Chapter 71
The comments Ji Gu had made about Duan Xun and Aqiu now came back to haunt it, making it so angry that its face became distorted and hideous.
Severe pain spread from the shoulder to the waist and abdomen, and then to the whole body. Its eyes turned blood red and stared at Si Liu. The hatred in its heart was like weeds after rain, growing wildly on the surface and rising taller. In a short time, it covered a thick layer.
After a while, the corners of its blood-red mouth curved into a grin, and it said, "It's not over yet."
The moment the words fell, a bright red mark suddenly appeared behind it. The bright red resembled a pool of blood. As Si Liu, A Qiu, and Duan Xun watched, an outlet appeared beneath the pool, and liquid flowed out like a stream, gradually drawing the pattern of a talisman in the air.
This is--
An idea flashed through his mind quickly, and Si Liu narrowed his eyes. Then he heard Ji Gu burst into laughter: "This talisman is most suitable for evil spirits like you."
Bang.
A giant blood-red talisman hovered in the air, emitting a blood-red light. The light was extremely dazzling, almost covering the entire empty space in red.
Ah Qiu raised his eyes, his ears sharp enough to hear a chaotic mix of noises coming from afar. Startled slightly, he quickly turned his head to look into the distance. Since Ji Gu's magical weapon had been kicked away by Si Liu, they had long since left the exit. The place was now empty and quiet, but the red light was too conspicuous, easily attracting attention.
Without hesitation, he immediately threw out a few talismans from his backpack. After the talismans stopped, the space where they and the three ghosts were located instantly disappeared into darkness.
The moment the last ray of red light was blocked, several figures who had just chased out of the exit stood there in confusion, holding their phones. They looked at the empty ground and couldn't help but be stunned: "What's going on? Wasn't there a glow here just now?"
"Yeah, how come he disappeared all of a sudden?"
The two looked at each other suspiciously, scratched their heads, and looked around twice but couldn't find anything that could cause such a bright light, so they had to return empty-handed.
I felt embarrassed because I missed another chance to become famous.
At the same time in the corner.
Countless red lights, like snakes, emerged from the red talisman, carrying a strange aura and flying at alarming speed to Si Liu's side, enveloping him completely. Then, as Ji Gu's smile grew ever brighter, the red snakes, as if receiving some kind of message, suddenly launched an attack.
One of the red rays tried to pierce Si Liu's eyebrows, but was easily repelled by Si Liu with a wave of his hand.
He raised his eyebrows.
What the hell.
That’s it?
As he was suspicious, the repelled red light suddenly split into two and flew back to Si Liu at a rapid speed. Si Liu finally realized that something was wrong. The red light would not disappear! No matter how he tried to repel it, it would come back in multiples. In just a few seconds, the red light surrounding Si Liu became increasingly intense and dazzling.
He himself was unaware of it, but when Aqiu, who was standing outside at a safe distance from the fighting scene, saw this scene, all his doubts disappeared, replaced by a sudden surge of uneasiness.
He snapped back to his senses and whispered, "No."
The ancient book of Huaqing Sect appeared in his mind, and countless talismans that had long been engraved deep in his mind began to flow like water, passing by one by one, and finally stopped on one of the talismans called "Swallow".
Looking at Si Liu again, he could no longer see him. All he could see was the red light where he had been, condensed into the shape of an egg. According to the 'devour' spell, any creature trapped within the 'egg' would be devoured without notice.
In just this short moment of recollection, Ah Qiu keenly noticed that the size of the 'egg' began to gradually shrink.
This means its devouring has begun!
Turning his attention to Ji Gu, he now only had half of his body, but for the evil ghost, as long as his head was not chopped off and crushed, half of his body was enough for him to do evil.
A cold look appeared in Aqiu's eyes, and he bit his finger.
The blood drop teetered on the fingertip, quickly falling under the force of gravity. But miraculously, just as it was about to touch the ground, it seemed to be affected by something and suddenly rose into the air.
Blood traced the shape of a spell in the air.
Pop.
