Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
Xie Lingya was carrying a dazed snake in his hand. Just now, a Vidra demon had fallen and landed on him, causing the cowardly snake to go limp. Later, when he pulled it out from his chest, he realized it had fainted.
Xie Lingya walked over with a dark face and saw Master Niu lying on the ground, convulsing, with several cacti stuck in his back. “Call an ambulance…”
Xie Lingya rolled his eyes at him and walked away.
Fu Zhiye and the others also came down and only noticed when they got closer that Xie Lingya actually had a snake in his hand, which none of them had noticed before.
“What should we do with this? Should we burn it?” Fu Zhiye thought it was some kind of evil spirit.
“It’s okay, it’s mine.” Xie Lingya said.
Although Fu Zhiye felt that keeping a snake was a bit eerie, after what had just happened, he still maintained his respect. “So it’s yours. Were you exhausted from working too hard just now? Do you want me to get you some food?”
“It’s okay, I just need to rest.” Xie Lingya was too embarrassed to say that the snake hadn’t done anything and had just fainted from fright. He took a cup, put the coiled snake in it, and poured in some water.
Xie Lingya apologized to everyone again, “When I was investigating the heretical sects before, it seems there were some remnants left who have set their sights on me. I’m so sorry, everyone.”
“It’s alright, we weren’t hurt anyway,” Bao Wenshan said cheerfully. “We were quite fortunate to witness your magic.”
They were from different systems; Xie Lingya and the others had never seen a shaman perform a ritual, and the shaman had never seen a Taoist’s incantation of a spirit. However, the shamans believed that all things had spirits, so they greatly admired this kind of magic and felt even more respect for Xie Lingya.
It was already dawn, and Xie Lingya couldn’t sleep for a while. Fu Zhiye was busy taking Master Niu to the hospital, settling his father in, and cleaning up the broken windows at home. Xie Lingya also contacted the Provincial Taoist Association, explaining that he suspected there were indeed remnants of the Hongyang Sect who had fled to Queshan, intending to retaliate against him.
The Provincial Taoist Association took it seriously and immediately said they would investigate. The next evening arrived in the blink of an eye.
Everything Xie Lingya had asked Fu Zhiye to prepare was complete. However, the Bao siblings’ uncle, living too far away, couldn’t make it.
Both of them felt that, based on Xie Lingya’s performance the previous night, he was likely to close the deal.
However, out of respect for their client, they didn’t immediately pack up and leave. Besides, they got along well with Xie Lingya, so they stayed to observe her treatment of Father Fu. The “picking life worm” caused abdominal pain— sometimes it caused chest pain, requiring seven ounces of turmeric and three ounces of gentian root, ground into powder and taken with hot water.
Not long after Father Fu drank the medicine, he initially felt nothing, but his abdominal pain intensified. His emaciated body tossed and turned on the bed, emitting painful cries that faintly resembled the crowing of a rooster.
Fu Zhiye felt sorry for his father and hugged his shoulders, “Dad! Are you alright?”
Father Fu tried to struggle, but due to his long illness and weakness, he couldn’t break free. Finally, a gurgling sound came from his throat, as if he was vomiting.
Xie Lingya, carrying a washbasin, told Fu Zhiye to move aside.
Fu Zhiye stepped aside, and Father Fu lunged forward, burying his face in the basin and vomiting violently. At first, he vomited only bile, but later, he made a gurgling sound in his throat, cried out, and then vomited something, which landed in the basin. Fu Zhiye, standing nearby, only saw a few streaks of blood in the basin. He anxiously helped his father up, and once he was up, the contents of the basin were revealed: a fleshy mass larger than an adult’s palm, somewhat elastic; otherwise, it was unclear how Father Fu had vomited something so large.
Even so, it was stained with blood, the fleshy mass a bloody mess, looking extremely disgusting. Fu Zhiye was just about to express his disgust when the mass twitched, and he was so frightened that he took a large step back and fell onto the bed.
The Bao siblings, Xiao Dian, and Guo Xing, however, were somewhat excited. They knew the thing was definitely harmless and stared at it with great interest.
Xie Lingya placed the basin on the ground, borrowed Bao Wenshan’s short sword, and cut open the mass of flesh from above. Inside was a bloody creature, with a head and tail, resembling a chick. The comb on its head was clearly visible, and its eyes were faintly black, covered by a fleshy membrane.
Fu Zhiye remembered Xie Lingya saying that if this chick fully grew, his father would be beyond saving, and his soul would be controlled by a Gu master after death. He felt both nauseous and terrified. If it stayed any longer, the chick’s eyes would probably open!
After spitting out the Gu poison, Father Fu’s stomach pain subsided, but he was still very weak. He glanced weakly at the undeveloped chick and said fearfully, “It’s… moving inside my stomach.”
His voice was hoarse and weak, devoid of any strength.
Fu Zhiye’s eyes welled up with tears. “Sigh…”
“Your father has been tormented by the Gu poison for a long time, and his body has been damaged. The other medicinal herbs I asked for are for his recuperation,” Xie Lingya said. He had Fu Zhiye find more than just those two herbs; the rest were for the patient’s recovery.
