C21 I Am Just Kidding

After taking Lan Xin away from the Chiang family, Chiang Xie decided to head to Wutan City to leave her with the Xiao family. He knew that having Lan Xin with him while confronting the Chiang family would be a distraction.

Chiang Xie had the power to annihilate the Chiang family, but he wasn't invincible, and there were certainly risks involved. He couldn't afford to take Lan Xin along on such a dangerous venture.

Upon reaching Wutan City, Chiang Xie wavered for a moment before deciding against leaving Lan Xin with the Xiao family. Instead, he entrusted her to the care of the city lord of Wutan City.

His hesitation wasn't due to a lack of trust in Xiao Zhan and the others, but he had severely offended the First Elder before his departure. There was no telling if the First Elder would seek revenge on Lan Xin if she stayed with the Xiao family.

It seemed safer to leave Lan Xin with the city lord of Wutan City, and, thankfully, the city lord agreed to ensure her safety. With that assurance, Chiang Xie could finally rest easy.

Once Lan Xin was secure, Chiang Xie hurried back to Fire Cloud City that very night, finding accommodation at an inn close to the Chiang family.

At the inn, Chiang Xie requested paper and a pen. Drawing upon the memories of his body's previous owner, he compiled a list of the Chiang family's undesirables—talents and elders alike. Anyone with a blemish on their record was included.

Chiang Xie's intention wasn't to exterminate every member of the Chiang family, but rather to eliminate the harmful elements. Given that nearly everyone in the Chiang family fit that description, his task was clear.

After completing the list, Chiang Xie smirked and addressed the system, "System, did you know that a villain who doesn't know anything is incompetent?"

Caught off guard, the system responded, "Young man, are you suggesting kidnapping?"

With a snap of his fingers and a surge of excitement, Chiang Xie replied, "Exactly, kidnapping! I've come up with a brilliant plan for it. It looks like it's time to showcase my true talents."

The system taunted, "You were born to be a villain! A kidnapping plan? This system is all for it!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for uncovering a hidden mission. Completing it could reward you with a mysterious prize!"

Chiang Xie was taken aback. Could a simple kidnapping really trigger a hidden mission? And was this hidden mission just another way to deceive the protagonist?

"Young man, you're in luck. The rewards for hidden missions are far more generous than those of regular missions. However, the specifics of the mission won't be disclosed. You'll have to figure it out on your own," the system clarified.

Chiang Xie furrowed his brow. It looked like he'd have to leave it to chance since he had no clue what the hidden mission entailed. Nevertheless, he felt even more confident about wiping out the Chiang family now.

Seeing that annihilating a sect could trigger a hidden mission, it confirmed that deciding to obliterate the Chiang family was the right move!

——–The Chiang family

"Hmph, Chiang Yunzhou released his son and still has the nerve to go into seclusion?"

Initially, Chiang Tianhai was furious upon receiving the elders' report, but he was somewhat reassured knowing Chiang Yunzhou was handling Chiang Xie.

But then, the news came that Chiang Yunzhou had let Chiang Xie escape and had gone into seclusion. Chiang Tianhai was so enraged he wanted to kill Chiang Yunzhou on the spot.

Unfortunately, the man was in seclusion somewhere unknown, and Chiang Tianhai couldn't lay a hand on him...

In the end, he had to bite back his anger and sternly warned the elders, "If any of you discover the whereabouts of that evil son, don't hesitate to take action. If you can't bring him back alive, dead will do just as well... Understood?"

"Yes!"

Three days later, the Chiang family had become the butt of the joke in Fire Cloud City. Meanwhile, many other families pitied the Chiang family. What kind of influential figure had to be involved for them to suffer such a fate?

It turned out that on the day after Chiang Xie left the Chiang family, Lee Shuangshuang, the family's matriarch, had disappeared!

The following day, most of the Chiang family's young prodigies vanished as well, and even the searching elders failed to return.

The third day brought the most bizarre turn of events. At dawn, the entrance to the Chiang family's mansion was piled high with the bodies of the missing elders!

A message was scrawled at the doorway: "If you wish for the remaining people to be unharmed, bring a sufficient amount of spirit stones to the designated small forest tomorrow, or else they will be torn apart."

Everyone had assumed the ordeal was over, but then, shockingly, Lee Shuangshuang was found in a pigsty!

Despite having been trampled by pigs, Lee Shuangshuang was miraculously still alive, albeit driven to madness, incessantly muttering, "I was trampled by a pig, I was trampled by a pig..."

Upon hearing this, Chiang Tianhai immediately ordered her execution. He couldn't bear the thought of everyone knowing that his wife had been humiliated by swine.

"Which forest... which forest... Why haven't you found that forest yet! Do you want the Chiang family to be slaughtered by that beast?" Chiang Tianhai raged, coughing up blood in his fury, desperately wanting to rip Chiang Xie limb from limb, but he was powerless to do so.

In the last two days, Chiang Xie had slain numerous elders at the Profound Energy Stage. If any harm came to the young talents in Chiang Xie's clutches, it would be more than a severe blow to the Chiang family—it could lead to their complete annihilation.

For the first time, Chiang Tianhai took Chiang Xie seriously, recognizing not only his ability to kill family elders but also his chilling cunning.

How else could he have enticed so many of the family's geniuses out of the Chiang household and taken them hostage?

If Chiang Tianhai had known that Chiang Xie had simply spread the word about Lee Shuangshuang's ordeal with the pigs to lure them out for their own amusement, only to be captured by Chiang Xie, he would have been livid enough to cough up blood.

The reason Chiang Tianhai was unaware of the true motive behind the geniuses' departure from the Chiang family and their subsequent capture by Chiang Xie was quite simple: who would dare admit they were going to gawk at his wife's disgrace... Thus, Chiang Tianhai remained in the dark.

The entire Chiang family was in a frenzy, desperately searching for the forest Chiang Xie had mentioned. Despite scouring nearly every forest in the vicinity, they came up empty-handed.

At the point when Chiang Tianhai was beginning to believe that the heavens sought to annihilate the Chiang family, Chiang Xie unexpectedly showed up at their doorstep! He greeted Chiang Tianhai with a warm smile, exclaiming, "Haha, don't sweat it, little bro! I was just pulling your leg these past couple of days!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nearly choked on their outrage. After all the deaths he'd caused within the Chiang family, not to mention allowing a pig to entice Chiang Tianhai's wife, he had the audacity to call it a joke? What kind of sick joke was that?

What shocked the Chiang family even more was Chiang Xie's next move. Seeing Chiang Tianhai frozen in shock, he casually tossed two biscuits at him! Then, with brazen confidence, he taunted, "I told you it was a joke. Why aren't you laughing? Laugh, damn it!" And with that, he flung another pair of biscuits.

Everyone was left thinking just how formidable Chiang Xie was.

Once Chiang Tianhai snapped out of his daze, he disregarded the throbbing pain on his face and launched a full-force punch straight at Chiang Xie's chest. Chiang Xie was sent flying like a missile, hurtling through the air before crashing into the ground, creating a massive crater.

"You think these antics will drive me mad? You're sorely mistaken," Chiang Tianhai stated coolly.

Chiang Xie tried to come back with a sharp retort but instead coughed up a mouthful of blood, his breaths erratic. He knew that if he continued to fight Chiang Tianhai now, he would undoubtedly be killed... He had been too careless!