Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After chatting for a while, we learned that her name was Liu Xiqiao, and the little girl was her daughter named Chen Xi. Originally, they were a family of three, but now only the two of them remained. As for her husband, he had died at the hands of the Fox Demon, drained of his life force and left as nothing but a husk. Such a fate was undoubtedly tragic, yet it left me feeling somewhat puzzled. She was older than I was, so I referred to her as Sister Liu and asked, "Sister Liu, are you sure your husband died from being drained by that Fox Demon?" She nodded, perhaps sensing my doubts, and with a look of terror in her eyes said, "Yes, I even saw his corpse; it looked like there was almost nothing left but skin." As she spoke, her face filled with sorrow, and she began to sob softly. However, she continued to explain, "But it seems there is not just one Fox Demon; several men in the village have died in the same way as my husband. Some were even torn apart, their flesh and blood scattered about; when their bodies were found, it looked as if they had been gnawed on."
"The Fox Demon that harmed your husband was female," Mingyue suddenly interjected.
"Female? What about the others?" I frowned and asked. Mingyue glanced at me and replied, "Clearly, there is more than one Fox Demon in this village; there may even be some shapeless ones."
"What do you mean?" I inquired.
"The Fox Demon is born with alluring traits and is skilled at seduction. This means that your husband and those who died similarly were drained by a transformed Fox Demon to enhance her cultivation," Mingyue explained. After a brief pause to look at us, she continued, "As for those whose bodies were eaten, I suspect they might be some foxes that haven't fully transformed yet but have gained intelligence and reached a certain level of cultivation."
Mingyue's explanation made a disturbing amount of sense to me. The thought of using people as food felt excessively cruel.
"What do you plan to do next?" Mingyue suddenly asked after observing my silence.
"What should I do?" I was taken aback for a moment; promising to help was easy, but actually doing it seemed incredibly difficult. Not to mention saving them and the villagers—when faced with a Fox Demon, even self-preservation would likely be a challenge for me. So I shook my head awkwardly at Liu Xiqiao and admitted to Mingyue, "To be honest, I don't know what to do right now!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xiqiao's eyes flashed with disappointment and sorrow. Mingyue calmly said, "Didn't your master leave you the Lark's Secret Record before he passed?"
I had mentioned the Lark's Secret Record to He Si back at the hotel while Mingyue was present; she reminded me of it now.
"Yes!" I nodded. "But even if I'm supposed to deal with that Fox Demon, I'll need some time!"
"When does the Fox Demon usually come to the village?" Mingyue ignored my concerns and turned to Liu Xiqiao with a calm question.
"It varies; sometimes at night and sometimes during the day," Liu Xiqiao replied after thinking for a moment.
"So you all stay indoors during both day and night out of fear?" Mingyue asked.
Liu Xiqiao nodded in agreement. "Yes."
Without further ado, Mingyue suggested that Liu Xiqiao gather all the surviving villagers in one large courtyard. At first, Liu Xiqiao hesitated to go outside, but Mingyue looked at me expectantly for assistance. I was slightly taken aback but remembered that Gu Chen had left me some pre-drawn talismans before he departed. So I took out a yellow talisman and flicked it with my fingers in front of Liu Xiqiao and little Chen Xi; it instantly ignited into flames. This spectacle astonished them both—Liu Xiqiao exclaimed excitedly, "You... you really are a Taoist priest?" Little Chen Xi gazed at me with admiration sparkling in her eyes.
I shook my head helplessly and coughed lightly before saying, "I'm not a Taoist priest; not only Taoists can use Maoshan Techniques." However, Liu Xiqiao completely ignored my words after witnessing me ignite the talisman with empty hands; she immediately grabbed my arm excitedly and rushed outside. One by one, she knocked on every villager's door until everyone was gathered together in one household. Roughly counting them all—adults plus children—there were about thirty or forty people left in this village beneath the Taihang Mountains.
Once everyone was assembled, Mingyue arranged for me to have a quiet room where I could think alone while she and Mu Yan stayed outside with the villagers. In that room, I sat down with a headache, my face etched with seriousness and anxiety. Before me lay the Spell Section and Demonology from Lark Volume Three. This had been Mingyue's suggestion: while she and Mu Yan guarded outside, I would ponder how to deal with the Fox Demon.
Each volume of Lark Volume Three contained different content. The Demonology section detailed various beings' origins—from birth to gaining intelligence—gradually breaking through their limitations until they transformed into humanoid forms. Each type of being varied significantly; some even included plant-like spirits—but their final processes were generally similar. Those who defied common sense were labeled as demons.
However, if I wanted to find methods to deal with these demons effectively, I needed to focus on the Spell Section specifically. Thus, I ultimately directed my attention there.
Although Gu Chen had given me handwritten notes from the Spell Section filled with dense text that made my eyes blur from reading too much at once—many spells seemed feasible but were too profound or demanding for me to execute successfully. Some simpler spells worried me about their effectiveness against the Fox Demon; if they failed, it would surely lead to disaster for myself and dozens of villagers.
As night approached rapidly, my anxiety grew stronger until finally—I stumbled upon another spell that caught my attention: "Three Ghostly Arrows." I murmured it aloud while carefully reading through its details.
The Purple Ghost Sword utilized talismans as folding swords combined with incantations as support and hand gestures as mediums; if successful, it could shoot out purple light energy targeting an enemy. The Azure Ghost Sword operated similarly but shot out blue light energy upon success. Lastly came the Cyan Spirit Sword—it also used talismans as folding swords along with incantations and hand gestures; if successful this time around—it would unleash white light energy targeting an enemy but possessed significantly higher attack power than the previous two spells—it required considerable skill to wield effectively.
Thus I decided to focus on both the Purple Ghost Sword and Azure Ghost Sword spells while activating talismans in my room reciting incantations as I attempted them once more. Though not overly complex—I managed after several tries until finally—a beam of purple light shot from my fingertips directly piercing through the wooden door creating a hole.
The sudden commotion drew curious voices from outside as I observed the results before letting out a long sigh of relief—I opened the door stepping outside.
Comment 0 Comment Count