Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 181
>Chapter Title: Strange
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When Bai Lingmiao, clutching the drum, kept steadying her nervous heart.
The two gods had already silently positioned themselves behind her, quietly gazing at the distant door bolted shut.
“I know we can’t rely on Senior Brother Li for everything. I never planned to rely on him. Just stop talking.” Bai Lingmiao complained softly.
“I get it. Just stop talking, okay? And besides, it has nothing to do with him.”
No sooner had Bai Lingmiao said this than the two gods’ sharp nails pressed against her neck.
“You know full well... it has everything to do with him...”
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao’s face darkened further, and she said nothing more.
As the hall fell quiet, it made Bai Lingmiao uneasy again, so she asked to fill the silence, “If I don’t help the immortals with their work, what will they do to me?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to help them. It’s just that sometimes, I might not have time or be free to do it.”
Hearing the voice in her mind, Bai Lingmiao’s expression soured even more. “Oh... Is there any way to fix th—”
She was cut off midsentence by a sudden pounding at the door that startled her badly.
“Bang!” The wooden door was rammed hard from outside, instantly cracking open a slit.
Through the gap, Bai Lingmiao saw a pair of round, bulging eyes devoid of any life.
“It’s here!” Bai Lingmiao hurriedly shoved the drum into the two gods’ arms and pulled the red veil over her own head.
An extremely shrill female voice pierced far into the pitch-black night. “Inviting~~~ the gods~~ now~~”
“Bang!” Another heavy thud, and the wooden door crashed to the ground with a creak.
An elderly woman with white hair, dressed in red burial clothes, appeared before Bai Lingmiao.
Her mouth was a bloody mess, her expression rigid and eyes vacant. Standing in the darkness like a zombie, she sent chills down the spine.
“Thud!” The old woman hopped forward on both legs, crossing the threshold straight into the room.
Her shoes bound together at the feet, and black ropes tied around her ankles, forced her to move by hopping.
“Sun sets in the west, darkening the sky~ Ten homes lock nine, leaving one door ajar~”
Facing the rapid soldier-summoning incantation, the old woman showed no reaction at all, her unblinking eyes scanning the room for something.
When she didn’t find what she wanted, her eyes turned to Bai Lingmiao, and she began hopping toward her.
“East Dipper, West Dipper, same command, North Dipper at noon judges the dust. Spring brings life, autumn death in the wild grass inn, winter and summer eternal in the dense pine woods. A hazy star in the sky, falls to earth as a handful of life!”
Four incense sticks appeared in Bai Lingmiao’s hand. With a forceful wave, their tips ignited without flame.
“Heaven holds the auspicious Realm of Desire, earth holds Fengdu’s Ghost Gate Pass. You took too much yang time in the past; today, take less of the yang time!”
With the rhythm of the divine tune, the lit incense tips trailed white smoke as they struck the old woman’s burial clothes—but upon contact, they extinguished like plunging into water.
The old woman lunged with her mouth wide open, biting hard at Bai Lingmiao’s hand. Her skin tore, revealing black hedgehog spines inside.
The sharp quills burst out, piercing straight through her lower jaw.
“Boom boom boom! Red Grandpa, muster your troops quick! Boom boom boom! First drum beats, forge the war rice; Boom boom boom! Second drum, tighten the battle robes; Boom boom boom! Third drum, draw your blades, hey! Boom boom boom! Fourth drum, hand over the soldiers!”
With the drumbeats, clumps of soft white fur rapidly extended from Bai Lingmiao’s sleeves and beneath the veil.
A fox tail, constantly splitting, began to grow from under her skirt hem.
The fur writhed like living things, burrowing into the old woman’s seven orifices.
She tried to struggle, but had no chance to fight back, her movements growing weaker and weaker.
Suddenly, her body went limp. A large, black mass slithered out from under her burial pants, vanishing swiftly into the night using the dim light as cover.
“Boom boom boom! If you must go, I won’t stop you. Unbridle the horse at the overlord’s manger, saddle off next. Old immortal, crack the whip, mount up, and return to the mountains! Boom boom boom!”
Bai Lingmiao, now back to normal, removed the red veil. She let out a sigh of relief, then grinned with excitement.
This was the first time she had handled something like this alone—and she had resolved it perfectly.
It boosted her confidence even more. From now on, if Senior Brother Li ran into trouble, she could lend a hand too.
Husband sings, wife follows. She had no right to complain about his troubles; all she could do was pitch in when he needed help.
“How can I get better at jumping the great god? I feel like it’s still not quite enough.”
“Hm? Why do I have to learn the singing? You’re the one who sings it. Oh... alright then, I’ll give it a try.”
Seeing the motionless old woman on the ground, Bai Lingmiao squatted down beside her and kindly straightened her disheveled burial clothes.
“Looks like I was right. Something really was possessing her corpse. It fled too fast just now; I didn’t get a good look at what it was.”
After tidying her up, Bai Lingmiao went to the backyard to fetch the father and son, collected her fifty wen reward, and hurried back.
But the moment she stepped out, a dark figure nearby startled her. “Who’s there?!”
The figure stepped forward, took her hand, and led her toward their lodging. “Next time something like this comes up, tell me ahead of time. That way, I can watch your back.”
Seeing that Li Huowang had waited outside for so long out of worry for her.
Bai Lingmiao’s heart instantly sweetened like honey. She shyly leaned closer. “Mm...”
The two walked silently along the muddy village path, heading back.
Neither spoke, savoring the quiet.
But the quiet didn’t last. Coming toward them was an old woman bent at the waist, a basket on her arm, and a bamboo pole in hand.
“Tap tap tap.” The bamboo pole swept the ground, probing her path. She was blind.
Hearing footsteps, the blind old woman stopped and cocked her ear toward them. “Young folks, do you know where Qian Niusheng’s home is? They’ve got a troublesome guest, and I’m here to drive it out.”
“Ah? Granny, you’re too late. Their evil thing is gone.”
“What~?! You trying to fool a blind old lady?!”
The furious blind woman planted her hands on her hips and unleashed a torrent of filthy language, cursing Qian Niusheng’s ancestors back eighteen generations.
It set the nearby dogs barking.
Watching the fierce old woman, Li Huowang suddenly grew curious.
“At your age, you’re still doing exorcisms? May I ask your surname? Which sect do you follow?”
At his words, the aggressive blind woman’s demeanor instantly softened.
“I’m Granny Cui. Just call me Immortal Aunt Cui. You folks in some trouble? Need my help?”
No sooner had she spoken than Immortal Aunt Cui’s expression turned puzzled. She tucked her bamboo pole under her arm and stumbled toward Li Huowang.
Li Huowang tried to dodge, but she followed right up and shoved her bony, talon-like hands right into his face.
“What did you do in your last life to rack up such bad karma? That’s really strange!”
“Everyone else lacks water or fire at worst, maybe both if they’re really unlucky. But you, young man? You’re missing all five elements clean!”
(End of chapter)