Escorted by the three of them, Qu Nanzhu saw the sleeping Su Youqin. Sure enough, she was sleeping restlessly, her face flushed an unnatural red as seductive moans kept escaping her lips.
The three others present were all rather embarrassed by what they heard. Only Qu Nanzhu remained unfazed and even reached out to knock on her forehead.
Like he was checking whether a watermelon was ripe.
The air conditioner was on. As Qu Nanzhu removed the light quilt, he said, "It's a chimei. There's something under her pillow. Look for it."
With that, he stepped aside. Mrs. Su immediately went forward to search. She found nothing at first, but eventually pulled a talisman out from inside the pillowcase.
All three of their expressions changed drastically. Qin Siyi said, "Uncle, Youqin definitely didn't put that there herself. You should investigate thoroughly and find out who did."
Mr. Su nodded gravely. The appearance of this thing made everyone present understand something. A thief within the household really was the hardest to guard against!
Listening beside them, Qu Nanzhu said, "Bring me the things I asked for."
Qu Nanzhu had brought only his phone. The talisman he had drawn during the earlier livestream wasn't enough to break this Peach Blossom Sha, so he could only draw talismans on the spot.
A servant brought the supplies in on a tray. Qu Nanzhu gestured for her to put it on the bed. Only after watching her leave the room and shut the door did he begin leisurely grinding the cinnabar.
There was enough cinnabar now, sparing him the need to add his blood. With practiced movements, he picked up the brush the Su family had prepared and tapped it against the edge of the tray.
The next second, a scene unfolded that shattered the other three people's understanding of the world-
Without any external force pulling it, the talisman paper they had prepared themselves floated into the air, hovering in front of Qu Nanzhu as though following a preset program.
Mrs. Su was so shocked that she fiercely pinched her husband's arm. Mr. Su dared not make a sound, his face contorting.
Qu Nanzhu had no idea how shocking his actions were. To him, the existence of evil sorcerers who harmed people meant that this world accepted such supernatural things.
Take that Mr. Zhuangzhuang from earlier in the day, for instance. Although he had been somewhat surprised, it had still been within what he could accept, hadn't it?
And so, under their astonished, fervent gazes, Qu Nanzhu drew three talismans in midair.
"Sorry for the trouble, but please put down that yin talisman from earlier."
No one moved.
Qu Nanzhu gave Mrs. Su, who was holding the talisman, a puzzled look. Coming to her senses, she said, "Oh, oh! Where should I put it?"
"Just throw it on the floor," Qu Nanzhu said.
At that, Mrs. Su flung it away as though she were holding something filthy.
The yin talisman hit the wall, bounced back, and slid to Mrs. Su's feet. She instinctively kicked it away again.
Everyone present: "..."
Ignoring that little interlude, one of Qu Nanzhu's freshly drawn talismans flew over by itself and hovered above the yin talisman. As though sensing something, the yin talisman suddenly began shaking violently.
Purple lightning crackled all over the hovering Heavenly Lightning Talisman, waiting only for Qu Nanzhu's command to blast the evil entity below into nothing!
"-Heavenly lightning."
An ethereal incantation rang out. Purple lightning abruptly descended, accompanied by the chimei's agonized shrieks piercing the ears of everyone present.
Mrs. Su shrank into her husband's arms in an instant. Mr. Su was scared too, holding his wife without daring to let go.
Qin Siyi was the bravest of them all. Hearing the harmful creature scream as it was reduced to ashes, she felt utterly refreshed.
Even a second was more than heavenly lightning needed to destroy such a low-level ghost. Only the wretched creature's screams lingered in the room for a little while, and soon even the last traces of sound faded from the world.
With the Peach Blossom Curse broken so brutally, its caster instantly suffered a backlash and vomited blood. Before he could even take out a magical artifact to protect himself, the heavenly lightning pursuing him blasted away his life.
Qu Nanzhu had always believed in pulling weeds up by the roots. Otherwise, making this trip specially would have been pointless.
Once the room fell quiet again, the flush instantly drained from Su Youqin's face, and her sleeping expression gradually became peaceful.
Qin Siyi looked excitedly at Qu Nanzhu. "Master, is it resolved now?"
Qu Nanzhu hummed in assent and retrieved the two talismans still on standby. His fingers flew as he quickly folded them into triangles, then handed one to Mr. and Mrs. Su.
He instructed them, "Have her wear this one against her body. She mustn't take it off at any time. Remember, not at any time, for any reason, not even when bathing. Don't worry about the talisman getting wet. Her soul has been damaged, so she needs to stabilize her body and strengthen her soul. Wear it for at least half a year, and get plenty of sunlight."
