I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

Could it be that the realgar wasn't aged enough? Or that the cinnabar soaked in the cured meat had lost its effectiveness?

No! He's tested this wine and meat; they're definitely effective against ordinary weasels or wandering ghosts!

Are these two not ordinary monsters? Or are they ancient demons with even greater power?

Or perhaps, those more difficult-to-deal-with, bizarre creatures that are not afraid of ordinary exorcisms?

Thinking of this, the old village chief's heart sank, but his determination to protect the village from the strange occurrences became even stronger.

He recalled some experiences, or rather, intelligence, in his mind. Some powerful monsters or strange creatures could completely transform into human form and were not afraid of realgar or cinnabar, but they had one flaw: their blood was not red!
At least, it's not the bright red of a normal human!
"We have to find a way to make them 'bleed a little'!" the old village chief thought to himself.

But taking direct action is definitely not an option; what if we can't win?

These two monsters could wipe out the entire village.

The reason they haven't taken any action is because their identities haven't been discovered.

It resulted in a minor injury "unintentionally".

His eyes darted around and he noticed an inconspicuous, tiny chip on the edge of the wine pot on the table, which caught the village chief's eye.

These sharp little slits, if not treated properly, can cause a cut, which is very common in daily life.

He picked up the wine pot, pretending to refill Zhang Yangqing's cup, but because of his age, his hand trembled 'accidentally' and the chipped wine pot touched Zhang Yangqing's arm!

pat.

The wine pot gently tapped on the back of Zhang Yangqing's hand, then fell onto the table and spun around.

Zhang Yangqing's hands had smooth skin, without even a red mark.

On the contrary, a smaller piece of porcelain chipped off from the rim of the porcelain bowl.

Old village chief: "."

His eyes widened as he stared intently at Zhang Yangqing's unharmed hand, then at the newly added "wound" on the bowl.

His physical strength is ridiculously high! He broke a bowl, but his skin is completely unharmed?

This is absolutely not something a human could do!
Even someone who has practiced hard qigong cannot leave no trace!

"Village chief, are you alright? We can pour the wine ourselves," Zhang Yangqing kindly reassured him, picking up the wine jug that wasn't broken yet.

The old village chief was inwardly turbulent, even more convinced of his judgment: these two guys were definitely not human!

He suppressed his fear and unease, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "I'm sorry, I'm getting old and senile, please forgive me. Come on, let's drink!"

His mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do next: ordinary methods were useless, it seemed he had no choice but to ask that "old man" for help!

The "old man" the village chief mentioned was actually a highly respected shaman who lived in seclusion in the mountains outside the village. His surname was Hu, and everyone in the village respectfully called him "Old Hu".

Old Hu is highly respected in this mountainous area. It is said that he received guidance from the "immortals" in the mountains when he was young, and established a shrine. He is able to "invite the immortals to possess him," and has some real skills in exorcising evil spirits, curing diseases, investigating matters, and looking at feng shui. He is not the kind of charlatan who is just swindling and cheating.

When villagers encounter strange or inexplicable events, or need to pray for blessings or ward off disasters, they often consult him.

Thinking about this, the village chief felt that he could not delay any longer.

He made up a lame excuse that "my wife at home called me because of an emergency" and hurriedly left Chen Wen's house, ignoring Da Niu and Er Zhu's puzzled looks, and trudged towards Hu Lao's residence outside the village.

Old Hu lived not far from the village, but in a secluded spot in a sheltered mountain valley, in a few simple thatched huts surrounded by medicinal herbs. After listening to the village chief's flustered and incoherent description—two suspicious strangers, the ineffective use of realgar wine, a body as hard as iron, and the possibility of a powerful demon or something eerie—Old Hu stroked his white goatee, pondered for a moment, and a trace of solemnity flashed in his cloudy old eyes.

