Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 38

Hui Yiguang looked at them blankly and puzzled. “What do you want me to do? Of course, I am Hui Yiguang!”

Seeing that everyone seemed to hesitate, her expression became more anxious. She shouted at Chi Banxia, “Banxia! You can recognize me, right?!”

Chi Banxia was injured, so she couldn’t help in the battle just now as she leaned on the side to rest. At this moment, her gaze wandered back and forth between Hui Yiguang and the white figure made of light, trying to carefully identify them, but she shook her head at Li Ying and the others, indicating she could not tell them apart.

Hui Yiguang said anxiously, “It was because of my problem that I asked you all to help me!”

The white light mass trembled violently, but because it couldn’t speak, it couldn’t defend itself.

Li Ying said quietly, “Do you remember how much you paid us?”

Hui Yiguang hurriedly said, “Originally, I told everyone it would be a little more than 200,000, but then I decided to round it up and asked Xiao Han to send each of you 300,000!”

So the mass of white light is really Wang Qi?

Everyone’s suspicion gradually dissipated, and Liu Qingbo raised his sword again and aimed at the white figure. Dong Zhi still felt something was off. The talisman array he had set up on the ground was slowly turning black, as if the talisman paper was being eroded by something invisible.

Was there something trying to break in from outside?

He raised his head and looked at the sky. It was pitch black, filled with lights in the distance that flickered from time to time. Other than that, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong. Feeling uneasy, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Hui Yiguang. He wasn’t sure if it was him seeing things, but the corners of her mouth seemed to evoke a weird arc. But looking intently at her face, it was still full of fear, so how could she be smiling?!

Chi Banxia was also afraid that Liu Qingbo would kill the wrong person and take out the rightful owner of the original’s body, so she hurriedly asked Hui Yiguang a few more questions, to which Hui Yiguang was able to answer them all correctly.

Li Ying said solemnly, “This can’t be dragged out any longer. The soul is absorbing energy and is slowly getting bigger!”

Everyone looked and saw that the white mass of light was slowly expanding as its shadow was slowly extending towards Hui Yiguang. Liu Qingbo no longer hesitated and swept his sword at the white figure.

Suddenly, a hissing sound was made, as if something had been torn apart, and the wind roared. Accompanied by the roar, Liu Qingbo heard Chi Banxia scream behind him. He had no time to turn around as his body was thrown down by the force.

Dong Zhi fell on top of him, bending his head to avoid the violent wind passing by. Liu Qingbo stared at Dong Zhi fiercely and stretched out his hand to push him away. “Get off!”

Dong Zhi said innocently, “I was blown down by the wind…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the white light and shadow were eroded by a black mist that condensed from all sides, and screams rang out from the air. The black mist and the white light gradually merged, quickly turning gray and swelling sharply, eventually becoming as tall as one and a half person as it floated towards Hui Yiguang.

Hui Yiguang was horrified, rolling back and forth.

“You go away! Go away!” She screamed. She desperately tried to get up and escape but kept collapsing to the ground as her body was too weak.

“Watch your step!” Dong Zhi suddenly shouted.

Gu Meiren looked down subconsciously. Under the light, clusters of black shadows appeared on the ground some unknown time ago and moved towards everyone’s feet. Li Ying threw out a talisman, and after a while, it burned together with the black shadow, igniting it.

Gu Meiren played her flute, stopping a black shadow in its place as it heard the sound. Li Ying immediately placed a talisman on it, burning it out.

Another black shadow was about to jump out of the ground but was sliced to pieces by Liu Qingbo’s sword. He then stared at Dong Zhi harshly.

Dong Zhi didn’t bother to pay attention to his opponent’s irritability. With a talisman in one hand, he stopped Hui Yiguang. While holding his sword in the other hand, he drew it towards the gray shadow and forced it back.

“Are you the real Hui Yiguang?” He asked gray shadow.

The gray shadow was shaking violently, as if there was nowhere to vent its resentment and anger. When it heard Dong Zhi’s question, it abruptly stopped, as if it understood.

Dong Zhi turned his head again and said to Hui Yiguang. “And you… You’re Wang Qi!”

Hui Yiguang didn’t have time to hide her expression. It seemed she couldn’t trick him, and panic flashed across her face. Although it was only for a short moment, it was enough for everyone to see that Dong Zhi was telling the truth.

Li Ying said angrily, “The soul that just popped out of Hui Yiguang is really her! Wang Qi is still inside Hui Yiguang’s body!”

Hui Yiguang argued, “Not true! I’m really Hui Yiguang! Don’t be fooled by that fierce ghost!”

Chi Banxia suddenly shouted, “Yiguang! You told me before that you wanted to visit your hometown with me when you have time. Don’t you remember?!”

Hui Yiguang looked flustered and responded casually. “Of course I remember!”

Chi Banxia said angrily, “You have never said such a thing!”

Hui Yiguang collapsed and cried, “I can’t recall anything right now!”

Before the voice fell, the gray shadow trembled abruptly, crossed Dong Zhi and others, and rushed directly towards Hui Yiguang, wrapping itself around her whole body. Hui Yiguang was shocked.

“Help! Help me!”

“I will kill you! Bitch!”

“Let me go! Return back my body!”

“I don’t want it anymore. I want to die with you!”

For a moment it would be Hui Yiguang’s voice, and for another moment it would change to a different tone. The gray shadow and Hui Yiguang were so entangled with each other that no one could distinguish who was who.

Liu Qingbo held his sword wavering.

“What the hell are these things?!”

Gu Meiren and Li Ying worked together to destroy the dark shadows on the ground. One played the flute while the other stuck talismans to them, but soon they found that the shadows were endless and more kept coming and they couldn’t be eliminated.

It’s like… demons. But Dong Zhi wasn’t entirely sure.

He had seen the Archfiend getting wiped out on Tianyuan Building. Heavenly lightning had struck it down, instantly charring Xu Wan so that there wasn’t a single trace left. Now in front of him were clusters of shadows no bigger than the size of a palm. Occasionally a wisp of smoke would rise, and they can be easily destroyed with a talisman. Don’t bother mentioning Archfiends, even a Sneaky Yaksha was much more difficult to deal with than they were. Are they really demons?

Dong Zhi couldn’t bite his finger or mouth, so he had to scratch his finger on the Qingzhu Sword to draw blood. As beads of blood gushed out, he quickly drew the runes on the talisman paper and pasted them in the position where the talisman array was leaking!

Slap!

The loophole immediately closed as the array was restored and the shadows on the ground stopped increasing. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly wiped out the remaining shadows. Li Ying glanced at Dong Zhi, surprised by his capabilities.

With his relationship with his father, Li Ying had a general understanding of everyone who participated in the exam long before it even started.

People like Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan had great skills but lacked a deep background. They had practice in the deep mountains and old forests. While they may seem weak, their respective masters were well-known as dominant figures in their field of expertise. If they could make it to the end, they would most likely go to group three.

Liu Qingbo was from a famous family, and his skills were on par with everyone else’s. The chances of him entering the Special Administration Bureau are almost guaranteed, and he would be considered a rising star. As for Chi Banxia, her family roots were in Hainan, and the Chi family are famous witchdoctors in that area and Southeast Asia, so it would be inevitable that they would come into contact with each other again in the future.

Li Ying himself was born on Mount Maoshan, and his father was a consultant for the Special Administration Bureau. He was well-liked by the officials and the average person. Such a figure like him needed not to flatter others, but others would come befriend him. However, he was purely average and was not as eye-catching as Liu Qingbo.

As for the others, they all fell into one of the categories previously mentioned. The only exception was Dong Zhi. Before the written exam, Li Ying didn’t even know of his existence. It wasn’t until he came first, and 20 points higher than second place, that he was surprised to find such a dark horse in this year’s candidates.

But after seeing his resume, Li Ying learned that Dong Zhi was just an ordinary person. Even if he was the top scorer on the written exam, the most he could do would simply be logistics. Thinking like this, he was proven wrong again as Dong Zhi’s interview was the longest out of all the remaining candidates. After his father, Li Rui, returned that day, he expressed anger, and the object of that anger was none other than Dong Zhi. Li Ying had to admit that his opponent was quite courageous to argue with an examiner during an interview. If it was another person, even if that person had a differing opinion, they would only show an obedient demeanor at that time.

Li Ying wasn’t interested in forming deep friendships. In his opinion, learning to judge others and interact with them is a necessary skill to have in life. People who were neither capable nor adaptable would have a limited future. Even if they can enter the Special Administration Bureau, they are destined to have no great achievements. When he invited everyone to dinner and they each got to know each other, he didn’t treat Dong Zhi special, although he also didn’t deliberately pit him either. He wasn’t as interested in him as he was in Liu Qingbo.

But seeing his performance just now, Dong Zhi was beyond his imagination. Even if he couldn’t judge the situation, he was by no means a useless ordinary person.

Hui Yiguang struggled and screamed desperately as she was enveloped by the gray shadow. Liu Qingbo swung his sword towards her and stabbed right in the middle of the gray shadow. A loud sound was heard, seemingly screams from an unknown creature.

The voice was so high pitched that it almost pierced everyone’s eardrums, but it slowly got weaker.

Does this mean that these demons are easier to deal with than an Archfiend?

The gray shadow was led aside by the thin sword as it shook violently. There seemed to be a sign that it was separating. Liu Qingbo no longer hesitated and stepped forward to insert his sword into the shadow.

“Ah!!!”

Hui Yiguang’s screams rang in everyone’s ears. It wasn’t really her screams, but rather the wailing of her soul. Liu Qingbo continued as he held the hilt of the sword with both hands and stirred the shadow vigorously with the body of the sword.

“Yiguang!” Chi Banxia couldn’t bear it, and wanted to step forward to stop him, but was held off by Li Ying.

“His sword is not an ordinary sword. It’s the Feijing Sword* that can calm the soul and exorcise evil spirits!”

*(飞景) Translated could be the Sword of Light. It’s part of the three swords of Feijing, crafted by (Emperor Wen of Wei) Cao Pi. Their names are: Feijing, Liucai, and Huafeng. See Kinky Thoughts for lore.

The Feijing Sword was not as famous as the Gan Jiang or Mo Ye*. To the average person, they may think it was an imitation sword of the future generation. Since Chi Banxia didn’t know much about swords, she was confused by his words.

*Swordsmith couple who forge a pair of swords named after them. See Kinky Thoughts or go to Wikipedia for the lore.

Dong Zhi, on the other hand, had worked on a game with the background of ancient Chinese mythology. Many game props were added to it from ancient classics, and among them was, of course, the Feijing Sword, so he was no stranger to this name.

It was said that this sword was one of three swords crafted by Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi. He gave the sword the name Feijing because it was “clear as the sky and its light was like a shooting star”. Later, Cao Pi often wore it by his side. On the day of the sword’s completion, he was able to conquer hundreds of miles with ease.

But there was another little-known allusion to the sword. Legend has it that at that time, Cao Pi had dreams in the middle of the night that would leave him restless, and he would wake up sweating profusely. He once dreamed that he was wandering on the Naihe Bridge when he encountered a man who was about to take his life. Fortunately, a white-faced man jumped out of nowhere and protected him. When Cao Pi woke up, he saw the Feijing Sword lying on his pillow. He had taken it off before going to bed and didn’t let anyone touch it, yet here it was. Since then, he had always worn the Feijing Sword, never allowing it to leave his side.

Liu Qingbo continued to stir the gray shadow with his sword. The gray shadow was dragged by the sword as it struggled desperately but was unable to break free. Slowly, the black and white that were entangled, forming the gray shadow, gradually showed signs of separation. Strand by strand, they were separated from each other by the agitation of the sword, forming a picture just like the two ends of the yin and yang symbol, flowing into each other endlessly.

Seeing his opportunity, Li Ying used cinnabar to draw a rune directly on the palm of his hand and coldly stretched it out, grabbing the top of Hui Yiguang’s head.

“It’s not your body. Leave now! Go!”

“No!!!”

A white shadow fell out of Hui Yiguang’s body. Li Ying took the opportunity to grab the white shadow under Liu Qingbo’s sword and threw it into Hui Yiguang. At this moment, Liu Qingbo’s body shook slightly, which gave pause to the force he was using to hold the black shadow in place. It quickly took the chance and escaped, flying towards the white shadow that was on the ground and merging with it. The speed was so instantaneous that no one had time to even blink.

“Not good!”

