Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Zhang Yuan was momentarily taken aback, his thoughts interrupted as he stared at me and asked, "Great Master, what do you mean?"
"I want you to show me Zhang Yi's birth chart."
My sole purpose for examining Zhang Yi's birth chart was the nagging feeling that the cat and the Taoist's appearance were too strange. If Zhang Yuan wasn't lying, there had to be something suspicious going on.
Upon looking at Zhang Yi's birth chart, I noted:
Ji Si Gui You Yi Hai Ding Hai
This chart was indeed comparable to mine. Fortunately, since Zhang Yi was male, otherwise, with the addition of female yin energy, his fate would have been nearly doomed.
"Zhang Yuan, are you aware that your son's chart is entirely yin?"
Zhang Yuan nodded in acknowledgment, now fully convinced of my insights.
"Did that Daoist do anything else besides placing this coffin in your courtyard?"
After a moment of reflection, Zhang Yuan replied, "Yes, Great Master. I'll take you to two other places."
He first led me to where the Zhang Family had set up their ancestral tablets. Beneath the incense and candles offered there lay a piece of yellow paper inscribed with Zhang Yi's birth chart.
The Daoist had done this to seek blessings from the Zhang Family ancestors for Zhang Yi to avert disasters. At the time, he thought it made perfect sense.
"That's nonsense! That deceitful Daoist is harming people!" I erupted in anger.
"Great Master, what's wrong?" Zhang Yuan seemed startled by my outburst, trembling slightly.
I shot him an exasperated glare; I had never encountered someone so oblivious. "Have you ever seen a living person's birth chart placed before the dead? Isn't that putting your son in danger? It's practically asking for his life!"
Zhang Yuan's eyes widened in shock, knowing he was about to plead with me to save his son again.
I raised my hand to signal him to be quiet and asked him to take me to the next place.
Next, Zhang Yuan led us to Zhang Yi's room. This time, he rushed into the room, lifted the bed cover, and angrily pointed below, saying, "Great Master, that filthy Taoist has placed a talisman under my son's bed. You need to come and take a look quickly."
I could understand Zhang Yuan's feelings; he was thoroughly disgusted with the Taoist who had harmed his son.
Taking the yellow paper that Zhang Yuan handed me, I initially thought it would contain something like Zhang Yi's birth date and time, placed there to weaken Zhang Yi's Yang Qi.
To my surprise, when I opened it, I found it was actually a talisman—a Ghost Suppression Talisman.
I uncertainly handed it to Shangguan Mingyue. After she read it, her brows furrowed, confirming my suspicions.
"Mr. Zhang, you and your wife should step outside and guard Zhang Yi. I need to expel the evil energy from his room first; this will make it easier for us to perform the exorcism later."
I fabricated an excuse to usher Zhang Yuan and his wife out. I needed space to discuss matters with Shangguan Mingyue.
"Mingyue, have you seen this formation before?"
Shangguan Mingyue pondered for a moment before replying, "I think I have seen it, but I can't recall its name. It doesn't seem like a Taoist formation; it looks more like something from a cult."
I understood; such malicious formations would not appear in Taoist practices.
"Mingyue, I've seen this formation recorded in ancient texts."
"What do you mean?" Shangguan Mingyue asked.
This formation relied on a lost Cat Spirit to siphon off Zhang Yi's Yang Qi. However, I still hadn't figured out what the ultimate goal was. It seemed impossible that they simply wanted to harm Zhang Yi; if that were the case, there wouldn't be a need for such elaborate measures.
The answers still lay with Zhang Yi. Approaching the coffin in the courtyard, I gestured for Shangguan Mingyue to wake Zhang Yi.
A talisman burned to ashes in the White Bowl, then I poured clean water and sprinkled it on Zhang Yi's face.
In an instant, Zhang Yi woke up.
He looked weak and fragile, as if he might faint at any moment.
Seeing two strangers before him suddenly made him a bit fearful. He moved toward his parents and shrank behind them.
Zhang Yuan glanced apologetically at us and pulled his son closer, whispering a few words.
Only then did Zhang Yi lift his gaze to me, cautiously sizing me up with his eyes.
"You can see those things, right?"
He seemed taken aback by my question, pondering for a moment before nodding in response.
To bridge the gap between us, I released Bao from the gourd.
His eyes widened in surprise, and Bao, unafraid of him, leaped into his arms and called him "brother."
For a boy willing to take care of a cat, he should have some affection for children as well.
Sure enough, with Bao's efforts, Zhang Yi slowly reached out and embraced Bao.
Zhang Yuan and his wife couldn't see Bao because they lacked Yin-Yang Eyes. To avoid complications, I had them step back for now.
"Brother, can you answer my Godmother's question? She won't hurt you."
The scout, Bao, began to play his role, and after he finished speaking, Zhang Yi fell into silence.
After a long wait, he finally looked up at us and said firmly, "You can ask. I trust you."