“According to what you said, these two ‘things’ are indeed not simple. Being able to completely ignore realgar and cinnabar and having such a strong physical body, they are probably not ordinary mountain spirits or monsters.”

Old Hu's voice was hoarse and slow.

“Village chief, you were right not to act rashly this time. If you had clashed with them rashly, the whole village would have been in trouble.”

"Old Hu, what should we do now? We can't just stand by and watch them in the village. What if they try to harm people?" the village chief asked anxiously.

Old Hu waved his hand, signaling him to calm down: "Everything has its origin, and all evil has its roots. Whether it is a demon, a monster, or a newly emerging 'strange thing,' as long as it moves in this world, it will inevitably leave traces and be traceable. We must first figure out what their 'roots' are before we can 'prescribe the right medicine.'"

"How can we find out?" the village chief pressed.

Old Hu pointed to the simple shrine in his room and the few ancient magical artifacts hanging on the wall, and slowly said, "I have a method called 'Tracing the Source and Peeping at the Shadow' here. It can be used to peek at the original aura of these things by using the items they have used. It can reveal the general 'true form' of them. Although it consumes a lot of energy, it may be able to reveal some clues."

Upon hearing this, the village chief's eyes lit up: "I understand! I'll go back right now and secretly bring over any of the bowls and chopsticks they used, or anything they touched!"

"Remember, be careful not to disturb them. It's best to use items that have been used close to your body and have the strongest scent on them," Old Hu instructed.

The village chief nodded and hurriedly returned to Chen Wen's house.

At this moment, Zhang Yangqing and Xiao Xuan had finished their meal and were chatting and drinking tea with Chen Wen in the main room.

The village chief pretended to come back to help clear the dishes, exchanging polite words with everyone while deftly stacking the bowls and plates on the table.

While clearing away the bowl and chopsticks in front of Zhang Yangqing, he took advantage of the fact that no one was looking, carefully wrapped the bowl and chopsticks that Zhang Yangqing had used with a clean handkerchief, and hid them in his pocket.

Then, citing the reason that "it is getting late and I don't want to disturb the guests' rest," he said goodbye again and headed straight for Mr. Hu's house.

Back at Old Hu's dimly lit thatched hut, the village chief carefully placed the porcelain bowl wrapped in a handkerchief on a square table covered with a yellow cloth in the center of the room.

With a solemn expression, Old Hu lit three specially made incense sticks and placed them in the incense burner. Wisps of smoke rose, carrying a peculiar herbal aroma.

He washed his hands, took down an old bronze mirror with Bagua patterns carved on the edge from the wall, and took out several stones of different colors from the cabinet. They seemed to be some kind of energy minerals, and placed them around the porcelain bowl in a specific orientation.

"Step back to the doorway. No matter what you see or hear, don't make a sound or disturb me," Old Hu instructed the village chief.

The village chief nodded quickly, held his breath, stepped back to the door, and stared intently.

Old Hu sat cross-legged in front of the square table, closed his eyes, made a peculiar hand seal with his hands, and began to mutter incantations in a low and indistinct voice, as if chanting some ancient prayer.

As he chanted, the smoke from the three incense sticks no longer rose straight up, but began to slowly swirl around the porcelain bowl on the table.

A hazy, water-like halo gradually appeared on the surface of the bronze mirror.

"Heaven and earth are mysterious and chaotic, all things return to their origin. Using things as a guide, we trace back to the source and reveal the truth!"

Old Hu suddenly opened his eyes, changed his hand seals, and pointed at the porcelain bowl!
The halo on the bronze mirror suddenly lit up, projecting a blurry area of ​​light and shadow.

The light and shadow twist and turn, seemingly trying to coalesce into a certain image.

The next second, the light and shadow gradually became clear.

At that moment, Lao Hu seemed to hear a song.

"I mistakenly entered the imperial palace, and was advised to put down the sand in my hand; I opened my mouth to sing, but my voice became hoarse." (End of Chapter)