☆, Chapter 28: Suffering the consequences of one's own actions

"Brother Yu, help me!" The eldest brother had completely lost the ability to resist, but the second brother and the others were very anxious.

But his brother's life was in danger, so he didn't care about anything else. He picked up anything he could get in the house and smashed it at the mirror. He thought it would be the same as in the bathroom, as long as he could smash the mirror, he could save the person. But to his surprise, it didn't work.

It was clearly a small hand mirror, yet surprisingly strong as steel. Meanwhile, the second brother finally saw what Yu Jiuyin and the eldest brother had just seen. He stared wide-eyed in fear, watching the woman in the mirror smile an evil smile, completely unsure of what else to do.

The point was, he noticed that among the thirteen figures standing in a row in the mirror, the image of the boss was gradually becoming clearer. It was obvious that the moment the figure was completed, the boss's life would be at stake.

However, at this critical moment, Yu Jiuyin finally made his move. As if he had finally figured something out, he flipped his palm, and several copper coins flew out, nailing them to the floor beneath the boss's feet. Then, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

The temperature instantly plummeted to below zero, and even the breath itself turned into a white mist. The objects hanging on the walls shook violently, as if frightened.

A black mist filled the air, not eerie enough, but permeated with an uncanny, eerie quality. Most chilling of all were the ghostly faces hidden within the mist. They appeared normal, but each eye was filled with venom, fixed intently on the woman within the formation.

“It hurts so much.”

"Please, let me go."

"ah"

The eerie cries of ghosts mixed with the girl's screams for mercy echoed throughout the room, like the foreshadowing of a hundred ghosts parading at night, and the whole sky darkened.

No, it was dark. The room that was clearly lit suddenly became pitch black. Nothing could be seen, everything disappeared. There was only a staircase full of bones surrounding the mirror. There was a little light at the end of the stairs. But who would dare to step on it?

Hidden on both sides were evil spirits craving for fresh flesh and blood. As for the companions waiting to move forward together, they were all floating in the air without any feet.

The woman in the mirror was completely stunned. She looked around in fear and didn't dare to move at all. She even had an illusion that Yu Jiuyin was going to kill her right here.

Her guess was absolutely correct.

Seven Evil Soul-Locking Formation.

This is one of the most vicious formations in Maoshan Taoism. It usually traps the seven evil spirits: Jiang, Chi, Wuliang, Xiao, Ba, and Zhu.

The most powerful aspect of this formation lies in its unpredictable nature. A single movement can trigger a ripple effect across the entire body, inflicting heart-wrenching torture on the souls held within it day and night, until their very essences are scattered. It's like a human being being torn into pieces; death doesn't come immediately, but rather a slow, drawn-out process.

"Ah!" The woman felt as if she were being pricked by needles, and her grip on the boss's head was forced to loosen. She hugged her shoulders tightly and rolled desperately on the ground. But every movement was accompanied by more intense pain and torture.

Who would have thought that the bag of millet that Yu Jiuyin brought when he entered the door was not just for vigilance, but also to hide the copper coins placed under the millet.

However, this formation had another purpose in Yu Jiuyin's hands. Yu Jiuyin didn't use it to trap anyone, but to pull the woman who had become a demon out of the mirror and completely bind her within the formation.

"After becoming a monster, do you think human flesh and blood are particularly delicious?" Yu Jiuyin walked to the front of the formation and looked at the woman on the ground expressionlessly. "Look, the people you killed are now looking for you."

As the last word fell, Yu Jiuyin stretched out his hand and cast out seven blank soul-calming talismans. The soul-calling bell rang violently, and the originally calm mirror was also shaking constantly.

"You dare?" The woman realized something and looked at Yu Jiuyin in surprise, as if she was about to fight to the death.

But Yu Jiuyin looked at her strangely, as if she thought she had asked a very weird and nonsense question.

One sound, two sounds, the sound of the silver bells is clear and has a special rhythm.

As the ringing continued, the woman began to wail even more fiercely. Her scalp trembled violently beneath her dark hair. Then, her skin began to break open.

"This is mine, this is mine!" the woman screamed, her once delicate features gradually aging. At the last second, she was almost completely mad, trying to break free from the restraints of the magic circle.

One layer, two layers, three layers, a total of seven layers of human skin peeled off from her body.

