Ghost Taming, Draw a Circle to Imprison

He's the Onmyoji I saw before.

This is Zhuanghe's dream. Did he construct me in his dream, or did I, like Xu Qiuyan, enter Zhuanghe's dream?

In Zhuanghe's dream, who is the master? Who is controlling this dreamscape?

How did Xu Qiuyan and I enter Zhuanghe's dream? What kind of existence are we in this dreamscape?

"Who exactly are you?" I asked the faceless person.

"We've met before, hehe!" His voice was high-pitched and grating, like a metal spoon scraping across glass.

Although he seemed to be laughing, the sound was eerie and sent shivers down my spine.

He stood up and walked towards us, his bright scythe glinting silver in the moonlight.

"Are you an Onmyoji?"

"That's right. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Abe Ichinan, but they all call me the 'Death God'. Everyone who has seen me has died. You are an exception." As he spoke, his scythe suddenly slashed towards me. I quickly pushed Xu Qiuyan away, ducked, and rolled, crashing hard into the leg of this shameless Abe Ichinan.

Even though this was a dream, I wasn't sure if the damage he inflicted in the dream would have any effect on us in reality.

I don't remember who said it, but sometimes dying in an illusion or a dream could mean truly dying in reality.

I didn't dare to gamble, and I couldn't.

Seeing this scene, Zhuanghe suddenly let out a yell, turned, and ran.

He seemed to have been scared out of his wits by this black-robed figure.

My collision had pushed him back several steps. I got up and went to Xu Qiuyan's side, "Let's go!"

I pulled Xu Qiuyan and we ran. We were unarmed and had no advantage against his scythe.

No matter how fast we ran, he was like a shadow, sticking to us.

He wouldn't let go.

"Who is controlling this dream?" Xu Qiuyan asked me, which was exactly what I was thinking.

I shook my head. I really didn't know who was controlling this dream, Zhuanghe or this Abe Ichinan.

If it were Zhuanghe, as the controller, he wouldn't need to be so terrified. In this dream, he would be a god, capable of creating and destroying everything.

But he was fleeing in panic now.

Clearly, he wasn't the master of this dream. He might have even been brought into this dream passively. However, Xu Qiuyan and I had managed to intrude into his dream. He had said before that in his dreams, he was constantly being chased by this black-robed figure, Abe Ichinan, and was desperately trying to escape.

Our entry into his dream had unintentionally saved him. Although the danger still existed, at least Abe Ichinan was being held back by us. His target had shifted to Xu Qiuyan and me. Zhuanghe was temporarily out of danger.

"You shouldn't have a weapon. You didn't have one before!" I said, looking at Abe Ichinan.

The moment I finished speaking, the scythe in his hand suddenly vanished.

I was stunned. What was going on? I said that because the previous two times I saw him, he definitely didn't have a scythe. Even when he killed Xie Xiaotang, he used his bare hands. Why would he have a terrifying scythe in a dream?

To my surprise, the scythe disappeared as soon as I said that.

Although I couldn't see his face, I felt his body tremble slightly when the scythe in his hand disappeared. He seemed as surprised as I was.

I didn't know what was happening, but I felt it had something to do with what I said.

"How is that possible?" he muttered to himself.

"You deserve to die!" He looked up abruptly, and his fist shot towards me.

I threw a punch back, and our fists collided.

Pain! It really hurt!

My fist felt like it was about to shatter.

However, he didn't seem to be any better off. He stumbled back several steps, his arm hanging limp.

Xu Qiuyan asked me nervously, "Are you okay!"

I shook my head and glared at Abe Ichinan.

Just then, he vanished. But a strange sound echoed in my ears, like a monk chanting scriptures, though I couldn't understand a word.

I was sure the voice was Abe Ichinan's. This shouldn't be chanting; he must be reciting some kind of spell.

Suddenly, clusters of black smoke rose around us.

Upon closer inspection, they weren't smoke at all. Each cluster had eyes and a nose, and they were opening their mouths wide, as if trying to devour Xu Qiuyan and me.

Xu Qiuyan whispered, "Oh no, he's using Ghost Taming!"

Are these black mists ghosts?

