A life of idleness in the world of demons

Chapter 30. Time to Slack Off Again
Inside the Ning Mansion, in a carriage.

The situation on the chessboard is now clear.

With Master Ning's last move made, there were no more moves to make.

The scholar didn't even count, and coldly said, "Mr. Taiyi, you lost by thirty-seven points."

Master Ning stroked his beard and laughed, "I'm getting old, old scholar, you flatter me."

The scholar frowned as he looked at his smile.

To lose, yet be less humiliated than a stray dog, is itself a display of magnanimity.

But magnanimity needs to be supported by inner strength.

Master Ning's confidence stemmed from Manfeng Mountain.

If you win outside the game, then the game is just a game of chess, and winning or losing is no longer important.

The scholar's thoughts stirred slightly, and he suddenly realized, coldly saying, "Master Taiyi, your men ultimately devoured all the demons of Manfeng Mountain ahead of time. You've absorbed the dragon energy and gained confidence. Do you think I know why?"

Manager Zhao, who was standing to the side, also turned his gaze over. His round face, which used to have smile lines, was now extremely stern and as cold as iron.

It can be said that if Ning Taiyi doesn't answer a single question correctly, then the Ning family will be completely finished.

Nobody likes having a settled matter overturned.

Ning Taiyi bowed slightly and cupped his hands to Steward Zhao, saying, "This time the mistake was mine. Please get out of the carriage first so that I can arrange a banquet to apologize."

Immediately, he looked at the scholar and chuckled, "Scholar, don't get angry. I will explain everything clearly."

Manager Zhao frowned impatiently and said bluntly, "Old Ning, you've already broken the rules, what explanation do you have?"

As soon as the last word was uttered, a series of hurried footsteps and the sound of metal scales clashing came from outside the carriage.

The black-armored soldiers blocking the gate of the Ning Mansion were terrified and suddenly stood up straight.

Not far away, golden light surged from the ground.

Within the golden light, two masked figures emerged.

The black-armored soldiers stared at the masked Taoist boy, who was carrying a sword on his shoulder with both hands, as if facing a formidable enemy. Some of them even had their hands on the hilts of the swords at their waists.

In their eyes, this masked Taoist boy was full of vigor and seemed to be emitting billowing smoke.

As the masked Taoist boy moved forward a little, they tensed up, a testament to the discipline of the military that prevented them from retreating.

The leader of the black-armored soldiers asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?!"

At that moment, the curtain was lifted.

The three people in the car looked out.

When Master Ning saw his two sons return, he finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He would rather die himself than see his two sons die.

The scholar closed his eyes slightly, raised his hand to pick up a chess piece, and slowly released it from the chess jar.

The masked Taoist boy did not answer.

In the distance, Chou Nu cupped his hands and respectfully said, with the courtesy due to a subordinate to a superior, "Master Taiyi, on Manfeng Mountain, Qingfeng and I encountered another Celestial Master and his disciple who were blocking our way."

Inside the carriage, the scholar paused for a moment upon hearing this, but only for a moment; he still possessed the composure to maintain his composure.

Ugly Slave said, "Those two were aiding and abetting evil, assisting demons and monsters. Qingfeng and I killed them."

As he spoke, Ning Xuan threw a large bag from his back.

Bloodstained, shattered crossbows, and tattered purple robes and personal ornaments were scattered all over the ground.

Snapped.

The scholar was startled and dropped the chess piece in his hand. It hit the chessboard, bounced, and landed on the ground, rolling smoothly into a dark corner.

The scholar hurriedly bent down to pick it up.

Master Ning suddenly looked at Steward Zhao, his face full of indignation, and said, "Steward Zhao! Speaking of which, I'm also one of the general's men, aren't I?"

Manager Zhao was also taken aback. He looked at the scholar who was bending down to pick up the chess pieces, his eyes furrowing. He then chuckled and raised his hand to quell the tension, saying, "Alright, alright, Old Ning, let's investigate first."

As he spoke, he looked at the two people in the distance, and his gaze finally fell on the ghost-faced Taoist boy.

He recognized the ugly slave, but he didn't recognize this one.

From their conversation, he learned the gist of the matter: To ensure everything went smoothly, the top scholar had sent a trusted subordinate to wait at Manfeng Mountain. If Ning Taiyi dared to send Chou Nu to exterminate the demons of Manfeng Mountain, the subordinate would secretly strike, using someone else to do the dirty work, and then disappear without a trace. This was a baseless scheme, and naturally, it couldn't be brought to the forefront. But now, things had gone wrong.

He was very curious about how things had gone wrong.

His intuition told him that the problem lay with this masked Taoist boy.

He tilted his head and asked curiously, "And who is this?"

Master Ning laughed and said, "Xuan'er, why don't you take off your mask and call out 'Uncle Zhao'?"

The masked Taoist boy immediately removed his mask, revealing a young boy's face.

Ning Xuan called out from afar, "Uncle Zhao!"

Manager Zhao nodded blankly, then looked at Master Ning and said, "This..."

Master Ning asked, "Does my son have any demonic aura?"

Manager Zhao stared for a long time, then shook his head.

Master Ning said, "This trip to Manfeng Mountain was taken by my son and Chou Nu together, with my son serving as their Taoist acolyte."

Manager Zhao's Adam's apple bobbed as he suddenly understood what Ning Taiyi was planning.

Master Ning said, "If you don't believe me, why don't you have someone try it?"