"Oh shit!" The second one who was closest to him almost popped his eyes out.

But Yu Jiuyin had no intention of letting her go, and took advantage of her illness to kill her.

Seven pieces of human skin transformed into seven girls, and the moment the seven girls approached the soul-calming talisman, the seven soul-calming talismans were instantly thrown into the center of the formation by Yu Jiuyin.

He then threw out three soul-calling incense sticks and stuck them directly into the ground.

"The formation is complete." He finally slipped the last copper coin from his fingers. With a dull thud, the copper coin was nailed to the floor. Apart from a small mark on the top, there was almost no other mark.

At that moment, even the air seemed to stand still. The soul-calming talisman exploded, and the souls of the seven girls stood at the center of the formation.

They had all endured immense torture, their souls unable to rest in peace even after death. Now that they had finally seen the light of day, they would naturally not let the culprit go.

The overwhelming resentment caused the temperature of the entire room to drop to almost freezing point, and the girls' methods of revenge were just as decisive and efficient.

They remembered how they had been trapped, how they had been tortured in despair, how they had watched their beautiful skins become sacred treasures for the beauty of others. Now that they had the opportunity, they naturally wouldn't let it go.

You desire beauty, I will destroy your beauty. You desire eternal life, I will devour your soul. All the sins you have committed will be repaid a hundredfold at this moment.

Skinning was the most cruel punishment in ancient times. When seven pairs of nails pierced into a woman's scalp at the same time, she could no longer control herself and screamed in pain.

"Hehehe, how does it feel to be skinned alive?" The slender fingers clasped the woman's head tightly, forcing her to look down at the mirror below.

"See? That's you in there."

"Hahahahahahahahaha" the gloating voice continued to ring out, mixed with ridicule and sarcasm, the woman was completely crazy.

"Who is she? No, this is not me. There are monsters here. No, they are all monsters." The woman was forced to look down at the mirror. The old and scary face in the mirror was so strange that it frightened her. But what was even more terrifying was that the face was alive.

With a horrifying smile on her face, she raised a knife and stabbed it hard on the top of her head, cutting down her scalp little by little, just like skinning a pig, separating the skin and muscles.

"No, no, don't hurt me." The woman panicked. She struggled desperately, but to no avail.

"You can't escape. You will be trapped in the mirror for the rest of your life. We are not monsters. You are the only monster who dares to leave the house because you are wearing someone else's skin."

"Ah" The last layer of fig leaf was lifted, and the moment the truth was revealed, the woman completely collapsed.

The fire array in the Seven Evils Formation lit up, and the green ghostly fire licked her body directly. In the room, there was an aroma of burnt meat.

"Brother Yu," Xu Wang said, grabbing Yu Jiuyin's arm with worry. He knew Yu Jiuyin was a man of many tricks, and he also understood that this woman was unworthy of being a human being. But the country has its own laws, and if they disturbed her, Yu Jiuyin would be in trouble.

"Don't worry, she is no longer human." Yu Jiuyin understood Xu Wang's concerns, shook his head and gave a simple explanation.

Just now, when he saw the woman taking off her human skin, the dots that he had been unable to figure out finally came together.

This woman had indeed only killed seven people. It wasn't her husband who did it, it was the janitor lying in the hospital who did it.

Yu Jiuyin guessed that this mirror and the witchcraft of skinning and demonization should have been controlled by the school worker at first. As for the fact that he skinned his father, it was probably out of remembrance.

After all, he had a rough childhood and finally found his parents. Even if he had to pretend and deceive himself, he wanted to keep his father.

Unfortunately, his mother didn't think so. After discovering the secret of the mirror, the first thing she thought about was not family reunion, but how to restore her youthful appearance.

Thus, the tragedy began. Fortunately, the janitor was clever enough. There's a crucial requirement in witchcraft: to fully transform into a demon, one must possess the skin of a close blood relative, and this skin must have been taken from someone alive.

So the janitor simply separated his soul and threw away one of his spirits. With his soul incomplete, he could not be called a living person, and thus escaped the disaster.

That woman didn't know how to gather souls, so she couldn't do anything to the janitor. That was why he was so overjoyed when he heard in the hospital that Yu Jiuyin could gather souls.

As for going after the boss, it could only be because of Yunyue. This woman was short of five human skins to transform into a demon, and Yu Jiuyin, the boss, and Xu Wang were just enough.

