Love & Redemption
Chapter 49 - 9 Wangxian Exorcises Spirits (Part 2)

Chapter 49: Chapter 9 Wangxian Exorcises Spirits (Part 2)

After the meal, as they drank tea, Xuanji approached the innkeeper and asked, "Excuse me, uncle, do you know of a family in town with the surname Zhao? The one with three brothers all surnamed Zhao?"

The innkeeper thought for a moment and then realized, "Oh, are you referring to the Zhao Family Manor to the north of the town? Alas, their situation is even worse than ours here. They don’t even have fields to work, and getting enough food is a problem for them."

Zhong Minyan finished his tea in one gulp and said, "Then, we’d appreciate it if you could show us the way, uncle. We need to make a trip to the Zhao Family Manor."

The innkeeper hastily agreed, ordering his apprentice to prepare a horse carriage in the backyard, while apologetically saying, "Do the three honored guests need to prepare talisman water and dog blood for ghost hunting? I’ll have them get ready for you..."

Linglong laughed heartily, hands on hips and full of spirit, "Talisman water and dog blood? Those are just tricks used by unscrupulous priests to deceive people! Do you really believe such things work? For a Cultivator exorcising demons, a single sword is sufficient. If you ever encounter scoundrels using dog blood charm water to scam food and drink, you should drive them out with a big stick!"

The innkeeper, dazzled by her radiant beauty and exuberance, nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.

Min Yan gently pulled her aside and whispered, "Linglong, every house has its own way of doing things, and talisman water with dog blood is not necessarily a scam. The world is so vast, how much can we really know? Let’s not be too quick to dismiss everything."

Linglong snorted through her nose, about to argue, when Xuanji laughed and said, "That’s true. Master also told me that talisman water and dog blood are folk remedies used against evil. Itinerant priests often use this method, and it’s not necessarily deceitful."

Seeing that the two of them had contradicted her since they had set out, leaving her feeling like the unreasonable one, Linglong couldn’t help feeling very displeased and coldly said, "Yes, I’m always the one who is wrong, and you two are always right. Why even accompany me? You two can go on your own!"

With that, she ran out ahead, leaving the other two behind.

Zhong Minyan furrowed his brow and sighed, "After so many years, she’s still got that stubborn temperament, and no one else’s words can change her mind!"

Xuanji was about to say something but then thought better of it, deciding not to intrude at such a time. She was a mute spectator until they reached the door outside. She suddenly turned back with a smile, saying to the still-bickering pair, "I’ll go ahead and check the situation on the mountain. Let’s meet at the Zhao Family Manor tonight."

Before Linglong could protest, she had already transformed into a streak of white light and disappeared from sight.

"It’s all your fault!" Linglong lost her temper at Zhong Minyan. "You made our little sister run off on her own! If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you for the rest of my life!"

After speaking, she too flew away on her sword, leaving Zhong Minyan behind, at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Sometimes, being with Linglong was incomparably joyous, but at other times, he felt exhausted.

Linglong was like a brightly burning flame, always lively and never dull in her company, but those who get too close to the fire are bound to get burned.

For many years, living and growing up alongside her, he learned to keep retreating to avoid getting burned, to the point of burying his own existence in the ground and even forgetting who he was, as if his life was lived only for Linglong.

Indeed, it was tiring.

He sighed deeply in his heart, and for the first time, he did not feel like catching up, but slowly made his way toward the Zhao Family Manor to the north.

The mountain to the north of Wangxian Town had an interesting name, Haiwan Mountain. Its shape resembled an overturned giant sea bowl, which gave it its name.

Xuanji controlled her sword in flight, and in no time, she arrived at Haiwan Mountain, landing midway up the back mountain.

The situation here was actually more severe than what Boss Zhao had described. Xuanji walked around the edge of the woods for a while and discovered that the halfway up the slope above the edge of the forest was covered with dead grass. The long, leek-like leaves must be the Zhu Yu Grass.

The dead grass was either uprooted or broken into four or five sections, haphazardly strewn about, forming a thick layer on the ground. It looked as if several giants had frolicked here, maliciously destroying vast swathes of the Zhu Yu Grass fields in a fit of mischief.

She bent over to pick up a piece of torn Zhu Yu Grass, gently rubbed off the dirt with her hands, and it crumbled down. It appeared that the grass was not cut with a sharp weapon, as the jagged, uneven break suggested it had been torn apart.

She increased the force on her finger and tried to snap the dried grass, only to find that it took a significant amount of strength to break it.

She felt a bit surprised, realizing that whatever was causing trouble here was not easy to deal with.

Xuanji dropped the dried grass and was about to look elsewhere for clues when suddenly a gust of wind swept towards her, lifting the dried grass from the ground and filling the air, blurring her vision.

She quickly shielded her face with her sleeves but then heard a sharp whistle above her head as if something huge had flown by. Without further concern for the blinding wind, she looked up and saw a flash of silver streak across the sky like a sword, then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It was a demon! She smelled a fishy scent in the wind, immediately took to her sword, and flew after it.

After a short chase, she indeed saw a flicker of silver light in the forest ahead, as if something was swiftly slithering forward. Watching it twist and turn, its movements snake-like, Xuanji suddenly paused, a memory emerging of a similar scene: a silver snake...

Just as she was deep in thought, she felt a gust behind her head, swiftly drew her sword to block, and with a "ding," something struck her sword with immense force. She could barely hold on to it as her hand went numb, almost dropping the blade.

"Who’s there?!" she shouted, stopping midair and frantically scanning her surroundings; but the sky was clear and there was not a trace of anyone in the vast green woodland below.

When she turned back, the silver-flashing demon had already vanished.

Xuanji searched for a while longer, but with no further leads, she had no choice but to fly back to Zhao Family Manor on her sword.

As soon as she landed, she saw Zhong Minyan and Linglong standing back to back, silent, just standing there.

She stifled a wry smile in her heart and approached to ask, "Did you find Old Man Zhao’s house?"

Linglong and Zhong Minyan said in unison, "We found it, it’s over there..."

Before they could finish, both of them suddenly paused, realizing they were both pointing in the same direction and sheepishly withdrew their hands.

Zhong Minyan spoke indifferently, "We just met Old Man Zhao’s grandson and showed him the drawing. He said it looked like it and then said it didn’t. Children’s words are always unreliable, so let’s just go up the mountain ourselves tonight."

Xuanji nodded, then recounted her encounter in the back mountain of Haiwan, to which both of them responded with silence upon hearing how formidable the demon was.

"What should we do? Is it an old demon that we can’t handle?" Linglong asked timidly.

Zhong Minyan frowned and remained silent.

Xuanji smoothed her hair and said, "Let’s see tonight... Since it doesn’t hurt people, it probably isn’t a bad demon. We just need to drive it away..."

Before she could finish, suddenly something rolled out of her sleeve and fell to the ground.

Linglong bent down to pick it up and wondered, "What’s this?... A Rice Cake?"

She held up the yellowish snack high, and all three looked at the familiar yet foreign Rice Cake with a mix of confusion and puzzlement in their eyes.

Xuanji suddenly remembered the Hidden Weapon that had attacked her from behind. Could it be that it was actually a Rice Cake?

She took the Rice Cake, examined it in her palm carefully, and for a moment she felt bewildered.