CG - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The day before Wei Jinzhi's birthday, Wu Yong drove the two of them to a town at the foot of Huaishan. For safety, they got two rooms, but she and Wu Gu shared one. Before bed, Wu Gu explained the next day's plan: first, they would go to Huaishang Palace to offer incense, and then they would venture deep into the heart of the mountain and wait until nightfall.

The next day, Wu Gu didn't get up too early. It was three in the afternoon by the time she finished offering incense and buying paper talismans. They reached the mountain entrance at nearly five o'clock. Wu Gu said to Wu Yong, "Brother Xiao Wu, you stay here. If we're not out by 8 AM tomorrow, search for us in an east-west direction." Wu Yong nodded, following her instructions.

The undeveloped parts of the mountain were difficult to traverse. Wei Jinzhi, who spent most of her time at home and lacked exercise, felt exhausted after just a few steps. Wu Gu supported her, offering comfort. "We're almost there. Just a little longer."

Wei Jinzhi asked, "Did you come into the mountains alone last time?"

"Yes."

"Don't do these things alone in the future. I can have Wu Yong accompany you, and if you think Wu Yong is just an ordinary person, I can hire other Celestial Masters to help. I don't want you to be in danger."

Wu Gu was very obedient. "Okay, I'll remember that."

After another hour of climbing up, down, and all around, they finally reached the Huaishan earth vein just a tick before seven o'clock. Wu Gu pointed to a spot. "This is the Huaishan earth vein. The spiritual energy is better than Changshan's." She handed Wei Jinzhi water and crackers from her backpack. "Sister Wei, have something to eat first. We can't start until nightfall."

The setting sun lingered in a distant mountain hollow, while the moon, hanging overhead, struggled to make itself seen. Beside it, the evening star shone as a tiny dot. Wei Jinzhi and Wu Gu sat on the ground. The hard, dry earth wasn't comfortable. Her gaze shifted from the sunset to Wu Gu, where she saw the mountain breeze playfully toying with her ponytail, as if trying to count each raven-black strand. In truth, she wanted to know, too.

The mountain hollow where the earth vein was located was quite large. On a night in the wilderness, if the moon was bright, there was enough light to see without a lamp. Wei Jinzhi sat on higher ground, hugging her knees, and watched Wu Gu busying herself with things from her backpack nearby. This is fine, she thought. Forget about being plagued by Yin Qi. Just having someone I like by my side is enough.

After finishing her preparations, Wu Gu ran back to Wei Jinzhi. Seeing the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, Wei Jinzhi reached out to wipe them away. "Are you done? Rest for a bit." She gestured for Wu Gu to look at the sky. "The moon is beautiful tonight."

Wu Gu's cheeks grew warm as she sat down beside her. "The air was good where I lived as a child. On clear nights, Master would take me into the mountains to learn how to read the stars. I was too young and playful back then, so I never learned it well."

She continued, "Sister Wei, the Yin Qi plaguing you isn't really Yin Qi. It wasn't wrong for me to call it a Maoshan curse back at Master Ma's place, because Maoshan sorcery uses self-sacrifice. The one on you is the same, except Maoshan uses a person, while yours was likely a vengeful ghost. I sensed it during my first spiritual probe. And this curse was placed on your very soul."

"I was hesitant at the time because a ghost curse implies there's a connection between you and it. Master used to say that while a Celestial Master can capture ghosts and dispel evil, it's difficult to judge the right and wrong of a matter. If I intervened forcefully, I didn't know what the consequences would be. Do you remember when I asked if Master Ma had seen the talisman from that old Daoist priest?"

Wei Jinzhi nodded. "Is there a problem with him?"

"Sister Wei, do you trust me?"

How could she not trust her, having followed her into the heart of this mountain? She looked at her, her gaze serious. "I trust you."

"That talisman was effective, but he didn't tell you. Instead, he very conveniently gave you a few of his own so you would naturally discard that one. I later considered that perhaps his skills were insufficient, that he couldn't see the talisman's ingenuity. But then you said he wanted to see me, so I decided to probe him and see what he was really about. He's very strange, but I can't quite explain it."

She took out the half-burned talisman she had retrieved from behind the headboard the night they stayed at Master Ma's. "I actually placed another talisman on your bed that night. See? It's more than half-burned. When I drew this one, I used a bit of the Yin Qi from your body. It burned because it acted as a substitute for you, luring other ghosts to it instead."

Wei Jinzhi examined it by the moonlight. "No wonder you insisted on staying that day." She added, "I showed Master Ma your talisman. I think he realized you were capable and wanted to meet you to sound you out."

Wu Gu looked a little embarrassed. "I caused you trouble that day." She continued, "Later, I came to think he was intentionally trying to harm you. And you looked so pitiful, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

"Pitiful?" Wei Jinzhi mulled over the word, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Well then, thank you for your heroic intervention."

