The omen of the decisive battle at Wang Clan Temple and the provocation of the evil witch god
The black mist, like solidified ink, filled every alley in Qingwu Town. Lin Shen walked in front, the metal tip of his engineer's shovel gleaming coldly in the mist. With each step, he tentatively pushed aside the mist in front of him. This mist was even more eerie than the red mist of resentment before. When it touched his skin, it left a faint black mark, like an ink stain that could not be wiped off. It also carried a fishy smell of stale rotting wood, which made his lungs feel stuffy when he inhaled it.
Xiuxiu skipped along the center, the hem of her red robe drawing tiny arcs in the black mist. The peach wood sword in her hand would occasionally emit a soft buzzing sound, and the patterns on the blade would glow a faint red light, as if giving a warning. "The Wang Family Ancestral Hall is just ahead," Xiuxiu suddenly stopped, the smile on her face vanishing, her dark eyes fixed fixedly on the front. "The Evil Witch God's presence is strong; he must be inside."
Everyone followed her gaze and could vaguely see the eaves of the ancestral hall in the black fog. The copper bells hanging on the eaves had long since rusted into black, but they made a "ding-ling" sound even in the absence of wind. The sound was intermittent, as if someone was gently scratching the surface of the bell with their fingernails, which made people's eardrums hurt.
Su Wan pulled a crumpled piece of talisman paper from her pocket—the last one Zhou Tang had drawn before his death. The edges were soaked with sweat. She carefully unfolded the talisman. The cinnabar runes on the paper glowed faintly golden amidst the black mist, barely dispelling some of the surrounding fog. "Zhou Tang's talisman paper is still useful," Su Wan said, her voice trembling but with a hint of determination. "When we go in, try to stay within the golden light of the talisman paper. It should be able to block out some of the evil spirits."
Meng Yao clutched the camera strap tightly. Though the screen was shattered, it still managed to power on. The image on the screen was pitch black, with only occasional flashes of white noise, as if something were moving behind the screen. "I... I'll leave the camera on. Maybe I can capture the Evil Witch God," Meng Yao said quietly but earnestly. "If... if anything happens to us, at least we'll have evidence."
Li Ye patted her shoulder and unscrewed the metal tip of his trekking pole, revealing the dagger hidden inside—an emergency weapon he'd prepared specifically for outdoor adventures. Coated with silver powder, it might be useful against evil spirits. "Don't worry, with Xiu Xiu here, and us, we can definitely deal with the evil witch god." Li Ye's voice was steady, but his hand gripping the dagger was trembling slightly. He couldn't forget the way Zhou Tang and Chen Mo died, and he was even more afraid that after entering this time, he'd never come out.
Chen Ba walked last, clutching three black pottery jars. The poisonous insects within occasionally rustled, as if responding to the evil spirits outside. She pulled a small packet of white powder from her bosom and distributed it to everyone. "This is 'evil-repelling powder.' Sprinkle it on your clothes to temporarily ward off the evil witch god's mental attacks. But remember, once the powder's fragrance wears off, immediately stay away from the evil witch god. His mental attacks can directly destroy a person's will."
Everyone took the warding powder and carefully sprinkled it on their clothes. The moment the white powder came into contact with the black mist, a faint white smoke emerged, emitting a fragrance similar to that of mugwort. It lingered around them, relieving the dull pain in their chests.
"Let's go in." Lin took a deep breath and walked towards the Wang Family Ancestral Hall. The black fog was pushed aside by the engineer shovel in front of him, leaving a brief gap, which was quickly filled with the surrounding fog.
The main door to the Wang Family Ancestral Hall remained the same shattered wooden door from before, but the cracks had widened. Through the cracks, one could see a black mist swirling inside, as if a living thing were stirring. Xiuxiu took a step forward and thrust the peach wood sword fiercely at the door. With a sizzling sound, the red light on the sword instantly surged, and the black marks on the door faded as if burned by a fierce fire, revealing the original wood grain within.
The wooden door creaked open, and a strong, sinister aura lashed out. It was even more pungent than the fishy smell of the black fog, mingled with a stench similar to that of burnt flesh. Everyone instinctively covered their noses, but Xiuxiu's peach wood sword suddenly trembled violently, its red light flickering as if it would go out at any moment.
"He's in there!" Xiuxiu's voice became sharp, and her small body tensed up straight. "He's staring at us!"
As they entered the ancestral hall, the black fog was even thicker than outside. Even the golden light from the talisman in Su Wan's hand could only illuminate a half-meter radius. The altar table had collapsed in half, and the shattered tablet fragments lay scattered on the ground, stained with black slime. Entwined within the slime were several strands of red thread—the red threads of the flower spirits, now black, as if tainted by evil spirits.
