Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 71: There’s an Evil Dog Inside

This was Lu Yang’s second night in the sacrificial ritual.

After sunset, darkness flooded the room like sewage.

Master Jiang had moved into the living room, pasting yellow talismans over every door and window. The flickering candlelight illuminated the cinnabar strokes, casting a dark, blood-red hue. Rather than feeling protective, it radiated an ominous aura.

Lu Yang sat against the wall with a dead teammate standing nearby. The corpse let out strange, guttural groans as the gases of decomposition rattled its throat. Lu Wei, tied up tightly, was dumped in a corner, mumbling through the gag, his bloodshot eyes wild.

According to Master Jiang, the body currently contained Blondie’s soul. The real Lu Wei, now controlling Blondie’s body, had been left outside the courtyard.

“If he suffers a serious injury, this talisman will react.” Master Jiang held up a blood-ink red talisman between two fingers and shook it. “When the time comes, tear this talisman, and Lu Wei will return.”

A’Qiao’s eyes sparkled with admiration, his voice eager. “Got it, got it! Even if that blond guy gets swapped back, he won’t be able to do anything while gravely injured! That’s one enemy taken out!”

Lu Yang couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Lu Wei was wandering outside, awaiting inevitable injury and torment, and this was something to gloss over with such excitement?

Wasn’t their ultimate goal to dispel disaster and resolve the E? Why did this feel like a team-based deathmatch? Why was killing someone reason for joy?

Was the ritual truly a place where the weak were prey, and he was just too naive and foolish? Or was something fundamentally wrong? Maybe they shouldn’t have fallen this far?

The claim that Fang Xiu had manipulated the pierced-lip man was solely Jiang Xun’s assertion; and earlier, A’Qiao had attacked Fang Xiu, who just laughed it off in response. Based on facts alone, the other team hadn’t hurt anyone. In fact, they had helped first.

But Jiang Xun had helped too and had already identified two taboos…

Lu Yang clutched his head, feeling like his mind was splitting in two.

By contrast, A’Qiao was remarkably calm.

After two days, he’d only suffered minor burns, which had made him bolder. Though the supernatural phenomena in the room continued, he clearly felt more at ease near Jiang Xun.

“Master, what about the talismans on the doors and windows?” A’Qiao even had the presence of mind to ask questions.

Outside, the windows were still crammed with ghostly faces, their distorted white features grinding against the glass with squeals. The talismans on the sills shuddered incessantly.

“Household doors and windows can block evil. With the addition of protective spells, one night of safety is guaranteed,” Jiang Xun replied, lounging on the sofa in a relaxed posture, preparing to rest.

“So nothing weird will happen inside the house anymore?” A’Qiao asked, half-understanding.

“Correct. There may be residual disturbances, but they won’t harm anyone.”

Jiang Xun added calmly, “Tonight is different from last night. I won’t be tied up again.”

Admittedly, that kind of confidence was extremely reassuring.

Speaking of confidence…

Lu Yang couldn’t help but think of another confident leader. He glanced at the drink cans on the table. They were as crimson as Fang Xiu’s clothes. The packaging was intact, impossible to tamper with, yet no one had touched them. Even Lu Yang didn’t have the courage to drink.

Right at that moment, what was Fang Xiu thinking?

…Bang bang bang!

The door, covered in yellow talismans, suddenly shook. Loud knocking echoed through the room. Jiang Xun instantly sat up, eyes narrowing.

The spirits at the door suddenly scattered. The ones at the windows struggled to twist their heads to look toward the entrance. Their grotesque smiles vanished, replaced by blank stares.

But under the hazy moonlight, nothing was there.

A’Qiao shuddered and rushed to stand beside Jiang Xun. Lu Yang noticed that the ghostly eyes within the room had all rotated to face the same direction…

Bang bang bang!

The knocking continued. The thin yellow paper began to tear, faint bluish-white sparks rising from it. Inside, the candle flames suddenly elongated like a zombie’s claw, flickering with a greenish-black glow.

In Blondie’s body, Lu Wei froze and shrank back, trying to make himself as small and unnoticed as possible.

Bang bang bang!

Flames erupted all at once. Talismans at the door, windowsills, and window edges burst into fire simultaneously.

The protective spells crumbled into ash. The ghostly faces crammed at the windows all turned in unison to look back inside. Their mouths stretched grotesquely, half the size of their heads, revealing even more twisted grins than before.

Ghostly eyes bulged from every gap, spinning madly. The room filled with a low, buzzing murmur like tinnitus, making Lu Yang’s teeth ache.

What happened to the promised peaceful night? How was this worse than yesterday!?

Jiang Xun scowled and snapped his wrist, sending a flurry of talismans flying like a yellow fan.

“All the talismans are destroyed. The Great Evil has arrived,” he said. “Everyone, gather! Quickly!”

The next second, the knocking stopped abruptly, and the house fell into dead silence.

Outside the door.

Fang Xiu lowered his knocking hand and exclaimed, “Knocking on a door can actually start a fire?”

Bai Shuangying replied helplessly, “It’s the talismans warding off evil.”

“But I’m not an evil spirit.” Fang Xiu looked at him innocently, sounding aggrieved.

Bai Shuangying was silent for a moment, then decided to demonstrate. He reached out his right hand and gently covered Fang Xiu’s eyes. It felt damp, as if a soft tongue had licked him.

When Fang Xiu opened his eyes again, he gasped sharply.

