Chapter 101: Turning the Tables
Passing the portrait and coming to the side of the coffin, the nine coffin nails were not completely nailed in. The coffin was covered with a yellow cloth, on which was drawn a talisman. It was a soul-calming talisman, and there was no problem.
Sang Jing raised her hand and lifted the yellow cloth. Just as she was about to push open the coffin lid, a chill suddenly ran down her back.
She turned her head and met a beautiful and familiar face.
“Xie Yu, what are you doing?”
Xie Yu didn’t speak. She raised her hand and placed it on the coffin lid. In an instant, the white banners around the water pavilion were blown up by a yin wind, and the decorations around the coffin were also blown around and rolled on the ground.
A whirlpool suddenly appeared on the surface of the lotus pond behind Sang Jing. A thick, inky yin energy emerged from under the water and merged with the darkness.
Red lines were faintly visible on the coffin lid, and the lines and points were connected to form a talisman.
Sang Jing stared at the talisman on it, her lips tightening.
It was still the one on Shen Jue’s back.
“Bang—!”
A loud bang.
The heavy coffin lid was lifted by a strong force in front of Sang Jing. Sang Jing quickly took two steps back.
The yin energy that overflowed from the coffin was astonishingly heavy. The yin energy rolled out continuously, and then went in a clear direction.
“Xie Yu!”
Sang Jing reached out to pull, but a hand was faster than her. It was a hand formed by yin energy. It grabbed Xie Yu’s shoulder and pulled her back directly. Before Sang Jing could move, three or four more hands came to pull her.
Then, the yin energy in the coffin lifted the body inside. Sang Jing saw that Gu Changning’s body was so thin it was just a pile of bones, and her body was covered with talismans.
Before she was pulled down into the lotus pond behind her, a word flashed in Sang Jing’s mind.
Raising a corpse.
“Plop—!”
“Plop—!”
Two successive sounds of falling into the water came from the earphones under her long hair. Xia Changqing lowered her head, and the corners of her lips curved up imperceptibly.
The bait has been taken.
Wenren Jin looked at the empty seat beside her and asked in confusion, “Where’s Bei Shan? Has she been in the bathroom for so long?”
Xia Changqing said softly, “Maybe she went back first.”
Her earphones simultaneously transmitted Bei Shan’s surprised cry.
“Sang Jing!!! Xie Yu!”
Bei Shan had originally wanted to sneak back to see on the pretext of going to the toilet. As a result, she saw a scene that made her heart race—
Unbelievable yin energy was rolling, overflowing from the coffin, and also drilling out from the lotus pond. Sang Jing, Xie Yu, and Gu Changning’s body were all swept under the water by the yin energy.
She ran over at the fastest speed. By the time she arrived, there were only circles of ripples on the surface of the water, which were returning to calm. The scene just now seemed to be just an illusion.
“Sang Jing! Sang Jing!!!” Bei Shan was anxious. She even wanted to jump down to find them, but she still had some rationality. With such heavy yin energy, no one knew what it was like down there. If even Sang Jing couldn’t escape, she would just be sending herself to her death.
Calm down, calm down…
Bei Shan took two deep breaths and paced back and forth by the water pavilion.
She took out her phone and sent a message to Wei Qingyun and the others.
【Come back quickly. Something’s happened.】
In a corner of the mourning hall, a faint red dot was flashing silently.
*
Sang Jing was the first to be pulled into the water. She took out the prepared talismans to force back the ghostly energy that was wrapped around her. Then, a heavy object fell into the water. It was Gu Changning’s body.
Before she could confirm the position of the body in the water, the ghostly energy under the lotus pond bypassed her and rushed up. In the blink of an eye, the body was instantly crushed to dust in the water.
Sang Jing frowned, a shock in her heart.
Before she had gone into the water, she had seen the state of Gu Changning’s body. Gu Changning had not just died this morning. She had been dead for at least half a month. She had used her own body to raise a corpse, and had been raising that yin energy.
The Lotus Pond Water Pavilion was undoubtedly the ghost-raising place in Shahe. The purpose of them setting up the mourning hall here was…
Sang Jing had already opened her Yin Eye. She saw the dark, deep yin energy under the water drilling into the evil spirit’s body. At the same time, her body instantly began to turn cold.
Her target was Xie Yu!
Sang Jing’s lips curved. No wonder Xia Changqing had been so easily taken away. No wonder no one had been arranged to watch the mourning hall. It turned out that they also knew that she had already suspected them and had deliberately lured her into a trap.