Wu Gu's eyes curved into crescents, clear and bright. She pointed to the area she had just prepared. "I've set up a Soul-Snare Formation. I was afraid that Master Ma would notice if I did it at Changshan. Besides, I checked, and the spiritual energy at Huaishan is better. In a moment, I'll wrap the Soul-Piercing Bell around you to lock your soul in place. Then I'll activate the formation to forcibly hook the ghost curse out of your soul. The process will be painful, but Sister Wei, you'll have to endure it. It's the best method I can think of right now."

"Wu Gu, let me ask you, will using this formation harm you in any way?"

"Does draining my spiritual energy count?"

Wei Jinzhi smiled. "In that case, I'll just have to invite you back to the Changshan Villa to stay for a few more days."

"Sister Wei, I'm not joking. This ghost curse has been on your soul for nineteen years. Tearing it away will likely be excruciating. You need to be mentally prepared."

Wei Jinzhi nodded. "Okay."

Wu Gu calculated the time. After watching the stars for a while longer, she stood up. "Sister Wei, let's begin."

Wei Jinzhi glanced at her watch—it was about 10:23 PM. She stood and brushed the dust from her pants; her legs had gone a little numb from sitting for so long. Wu Gu pulled her up, letting her use her for support. Without high heels, the two were about the same height. Wei Jinzhi simply leaned half her body against Wu Gu and let her guide her down.

There was nothing on the ground, or at least, nothing Wei Jinzhi could see. She sat wherever Wu Gu told her to. The Soul-Piercing Bell wrapped around her waist four times with room to spare. Wu Gu exclaimed in amazement, "Wow, your waist is so thin."

Wei Jinzhi couldn't help but laugh, and her nervousness vanished with it. "Thank you for the compliment," she said.

After securing the Soul-Piercing Bell, Wu Gu sat down about ten feet away from her. She took a bronze sword from a box in her backpack and placed it beside her. Wei Jinzhi remembered that box but hadn't expected it to contain a bronze sword. The blade wasn't long, about three fingers wide, and was adorned with a swirling cloud pattern. Its edge was sharp, and it didn't look like a modern replica; it had to be an ancestral sword from Wu Gu's sect.

Wu Gu said, "Sister Wei, we're starting. Close your eyes." Wei Jinzhi did as she was told. Wu Gu's hands moved rapidly, forming a series of seals. A yellow light flared up beneath Wei Jinzhi, spreading along twisting patterns on the ground. Soon, it linked together to form a complete shape, its light flowing and shifting.

Wu Gu commanded, "Rise."

A black hook slowly emerged from the formation. In the night, it seemed one could almost hear the rattling of chains. The hook quickly sank into the space between Wei Jinzhi's eyebrows. In her last moment of awareness, Wei Jinzhi finally understood why Wu Gu had repeatedly stressed that it would hurt. The pain originating from her soul was beyond description. The instant the hook entered her body, she was drenched in sweat, and then she lost consciousness.

Something was fighting the hook, pulling against it. Soon, a second hook emerged and flew into Wei Jinzhi's chest, followed by a third that sank into her navel. The hooks' chains pulled taut. Wu Gu was also covered in sweat. She opened her eyes and watched Wei Jinzhi's body tremble in agony, her heart burning with anxiety. The vengeful ghost that had cast this curse was more powerful than she had imagined.

The two sides were at a stalemate. Fortunately, the abundant spiritual energy from the earth vein provided support. Wu Gu stared nervously into the formation. Suddenly, a roar echoed out. She saw the three hooks pulling out a black mass, currently only the size of a fist. She poured more spiritual energy into the formation, and the black mass grew darker and larger. But it seemed unwilling to be dragged out. Its malevolent energy suddenly surged as it fought to break free of the hooks, causing the chains within the formation to shake and clang wildly.

Wu Gu estimated it would be over in another ten minutes or so. But to her surprise, the black mass began to pull out Wei Jinzhi's soul along with it. Wu Gu was horrified and immediately cut the flow of spiritual energy to the formation. As Wei Jinzhi's soul returned to her body, the black mass shrank significantly. Unwilling to give up, she activated the formation again, only for the black mass to emerge once more, dragging Wei Jinzhi's soul with it.

What should I do? If this kept up, the Yin Qi would be dispelled, but Sister Wei would likely die along with it. How could this be happening? This wasn't how she had imagined it. She had been too impatient, wanting to free Wei Jinzhi from the Yin Qi's torment as soon as possible, wanting to make her happy on her birthday. She never expected the ghost curse to be not only powerful but also clever. She should have anticipated this. During her first spiritual probe, she had clearly discovered that the ghost curse still possessed a consciousness—or perhaps, more accurately, an obsession with Wei Jinzhi's soul.

