Nothing to Fear, I'm a Taoist

Inside the Taoist temple, late at night, only a single desk lamp glowed alone.

Huang Bai sat beneath the lamp, leafing through the ancient book.

This was his first real encounter with something like "magic."

Although the Divine Sword Technique also counted as a spell art, it was ultimately not intuitive enough, nowhere near as clear and straightforward as these incantations and wards.

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Most of the spells he had seen in his dreams followed this same path.

"Solar Curse: recite the incantation, and golden light shatters evil."

"Lunar Curse: the lunar radiance heals both within and without."

"Brightsight Curse: open the ears and eyes, see through demons and evil spirits."

"Wall-Piercing Curse: pass through walls and barriers, come and go freely."

After reading through it, Huang Bai had a rough understanding.

It could attack, heal injuries, reveal ghosts, and even provided an escape technique. It was already quite comprehensive.

For the next few days, he simply shut himself away and focused on practicing these spells.

"Solar light at the two poles, mingled radiance illuminates the Three Pure Ones, by decree!"

Inside the room, Huang Bai muttered the incantation. A three-inch streak of golden light suddenly formed at his fingertips.

Whoosh!

With a flick of his finger, the golden streak shot out, blasting a small crater into the floor. Its edges were scorched black and radiated heat.

Huang Bai's eyes shifted slightly. He then used the Wall-Piercing Curse, stepped forward, and passed through the wall without the slightest obstruction, emerging directly on the other side.

Immediately afterward, he recited the Brightsight Curse again. A faint layer of black light seemed to cover his jade-green eyes.

This curse could temporarily open one's sight, allowing one to see ghosts and also the stray impure energies drifting between heaven and earth.

Huang Bai casually took out the Gold-Seeking Talisman and examined it closely.

Sure enough, deep within the Gold-Seeking Talisman was a faint, barely perceptible strange power, somewhat similar in nature to the golden light of the Solar Curse.

"So that's how it is."

Huang Bai finally understood completely.

It was not that no one had succeeded in cultivating that secret art. It was that most people simply could not cultivate it at all.

He himself had succeeded because he had taken an External Elixir. He had already crossed the threshold of cultivation, with medicinal power flowing through his body, which was why he could activate these spells.

Thinking of that, he could not help recalling Zhi Gang.

Should he tell the old Taoist about this? Or simply teach him the spells?

Huang Bai thought it over for a long time, but ultimately put the idea aside for the moment.

Given Zhi Gang's current condition, he was probably unable to withstand the side effects of the External Elixir. The Jade Eyes and Square Pupils symptoms caused by the External Elixir were harmful enough to the body already.

Besides, Zhi Gang was already at the end of his life. It was possible that once his wish to pass on his legacy had been fulfilled and he relaxed, he might simply breathe his last.

"Better wait a little longer."

The next day, Huang Bai found Zhi Gang and handed him the Gold-Seeking Talisman.

"This Gold-Seeking Talisman has been passed down since the Eastern Han. It can ward off evil, so wear it for now."

Zhi Gang had originally wanted to refuse, but seeing Huang Bai's serious expression, he eventually accepted it.

"Fine. I'll take it."

He clenched the Gold-Seeking Talisman in his hand. Though his tone remained stiff, his expression visibly softened.

In twenty years, this was the first time he had received a gift from a junior.

He lowered his head and glanced at the Gold-Seeking Talisman in his hand, suddenly feeling dazed.

If his grandson were still alive, he would probably be around Huang Bai's age now.

After that, Zhi Gang completely entered retirement. Nearly everything inside and outside the Taoist temple was handed over to Huang Bai.

Ring, ring, ring.

The phone suddenly rang.

"Taoist priest, a swimming pool in Jordan has been hearing screams in the middle of the night. The manager wants to invite you over to perform a ritual."

Late that night, Huang Bai changed into neat clothes, stood before the mirror, tied back his long hair, then casually swallowed an Inner Elixir and carefully sensed the faint medicinal power within his body.

Huang Yaozu and Li Guoqiang from the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau had also arrived at the swimming pool.

The old guard hunched his neck, his voice unsteady.

"Last month, a little girl drowned inside. Ever since then, screams have come from the place every evening. You can go in. I'm not going with you."

Huang Yaozu held a cigarette between his lips and said casually, "Guoqiang, check the filtration pool."

Li Guoqiang crouched down and rummaged around for a while. Soon, he fished out a clump of soaking wet long hair from the filtration pool.

"Hair clogged the filter, so it's been making strange noises at night. Just clear it out," Huang Yaozu called loudly toward the door.

Huang Yaozu waved a hand and sent the old guard away.

The two were about to leave when footsteps suddenly sounded outside.

Huang Bai entered slowly, carrying a ritual sword on his back.

Huang Yaozu frowned at him. "Who are you?"

"Huang Bai, from Kowloon Wong Immortal Shrine." Huang Bai nodded to the two men. "Good evening."