As Hui Yiguang’s soul was returning to its rightful place, Wang Qi’s soul was merged with the black shadow, and the metamorphosis speed made everyone speechless. Wang Qi was full of resentment, so it was a match made in heaven for the black shadow. The two quickly merged, and it was much faster than when it was with Hui Yiguang. In the blink of an eye, a figure that was taller than the average person began forming. The mass of light wavered and condensed until it formed into a human-like shape, vaguely like a woman.

“Wang Qi!” Hui Yiguang called out in a daze.

Her soul had just returned to her body, and her face was pale like paper. When she opened her eyes, she saw the gray shadow rushing towards her, overwhelming her with fear so that she fainted right on the spot.

Liu Qingbo had just used the Feijing Sword to separate the dark shadow once, so he had lost a lot of qi and physical strength, so he didn’t have the power to stop it. Li Ying being quick-handed, slapped the gray shadow with his cinnabar painted palm but was easily overturned by it. He fell heavily onto the concrete ground, and the pain was so bad that he vomited a mouthful of blood.

Gu Meiren played her flute, desperately trying to stop the gray shadow’s movements. She managed only to stagnate it in the beginning, but eventually it was unaffected by her music as it continued to rush towards Hui Yiguang.

Seeing the gray shadow inches away from pouncing on Hui Yiguang’s body, everyone thought it was too late, and all their efforts had been in vain, when suddenly, Chi Banxia threw herself in front of Hui Yiguang, stretched out her hand, and sprinkled a cloud of gray powder.

To the eyes of an ordinary person, it would look like powder, but it was in fact countless small insects. She could only pray that these insects were enough to stop the gray shadow. Unfortunately, her expectations fell through.

When the white powder came into contact with the gray shadow, it was immediately absorbed and melted into becoming a part of the gray shadow itself. It then quickly rushed towards Chi Banxia. Everything happened so fast, within a few seconds, that Chi Banxia could only watch as the shadow approached her like a hurricane.

It’s over! There’s nothing they could do! Was the thought that flashed through Liu Qingbo as he could only helplessly watch the gray shadow about to become entangle with Chi Banxia.

If she was also possessed by that ghost, with her own abilities as a witchdoctor, it would be even more difficult to deal with than Hui Yiguang. This was his second thought.

A sudden flash of light appeared in front of him at that moment. Liu Qingbo thought it was a short circuit that caused the light to become unstable, but then a muffled sound filled his ears.

It seems to be… thunder? The sun was shining brightly all day without a cloud in the sky. Where did this thunder come from?

The thought just appeared in his mind, and in the next moment, he saw a thunderbolt pass by the top of his head and strike the gray shadow, leaving behind a loud booming noise! The heavenly lightning was not big, at most its size was as thick as a baby’s arm, but the brightness was enough for everyone to subconsciously close their eyes.

The gray shadow slowly dispersed as it was struck by the lightning. Its outstretched arms were inches away from grabbing Chi Banxia’s hair. Chi Banxia was in shock as she gasped heavily, still digesting the fact that she had escaped death.

Li Ying and others looked around, seeing a young man’s face getting paler as it was illuminated by the flash of lightning.

He held a magic talisman in one hand and a sword in the other. After he summoned the thunder, he didn’t have the strength anymore to hold up his sword as his wrists hung down, causing the tip of the sword to lean diagonally against the ground. Using it as a support, Dong Zhi leaned on the sword and breathed heavily. Sweat covered his hair as it flowed down his temples. He staggered back a few steps and leant against the wall like a prostrated figure.

Looking up, he saw that Gu Meiren was staring at him, so he cracked a smile and joked, “Am I awesome or what?”

Gu Meiren laughed. “Awesome!” She hadn’t looked down on Dong Zhi, so she wasn’t particularly surprised by his feat, though that couldn’t be said for Liu Qingbo and Li Ying.

As their shock subsided, even if he was unwilling, Liu Qingbo had to admit that this ordinary person, who he thought wasn’t qualified to become Long Shen’s apprentice when they first met, had some capabilities in him.

“Dong Zhi, I didn’t expect you to hide such a thing. You know the Five Thunder Law¹ technique!” Li Ying panted and gave him a smile.

As someone born on Mount Maoshan, it was natural he would’ve learned the Five Thunder Law technique¹, though Maoshan calls it the Five Thunder Command¹. The name was different depending on the sect, but it was pretty much the same spell; one that attracted heavenly thunder that could slay monsters and demons.

¹Clarity: There are 3 terms so far for this technique. The Hezao Sect calls it the Five Thunder Talisman [wu lei fu] (五雷符). When Li Ying mentions it for the first time, he calls it Five Thunder Law/Dharma [wu lei zheng fa] (五雷正法). The Maoshan Sect calls it Five Thunder Command [wu lei ling fu] (五雷令符). || I’m assuming Five Thunder Law is what it’s commonly known as, while other sects give it their own name. I’ll be translating it as how it’s referred to in the original text but note that they all refer to the same technique.

In Maoshan, it was also stipulated that only disciples who had been in the sect for more than five years would be taught this technique and could start practicing it. It was relatively rare for an outsider to be taught so casually. This was also the reason why the Hezao Sect had declined, as they were relatively lax in their rules. This kind of thing would never occur in strict sects like Maoshan or Longhu.

But in any case, it was one thing to learn the Five Thunder Law technique, but it was another thing to be able to use it. Li Ying thought his skills at using talismans were much deeper than the shallow knowledge that Dong Zhi possessed, but he only had one Five Thunder Talisman on him, which was drawn by his father. Under such circumstances at that time, he was unprepared as he had never thought about using it, mainly because he didn’t think he was able to use it.

However, if Li Ying only knew how drained and exhausted Dong Zhi was and that he wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed on the surface, his evaluation probably wouldn’t be so high.

Under the lingering thunder, the black shadow that belonged to a demon had disappeared. Wang Qi was now dead, and her soul was masterless. Under the power of heaven, since it was entangled with a demon, it was naturally destroyed, turning into dust.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they all collapsed on the ground. Li Ying took out his phone as it had been vibrating nonstop, but he hadn’t time to check as they were handling more important matters. Now that he got the chance to look, he saw he had over a hundred missed calls. It was from Cheng Yuan and the others.

He called them back and their voices sounded extremely anxious, as if they knew something had happened. Li Ying didn’t want them all to run to the rooftop of the hospital and attract unwanted attention, so he told them to meet up with Hui Yiguang’s assistant and picked them up from the hospital. When he hung up, they all carried Hui Yiguang down.

During this battle, not only was the talisman array deployed, but there was thunder and lightning from the sky. Such movements were not small, and they quickly attracted the attention of the security guards. When they came up, they were surprised as they saw Li Ying carrying on unconscious with Hui Yiguang on his back. Li Ying and the others had no choice but to find an excuse, saying she was in a bad mental state and was contemplating suicide. After being questioned for a bit, the guards let them go.

Cheng Yuan and the others had been waiting anxiously at the entrance of the hospital for a long time and finally saw Li Ying and the others appear with Hui Yiguang. Finally, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“What happened?” One person said.

Everyone was worn out from the fight, and no one had the strength to speak. Li Ying reluctantly raised his spirits and recounted the story. Hui Yiguang’s assistant’s face turned pale with fright after hearing it.

“How can you tell the security guard that Yiguang wanted to commit suicide! The gossip magazines will be all over this!” A woman in the car said angrily.

Xiao Han hurriedly introduced her. “This is Mary Jie, Hui Jie’s agent!”

Li Ying said coldly, “We only guarantee her life and safety. As for her reputation, that’s for you guys to worry about!”

The agent was speechless and could only glare at Li Ying fiercely as she helped Hui Yiguang into the car.

Li Ying said to Cheng Yuan again. “Her soul is unstable, so she may need some repairs to her soul.”

Cheng Yuan nodded. “I see. Leave it to me.” This was something he specialized in, and as a psychic, this thing would naturally be a cinch for him.

There were too many people to fit in the car, and they didn’t want to go back with Hui Yiguang and her agent, so Dong Zhi and the others bid their farewells and parted ways. On the drive back, Dong Zhi fell asleep in the taxi and was woken up by the driver when they had reached his destination.

He got out of the car groggily, feeling the aftermath of the battle. Summoning heavenly thunder took a lot out of him, as his entire body was weak and sore, and he felt like he was getting a fever. When he touched his forehead, it didn’t seem to be very hot. He walked to the back door of the Special Administration Bureau with a heavy head.

The uncle was still there, guarding the door, sitting with his arms around his neck. Dong Zhi had never seen him playing games on a phone or even listening to music like other standard gatekeepers. He was now familiar with him since he passed by him often, so he greeted the uncle and went inside.

The gatekeeper raised his eyes slightly and glanced at him. Seeing that his face looked pale and fragile, the uncle, who rarely spoke, asked, “Are you okay?”

Dong Zhi was in such a daze that he didn’t even know what he said. He just vaguely remembered that he waved goodbye politely to the uncle as he entered the building. When he walked up the stairs, he felt that they were endless. Step by step, he slowly trudged as if he was stepping on clouds as the same thought replayed over and over in his head. ‘Why is there no elevator? Why is there no elevator? Why is there no elevator?’

He wanted to cry as he kept climbing until he couldn’t any longer. He collapsed on the stairs and thought that it would be fine if he just slept there. Vaguely, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming. Seeing a figure lying on the stairs like this would surprise anyone.

“What happened to make you like this?”

The familiar voice made him barely open his eyes as he tried to answer hazily. After a while, he suddenly thought the voice seemed to belong to Long Shen.

“Boss Long?”

“It’s me.”

Dong Zhi leaned back on the steps and said softly, “I’m sorry, I can’t walk anymore. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

Long Shen: “The matter is resolved?”

Dong Zhi said weakly, “Sort of…”

Thinking of it, it raised his spirits as he said, “You’re just in time. I have something to report to you! This time, it seems we have encountered demons again.”

Long Shen said, “Let’s go back and talk.”

Dong Zhi felt it was a bit ridiculous to lie on the stairs and give a report, but at that moment he couldn’t stand up.

“Then wait a bit. My legs are a little bit too soft now, so let me catch my breath for a sec.”

Long Shen stretched out his hand and grabbed Dong Zhi’s arms. Dong Zhi thought that he wanted to help him, so he quickly tried to get up. Who knew that Long Shen suddenly lifted him up as one of his arms held his back while the other lay firmly on the back of his thighs*.

*Clarity: think princess carry.

“Don’t move.”

Long Shen carried him up the stairs, step by step. His hold was steady, and he moved fast. Under the lights of the night, two figures were seen, and the sound of footsteps could be heard, sketching a dream that would never end.

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The author has something to say:

I’m sorry, Xiao Dong Zhi. When I read the last scene, I suddenly remember the words: Zhu Bajie carrying his daughter-in-law*…

*(猪八戒背媳妇) Refers to Journey to the West where Zhu Baije carries a beautiful lady on his back but ended up with naught. It’s an allegory referring to thankless hard work.

Dong Zhi: (╯’□’)╯︵┻━┻

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Kinky Thoughts:

Three Swords of Feijing (飞景三剑)

Also called [Baipi Baojian] (百辟宝剑) were 3 swords commissioned by Emperor Wen of Wei/Cao Pi. They each have their own names:

1. Feijing Sword – Was like a shooting star. It’s 4 feet and 2 inches long and weighs about a pound and 15 taels.
2. Luicai Sword – The color is like a rainbow. It’s 4 feet and 2 inches long, 1 catty (11/3 lbs) and 14 taels.
3. Huafeng – Decorated with jade and the hilt is made from a rhino’s horn. It’s 4 feet and 2 inches long.

—

Gan Jiang and Mo Ye

Were a swordsmith couple, discussed in the literature involving the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Some aspects of this material may be considered historical; others are certainly mythological. A pair of swords was forged by and named after them.

According to the historical text Wuyue Chunqiu, King Helü of Wu ordered Gan Jiang and Mo Ye to forge a pair of swords for him in three months. However, the blast furnace failed to melt the metal. Mo Ye suggested that there was insufficient human qi in the furnace, so the couple cut their hair and nails and cast them into the furnace, while 300 children helped to blow air into the bellows. In another account, Mo Ye sacrificed herself to increase human qi by throwing herself into the furnace. The desired result was achieved after three years, and the two swords were named after the couple. Gan Jiang kept the male sword, Ganjiang, for himself and presented the female sword, Moye, of the pair to the king. The king was already very displeased since he ordered the sword made in three months’ time but Ganjiang did not come back in three years, when he discovered Gan Jiang had kept the male sword, he was angered and had Gan Jiang killed.

