Chapter 11 Miscalculation

"What?"

In truth, the Four Great Hall Officials had already reached a consensus: to accept the calamity. However, knowing the Meng family's young master to be difficult and vindictive, they waited for someone else to voice this opinion first.

But just as Da Zhuodao (Great Executioner) had finally spoken everyone's thoughts, the words of the Meng family's young master suddenly startled them.

"Actually, in my calculations, even if all eleven calamities were to backlash simultaneously, they wouldn't harm me. At most, my other blood relatives would bear the brunt."

Meng Silang met their astonished gazes, still smiling. He seemed to sigh slightly as he said, "But when I had to hammer nails into my head, I knew something had been miscalculated."

He didn't wipe the blood from his face, letting it spread as he suddenly looked up at everyone and laughed. "I'm certain the Hu family invited that one particular calamity."

"That's why things have reached this point. So, even if the Meng family wants to accept the calamity, we can't."

"Of course, this sounds outlandish, and no one would believe it even if I said it out loud."

"..."

"Then..."

Listening to him, the Wen Shi (Inquiry) Hall Official couldn't help but feel a chill. "What does the Hu family gain?"

"Naturally, it's because the Hu family believes they can withstand this calamity."

Meng Silang, the Meng family's young master, said, "So, they want to use this method to drag the Meng family to its death."

"At its core, this isn't the Meng family scheming against the Hu family, but the Hu family forcing the Meng family to gamble their lives."

"..."

The Great Hall Officials hesitated noticeably, even they found it absurd.

Meng Silang was known for his heavy thoughts, so they were always wary of believing his words. But now, he was noticeably different, and they subconsciously felt that what he was saying might be true.

Moreover, he was acting strangely. Usually, he would be reprimanded with a few words, and when encountering something, he would become aggrieved, his eyes would redden, and he might even shed tears. But now, he was constantly smiling, and because of the blood on his face, the smile looked even more eerie...

Even his voice carried a hint of laughter: "Esteemed uncles and elders, I admit that I have been completely outmaneuvered by the Hu family this time."

"Actually, I also want to feel remorse and cry bitterly, begging for your compassion, but I can't cry. I'm naturally incapable of crying. Every time I cry, it's an act. I simply hate being at a disadvantage, and every time I am, I get so angry that I can't sleep."

"Furthermore, there's no time for me to put on an act of remorseful crying, so I'll be blunt."

"The Hu family made early arrangements to use the Tang Shen (Pond Spirits) to block the calamity. It's their ability to borrow the incense of the world."

"But they think that awakening a few so-called incense spirits in the ponds of those villages in Lao Yin Shan (Old Yin Mountain) can block the calamity that comes out of this cave. That's just their lack of understanding."

"In the past, even the ancestral altar couldn't block these calamities at this time, let alone now?"

"Moreover, it's not just our Meng family that will be uneasy when they see these Tang Shen appear and earn incense. The other families probably won't be happy to see it either."

"..."

Listening to his words, even the Zhuodao (Executioner) Hall Official in white robes spoke with slight reservation, "Things have come to this, what can they do if they're unhappy?"

"Didn't you hear the Er Baoshen (Ears Reporting Spirit) say that the whole world is worshiping the mountains?"

"If this method of forcefully borrowing incense were used in normal times, it would have been stopped by the Ten Families long ago, but now, who would stand up and say a word?"

"..."

"The Ten Families aren't stopping it because their Shi Ting (Stone Pavilion) can't do without the Hu family."

Meng Silang sat up straight. Blood had already flowed into his neck. He said, "But Shi Ting doesn't dare to do without the Meng family either. As long as the ancestor is still alive, no one will dare to push the Meng family to the brink. So, this is the Meng family's only remaining chance..."

"It's just..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, which was trembling uncontrollably, as if it wasn't under his control. He said in a low voice, "The Meng family can't make a move."

The others were silent. The Meng family had invited the calamity, but before it could harm the Hu family, it had harmed its own first. The blood relatives had all been affected, either planting the seeds of disaster or having their luck diminished to the extreme.

Now, they couldn't do anything or say anything. They might die as soon as they stepped out of the door. No matter how confident they were in doing something, they might suddenly suffer a great misfortune.

So, although the Meng family's relatives hadn't all died yet, they were essentially imprisoned, waiting to die.

Meng Silang sighed softly, suddenly struggling to get up. Then, he knelt before the Four Great Hall Officials, his knees weakening, his hands pressing on the ground, and kowtowed heavily.

He kowtowed with such force that the nails in his forehead were driven in even deeper.

He said, "Then, I can only ask you, uncles and aunt, to save my Meng family."

"You..."

The Four Great Hall Officials almost simultaneously dodged away. No one dared to accept this kowtow, and their voices trembled. "What do you want us to do?"

Meng Silang raised his head, his voice clear and unwavering, and said to the Wen Shi (Inquiry) Hall Official, "Uncle Beigong (Tablet Elder), in the name of the Tong Yin Wen Shi (Spirit Communication Inquiry) Hall Official, summon all Fu Ling (Burdened Spirits) in the world, registered wandering spirits, case ghosts, to travel in all directions, destroy altars and kill people, and forbid them from continuing to worship."

"The Hu family can borrow the incense of the world, but the Meng family has been operating for twenty years. Where is there no Fu Ling?"

"I think, eventually, we can disrupt their incense!"

"..."

Listening to him, the Wen Shi (Inquiry) Hall Official had already imagined how many lives and how much bloodshed were involved in these simple words.

Although his heart was also trembling slightly, he could only nod slowly now.

