"Thank you for making this trip. When we return to the Meng family, we will be sure to reward you handsomely."

When the Meng family's First Madam came out, she was completely different from before.

When she was kidnapped, she didn't have time to pack her clothes. After arriving at this stronghold, Hu Ma didn't consider such details. It was only after being imprisoned for two days that she begged Li Wa Zi to bring her a change of clothes.

Although Li Wa Zi felt it was troublesome, he still found a padded jacket that his own grandmother wore and a pair of open-crotch cotton pants for winter, as it was cold in the mountains and he was afraid she would freeze.

However, the Meng family's First Madam was obviously unwilling to wear them. She had taken apart the padded jacket into a single layer and washed it twice before putting it on. And in the short time she was in the house, she had already changed back into her own clothes, her hair neatly combed and held in place with a wooden hairpin.

Clearly, she had just experienced being kidnapped and imprisoned, but she still looked dignified and gentle. Moreover, she was not in a hurry to ask questions or urge people to take her away.

"Madam Meng, you've been frightened. Let's go back now. Your family must be worried."

After delivering the message, Zhao Sanyi was eager to take the Meng family's First Madam back, hoping to put an end to this situation.

"Yes!"

The Meng family's First Madam said, picking up the basket containing the empty bowls and chopsticks next to her, "Please give this basket to the child who took care of me these past few days. The clothes he sent me, I've already folded them in the room. It's a pity I'm clumsy and can't sew the cotton back in."

"Later, I'll have to ask Little Mister Zhao to thank him for me and compensate his elders with a set of clothes."

"..."

"Yes, yes, it's the least we can do..."

Even Zhao Sanyi was a little surprised by the Meng family's First Madam's calm demeanor. He knew the seriousness of the situation and was eager to take her back to Yanzhou.

However, this delicate Meng family Madam was not skilled in martial arts. How to quickly arrange for her to be sent back was a problem. He was anxious to leave this place and find a good location to cast spells.

But when the group arrived at the edge of the valley, the Fourth Miss Zhou clearly hesitated, constantly looking into the forest.

The Meng family's First Madam noticed this and smiled, "Zhou Ying is here too. I'm sorry to have troubled you for my sake."

"How is your mother these days?"

"..."

The Fourth Miss Zhou said absentmindedly, "Besides scolding people, she's fine!"

The Meng family's First Madam nodded with a smile, "Did you like the Mingwang (Wisdom King) drumsticks I gave you before?"

"Looking at it now, you don't seem to be carrying them."

"..."

She intended to ease the distance between them, but unexpectedly, mentioning it only made Fourth Miss Zhou look a little embarrassed and annoyed, "What's given to me is mine. Why are you asking?"

"Huh?"

The Meng family's First Madam wasn't angry. Suddenly realizing her reaction was strange, she immediately became suspicious.

At this moment, Chen A'Bao, who was eating Chinese dates nearby, twitched his nose again, "There's that sour smell again..."

Fourth Miss Zhou was obviously a little angry, stamping her foot, "You're still talking about it!"

"No, I'm serious."

Chen A'Bao felt the smell was even more strange. He forgot about the Chinese dates in his hand and, with his nose twitching, circled around the edge of the valley, finally stopping in front of a soft, small mound of earth, tapping it with his toe, "It's right here!"

Just as everyone was feeling a little strange, suddenly, they heard what sounded like a muffled thunderclap above their heads. A black, muddy human hand suddenly reached out from inside.

Everyone was shocked and retreated, except for Fourth Miss Zhou, who took a step forward, full of vigilance.

Then they saw this hand pull open the surrounding soil, followed by a black, muddy head. As he crawled out, gasping for breath, he suddenly burst out laughing, "Good, good, disaster has come, misfortune has arrived!"

"The Meng family is going to have a big downfall this time..."

"..."

Such a strange person crawled out of the ground and shouted this, startling everyone present.

Especially the Meng family's Madam, who was shocked and suddenly realized, "What are you saying?"

Before this person from the earth could crawl out and explain, everyone suddenly noticed that the sky had darkened.

It was clearly almost noon, and even in this deep mountain forest, it was the brightest time of day. But in the very short time they watched this person crawl out, the sky became extremely dark, as if time had suddenly turned to night.

Immediately afterward, a strange wind suddenly blew in from outside the forest, rustling the branches and leaves, and scattering the vines, sounding like the wails of ghosts throughout the forest.

The Meng family's Madam was staggered by the wind and suddenly fell to the ground. Her hair, which she had just combed, slipped down, disheveled and covering her face. It was as if an invisible weight was pressing down on her head, preventing her from lifting it.

Having just experienced hardship, she still did not forget to maintain her noble composure. But at this moment, she seemed to have lost her mind all of a sudden. Her cries even had a sharp edge to them, "It's over, it's over... the Meng family's great foundation will be destroyed by this beast..."

"My dear grandmother..."