Before his death, Gan Jiang had already predicted the king’s reaction, so he left behind a message for Mo Ye and their unborn son telling them where he had hidden the Ganjiang Sword. Several months later, Mo Ye gave birth to Gan Jiang’s son, Chi (赤), and years later she told him his father’s story. Chi was eager to avenge his father and he sought the Ganjiang Sword. At the same time, the king dreamed of a youth who desired to kill him, and, in fear, he placed a bounty on the youth’s head. Chi was indignant and, filled with anguish, he started crying on his way to enact his vengeance. An assassin found Chi, who told the assassin his story. The assassin then suggested that Chi surrender his head and sword, and the assassin himself will avenge Ganjiang in Chi’s place. He did as tell and committed suicide. The assassin was moved and decided to help Chi fulfill his quest.

The assassin severed Chi’s head and brought it, along with the Ganjiang sword to the overjoyed king. The king was however uncomfortable with Chi’s head staring at him, and the assassin asked the king to have Chi’s head boiled, but Chi’s head was still staring at the king even after 40 days without any sign of decomposition, thus the assassin told the king that he needed to take a closer look and stare back in order for the head to decompose under the power of the king. The king bent over the cauldron and the assassin seized the opportunity to decapitate him, his head falling into the cauldron alongside Chi’s. The assassin then cut off his own head, which also fell into the boiling water. The flesh on the heads was boiled away such that none of the guards could recognize which head belonged to whom. The guards and vassals decided since all three should be honored as kings (With Chi and the assassin being so brave and loyal). The three heads were eventually buried together at Yichun County, Runan, Henan, and the grave is called “Tomb of Three Kings”.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 37

The park was open at all hours of the day. Since it was in the middle of the night, all was quiet and the streetlights were dim, occasionally shining their light on the homeless and destitute. The bushes were rustling, and they weren’t sure whether it was an animal or possibly a couple coming to seek excitement.

Li Ying carried a small compass in his hand as he led the way. He would glance at it from time to time.

During the day, the tree-lined park gave off a romantic feeling during the summer and autumn months as their leaves scattered around, attracting many local residents who would come to take pictures. At night, the scene was very different, perhaps due to the current psychological effect they were under. Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren both felt the surroundings were particularly gloomy.

The park was large. Li Ying turned along the street into a small grove nearby, then crossed a steep grassy hill before arriving at an artificial lake. He suddenly stopped.

Everyone subconsciously looked at the compass in their hand and saw that the compass needle was stuck and wasn’t moving. Li Ying turned in a few directions while he shook the compass vigorously, but the needle didn’t respond.

“How strange,” he murmured.

Several people raised their heads and looked around. The artificial lake was so large that they couldn’t see the other end. There were lights by the lake, but the brightness was not enough for them to see things clearly.

“What should we do now? Did anyone else bring a compass?” Liu Qingbo asked.

Dong Zhi shook his head. Although he was considered a disciple of the Hezao Sect, it was only in name, and he didn’t develop the habit of using compasses. At that moment, Gu Meiren took out a short stick from her backpack and walked towards the lake. She put the stick to her mouth and started playing.

Through the dim streetlights, Dong Zhi realized that it was actually a small flute that looked lush and green, similar to that of a bamboo flute. The sound was not a familiar tone, but still melodious, and it could be heard from far away in the silent night. Suddenly, a small snake appeared, slithering across the grass towards where Gu Meiren was standing.

“Be careful!”

Gu Meiren remained motionless and continued playing the flute without stopping. The small snake did not attack her but instead straightened up its upper body and started hissing, as if it was communicating with her.

The sound of the flute became shorter, and a little while after, the little snake turned around and left. Gu Meiren put down her flute and said, “It should be over there. Come with me!”

Liu Qingbo thoughtfully asked, “My mother said that in Mengxiu county, in Ruili, there’s a flute fairy who can attract insects with music. Do you know of her?”

Gu Meiren smiled and said, “That should be my grandmother, but she’s not a flute fairy. That’s just flattery from the villagers.”

The four of them went around most of the lake until they ran into a body lying not far away.

“Is that Chi Banxia?” Li Ying was the first to identify her.

Everyone quickly ran over and found that Chi Banxia was completely submerged in water from below her chest. Her whole body was in a state of semi-consciousness. If it hadn’t been for one of her hands gripping tightly to the dirt nearby, she would’ve sunk into the depths a long time ago.

Her fingers on her right hand gripped the ground so tightly that the surrounding area was a mess. There was grass uprooted everywhere, showing signs of an intense struggle. When everyone rescued her, they found that her other hand was still submerged in the water. Her hand was wrapped around a large group of aquatic plants, and there were stones tied to them. It seems she was trying to tear them apart, but in the end, it was futile.

Gu Meiren tried giving her artificial resuscitation, but to no avail.

“What should I do?”

“I’ll do it.” Li Ying said. He pressed his hands on both sides of Chi Banxia’s temples and yelled, “Ha!”

Chi Banxia’s body shook slightly, and after a while, she slowly came to. She looked at everyone in a daze, confused about her current situation.

“Chi Banxia!” Li Ying patted her cheek. “How are you? Can you hear us?”

Chi Banxia slightly nodded, then coughed violently. Gu Meiren helped her up and brushed her back.

“Cough, cough!” She coughed so intensely that tears came out.

Li Ying: “Where’s Hui Yiguang? Didn’t you guys go out together? Did she also fall into the lake?”

“I don’t know…” Chi Banxia took a breath and began recounting what happened.

Hui Yiguang insisted on going out to buy face masks in the middle of the night. This behavior in and of itself was abnormal, but Chi Banxia had known her for years and knew she was obsessed with beauty products, so it wasn’t too surprising. Hui Yiguang said that the nearby supermarkets didn’t have the brand she wanted, so she had to drive to another place to buy it. As the car drove further and further away from the hotel, Chi Banxia sensed something was off, so she hurriedly asked her to stop the car. Hui Yiguang pulled to the side of the road and obediently followed her directions.

Chi Banxia said, “Stop. Let’s go back quickly.”

Then she heard Hui Yiguang slowly say, “Go back? Where are you planning to go back to?”

Chi Banxia was stunned as she looked at Hui Yiguang, who also turned her head and smiled strangely at her.

“Hui Yiguang!” Chi Banxia yelled before she quickly acted. She stretched out her hand and tried to knock Hui Yiguang out but was stopped by her opponent. Hui Yiguang, who was always weak, suddenly had amazing strength that was able to fiercely push Chi Banxia away. She opened the car door and walked out.

Not caring for the severe pain in her arm, Chi Banxia quickly hurried to catch up.

“What happened after?!” Liu Qingbo asked hurriedly.

Chi Banxia coughed. “Later, I saw her running towards the lake. She was about to jump into it, so I hurriedly rushed forward to catch her. Who knew that she was so heavy that I was almost dragged down by her? I don’t know what happened afterwards…”

There were clear marks of five fingerprints on her arm that had already turned dark purple and black. This situation was like an eagle who has been training for a lifetime and was blinded by the eagle*. A dignified witch doctor was actually plotted against. It would be extremely shameful if it were to get out, so Chi Banxia was full of anger and hatred.

*Refers to being in a field that one’s most familiar with only to be calculated against by those familiar people (AKA lost at what you do best).

“I’ve put a tracking curse on Hui Yiguang, so I should be able to sense where she is. Come with me!” She tried her best to get up as Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren assisted her.

In her condition, it would be too slow to move forward like this, so Dong Zhi said, “I’ll carry you. Just show us the way. Let’s go!”

Chi Banxia had no objection. She was barely alive at this point and had no real strength, so she pointed in the direction while on Dong Zhi’s back. Everyone followed it and walked on the path next to the lake for a while. Chi Banxia kept pointing to keep moving forward. Li Ying suddenly said, “If I remember correctly, there is a side gate from the park that leads to a hospital.”

Liu Qingbo took out his phone and opened a map app. “The fourth district hospital?”

Chi Banxia closed her eyes and meditated for a while, then opened her eyes again. “Yes, she’s in the hospital. It should be on the… fifth floor.”

Everyone no longer hesitated. They all rushed to the hospital. The fifth floor was the inpatient department. When several people hurried over, it alarmed the nurse who was on night watch. She got up frowning and said, “Who are you people? Visiting hours are not allowed right now. You’re disturbing our patient’s rest!”

Li Ying hurriedly said, “We are not here to visit patients. We’re looking for someone. Did a young woman come here just now? She’s very beautiful and was dressed in gray clothes!”

The nurse said, vigilantly, “I’m calling security since it seems you people have nothing better to do!”

Li Ying smiled bitterly. “She is Hui Yiguang, and we are her friends. She recently encountered something in her life, so she’s confused and in a bad mood. We’re afraid something had happened to her. We have been with her all this time, but she suddenly ran out. Can you tell us where she went?!”

“So it turns out she was Hui Yiguang!” The nurse said, with surprise. “No wonder she looked so familiar! She went to see the patient in room 5109. She said it was her friend.”

“Who’s in 5109? Can we visit them as well?” Li Ying said.

The nurse shook her head. “I didn’t let her in just now since it’s past visiting hours and she wasn’t a relative of the patient.”

Dong Zhi put Chi Banxia down. She closed her eyes, then opened them again and shouted categorically, though her voice was still weak, “No, she’s been there!”

Dong Zhi asked, “What about now?”

Chi Banxia frowned, her expression gradually showing pain. “Wait, I’ll look…”

Meanwhile, Li Ying called her assistant and asked her who was in room 5109 of the hospital and how it was related to Hui Yiguang. At this time, everyone had faintly guessed that there was some hidden secret that Hui Yiguang had been hiding from them.

Chi Banxia held her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly stretched out her hand and shook it in front of the two nurses on duty. The expressions of the two suddenly change. Chi Banxia shouted, “I cast a coverup! They’ll treat us as if we don’t exist, so hurry and go to 5109!”

To Gu Meiren’s and Dong Zhi’s surprise, the two nurses really lowered their heads and continued to do their jobs as if they hadn’t seen them.

Liu Qingbo: “Is this spiritual descent*?”

*(灵降) A kind of head taming technique that uses one’s willpower to make the victim hallucinate or lose consciousness and do unimaginably strange things. Practitioners are usually called descendants. || Note: I’ll be referring to her as a witch doctor going forward, as head-taming master sounds too weird. I’ll also be translating head-taming as witchcraft as well. See my Kinky Thoughts for details.

Chi Banxia smiled but did not deny it, simply saying, “It’s time limited and will automatically lift after a while. When I was sensing Hui Yiguang, I felt some mishap had happened to her. We need to go to 5109 to have a look before I can further confirm her whereabouts.”

If it weren’t for the paleness of her face, the smile she had now would look much sweeter and more moving.

On the way to 5109, Li Ying put down the phone and said to them, “The name of the patient in 5109 is Wang Qi. She’s also an actress but got into a car accident a month ago that left her in a vegetative state.”

Dong Zhi asked, “What’s her relation to Hui Yiguang?”

Li Ying said, “I heard that the two used to have a good friendship. They lived together for a while when they first entered the entertainment industry, but parted ways somehow. Xiao Han didn’t know all the details, but rumors have it that Wang Qi’s ex-boyfriend is Hui Yiguang’s current boyfriend.”

Could it be emotional entanglement? Everyone started to have traces of doubt in their hearts.

Liu Qingbo asked Chi Banxia, “Didn’t Hui Yiguang tell you anything?”

Chi Banxia smiled bitterly. “No, I don’t mix in their circle. I only met her again after I came to Beijing.”

“5109! There!” Gu Meiren said.

It was a double room. Taking the lead, Li Ying pushed the door open. There wasn’t any sound inside. On the bed closest to the door, lay an old man who was sound asleep. There was also a nurse dozing off next to him. To avoid alerting them and attracting unnecessary trouble, Chi Banxia waved her hand and, just as before, put them into deep slumber.

A young woman lay there on the inner bed. Her head was shaved, and she had a haggard expression, but everyone could vaguely tell that her face was beautiful, but strangely, the monitoring system next to her had been turned off.

She was also wearing a mulberry flower ring on her hand. The style was so unique that it would make people do a double take. Her medical records were hanging next to it. The name on them was Wang Qi.

Li Ying’s heart sank as he sensed something foreboding. He took two steps forward and pressed his fingers on the artery of the woman’s neck. His complexion drastically changed as he whispered, “I can’t sense a pulse!”

Everyone was shocked.

Dong Zhi suddenly said, “Wait!”