Her body was getting colder and colder. Sang Jing held the Wuchang warrant in her hand and stared at the evil spirit. She saw the yin energy lifting the evil spirit and heading for the depths. The evil spirit had the same face as Xie Yu. It opened its eyes and looked at her, reaching out its hand to her for help. Sang Jing’s eyelashes couldn’t help but tremble.
The Ghost Gate opened behind her. Sang Jing turned and walked in.
“Cough, cough—”
Sang Jing coughed out the water in her nasal cavity and gasped for breath. Her soaked clothes clung to her body, making her even colder.
Something in her clothes pocket moved. Sang Jing propped herself up and stood up. Her eyebrows and eyelashes began to frost over.
A ghost on the Yin Road saw her and licked its lips, having bad intentions.
Sang Jing saw the few ghosts nearby staring at her with green eyes. She raised her hand and showed the Wuchang warrant in her hand, her voice tinged with a coldness. “Get lost.”
When the ghosts saw the thing in her hand, they didn’t dare to have any more thoughts and turned and ran faster than anyone else.
Her fingers were so cold they were stiff. Sang Jing had some difficulty holding the Wuchang warrant in her hand. They had poured too much yin energy into the evil spirit’s body.
Her body suddenly stumbled forward, and Sang Jing’s vision began to darken.
Before she could fall, a hand held her.
A woman’s worried voice was filled with helplessness. “Why are you so stubborn? You’d rather suffer yourself than say a word to me.”
Sang Jing blinked her eyes, her voice very light. “Teacher…”
When she opened her eyes again, Sang Jing smelled a strong smell of disinfectant.
She opened her eyes, and Bei Shan’s head appeared in her field of vision.
“You’re finally awake,” Bei Shan said, waving her hand in front of her eyes. “Are you awake?”
Sang Jing nodded.
Seeing that she was about to sit up, Bei Shan helped her with a pillow.
“Why am I in the hospital?” Sang Jing’s voice was a little hoarse.
She remembered that she had fainted on the Yin Road, and it seemed… she had seen her teacher.
Sang Jing looked down at her hands. They were of a normal skin color and temperature, not cold at all.
“You’re still asking? You almost scared me to death,” Bei Shan said, pouring her a glass of water and handing it to her. “You said you wanted to open the coffin. I was worried and secretly went back. As a result, I saw you and Xie Yu, and… and Gu Changning’s body being pulled into the lotus pond by the yin energy. I didn’t dare to go down rashly, so I called them back. But I didn’t say anything about you opening the coffin. Team Leader Wei and Chairman Hua had already prepared their equipment and were about to go into the water. As a result, they found you fainted on the other side of the lotus pond. So they sent you to the hospital. Fortunately, it’s nothing serious. You just choked on some water.”
“When I sent you here, your body was cold to the touch. I almost had to lie down and come here too.”
Sang Jing drank the water and asked her, “Where are they?”
Bei Shan: “They’re all at the Lotus Pond Water Pavilion. I’m watching you here. Gu Changning’s body hasn’t been recovered yet, and the yin energy under the water hasn’t been investigated either.”
Sang Jing nodded, looked down at the hospital gown she was wearing, and then turned to look for something.
“Don’t worry. I’ve put away all your things. They’re in the drawer next to you,” Bei Shan said, pointing to the bedside table. “Are you hungry? Shall I go and buy you something to eat?”
“Alright.”
The ward was a single room. After Bei Shan left, Sang Jing immediately opened the drawer. Lady Hei’s map, her mother’s formation map, her small gourd…
Where’s the ear cuff?
Sang Jing directly lifted the blanket and got out of bed, her shoes on the wrong feet.
After rummaging through the entire drawer, Sang Jing still couldn’t find the ear cuff.
Her heart grew more and more flustered, until she got the small gourd. Sang Jing was stunned for a moment.
The evil spirit had been pulled to the bottom of the lotus pond by the yin energy. There should be nothing in the small gourd.
Taking the small gourd and turning into the bathroom, Sang Jing opened it impatiently. In an instant, ghostly energy drilled out.
Her vision blurred, and she was hugged.
The worry in Sang Jing’s heart immediately subsided. She let out a sigh of relief and hugged her back.
Xie Yu’s voice was choked. “Sang Jing, I’m so scared.”
She had not been so scared even when she had died. But as soon as she saw Sang Jing in danger, she was so worried and scared she couldn’t control herself.
“It’s alright. I’m fine now.”
“Why did you run into the small gourd? Didn’t you not like to go into the small gourd?” Sang Jing patted her on the back. “I was the one who was scared.”
