Talisman Monster

Chen Shi bent his knees and leaped onto the main roof beam, moving along its length.

With one hand he cradled a ground mixture of cinnabar and black dog blood, and with the other he held a brush, carefully painting upon those five huge talismans.

The beam was narrow, so he had to be cautious; otherwise, a single careless slip would send him plunging down.

These five talismans were clearly the work of a talisman master proficient in the craft, transforming talismans into evil sui that tracked the scent of boy's urine to snatch children.

Once caught, the victims were hung right here.

If he were to rush in and rescue people blindly, it would surely trigger the power of these talismans. Rather than saving anyone, he might instead doom the survivors, and so Chen Shi's goal was first to ruin the five talismans and only then rescue the captives.

However, a purely violent destruction of the talismans would still unleash their power, so he used the ground cinnabar to alter their structure, rendering their power unable to function.

Very quickly, he smeared the eyes of the four talismans into a blur and tangled their heads into a mess of lines.

The most crucial part was the mouth, for the mouths of the ghost heads were connected to chains, and if the talismans were activated to tighten those chains, the tongues of these children would likely be yanked straight out from their throats on the spot!

Chen Shi used cinnabar to seal the mouths of the four talismans so that even if they retained any power, they could not retract their chains.

Only, the cinnabar in his inkstone was already exhausted, leaving him unable to paint the fifth talisman.

Since the fifth talisman had not bound a child, Chen Shi felt there was no need to paint it and strode immediately toward the weak, emaciated boy whose breath hung by a thread.

Yet right at that moment, the ghost head within the fifth talisman slowly opened its eyes, and the chain inside the ghost's mouth slid a link with a rattle.

Chen Shi's palm had already brushed against Liu Fugui's arm, and seeing this, he held his breath and remained completely motionless.

The eyes of the ghost head on the fifth talisman gradually widened, and the eyeballs drawn in cinnabar rolled around once, casting a sideways glance at Chen Shi. The ghost's face seemed to wear a smile, only it looked somewhat distorted.

Clatter, clatter.

Link by link, the chains began to shift, and the hanging ends of the chains rose slowly like the heads of serpents.

Chen Shi's heart sank—he had been discovered after all!

The ghost of the fifth talisman suddenly spoke, its voice booming like thunder: "What person are you? Why do you ruin my Daoist arts?"

The voice was exceedingly loud and deafening, shaking the dust from the abandoned house in thick showers!

This was not the talisman ghost speaking at all, but the master of the talismans, observing Chen Shi through the ghost's eyes and conversing with him through the ghost's mouth!

Chen Shi felt a secret shock. This sort of ability already surpassed ordinary talisman masters!

"Why ruin your Daoist arts? What sort of evil arts are you practicing with the village children? Four human lives—what are they in your eyes?"

Even as he spoke, Chen Shi seized the fishhook that locked Liu Fugui's eyelids. Lacking the time to unhook it, he pulled hard, attempting to snap the fine chain connected to the back of the hook.

Over the past ten-odd days, his practice of the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art had long since forged him into someone of immense strength, capable of splitting stones and cleaving steles with a mere gesture. Yet this tiny chain was remarkably sturdy; Chen Shi gave it a mighty yank, and it actually refused to break.

He exerted his strength once more, and only then did the chain snap!

He seized the fine chain of another fishhook, put forth his full might, and wrenched it apart.

Next were the fishhook chains on the nose and mouth!

"A country bumpkin's life—is that a human life?"

The ghost head let out a cold laugh. "You are a talisman master as well; have you never used the lives of others to refine treasures? I merely wished to condense a Life-Extending Lamp, using the vital breath of five boy children to form lamp oil. For you to barge into my altar and ruin my good deed—are you truly not going to give me even a shred of face?"

The fifth talisman grew distorted, the lines composing it writhing like bright red snakes that jointly formed the face of the ghost.

Whoosh—

The chains hanging from the mouth of the fifth talisman whipped about like pythons, lashing toward Chen Shi!

With one hand, Chen Shi grabbed the hook embedded in Fugui's tongue to remove it, while his other hand reached out to grab the oncoming chain.

He had to remove all the fishhooks on Fugui's face first, especially the large hook in his tongue. Otherwise, a rash attempt to untie the chains binding Fugui's limbs would cause the hooks to tear away Fugui's entire facial skin directly and rip his tongue out from his throat!

That would not be saving a person, but killing one!