With the last stroke, the blood talisman appeared silently and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The next second, the red 'egg' suddenly exploded from the outside with two crackling sounds, and countless cracks appeared like spider webs. Then, a thick black light burst out from it, and the black light gradually suppressed the red light. After a bang, the red light completely exploded and shattered.
Si Liu's figure appeared in the light of day again.
His handsome face was dark, and he looked at the wisp of gray-black smoke on his arm with disgust.
God knows what happened when he was trapped in the red light just now. The strange red light was like a ball, and all parts of the ball emitted a strange mucus, which fell on him like a light rain.
At first Si Liu didn't take it seriously until he discovered that the mucus could actually corrode his body!
Disgusted, Si Liu didn't utter a single word this time. He crushed the air beneath his feet, and when he reappeared, he was already in front of Ji Gu. Seeing that he had broken his spell, Ji Gu's expression turned extremely grim. The huge pool of blood appeared behind him again, and he tried to cast another spell, but Si Liu had been tricked once before and would not give him another chance.
A cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and ghost energy surged around the black sword, as if black flames were burning.
The long sword chopped down with a bang.
Ji Gu, who was on guard, barely dodged it, but when the blade brushed past his face, a strong sense of uneasiness suddenly emerged in his heart.
This emotion dominated his body, and Ji Gu turned his head suddenly as if he had thought of something.
really!
The black long sword was not aimed at him from the beginning, but at the blood pool!
Ji Gu's pupils trembled, and it was too late for him to resist. He could only watch as the black energy of the long sword connected with the edge of the blood pool, and then, like cutting a watermelon, the sword directly split the entire blood pool!
boom!
The blood surged and fell to the ground like a waterfall, splashing huge water.
Ji Gu's eyes were red as it stared at the blood that had sunk into the crack in the ground. It even pounced over and tried to scoop up the blood, but it seemed to have forgotten that both of its arms had been chopped off, and it ended up falling to the ground in a mess.
"You—" It raised its eyes in hatred, the hatred in its eyes surged wildly, but Si Liu did not give him another chance. The corners of the man's lips curled up into a smile, and the long sword swung down again, "I'm sorry, this time I really have to say goodbye to you."
Phew.
The knife rises and falls.
A head rolled on the ground and landed at Aqiu's feet. When it stopped, its one-eyed head happened to stare at Aqiu. Aqiu's hair stood on end and he quickly took a step back.
Then a piece of talisman paper fell on Ji Gu's head. When the two touched, the talisman paper suddenly rolled up, and flames ignited at the corners. With a bang, flames spread out and completely burned Ji Gu's head.
…
Huaqing Gate.
As the night deepened, Huaqing Gate was silent except for a few voices of conversation in Uncle Changhe's room.
Only from the room at the very edge of the corner came some unusual noises.
Jiang Yin suddenly woke up from his sleep and looked at the little ghost huddled in the corner.
The little devil's name is A Xi.
Ah Xi had a similar experience to him. He lost his parents in a car accident at a young age, and then grew up with his uncle and aunt. Unfortunately, his uncle and aunt were not a harmonious family. The couple had no children, and his uncle was addicted to alcohol and had a bad temper. When he was drunk, he would beat or scold him and his aunt.
Later one day, his uncle beat his aunt to death while he was at school, and then called him to trick him into going back, wanting him to be a scapegoat and take responsibility for his aunt's death.
Of course Ah Xi disagreed.
So, he huddled in a corner, his mouth sealed with yellow tape, his hands and feet broken, and in fear and pain he only saw the kitchen knife in his uncle's hand, still stained with his aunt's blood, slashing at him fiercely.
The pain lasted only for a moment, and then his head rolled away. He died with his eyes open and turned into a ghost.
He'd heard that after death, people were taken to the underworld to be reincarnated, but Ah Xi wasn't willing to do that. He wasn't sure what kind of family he'd encounter if he were to start over again. What if his father turned out to be someone like his uncle? What would he do? He didn't want to gamble. If he lost, he'd lose his life—not worth it.
