Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Xie Lingya also thought, what does 500,000 mean? It’s like the money for the mountain gate hall…
Even Bao Wenshan and Bao Wenqi showed signs of wanting to try again. Bao Wenshan said, “Mr. Fu, although we failed, our uncle is a divinely ordained shaman. We can invite him over.”
Fu Zhiye’s spirits lifted. “A divinely ordained shaman?”
Bao Wenshan explained, “We were chosen by our families to learn to become shamans, but our uncle became a shaman after falling ill in his youth. This is called a divinely ordained shaman. He was taken in by an old shaman who had become a god to learn, and when he woke up, he knew everything.”
It was self-evident which was superior: divinely ordained or chosen by humans.
They had just forced out a strange cry, like a rooster, and given that they had invoked an animal deity, Fu Zhiye vaguely felt it was the right remedy. Perhaps their more powerful elders could break the curse.
Fu Zhiye immediately said, “Alright, then I’ll trouble you to invite that old shaman!”
He turned and met Xie Lingya’s gaze, feeling a little embarrassed, but still said, “…Uh, Teacher Xie, could you take another look?”
Xie Lingya didn’t mind and led Guo Xing and Xiao Dian into the room. Guo Xing and Xiao Dian were a little nervous; in this competitive atmosphere, even those who weren’t initially interested couldn’t help but feel competitive, especially with such a large reward.
Before entering the room, Xie Lingya noticed that Master Niu also looked quite tense, constantly scrutinizing Bao Wenshan and Xiao Dian.
….
Upon entering Father Fu’s room, everyone saw a glass of water hanging upside down in the room, with a piece of paper on the rim.
Guo Xing couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Xie, what is this?”
Although Xie Lingya didn’t know which school of thought this belonged to, she quickly understood. “It’s probably a testing method. If the water doesn’t drip, it proves the patient can still be saved.”
Fu Zhiye, standing nearby, didn’t speak, but judging from his expression, Xie Lingya was probably right.
Xie Lingya glanced at Father Fu. Because there was a family photo in the outer room, Xie Lingya could tell at a glance that Father Fu had become much thinner, with only his belly protruding, like a pregnant woman. He was holding his belly, groaning and unable to speak.
Xie Lingya lifted his clothes and saw that his belly was not only swollen but also faintly bluish. Touching it, it was soft yet hard, like a lump of flesh.
“What does it feel like?” Xie Lingya asked.
The father was in excruciating pain, and only Fu Zhiye answered for him: “It feels like a stick is stirring inside my internal organs. It wasn’t this painful at first, but it’s getting worse every day.”
Xie Lingya observed for a while and then asked, “Old Fu, did you eat chicken when you went out of town?”
The father suddenly froze, looking at him in horror, and managed to squeeze out, “Now that you mention it… it seems so. After eating it… I started feeling unwell, like I had diarrhea…”
After the father fell ill, many people came to see him, and quite a few recognized that he had been poisoned by a Gu, but there were too many types of Gu poison, and this was done by a master, so no one could identify the specific circumstances.
Fu Zhiye even thought of his father’s loud cry, which sounded like a rooster, “Teacher Xie, could my father’s cry before be related?”
“Yes, actually, even if they didn’t perform the ritual, your father would have cried out like that sooner or later. But this has indeed made me certain that your father has been poisoned by the Tiaosheng Gu,” Xie Lingya said. He had seen such examples in the Baoyang Notes.
Fu Zhiye asked anxiously, “What is that?”
“A person afflicted with the ‘Tiaosheng Gu’ will have a rooster growing inside their body, whatever the Gu caster uses to pick it. Your father ate chicken, and a rooster is gradually forming inside him. Once it’s fully formed, your father’s life will be in danger,” Xie Lingya said. “What’s even more vicious is that after death, the soul will naturally be controlled by the Gu caster, so no matter how hard you search, that person won’t come out. They don’t want money, they just want the ghost messenger. These people cast Gu randomly, choosing whoever they want, even if they have no grudge against you… Of course, they usually prefer to choose strangers from other places.”
