Hooking the Soul

The sense of defeat helped Lin Feiyu calm down. He respected Uncle Hai even more. If it wasn't something he was skilled in, he really had to listen to others. [Ran Wen Library]

"Uncle Hai, how is Zhao Yi?" Zhao Qian asked worriedly. After all, Zhao Yi was her cousin, and she didn't want another coffin in the Zhao family.

Old Hai reached out, wanting to do a divination. I stopped him and said, "Qian, don't worry. Zhao Yi is crying out loud. He's not that brave. At most, he was scared when the lightning struck near his feet. If he had been struck, he would have died already, not be able to make a sound."

"Yes, Brother Xia is definitely right. We should hurry up and go up." Lin Feiyu chimed in. He also knew that saving Old Hai effort was the most important thing right now.

His momentary panic had almost made Old Hai's situation worse. Zhao Qian, being intelligent and perceptive, understood immediately and felt very guilty.

However, seeing that our group still had to move forward, she didn't say anything more.

As we were nearing the mountaintop, Old Hai stopped us. He took out his Eight Trigrams Turtle and Paper Figures. He made a few hand seals and asked each of us for a strand of hair. He tied the paper figures and the Eight Trigrams Turtle together, then released the turtle.

The Eight Trigrams Turtle stuck its head out, looked back at Old Hai like a human, and then crawled towards another path up the mountain. We were all curious, but Old Hai, with red eyes, waved for us to hurry up.

"Brother Hai! That's your life-bound turtle! You've been eating and drinking with it since you were little!" Lin Feiyu protested, his face extremely grim.

"Can't worry about it now!" Old Hai said loudly and led the way, running quickly. However, he stumbled on the path and almost fell down the mountain.

I grabbed him and found that he was extremely cold. It was still raining, and he might end up bedridden if we returned to the village. For him to perform a ritual in this state would be suicidal.

"Old Hai, no matter what, you can't perform any more rituals later." I knew my words were useless, but I had to say something.

Old Hai just nodded, but the determination in his eyes made me panic. Without a doubt, he wouldn't listen.

But just as we were one step away from the summit, the rain began to subside.

Old Hai looked up at the sky, counted on his fingers, and watched the life-bound turtle pulling the paper figures from afar. He sighed, "Alas, the rain has stopped. We're too late."

After he spoke, the rain really stopped. We looked at each other, not understanding what had happened.

Lin Feiyu quickly ran to the summit first. But upon seeing the altar set up on the large platform stone, he stomped his foot in anger: "Bastard! If you're so tough, why don't you stay and fight! I'll capture your soul!"

Wu Zhenghua had escaped?

It seemed Lin Feiyu's attempt to show off had failed again.

I supported Old Hai and followed him to the summit. Zhao Qian ran to retrieve the turtle. I figured nothing would happen under our noses, so I let her go.

Seeing Lin Feiyu stomping his feet, I felt both regret and relief. As boastful as Lin Feiyu was, if he were to fight Wu Zhenghua one-on-one, I really didn't have much confidence in him.

Moreover, if Wu Zhenghua had dared to stay, he would have felt confident enough to defeat us with his trump cards. So if we had encountered him, it would have been a toss-up. This guy's power was far beyond imagination.

Besides the main ritual tools, everything else was still on the altar, including the used talisman papers. The specially made incense was still eerily smoking in the rain, half-burnt.

I picked up a stack of burnt blue talismans and found that the curse inscriptions on the remaining ones were distorted by the rain. However, one that was half-burnt had powdery crystals emitting light.

I looked at Old Hai doubtfully, "Old Hai, this talisman seems to be the same as your blue talismans. Did he smear salt on it?"

"Much more interesting. He even used blue talismans. Each one costs several thousand, so this stack must be over a hundred thousand. That's a lot of money." Old Hai was still in the mood to joke. He picked up a talisman and said, "The blue talismans are smeared with gem powder, which is what we call ritual salt. One gram costs over ten thousand. Wu Zhenghua used it to summon lightning. He burns one each time he summons it. It's too expensive to use!"

"Each one costs several thousand?" I was greatly surprised. Did Old Hai just casually throw away tens of thousands with those few blue talismans earlier? Who could afford to use them like that?

"Money seems to be a small matter to him. Look at the brown stains on this red cloth," Old Hai sneered as he examined the altar. "He'll have to stew his old hen at home when he gets back."

"Hmph, if he didn't spray some blood, it would really be a disservice to us. I think Brother Hai is more formidable than him," Lin Feiyu snorted, staring at the bloodstains as well, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

Wu Zhenghua wasn't doing any better. He was at the brink of collapse just like us. He couldn't afford to fight to the death, so he fled.

"That's because he was in the open, and we were in hiding. If he had known it was us two old guys before coming up, he probably would have run long ago and wouldn't have gambled so much by throwing away so many blue talismans," Old Hai said, in a good mood. Although they didn't kill Wu Zhenghua this time, the opponent was still seriously injured.

"Huh? Where's Zhao Qian? She went to get the turtle, why is she taking so long to come back?" Lin Feiyu suddenly remembered something and turned to look in Zhao Qian's direction.

I was busy supporting Old Hai earlier and forgot that Zhao Qian was behind us!

Just as we were worrying, Zhao Qian emerged from the woods, holding the turtle, with a smile on her face.

My heart sank. I touched the soul urn in my pocket, my eyes turning red.

