Chapter 96

Zhang Tiansi, this ghost child, might have already turned the city upside down by now, killing at least a hundred ghost generals. Even if it’s just a few dozen, the City God would find it much harder to deal with him than Li Po Xiao.

I pondered for a while and felt that even if I were to be detained by the City God, it wouldn’t matter much. After all, the current situation is chaotic enough, and with so many lice, I’m not afraid of itching. It wouldn’t hurt to stir the muddy waters even more.

Moreover, I now have four ghost generals by my side. With my current strength, I could take on one of the four major families’ patriarchs in a direct confrontation and win. The only fear is if they play dirty. If that happens, I can only rely on Jiang Han to carry me away.

With Jiang Han here to break the formation, what do I have to fear? The only thing missing is the powerful substitute paper figure that my senior brother has. I remember that the substitute paper figure is described in detail in the Yin-Yang Chapter, right? And the method to borrow the path of Yin and Yang is in the Asking the Way Chapter?

Alright, I’ll head over. Where is it?

It’s at the Ninth Brother Restaurant, not far from the Cheng Hotel. Brother Tian, four people? Lei Qing asked me cautiously.

Mm-hmm. I thought Lei Qing was quite sensible. Did his subordinate see that we were three people earlier? But how did that guy end up at the Cheng Hotel? I just got back.

Then I’ll order the dishes. Lei Qing hung up the phone happily.

Seeing that Zhao Qian and the old lady hadn’t come out for a long time, I entered the villa.

Brother Tian, I won’t be returning to the Four Immortals Temple tonight. Master has something to tell me. Zhao Qian sat on the carpet, writing and drawing in a notebook.

The old lady made some sounds and smiled kindly, looking like a very approachable person.

Old lady, I’ll be leaving first. If you need anything, just call me, and I’ll come over immediately. I greeted them and decided to leave on my own.

Just as I was about to leave, the old lady beckoned me over. She rummaged in her pocket for a long time and pulled out a piece of paper covered in strange symbols. The paper was dark brown and looked very peculiar.

She made several hand signs on it, then muttered some incomprehensible words, lit it, and dropped it into a cup of mineral water next to Zhao Qian.

Finally, she handed it to me, indicating that I should drink it. The paper turned the water black immediately. I swallowed hard and looked at Zhao Qian. Why would this old laywoman make me drink this talisman water?

She even used Zhao Qian’s mineral water. Could she be trying to cast some kind of spell to make me fall in love with Zhao Qian? Isn’t that how TV scripts usually go?

Brother Tian, Master wouldn’t harm you. She must have a deeper meaning. Zhao Qian didn’t understand what the old laywoman was up to either.

Misfortune entangles, long-term harm to others, initial blood luck talisman, breaks the misfortune curse. Seeing that I was still hesitant, the old laywoman picked up the pen she used to communicate with Zhao Qian and quickly wrote down eight characters.

I gritted my teeth and drank the talisman water. It seems I was cursed, and the old laywoman was breaking the curse for me.

The talisman water was very pungent, with a strong smell of old blood. I didn’t know whose blood it was, but I felt my blood and qi boiling, my eyes becoming clear, and all the stagnant qi in my body dispersing.

Thank you, laywoman, for saving me. If it weren’t for you, something bad might have happened. I quickly sat down cross-legged and poured a cup of tea for the old laywoman.

From my understanding, the old laywoman said that the misfortune curse was entangling me, and if the other party couldn’t kill me, they would harm the people around me. The initial blood luck talisman could break this curse. If this is true, it’s a great relief. I almost got my senior brother and the others killed recently.

Why are you thanking me? I was just helping myself. The old laywoman looked puzzled.

I was taken aback. It seemed that the old laywoman’s mind wasn’t entirely clear. I didn’t want to disturb her and Zhao Qian’s conversation, so I said goodbye and left.

The Peach Blossom Formation is quite powerful. So far, only Jiang Han can carry the formation and enter. Other ghost generals probably don’t have that ability, so I’m not worried about Zhao Qian staying here.

The laywoman can repel Xi Jun, at least matching the strength of a patriarch from one of the four major families. Her hidden strength is probably considerable. I doubt I could defeat her without the combined power of the four ghost generals.

Moreover, she broke the misfortune curse that had been troubling me for days, something my senior brother couldn’t do.

I returned to the car and opened the box that my grandmother used to use. The shattered soul jar was already moved to another box and buried in the garden. Now, the box only contained many books on Yin-Yang and ghost masks.

I picked out the Yin-Yang Chapter and the Asking the Way Chapter and flipped through them. The characters inside were indeed obscure and difficult to understand. Although there were spells for making talismans, the core spells for making talismans were hard to pronounce. It seemed that without my senior brother’s personal instruction, I couldn’t recite them.

As for the Asking the Way Chapter, when borrowing the path of Yin and Yang, special ritual tools and an altar are needed. Some of these items are not available on the market and are hard to collect. I would need to ask my senior brother.

