Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 414 Zongshu's Composure

A frank and open conversation is pleasant and relaxing.

This long conversation was definitely the most harmonious and relaxed one Mo Li and Ran Qing had ever had since they met.

All the barriers that had once existed between the two of them have completely vanished.

The two opened their hearts to each other, accepted each other, and reached a consensus on seeking revenge against Li Hongye.

From that moment on, they finally united and respected each other's wishes.

Ran Qing said, "...After we suppress Li Hongye, we'll go..."

Ran Qing smiled and started to talk about something light and carefree, envisioning a bright future to ease the atmosphere.

But Mo Li was so frightened that she quickly covered his mouth and said, "You can't talk nonsense at a time like this! In TV shows and movies, people who say things like 'what will happen in the future' at this time always end up dying. It's just bad luck."

Mo Li said something similar last time.

Ran Qing blinked, not quite understanding, but respectful.

He kept quiet for the time being, but he did indeed harbor a glimmer of hope for the future.

As for that strange and evil book of Yin Shou, Ran Qing put it completely into the bottom of the canvas bag, indicating that he had pasted ten Demon-Suppressing Incantations on it.

Not only did he not want to open the book and continue reading, but he was also wary of what kind of underhanded methods the evil lords at the back of the book might use to bewitch him.

Even if an evil lord were to try to harm him through the Book of Life and Death, ten demon-suppressing talismans would obviously not be enough to stop him.

But at least it can serve as a warning.

If an evil master truly intends to do something through the Book of Yin and Yang, those ten demon-suppressing talismans will immediately ignite and alert Ran Qing.

After sealing away the Book of Yin and Longevity, Ran Qing no longer paid any attention to that strange and evil book.

He began to follow the original plan, removing the death energy from his body, resting to relieve his fatigue, and making the most of the time to prepare talismans.

In the stuffy, hot main room, Ran Qing sat in the center and began to write incantations using goat blood mixed with cinnabar that she had prepared beforehand.

On sheets of yellow paper, Ran Qing had written blood-red ghost script.

Each time a talisman is written, it consumes the Yin energy within Ran Qing's body.

The three blood-red soul incense sticks burning in the large vat quickly burned out and disappeared completely during the process of writing the talisman, leaving only some blood-red embers mixed in with Ran Qing's large vat.

At first, Ran Qing vaguely sensed the presence of a certain malevolent aura.

Fortunately, the amount of those blood-red embers was too small, and they were quickly submerged and swallowed up by the other incense ash in Ran Qing's large vat.

Zong Shu and the corpse-driving Taoist Liu Fang took turns standing guard outside the door, keeping watch on the ancient Luo ghost soldiers outside as they rushed in.

Mo Li doesn't need to rest; she's on duty outside the door almost 24 hours a day.

The soul-guiding lamp, housed in a wooden box, rests silently on the edge of the altar, yet it is an extremely terrifying object within the altar.

Ran Qing, who stays in the house, only sleeps for two hours a day.

The rest of the time, he almost always sat in the center of the main room writing incantations.

On sheets of yellowed paper, strange, blood-red script was written.

Ran Qing opened the book "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts" and carefully and cautiously wrote down the ghost incantations according to the illustrations in the book.

Occasionally, mistakes or errors would occur, and the talisman paper with the wrong strokes would often spontaneously combust.

A few incorrectly written talismans would stir up eerie and terrifying cold winds, or burn and reveal ugly human faces in the smoke... all attempting to attack Ran Qing, who was right in front of him.

Fortunately, this is the altar for those who walk the path of the dead.

Even without Ran Qing's intervention, when the incorrectly written talismans went out of control, the evil lords wandering in the void would excitedly hoarsely come over, drag the incorrectly written talismans into the darkness, and devour them.

These talismans carry the Yin energy of those who walk the path of the dead, and to evil lords, they are a delicious snack.

Everything is moving in the right direction.

In the fog-shrouded city of Moonlit City, people's daily lives have not been affected for the time being—at least the lives of ordinary people have not been affected.

Those ancient evil spirits roamed the human world, but did not attack the ordinary living people in the city.

As for the situation of the unorthodox cultivators in the city, Ran Qing and the others were unaware.

I only know that some people have died in the city in the past few days through the local television news and local radio programs.

The exact death toll remains uncertain, but officials have urged residents to stay indoors at night in news broadcasts and radio programs. Police are also patrolling the city every night.

Judging from this scene, quite a few people have died.

On the third day, a radio broadcast in Yue Zhao mentioned that a horrific death had occurred at the train station during the day.