It was as if a second spiritual eye had opened. Everything in the courtyard appeared vividly clear. From the crawling evil spirits to the circling movement around his ankles…

A little dog.

It looked like a typical rural mutt, pitch black with a worn red collar. Its body hadn’t fully grown barely reaching Fang Xiu’s knee. It was chubby and round, looking more cute than threatening.

It was hard to imagine this little thing was the strongest spirit in the yard. No matter how he looked, Fang Xiu couldn’t detect any malevolence.

Sensing Fang Xiu looking, the dog wagged its tail excitedly, black eyes forming two white crescent moons.

“Good dog.” Fang Xiu couldn’t resist squatting down and petting it accurately.

Aside from lacking body heat, the dog’s behavior was just like a real one. It seemed unaware of its own death, still panting enthusiastically, pink tongue licking its nose.

Animals in the living world always avoided Fang Xiu. Finally catching a dog that he could actually pet, he was overjoyed, and so was the dog.

The pup bounced on the spot, playfully pawing at Fang Xiu’s legs.

Then it suddenly darted off, charging at a few nearby evil spirits, baring its teeth, again and again, until its mouth split open to the midpoint of its body.

Its upper half lifted high, resembling a dog-shaped stapler.

A gaping maw filled with long, uneven fangs chomped straight through a humanoid evil spirit. Several tongue-like tendrils shot out, wrapped around the creature, and swallowed it whole.

The entire process took no more than five seconds, casual and effortless.

After munching a few spirits, the dog returned and bounced around in front of Fang Xiu, tail spinning like a helicopter. The collar around its neck remained perfectly intact.

Fang Xiu: “…Hold up.”

This was not the cute pup he was promised. Now he understood why all the nearby evil spirits disappeared so fast.

In comparison, its “warning bites” were almost polite.

Bai Shuangying watched Fang Xiu’s stunned face with satisfaction. “It’s been following you the whole time. The talismans must’ve detected it.”

When Fang Xiu tried to enter, it simply followed dumbly. Bai Shuangying could mask his own aura, but this silly dog couldn’t. No wonder the protective talismans all activated at once.

Still, Bai Shuangying hadn’t expected it to be this close to Fang Xiu.

A dog spirit was still an evil spirit. Even if it didn’t attack humans out of malice, it shouldn’t be affectionate either.

Did Fang Xiu have some special trait? …Could it be that the mutt had sniffed out Fang Xiu’s soul as delicious?

Bai Shuangying looked down at the dog and nudged its head with his toe, silently saying, “That’s mine.”

The dog tilted its head for a few seconds, then enthusiastically pounced at Bai Shuangying’s feet, slobbering all over his robe.

Bai Shuangying: “…”

Fine. Maybe it was just especially stupid.

Beside him, Fang Xiu cracked his knuckles. “Well, the fire’s lit, the mood is set… Let’s go!”

“Mm.”

“Woof!”

Inside the house.

After the knocking ceased, everything returned to silence. A few minutes passed. Jiang Xun, on high alert, was starting to feel sore from holding his stance.

…The Great Evil outside had suddenly stopped. Had it clashed with the local Master?

The “Master” here was likely the spirit of a watchdog. Considering it wouldn’t knock on the door, the knocking must’ve been from a Great Evil being drawn to the E.

If the dog could handle the intruder, great. If not…

Bang!

Before Jiang Xun could finish thinking, the main door suddenly swung wide open, revealing the thick darkness outside.

The talismans in his hand ignited spontaneously from the surge of yin energy, rendering them useless.

The next second, the door creaked closed on its own.

Before their eyes, the bolt moved by itself, sealing the door tight. Rusty metal scraped against the frame, sounding like an old man grinding his teeth.

Cold sweat drenched Lu Yang’s back. One phrase flashed through his mind. “Close the door and beat the dog*.”

*(关门打狗) Idiom referring to trapping your opponent before attacking, ensuring they have no way to escape.

He instinctively looked toward the door and windows, but the ghostly faces were gone.

The candles returned to normal, burning quietly. There was no wind. The flames were utterly still.

No faces in sofa gaps, no eyes beneath the table, no shifting New Year paintings… Nothing at all.

Since the door locked itself, all the spirits had vanished. The house was unnaturally “clean”.

But they knew, something had entered the room.

It lurked in the shadows, watching them, clearly in no hurry to leave.

…This was going to be a sleepless night, Lu Yang thought, drenched in cold sweat.

As if in response, a scream echoed from the forest outside the courtyard.

Hearing it, Fang Xiu turned toward the window and quietly curled his lips.

……

In the wing room.

Cheng Songyun immediately tensed at the scream. “That sounded like Xiao Du!”

Mei Lan whispered, “With Fang Xiu there, it’ll be fine.”

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

“I think we should still go check.” Guan He couldn’t help saying. “What if something did happen to him? We can’t just sit here waiting for orders all the time.”

Mei Lan hesitated. “It’s dangerous to go out at night…”

“All the more reason to. At least we all have survival abilities,” Cheng Songyun reasoned. “Guan He is right. We can’t always rely on Xiao Fang. What if he’s not here? Do we just stop thinking?”

Guan He pulled down his black veil. “It’s too risky to split up tonight. Let’s go together.”

Mei Lan was silent for a long time, her fingers brushing across her chest unconsciously.

“…Understood,” she finally said softly. “Then let’s all go.”

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