Chapter 369: The Ghost is Fake

His eyes suddenly became as sharp as a hawk’s. He took a step forward, his hands curving like eagle claws as he grabbed viciously for Chen Qingdi’s shoulders.

“You’re a successor of the Eagle Claw Sect?!”

Chen Qingdi knew he wouldn’t stand a chance if those claws made contact, so before the man even got close, he shot both fists out, aiming for his opponent’s claws.

The force of the fists and claws clashed. His opponent, still in mid-air, was thrown back by the powerful resistance. He couldn’t help but flip backward in a somersault, landing by the doorway.

He had thought that with some distance between them, he was safe and could use Hidden Weapons to win. But to his surprise, Chen Qingdi threw another punch at him from afar.

“Dragon Flying Nine Five!”

He threw his left fist, then quickly retracted it as his right shot out to take its place. He did this five or six times, sending out five or six powerful gales from his fists. The gales converged, forming a tidal wave that crashed toward Master Jia.

Master Jia took a step forward, about to parry or dodge, when he was suddenly slammed against the wall behind him by an incomparably fierce power.

PTHOO!

He couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“I never thought a kid like you would have such high Power.”

Chen Qingdi sighed. “The Martial Arts of the Mingzao Sect are quite profound. But as the saying goes, fists fear the young and strong. It would be best for you to retire, old senior.”

Jia Baoguo heaved a long sigh. “Since Meijuan has a young hero like you to support her, I have nothing more to say. The two of you… do as you see fit!”

The old man leaned on his cane. Clutching his chest, he staggered out the door, only to be immediately stopped by several board members.

“Elder Jia, are you alright?”

Elder Jia sighed helplessly. “I have done my best. You all should look after yourselves.”

Without another word, the board members left the corporate office building.

With a playful huff, Wang Meijuan rejected Chen Qingdi’s suggestion that they have a round right there in the conference room, planting a kiss on his cheek instead.

“Alright now. If you have something to say, we can talk in my office. It’s a bit busy at the company today. There are a lot of people I need to fire before we can proceed with the follow-up work.”

Chen Qingdi stretched lazily. “I don’t understand work stuff, so don’t talk to me about it. But if any villains or evil ghosts show up, tell me right away. I’m not afraid of bad omens!”

While the three beauties in the office discussed business, Chen Qingdi felt completely left out. Helpless, he slumped onto his comfortable desk and dozed off.

A short while later, he was woken by his ringing phone. He answered it, and Qian Laoliu’s anxious voice came through.

“Boss, get to the Wang Family’s Old Mansion, quick! We’ve found something new.”

Chen Qingdi didn’t dare to delay. He told Wang Meijuan and had her arrange for a car to take him to the Wang Family’s Old Mansion.

Because of the so-called evil ghosts and malicious spirits in the old mansion, Wang Meijuan didn’t dare to move in herself. She had taken Chen Qingdi’s advice to let him eliminate all the dangerous elements inside first before she would move in.

Beside an old well in the back garden of the Wang Family’s Old Mansion, there was a bloody handprint.

According to the Wang Family’s old servant, this was the place where the second son-in-law died.

Nearby, there was a swing set and a carousel.

Presumably, it was a place where that son-in-law and the beauty played together.

After examining the bloody handprint, Chen Qingdi found no new clues. He thought to himself, ‘I might as well just sit on the swing set and wait.’

‘If there really is a ghost, it should show itself.’

He sat on the hanging chair of the swing set. Grasping the ropes with both hands, he closed his eyes to rest.

Just then, a terrified scream rang out again.

He heard Qian Laoliu cry out once, then silence. Chen Qingdi opened his eyes to find Qian Laoliu had inexplicably collapsed on the ground. There were no obvious wounds on his body, no blood at the corner of his mouth; it was impossible to tell if he was alive or dead.

He sneered inwardly. ‘So you’re trying to play ghost games with me, huh? Fine. I’ll play along.’

So, once again, he closed his eyes. Leaning against the backrest of the swing, he let it begin to sway gently.

Suddenly, the laughter of a female ghost came from behind his head.

“This is where the *first* son-in-law died. Do you want to take his place, kid?”

Chen Qingdi had read *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* before, so he knew about the concept of a “substitute ghost”—a ghost bound to the place of its death, which could only be reincarnated if someone else died in its place.

Hearing this laughter, Chen Qingdi assumed this female ghost was looking for a substitute.

He wasn’t particularly scared, though. He thought to himself.

‘What’s so scary about ghosts? If it’s a male ghost, I have a sword for him. If it’s a female ghost… well, doesn’t she have a handsome guy right here?’

But it was only a terrifying laugh, rising and falling from in front of and behind him.

He adopted a mindset of meeting all changes by remaining unchanged. He continued swinging nonchalantly.

As long as he detected no strange movements, he wouldn’t move either.

Just then, the entire swing suddenly began to sway violently, going higher and higher on its own.

‘Here it comes.’

But Chen Qingdi didn’t panic. He secretly readied himself.

If anything unexpected happened, he could instantly leap off the swing and land on the ground.

Sure enough, just as the swing reached the height of the top bar, there was a loud SNAP! The rope broke, flinging him through the air.

By then, Chen Qingdi had already opened his eyes. He saw that his flight path was lined with several sharpened bamboo poles.

If he crashed into them, he would taste the agony of being pierced by a thousand arrows.

He acted decisively, quickly throwing several powerful punches toward the ground in front of him.

He used Flying Dragon Fist for all of them. The Fist Strength shattered the upward-pointing bamboo poles ahead, then rebounded back along its original path.

This rebounding Fist Strength pushed him back. He flew toward the swing set and landed steadily on the ground.

Just then, several figures shot out from the nearby flower bushes. They each held a short blade and lunged recklessly at Chen Qingdi’s chest.

SWISH! A few flashes of silver light, and several Flying Needles sank into the shoulders of these men in black.

The men in black screamed and fell to the ground.

But they had their own methods, too. With a flick of their hands, a thick cloud of smoke filled the air, making it impossible to tell north from south.

Chen Qingdi didn’t dare to give chase recklessly. He simply shielded his entire body with protective energy.

Fortunately, no one attacked. He held his breath and waited quietly for a moment.

The surrounding dust gradually settled. A layer of gray powder now covered him, making him look particularly wretched.

Looking again at the swing set, only the two support posts remained.

He shook his head helplessly. “They say even ghosts are afraid of villains. Am I not villainous enough? These guys are so sneaky, but they can’t come up with any new tricks. How boring!”

Standing guard beside him, Qian Laoliu began operating a drone with a remote control.

Chen Yuan handed him a tablet, which was displaying the drone’s real-time tracking footage.

They saw the sneaky figures instantly disappear into the tall grass.

Chen Qingdi ordered Qian Laoliu, “Those bastards are infuriating. Get a drone, load it with a flash-bang Magic Bullet, aim it at the grass where they’re hiding, and fire! Let them have a taste of what it’s like to be a roast pig!”