A Little Ghost Clinging to His Leg
Although the facts differed somewhat, Zhao Cheng's guess wasn't actually wrong.
The reason Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi had run back of their own accord, as though ghosts had covered their eyes, was Yin Yunze's Illusion Technique.
This time, however, Yin Yunze hadn't used an illusion like a ghost-built wall, but a purely single-target Illusion Technique.
Otherwise, even as a bystander, Zhao Cheng would have seen the illusion too.
After realizing that Spirit Medium Wang might have seen through him, Yin Yunze had used the Illusion Technique on them.
While using it, however, Yin Yunze had noticed something else. Perhaps as a result of the version update, the Illusion Technique he now used seemed to have been upgraded to a certain extent.
Yin Yunze's Illusion Technique now had something of a light hypnotic effect.
Simply put, his single-target Illusion Technique was no longer like it had been before. Previously, if an illusion wasn't crafted with enough care, the target might have seen through it upon calming down.
With the hypnotic effect at work, the target would subconsciously overlook some details in the illusion, making it impossible to see through.
For ordinary people, the upgraded Illusion Technique could be said to be nearly impossible to see through.
Come to think of it, this could be called fate.
That mother and son had been the very first subjects Yin Yunze tested his Illusion Technique on.
After going around in a circle, Yin Yunze had once again used the upgraded Illusion Technique on that mother and son first thing.
Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi, controlled by Yin Yunze's Illusion Technique, had no idea that after running in a great big circle, they had trotted right back in front of him.
It was precisely because neither of them could escape from the start that Yin Yunze had stayed here teasing Zhao Cheng.
When Spirit Medium Wang and Wang Laizi reached a spot not far in front of him, Yin Yunze waved a hand to dispel the illusion and greeted them at the same time. "Hello, you two. Long time no see. Aren't you tired from running around like that?"
Faced with the adorable, smiling little girl who had suddenly appeared before him, Wang Laizi had already begun trembling in both legs.
Spirit Medium Wang looked around and, upon realizing that their earlier escape had been an illusion, gritted her teeth and reached for a small pouch at her waist.
She grabbed a handful and flung it out. Ash scattered before Yin Yunze, filling a sizeable area.
The moment Yin Yunze saw Spirit Medium Wang move her hand, he had already taken a step back. Dodging the ash, he frowned. "You've even resorted to the dirty trick of throwing lime powder?"
"No, that's not lime powder!"
It was Zhao Cheng, still kneeling on the ground. As though he had seized an opportunity, he explained loudly, "What that damned old hag threw at you should be the incense ash from the burner in her home, where she offers three sticks of incense to her ancestors every day! In the past, when evil spirits appeared in the village, we used incense ash from offerings to our ancestors to keep ourselves safe."
Hearing this, Yin Yunze remembered. Indeed, every household he had visited before seemed to have an incense burner for worshipping their ancestors. But his own family had possessed one when he was little, so it had been too ordinary for him to pay it any attention.
He really hadn't expected the incense ash in those burners to have the power to ward off evil.
However, the incense ash seemed to have no effect on Yin Yunze whatsoever. At the very least, he felt no discomfort, and nothing unusual happened as the ash slowly settled on the ground.
That made sense. Though he wore the skin of a fox immortal, Yin Yunze was still human at heart. Although he had sought profit in what he did in this world, he had always kept his word and cheated neither young nor old!
His possession of Zhao Wan had also been a perfectly legitimate divine art, performed with Zhao Wan's own consent and saving her life. No matter how one looked at it, he was anything but an evil spirit, so how could he be driven off by something that warded off evil?
"So, you took me for an evil spirit? The problem is, I'm not one!"
Yin Yunze looked back at Spirit Medium Wang, whose face had fallen into despair now that the incense ash had failed, and spoke with complete confidence.
"You forced me to do this!" Spirit Medium Wang roared, as though she had made up her mind. She then bit the tip of her tongue, spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood, and shouted, "Blood Essence Mystic Art, ghosts and gods, aid me! Ghost girl, attack!"
