Xiao Yi felt a warm current instantly spread throughout his body, which felt extremely comfortable.
In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yuan Qi withdrew his spiritual power, and that comfortable feeling vanished instantly. Xiao Yi still missed it quite a bit.
Although it wasn't a long time, it still took much longer than the time it took for the imperial physician to take a pulse.
Xiao Yi asked hopefully, "How did it go?"
Yuan Qi gently shook his head: "I didn't find any trace of the evil spirit. It's very cunning and evaded my detection. Does Your Highness usually not feel anything, only occasionally losing control of your mind and not knowing what you did after regaining consciousness?"
Xiao Yi hummed in agreement: "That's right, that's exactly it. The people I've killed these past few times were all insignificant, but they were still human lives. I feel heartbroken, and I'm worried that if I were to try to assassinate my father next time, what should I do?"
Yuan Qi nodded calmly: "Your Highness's considerations are very reasonable, so I prepared something for you."
She took out two carved Kunlun jade pendants from her cloth bag and placed them on the table: "These are jade talismans carved from Kunlun jade, which are extremely rare in the world. I have set up a magic array on them and dripped a drop of my blood into them. Your Highness should carry them with you at all times and never let them out of your sight. Next time the evil spirits act up, I will sense it and be able to come to your side in time to see what is going on and prevent a tragedy from happening."
"The jade talisman on the left is a powerful talisman for suppressing evil spirits. It can suppress the evil spirits within you and keep you as conscious as possible. If its ghostly power is not strong, it will be reduced to ashes. If its ghostly power is strong, this jade talisman can keep you conscious for a period of time, giving you enough time to deal with it. The other jade talisman is a teleportation talisman. If Your Highness really cannot control yourself, just crush this one. This jade talisman will teleport you to my side, and I will deal with this evil spirit."
Xiao Yi was very satisfied with the solution Yuan Qi had provided; it was much better than that of the Grand Preceptor who only knew how to shirk responsibility.
However, he also had reason to suspect that Yuan Qi did not give him the two jade talismans for free, because she specifically emphasized that the jade talismans were made of Kunlun jade. He knew that Kunlun jade was very precious, and two pieces of this size were estimated to be worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.
"Are the people Your Highness killed when you lost control still alive?" Yuan Qi asked tentatively, hoping to glean some insight from that.
Xiao Yi shook his head: "They've all been dealt with."
Hong Sibao said from the side, "Seventh Miss, we have examined those people's bodies, and there are no wounds on them."
Yuan Qi understood; it must be that the evil spirit wanted to absorb souls to consolidate and strengthen itself, and its manner of death should be the same as Li Huilin's.
There was one thing she couldn't understand: why the evil spirit, or rather the Ghost King, had chosen Xiao Yi and Jiang Juncai.
Is it because of the convenience of one's status, or because one's birth chart is more suitable for a place to live?
Yuan Qi asked Xiao Yi for his birth date and time.
They are not born in a yin year, yin month, or yin day; they don't even qualify for one.
Moreover, the people killed were not special individuals; it seems they were chosen randomly.
Yuan Qi asked a few more questions, then left the East Palace and returned to the Jiang residence with a stack of silver notes in her pocket. When Hong Sibao saw her off, she gave him a few talismans and told him how to use them, so that if the Crown Prince lost control and she happened to see him, she could take some measures.
Hong Sibao carefully wrote down everything, one by one, fearing that he might not be able to help His Highness the Crown Prince in the future.
Jiang Bailu was still waiting in the front hall when the gatekeeper told her that Yuan Qi had returned. She immediately had her maid stop Yuan Qi.
"What does His Highness the Crown Prince want with you? Tell me quickly."
Yuan Qi said with a grin, "The Crown Prince asked me how you've been behaving lately, whether you've been obedient and listened to him, and whether you've been preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival properly."
Jiang Bailu was puzzled. Xiao Yi had indeed asked her to prepare a gift for the Empress Dowager for the Dragon Boat Festival, and Xiao Yi planned to have her dance.
Jiang Bailu is good at dancing, but she hasn't decided what to dance yet. With less than a month to go before the Dragon Boat Festival, she is indeed a little anxious.
However...
"Impossible! Even if His Highness wanted to ask these questions, he could have just had Eunuch Hong ask me directly. Why go through all this trouble to ask you? Tell me honestly, what does the Crown Prince want with you!"
Yuan Qi chuckled and praised, "So you're not stupid after all. Then why did you ask? If the Crown Prince won't tell you, then naturally you can't know!"
She tilted her head, snorted, pushed the maid aside, and left.
Jiang Bailu scolded the two maids who were blocking her way: "How could you let her get away?"
The maidservant was speechless and could only kneel down to beg for forgiveness.
Jiang Bailu stomped her feet in anger and dared not bother Yuan Qiwen anymore, for fear that Xiao Yi would find out and scold her.
When she returned to Peony Residence, she asked Green Bamboo to put the silver notes away.
Wen Zhujun said, "As soon as you left, Concubine Li came, wanting you to help her divine how Li Huilin died and who killed her, but I refused. I told her that you are not a god and cannot know everything, and only then did she give up."
Green Bamboo hurried in from outside and gossiped to Yuan Qi, "Miss, Officer Liu just found out that someone saw Miss Biao enter Yuhua Pavilion. The Second Young Master said that Miss Biao didn't go to see him. Concubine Li said that she must have gone to see the Young Master, and now Concubine Li is waiting in the Young Master's room in Yuhua Pavilion."
Yuan Qi immediately became interested. With Concubine Li making such a fuss, the evil spirit might come out.
"Okay, I understand. Go and find out when your elder brother will return. As soon as he returns, report to me immediately."
Green Bamboo ran away excitedly.
Wen Zhujun asked her, "Are you sure you can defeat that evil spirit? Didn't you say that evil spirit might be an incarnation of the Ghost King?"
Yuan Qi said confidently, "Isn't it you and Shen Xun who are here?"
Wen Zhujun snorted angrily: "If he's that good, even if you, me, and Shen Xun all joined forces, we might not be his match."
Yuan Qi took out a stack of talismans from his cloth bag: "Look, I've drawn quite a few talismans these past two days, specifically to deal with that evil spirit. Let's see how powerful it is."
She handed the talismans to Wen Zhujun: "Go and bury these talismans in front of and behind your eldest brother's house according to the five elements. When you see your eldest brother return, recite the incantation and the formation will be activated."
Yuan Qi also taught her a few incantations: "Supreme Star, respond without ceasing, expel evil and bind demons, protect life and body, isolate inside and outside, so be it!"
Wen Zhujun was very excited. This was her first time encountering formations and incantations, and she wanted to learn them well. However, now was not the time to ask detailed questions; she would ask them slowly after everything was over.
She recited the incantation twice to make sure she had memorized it before leaving with the talisman.
It was still early, so Yuan Qi went over his plan to deal with the Ghost King in his mind one last time.
Shen Xun watched from the sidelines, intending to do her part as well.
Jiang Juncai returned just as it was getting dark.
Wen Zhujun hid in the shadows and watched as Jiang Juncai entered the room. She then chanted a spell and activated the formation.
Yuan Qi arrived shortly after: "Well done! Let's go, let's catch them like turtles in a jar."
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