Even as he plucked off the hooks, he managed to catch the lashing chain. However, the chain acted like a giant python, wrapping around his arm in a flash, spinning with a whistling sound, winding tighter and tighter with each passing turn!

Chen Shi churned his vital energy, instantly filling his arm with qi to make it swell rapidly in thickness. He planted his feet, flipped his body upward, and raised a hand to grab another chain that bound Fugui's hands and feet.

He quickly wound the chain around his own left leg to prevent himself from plunging downward.

Above his head, the brushstrokes of the fifth talisman had already formed a physical entity, transforming into a crimson ghost head over a thousand feet in size that snapped its bloody maw down to bite him, a foul stench assailing his nose!

The giant ghost mouths seen by the villagers must have been formed by this kind of talisman.

The long hanging tongues were none other than the chains inside their mouths!

Chen Shi exerted force with his hands, attempting to heave up that swooping ghost head, but he failed to budge it. This ghost head was immensely formidable, its strength surpassing even his own, and it could float in midair—something no human might could oppose!

Suspended in midair and relying on a single chain for leverage, Chen Shi stood no chance against the ghost head.

Seeing that the crimson ghost head was about to swallow him whole, Chen Shi stamped his foot down with heavy force. The roof instantly shook with a thunderous rumble, and the planks holding the chains emitted a cracking groan.

Although his strength fell short of this talisman monster, it was still astonishingly formidable. With this single stamp, the roof immediately failed to hold and was shattered by his blow!

Planks painted with talismans, along with roof tiles, stones, and thatch, came crashing down together, smashing onto the giant head of the talisman monster!

The chain on Chen Shi's leg immediately loosened, and like a slippery fish, he scooped up Fugui and descended downward.

The moment he hit the ground, he saw the main roof beam also buckle under the unbearable strain. A beam weighing one or two thousand catties snapped, crushing the house as it slammed down with a thunderous roar.

Chen Shi had no time to untangle the chains on Fugui's hands and feet. Cradling the boy, he bolted outward. Just as he burst out of the main hall, a deafening explosion echoed behind him. The main hall, along with two side rooms, collapsed simultaneously, and walls and roof beams alike buried the three rooms in rubble!

The collapsing house kicked up a blast of air that sent Chen Shi and Black Pot staggering. Dust billowed thickly, choking Black Pot into a fit of coughing.

Holding his breath, Chen Shi swiftly freed the chains from Fugui's limbs. Before he even had time to stand, he saw the collapsed roof beams suddenly shoot upright with a whoosh. The beam, weighing one or two thousand catties, acted as if it were a weightless piece of firewood—a sight that left both Chen Shi and Black Pot staring in blank astonishment.

"Country talisman master, you have enraged me!"

From beneath the ruins came the furious roar of the talisman monster. Stones flew and dust billowed as the ghost head emerged completely unharmed from beneath the collapsed building, shoving aside soil, rubble, and beams. It floated in midair, glaring down at Chen Shi from on high.

Connected to its mouth was a chain, and at the other end of that chain was a palm-sized bronze tripod. Within that tripod was the very life-extending lamp oil it had refined using the lives of four children!

When the house collapsed just now, it had been unable to spare a moment to devour Chen Shi, rushing instead to seize the tripod, and at last managed to snatch it so that the lamp oil within was not destroyed.

Yet even though it had recovered the lamp oil, the quality of that oil had dropped drastically, and the effect of the Life-Extending Lamp was severely compromised.

At the other end of the talisman monster, controlled by its master—the mysterious talisman master who had refined the Life-Extending Lamp—a burst of rage boiled over. He was about to drive the talisman monster to devour Chen Shi and vent his anger when he suddenly caught sight of the vermilion talisman on the locust tree. Hesitating for a moment, he sneered, "Little talisman master, this grudge between us is settled. You cannot run! I will surely capture you and refine you into lamp oil!"

Guided by the mysterious talisman master, the talisman monster drifted upward, intending to leave with the lamp oil, when suddenly Chen Shi down in the yard dropped his trousers, pulled out his little bird, and pissed right there on the collapsed building.

The mysterious talisman master, looking down at this scene from above, was momentarily stunned. Could this brat have been scared pissing wet?

Scarcely had the thought crossed his mind when the talisman monster suddenly broke free of his control, whistling downward as it lunged straight for Chen Shi!

The mysterious talisman master's mind went blank, and realization dawned on him in an instant.