He quickly grabbed Li Ying’s arm to prevent him from touching the surface of the bed, then pointed to the area next to the pillow and said, “There’s an indentation here. Someone must’ve been here recently!”

Li Ying gestured. “It’s a woman’s palm.”

That should be Hui Yiguang.

Gu Meiren: “We must quickly find Hui Yiguang!”

This, of course, was obvious to everyone present, but the question was: Where did Hui Yiguang go? The nurse just said she didn’t let her in, so how did she get in? Is it possible that, like them, she had some kind of mysterious ability?

Li Ying frowned. “Could it be that she came here specifically to kill Wang Qi?”

They would’ve gone to the police a long time ago if it weren’t for the fact that Hui Yiguang was able to suppress a witchdoctor, which gave them pause.

At that moment, Li Ying’s phone rang. He answered it, spoke a few words, but most of the time just listened to the other end. After a few minutes, he hung up and his face became uglier and more serious.

“That was Hui Yiguang’s agent. I asked Xiao Han to look into the matter between Hui Yiguang and Wang Qi. Hui Yiguang’s current boyfriend did date Wang Qi, but according to Hui Yiguang, they only dated after he broke up with her. It was through Wang Qi’s recommendation that she landed the opportunity to star in her breakout film. Furthermore, the two injured assistants who came into misfortune were related to Wang Qi as well. The first one was injured after she was told by Hui Yiguang to go warn Wang Qi not to try anything after their falling out. The second that had the car accident was told by Hui Yiguang to visit Wang Qi in the hospital.”

Liu Qingbo surmised, “So, those two assistants are indeed related to Wang Qi.”

Combined with the strange things that were happening to Hui Yiguang and coupled with her weird behavior when she suddenly came to the hospital late at night, all the clues invariably pointed in the same direction.

“Is it because Wang Qi’s dead and her resentment is too hard to dispel that it’s lingering and disturbing Hui Yiguang’s tranquility? Wang Qi wanted to take revenge, but because we were there, she couldn’t get close, so she had to act out and make a big move?”

Dong Zhi said, “But Cheng Yuan said before that Hui Yiguang was clean and there was no ghost with lingering resentment stuck to her. Besides, Wang Qi is still lying here, indicating that she must’ve been breathing just now.”

Gu Meiren exclaimed in a low voice, “The soul! Before we came, Wang Qi hadn’t died yet. Her soul was separated from her body, and she became a living soul so that’s why Cheng Yuan didn’t notice it at that time!”

Almost at the same time, Liu Qingbo also said, “So that’s why Hui Yiguang said she always felt that someone was watching her!”

Li Ying frowned and said, “How could a living soul have such great energy? Even Chi Banxia was confused, hallucinated, and almost died!”

Dong Zhi tried to speculate on the situation. “Regardless of whether the living soul is capable or not, if Wang Qi’s living soul entangles with Hui Yiguang and could even control her body, what would she do?”

Liu Qingbo continued, “If she hadn’t been discovered by us, she would definitely live under the identity of Hui Yiguang. She would first take revenge, then take everything belonging to Hui Yiguang. But now that we have traced it to her, she most likely knows that she’s been exposed. Since the truth will come out sooner or later, it’s better to just…”

Gu Meiren said in a low voice, “Let Hui Yiguang’s body commit suicide, and no one will gain anything from it!”

There were many ways to commit suicide. There was no shortage of equipment inside a hospital, but the ward was more secure, and the windows had guardrails. The most likely thing to do is to run to the park and jump into the lake, but that would be too far away. It would be better to choose a faster and more convenient way.

Chi Banxia had been closing her eyes tightly just now, trying to sense Hui Yiguang’s location. She suddenly opened her eyes and shouted, “The rooftop! She’s on the rooftop!”

Everyone exchanged glances before fleeing the ward.

Dong Zhi grabbed Li Ying. “We suddenly appeared, and Wang Qi died afterwards. The surveillance must’ve recorded it.” It would be difficult to explain this situation once the investigation happened afterwards.

Li Ying said, “It’s fine. When we came in, I used a trick to make the monitoring system fail. To be safe, I’ll ask the Special Administration Bureau to intervene, but we need to focus on our target first!”

These days, the hospital was afraid of unstable patients who were short-sighted, so they installed an iron gate that led to the rooftop that was locked all year round. When the group got there, they found that the lock had been opened and the door was ajar. It was obvious that someone had been through it.

Everyone rushed up and looked around, only to find a figure that was walking towards the water tank. The figure was stumbling in a weird walking and stopping pattern, as if someone was dragging it towards something while also resisting moving towards it. It seems as if the figure was fighting a battle between heaven and earth.

“Yiguang!” Chi Banxia shouted.

Liu Qingbo flipped the switch on the wall and all the lights on the rooftop turned on. Hui Yiguang turned her head around abruptly!

Half of her face was crying miserably, looking at them with a surprised expression, but the other half was indifferent and numb. Her eyes were full of resentment and hatred. Witnessing the combination of two very different expressions on the same face at the same time was too strange and chilling.

“Help me! Save me!” Hui Yiguang said, as one corner of her mouth twitched. Tears continued to flow out of her left eye. “I don’t want to die…”

“Wang Qi!” Li Ying said solemnly. “We know it’s you. Let’s talk!”

Hui Yiguang suddenly grinned. “Do you want to save her? You can’t. I’m slowly merging with her, and soon, I will become her and she will become me. You can’t save her now.”

The calm and relaxed tone of voice was different from Hui Yiguang’s usual manner of speech, as if she was a completely different person.

“No! I don’t want to merge with you! Wang Qi, I beg you. Leave. This is my body! I’ll give you as much money as you want! I’ll treat you better. I beg you, just please leave!” Hui Yiguang pleaded.

Li Ying and the others could see that her consciousness had not been completely swallowed up yet. It was like two souls were pulling a saw across Hui Yiguang’s body, fighting for dominance.

Dong Zhi quietly held the Qingzhu Sword behind him and slowly drew the sword out of its sheath while the other hand reached into his pocket and squeezed a talisman. Looking around at the others, they were all on guard.

“My body has long been broken! If it weren’t for you, how could I become like this! On the first day you came to Beijing, you couldn’t even pay rent. If it weren’t for my kindness to take you in, where would you have stayed! You couldn’t even land a role and could only apply to become an extra. I gave you the chance and got you a supporting role! But how did you repay me?! You stole my boyfriend and repeatedly slandered me on the internet! As a result, you ruined my reputation, and now no one wants me and I’ve lost all my endorsements!” Hui Yiguang roared, spilling out all of Wang Qi’s resentment.

“I didn’t! I didn’t steal your boyfriend!” Hui Yiguang’s voice suddenly changed to the one everyone was familiar with. “He told me that he liked me, but I didn’t accept it because I knew you guys were dating. It was after he broke up with you that he started chasing me!”

The two souls huddled in one body as they confronted each other. The same sounds, voice, movement, and expression all changed as each soul spoke. The whole situation was indescribably weird.

Wang Qi sneered, expressed on one half of Hui Yiguang’s face. “You didn’t promise him, but your words were ambiguous. You flirted with him and dropped hints everywhere! You’re a slut who repays kindness with revenge!”

Hui Yiguang’s body screamed, “I didn’t! I’m different from them. They all rely on their gold masters* while I didn’t do anything like this!”

*Basically, a backer who provides financial support/influence for the artist in exchange for (usually) sex or other kinds of physical or emotional affection/favors.

Wang Qi cackled as if she’d heard some kind of joke. “So you’re more noble than others! I treated you as a friend and told you about my past, yet you used it against me and revealed it to the media. If it weren’t for you, would I be this devastated?!”

Hui Yiguang: “That’s because you have offended too many people. It’s none of my business! Please let me go. I’ll treat you well. Qiqi, aren’t we best friends?”

Wang Qi scoffed, as if she didn’t want to admit she was wrong and completely lost interest in the confrontation. “Being friends with you is the last thing I regret in my life. A bitch like you should just stay quiet, resting in your own body while watching as I live your life and you can’t do anything about it!”

Li Ying sensed something bad and interrupted the heated argument between them. “Wang Qi! Now that you are dead, you should go and reincarnate with peace of mind. If you steal others’ bodies, you will be punished by heavenly thunder! If you continue to be obsessed with this, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Hui Yiguang remained motionless. Instead of fear when she heard his threat, she smiled and said slowly, “You can’t get rid of me unless you kill Hui Yiguang.”

“Not necessarily!” Liu Qingbo suddenly moved, and instantly got behind Hui Yiguang. He pounced on her and, with a flick of his wrist, a stick with a sharp blade attached at the end suddenly lengthened, piercing Hui Yiguang.

Though she originally looked weak and dainty, she somehow became increasingly agile. Not only did she dodge Liu Qingbo’s attack, but she also managed to turn her defense into an offense as she fought with him completely empty-handed. Her strength increased so drastically that she was able to kick Liu Qingbo at his waist, causing him to retreat.

Li Ying took the opportunity and threw a talisman with his backhand. Instead of landing on the ground, it fluttered and burned in mid-air, sweeping towards Hui Yiguang. Then Dong Zhi and Li Ying made their move. One of them surrounded Hui Yiguang and formed an array around the entire rooftop, while the other assisted Liu Qingbo trying to trap Hui Yiguang with the talisman.

The array Dong Zhi was forming was the same as when they dealt with the Archfiend on Tianyuan Building. Its role was to form a barrier on the rooftop to prevent Wang Qi’s soul from escaping. After the events he had gone through, he had more practical combat experience and was more efficient in arranging the array. Using the compass app on his phone, he was able to calculate the approximate position immediately. Gu Meiren went to relock the iron gate to prevent innocent people from straying in.

Unfortunately, Li Ying missed. When the talisman was about to be affixed to Hui Yiguang, she stretched out her hand and grabbed it, crushing it fiercely in her palm. The burning flame didn’t seem to cause her to react.

Li Ying was in utter shock. The talisman caught fire because he used yang fire that was his own yang qi to ignite it. His yang merged with the gallbladder* of the talisman causing the talisman to burn spontaneously for a short period of time. This kind of fire couldn’t be extinguished by humans so easily. It could only be put out either by the yang qi being overwhelmed by the yin qi or rain from the heavens. Yet somehow, Hui Yiguang was able to crush the talisman so casually.

*Reminder: This is one of the five elements of a talisman that represents the doorway to the talisman. See lore glossary for details.

“Who the hell are you?!” He yelled.

“I am a person who has been harmed by Hui Yiguang. If you can accept a bitch like her but not me, then you’re not a very good person either!” Hui Yiguang’s face was grim as she spoke.

Li Ying said angrily, “It’s not up to you to decide if she’s good or bad. The way of heaven is constant, its cycle endless. You cannot escape from self-inflicted sins*!”

*This is part of If God commits evil, you can still violate it. If you commit evil yourself, you cannot live. (天作孽，犹可违；自作孽，不可活) It’s basically saying follow the rules and laws of God. Unless he commits them, you’re not allowed to.

Gu Meiren suddenly discovered that Hui Yiguang’s original expression was slowly being eroded away. It was estimated that it wouldn’t be long before her soul would be overtaken by Wang Qi and she would have complete control over her body.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel rushed, desperately trying to find a way to delay her opponent. She took out her flute and tried to use it to confuse her opponent, but as soon as she started to play, Hui Yiguang suddenly looked at her with fierce eyes as her figure dashed towards Gu Meiren.

As soon as Hui Yiguang moved, Liu Qingbo and Li Ying followed. One was holding a talisman while the other was holding a stick, trying to stop Hui Yiguang from two directions. This didn’t deter her movements at all as she kept moving forward and whisked them away with her bare hands.

The talisman was stopped by an invisible wall in the air while Liu Qingbo’s stick was grabbed by her other hand. She had such strength that she managed to drag Liu Qingbo a few steps forward!

Liu Qingbo gave a muffled huff as his wrist shook slightly. He suddenly pulled his hand back, and with a clang, everyone realized that the black stick was actually a scabbard. In his hand was a slender and sharp sword, similar to a western sword*, except the sword body was straight and sharp and was slightly glowing with blue light.

*Clarity: It’s referencing a fencing sword (foil, épée, or sabre in order of the picture). Note that it’s not a western sword though, as we’ll find out later what it really is.

Hui Yiguang threw the scabbard to the side as Liu Qingbo held up his sword and the two fought, yet Hui Yiguang didn’t retreat in the slightest step.

Li Ying tied seals with both hands and threw four talismans in an instant. They turn into four golden lights and shoot out like sharp arrows. Judging from the look of pain on his face, these four talismans must be of great value.