She had a good plan, but unfortunately she failed in the end.

People, don't be too greedy. There is no beauty that will not fade, and there is no beauty that will not turn into bones. Excessive demands will only bring bad consequences.

The flames grew taller and taller, and the woman's moans gradually became quieter. They didn't know if it was their imagination, but the moment the woman disappeared from the flames, the eerie atmosphere in Building 13 dissipated a lot.

The six girls who were killed first reappeared in the center of the formation. The resentment in them had completely dissipated, and their souls could enter paradise.

They had been waiting for this day for too long, so they didn't say much. They just bowed to Yu Jiuyin to express their gratitude, and then their figures gradually disappeared.

Yun Yue's soul also appeared in the firelight, her face as beautiful as when they first met. She seemed reluctant to leave, yet also seemed to be lingering. But in the end, she said nothing, simply bowed twice to Yu Jiuyin from a distance, and then left.

Resentment will be eliminated and one will be reborn into paradise.

Yu Jiuyin picked up the mirror and the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He clicked on it and saw it was a text message from the dorm manager. It just said, "My aunt passed away a minute ago while guarding my cousin in the hospital."

"Well, my condolences." Yu Jiuyin replied, then turned to Xu Wang and the others and said, "Pack your things and go. It's over."

"Okay, okay." Xu Wang and the others were still a little dazed, but they followed behind him out of habit. As for the boss, after he regained consciousness, he kept touching his head, as if he was wondering why the woman had opened such a large wound on his head just now, but now there was no trace at all.

Finally, when Yu Jiuyin and his group left Zhuhua Community, the sky was completely bright. Before leaving the community gate, the boss couldn't help but look back at the familiar yet unfamiliar community behind him, then turned his gaze away, no longer paying attention.

His experiences over the past two days were so tortuous that even after the incident was over, he still found it difficult to move on.

He was terrified of the skin-peeling woman, and as for Yunyue, he felt more regret and nostalgia. However, the living could only look forward, and no matter how much he regretted and reluctant to leave, he could only say goodbye, because his future was still a long way off.

Yu Jiuyin understood his thoughts and patted his shoulder to comfort him. Then he turned his attention to the bronze mirror in his hand.

Yu Jiuyin was very curious about how this European witch's evil magic suddenly appeared in China and how the school worker learned it.

For some reason, Yu Jiuyin suddenly remembered the book of exorcism in the hands of the illegitimate son of the Xu Wang family. She always felt that there seemed to be some special connection between the two things.

"Brother Yu, what are you thinking about?" The third brother could see that he was absent-minded.

"I was wondering whether I should give you three a vacation when I get back this time." Yu Jiuyin did not express his doubts, but changed the subject casually.

"I need a break. I've had so much going on lately." The second brother quickly jumped on the bandwagon. The day's experiences had been far too much for him. He even felt like being frightened would shorten his life by ten years.

Yu Jiuyin added coldly, "I'm afraid giving you a holiday will be useless. You're a bunch of death-like elementary school students. You'll encounter evil spirits wherever you go."

Official complaints were the most deadly. Thinking about everything from the haunted house to the current skin-stripping woman, it seemed like they had really been the ones to cause everything. Lao Er couldn't help but shudder, and suddenly he had deep doubts about his future.

Just like that, the five of them chatted all the way back to Yu Jiuyin's haunted house. Because it was too late, Xu Wang didn't go back home and stayed in the guest room.

Normally, five young men in their twenties would be at their most boisterous. But today, they were all exhausted. Even Yu Jiuyin felt dizzy and uncommunicative, sleeping until four o'clock the next afternoon before feeling better.

When Yu Jiuyin got up, the older ones had already gone back to school, leaving only Xu Wang behind. Seeing that Yu Jiuyin had finished washing up, he hurried him to eat. He carefully examined his complexion, and only then, after confirming that he was in good health, did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"By the way, how is the janitor in your school now? Is he awake?" Yu Jiuyin suddenly remembered that there was still something unresolved.

"Of course not. But he seemed to be getting better after that woman died. Still crazy, though."

"That's perfect. If you have time, please take me there."

"How do you say that?" Xu Wang asked curiously.

"When I sealed the soul-suppressing talisman yesterday, I found his lost soul. Now is the perfect time to go over and help him return it to its place. By the way, I have something else I want to ask him."

