Chapter Eighty-Six: Haunted by a Vicious Ghost

At ten o’clock that night, Zhuo Tianjiang rose from the sofa and went to Zheng Xiao’s room. We got up and followed him.

Zhuo Tianjiang stopped us outside the door. “I’m going to draw out the thing haunting her in a moment. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt by mistake, so stay out here and wait.”

He told us to remain outside the room, then used black dog blood to draw a circle on the floor. Whether it would work or not was hard to say, but the smell was atrocious, a heavy reek of spoiled blood. Zheng Lanxuan’s brow furrowed slightly, as though he were pained by the floor.

From where we stood, we could see Zheng Xiao lying on the bed.

With one hand, Zhuo Tianjiang held a retractable peach-wood sword; in the other, a miniature rattle. He muttered a few unintelligible phrases, then began shaking the rattle and brandishing the sword.

Setting aside how poorly he handled it, just looking at his sharply tailored suit and those two absurd magical implements made the whole thing increasingly awkward.

Bang! A loud crash came from the balcony. Something had fallen over. A whistling gust of cold wind surged in from there, carrying a bone-deep chill that made my scalp prickle. I jolted and sobered at once.

Zhuo Tianjiang said, “The evil thing has been summoned! Stay inside the circle, and do not come out!”

He shook the rattle harder, waving the peach-wood sword in quick strokes as he chanted in rolling, rising and falling tones.

The gale growing stronger and stronger, with one thud after another as objects crashed to the floor, and the chill in the air deepening by the moment.

Zheng Xiao curled up on the bed, trembling more and more violently, her lips whispering only that she was cold.

This was far too strange. When Old Chen summoned that self-combed female ghost before, it had never caused anything like this. The wind now was practically as fierce as a typhoon.

Zheng Lanxuan looked frightened. “Why is the wind so strong?”

“It is the evil thing drawing near! Mr. Zheng, this ghost is exceptionally fierce. There is no way to send it off! Even if I try to subdue it, I will suffer greatly myself!”

He was raising the price again. The starting fee for exorcising a ghost was 1.3 million, with the maximum at 2.5 million.

“As long as my daughter is safe, any amount will do!” Zheng Lanxuan declared.

A trace of triumphant, sly delight flashed across Zhuo Tianjiang’s face. With those words, he said no more, simply brandished his peach-wood sword and shouted, “Foul ghost, how dare you harm human life? A master is here today, and I will never allow you to continue your evil ways. Show yourself at once!”

The gale still howled inward, the eerie cold still deepening, yet no ghost manifested.

“Demons and monsters, reveal yourselves at once!” Zhuo Tianjiang shouted again.

Still no apparition appeared.

He looked faintly puzzled.

The uneasy feeling in me grew stronger and stronger. “Mr. Zhuo, what is going on?”

He gave no answer, merely stepped out of Zheng Xiao’s room and walked a few paces away to look toward the balcony. A fierce wind surged in. Standing in it, he was blown backward several steps, while the things around him flew and whirled in chaos.

He hurried back, avoiding the wind.

“What exactly is happening? What is this situation now?” Zheng Lanxuan demanded.

Zhuo Tianjiang was still rattled, confusion on his face. “Strange. How can this be? This makes no sense! How could it cause such a huge commotion? It doesn’t have that kind of power.”

“It? Who is ‘it’?” Zheng Lanxuan asked.

Zhuo Tianjiang shut his mouth at once, as though he had accidentally let something slip.

“Watch out! Something is coming!” I cried quickly.

Another violent crash of flying objects rang out, and the bone-deep chill grew dense to the extreme. I pulled Wang Yue close and watched the balcony with great vigilance.

The lights in the room suddenly went out. I glanced around, nerves taut.

An eerie blue glow lit the surroundings, dim and indistinct, yet profoundly uncanny. It was here.

“You-You’d better go see what’s going on!” Zheng Lanxuan urged Zhuo Tianjiang.

Zhuo Tianjiang shivered all over, terrified himself. Still, for the sake of the money, he forced himself forward a few steps and leaned out toward the balcony. At once, a bizarre gust of force whipped toward him. The wind was so powerful it nearly lifted a person off their feet. Fortunately, he was pressed against the wall, and was only blown hard enough to slam into it.

He scrambled back in panic and dared not approach again.

A figure suddenly appeared in the room. Most of its body was swallowed by darkness, but under the strange blue light, one could vaguely make out disheveled hair and long trailing robes, the dress of an earlier age.

Zheng Xiao in the room grew even more tormented, weakly moaning, “So cold... I’m so cold... Brother Luo, I’m so cold...”

Zhuo Tianjiang trembled all over, holding up the peach-wood sword as he staggered backward, voice shaking. “Da Bing... Da Bing, where are you? Come quickly...”

At once, everything became clear to me. This man was nothing but a fraud trying to cheat money out of people. He might have had a little skill, and ghosts were indeed real, but the ghost before us was not the one haunting Zheng Xiao. It was one in league with him to swindle money—the ghost he had just called Da Bing.

Zheng Lanxuan grabbed him by the collar. “Why are you backing away? Hurry up and deal with it!”

With that, he shoved him forward.

Zhuo Tianjiang was trembling as he held up the peach-wood sword and stammered, “The Great Supreme Lord Laozi teaches me to slay ghosts, and grants me divine methods. Summon the jade maiden above, and gather in all misfortune. Mounting a mountain, stones split apart; wearing the seal and insignia. Head crowned with the canopy, feet treading—”

Before he could finish, a fierce gust struck him head-on, knocking the rattle and peach-wood sword from his hands. Zhuo Tianjiang was terrified beyond measure and hurriedly tried to dodge back.

Then the ghost suddenly flew toward him, bearing down on Zhuo Tianjiang. Panicked, Zhuo Tianjiang stumbled and fell hard to the ground, crying out in fear.

I rushed forward immediately. There was no time to recite the ghost-avoiding incantation; I formed a hand seal and swiftly pressed it toward his forehead.

The ghost was hurled back several feet, yet suffered no damage at all. It was clear that it was far stronger than those faceless little ghosts before it, probably on par with the ghost child that had escaped from the earthen urn earlier.

It lunged forward again. I chanted the ghost-avoidance spell, and it stopped a meter away. I did not dare hesitate. Since the hand seal had little effect on it, the ghost-avoidance incantation would certainly not restrain it for long. I took out the Well Talisman and quickly slapped it onto its body.

Protective talismans and ghost-binding talismans had little effect on the ghost child, and they would not do much against this one either. I would have to use the strongest measure.

A strange, shrill cry rang out at once. Flames burst across the ghost’s body. It seemed trapped within an invisible prison, unable to flee or move, standing rigid in place as fire consumed it while it let out bizarre, miserable screams.

I raised my hand to signal the others back. In my other hand, I prepared the Ghost-Suppressing Talisman, watching the ghost burn.

So the Well Talisman was truly formidable. Why had Master Ma not given it to me when I dealt with the ghost child earlier?

The ghost’s shrieks grew even more miserable, and its bound body struggled violently, as though trying to break free.

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