Fearless in the Face of Danger

"Don't be afraid. I'm not a bad person." Shen Luo quickly withdrew his gaze, looked at the little girl staring blankly at him, and spoke gently.

The little girl blinked, then carefully examined Shen Luo a few times, especially glancing at his shadow. The tension on her face eased somewhat.

"What are you doing?" Shen Luo glanced at the wooden bucket in the little girl's hands and asked.

"Ah... ahh..." The little girl set down the bucket she was holding and repeatedly gestured at Shen Luo with both hands. She was mute.

Shen Luo did not understand sign language. He frowned slightly and was about to say something.

A gust of yin wind silently blew in from behind him. One of the talismanic markings on his upper body suddenly grew hot and gave off a faint red glow.

"It's here!"

Having already fought that ghost twice, Shen Luo did not turn around. He fiercely scattered the incense ash in his hand behind him, then darted into the house in a single stride.

Almost at the same time, a piercing scream rang out behind him.

Shen Luo abruptly spun around and saw a tall black ghostly figure emerge two feet behind where he had been standing.

His pupils contracted, and he instinctively retreated another two steps.

It was the same ghost from before!

Perhaps because it had been stained by the incense ash, the ghost could no longer turn invisible. Pain showed in its blood-red eyes, as though the ash had injured it.

The book said incense ash could ward off evil and drive away ghosts. It really wasn't nonsense. Shen Luo stared warily at the ghost.

As Shen Luo considered this, the ghost had already turned into a black blur, darted into the house, and lunged toward him.

"I've been waiting for you!"

Shen Luo rushed forward. As he neared the ghost, he suddenly crouched, dodging the clamp of its hands, then swept his right leg at the tall ghost's lower body.

The moment he had seen the little girl and the bucket in her hands, he had silently begun circulating the Minor Transforming Yang Art, directing Yang Gang energy to his right foot and palm. This was the moment he had been waiting for!

Yet to Shen Luo's surprise, the ghost's body seemed like a phantom. His right foot, enveloped in a faint red glow, passed straight through its body.

His follow-up palm strike could not connect at all. Worse, he had used too much force, causing him to stagger and nearly fall forward.

Taking advantage of Shen Luo's unsteady footing, the ghost thrust its two pitch-black hands downward like the wind, reaching for Shen Luo's neck.

Shen Luo inwardly cried out in alarm, but before he could steady himself, it was already too late to evade.

At that critical instant, a strong stench suddenly filled the air beside him. A large splash of black blood came pouring over—the little girl had seen the danger and thrown the black dog's blood from her bucket.

The ghost was drenched in black dog blood and let out a shrill, miserable scream. Much of the black energy around it evaporated, and its body instantly became far more transparent.

Seizing the chance, Shen Luo rolled across the ground to the little girl's side, his back already drenched in cold sweat.

Yet the little girl's action seemed to enrage the ghost. Fierce light flared in its eyes as it turned and pounced back at them, both hands shooting out, one to the left and one to the right.

Whoosh!

Its arms shot forth like two ropes, spanning a distance of two or three zhang in an instant, and seized Shen Luo and the little girl's throats like lightning.

Shen Luo felt five icy fingers clamp around his throat. Then an enormous force struck, lifting both his feet off the ground.

He and the little girl were both hoisted into the air.

Shen Luo tried to grab the ghostly hand choking him, but his hand once again grasped nothing.

Immediately afterward, he felt a frigid aura flow through the ghostly hand and pour into his body, as though countless icy insects had suddenly burrowed inside him.

At that moment, Shen Luo found breathing increasingly difficult. His entire body was freezing unbearably, as if even his bones were about to freeze solid.

With his last bit of strength, he held his breath and circulated the Minor Transforming Yang Art, attempting to mobilize the Yang Hardness Force in his Dantian toward the eight talismanic markings on the skin of his chest.

This was his final hope.

Though he had miraculously survived and returned to an earlier point in time after being driven into mortal danger on the previous two occasions, who knew whether that would happen again?

He had no desire to stake everything on something so uncertain.

As he thought, a strand of Yang Hardness Force was guided to the first Ghost-Expelling Talisman above his left chest. Yet the marking showed no reaction whatsoever to the force.

Shen Luo had been mentally prepared for this. He hurriedly circulated his technique and directed the Yang Hardness Force toward the second Evil-Spirit-Suppressing Talisman at the center of his left chest.

This time, the spot where the marking had been drawn grew faintly warm, as though it had responded.

But before Shen Luo could rejoice, the warmth vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, the ghostly hand tightened ever further around his throat. The breath he had held could likely only last another two or three breaths.

Shen Luo did not lose heart. He forcibly guided the Yang Hardness Force toward the third talisman above his right chest.

This Yang Hardness Force had been gathered in his desperation and was weak to begin with. After passing through the first two markings, less than half remained.

In other words, if this talisman also failed to activate, the remaining Yang Hardness Force would likely only be enough for one more attempt.

The third marking was an Evil-Repelling Talisman.

In truth, Shen Luo had given the matter much thought when drawing the talismans. The reason he had chosen these three first was that, among the talismans he knew, they ought to be the most effective against ghosts. Aside from the Minor Thunder Talisman, the others were for guarding homes or purification and had little to do with ghosts.

Yet just like the first, the third showed not the slightest reaction to the Yang Hardness Force.

By now, Shen Luo's face was flushed red. Relying only on the last of his willpower, he guided the now exceedingly weak strand of Yang Hardness Force toward the final Minor Thunder Talisman.

Though the Minor Thunder Talisman was not especially effective at restraining ghosts, and improper use might bring a backlash, Shen Luo was skilled at drawing it and had even tested it on yellow paper. It had a greater chance of activation than any of the remaining markings.

As a wisp of red so faint it was nearly invisible entered the Minor Thunder Talisman at the center of his right chest, the entire marking gave off a faint white glow. But it flickered only twice before immediately going dark.

Seeing this, Shen Luo's heart sank.

Just as he was about to give up, a sight that left him dumbfounded appeared!

The Minor Thunder Talisman, which had dimmed, suddenly glowed white again—and the light grew brighter and brighter.

In the blink of an eye, the entire Minor Thunder Talisman blazed with brilliant white light, with tiny arcs of electricity faintly dancing within it.