My talisman monster attacks the moment it catches the scent of boy's urine, seizing the boy in question. This country talisman master is a boy, and he used the scent of his own urine to lure the talisman monster over!

Before he could even begin to alter the structure of the talisman monster, it had already lunged right in front of Chen Shi.

At the exact same time, upon the old locust tree, the Five Sacred Mountains House-Suppressing Talisman left behind by Chen Shi activated. Light burst forth brilliantly, forming the shapes of five dazzlingly luminous great mountains that pressed down upon the talisman monster, driving it crashing into the earth with a thunderous impact and pinning it so it could not move an inch!

The little bronze tripod in the monster's mouth instantly rolled out, spilling its lamp oil all over the ground.

Chen Shi gave his little bird a shake, pulled up his trousers, and strode forward. Raising a foot, he brought it down heavily, crushing the small bronze tripod flat, before crouching down to lock eyes with the meter-tall talisman monster.

The mysterious talisman master was consumed by fury, yet pinned beneath the Five Sacred Mountains, he remained entirely unable to move.

"Our grudge is indeed settled. Do not let me run into you."

Chen Shi stared directly into the eyes of the talisman monster, as if wishing to peer through the creature to see the true face of the talisman master.

"Should I run into you, I will beat you to death with my own hands!"

Chen Shi rose to his feet, raised his foot, and stamped it down upon the giant head of the talisman monster.

With a muffled bang, the talisman monster exploded, transforming into scarlet blood plasma and cinnabar that splattered everywhere and melted into the soil.

Some of it splashed onto Chen Shi's shoes as well.

Though he had destroyed this talisman monster, rescued Liu Fugui, and resolved the case of the child-eating bed-wetter, a lingering wave of unvented anger still churned within his breast.

This mysterious talisman master was truly powerful, far stronger than those Imperial Guards he had encountered. By rights, he ought not to have conflicted with such an expert, yet he simply wanted to hunt this mysterious talisman master down and beat him soundly until the fellow was dead!

"You can come in now."

Suppressing his anger, Chen Shi waved to the dumbfounded villagers outside the courtyard, saying, "The evil sui has been eliminated by me, and Fugui has been rescued as well."

Hearing this, the villagers still dared not step inside.

Sanwang possessed the boldest courage, lifting a foot to walk in, and only then did the rest muster the nerve to follow him into the Tian Family's abandoned house.

Fugui's parents rushed over frantically, scooped Fugui up into their arms, and called his name without pause.

Fugui dazedly opened his eyes and murmured, "Dad... Mom..." before closing them again once more.

"His vital energy is overly depleted; let him sleep. Do not give him any tonics yet—just have him drink some rice water."

Giving a few parting instructions, Chen Shi told Fugui's parents to carry the boy home.

The other villagers cleared away the collapsed building and recovered the three other children, only to find that those three had already been dead for quite some time and could no longer be saved.

Low weeping drifted through the air, eventually turning into wails of grief.

Hearing this, Chen Shi felt a tugging ache in his chest. He led Black Pot out of the abandoned house, then turned back to tell Sanwang, "Find some people to bury the eight coffins of the Tian family as well."

A jolt of fear ran through Sanwang, and he hurriedly said, "They offended Godmother and were punished by her with death—who would dare bury them?"

Chen Shi's expression darkened as he sneered coldly, "Not bury them? If this family of eight cannot rest in peace and you leave them laid out here any longer, their grievance will inevitably grow deeper and deeper, and they will surely turn into evil sui! When that time comes, every last person in your village will be eaten by them! Handle it yourselves."

Hearing this, the villagers were badly frightened and rushed off to make preparations.

Moments earlier, seeing how young Chen Shi was, they had suspected he lacked any real skill; but after witnessing him slay that mountain-like "evil sui," they were completely convinced.

The village elders ordered people to bring out tables and chairs for Chen Shi to rest on, serving him melon and fruit. Noticing his youth, they even called over two young girls to massage his shoulders and hammer his legs.

"Sanwang, come here!"

Summoning Sanwang over once more, Chen Shi inquired, "Has anyone strange come to your village recently?"

"Strange people?"

Sanwang pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, someone came. I heard they were from the provincial capital—an aged talisman master who claimed the second young lady of the Zhao Family in the provincial capital had gone missing, and he was here to gather information. It was late, so he asked to stay the night in our village and leave at dawn. That talisman master was quite nice and even drew a few talismans for us."