On an express train traveling from the north, three passengers in the luxurious sleeper compartments mysteriously died.

There were twelve people in total, all of whom were older. They were said to be a senior citizen tour group visiting Yue Zhao for a vacation, including both men and women.

Before the train entered Yue Zhao City, when it stopped in a small county town 60 kilometers away from Yue Zhao City, all the passengers were safe and sound.

But as the train entered the thick fog of Moonlit City and stopped at the Moonlit City train station, disaster struck.

As the train was about to arrive at the station, the train conductor opened the soft-sleeper compartment to exchange tickets for the passengers in the soft-sleeper compartment, but then smelled a pungent odor of blood and saw a horrifying scene of bloodshed.

All twelve elderly passengers in the three sleeper compartments died violently and in extremely gruesome manner.

Upon hearing this news report, Liu Fang, the corpse-driving Taoist priest, completely broke down.

He clutched his head and cried out in anguish, "...It's my fault!"

This boastful and cowardly corpse-driving Taoist priest actually had a soft heart, completely unlike his seemingly heartless demeanor.

The tragic death of the Xuanmen cultivators who came to Yuezhao's aid after he pleaded for help caused him immense anguish.

Seeing this situation, Ran Qing and the other two were at a loss for words.

All I can say are some empty, formulaic words of comfort.

This dinner was very depressing.

Although Ran Qing and the other two did not feel the same intense guilt as the Corpse-Driving Taoist, the tragic death of the Xuanmen cultivators from outside on the train still cast a shadow over their hearts.

Even though this outcome was expected.

But deep down, they still hoped that the esoteric master from the north could use his skills to defeat the ancient evil spirits.

Ultimately, however, these twelve Xuanmen masters from the north could not withstand the weakening effect of the Zangke land and the siege by the most terrifying ancient evil spirits in the Wujiang ghost realm.

Mo Li said softly, "...Let's prepare for two more days, don't rush it."

She gently persuaded Ran Qing.

According to Ran Qing's original plan, she would rest for about three days to remove the deathly aura from her body before going to find Li Hongye to see who was better.

Three days was enough time for him to prepare many talismans.

But now three days have passed, and although the death aura on Ran Qing's body has been removed, he still hasn't written enough talismans.

The tragic deaths of these twelve Xuanmen masters from the north brought immense psychological pressure to everyone.

Ran Qing took a deep breath and nodded: "...Let's prepare for two more days, and then go see Li Hongye the day after tomorrow."

He also agreed with Mo Li's suggestion and stopped being anxious to find Li Hongye.

Anyway, the knife left by the peddler has a ten-day expiration date. Theoretically, Ran Qing only needs to go find Li Hongye within ten days.

Ran Qing was worried that Li Hongye would turn Mo Li's corpse into a blood corpse, so she dared not delay for too long.

Therefore, he set a timeframe of five days.

Give him two more days to prepare, and he'll have enough talismans.

No matter how much there is, there is no Yin power to unleash it.

After dinner, Liu Fang, the corpse-driving Taoist priest who had been looking down and trying to persuade Ran Qing and the other two to leave, suddenly looked up and said.

"...I'll go with you two days from now!"

The cowardly Taoist priest Liu Fang had bloodshot eyes at this moment.

He was afraid of death, afraid of the ghost realm of the Wujiang River.

But the immense psychological pressure caused by the deaths of twelve people made him unwilling to run away anymore.

"If I escape from Moonlit City like this, even if I return alive, I will never be able to hold my head up high again."

“I invited so many hermit masters to help me, but they all died tragically here, while I escaped back unharmed and did nothing.”

"If this gets out, not only will I be unable to live a decent life, but my master, my great-master, my great-master's master... and all the corpse-driving Taoists in our lineage will be cursed and vilified by the whole world!"

"Even after I die, I won't have the face to meet my ancestors in the afterlife!"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth.

Seeing that Liu Fang, who was always afraid of death, suddenly changed her mind, Ran Qing and the other two exchanged glances.

Mo Li got up and ran to the next room, brought out a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and said, "...Let's drink to Daoist Liu Fang!"

The aroma of baijiu filled the room. With gritted teeth, Liu Fang Daoist downed the wine in his cup in one gulp: "Cheers to my going to kill that little girl!"

For the next two days, everything proceeded as usual.

Ran Qing locks himself in the main room every day, writing incantations for spirit mediums and expending his own yin energy.

The group of evil lords lurked furtively in the dark void, their eyes fixed greedily on the table in front of him.

Once the talismans on the table show signs of damage, they will rush out and snatch away the talismans that Ran Qing has ruined.