So, when the ghost came to find him, he refused the invitation to reincarnate and did not return to the underworld. Like a ghost in the wild, he wandered around various places in the human world all day long.
He would go to school to attend classes with students, go to the cinema to secretly watch a horror movie, and go to a famous local attraction to "climb" a mountain to watch the sunrise.
Later, he felt that these places became boring, so he chose to leave his residence and started "traveling" like ordinary people, traveling all over the country.
Ah Xi remembered that he had been wandering for a very long time, until one day he accidentally drifted to the foot of a mountain in Yanhe and met Jiang Yin.
Seeing Jiang Yin dressed as a Taoist priest, Ah Xi's first reaction was to run, but Jiang Yin looked at him and said, "You don't have to run. Although I am a Taoist priest, I don't catch ghosts."
Ah Xi didn't believe it.
He had encountered many evil spirits along the way who wanted to eat him, and several Taoist priests who wanted to take him away, so he had long since developed a defensive mentality. However, when he ran a long distance and looked back, he saw Jiang Yin sitting cross-legged on the grass, staring quietly into the distance.
Even though they were so far apart, Ah Xi seemed to still be able to sense the sadness and grief in the air.
Ah Xi hesitated as he left. After a long moment of deliberation, he drifted back to Jiang Yin's side and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
This is at the foot of the mountain, and there are only mountains.
Ah Xi thought there was nothing interesting to see.
But Jiang Yin said to him, "Look at that mountain."
Are you really looking at the mountain?
Ah Xi scratched his head and asked again, "Is there anything special about that mountain?"
Jiang Yin lowered his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching slightly, but it wasn't a smile. He said, "The person who pulled me out of hell disappeared into that mountain."
Ah Xi didn't quite understand what he was saying. He only guessed that someone important to Jiang Yin had disappeared in the mountains, so he asked Jiang Yin, "Do you want me to help you find him? I'm a ghost, so it's easy for me to get in and out of the mountains."
He won’t be attacked by wild beasts, nor will he get lost… Oh, he might get lost, but it doesn’t matter, a lost ghost won’t die of hunger, as long as he is given enough time, he will be able to get out.
But Jiang Yin refused.
"No need. The others have already gone to the mountains to look for it, but they haven't found it." Jiang Yin didn't say anything more. Instead, he stood up and patted his Taoist robe, which was covered with leaves and grass debris. Before leaving, he tilted his head to look at Ah Xi and warned, "Next time you get curious and go over to someone's house when they're pretending to be pitiful, be careful it's a trap to trick you."
Ah Xi subconsciously wanted to refute, but in the end he just touched his nose, felt that what he said made sense, and followed him all the way.
When they were about to reach Huaqing Gate, Jiang Yin, who had pretended not to notice Ah Xi following him, finally couldn't help but turn around and asked him, "Why are you following me?"
Ah Xi blinked innocently and answered truthfully: "I want to ask if you will accept a little ghost. I like you very much and it seems that it would be nice to follow you."
Jiang Yin: "...I don't have that ability."
He didn't understand talismans and spells, so he couldn't use them to subdue the little ghost.
But Ah Xi said, "It's okay. I'll just follow you. Next time you encounter a big ghost, I can still protect you."
As he spoke, he patted his chest vigorously.
Jiang Yin didn't comment on the surface, but what he was thinking in his heart was - no way, this kid doesn't have any special abilities, there's no way he can protect him.
But the amazing thing is that he didn't even think of refusing.
He accepted Ah Xi and brought him back to Huaqing Sect. The sect's uncles and fellow disciples saw the shy little ghost following behind him and were all surprised. But when they heard the little ghost say, "I'm Jiang Yin's new little ghost," their surprise turned into joy. They all congratulated Jiang Yin with great enthusiasm.
Even Ah Xi received many gifts, saying that they were to welcome him to join Huaqing Sect.
Ah Xi followed behind Jiang Yin, holding various gifts, and said to Jiang Yin happily, "Jiang Yin, the people in your sect are so kind, aren't they? The last time I passed by a sect, their people were so mean. They wanted to capture me and use me as food for the evil spirits they were raising! Luckily, I ran fast and didn't let them succeed."