Fu Zhiye and his father’s faces changed drastically. They no longer felt that the shaman making them hear roosters crowing in their stomachs was a good thing. If this thing could make noise, they still had time.
Fu Zhiye said nervously, “Teacher Xie, you must save my father!”
Xie Lingya comforted him, “Mr. Fu, please calm down. This can still be treated, but we need to prepare some medicinal herbs and come back at dawn.”
Seeing Xie Lingya’s calm demeanor, Fu Zhiye felt somewhat relieved. “Teacher Xie, then we’ll leave it to you!”
Xie Lingya nodded.
Guo Xing and Xiao Dian had initially thought Teacher Xie’s deal was a sure thing, but after they left, the Bao siblings and Master Niu stayed behind, and Fu Zhiye discussed the treatment with them.
It seemed that although Xie Lingya had revealed the most origins of the Gu poison so far, Fu Zhiye dared not place all his hopes on him.
….
That night, Xie Lingya slept in a separate room, while Guo Xing and Xiao Dian, his two “assistants,” were arranged to sleep together.
The treatment was scheduled for the early morning, but not the early morning of today; some medicinal herbs were not yet ready and might have to be prepared the next day.
Guo Xing and Xiao Dian quietly discussed that the current situation seemed to suggest that Teacher Xie and the Bao siblings were in a hurry. They wondered whether Teacher Xie’s medicine should be prepared first, or whether the Bao siblings’ uncle should arrive first to perform the ritual. After all, their uncle seemed to have a high chance of success as well.
Xie Lingya didn’t think too much about it. Throughout his career, he knew that things couldn’t be rushed; the hastier, the more likely things were to go wrong. If it really was Uncle Bao who cured Father Fu in the end, then it could only be said that their fate wasn’t right.
Xie Lingya was sound asleep in the guest room, in a very good mood, when his phone woke him up in the middle of the night. He picked it up and saw it was Xiao Dian calling. Still very sleepy, he answered, “What is it?”
Xiao Dian was practically distorted with anxiety, “Teacher Xie, look! Get up and look!”
Xie Lingya instantly woke up, “Look at what? What is it?”
He rolled over and sat up, only to hear Xiao Dian say on the other end, “I woke up in the middle of the night and found Guo Xing’s body was cold. I was so scared I wanted to look for you, and when I got up, I saw another Guo Xing outside the window!”
He was so frightened that he immediately called Xie Lingya, afraid that Guo Xing had disappeared while he was out.
Another Guo Xing outside the window? Perhaps it was Guo Xing’s spirit.
Xie Lingya opened the window and, sure enough, there was another Guo Xing in the courtyard outside, walking around with his feet off the ground.
Guo Xing didn’t look like he was destined to die young, so this was definitely not a soul-snatching act. Besides, they had seen the living soul with their own eyes; it was definitely some kind of evil magic.
Xie Lingya didn’t have time to think further. He told Xiao Dian to “get out,” tucked his phone away, and jumped out of the window.
Xiao Dian was wondering what to do when he saw Teacher Xie jump out of the window next to him, startling him. They lived on the second floor!
Xie Lingya almost twisted his ankle; his agility wasn’t as good as Shi Changxuan’s. He stumbled a few times after landing before running forward frantically.
Seeing this, Xiao Dian quickly turned and ran out as well.
Guo Xing’s figure was alone in the courtyard, drifting in one direction. Xie Lingya finally caught up, and seeing his bewildered expression, he used his mind seal to bind his soul.
Peach and willow trees were planted in the courtyard. Xie Lingya tore off a willow branch, made a snare, and trapped Guo Xing’s soul. He heard a noise, looked in a certain direction, and saw a figure flash by, followed by the light of a lamp that went out in an instant.