The four golden lights entered Hui Yiguang’s body, and she screamed. Liu Qingbo took the opportunity to stab her in the chest as he shouted, “Evil, come out!”

As the sword was drawn out of Hui Yiguang’s body, a mass of white shaped like a human figure fell out. The light mass kept shaking, but the face couldn’t be clearly seen as it kept tumbling around on the ground.

Hui Yiguang stagged a few steps before falling to the ground, holding her arms with both hands as she cried miserably.

“Is that Wang Qi? Is she gone?”

Liu Qingbo raised his sword and was about to stab the white light.

“Wait!”

A scabbard suddenly appeared from beside him, covering Liu Qingbo’s sword.

Liu Qingbo glared at him and shouted, “Get out of the way!”

Dong Zhi said solemnly, “How do you know that that is Wang Qi?”

With his docile and soft face, it usually wasn’t very overwhelming when he spoke, but in this moment, as he asked that question, everyone was stunned as they looked at Hui Yiguang, who was still trembling.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Two girls fighting over a guy… A tale as old as time. Just a life lesson, but in general the person that you’re fighting over is usually never worth it. Thank U, Next.

P.S. Don’t be a shitty friend and date your supposedly “best friend” ex. (I’m not taking Wang Qi’s side either cause she be cray as well.)

—

While it may be a controversial decision, I’m going to westernize some of these titles in order to help me better remember what they are as I translate.

Chi Banxia would be equivalent to something like a witch doctor/witch that practices witchcraft (head taming). From the description of a head-taming master/descendent, they are split into black and white magic. Witch doctors can cast curses but can also lift them and cure ailments (thus the doctor part). I think this is a more fitting translation than “head-taming master” or “descendent”, so I’m going with this. Shaman would also be fitting too, I think. Her other skills at controlling people are very similar to voodoo, which falls in line with a witchdoctor’s abilities.

In the same vein, head taming techniques are basically just witchcraft (but not in the sense that they’re inherently evil). So, I’ll be using the western equivalent.

Cheng Yuan is considered a warlock/sorcerer but, due to religious taboo, calls himself a psychic. I do not know the extent of his abilities yet to decide on his title, so I’ll stick to what the translation is for now.

Li Ying and Liu Qingbo seem to be your average Taoists who use talismans and such. Though Liu Qingbo seems to know things about poison since his mother is a famous gu practitioner. Either way, I’m undecided on their roles, so I’ll stick to what’s translated for now.

Gu Meiren and Ba Sang seem to be able to communicate with animals. Not sure what kind of English equivalent that is just yet. Most likely they are in the same vein as a druid and such, but I won’t make any decisions on that just yet.

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Spiritual Descent (灵降)

A kind of head taming technique that uses one’s willpower to make the victim hallucinate or lose consciousness and do unimaginably strange things. This kind of ability must be performed with many spells. The effect is very fast, and it can control a person’s will in an instant.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 36

Xiao Han turned pale with fright and said to everyone, “Can I trouble everyone to go back with me to have a look?”

Chi Banxia also made the request as well. While Li Ying could ignore Xiao Han, he needed to give Chi Banxia some face, so everyone headed back to the hotel. When Xiao Han knocked on the door, it took a while before Hui Yiguang opened it with trepidation.

Her face was even more terrified than before. She looked frightened beyond her wits. When she saw Chi Banxia, she rushed over and hugged her, crying.

“Hui Jie, are you okay?!” Xiao Han asked anxiously.

Hui Yiguang sobbed. “After you left, I was too sleepy, so I laid on the bed and closed my eyes for a while. Who knew that as soon as I fell asleep, I dreamed of being choked by someone. When I woke up, I saw the curtains were not drawn, so I got up and walked towards the window. When I was about to close it it…”

She pointed in the direction of the master bedroom. “I saw the roof of the high-rise building opposite of me, someone standing there facing me as if he had been looking at me!”

Everyone ran into the bedroom to take a look. The curtains were indeed not drawn, and the light from outside leaked in. The presidential suite was located on the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the night view of the bustling city. Below, the lights were bright and you could see the top floors of several nearby buildings, but there was no sign of the figure that Hui Yiguang spoke of.

For fear that the others would not believe her, she pulled off the silk scarf she’d been wearing and showed her neck to them. “This is the place that I was choked in my dreams. Look!”

On her fair neck was a shocking mark of five fingerprints that were red and purple. This was something that couldn’t be done by yourself.

“The person you saw, was it a man or woman?” Liu Qingbo asked.

Hui Yiguang said uncertainly, “It seems to be a woman. I can only see her wearing white clothes.”

Dong Zhi suddenly said, “Miss Hui, can you tell me about your first two assistants and what you had them do? After you switch to the third assistant, she has been fine all this time, yet your first two encountered accidents. Do you know why? Have you offended anyone?”

Hui Yiguang frowned slightly. Despite her looks, she was still amazingly beautiful, a testament to why she became so popular. But then again, her appearance is stunning compared to the average person, but wasn’t an uncommon sight in the entertainment industry. To stand out, in addition to strength, she also must have extraordinary luck.

“I really don’t know.” Hui Yiguang smiled bitterly. “To be honest, my family’s background is ordinary. Since I made my debut, I know that I had to rely on myself and be kind to others. How would I dare offend anyone? If I have to recount who felt bitter towards me, there were two previous managers who wanted me to do unspoken rules, but I politely rejected them. There are good people in the circle who are pure, so they won’t hate me for this, right? Later, after I became popular, I got along well with everyone and didn’t step on any toes.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I know you may think I’m hallucinating, but I told you before that I have been checked and everything is normal. There are no problems with me.”

There are those who are born with kindness and blessed with popularity, and Hui Yiguang is undoubtedly one of the best. Everyone’s original doubts and unhappiness had been almost erased under her sincere explanation.

However, Dong Zhi remained unconvinced and continued questioning. “Miss Hui, I found seasonal high-end clothing from two luxury brands, L&P and Cheryl, in the closet of your room. As far as I know, these are very expensive, and they’re not something you can just get by having money. You don’t seem to sponsor these brands, so can you tell us the reason why you have them?”

Hui Yiguang said in an unhappy tone, “Are you investigating me?”

Cheng Yuan’s tone was even more displeased as he rushed in front of Dong Zhi and said coldly, “You’d better figure it out. You’re asking us for help, but you’re hiding details from us, so we don’t know the specifics of your situation. Next time something happens, no one can save you!”

Dong Zhi said, “This information is not a secret and can be found on the Internet.”

Hui Yiguang’s face turned pale, and she softened her tone. “You misunderstood because I thought this matter had nothing to do with what’s going on with me, so I didn’t say… My boyfriend bought those clothes for me, but he’s an outsider who runs his family’s business and has nothing to do with the entertainment world, so I didn’t tell him about what was going on.”

This whole time, Hui Yiguang maintained a glamourous image in front of her boyfriend and never allowed any sloppiness to show. Her boyfriend regarded her as a goddess because of her acting and he treasured her like a pearl in the palm of his hand. Lately, he chalked up her strange behavior as her being in a bad mood, and naturally, Hui Yiguang didn’t want her boyfriend to know the real reason.

Dong Zhi said, “Then does your boyfriend have any enemies?”

Hui Yiguang hesitated. “…I don’t think so. Even if there is one, he and I are not married, so why would they retaliate against me?”

Dong Zhi said, “I mean, does your boyfriend have an ex-girlfriend or something?”

Hui Yiguang’s face changed slightly, but she concealed it so well that even Dong Zhi, who had been staring at her, thought he was seeing things.

Li Ying said, “Yes, there must be a motivation for everything. Your house is not haunted, and your surroundings are clean. Only accidents have been related to you and the people around you. I can’t really think of any other situation except for someone who’s thousands of miles away.”

Chi Banxia said, “I’ve heard that the Miaojiang have a kind of poison technique, similar to witchcraft, that attaches spirits to you. It also uses mental control that makes it difficult for a person to sleep and eat. Do you think this is it?”

Liu Qingbo shook his head. “I am also slightly knowledgeable in poison, but it doesn’t look like it.”

Everyone began talking, but they couldn’t come up with any results.

Hui Yiguang implored softly, “I know that everyone has real abilities. The two masters I hired before not only said that I was haunted by the ghosts, but also said that they helped me exorcise them, but it didn’t get better after that. Can you help me solve this problem completely? I will treat you as if you were recruited and pay handsomely. How about two million?”

With a total of ten of them, they’ll each get 200,000. The big star was quite generous.

Li Ying felt that this wasn’t getting anywhere, so he said, “Why don’t we divide into several groups, each with two people? They will spend two days with Miss Hui and assess the situation. If anything happens, I will contact everyone else to come help immediately. What do you think?”

Wealth certainly does move people’s hearts. You can make 200,000 yuan simply by solving a difficult problem. This was highly cost-effective. It’s no wonder those feng shui masters now have countless properties at every turn. While the money was easy to make, for Li Ying and the others, there was a more important reason. They could treat this as a real-life mission and gain valuable experience.

This was simply killing two birds with one stone. Everyone was motivated and nodded in agreement. Hui Yiguang was overjoyed when she saw this and thanked them profusely. The money meant little to her, but if these strange things kept happening, it would be the death of her.

Li Ying said, “Miss Hui is a celebrity. With two people around her appearing out of thin air, it will attract attention. The outside world will speculate and gossip. In this regard, you need to solve this problem yourself, Miss Hui.”

Hui Yiguang thought for a while and said, “This is easy to accomplish. I’ll just say that you’re the bodyguards sent by the company. Others generally only pay attention to my assistants and agents and won’t pay any heed to you.”

With the matter settled, Li Ying and Chi Banxia were the first group for the first round of the two days. For the rest of the lottery, Dong Zhi and Cheng Yuan were in group two that will handle the second round. Gu Meiren and Liu Qingbo would be the third round, and so on for the rest.

Hui Yiguang felt refreshed that she asked for everyone’s bank account number on the spot. On the way back, each of them had received a transfer of 300,00 yuan, which was much more than the total original negotiated price.

Not mentioning Cheng Yuan or Gu Meiren, but even those who don’t usually lack money, like Dong Zhi, felt Hui Yiguang was a very generous person. She had shown her sincerity first. Despite their lack of experience, she had entrusted them, so they could not easily turn her down and would naturally try their best to help her.

Gu Meiren felt uneasy. “I’m afraid I can’t help her solve her problem, so I don’t feel right about keeping the money.”

Dong Zhi said, “If you refuse to accept it, she’ll be afraid you won’t do your best. Take it for now and return it when you really can’t solve the problem.”

Cheng Yuan also agreed. “Yes, I heard that there’s lots of money to be made in Taoism nowadays. If you look at all those feng shui masters, they charge millions for a single trip. Compared to that, we are already considered good quality and come cheap.”

After being persuaded by them, Gu Meiren nodded and stopped mentioning the money. Switching topics, she asked, “According to you, what do you think her problem is?”

Cheng Yuan said, “The house and her whole body are indeed clean, but there is one thing that is very strange. The choke marks on her arms and neck are not fake.”

Dong Zhi’s heart stirred, and he suddenly said, “Could it be a demon, or perhaps a devil?”

Cheng Yuan frowned and said, “I won’t rule out this possibility, but I’m more inclined to believe that she’s been cursed by witchcraft. This pathway is not observed by gods and ghosts and can easily be done but can go unnoticed by the affected party.”

Gu Meiren said, “I think that her symptoms may be entangled in nightmares. It is said that ghosts can also turn dreams into nightmares.”

The two of them had different opinions, and neither could convince the other. They all wanted to get recognition from Dong Zhi, who simply gave them a wry smile. “In fact, I have a bit different thought from you guys, because I have dealt with demons before, which is why I suspect that this time, demons are at fault.”

Cheng Yuan said, “Then let’s see if we can find clues in the next few days. If it’s according to what I said, and she’s really been cursed, then even if someone follows, she will still encounter an attack. As for the accidents of her two previous assistants, it may be just a coincidence.”

While talking, Gu Meiren had arrived at her place. Dong Zhi and Cheng Yuan sent her back, and after chatting for a while, they made an appointment to meet Hui Yiguang tomorrow before parting ways.

Back at the Special Administration Bureau, the old man who was the security guard at the back door had already become acquainted with Dong Zhi. He had eaten the beef jerky that Dong Zhi brought for him several times. As he sat there napping with his arms folded, he gave Dong Zhi a glance and nodded slightly to greet him.

Dong Zhi found it curious that this uncle seemed to be there 24/7. No matter what time of day or night, he would always see him whenever he went in and out.