“It’s about that mirror.”

"Yes. This kind of evil magic is very rare, not only in China, but even in Europe. I'm curious about who he learned it from. Also, do you remember what the dorm manager said? He said his cousin once lived in an orphanage for a while."

"The orphanage isn't the place where Wu Qu and his father waited for the surrender." Understanding Yu Jiuyin's meaning, Xu Wang immediately agreed. "Then let's go after dinner."

"Um."

Yu Jiuyin ate faster. After dinner, Xu Wang drove Yu Jiuyin to the hospital. But unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the hospital, they heard the news that the school worker was brain dead.

Yu Jiuyin hurried towards the ward, a step too late, only to discover that the janitor's soul had indeed begun to disintegrate. It wasn't due to any external force, but simply because he didn't want to live anymore.

"Mr. Yu, you're here." The dorm manager had just finished his night shift, hadn't slept all night, and now had been running around the hospital all afternoon, leaving him exhausted. Upon seeing Yu Jiuyin, he simply sighed, "Actually, this is good. It's like a family reunion." Then he was sent away to do other things.

Yu Jiuyin looked at him for a while and knew that there was no way to save him. He could only draw a soul-soothing talisman in the air to send this poor man on his final journey.

I hope his next life will be smoother and happier.

For the next few days, everyone in the haunted house entered a period of recuperation. Yu Jiuyin seemed to really want to take them on vacation, and recently he had even been looking up places to visit near City B.

"Brother Yu, how about we go to the hot springs? I heard there's a nice hot spring resort in T City, next to B City. It's quick to go there, so why not pick a weekend?"

"That's fine." Yu Jiuyin felt that soaking in a hot spring was relaxing, so he asked Lao Er to send him the place he liked.

But then, after just one look, he nearly spit out a mouthful of water. The reason was simple: these unfortunate kids were just too damned witty. Of all the hot spring villas to choose from, they had to pick this one. Yu Jiuyin didn't even need to calculate; just looking at the feng shui arrangement, he was certain that this hot spring villa was definitely not clean.

As expected, Xu Wang, who had just walked in, sternly rejected the offer, saying, "Didn't you check Weibo today? A tourist committed suicide in that store today."

"Oh shit!" The second guy who just recommended the hotel was petrified on the spot.

Yu Jiuyin replied slowly, "It doesn't matter where we go. Don't you guys love excitement the most?"

I didn't, I didn't, don't get me wrong. The second one burst out with a strong desire to survive, denying the three consecutive slips of the same thing.

Yu Jiuyin was about to tease him again, but his phone suddenly emitted a distinctive ringtone. He clicked on it and saw it was none other than Celestial Master A from the Metaphysics Association. But this time, the strong warning wasn't another mission for him, but a nearby Celestial Master pleading for help.

There is an unwritten rule in the metaphysical circle: help each other. So no matter who sends the signal, he must go over.

"I'm going out for a while." Yu Jiuyin didn't hesitate, took a look at the location on his phone and turned away.

Xu Wang and the other three looked at each other. Although they didn't know what was going on, they still habitually followed Yu Jiuyin's arrangements.

Meanwhile, Yu Jiuyin, after exiting the haunted house, wasn't far from location A. The scene of the incident was now only a hundred meters away. Yu Jiuyin casually grabbed the spirit-calling bell and pulled out six copper coins. This was the most cautious he'd been since descending the mountain.

Yu Jiuyin suspected that the Celestial Master who had called for help was most likely in danger. Otherwise, given the pride of the Celestial Masters, they would never reveal their distressed state to others unless they were on the verge of death.

But when he arrived, he was surprised to find the scene eerily quiet. On the empty plain, there wasn't a single ghost, not even a single person besides him.

The spirit-calling bell was as quiet as a chicken, indicating that there was no ghost. Yu Jiuyin closed his eyes and felt it, and was sure that no living person was angry, so who posted the request for help? Was this deliberately playing a trick on him?

Yu Jiuyin took two more steps forward and unexpectedly found a paper bag hidden in a hidden corner on the right.

He opened it and found only a piece of paper and a hot spring egg inside.

Yu Jiuyin didn't understand what was going on, so he put the hot spring egg aside and picked up the note to check. He saw a line of numbers and small words written on it in a messy font. He called the number below and asked Rongqing to call.