"Zhou Tang..." Su Wan suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on the curtain behind the altar. The curtain was still the same red cloth embroidered with mandarin ducks, but the ducks' eyes had turned black, and the cloth was stained with black blood. The bloodstains snaked like small snakes, eventually converging behind the curtain to form a vague human silhouette.
The figure slowly emerged from behind the curtain. It was Zhou Tang's, but more rigid than before. Her skin had turned a bluish-gray, her lips jet-black, and her eyes were lifeless, a murky white, as if shrouded in mist. She was still wearing her old outdoor clothing, stained with black slime and blood. A noticeable hole pierced her chest—where the Soul-Soothing Gu had entered her body. Black mist was seeping out of the hole, gathering in front of her into a vague, shapeless shadow. The shadow lacked a specific form, yet it evoked a strong sense of malevolence.
"Zhou Tang...how could you become like this..." Su Wan's tears instantly flowed down, and the golden light of the talisman paper in her hand flashed violently, as if resisting the evil spirit of the evil witch god.
"She's no longer Zhou Tang." Xiuxiu's voice was cold, and she pointed the peach wood sword at the figure. "Her body has been taken over by the Evil Witch God. Now, she is merely his vessel."
The shadows suddenly moved, floating out of Zhou Tang's body and converging into a tall humanoid figure in mid-air. A black mist swirled around the figure, obscuring its features. Only a pair of red eyes, like two burning will-o'-the-wisp flames, stared intently at the crowd. "You're finally here," the Evil Witch God's voice rang out from the shadows, deep and hoarse, as if countless people were speaking simultaneously. "I've been waiting for you for a long time, especially you, Corpse Girl."
Xiuxiu's body trembled, and a trace of fear flashed in her black eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination: "I have been looking for you for ten years, just to get rid of you! You killed so many people, today I want to avenge them!"
"Revenge?" The Evil Witch God let out a shrill laugh. Black mist swirled with his laughter, and the temperature in the ancestral hall dropped instantly. White frost began to form on the ground, interspersed with black lines, like the symbols of a curse. "Just you, a mere corpse girl, and these dying humans? How ridiculous."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Tang's body suddenly moved, and she lunged stiffly at Su Wan. Her nails grew long and sharp, and black veins popped out of her bluish-gray skin, as if worms were wriggling inside. "Be careful!" Lin Shen pushed Su Wan away and swung his shovel at Zhou Tang's arm. With a clang, the shovel seemed to hit stone, numb to Lin Shen's hand. Only a shallow white mark remained on Zhou Tang's arm, which was quickly covered by the black mist and restored to normal.
"Her body is strengthened by evil energy; ordinary weapons can't hurt her!" Chen Ba shouted, pulling out a clay pot from his arms and slamming it to the ground. The insect within—the same Evil Devouring Gu from before—instantly crawled out and crawled towards Zhou Tang. The moment the Evil Devouring Gu made contact with Zhou Tang's body, a sizzling sound emanated. Zhou Tang's body trembled violently, her bluish-gray skin began to smoke, and black mist emanated from her body, as if resisting the Evil Devouring Gu's bite.
"It's useless!" The Evil Witch God's voice was filled with sarcasm, "My container cannot be harmed by low-level poisonous insects like you!" He stretched out a black hand and grabbed the evil-eating poison on the ground. The black mist instantly wrapped the poisonous insect. The poisonous insect made a sharp "squeak" sound and soon became silent. After the mist dissipated, only a few pools of black powder were left on the ground.
Chen Ba's face turned pale instantly. This was her last can of Evil Devouring Gu, and now it was all gone. "What should we do?" Chen Ba's voice was filled with despair. "We have nothing left that can harm him."
Xiuxiu suddenly ran forward a few steps, pointing the peach wood sword at the black shadow of the evil witch god: "I have it! My peach wood sword is made of thousand-year-old peach wood and soaked in the blood of a boy. It is specially designed to restrain evil things like you!" As she spoke, she leaped up and stabbed the peach wood sword at the black shadow of the evil witch god.
The shadow of the evil witch god suddenly retreated, dodging the peach wood sword's attack. The black mist surrounding the shadow suddenly thickened, forming a black barrier. Xiuxiu's peach wood sword pierced the barrier with a loud buzzing sound, and the red light on the sword instantly dimmed. Xiuxiu was shocked and flew backwards, falling heavily to the ground, a trickle of black blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
"Xiu Xiu!" Meng Yao exclaimed and wanted to run over to help her, but was stopped by Li Ye.