Zhao Sanyi reacted even faster. Looking at the strange winds blowing from different directions, he immediately understood what was happening. He slapped his thigh, his face turning pale. Without time to say more, he jumped up and rushed straight toward the Da Yang stronghold.

Chen A'Bao and Fourth Miss Zhou also reacted, one floating and the other running, following behind him.

This time, they hadn't gone far when they saw Hu Ma.

They saw the zougui (ghost runner) dazhuodao (chief arrester) standing still in the forest. Hearing their footsteps, he slowly turned around.

His face was ashen, devoid of blood. He stared at Zhao Sanyi's face and slowly opened his mouth, "Has... has the news of the release not been delivered to the Meng family yet?"

Zhao Sanyi's voice trembled, "No... wasn't it already delivered?"

"Pfft!"

Hu Ma suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, "You three have ruined me!"

...

...

Has the Meng family still released the disaster?

Clearly, this zougui dazhuodao had already taken responsibility and agreed to send the Meng family's Madam back. This represented a huge step back by the Hu family in the conflict between the Hu and Meng families, showing sincerity.

Even if the Meng family still had grievances, they could continue to negotiate. But they actually released the disaster at this juncture?

Wasn't that too much?

Was the Meng family so arrogant that they didn't take the Hu family seriously at all, or the Zhao, Zhou, Chen, and Wang families who had appeared as persuaders?

Zhao Sanyi thought of the words he had used to persuade Hu Ma earlier and the things he had promised him, patting his chest. He felt ashamed and looked at Hu Ma, who had spat out a mouthful of blood from anger, and his hands trembled. He didn't know whether to help him or not.

The strange wind in the forest grew more and more fierce, making people dizzy.

Only the Meng family's Madam was breathing weakly, and the salted vegetable jar beside Hu Ma, whose purpose was unknown, shook desperately, as if filled with countless heartbreaking curses.

...

...

Yanzhou, the Meng family's ancestral home.

The terrifying pressure came so fiercely.

The Meng family's young master, who had seized the initiative and was only thinking about how to manipulate the four ten-surname leaders, jumped up when the teacup in his hand shattered for no reason. He looked around in confusion, and then he suddenly felt something was wrong.

The sky outside had darkened, and dark clouds were gathering, as if pressing down on the Meng family's residence. He could only hear the formless, eerie laughter.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

There was no lightning, but he could hear dull, hoarse rumbling thunder, one after another, from behind the dark clouds. There were twelve in a row. Outsiders might have been fine, but the people in the Meng family's residence felt as if the thunder had struck their minds, directly shaking their heads and slowing their thinking by half.

"It's bad, the ancestral hall, the incense in the ancestral hall, it's all floating outwards..."

The next moment, a terrified cry of servants suddenly rang out. It came from the direction of the ancestral hall.

Whoosh!

Immediately afterward, the two lanterns hanging in front of the Meng family's main hall suddenly caught fire. The flames were faint, but soon they had burned to ashes.

Wuwu wawa...

Strange cries rang out from the well in the courtyard, as if countless little ghosts were eager to crawl out of the well and escape.

"Could it be..."

No one knew better than the Meng family's young master. At this moment, his eyes even seemed a little confused, "No way..."

"This... how is this possible?"

"..."

"Swish!"

The leaders of the Zhao, Zhou, Chen, and Wang families suddenly slammed their tables and stood up, looking at him in disbelief:

"The Madam has already been picked up, and we have already agreed to the other conditions. How could you..."

"...how could you still release the disaster?"

"..."

"I..."

The Meng family's young master was so flustered that he couldn't even speak for a moment. He felt dizzy and as if something extremely heavy was pressing down on him.

It was even heavier than the feeling of pressure when they had asked for disaster before. The more composed he had been before, the more serious the impact was on his mind at this moment, "Impossible, impossible, could it be that someone disobeyed the order and forcibly sent the disaster?"

"No, even if they disobeyed the order, they wouldn't have the ability to send the disaster. Who is it, who actually has such great ability..."

"..."

The dark clouds outside grew thicker and thicker, and the rumbling thunder never stopped. He suddenly thought of something, flew into a rage, and shouted, "That's right, the Hu family! It must be the Hu family playing tricks..."

"The Hu family is so ruthless, actually sending disaster on behalf of my Meng family..."

"..."

When he shouted, his eyes were already bloodshot and his hair was disheveled, looking like a madman.

"Besides shouting about the Hu family, blaming everything on the Hu family, what else can nephew do?"

But at this moment, the four leaders of the Zhao, Zhou, Chen, and Wang families had already stood up. Their expressions were also gloomy and angry, and their hands trembled with anger. But seeing the dark clouds above the Meng family's ancestral home, they seemed too tired to say any angry words.

Instead, a few traces of fatigue appeared on their faces. They slowly waved their hands and sighed, "The situation is irreversible. Take care!"

Saying this, they didn't even say goodbye and quickly walked out of the Meng family's residence, walking so quickly that their figures disappeared in an instant.

It was as if they were afraid that something filthy in the Meng family's residence would stick to them.

(End of Chapter)