All three nodded repeatedly as they listened. Qin Siyi was already considering how to brand the talisman onto Su Youqin.
At a thought from Qu Nanzhu, the other talisman flew up by itself and settled on the ceiling chandelier.
"This talisman dispels yin energy and wards off evil. Leave it there for at least a month. No one should stay in this room during that month. Open the windows often to air it out."
The nodding trio said, "Yes, yes, of course."
With those matters settled, the four of them quietly left the room.
Outside, Qu Nanzhu suggested, "I've already dealt with the person who cast the curse, but I'd still recommend reporting it to the police. This country should have a department that handles these things."
For a moment, the three exchanged looks. Qu Nanzhu had been in the room the whole time. How had he dealt with the person behind the curse?
But thinking back to the extraordinary scene they had just witnessed, they felt that it did seem reasonable.
They went downstairs together. Mr. and Mrs. Su were just about to tell them that they had prepared guest rooms and invite Qu Nanzhu to stay the night when they heard a certain master's stomach rumble.
Only then did Qu Nanzhu remember that he had eaten just two meals of instant noodles all day. On top of that, he had stayed up working overtime. He really was hungry.
He took out his phone to order himself some takeout. Sharp-eyed Mrs. Su noticed and immediately said, "Master, why don't you stay the night? We've prepared a room for you. We'll have the housekeeper make you a late-night meal in a moment, too. That'll save you traveling back and forth in the middle of the night."
Qu Nanzhu thought that sounded fine. He put down his phone and nodded to them in thanks.
The housekeeper brought over the noodles she had cooked just as Mr. Su returned with a bank card from the safe in his room. He placed it on the table and slid it toward Qu Nanzhu.
"Master, this five hundred thousand is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."
Slurping his noodles, Qu Nanzhu glanced at it, chewed, and swallowed. "There's no need for that much. Just pay the going rate."
The going rate?
Mr. and Mrs. Su looked troubled. But they had no idea what the going rate was...
Beside them, Qin Siyi lowered her head and worked on her phone. She contacted a friend who enjoyed studying esoteric Daoist arts and asked how much it usually cost to hire a master to break a Peach Blossom Sha.
Her friend was still awake and replied instantly: [Depends on what kind. What, did that young master you hired fail?]
Clearly, her friend had also come across this incident online.
Qin Siyi briefly explained, typing: [No, it's already resolved, but we don't know the rates.]
Her friend: [Is he asking for a lot?]
Qin Siyi: [Just tell me what the going rate is first.]
Her friend: [There's no such thing as a going rate. It depends on the master's abilities and the sha's level. The higher its level, the more precious the magical treasures used up. Tell me how he resolved it.]
Qin Siyi carefully recalled what had just happened: [The master said some chimei was behind it, then drew a talisman. I think he summoned heavenly lightning to strike that thing. He also gave us two talismans, one to ward off evil and one to calm the spirit.]
Her friend: [?]
Her friend: [What a load of bullshit.]
Her friend: [Do you know how hard it is to summon heavenly lightning? Even old Celestial Masters who've cultivated for decades might not be able to do it. He was putting on a show for you. I think he's a fraud. You'd better call the police and get the Paranormal Investigation Bureau to handle it, or that guy really will get Su Youqin killed!]
Looking at the lengthy message her friend had sent, Qin Siyi didn't know how to reply for a moment, but she did learn from it that the country had indeed established an agency to handle such matters.
As far as Qin Siyi was concerned, they had prepared everything Qu Nanzhu had used for the ritual, leaving no possibility of tampering. She had seen the heavenly lightning with her own eyes, and she could still recall that piercing sound when the chimei dissipated. Besides, Su Youqin's condition really had improved.
After mulling it over, she pressed her lips together and typed: [Just tell me how much that talisman costs!]
Her friend: [A Heavenly Lightning Talisman is priceless! Understand?]
The moment those words appeared, Qin Siyi's eyes widened in shock. She immediately looked up at Qu Nanzhu, who was elegantly wiping his mouth, and asked softly, "Master, was that Heavenly Lightning Talisman you just used a very rare treasure?"
Qu Nanzhu said, "Huh?"
Qin Siyi said, "I just asked a friend who knows about these things. They said a Heavenly Lightning Talisman is priceless..."
Qu Nanzhu remained bewildered.
Hearing this exchange, Mr. and Mrs. Su looked even more troubled. So the master thought they hadn't offered enough...
But they had already used this priceless treasure...
Qu Nanzhu couldn't understand why the three of them were suddenly radiating dejection. Right now, all he wanted was a good night's sleep, so he simply accepted the bank card containing five hundred thousand and said, "I'll take the card. We're square now. Good night."