Manager Zhao glanced at the dozen or so black-armored soldiers before he was about to suggest that they test Ning Xuan's strength, but he immediately noticed the sweat pouring down the leader's brow and the tense expressions on the faces of the dozen or so men behind him.

He is not a martial artist.

However, these dozen or so people were not weak martial artists.

He glanced again at the broken crossbow, still stained with blood, and the purple robe. He knew, of course, that the top scholar's willingness to send men meant he had calculated that victory was assured.

In other words, it was impossible for the ugly slave to have killed those two people.

Then
Manager Zhao had fully grasped Ning Taiyi's plan. He closed his eyes and sighed softly, "This matter is of great importance; my decision doesn't count."

Master Ning said, "I am also one of General Qin's men, which is why I asked you to take a look at this matter first. Otherwise, I am not unable to take Xuan'er directly to the capital."

Manager Zhao hurriedly replied, "Understood, understood."

Immediately, he looked at Ning Xuan and said, "Nephew, draw your sword."

Ning Xuan nodded, and without saying a word, instantly drew his sword and unleashed a Swallow Strike into the air.

A sharp, extremely loud buzzing sound suddenly filled the air.

The black-armored soldiers beside him all changed their expressions drastically.

Manager Zhao is a connoisseur.

He looked at Ning Xuan seriously, sized him up, and then said, "Nephew, you are truly a young hero with a limitless future."

Immediately, he looked at Ning Taiyi and said, "Old Ning, the general will definitely investigate the matter of the sneak attack on Manfeng Mountain and give you an explanation."

I already know about what happened to my nephew Ning.

There will be a response to this matter by the end of the month at the latest.

As for the handover before the end of next month, it will definitely be postponed, but I have no authority to make that decision. Please allow me to report to the general first.

"Don't worry, General Qin is a man who values ​​talent, and you are considered one of my general's men, so this won't fall through."

Ning Taiyi nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao."

Manager Zhao's plump face broke into a wide smile as he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Ning, you're too kind."

Immediately, he glanced at the scholar who was still searching for chess pieces and called out, "The top scholar?"

The scholar did not answer.

He called out again, "Scholar, have you found the chess piece yet?"

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, the scholar stammered in a low voice, "It's hard to find."

Steward Zhao said, "You should go back and tell the general about this yourself."

After a while.
The soldiers from General Qin's mansion, who had arrived with great force to demand an explanation, hurriedly left again.

In the study of the Ning residence.
After the ugly servant explained the whole story to Master Ning, Master Ning looked at Ning Xuan in astonishment.

How come he didn't know his son had been raised like this?
But after the initial shock, I was filled with relief and joy.

His furrowed brows relaxed, and a smile appeared on his solemn face.

He repeatedly praised, "Good, good, good."

Ugly Slave then said, "Master Taiyi, Young Master Ning has extremely high talent, and the Emperor will surely value him. Why do we need to speak with General Qin first and then have him report to his superiors?"

His question came out somewhat hastily, and with some displeasure.

Master Ning stroked his beard and laughed.

Who is Chou Nu? How could he not know?

Ugly Slave wasn't asking this question himself; he was asking it on behalf of Ning Xuan, to help Ning Xuan vent his anger.

Ning Xuan was young and impetuous, and he had never wanted to live under someone else's roof. His current behavior must mean that he thought "Heaven comes first and I come second." He must be thinking, "I can clearly become a general, so why do I have to go through this damn General Qin?"
So he said, "Before the dragon aura existed, the government was already incredibly complicated. Now that the dragon aura exists, it's even more unimaginable. Neither the puppet imperial court on the surface nor the real imperial court at its core are easy to deal with."

I've struggled my whole life, but I still haven't figured out the ins and outs, nor have I been able to fathom how deep this water really is.

The various factions are all entangled in a vicious cycle of conflict. Xuan'er may have talent, but her foundation is weak.

Ugly Slave said unhappily, "So what if I have a humble background? Who didn't fight their way up? Fortune changes every thirty years, don't underestimate a young man's potential! Master Taiyi, are you underestimating the young master?"

While they were talking, they were both secretly glancing at Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan's expression, however, was somewhat anxious.

Master Ning couldn't help but ask, "Xuan'er, what are you thinking about?"

Ning Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "I'm thinking about whether I can move."

"Moving?" Master Ning asked curiously. "Where are you moving to?"

Ning Xuan said solemnly, "This time my killing intent is too strong. I want to move to Wangyue Mansion. That way, I can often go to the Zen temple to burn incense and use the purity of the Zen temple to cleanse the killing intent in my heart."

Master Ning looked at the ugly servant.

Ugly Slave nodded. He had witnessed Ning Xuan's murderous nature and knew that what his brother said was true.

After thinking about it, Mr. Ning decided it was fine.

He had been running Wangyue Prefecture for nearly thirty years, and it was full of his men, not to mention his own son was so fierce.

My son has become sensible.

Master Ning was overjoyed.

"Pack your things and go." Old Master Ning waved his hand with satisfaction, without even asking where his son would be moving to.

The entire Wangyue Prefecture is his eyes and ears, why ask?

Just leave.

In the morning, he is a demon slayer; at night, he arrives at the Agarwood Pavilion.

Xiao Jie stopped the carriage, glanced at the young master, and asked, "Didn't you say you were going to worship the Bodhisattva?"

Ning Xuan said, "I bow to the female Bodhisattva."

Having said that, he hurriedly walked towards the brightly lit, fragrant, and gentle paradise in the distance.

(End of this chapter)