I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 311 Easy to catch
Just as Feng Xue was pondering the connection between the unusual water-elemental meridians and the fancy tricks commonly used by the Japanese devils, Granny Liu suddenly said:
"Be careful, I need to lure some out..."

"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Feng Xue hadn't even had time to move his foot when Aunt Bai pulled him away. Throughout the entire process, Feng Xue didn't even notice how Aunt Bai did it, which made him realize that he was lucky to have caught her earlier.

Well, there might also be an element of water added.

Feng Xue muttered to herself, but her eyes remained fixed on Granny Liu. Her movements were not graceful, and even looked a bit crazy. Combined with her already old and decrepit face, it made people feel disgusted.

She pinched a bamboo incense stick as thick as her index finger, reached out and pinched the Japanese soldier's chin, opened her mouth, and shoved the entire stick into his mouth, just like a sword-swallowing performance.

Seeing the palm-length piece go straight into his mouth, Feng Xue almost thought that the man's brain had been pierced through.

Fortunately, the fluctuations in his lifespan remained stable, and Feng Xue did not see any signs of decline. She then quietly observed that Granny Liu was twisting the incense stick stem of the bamboo incense like she was twisting hemp rope, while using her left hand to make a gesture as if she were catching an insect in the air.

Don't let its somewhat bizarre appearance fool you; it's the "mark" of the sorceress lineage.

The rituals of opening an altar in the Xuanxiu system, whether formal fasting and sacrificial rites or folk chanting methods, all consist of five major elements: person, altar, incantation, hand gestures, and steps. The person is the person presiding over the ceremony, the altar is the altar for opening the altar and performing the ritual, the incantation is the scriptures or mantras recited, the steps are the footwork, and the hand gestures are the hand gestures.

The first three are largely similar across different schools and sects. Even if there are differences, they are only in the recitation of scriptures, the form of the altar, and the clothing worn. However, the mantras and mudras are unique traditions of each school.

Perhaps the exact same seal can have completely different meanings depending on the school of thought.

For example, the seemingly chaotic jumping and leaping movements of shamans are essentially their "steps," while the chicken-claw-like action of scooping things up from the air is the sorceress's "seal."

As she continued to grasp with her fingertips, Feng Xue's Qi Observation Technique could see clusters of colorful spiritual light converging towards her. It wasn't just the power of will in the atmosphere; even the Japanese soldier's consciousness, which had become somewhat scattered after experiencing the Heavenly Bag, slowly overflowed during this grasping.

It seemed the time was almost right. Granny Liu slowly pulled her fingers out, and the bamboo incense stick that had been stuck in her throat was slowly pulled out of her mouth with wisps of smoke. With each pull, more smoke billowed out. Soon, the smoke from the Japanese devil's mouth was no longer limited to his nostrils, eyes, and even ears.

"It looks like that incense stick is almost stuffed into his stomach and it's still not extinguished? And it doesn't look like it's protected by any magic! It can't just be a simple trick, can it?"

Feng Xue was secretly amazed. She finally understood what it meant to say that "a craftsman's skill is all in his hands." Even if it were given to him for free, he would never be able to learn it without decades of hard work.

No wonder that magic in this world can be taught for money, yet the mystical practitioners are still able to open their doors and do business.

Just as Feng Xue was feeling emotional, Granny Liu's hand suddenly trembled. However, this was not a tremor. Based on Xiao Lingdang's analysis of the changes in Granny Liu's hand muscles, it was easy to conclude that they were "struggling".

Knowing that the important part was coming, Feng Xue couldn't help but hold her breath, watching Granny Liu slowly puff on her incense, as if in a tug-of-war. As time went by, the smoke emanating from the Japanese soldier's face gradually decreased, but Granny Liu's movements remained steady.

Analysis of her muscle condition revealed that for nearly half an hour, Granny Liu's muscles had been constantly engaged in a state of tension. Even with the enhancement of her magical powers, one could still sense her perseverance and patience. "Pop!"

Suddenly, a sound like a cork being pulled out of a wine bottle rang out, and the incense stick, with only about three-quarters remaining, was completely detached from the Japanese soldier's mouth. The missing part was not broken, but burned off during the struggle. Now that the entire incense stick was pulled out, the sparks at the tip were still flickering. However, immediately afterward, a cloud of black mist followed closely behind the incense stick and emerged.

With one hand, Granny Liu waved the incense stick like a dancer holding a dragon pearl, the wisp of white smoke drawing a cloud-like line in the air, enticing the black mist to follow behind. With her other hand, she took out a bamboo tube, and with a flick of her finger, the white smoke immediately formed a ball, which the black mist collided with and mingled with. In that instant, the bamboo tube was pushed in reverse, seemingly ignoring air resistance, and slammed the ball of black mist onto the Japanese soldier's mouth, producing a muffled thud that sounded painful.

The bamboo tube was put over the mouth, and with a push from the bottom of her palm, the chin was closed. The hand holding the incense casually stuck the incense stick into the table, picked up a piece of yellow paper, and inserted it straight into the gap between the bamboo tube and the mouth.

"It's done!"

As Granny Liu's youthful voice rang out, she grabbed the edge of the yellow paper, pulled a red string from her hair, and tied the paper securely to the bamboo tube. She glanced at the Japanese soldier who looked like he'd been punched in the mouth, then turned to Feng Xue and said—

"This thing is pretty weird, let's freeze it!"

"Ah, oh!" Perhaps it was because Granny Liu's movements were so smooth and fluid that Feng Xue, who was stunned, paused for a moment before understanding her meaning. She pointed and an ice sword condensed in the air, accurately piercing the Japanese soldier's Tanzhong acupoint. In the blink of an eye, the Japanese soldier, who had just thawed, was frozen back into a large block of ice.

Aunt Bai breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that things had gone as planned. She secretly relaxed the spell she was holding in her hand and took two steps forward, saying:

"What the hell is that thing?"

“It’s not a ghost, it’s a nature spirit.” Granny Liu’s tone was somewhat solemn as she wrote and drew on the bamboo tube with pigment mixed with cinnabar.

"When the ancients saw thunder splitting through the clouds like a dragon spitting lightning, they were terrified and prostrated themselves on the ground; when they saw hurricanes breaking giant trees like a white tiger roaring in the forest, they bowed their heads and cried out to heaven. This is the source of faith, nature that has been deified by people."

"You're making it a bit convoluted. Can you explain it in a way that's easier to understand?" Compared to the rather shy Feng Xue, Aunt Bai, who was more familiar with Granny Liu, was clearly the best substitute. Upon hearing this, Granny Liu knew that explaining this to a demon was somewhat complicated, so she directly said:

"Simply put, this person has a deity formed from a natural disaster trapped in his mind. Although we still need to go back and examine it to find out exactly what it is, judging from the abnormalities in the water veins on his body, it should be related to water..."

Granny Liu stopped talking at this point. Because people in their line of work often have to consult spirits and perform rituals, they also need to practice the art of words. In such situations, they can't just guess randomly; they can only hint at something. Otherwise, their words might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, neither Feng Xue nor Aunt Bai were fools, and they naturally understood the meaning. A natural disaster related to water in a coastal city—what did they want to do? Did they need to spell it out?

(End of this chapter)