Although Jiang Yin is a loner and doesn't like to get along with his fellow disciples in the sect, he still sees everything that happens in the sect.
So when he heard Ah Xi's words, he nodded seriously and said, "Yes, my brothers and uncles are very nice. If you encounter any problems, you can go to them at any time. They will not refuse you."
"Can't I find you?" Ah Xi asked.
"Okay, but I can't solve your problem." Jiang Yin told the truth.
Ah Xi heard this and said, "I understand. I will come find you when the time comes, and you can go find your fellow apprentices."
Jiang Yin frowned, subconsciously wanting to refuse Ah Xi, as this would be cumbersome and unnecessary. It would be much more convenient and faster to contact his fellow apprentices directly. But Ah Xi refused, saying, "I'm not familiar with your fellow apprentices, and I'm shy."
Jiang Yin vaguely guessed that Ah Xi seemed to want him to interact more with his fellow disciples and not be so gloomy and withdrawn.
He lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
It was not until a long time later that he said "OK".
But Ah Xi had been at Huaqingmen for so long, and apart from the first few days when she'd pestered him to find her fellow disciples, and was incredibly enthusiastic, she'd become inexplicably less lively. Jiang Yin couldn't figure out what was going on. He'd asked Ah Xi if he wasn't used to living at Huaqingmen, but she'd shaken her head and told him to leave her alone.
Of course Jiang Yin couldn't just ignore him.
Just like now.
He opened his eyes and saw Ah Xi shivering violently in the corner, curled up like a ghost, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying. Jiang Yin was slightly startled and hurried over to comfort him, but Ah Xi suddenly raised his head, revealing a pair of eyes filled with hostility. A terrifying aura that was completely impossible for Ah Xi to appear in his body erupted from him, directly knocking Jiang Yin away.
Jiang Yin was just a perfectly normal person. After being bumped into like that, with his back pressed against the corner of the table, he vomited blood in his throat and was in so much pain that he couldn't even straighten his back. But his eyes were always on Ah Xi, and he called out to him in a hoarse voice, "Ah Xi? Ah Xi, what's wrong with you?"
The voice was not loud, and it was not clear because of its hoarseness, but strangely, it fell into Ah Xi's ears very clearly.
He raised his eyes blankly, a flash of clarity flashed across the thick murderous look in his eyes, and he opened his mouth and muttered, "Jiang, Jiang Yin?"
Jiang Yin's eyes lit up and he was about to speak, but the clarity in Ah Xi's eyes quickly disappeared, and the terrible murderous aura filled his eyes again.
Moreover, he began to wail, and the ghost energy on his body leaked out bit by bit. Just when the energy was about to cover and bury Jiang Yin, the door of the room was kicked open from the outside, and then the young man's clear voice suddenly rang out: "Collect!"
The black and gold flag fell to the ground, and the flag moved without wind. Strands of black ghost energy were madly absorbed by the flag and kept being peeled off from Ah Xi's body.
Ah Xi's face was twisted and distorted by the ghostly aura, and her heart-wrenching screams echoed one after another. Jiang Yin saw her painful expression and he suddenly lunged forward: "No... No!"
Yuan Jing and Heng Yi, who arrived just in time, saw this and quickly hugged Jiang Yin's legs and waist, comforting him: "It's okay, Ah Xi will be fine. Rong Jing doesn't want to kill Ah Xi, don't worry, Jiang Yin!"
As time passed, Ah Xi's screams gradually weakened, and similarly, the black ghost energy on his body also faded a little bit.
When the last wisp of powerful ghost energy was completely stripped away, a hoarse and old voice suddenly exploded in the ears of several people: "Damn it! Damn it! I will kill you, kill you--!"
"Maybe in the next life." Rong Jing muttered.
Bang! The flag completely absorbed the ghost energy. Rong Jing put the flag away with his backhand. Then he looked at Ah Xi, who had a confused look in his eyes and didn't understand the situation at all. He said to him with squinted eyes, "It's okay. Have a good rest."