When he climbed up the stairs to the floor where his dorm was, he saw Long Shen standing in the corridor, opening the door to his room.

“Boss Long?”

Long Shen turned to look at him, also a little surprised. “You haven’t slept yet?”

Dong Zhi said, “I just came back from the outside and encountered something. Are you planning to rest?”

Long Shen said, “Not yet.”

Dong Zhi: “I happen to have something I want to ask you. Is now convenient?”

Long Shen: “Come in.”

Dong Zhi was ecstatic at having accomplished the achievement of entering the male god’s room for a second time. At first glance, he saw the yulu placed on the cabinet by the entrance when he entered. The plant was still there and hadn’t been thrown away, and it looked to be well raised.

His mood entered a state of bliss. He could never raise succulents. It didn’t take long after he bought them for them to wilt. He didn’t know what he was thinking when he gave Long Shen the succulent. He thought it was a mistake and he should have bought something that would be able to be stored and kept for a longer period of time.

He walked over to examine the plant, as he hadn’t seen it for a few days. The yulu had become more energetic, looking crystal clear, as if it was glowing green under the light. It was more vibrant than when he first bought it.

“This flowerpot seems to be different from the original?” He chuckled.

Long Shen said, “I took it to a flower shop and asked them to change the pots.”

Truthfully, changing the pots would not have saved the original yulu. The store said the roots were rotted and it couldn’t be saved, so they suggested he buy another plant. Long Shen refused and insisted that they change pots, and when he came back, he used a small technique to revive the plant.

Dong Zhi, unaware of this, praised him. “You’re much better at raising plants than I am! I can’t grow succulents at all. The best I can do is aloe vera or cactuses.”

Long Shen frowned deeply. “Don’t gift me stuff like this next time.”

Dong Zhi responded coolly, “Then should I gift something else?”

Long Shen: “…Don’t give anything.”

Dong Zhi laughed. “Alright.”

Long Shen paused for a moment, thinking that he should still make things clear, lest Dong Zhi thought he was just saying it to be humble. “I don’t know how to raise plants. I just used a technique and lent it some vitality.”

Dong Zhi was surprised. “How?”

Long Shen said, “I took some vitality from a towering tree with a deep foundation and vigorous vitality.”

Dong Zhi thought for a while. “So, in this sense, can you also lend someone life force?”

Long Shen nodded. “Theoretically, yes, but it goes against the virtue of nature.”

Dong Zhi couldn’t help worrying. “Won’t this affect the plant then?”

Long Shen said, “It doesn’t apply to plants.”

He didn’t know what to say. Dong Zhi felt apologetic. “I really didn’t expect this small gift to bother you so much. You’re very busy and you had to spend what little free time you had on trivial things like this.”

Long Shen shook his head, thought for a while, and then said, “Every life is precious and cannot be easily given up.”

The male god’s heart turned out to be warm. The more he learned about him, the more Dong Zhi felt he wasn’t wrong to like such a person.

Long Shen led him to the living room and went to pour two glasses of water. Dong Zhi organized his thoughts and recount Hui Yiguang’s affairs to him.

“What do you think?”

Long Shen said, “I haven’t seen her, so I can’t make an accurate judgment. There are many of you, so it’s okay to take this for experience. The training exam will be more difficult than this.”

Dong Zhi blinked. “Does this mean that I passed the interview?”

Long Shen: “I am only responsible for one of the scores. The final results have not come out yet.”

Dong Zhi still persisted. “Then what score did you give me? Can you tell me?”

Long Shen stared at him without speaking.

Dong Zhi zipped his mouth with his hands and said consciously, “I understand. I won’t ask!”

A smile flashed across Long Shen’s eyes. Suddenly, Dong Zhi’s phone rang, interrupting him as he lowered his head to look at it, missing this precious moment.

“Hello, how are you?”

“Dong Zhi, something happened! Hui Yiguang and Chi Banxia are gone!” Gu Meiren hurriedly said on the other end of the line.

“What’s going on?!” Dong Zhi felt chills.

Gu Meiren: “I’ll come over to find you and we’ll talk on the way!”

Dong Zhi agreed and hung up the phone quickly.

Long Shen had heard their conversation, so he asked, “Do you need me to go?”

“No need.” Dong Zhi said. He naturally knew that if Long Shen was there, the situation would be worry-free, but he couldn’t always count on him for everything, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to grow. “There are many people here this time, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I really can’t trouble you longer. Rest quickly!”

Long Shen nodded, got up and sent him out.

Seemingly thinking of something, Dong Zhi said, “I got a small commission this time, so I’ll invite you to dinner some other time!”

Long Shen said, “Okay.”

With just a few words, he managed to score another appointment. He praised himself secretly. ‘You’re so awesome, Dong Zhi!’

Just as he was about to leave, Long Shen stopped him and said, “Take the Qingzhu Sword with you.”

Hearing his words, Dong Zhi hurriedly returned to his room, put down his backpack, grabbed his phone, and put the Qingzhu Swords on his back and hurried downstairs.

After he left, Long Shen closed the door and found that his room was deserted again. The glass of warm water that he had just poured was still steaming on the table, as Dong Zhi didn’t have time to drink it. He turned around and walked towards the bathroom. When he passed by the entrance, as if his heart wanted it, he suddenly stretched out his fingers and touched a leaf of the yulu.

The fat and tender leaves felt soft and full of life, like the vibrant smile of the man just now. In the past, Long Shen would never have done such a meaningless act. At that moment, as he had just touched the plant, he immediately retracted his finger.

Dong Zhi waited downstairs for a while before a car stopped in front of him.

“Get in the car!” Gu Meiren shouted as she poked her head out from the backseat. Dong Zhi found that the driver was Liu Qingbo, who turned his head around. When he saw the Qingzhu Sword on Dong Zhi’s back, he was surprised, as he didn’t expect his rival could use a sword.

When Dong Zhi got into the car, it immediately sped forward at such a fast speed that it made him lean back as he hit the seat. Not caring much about Liu Qingbo, he asked, “What happened? Where’s Cheng Yuan?”

Gu Mei said, “Cheng Yuan’s place is too far from here, so he can only go on his own.”

After that, she detailed what happened to Hui Yiguang. After they had left, according to the group agreement, Li Ying and Chi Banxia would be the first to stay with her for the next two days. The presidential suite was large enough and there were three rooms there, so it could accommodate them all. Li Ying stayed in one room, while the assistant stayed in the other. Because Hui Yiguang was scared, she asked Chi Banxia to stay with her. They were originally friends, so naturally Chi Banxia had no objections.

Li Ying was born on Mount Maoshan, and his father is both a consultant for the Special Administration Bureau and an elder of the Maoshan Sect, so he has deep qualifications. His own pedigree and his basic skills are naturally solid. At that time, he gave Hui Yiguang a Maoshan exorcism talisman and set up a small talisman array in her room. Whenever anything evil approaches, they will touch the array and be discovered immediately.

Everything was going well. Before going to bed, Hui Yiguang found that she had forgotten to bring her usual facial mask, so she asked Xiao Han to go downstairs and buy a box for her. Unfortunately, Xiao Han bought the wrong brand, making her unhappy, so she wanted to go out and buy it herself. She couldn’t be dissuaded, so Chi Banxia offered to accompany her.

The two had been gone for over an hour after they went downstairs. Xiao Han felt that it was taking too long and felt uneasy, so Li Ying pinched his fingers and suddenly changed color. He found that the Maoshan exorcism talisman he gave to Hui Yiguang wasn’t on her, and at this time they couldn’t contact either Hui Yiguang or Chi Banxia. Li Ying used his technique to calculate their approximate location and rush there.

Halfway there, he called Liu Qingbo and asked him to call everyone to come over to help, which led to Gu Meiren calling Dong Zhi.

It stood to reason that Liu Qingbo would have rushed over immediately when he received the call, but he didn’t know what he was dealing with. Whether it was a human or ghost, a demon or monster, or even some kind of curse or witchcraft, Liu Qingbo doubted that he could handle it by himself, so he had to call others to assist. As for whether he had the mentality to compete or observe Dong Zhi, this was not known.

The car drove north, getting further away from the city center. The road was unimpeded as it was late at night, and they finally reached their destination half an hour later. The area was in a non-residential area, and the entrance was to a park. Not long after they arrived, Li Ying also came.

“I couldn’t find Hui Yiguang, so I could only calculate the approximate location of Chi Banxia. It should be around here!” Li Ying hurriedly said as he got out of the car.

“Hasn’t anyone else arrived yet?” Gu Meiren said.

Li Ying: “We can’t wait any longer. Let’s go first!”

Despite so many people looking after Hui Yiguang, this kind of thing still happened. In addition to their anxiety at such an unbelievable event, for the first time in his life, Li Ying felt as if all the Taoism he had learned in the past 20 years were absolutely false!

Dong Zhi said, “Something has happened to Chi Banxia, so it’s better for us not to separate.”

Gu Meiren nodded. “That’s good idea.”

Liu Qingbo wanted to taunt him for his timidity, but when he heard that others agreed with this sentiment, he held back his tongue.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Loving these cute small interactions between Dong Zhi and Long Shen.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 35

Dong Zhi left as the interview came to an end. As soon as he stepped out of the room, all eyes fell on him. When he first entered the room, the attention brought to him was due to his written exam results, which were comparable to a 30-watt lightbulb. Now that he had just stepped out, it was more like a 100-watt.

He was puzzled, thinking that it was impossible for others to know about his argument with Taoist Master Li. When he saw Ba Sang, the other party asked, “Why did you stay for so long? What were you talking about?”

Dong Zhi asked strangely, “Was it a long time?” He was inside answering questions and was unaware of the passage of time.

Ba Sang said, “Of course. Usually it’s about 15 minutes for others, but you’ve been in there for almost 40 minutes. Are your written scores too high that the examiners take their turn praising you one by one?”

Dong Zhi smiled wryly. “You give me too much credit. I was asked questions by each one of them, and I argued with one of the examiners.”

Ba Sang’s mouth became an O-shape. “You’re quarrelling with examiners?!”

Gu Meiren was also surprised. It was hard for her to imagine someone like Dong Zhi would compete with others.

Dong Zhi shrugged. “Anyway, my results may be uncertain this time. I’m mentally prepared to take the exam again next year.”

Ba Sang patted him on his arm but didn’t know what to say. Dong Zhi comforted them in turn. “Don’t worry. The questions aren’t difficult. Just answer them well.”

When it was Ba Sang’s turn to go in, Dong Zhi didn’t leave. He waited for Gu Meiren and Ba Sang to finish their interviews before accompanying them to leave.

Gu Meiren had relatives in Beijing, so she was living temporarily at a relative’s house. In addition, she often goes to the university nearby to attend courses during her free time. She was actually a gentle and low-key girl who wouldn’t really stand out as a practitioner if she didn’t tell them.

Ba Sang had a family issue sprung up, so he planned to go back that day, intending to come back after receiving his training notice.

Since it was fate that the three of them met and became like old friends, they all agreed to have a meal together, then said their goodbyes as they parted ways. After sending Ba Sang and Gu Meiren off, Dong Zhi returned to the dorms.

When he recalled the scene during his interview, he suddenly felt that he was a bit too green. He felt it was right to stick to his ideals, but it also depended on the occasion. Although he was applauded by an elder later, if he had just gone with the flow from the beginning and answered according to Li Rui’s tendencies, it would most likely still produce a satisfactory and stable result. Wouldn’t it have been better if he just stuck to the script and answered accordingly?

Still, there is no medicine for regret in this world. In fact, even knowing now what the best result could’ve been, he would still do it exactly as he had if he were to do it again.

Dong Zhi felt that he should start thinking about finding a home. He had a lot of savings, so he wouldn’t have to worry about food and housing for a while, but if he were to be eliminated from the interview, it’d be too awkward to stay in the dorms. Perhaps he can rent out a home in the capital and live in it. In his spare time, he would work part-time on drafts while reviewing in preparation for his comeback next year.

Dong Zhi laid on the bed and thought about it. Although he had prepared for the worst, depression was still inevitable.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. He slowly opened it with a soft pillow in his arms while thinking about who it could possibly be, as He Yu and Kan Chaosheng were still on their business trip. Could it be Zhong Yuyi?

When the door opened, he was stunned by the unexpected visitor. “Long—Boss Long?”

Long Shen figure was standing at the door. “What are you doing?”