Meng Silang then turned to the Fen Xiang (Incense Distribution) Hall Official behind him and said, "I will ask Bo Ye (Cypress Master) to bring a stick of incense, which is made by mixing the incense normally used to worship the ancestors. Bo Ye (Cypress Master) will take this stick of incense and ask the Yin Shen Dian (Netherworld Temple) to move."

"Notify the registered Prefecture Lords and ask them to move their golden bodies and set off for Lao Yin Shan (Old Yin Mountain). The Tang Shen (Pond Spirits) and the Prefecture Lords are inherently enemies. Now, it's naturally time for them to take action."

"..."

The Fen Xiang (Incense Distribution) Hall Official also knew that mobilizing the Yin Shen Dian (Netherworld Temple) meant that the Meng family had reached the final stage of using their blood money. He gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Uncle Guan (Coffin), as the Shuoli (Reasoning) Hall Official, you should go and meet with several Shibo (Senior Uncles) from the Ten Families."

Meng Silang looked at the Shuoli (Reasoning) Hall Official and said softly, "They may not want to see you at first, but when things get bigger, they will have to. When they ask, convey my words: The Meng family is guilty, and the guilt lies with Meng Silang. But now, the Meng family wants to live."

"If we can't live, then the Meng family won't keep the secret of where the evil spirits that were transferred back then came from..."

"..."

The Shuoli (Reasoning) Hall Official quickly agreed.

Meng Silang finally looked at the Zhuodao (Executioner) Hall Official, who was wrapped in white linen, and walked up to her on his knees, grabbing the corner of her pants and staring straight at her. "Finally, there's Aunt Cui."

"You are my father's adopted sister, and also the strongest Fu Ling (Burdened Spirit) in the world besides my Meng family. Now, the Meng family is in trouble, and I only ask you to go to Lao Yin Shan (Old Yin Mountain) for my father's sake..."

"I don't ask for anything else, I just ask you to find the Hu family's young master for me."

He paused slightly and said, "Ask him to withdraw that calamity for the sake of the Shi Ting Alliance..."

"..."

The white-clothed Da Zhuodao (Great Executioner) took a step back, pulled back the corner of her pants, and said calmly, "What if he doesn't agree?"

Meng Silang pursed his lips and didn't speak.

The white-clothed Da Zhuodao (Great Executioner) sighed, her expression seeming somewhat hopeless, and said, "Understood."

With the instructions given clearly, the Four Great Hall Officials all sighed softly. The Meng family's young master's earlier madness was an act, but now that he had made these arrangements, he was truly driven mad...

But as Hall Officials, what could they do? They only left the hall, faced the falling dark clouds, and strode forward.

Inside the hall, in front of all the servants, the Meng family's eldest son knelt down and kowtowed heavily again, his voice already crying as he said loudly, "Silang sees you off. The safety of the Meng family now rests solely on you..."

……

……

"This method is indeed something I didn't expect..."

At this time, in Lao Yin Shan (Old Yin Mountain), Zhao Sanyi was also saying to himself, "Does your young master really believe this can block the twelve calamities?"

Not only him, but the descendants of the Ten Families, with their knowledge beyond ordinary Jianghu (Martial World) people, Chen Abao and the Zhou family's Fourth Miss next to him also looked somewhat pale. The appearance of the gods from the ponds was clearly a shocking thing, but their faces were complex.

"I don't know."

The Hu family had also adjusted their breathing, and without showing any emotions, stood in front of them, slightly raised his head, and looked at them, saying, "But the young master has his own arrangements, and I only obey orders."

Zhao Sanyi became more and more anxious as he said urgently, "This isn't a matter of obeying or not obeying orders. What the Hu family's young master does is really incomprehensible, but he..."

"...by doing this, he has also completely placed the Meng family in a desperate situation. Not to mention how powerful the twelve calamities are, even if they are really blocked by these Tang Shen (Pond Spirits), do you think the Meng family, who are fighting desperately, are easy to deal with?"

"The Meng family's ancestor is still alive, so the framework won't collapse. If the framework doesn't collapse, all the Fu Ling (Burdened Spirits) in the world will obey his orders!"

"Now that life and death are imminent, knives will draw blood, how many of you, who walk through the ghost gate, can fight?"

"..."

"Then let the knives draw blood..."

Hu Ma took the Fa Guan Da Dao (Punishment Official Saber) in his hand and said grimly, "I also want to see how much ability the Meng family has left besides kowtowing."

Zhao Sanyi was saying, already impatient, and Zhou family's Fourth Miss suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Not good!"

"Now the Meng family must be in a hurry to find the Hu family's young master, but we can't find him, so they can only come to Lao Yin Shan (Old Yin Mountain) to find you. If the Meng family can't find him, they will definitely come to find you!"

"The Meng family's Da Zhuodao (Great Executioner) is the second strongest Zhuodao (Executioner) among the Ten Families, you..."

"..."

Hu Ma gritted his teeth slightly and said, "The Meng family has been pushed to the head, so they want to draw knives with the Hu family, but they don't know that the Hu family has worked so hard for so long, just to seek a chance to draw knives with the Meng family in a fair and square manner!"

"I don't care how much foundation the Meng family still has, I don't care how powerful the Meng family's final counterattack is, I only know that as long as we get through it, the Meng family will be completely wiped out."

"I eat the Hu family's food and do my best. Since I am the Hu family's Da Zhuodao (Great Executioner), then I must take on this matter!"

"..."

These harsh words made everyone present tremble, and Zhou family's Fourth Miss's face turned pale.

(End of Chapter)