The Zhang Family was originally a small wealthy merchant in the prefecture city, selling silk and cloth clothes.

Even the cloth business in the towns outside the prefecture city was involved by the Zhang Family.

Half a year ago, the eldest son of the Zhang Family, Zhang Fusheng, participated in the prefecture examination and won the first place, becoming the Scholar of Jingtai Prefecture.

This made the Zhang Family momentarily the talk of the town, but they did not know that this event also brought upon them a great calamity.

Because among those who participated in the prefecture examination was Xiao Chenliang, the third son of the Prefect of Jingtai Prefecture.

Even before the examination, Xiao Chenliang had sent people to warn all the candidates.

This time, only he was qualified to be the Scholar of Jingtai Prefecture.

If anyone dared to defy his orders, they would only meet a dead end.

As expected, less than half a year after Zhang Fusheng became a Scholar, he already found his family ruined and perished.

Of course, this was only one of the reasons; another reason was the Zhang Family’s thousand-gold daughter, Zhang Yingxue.

It is said that Xiao Chenliang once took a fancy to Zhang Yingxue and wanted to marry her as a concubine, but he was rejected by her.

Zhang Yingxue even bluntly stated that she had someone in her heart, Wei Zhize, a childhood sweetheart from the Wei Family.

However, after Xiao Chenliang’s threat, the entire family of Wei Family suddenly left the prefecture city.

Zhang Yingxue’s beloved, Wei Zhichen, fled without a word, disappearing without a trace.

...

After hearing these words, Lu Xuan relaxed his frowning brows and decided to get up and leave.

It seems the source of the yin energy is likely in that Zhang Family mansion.

In the southern city direction, in an area where a crowd gathers, various mansions are located all around.

However, even in such a mansion-filled area, one of the main streets was sparsely populated, appearing extraordinarily deserted.

The reason was simple; at the center of this street, there stood a large mansion.

On the mansion’s beam hung a crooked plaque with the words "Zhang Family" written in large characters.

Outside the door of the Zhang Family mansion stood a man in his thirties.

The man was dressed in a black short robe and held a large knife in his hand.

But this man guarding the Zhang Family mansion appeared rather carefree.

He used the tip of the knife to touch the ground, leaning his body toward the blade, as if trying to stand more comfortably by relying on the sturdy blade.

The middle-aged man glanced at the empty surrounding street, feeling utterly bored.

Then the middle-aged man muttered a quiet curse.

"Ugh, what bad luck!"

"I don’t even know how long this damn task will last."

"Why haven’t Mr. Li and the others come back yet? I’m starving."

After cursing silently, the middle-aged man recalled something pleasant, a smirk playing on his lips.

"But that crazy woman Zhang Yingxue has a charm of her own."

"No wonder she’s a lady from a wealthy family, Zhang Family’s thousand-gold daughter, with such delicate skin."

"Thanks to Mr. Xiao’s generosity, folks like us can enjoy such a beauty."

"It’s a pity that before I had enough fun, that crazy woman disfigured herself."

"Otherwise, I would have sought some pleasure from her."

Just as the man reminisced about the incident with that graceful body.

Bang, bang, bang!

From inside the Zhang Family mansion came the sound of something hitting a hard object.

Upon hearing these noises, the man quickly picked up the knife standing on the ground.

"Huh?"

"Didn’t I tie up that crazy woman?"

"Why is there noise inside?"

"Could it be that I didn’t tie her tightly and she managed to break free?"

Upon considering this possibility, the man hurriedly ran into the Zhang Family mansion.

He had tied up that crazy woman Zhang Yingxue just to get some fresh air.

Now that the crazy woman Zhang Yingxue broke free, who knows what crazy things she might do.

Mr. Xiao had ordered that before he finished his fun, Zhang Yingxue must not die.

Because Xiao Chenliang wanted Zhang Yingxue to fall into the depths of despair and agony.

Let her realize the consequences of her initial defiance of him.

Even the ruthless Black Eagle Gang was terrified by Xiao Chenliang’s inhumane actions.

The man jogged all the way to where Zhang Yingxue was kept.

It was in the courtyard of the Zhang Family ancestral hall.

In the courtyard, a woman in a tattered red dress, with tangled, dirt-filled hair, stood with her back facing the main entrance, gazing at the altar table in the center of the courtyard.

However, what was suffocating was that on the altar table in front of the woman.

Instead of the usual spirit tablets, there were over a dozen spherical objects.

The spherical objects were covered in hair, stained into a dark color.

Seemingly, those were dried bloodstains!

Indeed, those were the severed heads of the Zhang Family members, the closest relatives of Zhang Yingxue.

Every day, Zhang Yingxue had to face the heads of those she loved the most.

After the man entered from the courtyard gate.

Seeing Zhang Yingxue standing woodenly there, his tense and anxious demeanor finally relaxed.

Then, cursing, the man walked toward Zhang Yingxue,

"Damn it, you crazy woman, you really managed to break free."

When he was less than half a meter away from Zhang Yingxue, a malicious light flashed in his eyes, and he lifted his right foot to kick Zhang Yingxue.

"Dare to defy Mr. Xiao’s command? This is the fate of your Zhang Family!"

However, when the man kicked past, it was as if there was no resistance at all.

His right foot went straight through Zhang Yingxue’s body.

"Thi-this, you........"

Upon witnessing this scene, the man’s mind instantly went blank, his body stiffening.

A chill breeze swept by, lifting the tattered red dress draped over Zhang Yingxue.

The sight beneath the red dress was reflected deep in the man’s pupils.

It was a skeleton!

Zhang Yingxue’s body had turned into a skeleton?

Did she become a ghost?

This was the last thought in the man’s mind!

Because Zhang Yingxue in his eyes was slowly turning her head, a full 180 degrees.

The terrifying visage of Zhang Yingxue made the man’s hair stand on end, a faint chill rising from his feet to his crown.

A ghastly pale face, densely covered with spiderweb-like scars, her eyes white as fish pearls.

"Ghost!"

"Hel......"

Before the man could finish his words, his body began rapidly decaying in broad daylight.

Finally, he turned into white ashes, scattered upon the ground.

"Where’s Zhou Yifei???"

"That bastard said he would wait for us at the mansion entrance, didn’t he?"

"He should be guarding that woman Zhang Yingxue, let’s go in and check."

At this moment, four more figures appeared outside the courtyard.

They were the people Lu Xuan previously encountered at the inn.