"What did you say?" Xu Qin could hardly believe her ears. Her daughter, whom she had raised since childhood, was saying such things to her.
"You punk!" Xu Qin pointed at Jiang Mengxin's nose and scolded, "Is this how you talk to your mother?"
Jiang Xueyi, standing beside her, tugged at her and said, "Don't blame Mengxin. Lu Ming has bewitched her. It's all Lu Ming's doing. If you want to scold someone, scold Lu Ming, not our daughter."
Heh, still so stubborn even now.
Jiang Mengxin took a deep breath and said, "Dad, Mom, you misunderstand me too deeply, and your prejudice against Lu Ming is too deep. I wasn't bewitched at all, nor was I manipulated by Lu Ming. The reason I've been close to Lu Ming these days is entirely because I agree with some of his values. I've realized I was wrong before!"
Xu Qin's brows furrowed. Vaguely, she felt a sense of foreboding.
If she had been bewitched, it could be undone. But if a person's thoughts had changed, it would be difficult to revert them.
Danger!
Xu Qin would rather Jiang Mengxin had been bewitched.
Jiang Mengxin said, "Mom, do you know I almost suffered the same fate as those poor girls and was defiled by Wang Banxian? And all this is because you believe in 'Chu Ma Xian' and 'exorcism and bewitchment,' Mom. When did you become so superstitious? Can't you be more rational?"
This was a daughter's cry.
Not only did Xu Qin's face flush, but the other mothers also felt ashamed.
Because they all realized the core issue: their children were not the problem. They simply had a rift with their parents, and their parents didn't know how to communicate. They only wanted to believe charlatans like Wang Banxian, ultimately leading to their children being insulted by him.
At this thought, those parents lowered their heads in shame.
However, someone was not satisfied.
Mao Zhao!
He gritted his teeth and said, "I don't believe your nonsense. Even if Wang Banxian made a mistake before, you shouldn't have killed him. A life for a life, I want blood for blood!"
Lu Ming said calmly, "I didn't want to kill him. He controlled rats to attack me, and I killed him in self-defense. This was entirely self-defense."
Self-defense?
Bullshit!
Mao Zhao said fiercely, "You're so thick-skinned. To escape punishment, you'd even come up with such a clumsy excuse. Controlling rats? Heh, do you take me for a three-year-old?"
Lu Ming shrugged. "It's true. This side hall is designed ingeniously. It's a giant rat's nest. Hundreds and thousands of rats live here. There are rats on the beams, inside the walls, and under the floor. Wang Banxian's title as a disciple of the 'Shu Xian Ren' (Rat Immortal) probably has something to do with him keeping rats."
The more he spoke, the more outrageous it sounded.
Not only Mao Zhao but others didn't believe him either.
Rats aren't cats or dogs. They can be kept, but they absolutely cannot be controlled!
Mao Zhao said, "Lu Ming, stop fabricating these unreliable lies. No matter how much you say, I won't believe it unless you can make those rats come out!"
Uh...
"It's not impossible."
Lu Ming scanned the surroundings and saw a harmonica lying on the ground. Wang Banxian had used this to control the rats' movements before.
"I'll give it a try," Lu Ming walked over, picked up the harmonica from the ground, and then played it in front of everyone.
Lu Ming had studied music theory since childhood, and various instruments came to him with ease. In Lu Ming's hands, the simple instrument of a harmonica quickly yielded results.
Lu Ming immediately replicated the tune Wang Banxian had played at the time, shrill and ear-piercing, like fingernails scraping glass, extremely unpleasant.
Everyone covered their ears.
Mao Zhao said irritably, "Can you even play? If you can't, don't. It sounds terrible."
Jiang Mengxin frowned, but her heart was startled.
It was exactly the same!
The tune Jiang Mengxin had heard before was just like this. She looked at Lu Ming in surprise, never expecting him to have such a skill.
She had always thought Lu Ming was just a rough guy, but she never imagined he could master musical instruments so well.
Just as Mao Zhao was about to continue his tirade, the situation changed.
Suddenly, everyone heard rustling sounds. From above, from below, and from within the walls, there were all sorts of strange noises.
Before anyone could react, they saw rats emerging from the walls one after another.
Hundreds and thousands of rats swarmed out.
"Holy cow, there really are rats! So many rats!"
"Oh my god, help! I'm terrified of rats."
"Alright, alright, I believe what you said. Stop playing, and make these stinky rats go back!"
The rats ran wildly, scurrying everywhere, scaring everyone present into screams.
One unlucky fellow had his mouth open so wide that a rat crawled into his mouth along his body, making him vomit incessantly.
Rats ran around people frantically.
Mao Zhao had the worst luck. He was in the center of the swarm, surrounded by rats on all sides, as if it were raining rats.
Some of the rats, with a bit of aggression, bit into Mao Zhao's thighs.
In a short while, Mao Zhao's legs bore multiple bite marks, even bleeding, causing him to grimace in pain.
Mao Zhao waved his hands repeatedly, crying, "Enough, enough! I believe you now. That bastard Wang Banxian actually kept rats in the side hall and controlled them to attack humans. That scoundrel is not human! Lu Ming, stop playing, put away the harmonica quickly."
Afterward.
Lu Ming put away the harmonica, and the rats instantly regained their freedom, then swarmed back into the holes in the walls.
In about three minutes, all the rats on the scene disappeared.
Mao Zhao panted heavily, his emotions unsettled, and he grumbled, "This Wang Banxian, I never expected him to do so many disgusting things behind my back. It's good that this scoundrel is dead."
Then, he looked at Lu Ming and said, "These many rats cannot be left alive. Let's find a way to kill them!"
Lu Ming smiled lightly. "Isn't that simple? Just surround the side hall with straw and pour gasoline into the walls, then set it ablaze."
"Good, we'll do as you say!" Mao Zhao got up and left the side hall. He didn't want to stay in this lousy place for another moment.
Subsequently, everyone followed Lu Ming's suggestion, pouring gasoline into the walls and surrounding the side hall with straw, then setting it ablaze to burn it clean!
Squeak, squeak, squeak.
The rats cried out as they were burned. They wanted to escape, but they were swallowed by the sea of fire.
These wicked creatures would go to hell with Wang Banxian.
Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the raging inferno, as if watching fireworks, feeling quite happy.
But someone was unhappy.
Behind them.
Xu Qin looked at the two of them, her eyes filled with hatred. She felt she had lost control over her daughter!
Cannot stand it.
Cannot stand it!
Xu Qin cursed inwardly, "Lu Ming, you little brat. You think you can snatch my precious daughter away? Even if my daughter isn't bewitched, even if you've changed her thoughts, I, as her mother, will surely find a way to make her return to her old self! You grave digger, you won't snatch my daughter!"