"Don't go over there!" Li Ye's voice was very deep, "The evil witch god is tempting us!"
The evil witch god's shadow slowly floated in front of Xiuxiu, staring at her with red eyes as he sneered, "So what if it's a thousand-year-old peach wood sword? So what if it's a boy's blood? In front of me, they're all garbage!" He stretched out his hand, and black mist wrapped around Xiuxiu's body. "Don't you want to get rid of me? I'll make you my vessel right now, so you can stay with me forever!"
Just as the black mist was about to wrap around her sleeves, Su Wan suddenly raised the talisman in her hand and threw it towards the evil witch god's shadow. The talisman drew a golden arc in the air and landed on the shadow with a sizzling sound. The golden light instantly surged, dispersing the surrounding black mist. The evil witch god's shadow let out a shrill scream and took a few steps back. The black mist on his body became thinner.
"Zhou Tang's talisman!" Lin Shen's eyes lit up, "This talisman can hurt him!"
Su Wan immediately pulled out the remaining talismans from her pocket—there were only three left. She carefully divided them between Lin Shen and Li Ye. "Let's throw them together, as close to him as possible. The talisman's golden light has a limited range, so it can only exert its maximum effect if it's attached to him!"
Lin Shen and Li Ye took the talisman and nodded. Lin Shen ran to the left of the Evil Witch God, while Li Ye ran to the right. They both raised the talisman and threw it at the Evil Witch God's shadow. The talisman danced in the air, illuminating a corner of the ancestral hall with golden light. The Evil Witch God's shadow tried to dodge, but was entangled by Xiu Xiu. Xiu Xiu climbed up from the ground and stabbed the shadow with the peach wood sword again. Although the red light on the sword was very weak, it still forced the Evil Witch God to retreat.
"Snap! Snap!" Two pieces of talisman paper simultaneously clung to the Evil Witch God's black shadow. Golden light instantly enveloped the shadow, and the Evil Witch God let out an even more shrill scream. The shadow's shape began to distort, as if it were about to be torn apart by the golden light. Zhou Tang's body also trembled violently. Her bluish-gray skin began to peel off, revealing the white bones beneath. Black mist gushed out of her body frantically, as if trying to escape the burning golden light.
"Great! It works!" Meng Yao shouted excitedly, raising her camera to capture this scene, but suddenly she noticed that the white noise on the camera screen became more and more, and a black figure appeared in the center of the screen. The shape of the figure was exactly the same as the black shadow of the evil witch god, only smaller, as if staring at her on the screen.
"Be careful!" Meng Yao suddenly shouted, "He's behind!"
Everyone looked back and saw a new black shadow suddenly emerged from behind Zhou Tang's body. This shadow was smaller than the previous one, but more agile, and was rushing towards Meng Yao. Meng Yao was so scared that she stepped back repeatedly, but accidentally bumped into the broken pieces of the altar and fell to the ground.
"Meng Yao!" Lin Shen shouted and wanted to run over to save her, but was entangled by the main black shadow of the evil witch god. Although the main black shadow was burned by the talisman paper, it still stretched out a black hand and grabbed towards Lin Shen. The black mist was like a living snake, wrapping around Lin Shen's ankle.
At this moment, Xiuxiu suddenly rushed over, stabbing the new black shadow with the peach wood sword. The new black shadow suddenly stopped, turned around and rushed towards Xiuxiu. The two black shadows fought in the ancestral hall, and black mist flew everywhere. The mist that fell on the ground corroded small black holes, as if it had been splashed with strong acid.
Su Wan took the opportunity to run to Meng Yao and helped her up: "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Meng Yao shook her head, her face pale: "I'm fine...it's just the camera..." She looked down at the camera. The screen was completely black, only the black figure in the center of the screen was still there, as if it was printed on the screen and could not be wiped off.
Chen Ba suddenly exclaimed and pointed at Zhou Tang's body: "Look! Zhou Tang's body is changing!"
Everyone looked at Zhou Tang's body and saw that her body was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. The blue-gray skin peeled off faster, revealing the bones inside. Black mist was wrapped around the bones, and the mist formed strange runes on the bones, as if some kind of ritual was being performed.
"The Evil Witch God is abandoning this container!" Xiuxiu's voice was filled with anxiety. She fought with the new black shadow while shouting, "He's looking for a new container! Stop him quickly!"
