Street Applications of a Modern Witch Artifact

By the time he woke up, daylight had already broken.

The first thing Luo Yang did after getting up was check his phone.

Feather Blade's Eye had not opened.

Luo Yang suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to charge his phone last night, so he woke the screen to check the battery.

The screen lit up, its home screen glowing an eerie green. But considering Feather Blade's Eye was itself an evil spirit, that was hardly surprising.

The battery icon had also turned green, and the charge was almost gone.

Luo Yang pulled over the charging cable from the adapter plugged into the outlet and inserted it into the charging port, but no charging indicator appeared.

He unplugged the connector and inserted it again. Still no charging indicator, and the battery level did not rise.

"Does it no longer need charging?" Something suddenly occurred to Luo Yang. "It's a Witch Artifact now. Why am I still trying to charge it? I should be charging it with spiritual power."

He extended his Primordial Medical Finger, pressed it against Feather Blade's Eye, and infused it with spiritual power.

Sure enough, the battery icon on the screen responded. The green energy bar began rising little by little.

Now that the phone had transformed into a Witch Artifact, it no longer needed electricity. It needed a "spiritual charge."

Yet Feather Blade's Eye still did not open.

As Luo Yang charged the phone with spiritual power, he pondered, There's no point dwelling on this. What difference would it make if the eye opened? It can't talk to me anyway. Maybe I should find some materials containing spiritual energy and use the Spirit Infusion Art to give the phone more spirituality. If the phone becomes spiritualized, its fusion with Feather Blade's Eye will be more complete, and its abilities will grow stronger... But where am I supposed to find materials containing spiritual energy?

Everything possessed a spirit. In theory, even a stone on a riverbank contained spiritual energy, but the amount was so negligible that he could not extract it even with the Ancestral Shaman Spirit Infusion Art.

Breakfast was over.

Song Meiqi looked at Luo Yang pleadingly. "Uncle Luo, take me to the zoo to see the pandas. I really want to see pandas."

"Well..." Luo Yang had no interest whatsoever in visiting the zoo, but he could not think of a reason to refuse.

Song Meiqi promptly wrapped her arms around his leg. "My dear Uncle Luo, please take me."

Unable to fend off her pestering, Luo Yang suddenly thought of a solution. He reached into his trouser pocket, gripped his phone, and pointed it at Song Meiqi. "Meiqi, stay home and practice writing today."

"I'm going to practice writing." Song Meiqi released him and headed toward the coffee table.

Her little schoolbag sat on the coffee table, containing her pencil case, notebooks, and kindergarten picture-based reading books.

It really worked!

Luo Yang felt a twinge of guilt.

Wasn't treating a child this way going a little too far?

Just then, Song Meiqi stopped and turned around. "I'm not stupid. Why would I practice writing? I want to see pandas."

Luo Yang was speechless.

Song Meiqi came back and hugged his leg again. "My dear Uncle Luo, please have pity on me. I want to see pandas."

Luo Yang felt a headache coming on. "All right, all right. We'll go see the pandas."

He had more or less figured it out. When the eye on the back of the phone opened, Feather Blade's Eye was intervening. The man named Ma Jun that morning was one example: his brain had been directly controlled, making him strike a pregnant woman's head with a club. When the eye on the back of the phone remained closed, it operated in "biological remote control" mode. It could control an animal or person for only a few seconds, after which the affected target would return to normal.

Still, even if this remote-control mode lasted only a few seconds, it was already incredibly powerful.

Besides, he did not actually want Feather Blade's Eye to open and control a target. That was far too dangerous. If it reverted to its state before the "transplant surgery," it would be even more dangerous. The members of the archaeological team were living proof.

Once they were ready, Luo Yang took Song Meiqi outside and held her hand as they waited by the roadside for their ride.

An older woman approached with a golden retriever. The dog was large, but she had not put it on a leash. When it saw Luo Yang and Song Meiqi, it ran toward them.

"Uncle Luo, I'm scared." Frightened, Song Meiqi tried to hide in front of Luo Yang, but stepped off the curb, lost her balance, and began falling.

Luo Yang hurriedly caught Song Meiqi, then picked her up.

The golden retriever sniffed at Luo Yang's leg, then walked away.

Throughout the whole incident, the older woman did not offer so much as an apology.

Luo Yang said, "Why aren't you using a leash when you walk your dog?"

"What's it to you? Did it bite you? Even if it did, you'd just need a vaccination, wouldn't you? I've got plenty of money!" The woman's mouth was like a machine gun, spraying a whole burst at him.

"Forget it. I don't want to argue with you." Luo Yang backed down.

"You think I want to argue with you? Ridiculous. Mind your own damn business." The woman walked off, still muttering insults.

How could he let an awful woman like that go without giving her a taste of the world's harsh realities?

Luo Yang freed one hand, pulled his phone from his trouser pocket, and pointed it at the woman, silently commanding, Slap yourself in the face.

The woman suddenly stopped, raised her hand, and slapped herself across the face.

Unfortunately, there was little force behind it, and it barely made a sound.

The woman froze for a moment, then suddenly turned around. Seeing Luo Yang pointing his phone at her, she assumed he was filming her and immediately launched into a tirade. "What are you filming? Don't you have any manners? With someone like you raising her, that child won't turn out any better. Your daughter won't even get into college! What are you looking at? Still staring?"

Luo Yang lowered his phone and turned his head away.

"Stupid fool. Not even the King of Hell would take you." Having vented her curses, the woman felt satisfied and continued on her way.

Luo Yang raised his phone again, this time aiming at the golden retriever. He silently commanded, Bite her.

An uncanny pulse of energy rippled outward.

The golden retriever suddenly lunged forward and sank its teeth into the woman's backside.

"Aaaah!" The woman screamed and fell onto the road.

The golden retriever did not let her go. It clamped onto a mouthful of flesh and bit down hard. Within moments, blood stained the woman's skirt red.

"You damned dog! I'm your mommy... Aaaah, help..." The woman's screams were agonized.

Luo Yang covered Song Meiqi's eyes.

A few seconds later, the golden retriever released its jaws, its mouth smeared with blood and bits of flesh still clinging to its teeth.

Their car arrived just then.

Luo Yang opened the door and climbed in with Song Meiqi in his arms.

"Uncle Luo, why did that dog bite that lady? Isn't it her doggy?" Song Meiqi had actually seen what happened.

Luo Yang wore a solemn expression. "Because she was naughty. That's why the dog bit her."

"I'm the best-behaved." Song Meiqi hugged Luo Yang's arm.

"Meiqi is the best-behaved child in the whole world, and the prettiest, too." Luo Yang changed tack. "Meiqi, since you're so well-behaved, how about we go home and practice writing?"

"No."

Luo Yang was speechless.

They had left early that morning, and it was already dark by the time they got home.

Song Meiqi was worn out from playing. She did not even want a bedtime story and fell asleep as soon as she got into bed.

After returning to his room, Luo Yang did not study Feather Blade's Eye any further. He took a shower and went to bed. He needed to rest and build up his strength, because tomorrow he would give Liu Youshui his final treatment.

That night, he dreamed. He wore a black suit with a red rose pinned to his chest. Ye Zi wore a snow-white wedding dress and clung sweetly to his arm. Song Meiqi stood between him and Ye Zi, her little face beaming. All the wedding guests were bronze figures, clamoring for him and Ye Zi to kiss...