Wu Gu didn't dare to force the formation, but the arrow was already on the bowstring. To stop halfway now would not only alert the enemy but also mean Wei Jinzhi had suffered the agony of a shattered soul and broken bones for nothing. Since it had come to this, she would have to take a gamble. She bit her left fingertip and drew a talisman on her right palm with the blood. Once finished, she immediately poured spiritual energy back into the formation, urging the hooks to pull again. At the same time, she dashed into the formation. Just as Wei Jinzhi's soul was about to be pulled out, she pressed her bloody left fingertip to the space between Wei Jinzhi's eyebrows while her right hand, formed into a claw, seized the black mass.

Her right hand sank into the ghost curse, and the blood talisman on her palm burned hot. Working with the three hooks, she forcefully tore the ghost curse from Wei Jinzhi's soul. With a powerful fling, the hooks in the formation vanished. She formed a sword finger with her right hand, drew a talisman in the air, and struck the black mass, dispersing it. For a long moment, everything was quiet.

She lowered her left hand and caught Wei Jinzhi's limp body. She glanced again at the spot where the black mass had dispersed and saw the air seem to ripple. She narrowed her eyes, quickly laid Wei Jinzhi down, and snatched up the bronze sword, ready for a fight. A yin wind suddenly gusted, blurring her vision, and the moon that had been hanging high in the sky abruptly vanished.

It was just as she'd feared—not that simple. The ghost curse re-formed, black as ink and thick with Yin Qi. A giant humanoid shape was faintly visible, its face sporting protruding fangs and large, drooping earlobes with rings. She cursed under her breath. Not long ago, she'd run into a powerful ghost with one foot in the Ghost King realm, and tonight she'd met a Ghost King with no clear consciousness. What was next? A true Ghost King?

The re-formed black shadow charged toward Wei Jinzhi on the wind, letting out a shrill cry as if desperate to return. Wu Gu blocked its path with her sword and engaged it in battle. But striking a corporeal form against an ethereal one was like punching cotton; every full-force blow had no effect. The shadow would disperse upon impact only to re-form, completely unharmed after several exchanges. Yet the force of the shadow's violent collisions with her was like being hit by a car, and she was sent flying several times.

She scrambled up from the ground once more and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes were bloodshot, red with a murderous rage. She leveled the bronze sword at the shadow. "You dare hit me? If I don't beat you until your soul scatters to the winds, I'll be too ashamed to face my master in the underworld!" With that, she charged forward again.

The black shadow seemed to grow frantic as well. It had no desire to fight Wu Gu; it only wanted to return to Wei Jinzhi's body. But it charged again and again, only to be blocked by either Wu Gu or the Soul-Piercing Bell on Wei Jinzhi's body. Though it lacked a conscious mind, it had instinct. Moreover, before it became a sacrificial curse, it had indeed reached the level of a Ghost King. It solidified once more and rushed at Wu Gu.

Wu Gu felt a sharp pain in her chest—worse, she imagined, than having a boulder broken on it. She fell to the ground, the bronze sword slipping from her grasp. Suddenly, her vision went black, as if a force was dragging her down into icy water, making it impossible to breathe, suffocating her. She propped herself up, forcing herself into a sitting position, but then she couldn't move again. The thought that she might die here at such a young age brought a wave of sorrow.

In the next instant, she snapped out of her despair. Yin Qi was truly nasty stuff. She couldn't die. If she died, this ghostly thing would surely return to Wei Jinzhi's body. She rapidly searched her mind for a countermeasure. She remembered her master saying that this bronze sword was their sect's most powerful artifact, capable of shaking heaven and earth if its true power was unleashed. She refused to believe that such a powerful artifact couldn't defeat a mindless Ghost King.

With great effort, she formed a sword seal, connecting her entire will to the bronze sword. With a single thought, she commanded, "Rise!" The black shadow enveloping her tightened its grip. Her whole body felt engorged with blood, as if she were about to be squeezed into a pulp. Her only chance of survival was to calm her mind and focus solely on controlling the bronze sword. Suddenly, her eyes darted beneath her closed lids. She snapped them open and roared, "Break!"

In a flash of lightning, the bronze sword plunged down from above and into the black shadow. The darkness before her roiled violently, and the sound of wind shrieked in her ears. A moment later, something flashed before her eyes—it was the bronze sword. She looked down to see its tip buried three inches deep in the ground in front of her.

The pressure around her finally vanished, and her vision cleared. She was completely drained, lying on her back with her eyes unfocused. After a long while, she found the strength to turn her head and look at Wei Jinzhi nearby. Seeing that she was unharmed, she felt a sense of relief. As she watched her, a smile touched her lips. The process had been arduous, but the result was perfect, wasn't it?

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