Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Xiao Dian, carrying other magical implements, came downstairs, breaking the somewhat awkward atmosphere.
Xie Lingya felt that someone was spreading rumors outside, ruining his reputation.
Master Niu, however, hadn’t realized he was focusing on the wrong thing; he was completely absorbed in the skeletons outside.
“Teacher Xie, I saw the Vidra outside…” Xiao Dian, who had been taking care of Guo Xing, saw the skeletons outside the window and was so frightened that he quickly grabbed his tools and came downstairs.
Xie Lingya had brought his uncle to teach Xiao Dian magic and had also told him many of his own experiences. Xiao Dian knew that they had encountered the charnel ground when they were chasing Hongyang Dao. Lian Tan had once explained that the charnel ground was not originally an evil place, but someone used the Mutamasha method to raise corpses, and these skeletons were Vidra ghosts.
In Buddhism, one needed to enter into meditation or have a Dharma master chant mantras to exorcise them in order to escape unscathed from the Vidra ghosts. Xiao Dian knew this was not to be underestimated and quickly came down to help.
It was because of Xiao Dian’s demeanor that Master Niu realized those things weren’t summoned by Xie Lingya. “What is Vidra? What is that? Is it aimed at you?”
The Muthamasha method was a forbidden technique in Buddhism, and Master Niu didn’t know what it was.
Xie Lingya didn’t want to pay him any attention, but there were other people present, so he quickly said to the others, “These are evil spirits summoned by the corpse-raising technique. You two can ask the Buddhist deities for protection; they are afraid of fire.”
He took out his scepter and threw the Three Treasures Sword, which Xiao Dian caught.
Xie Lingya said, “If things get chaotic later, protect Guo Xing.” He then said to Fu Zhiye, “Mr. Bao and Ms. Bao, please protect Mr. Fu and Mr. Fu— I’m really sorry, this must be my enemy taking revenge, and I’ve implicated everyone.”
At this moment, even if Fu Zhiye had complaints, he wouldn’t say anything. He obediently followed Bao Wenshan, wishing he could tie himself to her with a rope for safety.
The Bao siblings nodded knowingly. There was no point in saying anything else now; Xie Lingya had already pointed out the key point, and they weren’t afraid of trouble. Bao Wenqi took out a long whip, while Bao Wenshan drew two short swords, tossing and catching them with practiced ease.
These shamans, besides communicating with the gods through dance, were also skilled in martial arts, even able to summon deceased warriors to possess them.
As for Master Niu, he glanced at Fu Zhiye with some resentment, feeling that this was a good time to cultivate a good relationship with Fu Zhiye, but unfortunately, Fu Zhiye seemed to trust Xie Lingya more. Before Master Niu could say anything more, the skeletons had already crossed the courtyard, some climbing upstairs, others smashing open the French windows…
….
Xiao Dian went upstairs with his sword and stood guard in Guo Xing’s room.
Guo Xing had just regained consciousness. He rolled over, leaned against the bedside table, and gagged a few times. Sitting up, he watched Xiao Dian rush in and mumbled, “I feel like I dreamt I was outside, and it was so cold…”
“It wasn’t a dream. Someone called your soul away,” Xiao Dian interrupted him.
Before Guo Xing could react, he heard a sound. Turning around, he saw a skeleton hanging outside, clinging to a water pipe. One hand had broken through the glass and was being pulled in, the bones opening and closing a few times.
“Holy crap!” Guo Xing fell to the ground, running forward in a panic, grabbing Xiao Dian’s arm. “Where’s Teacher Xie? Where’s Teacher Xie? Where’s Teacher Xie?!”
“Outside,” Xiao Dian helped Guo Xing up. His legs were still weak, and he had a hard time taking even a few steps. Xiao Dian simply told him to sit down. “Alright, don’t talk.”
Guo Xing looked at him tremblingly. “Brother Dian, are you… are you sure you can handle this…”
He knew that Xiao Dian hadn’t been a Taoist for long and was still a novice.
Xiao Dian calmly said, “Even if my hair turns white again, I’ll still protect you, okay?”
Guo Xing glanced at the white hair at Xiao Dian’s temples and fell silent.
At this moment, the skeleton had already rushed forward and crawled in, the rotting flesh on its arms falling to the ground, its dark eye sockets “staring” at them, crawling forward in the same position on the ground.
“When the decree arrives, thunder and fire follow!” Xiao Dian swung his three-treasure sword horizontally, severing the skull!
The door behind them slammed open, and Guo Xing turned around to see Bao Wenshan protecting Fu Zhiye, holding two short swords, kicking a Vidra demon in the chest, and landing steadily on the ground after a backflip, her waist strength astonishing. She brandished her short swords and shouted, “Ga Ri A Xi Su Mu!”
White flames ignited on the short swords, the shaman’s incantation to summon fire.
The flames burned fiercely on the skeletons, passing from one to another, and they seemed to feel pain, raising their heads and making hissing sounds from their mouths.
Hearing the sound, Fu Zhiye felt his teeth chatter.
