Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 157: Déjà Vu

Guan He tensed.

They were hiding inside Cheng Songyun’s Resentful Ghost Shield, but that didn’t make them invincible. Grandpa Dao was a genuine metaphysician. Who knew what kind of tricks he could pull?

They couldn’t just sit there and wait for death.

Realizing this, Guan He’s body reacted faster than his thoughts. He lunged out of the shield and activated the Five-Ghosts Relocation Technique, aiming directly for the jade pendant in Grandpa Dao’s hand.

In the heat of the moment, Cheng Songyun didn’t try to stop him. She swiftly retracted the shield, transforming it into a large one in front of her to protect Guan He from the side.

Grandpa Dao quickly saw that the two of them lacked proper metaphysical skills. He took two steps back and easily avoided the attack, clutching the jade pendant tightly and smashing it toward a nearby tombstone.

Cheng Songyun gritted her teeth and stomped into the mud, shoving the shield ahead of her to intercept the strike. The jade pendant collided with empty air, its impact thwarted. In the same instant, Guan He dove toward Grandpa Dao to grab it.

Grandpa Dao smiled faintly. His body turned slick like a mudfish. As he chanted an incomprehensible incantation, the veins on the back of his hand bulged, and with a crisp snap, he crushed the jade pendant to dust.

A brilliant green light flared. A beam shot straight into the sky.

The entire area lit up. Guan He and Cheng Songyun squinted against the blinding brightness and froze where they stood.

Grandpa Dao’s face contorted into an exaggerated grin, deep wrinkles bunching up. But even as he smiled, he didn’t stop moving. Taking advantage of the dazzling green light, he flicked out a dagger made from talisman paper and hurled it toward Guan He’s chest.

The dagger glowed with an ominous green light. Guan He dared not take it head-on. He instinctively dove into the mud. The blade sliced across his shoulder, sending a searing pain down his side.

The smell of the muddy swamp rushed into his nostrils. Guan He hit the ground with bone-jarring force. But he didn’t dare rest. He rolled across the mud to barely avoid the talismans coming his way.

Nearby, the green light intensified, spreading beams toward the distant mountains. Cheng Songyun dashed toward Guan He while raising her shield mid-run.

But Grandpa Dao had already seen through their strategy, Guan He thought.

They had too few metaphysical techniques. Cheng Songyun was clearly a defense specialist. Neither of them had a deadly spell so they could only attack physically.

Grandpa Dao struck with precision and ruthlessness. He ignored Cheng Songyun and kept targeting Guan He’s weak spots. If Guan He had to dodge, Cheng Songyun had to follow his movements. The difference in stamina between an old man and a younger person would eventually expose a flaw.

And while they dodged, who knew what that pillar of green light would summon?

At first, Guan He had relied on Fang Xiu to rescue them. Not long ago, he had copied Fang Xiu’s tactics. But now, Guan He realized he had to act on instinct and his own judgment immediately, or he’d never keep up with the pace of the battle. This wasn’t a game. Real Disaster Resolvers wouldn’t give him time to think things through.

He had to find a breakthrough and go on the offensive.

Rolling in the mud, Guan He’s vision spun. His nausea was forcibly suppressed by the instinct to survive. He scanned rapidly between Grandpa Dao and Cheng Songyun.

Grandpa Dao’s talisman attacks could break through his Wall-Passing Technique. Auntie Cheng’s Resentful Ghost Shield had an isolating effect…

Grandpa Dao didn’t give him time to think further. With a wave of his sleeve, countless talisman-paper daggers formed in the air. They hovered in the darkness, gleaming with deadly blue light.

Most of the blades pointed toward Guan He, a few toward Cheng Songyun. Grandpa Dao was going all in. The brighter the daggers glowed, the more his wrinkled cheeks sank in. His face was starting to resemble a dried-up corpse.

Behind Grandpa Dao, the massive light pillar blazed like a pillar of fire, scattering fine light particles. Within the shimmering glow, ghostly faces silently screamed, morphing and twisting. It was undoubtedly living souls that had been bound together. 

But Grandpa Dao seemed unsatisfied. He turned back with a trace of impatience, as if waiting for something.

Now was the time.

Guan He staggered to his feet. The daggers were flying in—Auntie Cheng wouldn’t make it in time to protect herself.

His body ached all over, his shoulder bleeding, his ankle likely twisted. He didn’t have the strength to keep dodging.

He had only one thought. A crazy one. Whether it would work, Guan He didn’t know.

The only thing he knew was that it was better than waiting to die.

“Auntie Cheng! Shield me!” Guan He rasped.

He didn’t wait for her response and lunged at Grandpa Dao again. Grandpa Dao reacted instantly, hurling another volley of paper daggers.

Gritting his teeth, Guan He activated the Five-Ghosts Relocation Technique, stealing several of the blades aimed at his vital points. He ignored the rest.

Seeing that Guan He was charging recklessly, Grandpa Dao prepared to activate his “mudfish slick” spell again.

But the moment Guan He touched him, he activated Wall-Passing Technique.

His battered body slipped right through Grandpa Dao’s fingers and arms like a colored phantom. Grandpa Dao blinked in surprise and made a confused noise.

Guan He didn’t give him time to figure it out.

Cheng Songyun reacted quickly. The moment the daggers pierced Guan He, she brought the shield down over him.

She abandoned all self-defense to focus entirely on protecting Guan He. Because of his rapid movement, she couldn’t form a full dome, only laying the shield over him like armor. It was a rushed effort, rough and incomplete, but it covered his major vitals.

…That was enough.

Guan He passed through Grandpa Dao’s body with Wall-Passing Technique, then abruptly stopped. In that instant, he canceled the spell while their bodies overlapped.