"This place has been dealt with." Huang Yaozu lit a cigarette, his tone unfriendly. "There are no ghosts in this world. Don't mess around with this superstitious nonsense. Go home."

Huang Bai smiled, looking slightly strange.

"Is that so?"

The moment he spoke, another chilling ghostly cry suddenly rang out inside the swimming pool.

Li Guoqiang spun around.

This time, it was definitely not a sound the filtration pool could make.

A dripping-wet little girl was standing beside the pool at some point.

Her entire body was deathly pale. She wore a swimsuit, her wet hair plastered against her face, while black water continuously dripped from her body. Her pupil-less eyes stared straight ahead as she kept muttering:

"Mom... I want Mom... I want to go home..."

As she spoke, she wandered back and forth beside the pool.

In the dark, empty facility, only her eerie voice echoed over and over, making their scalps tingle.

Although Li Guoqiang was a grown man, he was struggling to hold himself together. His face went pale, and he unconsciously took two steps back.

Huang Yaozu was fairly composed. He merely looked at Huang Bai and lowered his voice.

"It's a wandering soul with barely any awareness, not a Vicious Ghost. It will disperse on its own after a while. As long as it isn't possessing someone, ordinary people can't do anything to them."

"It's fine," Huang Bai replied. "I'm a Taoist."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped forward, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and muttered an incantation.

Whoosh!

Golden light shot from his fingertips.

Bang!

The golden light struck the little girl's soul directly. The ghostly figure exploded on the spot, turning into countless specks of drifting light.

The instant those drifting lights scattered, they seemed to be drawn by something. They all gathered toward Huang Bai, entered his body, and finally flowed into the Inner Elixir in his abdomen.

Huang Bai's heart stirred.

"The Inner Elixir can absorb ghosts too?"

He immediately perked up.

The medicinal power of the Inner Elixir was not limitless. If killing ghosts could replenish its power, then this was a profitable deal.

By that logic, if he truly encountered a Ghost King, he might be able to make a massive haul.

Huang Yaozu was even more shocked than Huang Bai.

"Magic..."

"Magic really exists..."

Huang Yaozu stared at Huang Bai, completely dumbfounded. He muttered to himself, his eyes wide.

Ghosts were not frightening.

What was truly frightening was knowing ghosts existed but having no way to deal with them.

Yet now, right before him, stood someone who could directly kill ghosts with magic.

It felt as though a lamp had suddenly been lit in the darkness of night.

Huang Bai had only just recovered when Huang Yaozu rushed over, so excited that even his voice changed.

"You're that expert from last time?"

He stared at the sword on Huang Bai's back before suddenly realizing.

So the person who had cut down that possessing Vicious Ghost with a single sword strike last time was the man standing before him.

"It was me." Huang Bai nodded.

"Savior, you're a savior." Huang Yaozu no longer looked dispirited at all. "You have to join us."

Without a moment's hesitation, Huang Bai shook his head.

"Forget joining. We can cooperate instead."

"From now on, you'll help me gather information. Notify me whenever you find a lead."

Huang Yaozu froze. "Why? We have official status. It's much more convenient for us to get things done..."

"How do you know there aren't people in the government who've been possessed by ghosts?" Huang Bai looked at him.

Huang Yaozu did not know how to respond. It was not as though he had never considered that possibility.

It was simply too despairing a thought, and he had never been willing to think about it too deeply.

After a long while, Huang Yaozu slowly nodded.

"Pleasure working with you."

At that moment, his muddled, half-dead life seemed to finally glimpse something new.

Over the years, in order to investigate and catch ghosts, he had fallen out with his family and been treated like a freak at the police station. Every day, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol and muddled through one day at a time. Now that someone capable of truly dealing with ghosts had finally appeared, there was no way he would let go.

Huang Bai took out the remaining two Gold-Seeking Talismans from his clothes and handed them over.

"You two take these talismans. They can prevent ghost possession. Consider them payment for gathering information for me."

Though it was only their first meeting, Huang Bai was not particularly worried about the two of them.

Judging by how things had originally gone, the two were at least decent people. Besides, he needed helpers going forward. Having people keep an eye on information for him was better than blindly stumbling around alone.

And there was another benefit to giving them these two Gold-Seeking Talismans.

It would keep those two from suddenly being possessed by ghosts one day and stabbing him in the back.

"Thank you, thank you." Huang Yaozu's eyes lit up as he hurriedly accepted the Gold-Seeking Talismans. "Guoqiang, take this one. Don't lose it."

He turned the Gold-Seeking Talisman over and over in his hands. The smell of alcohol on him seemed to fade by more than half.

Li Guoqiang also accepted it solemnly and carefully put it away.

The three exchanged contact information before going their separate ways.

Huang Bai walked out of the swimming pool, the night wind blowing straight at him.

He looked up at the stars overhead. Night reflected in his jade-green pupils, and he suddenly smiled.

"Savior?"

"That doesn't sound too bad."