Chapter 184: Causing Trouble

The next day, Mo Hua was drawing arrays inside the forging shop when the Qian family sent people to cause trouble.

The outer walls of the forging shop were unfinished, and the arrays hadn't been completed yet, giving the Qian family an opening.

Several Qian family cultivators disguised themselves as ordinary free cultivators, slipped into the forging shop, found a secluded corner, saw no one around, and began their sabotage.

They smashed several walls, shattered some foundation stones, chopped through several wooden beams, and erased several newly drawn arrays.

Some craftsmen spotted them and tried to stop them, but were beaten in return.

Some demon hunters arrived to assist, fought a few rounds with them, and when the Qian cultivators saw things turning bad, they fled immediately.

In the afternoon, the Qian family returned again; though they were eventually driven off by the demon hunters, they had already damaged much of the structure.

Master Ban was therefore gloomy—he had feared this would happen, and now it had.

After learning of the incident, Elder Yu flew into a rage. He pretended to leave, then secretly returned, blending in with a group of craftsmen, determined to find out who had the audacity to cause trouble under his nose.

Not long after, that group of cultivators returned again.

Believing themselves unseen, they began repeating their earlier actions, preparing to smash walls and chop beams.

But every move they made was within Elder Yu's spiritual sense.

Before they could act, Elder Yu leapt up and slapped each cultivator to the ground, spitting blood.

Elder Yu held back—he didn't kill them.

The leader, his face covered, was at Qi Refinement ninth layer; seeing Elder Yu, he turned and ran.

But he was merely Qi Refinement—how could he escape from Elder Yu, who was at Foundation Establishment?

Within a few breaths, Elder Yu caught up to him; he barely managed to counter a few strikes, then was slapped down to his knees by Elder Yu, his shoulder searing with pain, bones shattered.

Elder Yu tore off the black cloth covering his face and cursed:

"Qian Shunzhi, so it's you, you little bastard Wang Ba!"

Qian Shunzhi gritted his teeth: "I'm in your hands—kill me or cut me up…"

Elder Yu squeezed his shoulder hard, and he screamed in agony.

"Play the tough guy, you motherfucker—what kind of trash do you think you are? Do you think I don't know?" Elder Yu cursed.

Qian Shunzhi hurriedly said: "Elder Yu! Elder Yu! Let's talk this out—I was just following orders!"

"Whose orders?"

Qian Shunzhi stayed silent.

Elder Yu spat. "It's obviously Qian Hong, that old turtle Wang Ba—what's so hard to admit?"

Qian Shunzhi gave a bitter smile. "You already know—why ask?"

"I'm checking whether you're being honest," Elder Yu said.

"Elder Yu, whatever you say goes. You're magnanimous—can you let me go?"

Elder Yu sneered. "What dream are you having? Even if you hadn't landed in my hands, I was going to hunt you down. Now you've come to provoke me—do you think I'll let you off?"

Elder Yu called for men, bound Qian Shunzhi and the others, and dumped them at the Qian family's front gate.

"Qian Hong, you cowardly turtle—dare not show your face in the open, scheming in the shadows—still a man? If you're not a man, just let your wife remarry and your son change his surname!"

Elder Yu roared curses.

The Qian family gate remained tightly shut, silent.

Elder Yu kept cursing—from the lowest servants up to the Qian family's founding ancestor, calling him ungrateful, shameless, and a despicable worm.

The Qian family finally couldn't take it—a Foundation Establishment elder stepped forward and accused:

"Yu Changlin, this is the Qian family's grounds—don't you dare slander us!"

Elder Yu didn't care. "Where's that old turtle Qian Hong?"

The Qian elder frowned. "The master is away. Whatever you want, tell me."

Elder Yu snorted. "He's away? Probably hiding in some woman's bed, too scared to show his face."

"Yu Changlin!" the Qian elder roared.

Elder Yu stopped—he hadn't come here just to curse; he'd just added a few curses along the way.

He had a pile of work at the forging shop—he was busy.

Elder Yu said: "Your Qian family people came to cause trouble at my place."

The Qian elder dodged: "How do you know they're from our family?"

Elder Yu opened his mouth to curse again—immediately, the Qian elder said: "Fine. What do you want?"

They both knew who was responsible—no need to beat around the bush.

"Spirit stones," Elder Yu said simply.

The Qian elder frowned. "How many?"

Elder Yu named an outrageous number at random.

The Qian elder snapped: "Don't push your luck!"

Elder Yu smiled. "Then let's haggle—don't rush."

In the end, they agreed: one hundred spirit stones each—the Qian family paid to redeem their men, and Elder Yu would drop the matter.

Elder Yu returned with nearly a thousand spirit stones.

Part of the thousand spirit stones would go to the injured craftsmen and demon hunters—for their healing and comfort.

The rest, Elder Yu planned to spend on wine and meat, to reward everyone and calm their nerves.

But he knew the Qian family wouldn't stop.

The Qian elder brought Qian Shunzhi back and scolded: "Useless fool—how could you be so careless?"

Qian Shunzhi sighed helplessly. "Elder, it's not my fault—who could've guessed that old bastard Yu Changlin was so cunning? I saw him leave the forging shop with my own eyes before I acted—yet he secretly returned, dressed as a craftsman, blending into the crowd—impossible to spot."

The Qian elder sighed. "That old bastard Yu is indeed crafty."

The most crucial thing is to have no shame—your skin is thicker than a forging furnace.

Qian Shunzhi asked, "Elder, what should we do next?"

"Stick to the original plan," said the Qian family elder. "But be careful—best to strike at night, or when they're resting. Harass them, disrupt them, don't let them stop work; at the very least, delay their progress."

"What about Yu Changlin?" Qian Shunzhi asked.

"He's an elder of the Beast Hunter Sect—he can't hover over the forging shop forever. He'll have to leave or slip up eventually."

"But… what if he finds out?" Qian Shunzhi whispered.

The Qian family elder said coolly, "If he finds out, you take a beating. Worst case, we pay him some Spirit Stones as compensation. He can't actually kill you—otherwise, he'd have no explanation for Dao Ting Si."

Qian Shunzhi was displeased.

Being beaten by a Foundation Establishment cultivator—is that something you just shrug off…?

His body still ached; his shoulder bone was broken, and the stagnant Spirit Force left by the Foundation Establishment cultivator clung to him like a parasitic worm, causing unbearable pain.

This was only because Elder Yu held back—if he hadn't, Qian Shunzhi would be dead.

The Qian family elder frowned. "What are you afraid of? You have no spirit at all!"

Qian Shunzhi lowered his head and said nothing.

The Qian family elder said, "Don't worry—the head of the family has already said that if this succeeds, you won't be left unrewarded. If you accomplish a great deed, even some Foundation Establishment pills might be granted to you."

Qian Shunzhi's eyes lit up. "The head of the family really said that?"

"Of course. Do you think I'd lie to you?"

Qian Shunzhi's heart burned with determination. "Fine—I'll risk my life to complete this mission."

The Qian family elder nodded. "Go. This kind of thing is like a weasel stealing chickens—it demands patience. There's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days, but there is always a thousand days of thievery. They'll slip up eventually. Just watch them closely—you'll find your chance."

Qian Shunzhi bowed. "I humbly obey your orders."