Before she had gone to the Lotus Pond Water Pavilion, she had sealed Xie Yu in the ear cuff and had hidden it in her pocket. Suddenly, the ear cuff was gone, and her heart had also stopped for a moment.
“It was your teacher. She took the ear cuff and put me in the gourd.”
Xie Yu let go and pulled back a little to look at Sang Jing. “Are you using the evil spirit to replace me? Did you think of this trick of replacing the pillar with a rotten log when you carved the eyes for the evil spirit that night in the homestay?”
Sang Jing praised her, “So smart.”
Xie Yu’s heart was full.
The evil spirit was fed with Sang Jing’s blood and was closely connected to Sang Jing. The more the evil spirit endured, the more backlash Sang Jing would suffer.
“Are you moved?” Sang Jing asked softly.
Xie Yu sniffed and nodded. “Mm.”
“Then help me act in a play,” Sang Jing said, raising her hand to touch her eyes. “From now on, you’ll be the evil spirit.”
“Alright. Then are you still cold?” Xie Yu asked as she went to touch Sang Jing’s hand. She blinked her eyes when she touched her warm hand.
“I’m not cold anymore. My teacher helped me,” Sang Jing said, holding her hand in return. “Look, it’s warm.”
“You won’t be cold anymore in the future?”
Sang Jing thought for a moment. “Maybe… there will still be a little.”
Xie Yu’s eyes lowered. Before she could say her worried words, her lips were heated. Sang Jing tilted her head up and kissed her.
Stunned for a moment, Xie Yu quickly closed her eyes and hugged her in response, her palm on the back of Sang Jing’s neck, deepening the kiss.
After the intimacy, Sang Jing’s breathing was a little messy. “So I still need your help.”
Xie Yu was very happy that she was so proactive and couldn’t help but lean over and kiss her again. “Alright, I’m very willing.”
Coming out of the bathroom, Bei Shan had just returned with a lunch box.
Opening the door, the two of them and a ghost looked at each other.
Bei Shan was very surprised to see Xie Yu. “Hey, aren’t you—”
Wait…
Bei Shan stopped. She looked at Xie Yu’s closed eyes and her wooden expression.
This was not Xie Yu. This was Sang Jing’s evil spirit.
Her gaze shifted again, and Bei Shan saw the unnatural color of Sang Jing’s lips. She thought of them just coming out of the bathroom.
Bei Shan: “…”
She closed the door. Bei Shan sized up Sang Jing. “I feel like I’m understanding you less and less. I saw you and Xie Yu being so lovey-dovey before and thought you really liked her. How can you now be with… with an evil spirit… so you actually like her face?”
First, she had thrown a flower at the portrait, then she had wanted to open the coffin, and now she had a substitute. Everything Sang Jing had done today had shocked Bei Shan so much her mouth couldn’t close. This was even scarier than a ghost possession.
Sang Jing: “…”
Her words were so harsh, as if she were desperate.
Forget it. At least Bei Shan didn’t see that it was the real Xie Yu.
“Tan Wei just sent me a message. They found Zhu Yun and are setting up a formation at the Lotus Pond Water Pavilion to try and draw out the yin energy below,” Bei Shan said, then glanced at Sang Jing, a little hesitant.
Sang Jing saw her hesitant look and guessed something. She pretended to be nervous. “What’s wrong?”
Bei Shan still said it. “There’s no yin energy below, and… they didn’t find Xie Yu.”
“Xie Yu is missing, and Gu Changning’s body was not found either,” Bei Shan couldn’t help but ask. “What on earth happened?”
“What’s with that yin energy? Why did I see that yin energy coming out of the coffin when I arrived?”
“You didn’t see wrong,” Sang Jing’s peripheral vision caught sight of the door. “Gu Changning has a problem.”
“Bang—!”
The ward door was opened with force.
“Sang Jing!”
Xia Changqing came over with a stack of documents in her hand and looked at Sang Jing coldly. “You have no proof. You are not allowed to slander Teacher Gu.”
“But I have reason to suspect that you have a problem.”
“I’ve checked the information. Your mother is Sang Cixin. She was expelled from the Xuanmen more than twenty years ago. The one who expelled her was the then chairman of the Tianji branch, Gu Changning. The reason for her expulsion was—” Xia Changqing raised the documents in her hand, and her glasses reflected a cold light. “Violating the regulations of the Xuanmen and plotting to swap fates.”
“And you have your mother’s fate-swapping formation map on you. Do you think I can’t suspect that you have already gone down your mother’s old path, and that you resent Teacher Gu for expelling your mother, so you are trying to throw dirty water on Teacher Gu?”
Sang Jing sneered in her heart.
What a good way to turn the tables.
