have loyalty."

"Anyway, I still have my dad, mom, and my older brother. Dog Egg would treat my parents as his own. Dying sooner or later doesn't make much difference, I might as well try," Duck Egg said with an inexplicable stubbornness in his voice.

Yi Chen looked deeply at Duck Egg, his heart touched by the child's spirit.

He had been moved by a child.

Perhaps this was the innocence of a child.

Although Duck Egg was not a good student, he dared to stand up for his classmates against bullying, even if the bully was from a powerful background.

He was loyal to his friends, ready to sacrifice himself.

This cultural desert... it truly evokes fear, making Yi Chen scratch his head in consternation.

"The situation hasn't reached that point yet, tell me, in the premonition you saw earlier, what was the scene when Wang Ba died?" Yi Chen asked in a deep voice.

"White banners for the dead, and a silver river."

"Stay put, I'm going to investigate further. Little Miao, keep an eye on him. If he spaces out, knock him unconscious for me."

After leaving that instruction, Yi Chen suddenly vanished from sight.

Investigating such matters requires finding the right people, not searching fruitlessly alone.

In urgent situations, employing somewhat more forceful approaches is unavoidable.

Boom!

A loud noise.

The gate of the Evil Tiger Gang was sent flying by a powerful kick, shattering instantly into pieces.

The gang members gambling in the courtyard were struck by the flying wood chips and fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

A majestic figure strode in from outside.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It was Yi Chen.

He had done his homework. The local gang that had been entrenched the longest was none other than this Evil Tiger Gang.

Snakes have their own path, rats have theirs; the riffraff had their uses, and asking them could be incredibly efficient for certain things.

"Any of you who don't want to die, put your hands on your heads and squat down."

"Family Head, please kneel down. Daoist begs you to let him inquire about some matters."

Crack! With a kick, Yi Chen broke the leg of a man baring his chest decorated with a tattoo of two axes and a full beard.

".…"

Violence isn't the only solution, but it is swift.

Was he expected to beguile this group of gangsters with gentle persuasion? Then what was the point of Yi Chen's cultivation?

A small temple afflicted by demons, a shallow pond with too many Wang Ba.

The tiny Lingyang City was home to four gangs.

Following his visit to the Evil Tiger Gang, adhering to the principle of "those who comply live, those who oppose disappear," Yi Chen paid a visit to the other three gangs in the same fashion.

Each of the four major gangs was very cooperative and disclosed all the information they knew.

By the time Yi Chen finished his tasks, it was already midnight.

"Interesting, I didn't expect the Ling family to harbor such secrets."

Yi Chen gazed at the Ling family fortress atop the highest point and couldn't help but reveal a slight smile.

Every year in Lingyang City, a small number of people vanished without a trace, as if evaporating from the face of the Earth. Some claimed they were victims of evil ghosts claiming lives, their souls snatched into a mysterious space. A gang member, under Yi Chen's interrogation, insisted he had seen it happen.

Yi Chen also had the gang members investigate the birthdates of the vanished children from today, discovering they were either born with extremely yin life-patterns or were associated with yin influences.

Another piece of news that greatly intrigued Yi Chen was the short life span of the Ling family members. The Family Head had been replaced two or three times over the past two hundred years, and direct family members also disappeared in bizarre ways, as if cursed.

Recalling the white-dressed young girl's claim that her mother died a month ago, Yi Chen couldn't help but rethink all sorts of details from his encounter with Linglong.

"Could it be that Linglong's core was really replaced? Possessed by an outer demon?"

The thought quickly surfaced in Yi Chen's mind, only to be dismissed just as swiftly.

During the day, he had carefully sensed Linglong and found no mismatch that would indicate a possession had occurred.

With his current level of cultivation, it would be difficult for someone who had undergone possession to escape his perception.

Even if the person who underwent the possession was incredibly adept, there was still an unexplainable detail.

That was the strange deaths of the direct Ling family descendants over the past two hundred years as if they were cursed. What was the explanation for that?

After some thought and finding no reasonable explanation, Yi Chen shook his head. He considered for a moment and decided against immediately going to the Ling family fortress, opting to wait for the outcome after Wang Ba entered his dreams that night before making a decision.

Having made up his mind, a pale golden radiance shot up into the sky, and soon he was inside Wang Ba's home courtyard.

…

…

Moonlight spilt like water, drenching the land.

In a courtyard within the Ling family fortress, where several clumps of ornamental bamboo were planted.

The wind rustled the bamboo leaves, which kept fluttering incessantly.

Under the moonshine, the bamboo leaves and branches cast a large array of shadows.

On the ground, they mingled and interlaced like waterweeds in a pond.

Ling Yun, the eldest daughter, had removed her black leather boots and was leaning at the window of her room, staring blankly at the scene outside.

Her feet, enveloped in black socks, kept rubbing against each other, changing positions under the table.

Perhaps due to the drop in temperature at night, wisps of vapor rose from the tips of her toes.

However, at this moment, Ling Yun's thoughts had already drifted far beyond the nine heavens.

She once had a wonderfully happy family, with loving parents.

Because her older brother died under mysterious circumstances, she received even more love and affection.

But all of that shattered into illusionary bubbles a month ago.

The mother who adored her was dead.