Xie Lingya had to hurry and take Guo Xing’s soul back, so he didn’t pay attention and ran back.
He and Xiao Dian ran up and down the house, put the soul back into Guo Xing’s body, and burned talisman water to calm him down, waking up the Bao siblings and Master Niu.
Xie Lingya thought of the figure that flashed by, his face turned cold, and he went out to look at them, his gaze landing on Master Niu.
Master Niu’s eyes darted around a few times, but finally calmed down and met Xie Lingya’s gaze, saying, “What’s going on in the middle of the night?”
Xie Lingya looked at him coldly and said, “Catching a living person to take the place of the dead?”
The Bao siblings’ previous confusion disappeared, and they looked at Master Niu strangely.
Master Niu’s face turned pale, and he said stiffly, “Xiao Xie, what nonsense are you spouting?”
“You haven’t wiped the mud off your trousers yet,” Xie Lingya pointed coldly.
Taking someone’s life in their place was a common evil spell. Xie Lingya had encountered it before, where a spell was cast on money and thrown out, and whoever picked it up would suffer someone else’s misfortune.
This one was even more vicious. The spellcaster carried a lantern outside, calling out to the soul. In a dream, the soul left the body and responded to the call. The sorcerer handed the lantern to the soul. If the soul accepted the lantern, the spell was complete, and there was no way to save it. Because he had already prepared the spell beforehand, the person who accepted the lantern could die in place of someone. Even the money was saved.
As for who would die in place of someone else, considering the situation, it was obviously Father Fu. Xie Lingya and the Bao siblings were racing against time to cast the spell. If Master Niu wanted to get the reward, this method was direct and quick, but it lacked any moral virtue— could this really be called saving lives?
These sorcerers were resolute; their souls wouldn’t be summoned away. Xiao Dian had already undergone a transformation, and Mr. Fu, having paid for the service, couldn’t be summoned either. In the end, it was Guo Xing who fell victim. It was fortunate that it was Guo Xing; if it had been someone else living nearby, Xie Lingya might not have noticed immediately, let alone been able to rescue them!
Everyone was an expert; Xie Lingya and the Bao siblings had a rough idea of what was going on and subconsciously moved a few steps away from him.
Xie Lingya saw this and felt a slight sense of relief. There were many in this line of work who used their abilities for evil, but there were also those who adhered to principles. It was just that Guo Xing was unlucky; he suffered misfortune as soon as he visited.
Everyone was wary of each other, the atmosphere extremely tense. Just as they were facing off, they suddenly felt a strong, eerie aura. Looking outside, their breathing quickened.
Among the ornamental trees in the courtyard, there were many skeletal figures, reflecting a ghastly white light in the moonlight. Some of them had rotting flesh clinging to them, walking step by step towards the outside.
Xie Lingya’s heart tightened even more. The location was different, but he had witnessed such a scene before. It was the Corpse Forest summoned by the Evil Buddha during the siege of Hongyang Dao. Could it be that the culprit was indeed a remnant of Hongyang Dao, and had even followed him to Qingqiu City?
“What happened?” Fu Zhiye came downstairs to the living room. He had also been awakened by the commotion of the others, but he was a few steps slower.
However, as soon as he came downstairs, Fu Zhiye also saw the scene outside. He uttered a curse and took several steps back. He clutched his chest and said, “Is it that evil sorcerer who used Gu? He saw that you were about to heal my father, so he attacked again? How can there be such a vicious person in the world!”
Xie Lingya said awkwardly, “Uh, well, it might not be related to that evil sorcerer, it’s related to me…”
He was very embarrassed; everyone present was probably implicated because of him.
Before anyone else could react, Master Niu, his face pale, said, “I’ve long heard that Xie Lingya of Zhuyang is extremely ruthless… I… I didn’t even succeed in casting my spell, and you’re already retaliating like this?”
Xie Lingya: “…………What did you hear???”
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