PWE – Chapter 64 Can’t You Be a Man?

The man responded and quickly ran off.

Zhan Hongxin was both angry and anxious. She shot Zhao Lijuan a fierce glare, thinking to herself that Zhao Lijuan really liked meddling in other people’s business.

She clenched her teeth hard and cast a pleading look toward her father.

Zhan Songbai’s expression was cold.

With gloomy eyes, he glanced at Zhao Lijuan, then turned to Daoist Zhu Qingfeng and said, “Daoist, since you said you have evidence, please bring it out quickly. Once everyone sees the evidence, they won’t accuse you anymore.”

The village chief and the village party secretary both looked at Zhan Songbai with displeasure.

They now completely understood—Zhan Songbai’s entire family wanted something bad to happen to Zeyan’s household. Even the old man Zhan Songbai was siding with the Daoist.

His meaning was too obvious: he fully supported the Daoist.

And the way this Daoist showed up today was suspicious. Perhaps Zhan Songbai was the one who invited him.

“Fine, I’ll make this demon show its true form!” Zhu Qingfeng said coldly. Then he pulled out a talisman and flicked it toward Xiao Wange.

The talisman held the soul of a snake demon.

Once the talisman attached to Xiao Wange, the snake demon’s soul would possess her.

Then the snake demon would deliberately perform movements only a snake could make, making Xiao Wange grow a snake’s tail and look as though she had revealed her true form.

Once that happened, he wanted to see how the villagers could still defend her!

The talisman hit Xiao Wange like a sharp arrow.

Xiao Wange looked at the thing stuck on her, the corner of her lips lifted slightly. She raised her eyes toward Zhu Qingfeng and said, “This is what you’re using to make me show my true form? It looks… rather impressive. But I’m not a snake demon, so it’s useless on me.”

Zhu Qingfeng frowned and quickly chanted a spell, believing that once the chant was complete, the snake demon would possess her.

But when he finished chanting, Xiao Wange remained unchanged.

She still sat there casually, looking at him with a mocking expression.

His heart trembled, and shock appeared on his face.

What happened? Why wasn’t she reacting? Why didn’t the snake demon possess her?

He looked at the talisman and found that the snake demon’s soul had disappeared.

Stunned, he looked around in a hurry. Did the snake demon run away? But how would it escape right under his nose?

Just as he was confused, something suddenly rushed into his body.

His pupils shrank, and his body froze.

The moment the thing entered him, a long snake tail suddenly grew from behind him.

Everyone screamed when they saw it:
“Ah! A snake demon! The Daoist is a snake demon! He’s the snake demon!”

They all backed away, afraid of being attacked by him.

Zhan Songbai stared wide-eyed at the tail, completely shocked.

What was going on? Why had the Daoist turned into a snake demon? The Daoist had said his powers were strong and that he would make Xiao Wange reveal a snake demon’s true form today. But now he had become the snake demon himself!

This turn of events was too much for him to accept.

Zhan Hongxin took one look at the snake tail and quickly pulled her father backward.

Her face was full of fright and disbelief.

Wasn’t Xiao Wange supposed to turn into a snake demon? Why was the Daoist the one who transformed?

Zhu Qingfeng looked at everyone’s reaction, both furious and panicked. He yelled, “I’m not a snake demon! I’m not! It’s that snake demon—inside her! That snake demon is framing me!”

He pointed at Xiao Wange, his tone filled with rage.

Xiao Wange stood up, her eyes cold as she looked at him. “You monster, even now you still want to pin the blame on me? You couldn’t stand seeing me well—you wanted me dead, didn’t you? But too bad. Justice always prevails. Heaven won’t let you have your way.”

“You—!” Zhu Qingfeng tried to argue, but suddenly he felt unbearable pain. Scales began to appear on every exposed part of his skin. The scales stung terribly, making him want to scratch them.

He forced himself to endure the discomfort and began chanting again, trying to expel the snake demon.

But…

No matter what spell he used, the snake demon wouldn’t leave.

Instead, the more he chanted, the more the snake demon acted up. It covered his whole body with scales, making him look terrifyingly like a giant snake.

“It’s too scary! This snake demon is too frightening! What do we do now? How do we drive him out of the village?” a villager cried.

The surrounding villagers swallowed nervously, wanting to run away. After all, it was a snake demon—if it got angry, it might swallow them whole.

Zhao Lijuan glanced at Xiao Wange. It seemed Zeyan’s wife could exorcise ghosts? But ghost-expelling and demon-catching weren’t the same. Someone who could drive out ghosts might not be able to deal with demons…

As she fretted, a deep, aged voice suddenly echoed:

“Degenerate disciple! You wicked disciple who has committed countless sins—do you finally realize your wrongdoing now?!”

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Not far away, an elderly Daoist with greying hair and beard, wearing a Daoist robe, slowly approached.

His weathered face was stern and cold as he glared at Zhu Qingfeng, full of disappointment and anger.

Beside him walked a young Daoist—tall, handsome, with the manner of a wealthy young master.

“Master… Master, help me! Please save me!” Zhu Qingfeng rushed toward him, falling to his knees.
“Master, save me! It’s all Xiao Wange’s fault! She made me like this! Please, help me and uphold justice for me!”

Even now he tried to shift blame onto her.

Xiao Wange’s lips curved coldly as she stepped out of the yard and looked toward the old Daoist.

He Xiuyan—standing beside the old Daoist—gave her a reassuring smile as if saying, “Don’t worry.”

Zhan Zeyan followed her out.

When he saw He Xiuyan, his expression darkened slightly. This man also had thoughts about his wife. And honestly, he didn’t want to see any man with intentions toward her.

But he knew He Xiuyan needed to be here today—to deal with Zhu Qingfeng.