"She's just a young girl. Mountain God, who better to borrow a body from than her?" I gritted my teeth, staring intently at the "Zhao Qian" in front of me.

"Zhao Qian" seemed curious. She giggled at me and crouched down, putting the turtle down. "Huh? You mean the person from down the mountain? Not suitable. If I'm going to borrow a body to return my soul, I naturally have to choose a suitable one."

Lin Feiyu opened the safe, took out the coffin nails, and a powder that looked like fine salt. He lit the black incense and sprinkled the powder on it.

Old Hai shook his head, made a hand seal, and directly pulled out a blue paper figure. He frowned and said, "Let the child go, or else..."

"I originally intended to leave with you all peacefully. It seems you can all see through my identity at a glance. You are powerful mages. If I don't eliminate you, I don't think I can be at ease borrowing this body," Zhao Qian said with a slight smile, flicking her sleeve as if shaking something off.

Instantly, a chilling wind swept through the forest, accompanied by what sounded like beast roars. A group of over a dozen ghost beasts flew out from the woods!

"Fine, if you won't leave the body, I'll make sure your soul is scattered and spirit extinguished!" I said coldly, opening the soul urn!

Xijun, upon emerging from the soul urn, suddenly let out a roar. Her eyes were dark and severe, glaring menacingly at her surroundings. Her sharp teeth seemed ready to devour. I had never seen her like this upon emerging, but now, the Zhao Qian before me was in grave danger!

"Brother Xia! Take it easy!" Old Hai knew my current condition. Seeing Xijun's state, he was already feeling uneasy. That was definitely the final frenzy before the urn shattered and the soul was destroyed.

He had seen the end of Senior Zhou Xian's several nurtured ghosts, all ending up like this.

"I can't take it easy!" I gritted my teeth. This was no ordinary fierce ghost. She had high intelligence. After borrowing a body, her yang energy had broken through her yin, and she could already speak human words. It was like she had become a different person. I was truly afraid she would destroy Zhao Qian's soul.

"Let me communicate with her!" Old Hai said urgently, then looked at the Mountain Ghost and said, "Mountain God, I want to ask you, is this child's soul still there?"

"Zhao Qian" glanced at Xijun, then swept her gaze over the three of us, and said slowly, "It is, but... I will refine her soon. I will also absorb her memories. So, don't worry, I will repay the karma she leaves behind, but I will definitely not give up the body."

The Mountain Ghost seemed to think this was doing enough. But the veins on my forehead bulged, and my patience was reaching its limit.

"You can't borrow this body. Name your price! Otherwise, as you can see, it will be a fight to the death," Old Hai said, holding me back, and asked with a sliver of hope.

"Heh, till death do us part? Of the three of you, one is raising a fierce ghost they can't even control, one can only protect themselves, and you, while you have some skill, are completely exhausted. How dare you talk to me about 'till death do us part'? Do you know that the Taoist priest who saw me not killing you but watching him perform his ritual got so scared he ran away?" Zhao Qian laughed, covering her mouth, her body shaking with mirth.

Behind her, the beast soul roared, and the Yin energy surged.

"Then die!" I stuck out my middle finger, bit it hard until it bled, and ignoring Sister Wife tugging at my clothes, drew a diamond shape on Xijun's forehead. The line went straight to her lips.

Xijun, who had already lost some of her reason, became even more ferocious with the curse drawn on her. Her hands hung limply, and her mouth split open to her ears.

A beast soul lunged at her, only to be caught in her hands and instantly torn to shreds!

Old Hai and Lin Feiyu both gasped.

"Xijun! Tear that Mountain Ghost out of Zhao Qian's body!" I commanded Xijun loudly.

The Mountain Ghost opposite frowned, but she didn't stand idle. Instead, she took out Zhao Qian's belongings: Ghost Repelling Talismans, Soul Stabilizing Talismans, and various ritual tools.

After picking through them, she picked up a string of soul bells, a charming smile on her face.

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling, a gust of wind, a chime of bells, someone speaks, someone says: Thunder fills the sky, rain pours down, monkeys cry, gibbons shriek in the night, the wind rustles, the trees whisper, I miss my lord, and grieve in vain..."

Her song was mournful, and the beast soul seemed to be incited, becoming restless. The soul bells also shook, making Xijun appear frenzied. She flew at any soul beast she saw, completely ignoring the Mountain Ghost dancing and shaking her bells.

Old Hai was surrounded by several soul beasts. He repelled them several times with the yin-yang effigies, but he was at the end of his strength and soon couldn't hold on. As he chanted his incantations, bloody foam spurted from his mouth uncontrollably.

Lin Feiyu could only use his nails and the white powder against such creatures. Now that Old Hai was injured, he could only help him, let alone drive away the Mountain Ghost.

The situation grew more critical. Under the siege of the ghost beasts, Xijun's Yin energy gradually waned, looking like she was about to shatter her soul urn and perish.

Under the Mountain Ghost's song, I was greatly distracted, and despair began to grow in my heart.

Zhao Qian was possessed by the Mountain Ghost, Xijun was on the verge of soul scattering and spirit extinguishing, and a pack of soul beasts circled me. I fell to my knees, my hands bleeding from gripping the mud and stones. Suddenly, the word "death" flashed through my mind.

"Seeking death!" At this moment, a soft shout broke the stalemate.

The Mountain Ghost's song also stopped abruptly with the soft shout.