Unfortunately, by the fourth day, Ran Qing had almost stopped making mistakes when writing the talismans.

He wrote with extreme care and caution, and he became exceptionally skilled at writing incantations very quickly.

Even though what he writes now are extremely difficult and powerful ghost spells from "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts".

But Ran Qing's failure rate is getting lower and lower.

The evil lords lurking in the darkness, their disappointment is palpable.

Ran Qing, a novice in the art of spirit walking, was completely inexperienced and had no guidance. He relied on a book called "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts" to figure things out on his own, yet he made such rapid progress that it was truly disappointing to the Evil Lord.

Outside the main room, everything seemed normal amidst the thick fog.

The people living near Park Road lead peaceful and stable lives every day.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a row of hair salons with pink lights. Occasionally, after nightfall, you could hear their shouts or laughter.

The sound of cars passing by in the fog remained unchanged.

The pale, ghostly figures wandering outside the altar seemed to have decreased in number.

Only the flying zombie that Ran Jianfei became after his death still lurks sinisterly in the ditch.

But with the specially made bamboo balls left by Grandpa Zongshu, the flying zombie dared not come over again, as if it had been frightened by the bamboo balls last time.

Meanwhile, Liu Fang, the corpse-driving Taoist priest who had made up his mind to go to the underworld to fight Li Hongye to the death, has also been busy these past two days.

As a descendant of the Xiangxi corpse-driving lineage, 70% of his skills lie in corpses.

But now that he has no zombies, he has to find another way.

Fortunately, Ran Qing's altar contained some soul banners and leftover paper figures.

The Taoist priest who drove the corpses would smear and paint on the paper figures in straw raincoats every day, sometimes soaking them in water, sometimes splashing them with soil, and finally hanging them upside down under the eaves, with soul banners standing around them, making them look extremely strange.

Taoist priest Liu Fang, who was shaking a bell, walked around the several upside-down paper figures in straw raincoats, muttering incantations. However, no one could understand his Xiangxi dialect, let alone what he was chanting.

Ran Qing and the other two could only vaguely sense that the yin energy emanating from these paper figures in straw raincoats was growing stronger.

By the fifth day, the paper figures in straw raincoats hanging upside down under the eaves gave off a strange, eerie feeling, like pale corpses.

Ran Qing's talisman was finally ready.

His canvas bag was bulging with stuff.

Not only did he prepare a large number of talismans for himself, but he also gave some ghost talismans that Mo Li, Zong Shu, and Daoist Liu Fang could also use.

Ran Qing got up very early that day.

But he did not go into the main room to draw talismans.

Instead, after resting for two hours and feeling refreshed, he began to tidy up the table in the main room, the cinnabar in the corner, and the goat's blood that was beginning to smell fishy.

These things were prepared in advance, and the goat's blood was kept fresh by refrigeration.

But now it's almost completely exhausted.

Ran Qing and the other two also ate all the edible food in the house, including all the snacks and chocolates in Mo Li's house.

The food reserves in the house were completely exhausted. What was originally enough for about three days of food was managed to last for five days by eating sparingly.

The key ingredient was the box of snacks that Mo Li had stockpiled.

She usually likes to eat snacks while watching TV or cartoons. These include high-calorie foods like chocolate, cookies, jelly, and spicy strips.

Mo Li's gluttonous habit helped Ran Qing and the others survive for two more days in this secluded Yin Altar.

On this last day, Ran Qing decided not to write any more talismans.

He wrote talismans for five consecutive days, which put too much mental pressure on him. He had to rest and replenish his Yin energy, and then immediately continue writing talismans after replenishing it.

The intense writing of incantations left him exhausted.

Now, on his last day, he needs to conserve his energy and be in top form to face the evil spirits at the Wujiang Ghost Gate.

When Ran Qing walked out of the main room, she saw Zong Shu sitting at the doorway, yawning and chewing on the melon seeds that Mo Li had given him.

In the thick fog, Zong Shu looked sickly, with a kind of world-weary and aloof indifference and composure.

He showed little panic or tension about the upcoming decisive battle, as if he were going to a camping trip instead of the Ghost Realm of Wujiang.

Even Ran Qing, who had been determined to find Li Hongye, felt a sense of panic at this final moment.

Mo Li was visibly uneasy and anxious.

Not to mention the Taoist priest Liu Fang, who would get up early in the morning and start muttering to himself around his paper figures, as if he were looking for a sense of security.

But Zongshu was the only one that looked the same as usual.

Continue to eat and drink as usual, calmly and composedly facing the impending life-or-death battle.

(End of this chapter)