The elder Daoist struck Zhu Qingfeng hard on the back with his whisk, shouting, “Even now you refuse to admit your sins! I already know everything you’ve done! I thought you were sincere in cultivating goodness, but instead, behind our backs, you committed all those vile acts!”

Zhu Qingfeng’s heart tightened. What did that mean? His master knew about everything? How?

He looked up anxiously. “Master, you misunderstand me! I’ve never done anything harmful! I always—”

“Still arguing!” The elder Daoist struck him again. “The snake demon inside your body had been cultivating peacefully on the mountain. It was kind by nature. But you deceived it down the mountain, then used cruel magic to kill it! After killing it, you even ate its flesh, hoping to raise your cultivation instantly! With such cruelty, how are you worthy of being a Daoist? Our sect does not tolerate someone like you!”

“Master…” Zhu Qingfeng paled. His master was about to expel him! How could that be? He still planned to inherit the temple and become its abbot!

But before he could speak, He Xiuyan said coldly, “Not only did you kill the snake demon, you tricked people into giving you their lifespan. You used those stolen years to cultivate forbidden arts—trying to achieve immortality. But forbidden arts violate heavenly laws. You will never succeed.”

Zhu Qingfeng’s eyes widened. They even knew about his secret cultivation?! How?

He Xiuyan then turned to Zhan Songbai. “You also gave him your lifespan, didn’t you? He used it for forbidden cultivation. And when forbidden arts backfire, you will suffer the backlash too.”

Zhan Songbai’s face changed drastically. Forbidden arts had backlash? And he could be affected too?! Zhu Qingfeng never told him that!

The villagers all turned toward him in shock.

So it was true—Zhan Songbai had invited the Daoist. He had planned to harm Zeyan’s wife!

Too vicious!

Zhao Lijuan couldn’t stand it anymore. She snapped, “Zhan Songbai, you’re really something. Just to target Zeyan’s wife, you teamed up with a Daoist and used such disgusting tricks. How despicable can you be?!”

“Exactly! I knew it—why else would a Daoist suddenly come accusing Zeyan’s wife of being a demon? So it was you!” another villager said.

Zhan Songbai’s old face flushed red in embarrassment and fury.

He wanted to argue, but before he could, Zhu Qingfeng suddenly screamed.

Zhu Qingfeng rolled on the ground in agony, shouting, “It hurts! Master, it’s eating my organs! The snake demon is eating my organs! Master, save me!”

His agony was so intense that even the onlookers felt a chilling pain.

The old Daoist’s face turned grim. “Now do you admit your wrongdoing? Do you confess all your sins?!”

Zhu Qingfeng wanted to deny it, but the pain made that impossible.

He gritted his teeth. “Yes! I admit it! I know I’ve done terrible things! I know I’m wrong! Master, please help me—I’m in too much pain…”

He rolled again, looking even worse.

The elder Daoist finally flicked his whisk and began chanting.

About half a minute later, the snake demon’s soul burst out of Zhu Qingfeng’s body.

It hovered in the air, looking down at him with cold eyes.

The snake scales quickly disappeared from Zhu Qingfeng’s body, and the pain vanished.

He stood up shakily, adjusting his dusty clothing—but no matter how he fixed it, he looked pathetic, like a beggar.

The elder Daoist then said to the snake demon, “He kept you locked away so you couldn’t cultivate. Now return to the mountain. Even without a physical body, if your heart follows the Way, you can still succeed.”

He pulled out a talisman to give it.

But the snake demon didn’t accept it.

Instead, it turned to Xiao Wange and gave her a grateful look. Earlier, she had placed a spell on it—one that would greatly aid its future cultivation. She had removed its bindings and helped it.

It silently mouthed a “thank you” to her, then turned into white smoke and vanished.

The elder Daoist put the talisman away, shook his head, and smiled.
Unexpected that the demon preferred her spell over his talisman.

But that girl…

He looked at Xiao Wange. She looked like an ordinary person, but she carried the aura of a powerful one.

A level of power he could never reach.

How could a remote village have such a person?

“Zhan Songbai! Where are you going? After colluding with the Daoist to frame Zeyan’s wife, you think you can just leave without an explanation?!”

Zhao Lijuan yelled sharply.

Zhan Songbai and his daughter had been trying to slip away.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Thinking of what he did, they were furious.

A villager mocked, “Zhan Songbai, now that you’re exposed, you want to run? Can’t you show some responsibility? Act like a man for once!”

“That’s right! You tried to ruin Zeyan’s wife—are you leaving without apologizing?” another added.

Zhan Songbai’s expression darkened.

Apologize to that wretched girl? Never!

She ruined his family—she deserved punishment! These villagers didn’t understand his suffering!

He ignored them and tried to walk away.

But—

Zhan Zeyan suddenly stepped forward and blocked him.

Zhan Zeyan looked at him coldly. “Uncle, do you think my wife is someone you can bully? You think you can frame her and then just walk away?! Unless you give an explanation today—you’re not leaving.”

His voice turned icy, sending a chill down Zhan Songbai’s spine.

Zhan Songbai clenched his fists, furious, and shouted, “Who framed your wife?! Just based on that stupid Daoist’s words, you accuse me?! Why are you so impulsive? Did you ever think I might’ve been wronged?! That the Daoist might’ve been—”

“Hey! Who are you calling a stupid Daoist?! And who wronged you?! Your deeds leave traces. You can’t deny them!” He Xiuyan snapped in disgust.

Zhan Songbai frowned, wanting to retort—but the elder Daoist suddenly spoke to Zhu Qingfeng:

“You and this old layman—explain everything clearly to everyone! Every detail! No hiding anything!”