He was caught off guard by the abrupt visit of the male god that his mentality hadn’t adjusted. Dong Zhi was slow to react, and only after a while did he say, “I just came back from a meal with Ba Sang and Gu Meiren. Have you eaten yet?”

Long Shen didn’t answer his question, but instead pulled out a card and handed it to him. “Take it. It’s an access card to the training room. Go up and practice in the future. You don’t need to find someone to accompany you any longer.”

Dong Zhi took it and hesitated. “But the interview…”

Long Shen: “Even if you can’t pass the exam, you won’t practice?”

Dong Zhi didn’t even hesitate to reply, “Of course not!”

Long Shen nodded. “The card is temporary, so just give it back to me if you fail the exam.”

Dong Zhi thought how lucky he was. He felt with his high score on the written exam, combined with the experience he had from several missions with He Yu, perhaps Long Shen would open the backdoor for him. He couldn’t help but shed tearless tears when he heard the other party’s intention. Still, having an access card is better than not having one, and other candidates may not necessarily get this kind of treatment.

“Thank you, Boss Long. I will go up every day to practice. Would you like to come in?”

Long Shen said, “No, you can rest.” He turned around to leave.

Dong Zhi gathered up the courage and asked, “Boss Long, is the yulu still alive?”

Long Shen said, “Still alive. Do you want to come and see it?”

Dong Zhi was eager to follow. Even if all they did was small talk, it was still a step forward, but when he saw the faint tiredness in Long Shen’s eyes, he changed his mind. “No, you should rest first. Call me if you need me.”

Long Shen nodded and went back to his room. He hasn’t returned now for a while. The last time was three days ago. His bedroom was as deserted as ever, but he didn’t care. He was about to shower and rest when he passed by the living room and suddenly stopped as he turned the corner.

The yulu was sitting on the table, wilting. It no longer had that delicate look when it was first given to him. The fat leaves had begun to turn yellow, and some had already fallen off, indicating that its life was nearing its end.

Long Shen wanted to give it some water, but then remembered that Dong Zhi said the plant liked dryness and couldn’t help but frown. The omnipotent Deputy Director Long looked at the small potted plant in front of him as if it was an Archdemon that he had fallen into a stalemate with.

After a while, he turned on his phone and typed in: [What should I do if my yulu plant is dying?].

Various answers popped up, but the most reliable one was: [The root may have outgrown. Change it to a deeper pot and swap it to dry soil again.]

Though it was a plant, it was still a life. Long Shen, who wanted to shower, had to take the flowerpot and went out to a flower shop to find someone to rescue it. Before he left his room, he only had one thought in his mind: ‘So troublesome. Don’t accept gifts next time.’

Of course, Dong Zhi was completely oblivious to this, unaware that the small gift he gave was so nerve-wracking to his male god. When he turned on his computer, he received a call from Gu Meiren. She had run into a candidate named Li Ying and wanted to invite everyone to have a meal together so they could get to know each other. After all, they were all busy preparing for the exam, and many had not had the chance to make acquaintances.

The other party only had Gu Meiren’s contact information, so he asked her to call Dong Zhi to invite him. Gu Meiren didn’t really like this kind of social gathering much, but if Dong Zhi went, she would at least have an acquaintance there.

Dong Zhi sensed some hesitation from her and agreed.

It was normal for groups to have an individual come forward and organize gatherings like this. After all, they were likely to become colleagues in the future. Even if some fail this time around, they may succeed next time around. Like mountains and rivers meet*, one more friend is another way forward.

*(山水有相逢) Refers to there are always opportunities to meet and deal with each other in life. To persuade people not to be too absolute, there must be room for them.

The gathering was set for the evening, so Dong Zhi worked on his comic for a while. Seeing as the time was nearing, he prepared and went to the place where he agreed to meet with Gu Meiren. Gu Meiren had changed into a T-shirt and jeans, making her look more like a normal student.

He saw a gathering of people in the distance and hurried over. “Sorry I’m late.”

Gu Meiren smiled slightly. “It’s okay, I’m here early.”

The place they were gathering was at a restaurant nearby. The two crossed a commercial street and walked towards their destination. Dong Zhi joked, “It’s a pity that Ba Sang has already set off. Otherwise, he can still have another meal.”

Gu Meiren said, “I don’t know them too well, but I don’t feel comfortable bringing up AA*.”

*Refers to going dutch. In China, it’s seen as being stingy or bad manners when you ask to split the bill. It’s popular with the younger generation, especially those who are still students and not working.

Dong Zhi thought for a while, then said, “The guy said he wanted to invite everyone to a meal, but AA may not work out. Let’s just buy some snacks and give everyone a share.”

Gu Meiren agreed. “That’s fine.” She refused to take advantage of others, nor did she want to pretend to be magnanimous. There’s a difference between closeness and distance, and it was comfortable to make friends like this.

Dong Zhi asked, “Is Li Ying a local? Besides us, who else will be there?”

Gu Meiren said uncertainly, “His father’s name is Li Rui, and he seems to be one of the examiners for our interview. Do you know each other?”

Dong Zhi: …

In fact, quite well.

He had offended someone’s father this morning and was now invited by said person’s son in the evening. What kind of feeling is this? He suddenly had the urging to turn around and go back.

Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. “I do.” He explained the situation at the interview.

“Then why don’t we just bail?” Gu Meiren said in surprise.

She said “we” instead of “I” which made Dong Zhi a little moved. “No. Now that the appointment’s been set, it’s not good to go back.”

The two walked into the restaurant and told the host Li Ying’s name. They were immediately led by the waiter to a reserved private room. There was already a group of men and women, around eight people, already there, including Liu Qingbo.

Seeing them come in, a man smiled and said, “You’re the latest to come, so your punishment is to drink.”

After saying that, he got up and stretched out his hand towards Dong Zhi. “My name is Li Ying. You’re Dong Zhi. I’ve heard so much about you, like how you ranked first on the written exam. Pleasure to meet you.”

He behaved politely, as if he didn’t know what had happened between Dong Zhi and his father. Dong Zhi shook his hand and smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you. Let’s not prattle about the written exam. I was just fortunate enough to memorize a few more books.”

Li Ying chuckled. “Well, not everyone can make it today. Some people couldn’t come, so it’s just us. However, it was everyone’s fate that we all took the exam together. Regardless of whether we’ll be colleagues in the future or not, we’ll all stay in contact with each other. Thank you, friends, for giving me face today. Since it was my invitation, don’t rush to pay the bill later! I can’t beat you to it!”

His words were humorous, causing everyone to laugh, and the atmosphere improved, becoming livelier. Though they were taking the exam together, they were still relatively unfamiliar with each other. After introducing one another, Dong Zhi was able to match their faces to their names.

Since it was just after the exams, most of the topics revolved around it. Some discussed the written portion while others talked about the interviews, the more interesting subject. Everyone recounted their painful experiences, especially when they were pitted.

Some people were asked how they would respond if they were asked to participate in an international exchange in the future and they encountered practitioners who were unfriendly to their country. One person, who said he was a psychic, was asked to elaborate on the similarities and differences between the Southeast Asia witchcraft¹ technique and the Miaojiang Poison² technique, was left completely dumbfounded and wanted to die.

¹Head Taming/Descending (Technique) (降头) Witchcraft that’s popular in Southeast Asia. It’s split into two types: black magic and white magic. Black magic focuses on the destruction of the target, while white magic is used for repair and blessings of the target. || Note: I will be referring to this as witchcraft.
²(苗疆蛊) Witchcraft that has its roots in Taoism and specializes in poison/gu used by the people of Miaojiang. It’s used by women to ensure the loyal love of their men, who would go away. If they returned and were faithful, an antidote would be given. Refer to the lore glossary if you want to learn more about poison/gu.

Hearing everyone’s complaints, Dong Zhi felt great comfort for his injured heart. Sure enough, his single tragedy was not as bad as the others. There were others who fell more miserably than he did.

After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere lightened up. Even Gu Meiren was not as quiet as she was in the beginning. She was chatting with a sweet-looking girl next to her while Dong Zhi chatted with a young man who claimed that he was psychic.

His name was Cheng Yuan. Dong Zhi guessed that, for professional reasons, his temperament was a bit gloomy, but he became quite talkative once he got familiar with someone.

According to him, Dong Zhi learned that “psychic” was just an elegant title. They were generally referred to as sorcerers or sorceress*, which was “heretical” in the eyes of many famous sects. Although Li Ying and Liu Qingbo didn’t show any discrimination towards him, Cheng Yuan still felt uncomfortable around them and instead chatted exclusively with Dong Zhi.

*The term is [shenpo] (神婆) for female and [shenhan] (神汉) for males. Their position is more like a wizard/warlock/sorcerer who performs exorcism but has other occupations as well. They also have the ability to invite gods and goddesses for their blessings. || With the rise of systematic religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, ect. their technique of “witchcraft/black magic” that promotes superstition as a way of exorcism runs counterintuitive to such religions, thus they are labeled heretical, which is most likely why Cheng Yuan refers to himself as a psychic.

While they were chatting, Dong Zhi heard Li Ying’s voice ringing out. “With so many people present, you should speak up and let everyone help come up with ideas.”

Everyone stopped talking and followed the direction of his voice as they saw Li Ying talking to the sweet-looking girl. Her name was unique, Chi Banxia*. Pinellia was the name of the traditional Chinese medicine so people would remember it at once.

*(迟半夏) [Banxia] (半夏) refers to the pinellia [Banxia] (半夏) plant that is used in Chinese medicine, supposedly to help relieve nausea, among other illnesses. Chi Banxia combine translates to late midsummer, which is the time to harvest pinellia.

Gu Meiren, who was sitting next to her, said, “Yes. There are so many great people here. Perhaps they can help.”

Chi Banxia was shy, but she spoke confidently to everyone. “A friend of mine who works in the showbiz industry recently encountered some strange things that made her uneasy to the point where she couldn’t sleep or eat. She invited a lot of high-level people, but it didn’t work. I don’t know what’s going on, so I want to ask everyone’s opinion.”

“What is the strange thing?” Liu Qingbo asked.

Chi Banxia said, “She keeps having nightmares and can’t sleep well. Even in broad daylight, when she’s alone, she always feels as if someone is following her. Also, her assistants have been experiencing accidents recently as well. One had fallen down the stairs, and another was almost hit by a car while crossing the road. In just one month, she had to change assistants twice.”

Liu Qingbo pondered, “It sounds like she’s entangled in something evil. Has she tried an exorcism?”

Chi Banxia said, “She tried it all. She also set up a separate room in her home to make a Buddhist shrine and invited a Bodhisattva* but as long as she leaves the shrine, she will feel uncomfortable. It’s also no use wearing charms and such on her body either.”

*Person who is on the path towards Buddhahood.

After listening to her story, everyone looked at each other. If what she said is true, then her friend was entangled with something too evil!

Chi Banxia said, “I’m not good at exorcising evil spirits, but I’m sure that she does not have a curse cast upon her, and her sanity is normal.”

When she first introduced herself, she mentioned that her family was from Hainan. Dong Zhi was a bit confused by it, but now he realized that she must know some witchcraft. Witchcraft was popular in Southeast Asia and was said to be in the same vein as the Miaojiang Poison technique, but its origin was no longer known.

According to folklore, it was around the Tang Dynasty that Master Xuanzang¹ was returning from Tianzhu when he passed by the Tongtian River and accidently dropped some of his scriptures into it. Fortunately, he picked up most of them, but the missing part is the “prophecy” in Mahayana² Buddhism. Supposedly, this is a curse that’s the source of witchcraft.

¹Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to India in 629–645 CE, his efforts to bring over 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts.
²Term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism.

There was also a legend that witchcraft came from Maoshan Taoism. Overall, it was a technique that was very popular in Southeast Asia and many people respect their practitioners, lest they offend them and could meet a terrible end.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many people from Fujan, Guangdon, Hainan, and other places traveled to Nanyang to do business. Along the way, there were those who dealt with mysterious and exotic magical techniques. Many of them had learned witchcraft from masters in foreign regions and later returned to China to start their own sect. The most famous of them was the Chi family in Hainan.

It was said that some businessmen had offended their opponents when they were doing business in Southeast Asia and were asked by them to lower their heads, so they sought out the Chi family for help. Over time, the family became famous.

However, Dong Zhi didn’t know these things until Gu Meiren told him later on.

At that moment, when Chi Banxia stopped speaking, everyone was eager to solve her problem. Bluntly put, they were all young people who were either fledglings or had trained since they were young. When encountering this kind of thing, they naturally want to solve the problem while showing off their skills.

