Chapter 975 The Returnee's Notes 49

Xie Ning stopped running into a thicket of bushes. Seeing the phantoms rushing in, he turned back and, as they followed, pulled the red string hanging on the pole to lock the door.

The silver bells jingled instantly, and chaos erupted within the red line.

Xie Ning's gaze fell to the ground inside the formation, where runes were drawn with special powder. It was only because the night was dark that the runes could be seen emitting a faint red glow.

The powder gradually turned black, and the faint light slowly disappeared.

Remembering what the old lady had taught her, Xie Ning formed a hand seal with her left hand and then raised her sword. There were no special effects like in the movies; she only emitted a small, wind-blade-like object, and the illusion within the red circle gradually disappeared.

During this process, Xie Ning saw the true faces of those things after the illusions faded; they were soulless spirits, not illusions.

In other words, they are being manipulated by ghosts.

Was it really that easy to solve?

Xie Ning had some doubts. Anyone who could enter the mountain with Wang Youyang must be quite strong. How could they possibly lose their lives because of such an illusion?

The surroundings seemed to have quieted down a lot. Xie Ning prepared to return to his position step by step, but the road ahead could no longer be seen; it was blocked by roadblocks.

With a rather unsophisticated method, Xie Ning took out three copper coins, chanted an incantation, and as soon as the coins hit the ground, he quickly ran off in one direction.

The night wind blowing towards her grew colder and carried a slightly damp, somewhat familiar scent.

"Bang--"

The peach wood sword was as if it had struck a solid object, and was directly impacted by the shockwave.

The shadowy figure crouching in the corner reacted and tried to escape, but was then bound by a spirit-binding rope around its neck.

By the light of the streetlamp, Xie Ning could see the face of the dark figure. It was a child who looked about six or seven years old, with empty black eye sockets.

Its mouth was also split open, stitched up with thin black thread. As it struggled, it suddenly grabbed Xie Ning's hand, its sharp black nails leaving several bloody scratches on Xie Ning's hand.

Just as Xie Ning raised his sword, a faint whimpering sound came, and the little ghost struggled even more. Its pale cheeks split open, and Xie Ning wrapped the spirit-binding rope around his hand a few times before swinging his sword down.

The seemingly unsharp peach wood sword actually severed the little devil's arm.

However, Xie Ning was also taken aback. This was not right. It would be normal if the little ghost's form was broken up. How could it be that the arm was cut off?

"Ah—" The kid struggled even harder, and Xie Ning's hair stood on end. He let go and rolled to the side.

Thick black smoke billowed up and the little ghost disappeared, followed by a faint splash, as if something had fallen into the water.

At the same time, a small stream of energy came straight towards Xie Ning's face, but for some reason it dissipated just before it hit her.

"Sister!"

Wang Ze's voice suddenly rang out, growing louder as it approached. Xie Ning clutched his chest; the wound on his arm was a dark bluish-black color, and the bluish-black area was still spreading.

Xie Ning fumbled for a small medicine bottle in his pocket, then poured out the incense ash inside. The ash caused a burning sensation as soon as it touched his skin, and Xie Ning's hand trembled involuntarily.

"Are you alright?" Wang Ze's heart was pounding. He hadn't encountered any problems, but when he heard the sound of the bell on Xie Ning's end, he rushed over in a panic.

They simply accepted a commission; they didn't say they were going to risk their lives for it.