Within Ten Steps, There's an Antidote

The city had regained its freedom. People fled and screamed amid the chaos. But all of it came to an abrupt halt when a pure light burst from the staff in Jacob's hand.

A beam of white light.

It had no effect beyond illumination, but its range was exceptionally vast.

It rose from Jacob's staff like a sun, shining over every resident in the city, whether they were within the Hallowed Ground Technique's coverage or not. Though the light had no special properties, those it touched felt warmth wash over their entire bodies.

Psychological therapy really did work.

A scroll inscribed with the Amplification Technique, prepared in advance, activated in his hand.

"Calm down," he said. His voice carried in every direction.

The panicked crowd fell silent, and those who had been running no longer fled blindly. At that moment, the "bishop's" voice carried considerable authority and influence. In an instant, order returned to the city. Everyone in the squares and streets turned their eyes toward him.

They looked at him with hope and longing.

A lifeline and a guiding light stood before them. They waited eagerly for whatever he might say.

"The Evil Cultists have been driven back. This city is safe for now. But you must still maintain order. No arguing or fighting. Gather in groups by family or workplace. Anyone who is injured, elderly, weak, or ill should be placed on the glowing ground. If anyone begins raving or seeing illusions, take them to the glowing ground as well."

The Hallowed Ground Technique could last for a while—perhaps three days, perhaps even longer. As long as someone remained within its protection, evil and dark thoughts would be hard to come by, unless they were truly beyond saving. But such people would naturally be dealt with by the kindhearted, whose goodness was protected and inspired by the Hallowed Ground.

"Also, remember: do not say your own name, or anyone else's. The Evil Cultists use names to attack people's minds. And you must forget the ominous hand signs and incantations as well."

His authority at that moment surpassed even an imperial decree. Everyone held their breath and listened. Jacob couldn't help smiling with some satisfaction. Next came something of value to the Reincarnators.

"I need to speak with the local religious figures." He hesitated, then adjusted his choice of words. "Temple keepers, spirit mediums, anyone capable of communicating with the gods... the immortals and Buddhas. I need to see them at once. If any of them are here, please come to me immediately. If you know someone like that, please introduce us. I need to speak with them... and learn about the unusual circumstances this city and this island are facing."

A low murmur immediately rose from the crowd. Before long, a plainly dressed, middle-aged woman was ushered forward to stand before the Reincarnators.

"Honored... masters." Her voice was hesitant. Clearly, she wasn't the sort who was good at dealing with people, nor did she have much experience doing so. "My name is Chen..."

An invisible wave of telekinetic force emerged, sealing her mouth.

Yu Zhiwei raised a hand and made a shushing gesture.

"Don't say your name," she said, a subtle smile playing in her eyes.

It might have been nothing more than a small accident caused by nervousness. But to Si Ming, who knew a great deal about the Main God's rules, a coincidence didn't necessarily lack special significance.

Chen. An interesting surname. Common, perhaps, but the family that sealed the Great Black Buddha Mother was also surnamed Chen.

He thought it over.

The middle-aged woman's face paled. She nodded repeatedly, then drew a deep breath before continuing her introduction to the Reincarnators.

"I... help out at Guanyin Temple. I usually assist the person in charge with the rituals... He suddenly fell ill and died a few days ago."

Died suddenly of an illness? At a time like this?

Jacob glanced at the bodies of several Evil Cultists, their bodies covered in scriptures, whom Valentina had slain. Valentina emerged from the building and flicked her rapier. One of the bodies' shirts split open, and a small vial was knocked free. It landed in her hand.

She glanced at it, and the cybernetic unit implanted in her body immediately analyzed it.

"Potent neurotoxin. And he wasn't carrying a poisoned weapon."

So that was it.

The crowd began speaking over one another.

"I wondered why the old temple keeper on East Street suddenly died of an illness." "And Master Kurong from the old temple... Didn't Daoist Lingxu also get in a car accident out of nowhere last month?" "Grandpa A-Qing from Zhou King Temple hasn't been seen outside for days..." "Then was Pastor John, who suddenly fell seriously ill last week, also..."

The Reincarnators exchanged glances.

They had to admit, the Great Black Buddha Mother had found a way to exploit the situation. If she first used human means to kill all the agents of the true gods before making her move, then the gods could no longer act through the proper channels. Even if such an aggressive scheme quickly exposed itself and raised the alarm, the Evil Cultists could still achieve their goal as long as they gained a head start.