The blood and saliva formed a cloud of bloody mist in the air, but it soon vanished without a trace.
As the bloody mist disappeared, Spirit Medium Wang's vitality visibly withered, and she seemed to age more than ten years.
As Spirit Medium Wang cried out, Yin Yunze felt a gust of Yin Qi rush into his face, followed by the sensation of something wrapping itself around his thigh.
He instinctively looked down and saw a little girl with disheveled hair and shattered features staring up at him, her face covered in blood.
To be fair, even in broad daylight, Yin Yunze was startled to see such a distinctively featured little girl ghost clinging to his leg.
But then he noticed that the little girl ghost was only holding on to him, without doing anything more...
More precisely, she looked as though she wanted to bite him, but didn't quite dare.
It was as if someone had been ordered to swallow a burning piece of charcoal.
Anyone knew that charcoal wasn't something you could eat! But there was an order to obey!
If he ignored her distinctive appearance, the little girl ghost looked a little silly and adorably dazed as she struggled with her dilemma.
Only then did Yin Yunze relax.
After two version updates, a mere little ghost raised by someone else was evidently no longer a threat to him. Even with him standing there motionless, the little ghost didn't dare do anything.
Yin Yunze studied the little girl ghost with interest. He hadn't expected that the first supernatural being he encountered in this world besides himself would turn out to be Spirit Medium Wang, whom he had never thought much of.
The appearance of this little ghost also explained how Spirit Medium Wang knew those secrets that ordinary people were unlikely to know.
With this little ghost at her side, it was no wonder she had dared to break ground over Yin Yunze's head.
No wonder, too, that Spirit Medium Wang had spoken so rudely before, when she still took Yin Yunze for Fox Seventh Aunt.
Yin Yunze had originally thought Fox Seventh Aunt was simply too useless. Now it seemed that Spirit Medium Wang really did have tricks up her sleeve!
Come to think of it, it really had been a coincidence last time.
Before Spirit Medium Wang could use any of her tricks, her good son had knocked her unconscious with a slap across the face.
Afterward, the two of them had been scared out of their wits and no longer dared confront Yin Yunze openly. Instead, they had secretly engaged in this business of cutting off his descendants.
Still, judging by how Spirit Medium Wang now looked ready to kick the bucket, this little ghost was clearly not so easy to command.
Though he had no grudge against her, Yin Yunze didn't much like having such a thing clutching his leg.
After some thought, he realized that he happened to have Expel Evil and Dispel Filth, which he had yet to use. Hadn't a test subject conveniently come to him?
This little girl ghost, her face smeared with blood, was clearly both evil and filthy!
"Expel Evil and Dispel Filth!"
With that thought, Yin Yunze didn't hesitate much. He cast Expel Evil and Dispel Filth directly at the little girl ghost.
"Ah!"
After a piercing scream, the little girl ghost burst like a bubble and vanished without a trace.
Spirit Medium Wang, meanwhile, spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"That strong? I think I might have gone a little too far?"
Seeing the little girl ghost seemingly scattered, soul and spirit, Yin Yunze couldn't help clicking his tongue inwardly.
If I'd known it was that powerful, I might as well have burned her with Fox Fire!
After all, the Shelter skill Yin Yunze had just acquired allowed him to raise little ghosts to do his bidding.
Scattering a little girl ghost's soul and spirit like that was a little cruel, and a bit of a waste too.
As he pondered this, Yin Yunze heard Wang Laizi drop to his knees with a thud and loudly beg for mercy. "Fox immortal, spare us! We know we were wrong! Please spare us this once! We won't dare do it again!"
Zhao Cheng was also kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic. "Fox immortal, spare me! I know I was wrong!"
"You don't know you were wrong. You just know you're about to die."
Looking at the two of them, Yin Yunze couldn't help remarking on this before asking, "But I can give you a choice! So tell me, how do you choose to die? Will you do it yourselves, or shall I burn you to death?"