Ah Xi opened his mouth and was about to speak, but he saw Jiang Yin, who had already broken free, rushing towards him. The young man's eyes were red, and he seemed to want to touch him, but then he withdrew his hand and finally asked him with a choked voice, "Are you okay?"
Ah Xi shook his head.
He scratched his head, a chaotic mess of experiences flashing through his mind, and finally he stammered, "It feels like a dream."
"Dream?"
"Well, I dreamed that someone told me to throw a lot of talisman paper in many corners of the Taoist temple..." Ah Xi said, and then he felt that something seemed to be wrong. He was puzzled and asked the people in front of him, "So what happened to me?"
Jiang Yin, having calmed down, recalled Ah Xi's appearance just now, and thought of Ah Xi's words and the unconscious Master Chang He. He seemed to have guessed something, and his face suddenly turned pale. He turned his head to look at Heng Yi and Yuan Jing, but saw Yuan Jing smiling at him, and then replied to Ah Xi: "Maybe it was stained by something dirty, but it doesn't matter, the matter has been resolved."
Then he decisively changed the subject: "Alright, get some rest. Well, if you can't sleep, you can wait with us for that kid Aqiu. He just sent me a message saying he'll be at the Taoist temple in five minutes."
Jiang Yin pursed his lips and asked, "Junior Brother Qiu can save Uncle Changhe, right?"
Yuan Jing nodded: "That's what Qiu said, but we'll talk about it after he gets here."
"Then I'll go too, Ah Xi..."
"A Xi is going too!" The little ghost stretched out his hand, revealing a fair face.
…
Aqiu quickly arrived at Huaqing Gate and rushed into Uncle Changhe's room as soon as the door opened.
Seeing Hengyi and the others follow him inside, Rong Jing stayed outside and looked at Si Liu who was floating around. He didn't miss the wound on his arm and asked with a frown, "Senior, what happened to your arm?"
Si Liu got angry just looking at the wound. He rambled on about the battle with Ji Gu, and said angrily, "The scar is a male ghost's medal, but the smell is not. I've washed it several times, but it still stinks. Come on, smell it."
Rong Jing didn't want to smell it, and said insincerely: "Senior, this must be your psychological effect, it doesn't stink at all."
Then he decisively changed the subject: "From this point of view, Jigu should have two plans."
"What do you mean? It's not dead?" Si Liu's originally relaxed expression suddenly became confused. When he turned his head to look at Rong Jing, there was still fire in his eyes.
Rong Jing briefly recounted what happened to Ah Xi, adding, "Even Han Yu and his younger generation knew how to use the Transposition Talisman to leave a way out. Ji Gu did the same. If nothing unexpected happened, it must have cursed Ah Xi, leaving a trace of consciousness with him. It failed with you, but it can use Ah Xi's body to revive itself."
"So, he used that little devil named Ah Xi to come and go freely in Huaqing Gate?"
"Well, Ah Xi followed Jiang Yin voluntarily. He didn't have any Taoist mark on him, which meant there was no contract between them. Therefore, whether Ah Xi was possessed or controlled, Jiang Yin couldn't detect it."
Moreover, Ah Xi's identity is open and transparent in Huaqingmen, and he can come and go freely.
It can only be said that Ah Xi's arrival gave Ji Gu a good opportunity.
"So that's how it is." Si Liu touched his chin and nodded.
The two were talking in low voices when a burst of surprised shouts suddenly erupted from the room behind the door. Hengyi's voice penetrated the doors and windows and reached Rongjing's ears clearly. He was shouting, "Uncle Changhe! You're finally awake!"
Rong Jing pushed open the door and looked over. Sure enough, she saw Chang He lying on the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion in his eyes. He looked at A Qiu in surprise and said, "A Qiu? Why are you back?"
Ah Qiu's mask was broken, so he said expressionlessly with half a ghost face: "If you don't come back, I will hold a seventh day of mourning for you."
Chang He: “…”
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