Chapter 13: The Ning Family’s Main Branch Is Wiped Out

In the quiet night, a slight tremor came from the cauldron.

It scared the five thieves who were about to enter the inner chamber, causing cold sweat to break out on them. Soon after, a very strong scent of alchemy filled the room.

At the same time, Su Wan opened her eyes.

Under the terrified gaze of the five men, she slowly rose and brushed the unnoticed dust off her body with her small hand. Without turning her head, she said, “Are you all planning to break in and kill someone?”

The cold moonlight struggled to squeeze through the cracks in the walls like silver gauze, faintly illuminating the faces of the five men. Already full of ill intent, their faces looked even paler than paper in this dim moonlight.

Receiving no answer, Su Wan turned around, her soft, cute little face looming in front of them. But instead of feeling anything cute, an inexplicable chill shot from their feet to their foreheads.

“She’s possessed! This little girl is definitely possessed. That Ning kid has doomed us. Run!”

One of the henchmen realized something was wrong and tried to run, but after only a few steps, he felt his ankle bound by something and fell headfirst to the ground, bleeding from a head injury.

His face was filled with terror as he gripped the floor tightly, trying to crawl away—but he didn’t move an inch. Eventually, he fainted.

The remaining four fell to their knees with a loud thud and kowtowed to Su Wan. “Please, great one, spare our lives. We only came because we believed what that Ning kid said. We beg you, spare a dog’s life.”

“Spare your lives? That’s not impossible. But right now, go and wipe out the Ning family.”

Hearing this, the men saw hope. The leader immediately agreed to the order and charged out aggressively.

The four behind him seemed to understand and, despite their fear, followed.

As soon as they were outside, someone shouted, “Scatter and run!”

“Ah, get lost, get—”

No more words came out. Their throats seemed blocked. They opened their mouths but no sound emerged.

“I said, go wipe out the Ning family. Don’t you understand human language?” Su Wan’s voice hadn’t appeared in person, but it rang clearly in their ears.

The crisp voice of a child was terrifying to the extreme.

Terrified, the five men shouted and jumped as they rushed toward the Ning family.

When they burst into the Ning family home, lights were still on. It was Ning’s father and son waiting inside for news.

“Father, don’t shake. It hurts my eyes.” Ning Yusheng was also anxious and scared inside.

Ning Dazhu trembled violently, “I’m just scared. I don’t even know if those five succeeded or not.”

“They’ll succeed; those people have taken many lives before. If they see the Su family’s carriage, they’ll definitely be tempted. Besides, didn’t we tell them the Su family has plenty of wealth?”

“If they can’t get money, they won’t spare Su Mingshan,” Ning Yusheng said grimly.

Ning Dazhu frowned tightly, pacing back and forth in the room. “What I mean is, if they’re discovered, are they really a match for Su Mingshan?”

“Father, rest assured. Five men surely aren’t a match for Su Mingshan, are they?”

“But… there’s that mysterious master secretly helping them.”

“The child already observed carefully—the master isn’t in Qinghe Village; he must have left for some reason.”

“Then it’s fine. Let’s wait a bit longer.”

The father and son sat nervously in the main hall, the oil lamp flickering unsteadily on the table.

At that moment, they heard footsteps running toward them. The two were overjoyed. “It succeeded, Father! It definitely succeeded.”

“We finally have avenged big brother.” Ning Yusheng stood up to open the door—only to be instantly beheaded by a big knife.

“Yusheng, my son?” Ning Dazhu screamed in terror. Unexpectedly, the man wielding the big knife immediately swung it at Ning Dazhu.

But at the critical moment, he suddenly froze.

Ning Dazhu was horrified. Regaining composure, he grabbed the knife with one hand and fiercely hacked at the attacker. More men rushed in, faces twisted with rage, attacking Ning Dazhu.

Meanwhile, the other three men charged into the inner rooms, wildly slashing at the rest of the Ning family.

“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” Neighbors hearing the commotion tried to get up and check.

But the screams were so horrifying that everyone woke up, yet no one dared to step outside.

The Ning family women and children were all slaughtered in their beds; Ning Yusheng’s wide eyes stared lifelessly at the doorway. Only Ning Dazhu remained, drenched in blood.

Ning Dazhu seemed possessed by a ghost, fighting off four men simultaneously. He killed three of them brutally before the last man stabbed through him.

In one night, the entire main branch of the Ning family was wiped out.

Zhu Lizheng lived far away, and by the time he called Su Mingshan to rush over, the Ning family lay in pools of blood.

Only after the screams stopped did other villagers dare approach with torches.

Upon seeing the carnage, they nearly fainted. “Good heavens, what enemy did the Ning family make?”

If it were mountain bandits, the other villagers would likely be doomed too. The brutal scene more closely resembled a revenge killing.

After analysis, the villagers concluded it was definitely a vendetta.

Otherwise, why would the attackers spare others and target only the Ning family? The two sons of Ning’s main branch were known to be reckless and likely made enemies.

At dawn two days later, several officers arrived. Someone recognized the leader of the bandits and said with a grave expression, “This man is the fugitive Zhao Dao.”

Hearing this, the villagers all gasped in shock. “Oh my, when did the Ning family offend a fugitive? Luckily, these people are all dead. Otherwise, the villagers would have been in great trouble.”

Zhu Lizheng was still fearful as he said this.

The Su family, upon hearing this outcome, felt relieved but also puzzled. They wondered how the two father and son from the Ning family managed to kill those five fugitives in return.

They knew Ning Dazhu had a broken arm, and the younger Ning was cowardly and afraid to die.

Could it have been the mysterious expert who appeared?

That seemed unlikely. If a master had intervened, the scene wouldn’t have been so brutal—there would have been a single decisive strike. But the Ning family all died under a chaotic attack of blades. Especially Ning Yusheng, whose body was almost stripped of any good meat.

Su Mingshan thought about this and fell into deep contemplation.

Hearing the adults’ discussion, Su Wan fearfully covered Su Xinyao’s ears, afraid she would be frightened.

The Su family quickly hushed themselves once they realized. “Stop talking, you’re scaring the child,” said Su Fu.

Su Wan smiled sweetly at Su Fu and said, “Mother, the Ning family got what they deserved. Who told them to do bad things? They even tried to bully us by using their power.”

“That’s right, Wanwan is correct. The Ning family deserves this; evil begets evil. Because of Ning Yuwei’s death, the Ning family resented the Su family. It’s better they’re dead now—otherwise, they might have come after us Su family later.”

“Mother Yao makes a good point, but it’s a pity for those two children,” Grandma Su, still kind-hearted, expressed regret for the two children born into the Ning family.

Su Wan lowered her eyes, unaware that the Ning family actually planned not to spare even the children of the Su family.