Chapter 18-Part 3

The senior brother wanted to train them, so he gave them the job of expelling evil spirits, while he stayed by the well to continue summoning the soul.

Although they had followed their senior brother in dealing with several ghosts before, this was the first time they were handling a fierce ghost on their own.

They ran into quite a few problems just dealing with a particularly resentful little ghost, and in the end, it was their senior brother who, unable to watch any longer, threw a talisman to help them subdue the fierce ghost.

Thus, they continued exorcising ghosts while summoning the soul, and by the latter half of the night, their senior brother finally managed to bring back the soul of the Duke of Anguo’s wife. Unfortunately, her soul had been separated from her body for too long, so even though her soul had returned to her body, she still showed no signs of waking.

Their senior brother closed the ‘Xuanpin Gate’ and returned to the room to discuss solutions with the expert. Meanwhile, they tried to sneak in to see who the expert was, but their senior brother hurried them off to bed.

When they hurried to the scripture hall this morning, the expert had already left, and the Duke of Anguo’s wife was still unconscious, though her soul had stabilized considerably.

By the afternoon, their senior brother had called in two elderly Taoist priests skilled in the secret arts of the Minglu to perform a ritual, instructing them to chant the ‘Soul-Calming Mantra’ for the Duke’s wife every day from then on. Whether she would wake up, however, ultimately depended on her own fate.

When they entered the room, the Duke of Anguo was speaking with their senior brother. The Duke looked much more haggard and aged, and in a hoarse voice, he said to their senior brother, ‘I troubled you last night—’ but when he saw them, the Duke swallowed his words.

Their senior brother glanced at them and said nonchalantly, “You arrived just in time. I told them to prepare dinner earlier, so you two should eat before heading to Pingkang Ward.”

‘What about you, senior brother?’ they asked.

‘You go first; I’ll follow shortly,’ he replied.

But it had been more than half an hour since they arrived at Pingkang Ward, and there was still no sign of their senior brother.

Thinking of this, Qi Zhi apologetically said to Teng Yuyi, “I guess when Master Du came by, the temple was busy summoning the soul of the Duke of Anguo’s wife. The temple will return to normal tomorrow, so I’m afraid you’ll have to trouble Master Du to make another trip tomorrow.”

Teng Yuyi quickly said, ‘I’ll be sure to pass the message on to my uncle.’

Then she smiled and asked, “Since you’re here to exorcise the evil spirits at Caifeng Tower, have you found out what’s been going on there?”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi frowned. They knew only that something strange had been happening at Caifeng Tower for a month, but they had no idea what kind of evil spirit it was. After arriving earlier, they hadn’t even managed to get inside the tower, instead asking nearby merchants for information. But those people, likely afraid of offending the tower’s owners, didn’t dare to say a word of truth.

Teng Yuyi smiled faintly.

“If someone were willing to tell you everything that’s happened at Caifeng Tower recently, would you be interested in hearing it?”

Their spirits lifted.

“Did Lady Teng hear something?”

“It wasn’t easy to get them to talk. It took quite a bit of effort to get any information,” she said.

Before they could respond, Teng Yuyi added, “I also encountered something strange in the tower. I can describe the person’s appearance to you, but you’ll have to agree to one condition.”

They looked warily at Teng Yuyi.

“W-what condition?”

“You have to convince your senior brother to help me lift the Sha Ling Huan spell.”

Jue Sheng looked troubled.

“To be honest, after we returned to the temple yesterday, our senior brother scolded us harshly, saying that the venomous insect is no good thing. He suspects that Lady Teng deceived us into giving it to her for some ill-intent. However, he also said that if Lady Teng is willing to reveal what she plans to do with the insect and voluntarily return it to the temple, he would help lift the Sha Ling Huan spell.’

Teng Yuyi’s eyes glimmered.

Such a demanding condition!

She had obtained the itching insect to deal with Duan Ningyuan and Lady Dong, and with the plan still in motion, how could she reveal it now? Besides, she had already handed the insect over to Steward Cheng for the task, so she didn’t have it on hand to return to Lin Chengyou.

But today she had set her mind on lifting the spell, and even if Lin Chengyou posed a problem, there were still Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi. Since it was a spell from Qingyun Temple, these two young Taoists should be able to lift it as well. So she pretended to sigh with reluctance and said, “This sword is extremely valuable to me. If the spell isn’t lifted tonight, I’m afraid I’ll fall gravely ill myself. You two kind-hearted Taoists, why not help me lift the spell tonight? I’ll return the itching insect to Qingyun Temple tomorrow.”

Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi scratched their heads.

On the surface, her words seemed reasonable, but upon closer consideration, would Lady Teng really return the itching insect after the spell was lifted?

And if she had a clear conscience, why wouldn’t she reveal what she intended to do with the insect?

Could she really be a bad person?

But the melancholy on Lady Teng’s face didn’t seem faked…

Qi Zhi was more easily swayed than Jue Sheng. After struggling for a while, he couldn’t help but ask, “Lady Teng, did you use the itching insect to do something bad?”

“Of course not. Do I look like a bad person?”

Qi Zhi and Jue Sheng exchanged glances, then sighed and said, “Alright, neither of us knows how to lift the Sha Ling Huan Spell, but there’s a way that might make our senior brother help you break the spell. Lady Teng, come closer.”

Qi Zhi whispered a few words in Teng Yuyi’s ear, then said, “This is the best solution we could come up with. If Lady Teng follows through, our senior brother might lift the spell on the spot.”

Teng Yuyi considered it.

At least she had gotten some useful information.

This method was simpler and more feasible than what she had thought of, but she wasn’t sure if it would work on Lin Chengyou.

“Lady Teng, can you tell us now what’s been happening inside the tower?”

Teng Yuyi took out the talismans that the five Taoist priests from Dongming Temple had given her and explained what had happened earlier.

Qizhi thought for a moment and said, “Those five Taoists from Dongming Temple have always prided themselves on their good looks, so it’s not surprising they call this talisman the ‘Five Beauty Heavenly Immortal Talismans.’ But in essence, this thing is just a Yin-Pointing Talisman that can detect demons and spirits. The man you saw earlier was probably a demon. Jue Sheng, since Lady Teng has brought the musicians out of the tower, you stay and listen to what they have to say while I go inside and take a look.”

Teng Yuyi stopped Qi Zhi.

“Hey, don’t be in such a hurry. If you go in dressed like that, you’ll just get blocked again. How about changing clothes and letting Huo Qiu escort you inside? Also, if that demon is difficult to deal with, aren’t you afraid of the danger of going in alone? You just said Lin Chengyou was coming soon, so why not wait for your senior brother?”

Qi Zhi and Jue Sheng looked gratefully at Teng Yuyi. They knew she couldn’t be a bad person; just look at how concerned she was for them.

“Senior brother said that we’re old enough now and can’t always rely on him to exorcise demons. Besides, he might already be here, just deliberately staying out of sight. Since the demon has shown itself, I should go ahead and scout things out.”

Jue Sheng handed Qi Zhi an arrow-shaped object. ‘If you can’t handle it, don’t forget to release the signal arrow.’

Qizhi nodded and left.