"It's too human," Si Ming remarked. "Only humans would do something like this. And this must be an unusual case. Otherwise, this world would have looked entirely different from the start."

"It seems Miss Li Ruonan's connection to the Evil Cultists is deeper than we expected. They're practically one and the same." Yu Zhiwei smiled alluringly. "How about we make a deal? When we kill her, let's draw it out a little."

"We haven't even been served the meal yet, so let's not think about dessert, Miss Traveler." Jacob gave her a helpless look, then continued questioning the middle-aged woman. "Could you tell us more about the situation, ma'am? Or has the god you serve given you any special instructions?"

The middle-aged woman hurriedly waved her hands.

"N-no! I'm not qualified to perform rituals on my own. I... I don't know if the Bodhisattva ever appeared to me in a dream..."

Jacob frowned slightly, but quickly smoothed his expression. He kept his warm smile and nodded to the woman, who looked extremely nervous because she was, in fact, extremely nervous.

"Thank you for your cooperation, ma'am. Please take a rest and have some water. If we need your help later, we'll contact you."

"All right, all right. Honored masters, I'll go drink some water now. I'll go..."

She started to leave.

Before she could, Si Ming raised a hand to stop her.

"Please wait," he said. "Take us to Guanyin Temple."

"Professor?" Jacob looked at him in slight confusion, but didn't immediately challenge him and risk exposing whatever instability might exist between the Reincarnators.

[Hadn't we already decided to go to Zhou King Temple first?]

"Something unexpected has come up," Si Ming replied over their private channel. He looked at Jacob. "Bishop, in your view, which god should we summon here?"

"I've studied the relevant material." Jacob had indeed done his research, and he kept his voice private as well. "Along the eastern coast, the most popular deities are Guan Yu, god of justice and loyalty, and Lin Moniang, protector of sailors and shipping. Both are true gods with enormous followings, so they'd be ideal for us to borrow power from."

"That's true," Si Ming agreed. "They are indeed powerful. But under the current circumstances, I believe Guanyin Bodhisattva could provide the greatest help in her divine domain, both to us and, more importantly, to the people of this island."

Song Tian seemed to understand. Valentina, naturally, listened as if it were all Greek to her.

Yu Zhiwei's eyes widened slightly, and she smiled in agreement.

"Guanyin Bodhisattva, 'Savior from Suffering and Distress'... Yes, of course. Those tainted by the Evil Cultists need someone to save them from calamity and suffering far more than they need the power of righteous vengeance. Bishop, the professor has you beat in professional expertise."

"Is that so?" Jacob was taken aback, then laughed. "I see. I failed to account for the details. But Guan Yu is a true god we know can influence the mortal world. I thought our second choice was Ksitigarbha, who governs the ghosts of the underworld. The temple fair wasn't included in the main story, but at least we have an example to go by. That's better than trying to identify an elephant by touch, isn't it?"

That would be true under normal circumstances.

But these were not normal circumstances.

Si Ming didn't answer directly. He raised his hand, and a wisp of Night Battle Qi flowed out. It gently lifted the red cord around the neck of the little girl he had been protecting, who had been well-behaved the entire time.

A pendant came into view.

It was a Guanyin pendant made of lustrous white jade.

By itself, it might have been nothing more than a coincidence. So Si Ming spoke softly to the little girl.

"Little girl, tell Uncle your surname."

The girl's eyes didn't seem very lively. Her eyesight might not have been very good. But in this situation, that undoubtedly explained why she had held out until the Reincarnators arrived before the curse ritual affected her.

She was still very well-behaved.

"Guan... Nannan's surname is Guan." Her voice was clear, her tone brave, and Si Ming's confidence grew.

After all, this was only a five-person-difficulty horror world. It was obvious that even aside from the overly simple main mission, the Main God's assessment would still have this world as one that the newly formed Celestial Team could easily handle without much effort or thought.

"Good. Guan is a fine surname," Si Ming continued. "Then let Uncle guess. Is Nannan's name 'Shiyin'?"

The little girl looked up in delight.

"Uncle, you know Nannan's name is Shiyin! Grandma at the orphanage said anyone who can guess Nannan's name is a really good person!"

Guan Shiyin.

Guanshiyin.

Good.

Si Ming glanced at the others and nodded slightly.

"Looks like we've found the person to lead the summoning ritual."