In the later stages of treating Gu poisoning, especially in the case of exorcising the Gu, the patient’s recovery was just as important as the exorcism itself. Gu poison was extremely harmful to the body; without proper treatment, even if the Gu was exorcised, lifespan would be greatly reduced.
Fu Zhiye was overjoyed and readily agreed.
Xie Lingya heated a cup of yellow wine— the old recipes all specified using ash-free wine, which actually referred to wine without added lime. In ancient times, lime was added to wine to prevent it from turning sour. Modern times didn’t have these concerns, so yellow wine was used directly.
He then ground ginseng, atractylodes, and other medicinal herbs and added them to the yellow wine, helping Father Fu drink it.
After drinking the medicine, Father Fu felt a warm sensation in his stomach and regained some strength. He sighed and managed to say, “…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Xie Lingya replied, telling Fu Zhiye that he needed to drink the medicinal wine for a few more days, and he would gradually recover. Also, the vomited flesh ball needed to be burned and buried in a secluded place, as it still contained residual poison. If it wasn’t buried deep enough, other animals that ate it would also be poisoned.
Fu Zhiye noted everything down.
He had personally witnessed his father’s breathing become much more stable after drinking the medicine, and he felt even more grateful to Xie Lingya, thanking him repeatedly. He also felt a lingering fear; before, he had only thought about removing the curse, but now that it was gone, he was worried. “That evil sorcerer… what if he finds out we’ve removed the curse and continues to cause trouble for my father?”
They seemed to act irrationally and arrogantly. Although Fu Zhiye was wealthy and could afford many security guards, he deeply understood that such attacks were difficult to prevent for ordinary people.
“His spell failed, and he must have suffered a backlash, leaving him weak and usually deterred from causing trouble again. Even if he’s truly dissatisfied, according to the rules of the martial world, he’ll have to find the person who broke his spell,” Xie Lingya said calmly.
Fu Zhiye secretly wondered if those skeletons were also causing trouble because Xie Lingya had previously fought someone to save a life, and the other party was dissatisfied. Xie Lingya was taking on all of his master’s business, including the aftermath. Fu Zhiye felt grateful and sincerely said, “I really… thank you so much.”
Whether from the perspective of receiving payment or rescuing the innocent, it was only right. Xie Lingya returned the gesture, “You’re too kind.”
Guo Xing, standing nearby, although still weak, felt a pang of gratitude seeing his master relieved of his pain, relaxed, and deeply grateful. Xie Lingya took the card from Fu Zhiye, containing his payment. Additionally, although the Bao siblings hadn’t cured the person, they had protected Father Fu and Fu Zhiye last night, so Fu Zhiye had also given them a reward for their efforts.
Xie Lingya originally wanted to share some money with the Bao siblings, since they had been implicated last night, but the Bao siblings insisted they were fine and refused, declining repeatedly. Xie Lingya, annoyed by the back-and-forth, decided to consider it a friendly exchange, exchanging contact information so he could introduce them to business opportunities in the future.
Saying goodbye to his new friends, Xie Lingya, along with Guo Xing and Xiao Dian, began their journey home.
On the way, Xie Lingya received a call from Song Jing; her father was coming to Zhuyang for a follow-up examination of his injuries, and she told Xie Lingya she wanted to leave Sisi with him. A patient and a child— it was manageable at home, but traveling would be inconvenient.
Xie Lingya readily agreed, saying he would come over to take care of her; he wouldn’t be there long.
Song Jing hesitated for a moment before telling Xie Lingya that if Father Xie knew Xie Lingya was going, he thought Shi Changxuan would definitely be there too. He was thus so angered by the two of them blatantly showing affection last time that he refused to watch again…
Xie Lingya: “…”
Xie Lingya: “No way, he’ll get used to it eventually!”
Song Jing said with difficulty, “…Lingya, your father hasn’t been sleeping well lately. Let him think about it some more.”
Her tone made it sound as if Xie Lingya was abusing his father, and the whole family was living under his thumb. Xie Lingya broke out in a cold sweat and said, “Okay, wait for me… to go back and pick up Sisi.”
After hanging up the phone, Xie Lingya asked Guo Xing, “You seem quite silent. Have you not recovered from losing your soul, or do you have some thoughts on your mind?”
Guo Xing was slightly moved. “Yes. Although my soul was almost taken away, what impressed me most was Mr. Fu’s appearance, from despair and pain to recovery… Teacher Xie, your initial motivation for persisting in this part-time job was also because of the victim’s recovery, right?”
Although he received high pay, he also bore high risks, and there was always retaliation. No wonder Teacher Xie always told him to think it over.
Hearing Guo Xing’s words, Xie Lingya: “…”
Uh… his initial motivation seemed a little different from others. He started to do it to make money…
But saying this seemed too harsh on Guo Xing? Even Xie Lingya considered whether his words were too much.
So Xie Lingya nodded firmly: “Ah, right!!”
Guo Xing said emotionally: “I knew it!”
Xiao Dian, who knew the truth: “…”
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next
