Chapter Eighty-Six: The Old Manor

We had already come close to the town after a little over ten minutes.

Following Lily Yue’s instructions, I did not take the main road straight into town, but skirted around it along a narrow path outside the settlement.

Nor did I choose the more prosperous-looking quarter. I kept searching until I found a lane lined with dilapidated houses, and as I looked farther in, there were already very few people left.

I was just about to enter the town when Lily Yue suddenly tugged at my sleeve and told me not to go in yet, asking me to put her down first.

After I set her down, she looked at me with obvious tension and asked in a low voice whether I could draw a few more talismans.

My heart gave a slight jolt.

She hurriedly waved her hands and explained that she was not trying to peek at me drawing talismans. Mine were too unusual; even if she were asked to imitate them, she would not be able to reproduce them. She only meant that we might run into danger, and with a talisman that powerful, together with that green-seizing mirror, we would be much safer.

As she spoke, she lifted her hand, and the small green dot in her palm made my eyelid twitch.

The scene in the graveyard was still vivid in my mind.

Before, once the yin energy appeared, I had not been able to see the ghosts at all. It was only after Lily Yue used the green-seizing mirror that the spirits took shape, allowing me to strike them with a suppression talisman.

I did not mind her watching me draw talismans. After all, the two of us were tied together now, and Li Cangshui had deliberately arranged for Lily Yue to stay with me. I also needed her help.

That could not be avoided.

Besides, back at Old Madam Li’s house, Lily Yue had already seen me draw a talisman once.

Taking a deep breath, I brought out the ink tray, squeezed blood from my middle finger until the inkstone was about seventy percent full, then bit my tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Are you grinding the ink with blood?”

Lily Yue sounded plainly astonished.

I nodded, the taste of blood thick in my mouth.

“Blood is the gathering of a person’s vitality, energy, and spirit. You use blood as ink and merge your soul into the brush. No wonder that talisman is so strong.”

“My master almost never uses blood to draw talismans. It is nearly always exorcising cinnabar, infused with spiritual power.”

“Ghosts fear the yang energy in living people most. That yang energy is roughly another expression of vitality, energy, and spirit. And your soul is stronger than those ghosts’, so very few can withstand talismans like yours.”

Lily Yue murmured to herself.

She bit her lip lightly and held out her hand. “Let me grind the ink. You draw.”

I did not insist and handed her the ink tray.

She ground the ink carefully.

I found a level patch of ground, spread out the paper, and prepared to write.

That swollen, stabbing sensation in my soul still had not faded. Lily Yue’s suggestion to draw talismans suited me perfectly.

After taking out the brush, I quickly dipped it in the blood ink, and a suppression talisman took shape in an instant.

As soon as a thread of soul slipped from me into the talisman paper, the stabbing pain seemed to ease a little, and I felt much more comfortable.

Without pause, I drew two more suppression talismans in succession.

At last, the swollen, piercing sensation completely faded.

I was about to continue when Lily Yue quietly stopped me.

“Three is enough. Your soul is really strange. The last time I saw you draw talismans, what method did you use to recover your soul?”

Her expression was innocent, and her face, a little pale already, carried a faintly sickly air that somehow made her seem pitiable.

My heart gave a slight tremor, and I quickly suppressed that thought.

Lowering my head, I continued drawing the fourth talisman. As another thread of soul was drawn away, my face went a shade pale, though still within the limits I could bear.

Lily Yue’s voice grew a little panicked. “Xie Yuan, what are you doing? That is enough talismans already. You—”

I did not stop. I drew two more talismans in quick succession. After the sixth suppression talisman was completed, I finally felt a wave of dizziness, as if I had nearly been drained dry.

I did not look up, and in a hoarse voice I said, “I can’t tell you now. I’m afraid I’ll scare you. You’ll know later.”

After a brief pause, I added, “I know my own condition.”

Then I handed Lily Yue three talismans and, exhaling slowly, said, “Take these. Keep them for self-defense. If something happens later and I fail to keep an eye on you, they’ll help keep you safe.”

Lily Yue looked at me for a long moment, her eyes carrying that same indescribable expression.

“Thank you.”

Instinctively, I avoided her gaze and packed everything away.

The remaining three suppression talismans I kept in a place near my chest for easy access.

I was not deliberately making myself weak. Through these few times of devouring ghosts, I had already discovered my limit.

At most, three ghosts. Two ghosts would fill my weakened soul back up; the third would make me feel as though I were about to burst.

Any more than that, and I could no longer swallow them.