Xu Qiuyan pulled me back, but we couldn't retreat as fast as the black mists. Soon, we were completely surrounded.

The encirclement tightened, and I could hear Abe Ichinan's laughter, that grating sound like metal scraping glass.

My heart sank.

Xu Qiuyan let go of my hand. Her fingers moved rapidly, and she mumbled something under her breath. A golden light shot from her fingertips, striking one of the black mist clusters. With a shrill scream, that cluster of black mist completely dissipated.

"What is this?" I was somewhat surprised.

After Xu Qiuyan eliminated that mass of black mist, the mist's speed clearly slowed down.

"I don't know." Xu Qiuyan was also filled with terror. She shook her head, looking at her fingers.

I asked her, "Can you do it again?"

She nodded, and then, just like before, the black mist actually retreated with a will of its own.

Xu Qiuyan must have used a ghost-dispelling spell just now, but how did she know such a spell? Where did she learn such skills?

Abe began to chant again, his voice growing faster and faster.

As he chanted, the color of the full moon hanging in the sky began to change, turning blood red. The entire world was then enveloped in a bloody hue.

The black mist around us grew thicker and thicker. Facing Xu Qiuyan, they no longer showed fear. On the contrary, Abe Ichinan's incantation excited them, and they began to close in much faster.

At this point, the black mist I saw was no longer mist. It transformed into people, people I recognized. They were all people from Little Ancestral Hall Entrance, the neighbors I knew all too well.

Xu Qiuyan's hands stopped moving. She stared blankly at her surroundings, her gaze landing on a woman, an elderly woman.

My heart sank, because this woman was Xu Qiuyan's maternal grandmother. Her parents were usually busy with work, so she spent most of her time with her grandmother. She had a deep bond with her grandmother.

Two months before the incident at Little Ancestral Hall Entrance, her grandmother had passed away. Although she was young at the time, she had already understood life and death. I remembered she had cried buckets back then.

It was normal for her to have such a reaction upon seeing her grandmother now.

But I knew this was just Abe Ichinan's trick.

He was trying to confuse our minds.

Seeing that Xu Qiuyan possessed a spell to deal with these ghosts, he resorted to this method to make her give up resisting.

"Qiuyan, this is fake. It's all Abe's doing," I said loudly, patting her shoulder.

"Hahahaha, kid, are you sure it's fake? What if it's real? What if she really is the soul of this girl's grandmother? Aren't you afraid of striking her until her soul scatters and she can't reincarnate? Little girl, think about how she treated you. Do you really want to let her turn to dust?"

Xu Qiuyan didn't move. She stood there, dazed.

I grew anxious. If this continued, both Xu Qiuyan and I might die at the hands of these ghosts. They would devour us until not even a speck remained.

But what could I do? I knew that if Xu Qiuyan couldn't bring herself to do it now, even if Abe was lying, what if it was true? If she really caused her grandmother's soul to scatter into dust, she would never find peace in her life.

How to break this deadlock?

Just as I was consumed by worry, Xu Qiuyan moved. Her movements were swift. A dagger appeared in her hand, and she crouched down, drawing a large circle about one and a half meters in diameter.

The circle enclosed us.

At this moment, the ghosts had already arrived outside the circle.

One of the faster ones touched the circle Xu Qiuyan had drawn. Xu Qiuyan's eyes widened in fury, and she shouted at the ghost, "Those who trespass sacred ground shall be annihilated!"

The ghost, upon touching the circle, instantly turned into a flame with a "poof."

Immediately after, several more ghosts were burned to ashes.

Xu Qiuyan's gaze fell upon the "grandmother." I could see the conflict in her heart, but there was a hint of determination in her eyes.

"I don't know if you are truly the neighbors from Little Ancestral Hall Entrance, but I know you are also being forced. It's not too late to leave now."

I gently held her hand, and she looked at me.

I hesitated. "What if it's really Grandma?"

Xu Qiuyan closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "If it's really Grandma, then I will avenge her. I think if she knew, she wouldn't blame me."

Her gaze fell upon the "grandmother," and her voice was very low, as if she were talking to herself, "Grandma, is it really you?"