Upon seeing this, Chi Banxia said, “My friend is offering a hefty reward and is looking for experts everywhere. If you’re free, why don’t you come with me to take a look?”

Li Ying nodded. “Let me go and have a look with you.”

He looked around at everyone and smiled again. “Even if we pass the interview, there’s still the training exam. I heard that it is quite difficult, so now that we have such a rare opportunity, we should put into practice what we have learn.”

Those who were still on the fence before, after hearing his words, decided to go together. “Then I’ll thank you all on behalf of my friend first; don’t worry, she won’t let you come for nothing,” Chi Banxia said with a smile.

With such sight in their eyes, instead of sitting around and chatting, it was better to act now. Everyone either took a taxi or drove themselves to the place Chi Banxia mentioned, and soon they gathered at a five-star hotel.

Chi Banxia explained, “My friend hasn’t dared go home recently, so she’s staying at a hotel. It’s more convenient to meet here. I’ll call her first and ask her to come down to pick us up.”

Shortly after she called, a young woman came down in a hurry, but she didn’t look like a person that was particularly in distress. When she spoke, everyone realized that she was the assistant to Chi Banxia’s friend.

Some of the people there were unhappy that the person who needed help didn’t even bother to show up herself to greet them. When they arrived at the presidential suite on the top floor and the other party came to open the door, everyone realized why the person was so mysterious. Because Chi Banxia’s friend turned out to be Hui Yiguang.

In the past few years since her debut, Hui Yiguang had participated in a variety of TV series where she starred as the female lead. Her popularity had risen so rapidly that she had countless fans. Similarly, with this kind of stardom comes countless paparazzi as well, who follow her every move. If they were to know that she was being a haunted by an unknown evil being, the gossip would be overwhelming and could greatly damage her career aspects.

Hui Yiguang, while not on camera, still looked beautiful and moving, but her eyelids looked a bit baggy, showing obvious signs that she’d been lacking sleep and was in distress. She hadn’t expected Chi Banxia to bring over so many people, so she showed a surprised expression when she opened the door.

Chi Banxia said, “Yiguang, they are all my friends. Each has their own strengths. Since I can’t solve your problem, I have asked them to come to brainstorm together and maybe they can find the answer.”

Hui Yiguang knew about Chi Banxia’s background, so she naturally understood what she was referring to. When she heard this, she smiled softly and let out a grateful expression. “Thank you, Banxia. Thank you all. Please come in and sit down wherever you like.”

The living room of the presidential suite was extremely spacious. Everyone took their seats separately as Hui Yiguang asked her assistant to bring drinks and snacks.

Hui Yiguang said, “I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude and not pick you up in person. It’s just that my life is exposed to the lens every minute. If I were to appear downstairs, there would be papers about me all over tomorrow.”

Chi Banxia introduced, “Yiguang is my cousin’s classmate and also my friend. We both grew up in the same city. I have troubled you all at this time.”

Li Ying said to Hui Yiguang, “Let’s talk about your troubles first.”

When it came to this matter, Hui Yiguang’s face turned blue again. Her description was much the same as Chi Banxia’s recount, except that it was more detailed.

According to Hui Yiguang’s recollection, the strange incident happened a month ago. During the day, she would often hear someone whispering into her ears, but if she tried to listen carefully, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. At first, she thought she was too tired from filming and had hallucinations, but after a few days of rest and going to the hospital for an examination, she didn’t get better. Gradually, when she went to bed, she often didn’t sleep well and always felt as if someone was watching her by her bedside. She often wakes up in the middle of the night in fright. Due to lack of sleep, she didn’t have the energy to work and once almost fell down the stairs during filming on set.

Hui Yiguang rolled up her sleeves, and everyone saw a bruise in the shape of five fingers on her white and tender arm, which was extremely conspicuous. “This happened two days ago at the hotel I was staying at next to the studio. At that time, I asked my assistant to sleep in the same room with me, but she said she didn’t feel anything.” Hui Yiguang’s face showed fear. Despite so many people present, she couldn’t control her body from slightly trembling.

“The most bizarre thing is that my previous two assistants were injured inexplicably during this month. One was almost hit by a car. My current assistant, Xiao Han, was sent as a replacement for the company when I started filming a new drama last week.”

Hearing this, Li Ying looked at the new assistant. “After you arrived at Miss Hui’s side, did you encounter anything strange?”

Xiao Han shook her head.

Li Ying asked Hui Yiguang again, “Then have you encountered anything strange in this hotel now?”

Hui Yiguang: “I haven’t finished filming my scenes yet, but I can’t take it anymore. I’ve asked the director for two days off to rest, and I came here yesterday. So far, it’s been calm, but I don’t know if things will act up again tonight. I’m really scared. Can you help me?” Tears filled her eyes as everyone couldn’t bear looking at her pitiful state.

Li Ying comforted, “Don’t worry, let’s take a look first.”

Chi Banxia also said, “Don’t worry, my friends are very capable.”

Hui Yiguang nodded gratefully again and again. “I hope it’s not too much trouble. Please feel free to tell me if you need anything.”

Everyone acted quickly. Some took out compasses while others looked around the suite. Since Dong Zhi didn’t develop the habit of carrying a compass, he just followed the others to watch the excitement. After listening to Hui Yiguang’s words just now, he felt that the chances of her being entangled by a ghost or a demonic being were close to 9 out of 10. It stood to reason that the one who’s best at this method should be the psychic, Cheng Yuan, but he wandered around and shook his head, indicating that the suite was clear, and he didn’t find signs of anything.

At his request, Hui Yiguang allowed him to open her luggage to check, but in the end, nothing abnormal was found.

Chi Banxia said, “Didn’t you say that there is also a problem with your house? Can we go to your house and have a look?”

When she mentioned it, Hui Yiguang couldn’t hold back her expression of fear. “Of course. Let my assistant take you there. I have also encountered strange things at the hotel by the studio, but now that I’ve checked out, it would be inconvenient to go there again.”

Li Ying nodded. “We don’t need to go to the other hotel. Just your home is fine.”

The assistant took them downstairs. Including Chi Banxia, there were a total of ten people that were divided up into three cars. Dong Zhi, Cheng Yuan, and Gu Meiren got into the same car.

Cheng Yuan said as they drove to Hui Yiguang’s home, “I can’t see any signs attached to her body.” He was vague in his words so as to avoid panicking the driver.

Gu Meiren said, “I didn’t find anything either.”

Dong Zhi said with regret, “If you haven’t noticed it, then I definitely didn’t, though I do think it’s a bit strange.”

Both of them looked at him. Dong Zhi glanced at the driver and said, “Let’s talk about it when we get out of the car.”

The car eventually arrived at their destination, a high-end residential area that had beautiful surroundings. Such a home in the capital was naturally expensive, but considering Hui Yiguang’s status, it was something she could easily afford.

Though the assistant had the key card, since she wasn’t the owner of the house, she was still required to register her identity before she was allowed inside. Relatively speaking, it was difficult to imagine there would be anyone trying to fish in troubled waters*, but there were many things in this world that often couldn’t be explained by common sense.

*(浑水摸鱼) Idiom referring to creating chaos for the enemy/opponent and then taking advantage of the confusion to obtain benefits. || In this context it’s saying it doesn’t make sense for them to cause trouble as they’re with Hui Yiguang’s assistant but then again people sometimes act outside of common sense.

The place hadn’t been cleaned for a week, so as soon as the door was opened, the smell of dust permeated. The assistant turned on the lights and let everyone in. The house was quite large and beautifully decorated. It had a Mediterranean style, but from Dong Zhi’s perspective, he felt this house was too big to live in.

He once chatted with Kan Chaosheng and heard him say that many people in modern times think that the bigger the house, the better, but if the house was too big and there were few people to occupy it, it would seemingly appear empty. This lack of vitality indicates a lack of yang that could easily attract trouble. At that time, he thought this sentiment was quite strange. He rebutted by saying that in ancient times, didn’t large families all live in large houses? Kan Chaosheng curled his lips and said he himself had referred to a large family. Such families would be wealthy if they could afford to live in a large place, and thus there would be servants, so how could it be considered a lack of vitality?

Now that he was in Hui Yiguang’s home, Dong Zhi was reminded of Kan Chaosheng’s words.

The master bedroom was huge. It faces west to east and had large floor-to-ceiling windows, making it the preferred room to bask in the sun’s rays at dawn. Furnishings were all items related to a woman. The table was full of cosmetics, and there were dresses on the bed that hadn’t been put away. Several cabinets in the dressing room all held various articles of clothing, showing that Hui Yiguang’s standard of living was quite high. All the clothes were the current in-season looks. Due to his previous occupation, Dong Zhi would often pay attention to the news of fashion week every year. His sharp eye was able to pick up several luxury high-end custom outfits from big name brands.

He took out his phone and searched for Hui Yiguang’s profile online as Cheng Yuan and Gu Meiren walked over.

“How’s it going?” Dong Zhi asked them.

Cheng Yuan shook his head. “I didn’t find anything.”

Gu Meiren also said, “Same.”

Since both Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan couldn’t find any clues, it meant that the house was clean as well. If this was the case, how was it possible for Hui Yiguang to have incidents in this house?

Gu Mei guessed, “Could it be related to her? After all, incidents keep happening around her.”

Cheng Yuan shook his head. “I didn’t find anything abnormal attached to her.”

He looked at Dong Zhi. “Didn’t you say there was something strange in the car?”

Dong Zhi said, “She said that she had changed multiple assistants within the past month because the first two were injured in accidents, but after she switched the third, it’s been over a week and she still encountered strange things, but the third assistant is still safe. Don’t you think it’s odd?”

Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan looked at each other. Obviously they hadn’t noticed this detail before.

Cheng Yuan pondered, “You mean this matter is related to her previous two assistants?”

Dong Zhi said, “Perhaps there’s something the first two assistants have done that the third hasn’t done yet. We have to ask Hui Yiguang herself.”

Everyone explored the home and even went to the Buddha Shrine, but in the end, they came up empty handed. Dong Zhi told the others the doubts he had discovered.

“I think Miss Hui may be hiding something from us, or she may have thought it would be inconvenient for us to know, but if she doesn’t make it clear, we won’t find a clue.”

When everyone heard this, their expressions became unhappy. The assistant hurriedly said, “Hui Jie is not such a person, and she sincerely invited everyone to help!”

Li Ying ignored her and said to Chi Banxia. “Xiao Chi, you also know who we are. Although we’re not elites of the industry, we are still capable. If we can’t find a problem, those fortune-tellers and feng shui masters won’t find it either.”

Chi Banxia said, embarrassedly, “I’m very sorry, but I only know as much as you do. I have nothing to hide!”

Since the matter had suddenly developed in this direction, everyone suspected that Hui Yiguang’s problem was due to hallucinations caused by too much stress at work. They started to doubt her initial story and felt unhappy that she was concealing things from them, so they were about to abandon their work.

Suddenly, at this very moment, the assistant received a call from Hui Yiguang. Her screams penetrated the speakers and were so loud that even Dong Zhi, who was far away, could hear them.

“It’s here again! It’s here again! Help! Come back and save me!”

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Kinky Thoughts:

The author does her research as her explanation is in line with the (limited) research I’ve done.

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Head Taming/Descending Technique (降头)

Witchcraft that is popular in Southeast Asia. It’s divided into two types according to the casting medium, the function of the spell, the chants of the spell ect.

Black technique (black magic) refers to techniques used to destroy the “magnetic field” (mind) of the target.

White technique refers to techniques that repair or bless the target.

This is comparable to that of witchcraft or voodoo.

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Miaojiang Poison/Gu (苗疆蛊)

Witchcraft that has its roots in Taoism and specializes in poison/gu used by the people of Miaojiang. It’s used by women to ensure the loyal love of their men, who would go away. If they returned and were faithful, an antidote would be given. Refer to the lore glossary if you want to learn more about poison/gu.

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Shenpo (神婆) / Shenhan (神汉)

The term is [shenpo] (神婆) for female and [shenhan] (神汉) for males. Their position is like a wizard/warlock/sorcerer who performs exorcism but has other occupations as well. They also have the ability to invite gods and goddesses for their blessings and do divinations. They are known practitioners of witchcraft.

It is quite common in Chinese communities in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, but in the People’s Republic of China, due to the atheist stance of the Chinese Communist Party, it is often degraded and suppressed, and dismissed as superstition.

Along with the rise of systematic religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, ect. their technique of “witchcraft/black magic” that promotes superstition as a way of exorcism runs counterintuitive to such religions, thus they are labeled heretical by those communities.

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