I saw the sky turning red with the setting sun. It would probably be dark in about half an hour. If I added the time for dinner, it might already be dark. I called my senior brother to ask if he and Uncle Yao were in the county. I felt more confident: Senior brother? Have you returned to the Four Immortals Temple? What about Uncle Yao?

You’re still in the county? You’re just causing trouble. Return to the temple early. If it’s too late, the yin energy will be heavy, and the ghost coffin might take you. Uncle Yao and I are still at the hospital. Xiao Lin just had surgery and will return later. Senior Brother Hai has many police officers on his side, and he can navigate both the light and dark sides. His current situation is safer than at the Four Immortals Temple.

By the way, senior brother, how do you recite the core spell for the substitute paper figure? And how do you get the ritual tools for borrowing the path of Yin and Yang and opening the Yang Gate? I thought about it and decided to ask. The substitute paper figure isn’t a very advanced talisman, but the core spell is probably in ancient script, which I can’t recite or draw.

Why are you asking? Are you trying to get yourself killed again? And who told you that you need to recite the core spell for the substitute paper figure? Ancient scripts don’t need to be recited. When you draw the talisman, just think of the core spell in your mind, and write your birth date and time.

How do you borrow the path of Yin and Yang? The ritual tools are still at my place. Oh, I almost forgot. You’re going back to the temple, right? Come to the hospital and get the key. Go to my place and bring the statue of Taiyi. I’ve already prepared a place for Taiyi at the Four Immortals Temple. I feel uneasy if I don’t worship him. You still have time, right? Senior Brother Hai said a lot and didn’t forget to assign me a task. But hearing that there were backup ritual tools for borrowing the path of Yin and Yang made me happy. This errand would be worthwhile.

Sure, I have time. I’ll head over now. I started the car and quickly drove back to the central hospital.

On the internal medicine floor, I didn’t see Lin Feiyu but saw a group of doctors accompanying a bunch of leaders and police officers. They must be some high-ranking officials in the police system. I didn’t expect that Lin Feiyu, an old forensic examiner, could have such influence.

Not seeing Lin Feiyu didn’t worry me. After all, Uncle Yao...

Seeing me, my senior brother walked over with a spirited look, and my mood improved. Could the misfortune curse have been broken?

Junior brother, you’ve improved. Are you planning to borrow the path of Yin and Yang and play with the substitute paper figure?

Hehe, I have to, right? I don’t want to keep bothering you. I laughed awkwardly, knowing I couldn’t hide it and decided to admit it.

Senior Brother Hai looked at the four books in my hand and adjusted his glasses: Yin-Yang Chapter, Asking the Way Chapter, the upper and lower parts of the Taiyi Dao. You’re quite ambitious, picking the most important ones. This isn’t right. The Arithmetic Chapter is the foundation! And among these four, you’ve chosen the most powerful and the best for escaping, haven’t you?

Yes, I’ve learned some from these chapters. Time is tight, and the task is urgent. Should I only learn how to escape like you? I’m taking a two-pronged approach.

I flipped through a few pages, asked some questions, and casually made some hand signs, which I did very skillfully.

Have you learned before? Senior Brother Hai was surprised but still corrected a few of my hand signs.

Not really. When I was young, I found it interesting to watch my grandmother perform rituals, so I learned some basic hand signs. These are just a bit more complex. I said.

Very flexible and full of spirit, comparable to a master with decades of experience. No wonder you can easily borrow power. To us, you’re already a gifted individual. With this foundation and the Dao tradition, the rest is easy to learn. But the more complex ones still need personal instruction, like the Arithmetic Chapter and the Qi Concealment Chapter. Senior Brother Hai said with bright eyes.

It would probably take at least ten years to master the Arithmetic Chapter. Although I’m interested in arithmetic, I don’t have the time to delve into it. I don’t want to calculate my fate and end up losing my life. I’ll leave the warnings to my sister-in-law.

The Qi Concealment Chapter is probably the skill that allows you to hide in the daylight. If mastered, it would allow you to enter the dead town, but with my current strength, I wouldn’t be able to come out.

Senior Brother Hai handed me the key. I checked the time and realized I might be late, so I called Lei Qing and asked if he could wait for another ten minutes.

Although Lei Qing was anxious, he had already waited for a long time. As long as I confirmed that I would come, he had no objections.

I drove to my senior brother’s residence. As the sky was about to turn dark, I burned a few incense sticks for Taiyi and told him about my plan to temporarily move him.

The golden, saint-like Taiyi seemed to have no objections. I planned to carry him down after the incense burned out.

Looking out the window, it had been half an hour since I left Zhao Qian’s place, and it was about to get dark. But with Taiyi, the City God wouldn’t dare to come and take me, right? I felt reassured and picked out a set of ritual tools for borrowing the path of Yin and Yang, putting them in my leather shoulder bag.

My senior brother had many paper figures, even blue ones. I didn’t hesitate to take some. After all, he’s my senior brother, and he wouldn’t mind if I took a few paper figures. I took two large bundles of ordinary ones, about a thousand, and all the blue ones, which were quite expensive, and put them in my talisman box. Life is the most important, and I’ll repay him later.