Grandpa Dao let out a scream that shook the sky.

A bloom of bright red exploded in front of the burning pillar. The spray of blood shimmered with pale blue sparks, stunningly beautiful. The floating daggers crashed to the ground, reverting into crumpled yellow talismans.

Guan He’s “ghost armor” blocked direct bodily fusion, but he had still run through Grandpa Dao like a steel battering ram. The man’s innards were crushed within his ribcage. He was too thin that his entire body was “sliced” into pieces by Guan He.

Guan He collapsed in the pool of blood, retching violently. Even with the shield in place, his body was covered in pieces of flesh, intestines, and other broken organs.

His hands sank into the warm blood-soaked mud. He wanted nothing more than to pass out but didn’t dare.

The deadly light pillar hadn’t vanished.

Worse yet, in the shadows illuminated by the green glow, more and more ghostly faces gathered. Old Man Fu was on his way. The past tragedy was about to repeat itself.

Cheng Songyun had no time to be shocked. She quickly retracted her shield and shook the viscera off Guan He. Then she stumbled forward and hung the calming prayer beads and jade Buddha around his neck.

“Go.” She gripped his wrist tightly. “We have to leave. This place is too dangerous—”

Before she could finish her words, the green pillar finally dispersed, revealing a vague humanoid silhouette. Its deformed limbs were just like the God of Weishan statue in the shrine.

Cheng Songyun gasped and wiped her sweat, summoning her last strength to raise the ghost shield and stand in front of Guan He.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The figure began to applaud.

As the green light faded, the figure turned out to be none other than Fang Xiu dressed in red robes, with mismatched eyes.

Cheng Songyun: “?”

Guan He peeked from behind her: “???”

Fang Xiu smiled brightly. “I’m back, you two.”

He waved at the ghostly faces which instantly froze in place, as if the video had been paused.

Cheng Songyun didn’t lower her guard. She raised the shield even higher.

Guan He followed suit and complained, “The ‘God of Weishan’ I met looked exactly like this!”

Fang Xiu hesitated, then coughed awkwardly. “It’s a long story…”

“You can’t be Fang Xiu,” Cheng Songyun murmured. “If you were here all along, would you have stood by and watched Xiao Guan kill someone?”

“Yes.”

Fang Xiu glanced at the bloodstained Guan He and answered without hesitation. “I warned you that the eighth ritual would be especially, especially dangerous. There was a high chance I wouldn’t be able to watch over you. You need not only the ability to assist me but also to protect yourselves.”

“I planned to push you to your limits and step in only if needed. I didn’t expect Xiao Guan to strike so cleanly… He shows great promise.”

Fang Xiu’s tone was calm, without a trace of guilt.

Guan He stared warily at the “Mountain God Fang Xiu”, still looking like he might faint at any moment.

Cheng Songyun didn’t know how to respond. This scene was too familiar. She recalled how Fang Xiu had once mercilessly tricked enemies into violating taboos.

…Right, the first ritual was so long ago. She had almost forgotten, Fang Xiu was never some kind soul to begin with.

She took several deep breaths to steady herself.

Fang Xiu stepped closer and said, “I only led you here to play out the story and make sure the ones who died were from the Guishan cult.”

“And until just now, we had other things to handle.”

He extended a hand. Behind him, a monstrous limb twisted around and handed him an old book.

The book emanated heavy yin energy yet felt strangely tame.

That was the aura of an E.

Fang Xiu introduced it cheerfully. “This thing was full of filth. We just cleaned it out.”

Cheng Songyun and Guan He stared at Fang Xiu with growing suspicion.

He held the E object securely, with no intention of destroying it. In the past, except for special cases like the Fierce Wind E, Fang Xiu would immediately get rid of any such object.

Something was very off. Could they really trust this “person”…?

“You’ve lied so often it’s hard to believe you anymore. If it were me, I wouldn’t trust you either.”

A’Shou finally appeared, unable to take it anymore. “Enough. Destroy it, Fang Xiu.”

“Huh? But we already did.” Fang Xiu shook the old book in his hand.

A’Shou eyed the Immortal Encounter E suspiciously.

Its aura had indeed changed. What was once hostile now felt different. The so-called “Corner of Heaven’s Will” had said he want to “hold onto it for a while” and would “clean out the filth”. Maybe it really had altered the book’s karmic ties.

…Wait. If someone rewrote a book, would the original be considered “destroyed”?

…Could this be a way to “destroy” an E while preserving its shell?

A’Shou wasn’t sure if it counted, but she knew how to test it.

“Dispersing calamity, dispelling the E—protection from all evil. The ritual is complete. I shall now escort you back to the Tower.”

She pointed, and in an instant, golden light shone from Cheng Songyun and Guan He. It was the “protection from all evil” power.

The ritual had accepted it.

Seeing the ghost immortal appear, Guan He’s mind couldn’t process it all. The moment he heard “ritual complete”, he finally fainted.

Cheng Songyun held him up, still standing, gazing into Fang Xiu’s mismatched eyes.

She couldn’t be sure it was really him. It wasn’t just because of his strange appearance, but also because of those eyes. They seemed to burn with life, not like the Fang Xiu she knew, but more like an ordinary young man brimming with energy.

Even if he had successfully resolved the E, the change was too drastic. He looked like someone who had been through something profound.

“Xiao Fang… are you alright?”

Fang Xiu rolled up the book. The smile at his lips deepened. “I’m great. Never better. Isn’t that right, A’Shou Jie?”

Behind him, A’Shou suddenly stopped walking.

She turned sharply and looked at Fang Xiu’s red figure.

Wait a minute.

Why did this feel so familiar?

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