I took a deep breath and got straight to the point, "Do you know that the Taoist harmed you?"
Zhang Yi nodded, his face filled with sorrow. "Poor Blackie."
"Blackie?"
"Is that the cat you raised?"
"Yes, that's right. Its name is Blackie. The Taoist originally raised it, and then I found it."
Shangguan Mingyue and I exchanged glances, both shocked. I had thought this was just a coincidence, but it turned out the Taoist had orchestrated such a grand scheme.
Even Black Cat was part of the plan from the beginning. What was their purpose in harming Zhang Yi?
"Zhang Yi, do you know why the Taoist harmed you?" I asked him.
Zhang Yi looked confused. "I don't know. All I know is that he wanted to merge my soul with Blackie's and place the Cat Spirit within me. As for why he did this, I have no idea."
It seemed this matter was much more complicated than I had imagined. I recalled the tale of the Northeast Cat-Faced Old Lady.
That incident sounded incredible, but it wasn't impossible in the eyes of cultivators. At the moment when the old lady's soul left her body, the Cat Spirit just happened to enter.
This caused the Cat Spirit to reside within a human's spirit, and over time, the person's appearance would gradually mutate towards that of a cat.
Although I understood the reason behind it, I had no way to resolve it.
Liu Daozhang could barely understand the contents of that book, and in the current situation with Zhang Yi, there was nothing he could do but look at Shangguan Mingyue with concern.
"Can we go find your master?" I suggested, hoping that the Pure Yang Master could lend a hand.
Shangguan Mingyue waved her hand dismissively and said with a sneer, "Why would I need my master for such a trivial matter? I can handle it myself."
"You can handle it? Just now you didn't even know how to break this formation. How can you manage?"
"Who said that not knowing the formation means I can't break it? All I need to do is make sure this Cat Spirit stops bothering Zhang Yi."
Seeing her confidence, I still felt uneasy and asked, "Are you sure you can do it?"
"Of course! This Great Master will go find something and be back in no time."
Everyone waited for Shangguan Mingyue. She was gone for at least two hours, which made me anxious as Zhang Yuan checked on us several times.
When Shangguan Mingyue returned, she had a package in her hands and was smiling mysteriously at me.
"Why are you smiling so sneakily? Did you find something good?"
"Good things come to those who wait. I just happened to stumble upon a treasure while I was out. Today, this Zhang Family Child is definitely saved."
She instructed me to use iron chains to restrain Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi seemed to know what was about to happen and reassured Zhang Yuan and his wife not to worry. He cooperated by putting on the shackles and locking himself in the room.
Shangguan Mingyue pulled me over to the Coffin, and only then did she reveal what she had in her hands.
There were exactly seven large Peach Wood Nails.
"What do you plan to do with those?"
I stared wide-eyed at Shangguan Mingyue, fully aware of the purpose of the Peach Wood Nails and what the number seven signified.
Shangguan Mingyue noticed my emotions and lowered her voice, saying, "A dead cat and a living heir of three generations—choose which one holds more weight for you."
I fell silent, unable to decide between the two. I couldn't bring myself to act and left everything in Shangguan Mingyue's hands.
The body of the Black Cat was lifted from the coffin by Shangguan Mingyue, with seven Peach Wood Nails driven into its limbs, eyes, and throat.
"Ah..."
As the last nail was driven in, the room erupted with Zhang Yi's heart-wrenching scream.
Shangguan Mingyue signaled to Zhang Yuan and his wife to block Zhang Yi, who stood resolutely at the door, continuously calling out the child's name.
I watched this scene unfold, silently offering a prayer for the deceased cat. It was indeed tragic for a living soul to be so violently torn away.
Shangguan Mingyue covered the cat's body with talisman paper, placed pomelo leaves on top, and doused it with gasoline before lighting it.
A strong smell of burning filled the air as flames roared and crackled.
Meow...
A piercing cat's cry marked the end of this commotion.
I picked up the ashes of the Black Cat from the ground; the only thing I had to contain them was the White Bowl I had received from Jade Sun True Person.
I handed the Black Cat's ashes to Zhang Yi. He looked utterly exhausted but still trembled as he reached out to take my bowl.
"Thank you, Great Master."
After politely finishing his words, he left. Perhaps in his eyes, we were all embodiments of sin and cruelty.
"Great Master, my son is alright, isn't he?"
Zhang Yuan and his wife approached with fearful expressions; our earlier actions had clearly frightened them.
I intended to speak, but was stopped by Shangguan Mingyue, who kept winking at me.
At times like this, I knew she must have a plan, and all I needed to do was stand quietly by her side.
Sure enough, when I remained silent, Shangguan Mingyue also wore a cold expression.
Zhang Yuan and his wife grew anxious and rushed forward. "Great Master, please don't scare us! What has happened to my son?"
Comment 0 Comment Count