If I went into the Wang family estate in my present condition, then even if danger arose, unless I immediately drew talismans to expend that power, I would have no way to make use of my ability.

Besides, how could I possibly have the time to draw talismans in a situation like that?

My thoughts shifted quickly. As I stood up, I had already gathered my emotions.

I asked Lily Yue whether she felt better and whether we should go into town.

She nodded, her expression turning grave as well, and said nothing else.

We entered the town by the narrow lane.

Around us were all old houses. The road underfoot was laid with old-style bricks, clearly different from the lively part of town ahead.

There were almost no people around. A few children were running back and forth by the roadside, and when they saw Lily Yue and me, they hurried away.

In the distance, I could see the guesthouse where we had stayed before. Even now, under such fine weather, there were not many people on the streets.

That made the place feel somewhat eerie.

Yet the benefit to us was obvious.

With so few people, Lily Yue and I would not draw attention.

“When I left this morning, I came through here. That old residence is on another fork in the road.”

Lily Yue walked deeper along the old lane.

The farther we went, the older and more rundown the houses became, and the more lifeless the place felt.

From the first row of single-story homes to the later ruined tile-roofed houses, many windows were broken, and within them sat rotten furniture. No one had lived there for a long time.

The trees by the roadside were ancient, with knotted trunks and twisting branches, their leaves a deep green.

An old estate appeared before Lily Yue and me.

Although it was also badly decayed, with broken steps at the entrance and a front gate whose red lacquer had peeled away into mottled ruin, it still gave off an air of dignity.

The plaque above the gate was too blurred to make out.

Through the haze, I could faintly see a soil mound out front.

“This should be the Wang family estate,” Lily Yue said as she stepped up the stairs.

I walked beside her and pushed open the gate.

With a soft creak, it opened in fits and starts.

A desolate, long-uninhabited odor drifted from within the courtyard.

The paving stones on the ground were not badly damaged, yet they looked ancient beyond measure.

The flower beds in the courtyard had long since dried up completely.

On the right side was a small pond, still holding a little water, its surface covered with green duckweed, as though it were the only living thing left in the entire estate.

Directly facing the gate was the main hall.

To the left and right were smaller rooms.

Lily Yue and I stepped into the main hall.

On a large square table lay a sheet of paper. By now the edges had curled, and dust covered it entirely.

On the paper was written a single character.

The instant I saw it, I felt a jolt in my heart, as though I were seeing a young man standing before that character with tightly furrowed brows.

After a breath, I recovered myself.

Lily Yue looked around and spoke in a slightly grave tone. “It’s still daylight, and yin energy is already seeping out of the estate. We need to find somewhere to hide. I’m afraid that before nightfall, the townspeople will come in carrying the coffin.”

I nodded and said in a low voice, “The main hall is too obvious, and the guest rooms may not be safe either. Let’s look for the wood shed.”

Lily Yue nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, we slipped into the wood shed at the outer edge of the courtyard.

There was clearly a great deal of dry firewood stored inside, making it an excellent hiding place.

Lily Yue brought over a few large pieces of wood and softly told me to sit down and rest for a while.

Before I could even sit, I suddenly heard a burst of noisy footsteps.

My pupils contracted sharply. I made a shushing gesture, and Lily Yue clearly grew alert as well, crouching by the window.

A group of people had already entered the courtyard.

As expected, several townsfolk came in carrying a coffin.

Right behind them was unexpectedly Reverend Zhou.

My expression changed slightly. According to Lily Yue’s explanation, it should have been the townsfolk eating meat contaminated with ghost blood that helped the resentful spirit enter the house. Why had Reverend Zhou come too?

Could it be that even a Taoist priest could fall into the trap?

I peered out through the window. His complexion was ruddy and normal, with no sign of being eroded by yin energy.

And there were several young Taoists as well, carrying ritual implements and setting up an altar around the coffin.

My face changed again.

Then I noticed Reverend Zhou carrying a few old objects in his hands.

A chessboard, a bamboo book, and even a bucket.

Lily Yue’s voice was very low, and very tense. “The things he’s holding are the kind of old objects that ancient ghosts love most. The ghost hasn’t come out yet, so he wants to provoke it.”

“He must know who is inside the coffin.”

“But why would he provoke it?”

“Humans and ghosts walk different paths. He’s still a Taoist priest…”

Lily Yue murmured under her breath.

I could not make sense of it either, but I had already become highly wary of this Reverend Zhou.

He was by no means foolish. At the very least, if we had thought him foolish before, it was only because we could not see through what he intended to do.