147: It's all because of beauty

“Alright, this monster is indeed majestic and beyond human capabilities. The Gao family members were already stunned, basically ignoring what Brick said in human speech. They just assumed it was some kind of incantation uttered when the Divine Beast unleashed its power.

Lord Gao was overjoyed, then immediately said with a troubled expression, “This… this matter… it’s a bit complicated to explain… Hmm, Holy Monk, please come inside for tea, and I will tell you in detail!”

Tang Ku nodded, comforted the people of Gao Family Village for a few moments, then turned to the wild boar and said, “Wu Neng, you can wait here. This fire beast is your Junior Brother, so you can rest assured and stay with him!”

The wild boar remained still, sitting calmly in its original spot.

Tang Ku nodded and followed Lord Gao and the others into the guest room. In the courtyard, Brick and the wild boar sat side by side. With these two massive monsters present, even someone with immense courage wouldn’t dare to provoke them.

However, Brick had a curious expression, looking at the wild boar’s composed demeanor, and thought to himself, “Is this the Senior Brother? How come he’s not as handsome as me? Hehehe, Master only takes in a bunch of misfits!”

Aside from the two monsters, the Gao family members naturally took care of the courtyard, so there’s no need to elaborate. Gao Cai rushed to boil water and make tea, while Lord Gao and Tang Ku had already taken their seats in the main hall, discussing the recent events.

“Holy Monk… Alas, this matter needs to be told starting from the day my son-in-law, your disciple Pig Wuneng, returned…”

It turned out that after Pigsy left with Tang Seng, Gao Cuilan never remarried. There were many reasons for this, which needn’t be detailed, but a local official, during one of his visits, accidentally saw Gao Cuilan’s unparalleled beauty and harbored ill intentions. He initially wanted to use his power to claim her, but to his surprise, the Gao family, through years of operation, not only had ample wealth but also extensive connections. The county magistrate, left with no choice, had to give up. Later, resentment festered in his heart, and he developed a desire for revenge. He then told Gao Cuilan’s story to General Jiang, a military commander of the prefecture, who was the one who was run over and killed in the courtyard.

General Jiang was initially quite amiable and didn’t resort to force, but no matter how much he tried to persuade her, he was always rejected.

His kind words were met with coldness, and his generous gifts were refused. After several attempts, General Jiang finally lost his patience. However, as a military official of the prefecture, he couldn’t use force in broad daylight. So, he decided to use the rumor he had heard about “the Gao family having a monster son-in-law” to his advantage. He reported to the Grand Master, claiming that the Gao family was harboring a demon that was causing trouble in the region.

The Grand Master, of course, wouldn’t easily believe it, so he sent people to investigate. However, they found no evidence of demons or ghosts, scolded General Jiang, and then dropped the matter.

However, not long after, this wild boar appeared at the Gao family… “When he first arrived, he was already this big, with a clumsy body and a terrifying appearance. We were short-sighted and initially took him for a monster, but no matter how we tried to drive him away or even beat him, he remained motionless. He only brightened up when he saw my daughter Cui Lan, and followed her closely… It was then that we realized that perhaps… perhaps this was my ugly son-in-law transformed. And it’s normal for him, with his great Divine Ability, to have such a transformation technique. It’s just that he couldn’t speak, and we didn’t know what had happened, so we let him stay here. And he didn’t eat or drink every day. He didn’t even glance at the wine, meat, or grains we offered him… This was completely contrary to his usual temperament, which was truly baffling!”

By this point, Lord Gao was a bit parched and couldn't help but pick up his teacup and take a sip of water.

“Hmm, I see… But… why did General Jiang bring people here to arrest someone? Could it be that after failing to force her, he came today to kill them to silence them? From what you said, the Grand Master of your prefecture is also an upright person, so why wouldn’t he intervene?”

“This… this is the Grand Master who sent him!”

Lord Gao smiled wryly: “What happened later, we couldn’t even imagine. It truly took a sharp turn for the worse, catching us off guard… Later… later, we really did have demons causing trouble here…”

“Hmm?”

Tang Ku frowned slightly. He hadn’t detected any Demonic Qi or ghostly Qi after entering the village. He shook his head and then said, “Please continue…”

Lord Gao sighed and then said: “That day, Gao Cai went out to sell grain and accidentally heard that people had died in the town. It seemed a family of three had their vital essence and blood sucked out by some demon, turning them into mummies. He just told me about it as a strange tale, and we didn’t pay much attention, but later…”

Later… people started dying every night, with the same gruesome appearance, all turned into mummies. As more and more people died, the matter finally spread like a plague throughout the entire county. For a while, almost all families dared not turn off their lights at night, fearing that some demon or ghost would appear.

And Gao Family Village was not entirely spared. That night, Gao Cai was on patrol with the family servants in the backyard. They felt a chill and then fainted. When Gao Cai woke up, he found that one of the servants had already turned into a mummy, while the other servant and he were unharmed. Right beside him, the huge wild boar was glaring fiercely at the direction beyond the wall, continuously whimpering, as if it was on alert for something.

“In other words, Pigsy saved their lives…”

Tang Ku frowned slightly, “But what kind of demon has no Demonic Qi, no ghostly Qi, and even no evil Qi? It’s truly strange…”

However, even though he couldn’t figure that out, he understood the Gao family’s predicament.

In short, due to the wild boar’s protection, the demon never dared to come again, but there’s no such thing as an airtight wall in this world. The news that the Gao family kept a wild boar as large as a monster eventually spread.

Yes, it was the family of the deceased servant who spread the word.

This finally gave General Jiang the leverage he needed. He immediately reported to the Grand Master, saying that the Gao family was harboring a demon that was causing trouble and doing evil in the region. Otherwise, why would all the surrounding neighbors suffer while their family was unharmed? This demon was clearly kept by their family!

As expected, the Grand Master was furious and sent people to investigate. They finally learned about the Gao family keeping a giant wild boar. Thus, General Jiang became the appointed general to capture the demon, ordered to arrest the people. This is how the events Tang Ku witnessed today came to be.

“Alas… Holy Monk, do you think this is an undeserved calamity, or is it Karma for the Gao family’s past misdeeds, a reckoning?” Lord Gao sighed, “Now, my Gao family has no place to stand in Ü-Tsang. Especially with this general dying here today, I fear my whole family will not escape death… After much thought, if no one comes to arrest us tomorrow, I will have someone sell all these properties and lands, exchange them for travel expenses, and flee elsewhere…”

Tang Ku, however, smiled and said, “Hehe, Elder Gao, don’t be like that. The general’s death today was fated; he committed too many evil deeds, and it’s merely Karma… Hmm, how about this, I will help you catch that demon and completely eliminate it. As for the future… if you are willing, I can take you to live in Great Tang. What do you think?”