Chapter Ninety-Six: Duel with the Old Ghost

At eight in the evening, the incense and candles were lit, and the rite began.

Zheng Lanxuan helped the frail, trembling Zheng Xiao out and lowered her to her knees before the ritual altar.

I said, “If anything feels even slightly off at any point, stop at once.”

Zheng Lanxuan and Zhuo Tianjiang both nodded.

Using a length of red cord stained with blood, I bound Zheng Xiao’s little finger and the old ghost’s bone together. At this point, I was gambling completely on chance, betting that the old woman still retained some shred of humanity and would tell me the true method.

Everything was ready. Standing before the altar, I began to chant the long and winding severance invocation: “Disciple of the Zheng clan, Zheng Xiao, aged fifteen, who entered into a yin-yang union on the night of the fifteenth day of the tenth month at the hour of eight, was forced into it by her parents and did not do so of her own will...”

Boom!

A tremendous crash came from outside the balcony. The world beyond instantly darkened, and the lights of the distant streetlamps vanished from sight. Wild winds howled outside, battering the windows again and again with thunderous blows!

It was here.

I continued chanting: “Mandarin ducks pair in mutual affection; marriage rests upon shared consent. A union cannot be forced. We beg your great understanding and ask that you bear us no blame...”

Boom! Boom!

The windows shook more and more violently. The ghost-suppressing talismans pasted on them flashed with tiny sparks; it was a sign that the talismans were about to fail!

“Cough, cough, cough...” Zheng Xiao’s condition worsened as well. She coughed blood without stopping.

I shot Zhuo Tianjiang a look, signaling him to hurry and paste more talismans on. He fumbled, shaking all over, and took out a ghost-suppressing talisman before staggering toward the balcony.

I kept chanting: “Now we offer three sticks of incense, four red candles, wine, meat, melons, and fruit, to welcome you with courtesy and speak calmly, so that the matter may be made plain...”

“Cough, cough, cough!” Zheng Xiao’s coughing grew even more violent.

“Xiao Xiao! Xiao Xiao!” Zheng Lanxuan cried in panic. “No, it’s not working! Zheng Xiao can’t hold on—look at her!”

I turned to Zheng Xiao and saw that she had grown even weaker. Even with Zheng Lanxuan supporting her, she could hardly remain kneeling. Her hand, the one tied to the bone by the red thread, was trembling, and the situation looked dire indeed.

“This method is wrong! Stop chanting!” Zheng Lanxuan said in alarm.

I stopped, fury surging through me. That damned old woman had fooled me from beginning to end! What severing a ghost marriage, what paper substitute for a human—every last thing was a trap she had laid for me!

I reached for the red thread to untie it from Zheng Xiao, but the moment my fingers touched it, a sudden numbness shot through me. I yanked my hand back at once. What was wrong with this cord? How had it turned into this?

I tried again, grabbing the red thread and pulling at the knot. A bizarre force seemed to tug back from the other end, and both my hands went numb in an instant. Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to keep working at the knot.

“Ah!” Zhuo Tianjiang cried out.

I looked up and saw that the ghost-suppressing talisman stuck to the balcony window had caught fire!

“Bad! Get out of the way!” I shouted at once.

Even without my warning, Zhuo Tianjiang had already scrambled away in a panic. The talisman burned itself to ash, and a bone-deep chill spread everywhere like a flood. All the lights in the room went out, and a dim blue glow rose within the house.

It was inside. That thing from before.

I looked around frantically, searching for the old ghost’s figure.

“Watch out!” Zhuo Tianjiang suddenly shouted, his eyes fixed on the space behind me.

I barely had time to think. I whipped out a ghost-suppressing talisman and slapped it backward. The talisman struck the old ghost mid-flight and burst into flame at once. It was exactly the same as with that child ghost earlier!

Seeing that he was about to move, I immediately began the ghost-avoidance chant. The instant he froze, I quickly took out three more ghost-suppressing talismans and slapped them onto his body, while shouting, “Get out of the way!”

Zheng Lanxuan grabbed Zheng Xiao and ran aside. I retreated quickly as well.

In just a few seconds, he was moving again, and the talismans on him all ignited into fire!

Even if my talismans were not on par with Master Ma’s, they should not have failed so quickly. This thing had clearly grown stronger. How was that possible?

He broke free and flew toward Zheng Xiao. His target was Zheng Xiao!

I chanted the ghost-avoidance incantation again, but he merely paused for a moment before rushing forward once more. In an instant he was upon Zheng Xiao, his two hands reaching for her, and the two protective talismans on her body had no effect at all!

Zheng Lanxuan immediately took the ghost-suppressing talisman I had given him earlier and slapped it onto the old ghost. The old ghost froze at once. But soon the paper talisman began flashing with sparks. Even Master Ma’s ghost-suppressing talismans could not restrain him. This thing had truly become stronger. And yet, even so, there was no reason for the protective talismans on Zheng Xiao to be useless!

Zheng Lanxuan held Zheng Xiao and swiftly dodged aside. I looked at the bone tied to Zheng Xiao’s little finger. Could it be because of that thing? Damn it all! That old woman had intended to kill every one of us!

Seeing the ghost-suppressing talisman on the old ghost catch fire, I rushed forward at once and slapped several more talismans onto him. No matter how many I used, those talismans all burned away and failed in short order.

There was no choice. I would have to try the homemade well talismans. I only hoped they would work.

I took out two well talismans and quickly pressed them onto the old ghost. His struggling body froze at once, and flames leapt over him. My heart lifted with relief. Thankfully, they worked.

But before I could be glad for long, the flames died out quickly, and he began struggling again. Disaster— even the well talismans could no longer suppress him!

I drew out two more well talismans and was about to slap them on again when the old ghost suddenly broke free. A blast of frigid wind hit me head-on, like several hundred pounds of iron smashing into me. I was sent flying, slamming hard into the wall before collapsing to the floor.

Agony tore through my body, and my bones felt as if they were coming apart.

The old ghost did not continue attacking. Instead, he wheeled around and moved straight toward Zheng Xiao!

I could not let him hurt Zheng Xiao, no matter what.

Forcing myself up with great effort, I grabbed a handful of talismans and lunged forward. I threw myself in front of Zheng Xiao, but before my talisman could even reach him, an overwhelming force struck head-on, knocking the papers from my hand and scattering them in all directions.

My heart leapt into my throat. This was bad.

In an instant the old ghost was in front of me. His claw shot toward my chest, and a searing pain exploded there at once. An icy chill so deep it reached the bones made my scalp prickle. My throat turned suddenly bloody, and I spat out a mouthful of blood.

The old ghost showed no sign of leaving. His other hand also clamped onto my chest, and those sharp, elongated nails pierced through my flesh and into my breast.

“Ahhh!” Zhuo Tianjiang screamed in panic and fell straight onto the floor from fright.

That bone-deep chill spread through my whole body. My chest felt as though it had been torn open, and blood kept spilling from my mouth.

The old ghost’s face was inches from mine. His pallid features were utterly expressionless, and his eyes did not move at all, like the face of a dead man who had died with his eyes wide open.

With difficulty, I reached into my coat pocket, trying to find a talisman to fight back, only to discover that the pocket was empty.

When I came here this afternoon, everything had been so rushed that I had not had time to write any more talismans. Every last one of them had already been used up.

I gave a bitter smile in my heart. In the end, I had not even managed to live out a single year. This time, I had trusted people too easily. My little cleverness was only good for being a model student on campus. When it came to playing games of deceit, I was still far too young...