Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After running for a few hundred meters, I noticed the footsteps behind us had disappeared. Shangguan Mingyue finally pulled me to a stop, leaning against the wall to catch her breath.
That Aunt had quite the stamina, chasing after us like that. Thankfully, we ran fast.
Shangguan Mingyue glanced at me and asked, "What do you want to do now?"
"Why did they attack us?" I was genuinely puzzled. It made no sense to just lash out for no reason.
Shangguan Mingyue rolled her eyes at me. "Are you stupid? I told you not to go, but you didn’t listen. Since the Zhang Family's business is already known to outsiders, it has clearly spread. Once word gets out, how many people will come knocking for money? Madam Zhang clearly sees us as con artists."
I see now; if that's the case, it should be easy to handle.
All I needed to do was demonstrate my strength in front of them to gain their trust and successfully enter the Zhang Family.
I hooked my arm around Shangguan Mingyue's shoulder and smiled. "Let’s go."
"Where to?" she asked.
"Of course, we're going to the Zhang Family!"
"You still dare to go? Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"
I confidently patted my chest and assured her, "Don't worry! If I get beaten again this time, I'll give you all my belongings."
When we reached the entrance of the Zhang Family, I didn't go in immediately but stood aside and waited.
Shangguan Mingyue teased me, "Yan Xi, you’re not chickening out, are you? If you choose to back down now, I'll take half your belongings."
I checked the time on my phone and replied, "Just wait. In one minute, someone will definitely come out to greet us."
"Alright then, stubborn as a dead duck. I'll wait with you for one minute."
The minute felt incredibly long for me, filled with worry about any unexpected changes. I kept my eyes fixed on the entrance of the Zhang Family without even blinking.
Just as Shangguan Mingyue counted down to the sixtieth second, a tall middle-aged man emerged from the Zhang Family. He sized up both me and Shangguan Mingyue before rushing over and asking, "Are you born in the Year of the Monkey?"
I nodded without saying a word.
Immediately, he bowed to me and said, "Great Master, I am Zhang Yuan. I didn't know you had arrived; please do not take offense."
I held my head high. In this society, if you don't put on a bit of an air, no one will believe you have real skills.
"No need for that. Just take me inside to have a look."
Seeing my attitude, Zhang Yuan quickly bent down and invited me in.
I pulled Shangguan Mingyue along with me, not forgetting to give her a smug glance.
As soon as we entered, Madam Zhang spotted us and rushed over with a broom in hand. Fortunately, she was stopped by Zhang Yuan, who scolded her.
Zhang Yuan turned back to me with an apologetic look. I waved my watch to indicate it was no problem.
Sitting in the living room of Zhang Yuan's home, sipping tea that he had personally brewed, I cleared my throat and said slowly, "So, what's wrong with your son?"
At the mention of this, Zhang Yuan's face immediately contorted into a frown, filled with distress. "Great Master, you must save my son! He has been possessed by a monster and can’t understand human speech at all. Please, you have to help him."
From Zhang Yuan, I learned that his son, Zhang Yi, had recently developed an inexplicable fear of sunlight and had undergone a drastic change in temperament. At first, he simply stayed locked in his room; now he was demanding his parents buy him a coffin to lie in or he would threaten to die.
Another strange aspect was that he insisted on calling out all night long; if they didn’t let him do so, he would convulse uncontrollably. His cries sounded like a wild cat in heat—extremely unpleasant.
I glanced at Shangguan Mingyue to see if she had encountered anything like this before.
She shook her head at me, and I fell into silent contemplation.
I never expected that this appearance would frighten Zhang Yuan. He rushed towards me, exclaiming, "Great Master, you have to save my child! I’m willing to pay any amount."
As he spoke, he shot a glance at his wife.
His wife looked unwilling, and it seemed Zhang Yuan was on the verge of confronting her.
It wasn't until she came out with two stacks of money that I finally understood what was happening.
I helped Zhang Yuan to a seat, urging him to calm down.
"Mr. Zhang, listen to me. I won't accept your money right now."
Seeing Zhang Yuan about to get agitated again, I quickly added, "Don't worry, I will save your son. Once he’s better, you can give me whatever you feel is appropriate. How does that sound?"
When Madam Zhang saw that I wasn’t accepting the money, her attitude softened. She rushed over and hugged my leg, saying, "Great Master, I misunderstood you earlier. Please, you must save my son!"
"Madam Zhang, please get up and take me to see your son's condition."
I wanted to see Zhang Yi first to understand what kind of situation we were dealing with.
The Zhang couple led me to the courtyard where the coffin was located. They opened the lid, revealing a young man inside, around eighteen or nineteen years old.
His face was pale with dark circles under his eyes. The veins on his neck were bulging, and his breathing sounded much weaker than normal.
His hands and feet were shackled with iron chains. As Madam Zhang looked at her son, tears streamed down her face as she said, "Great Master, we had no choice but to lock him up because we were worried he might harm others."
Suddenly, a foul odor wafted through the air.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a shadow. I quickly pulled Madam Zhang aside to avoid danger.