The main shadow of the Evil Witch God let out a wild laugh, and the golden talisman on his body began to burn, quickly reducing it to ash. The shadow's shape became increasingly blurred, as if it was about to merge into the surrounding black mist. "You can't stop me! I have found a new container, and he is among you!"
Everyone's heart tightened, and they looked at each other. No one knew who the "new vessel" the Evil Witch God was referring to was. Lin Shen suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. The Heart Guardian Gu roiled frantically within him, threatening to burst out. He looked down and saw that the skin on his chest had turned black, and the same strange runes as those on Zhou Tang's bones had appeared on it.
"It's me..." Lin Shen's voice was filled with despair. He could feel the Evil Witch God's consciousness invading his mind, as if countless needles were piercing his brain. "He wants to possess me..."
"No!" Su Wan yelled, wanting to run over to help him, but was blocked by the black mist. The mist grew thicker and thicker, enveloping Lin Shen. Lin Shen's body began to tremble violently, groaning in pain.
Xiuxiu's eyes hardened at this sight. She suddenly lunged at the main shadow, the peach wood sword piercing her palm. Black blood flowed down the blade and dripped onto the shadow. "With my blood, I will draw the peach wood spirit and destroy the evil!" Xiuxiu shouted. The peach wood sword suddenly erupted with an intense red light, instantly dispersing the surrounding black mist. The main shadow let out a shrill scream and shrank smaller and smaller, as if about to be swallowed by the red light.
The pain in Lin Shen's chest suddenly eased, and the Evil Witch God's consciousness also left his mind. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, and the black runes on his chest gradually faded, leaving only a faint trace.
The Evil Witch God's main black shadow and the new black shadow merged together, becoming increasingly thinner under the burning red light. He roared unwillingly, "I won't let you go! I will be back! When I come back, I will turn you all into my vessels!"
As soon as the words fell, the black shadow completely dissipated in the red light, and the black mist around it also began to slowly fade away, revealing the original appearance of the ancestral hall - the altar table collapsed in half, the tablet fragments were scattered on the ground, and the mandarin ducks on the curtain had turned black, no longer as bright as before.
Zhou Tang's body had completely shriveled up and turned into a skeleton. The black runes on the bones gradually disappeared, leaving only a pile of scattered bones, as if they had existed for hundreds of years.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. Xiuxiu's palm was still bleeding, but she didn't care. An innocent smile appeared on her face: "Did we... did we win?"
Su Wan walked over and carefully bandaged her palm: "We won, we won for now."
Lin Shen looked at the bones on the ground, his heart filled with guilt: "Zhou Tang... We finally avenged you."
Meng Yao put away the camera and wiped the tears from her face: "Can we...can we leave here?"
Chen Ba shook his head, his face solemn. "The Evil Witch God has only dissipated temporarily. His consciousness is still there, and he might return at any time. Moreover, there are other evil spirits in Qingwu Town, so we can't let our guard down."
Xiuxiu stood up and dusted herself off. The red light on the peach wood sword had dimmed, but it still shone faintly. "It doesn't matter. If he dares to come back, I'll get rid of him again!" Her little face was full of determination, and her black eyes flickered with light. "Besides, I still have to find grandma. She's still waiting for me to come home."
Everyone nodded, stood up, and walked out of the ancestral hall. The black mist had completely dissipated, and sunlight shone through the windows of the ancestral hall, falling on the bones on the ground, as if bidding farewell to Zhou Tang.
Leaving the Wang Family Ancestral Hall, the fog on the streets of Qingwu Town has cleared, and sunlight shines on the bluestone pavement, reflecting a faint light. The old houses on both sides, though still dilapidated, have lost their former eerie feeling. The wind rustles through the cracks in the doors, making a humming sound that seems to tell stories of the past.
"Let's go back to that small town first," Lin Shen suggested. "At least there's a place to stay there. We can rest up a bit before figuring out what to do next."
Everyone agreed, and Xiuxiu skipped and walked in front, the red corners of her clothes drawing cheerful arcs in the sunlight. The peach wood sword in her hand occasionally made a light "humming" sound, as if celebrating the victory.
Meng Yao held up her camera and took pictures of the streets of Qingwu Town, the eaves of the Wang Family Ancestral Hall, and her companions around her - she wanted to record all of this. No matter what dangers they would encounter in the future, at least now, they were still alive and together.
Su Wan walked beside Lin Shen, holding tightly in her hand the fragment of talisman paper left by Zhou Tang, and secretly made up her mind: Zhou Tang, we will live well, tell your story to more people, and will not let your sacrifice be in vain.
Li Yezou
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