Chapter 539 - 301: Your Third Brother and Second Uncle Are Looking for You—Let Me Take You to Them!

To the west of the city, there is the Stove King Temple, constructed by the once-great Wang family of the Commandery City.

Originally, it served as the Wang family ancestral shrine, flourishing with incense offerings. The people of the commandery referred to it as the ’Wang Ancestral Temple’.

After the decline of the Wang family’s fortune, the entire family moved away from Donglai to avoid disaster. Now, in the city, various families from the rising noble clans have built new Stove King Temples, and the Wang Ancestral Temple has long become abandoned. Under its eaves, only beggars and indigent households seek temporary shelter from the wind and rain.

The swallows that once flitted before the lords’ halls now perch upon broken eaves of common folks.

"Ill-fated!"

After a century, the abandoned temple of the Wang family welcomed the now-noble family descendants. A few Tao family guards angrily shouted ’Get out!’ as they violently expelled the beggars inside the desolate temple amidst a few wails of despair.

Tao Han, in his wheelchair, looked at the god statue inside the temple, its colorful paint completely faded. Suddenly, he felt a chill down his spine, quickly followed by a surge of irritability. He spat several times, letting his thick phlegm fall on the bronze censer on the table.

The god statue that once enjoyed the incense offerings now appeared tattered and an inch thick with dust, wholly lacking any dignity. Sitting idly under cobwebs in the pitch-black abandoned temple, it seemed eerie like a demon fiend.

Pushing his wheelchair around, Tao Han gazed out at the heavy rain outside the temple. The few people beside him were leaving in a hurry, leaving only three of them in the deserted temple.

Tao Han, the fifth young master of the Tao family, had a personal guard by his side. Additionally, not far from him, a girl lay tied to a temple column, unconscious.

A bamboo hairpin fell from her hair onto the ground, her long hair scattered loosely, her face pale, as if she had encountered some terrifying event before losing consciousness.

Tao Han, in his wheelchair, wore a gloomy expression as he gazed at the horizon.

Ever since the incident, Tao Han had been sentenced to confinement for three months. Today, he sneaked out of the Tao family while his father and the elders were away from the commandery city, attending the grand contest at Bai Jiao Mountain.

Just now, a majestic aura had abruptly awakened from the direction of the Tao family.

"Could it be... something happened during today’s grand contest?"

Tao Han’s shadowy face revealed confusion, then he quickly shook his head, "I heard that Father even entrusted that item to Fourth Brother. The man from the Cyan Fish Gang is in seclusion. Song Jingyuan and Guo Zhen are merely on par with Third Brother."

"With that item, my dear Fourth Brother is sure to win the grand contest, increasing his fame. Father is paving the way for Fourth Brother to enter Qingfeng Temple..."

The last sentence was uttered through clenched teeth, Tao Han’s knuckles gripping the wheelchair arms, making a cracking sound. Now, the eldest brother had headed for Qingzhou, and the second sister had married away.

Their unfortunate third brother, who chose the official path, died unexpectedly. Despite meticulous planning over several years, he died in the desolate place he chose to be reassigned to, supposedly killed by an unknown person on the eve of his anticipated success.

Truly laughable.

After the third brother’s death, aside from his married-off second sister, only three direct male descendants remained from Tao family’s first branch.

The eldest brother, among the three, was gifted in cultivation, though Tao Han had few memories or feelings toward him since he had showcased remarkable cultivation talent early on, causing him to be apprenticed to Qingfeng Temple when he was just a child.

Years ago, Tao Han had heard rumors from Qingzhou that the eldest brother was about to journey down the mountain. Once he concluded his travels, he would enter a secluded retreat to break into the Profound Realm.

By then, the Tao family would surely gain another Great Cultivator, and the position of Patriarch would likely fall to his eldest brother.

Beyond the eldest brother, who carried the Tao family’s great expectations, there was another cultivation genius, his dear Fourth Brother, Tao Xinglie, who was several years older than Tao Han.

From childhood, whether it was Father, Mother, the Tao family, or outsiders, they all compared him to his dear Fourth Brother, making it seem he was good for nothing while Fourth Brother was always the center of attention!

After the eldest brother and second sister left Donglai County, Fourth Brother became renowned throughout Donglai County, one of the four young talents of the current generation, and destined to enter Qingfeng Temple.

Fourth Brother, Tao Xinglie, never thought much of his fifth brother, a fact Tao Han knew well yet was helpless against. Unable to compete with his Fourth Brother on the path of cultivation, Tao Han redirected his focus elsewhere.

He started to act with reckless abandon, even secretly colluding with river bandits. Initially, when Father discovered this, Tao Han was terrified, fearing a single slap would end him in the ancestral hall.

But that night, when Father looked at him, his gaze did not show anger or murder intent. Instead, there was a hint of approval, hidden in the otherwise always cold demeanor.

"Han’Er, you must remember one thing... River bandits can be used, just never get embroiled yourself. You must judge the limits."

Even today, Tao Han vividly remembers the events of that night and the conversation with his father.

That night, Tao Han’s expression changed from fear to bewilderment, to shock, finally culminating in a wild joy from being recognized by his father. Afterward, some of the family’s shadowy tasks began to be entrusted to him.

Tao Han began killing, ten people, a hundred, annihilating entire families. Aside from the members of powerful factions, he could kill whoever he desired.

People outside noble families and great forces were nothing more than ants.

Even the officials in the county mansion turned a blind eye because his surname was Tao, and he belonged to the Tao family’s first branch!

The more Tao Han killed, the more he realized that his status in the Tao family elevated with every life he took.

Eventually, even some elders in the clan began to fawn over him.

The name ’Fifth Young Master Tao’ started to spread, not as a bright, upright reputation like his Fourth Brother’s but as an infamous name lurking in the shadows, and Tao Han was extremely pleased with it.

Everything proceeded until about ten days ago when the damn Qingzhou Demon Slayer Bureau thwarted his plans, causing the Tao family to briskly sever ties with the Jiao Blood Gang.

"Father..."

"Can’t even handle such a small issue... From today, you will be confined for three months to rest and heal properly."