Bao Wenshan kicked the burning skeleton downstairs and pulled Fu Zhiye up another floor. There, they saw Bao Wenqi already guarding Father Fu’s bedside. Father Fu, already unable to sleep due to his swollen stomach, now had even more terror in his eyes, watching Bao Wenqi sit cross-legged at the foot of his bed, beating a leather drum beside him, chanting, “Geri Re!”
With the rapid drumming, a faint golden light emanated from Bao Wenqi’s body. A skeleton tried to grab his neck, but the hand withered into ash the moment it touched his skin!
Several more Vidra ghosts crawled in through the window. Bao Wenshan kicked them down and stood at the window looking out.
She saw Master Niu standing on the second-floor terrace, holding his Dharma flag and waving it at the Vidra ghosts. A withered skeletal hand slipped through the gap in the railing, grabbed Master Niu’s ankle, and pulled hard.
Master Niu stomped his other foot, breaking the white bone wrist in two, but he also lost his balance and fell forward from the second floor, landing on the grass.
Bao Wenshan couldn’t bear to watch and looked away. She vaguely remembered that Fu Zhiye’s family kept some cacti.
Behind her, Fu Zhiye sat on the edge of the bed, holding his father’s hand. “Dad, don’t be afraid, it’s alright, Mr. Bao and the others will protect you.”
Bao Wenqi stood guard at the door and turned to ask her sister, “How is it?”
Bao Wenshan stabbed the top of the head of a Vidra demon that was trying to climb onto the windowsill with her sword, staring down and said, “He went into the forest…”
This “he” did not refer to Master Niu, but to Xie Lingya. Fu Zhiye also nervously approached and looked outside. Sure enough, he saw Xie Lingya alone, heading towards the forest where Vidra demons were constantly running out. He beat down many Vidra demons with his bare hands along the way, and his heart tightened.
Even without understanding magic, he knew Xie Lingya was probably heading to the lair of the Vidra to completely break the evil spell.
“Can you please stop crawling around!” Xie Lingya was scolding the cowardly dragon. Not only was it desperately trying to burrow into his arm, but it was also threatening to crawl towards his chest. It was just some bones, yet the dragon was so afraid; he was truly desperate.
To make matters worse, Liu Lingtong also started wailing. It wasn’t afraid of Vidra, but it was afraid of the dragon. The dragon was getting very close to it as it crawled inside.
Xie Lingya painfully unleashed a thunder talisman, blasting away three or five more Vidra.
Reaching the charnel ground, Xie Lingya noticed that this charnel ground was different from the one he had seen before. In the previous charnel ground, the Vidra were summoned from underground and crawled out. This time, however, the Vidra came down from the trees.
They were all wrapped in tree bark, their hands first piercing the bark, peeling off their outer garments, and then descending from the branches.
But Xie Lingya quickly remembered that some ethnic minorities lived in Qingqiu City, and some local programs had introduced this tradition. These ethnic minorities had a long-standing tradition of tree burial. That was, after the deceased died, they were wrapped up and hung on a tree to be weathered, rather than being buried in the ground.
“Sorry, I disturbed the spirits…” Xie Lingya muttered to himself. The Vidra ghosts that rose after tree burial seemed no different from those buried in the ground, only their appearance was more terrifying.
Xie Lingya had only recently mastered a new spell. He pondered for a moment, composed himself, and scolded Liu Lingtong and Guai Long to make no more noise. He sat cross-legged on the spot, formed hand seals, and chanted intently: “Fire and wind steam, the four seasons are bright. I obey the true god, commanding all spirits. By the decree of the nine heavens, quickly manifest!”
Upstairs not far away, Fu Zhiye rubbed his eyes hard.
He was very skeptical of what he was seeing.
The mere sight of bones sprouting from his own tree had already terrified him, but the scene before him utterly shattered his worldview, making him wonder if he was still dreaming.
There were no peach trees near Fu Zhiye’s house, yet beside Xie Lingya, tender buds sprouted from the ground, quickly growing into small trees, branching out, growing taller and thicker, and suddenly, a tree full of peach blossoms!
The east wind blew, the peach blossoms drifted, each fallen petal like a sharp blade, sweeping away the bones.
Large swaths of peach blossoms scattered, allowing Fu Zhiye to see the shape of the wind; they carried the blossoms upstairs— pink petals clung to the white bones, and the Vidra demon, touched by the blossoms, slumped forward, unable to move.
The ghostly aura within the charnel ground was also dispelled by the peach blossoms. Just then, a ray of morning light pierced the darkness in the east, and dawn arrived.
The moment the sunlight fell on Fu Zhiye’s face, the flowers, trees, and bones, like a mirage, gradually became transparent and disappeared.
If it weren’t for the faint sweet fragrance lingering in his nose, Fu Zhiye would almost have thought it was just a bizarre and beautiful dream!
Xie Lingya, supporting himself on the ground, swayed as he stood up, stretched his legs that had gone numb from sitting, and walked back in the morning light, his figure edged with gold.
After a long while, Fu Zhiye finally came to his senses. Even if these were just illusions, they were enough to amaze him as a spectator. Whenever he read descriptions of magic spells involving staffs forming forests in ancient books, he would at most think they were imaginative, but at this moment, he was truly impressed.
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