It was then that Zhang Yi suddenly sat up, mouth wide open as if he intended to bite me.
Zhang Yi, shackled and confined within the coffin, was bound in his movements, angrily pounding on himself.
Zhang Yuan couldn't bear to watch his son suffer and wanted to rush forward, but I stopped him. "Mr. Zhang, let me handle this."
I secured Shiro at my waist; I wouldn't use him unless absolutely necessary. Carefully, I approached Zhang Yi.
As I got closer, my hand formed the necessary gesture, and I swiftly struck toward his forehead.
To my surprise, my Exorcism Technique had no effect on him. Behind me, Shangguan Mingyue shouted, "This is bad."
She rushed forward to take my place, pulling out a handful of Glutinous Rice from her pocket and stuffing it into Zhang Yi's mouth.
Zhang Yi whimpered and halted his movements, continuously spitting out the Glutinous Rice, looking quite uncomfortable.
Seizing the opportunity, I charged in again and used the Exorcism Technique to strike him once more, this time targeting the top of his head.
Slowly, Zhang Yi ceased his movements and slumped back into the coffin.
The reason my first attempt had failed was that the Exorcism Technique relied on hitting specific acupoints. To subdue a spirit, one must strike its acupoints. The Yin Tang acupoint is located between the eyebrows, while the Shen Ting acupoint is at the center of the forehead. My last successful gesture was because I targeted the Bai Hui acupoint at the top of his head.
As a beginner without a mentor to guide me, I could only self-study from Liu Qingfeng's ancient text. All techniques require contact with the body to succeed.
For those with higher cultivation levels, their gestures can produce waves of energy that can subdue an Evil Spirit without direct contact.
Seeing his son collapse, Zhang Yuan hurried over to me. "Great Master, what happened to my son?"
"The Evil Spirit within your son has been temporarily subdued by me; he will be fine."
My calm demeanor reassured Zhang Yuan significantly; he began to trust me completely.
Taking advantage of the situation, I requested a room from him. I needed a private space for Shangguan Mingyue and me to discuss our current predicament.
As soon as we entered, Shangguan Mingyue pulled me aside and asked mysteriously, "How did you do it?"
I took out the gourd and released the treasure inside. It was no longer afraid of Shangguan Mingyue and immediately dashed toward her the moment it emerged.
"Aunt Mingyue, I missed you so much."
Shangguan Mingyue held the treasure in one arm while tugging at me with the other. "Hurry up! Don't keep me in suspense."
I pointed at the treasure, indicating for it to speak.
"Aunt Mingyue, what was that about making me write in front of that old man?"
"What did you write?" Shangguan Mingyue asked.
The treasure jumped down and began gesturing.
In an instant, a line of words appeared on the ground.
"Divine Maiden, assist the Zhang Family; hurry out to welcome them."
Shangguan Mingyue chuckled after reading it. "Well done, Gu Yanxi. You're quick on your feet. But what's up with that monkey?"
"To help Zhang Yuan find me quickly, I had the treasure hint that the Divine Maiden belongs to the Monkey zodiac."
Shangguan Mingyue nodded in appreciation. "I see."
"Alright, let's not linger. We need to analyze the situation with Zhang Yi. If what Zhang Yuan said is true, then this is quite strange."
Shangguan Mingyue shook her head at me. "Let's wait until tonight and see what happens with Zhang Yi then."
As darkness fell, we left the room and prepared to head out to the courtyard to take a look.
At night, the Zhang Family was eerily quiet, not a sound to be heard.
I walked alongside Shangguan Mingyue, my unease growing stronger with each step.
Thump, thump! Thump, thump!...
Suddenly, a sound resembling a heartbeat echoed in the darkness—thump, thump, thump...
The sound seemed rhythmic, guiding my own heart to beat in sync with it.
Gradually, the noise quickened, and my heart raced along with it.
I wanted to ask Shangguan Mingyue what was happening, but when I turned to look, she had vanished.
Just moments ago, we were linked together; how could she disappear so suddenly?
A chill ran down my spine as anxiety began to creep in.
Suddenly...
A shadow darted swiftly past me.
Then came a fierce cat's cry—meow...
I forced myself to calm down and focused my gaze. It was a large black cat, its eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
It perched on a distant wall, staring at me with a grin that revealed two sharp white fangs, as if mocking me.
I gripped Shiro tightly in my hand, cold sweat trickling down my forehead. My palms were damp, yet I dared not relax.
The black cat lifted its front paw and licked it while keeping its eyes fixed on me.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Cat vanished!
Before I could recover from the shock, a cool breeze brushed against the back of my head.
Startled, my body stiffened instantly, and beads of sweat began to slide down my forehead.
Grandpa used to say that if you feel a cool wind at the back of your head at night, you must not turn around.
I wanted to run, but my body wouldn’t obey, as if someone were forcing me to turn back.
In that moment, I widened my eyes, my mouth twitched, and my eyebrows jumped as I struggled to speak.
Comment 0 Comment Count