Chapter 34: Yin Crows Part 2

Zhuang Huaisu said “soon,” and it truly was soon.

The token shattered inch by inch. Yu Ruoyin felt the world blur before her eyes. When her vision cleared, they were no longer in the Ghost Market.

Their new location was a cave. In the pitch-black darkness, they couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces.

Zhuang Ciyue pulled out a fire starter and blew on it gently. A spark lit up in the dimness.

The spark wasn’t enough to light the path ahead. Just as Yu Ruoyin regretted not bringing full tools, Zhuang Huaisu suddenly pulled a flashlight from her pocket. When it lit up, it quickly overwhelmed Zhuang Ciyue’s spark with white light. She was speechless. “Great-aunt, we’re Painting Yin Masters.”

Zhuang Huaisu tossed the flashlight lightly to Yu Ruoyin. “Who says Painting Yin Masters can’t use flashlights?”

Yu Ruoyin shone the flashlight upward. The cave ceiling was covered in tightly hanging stalactites.

The stone surfaces were coated in black ash, resembling blackened, foul-smelling animal fangs. Yu Ruoyin gripped the flashlight tightly, suppressing her fear.

A gust of wind suddenly blew in from the cave mouth. The black ash scattered instantly, transforming into countless black crows that flew apart.

The black crows flew low over their heads, pecking fiercely at their flesh.

Though small, their sharp beaks were exceptionally keen. Each peck left a red mark.

Yu Ruoyin still had Jiang Huaining’s spiritual energy protection, so Zhuang Ciyue fared even worse.

Tiny holes had been pecked into her skin, and beads of blood seeped out.

Strangely, those black crows did not dare approach Zhuang Huaisu or Nan He. Nan He grabbed Yu Ruoyin’s wrist, and instantly a wall of golden light surrounded her. The black crows had no chance of getting close anymore. Zhuang Huaisu leaned back in her wheelchair and watched as a row of tiny wounds appeared on Zhuang Ciyue’s forehead. She had no intention of helping. “Where’s all that skill you learned?”

“Ah, right, right, my brush!” Zhuang Ciyue hurriedly pulled out her Painting Yin Brush and quickly sketched a fierce beast with a green face and fangs on half her face.

Her body suddenly swelled up. Fine black fuzz appeared on her face, and red claws grew on her hands. She took a deep breath, and her belly rapidly inflated until it was perfectly round. Then she suddenly blew toward the swarming crows.

Wisp after wisp of eerie blue flame spewed from Zhuang Ciyue’s mouth.

The ghostly flames quickly burned up the black crows surrounding her, but instead of decreasing, their numbers increased.

It seemed they could rapidly multiply using the yin fire.

The more Zhuang Ciyue burned, the more black crows there were.

Yu Ruoyin hurriedly shook off Nan He’s hand, took a Borrow Yin Talisman from her bag, and stuck it to her chest.

She chanted the incantation from the book, and the talisman on her chest instantly lit up.

The talisman paper turned into a black sachet. The open mouth of the sachet had a fatal attraction for those black crows. They surged toward it one after another. After the sachet absorbed the black crows, a black thread emerged from the pouch. The thread drilled into Yu Ruoyin’s body through the center of her forehead.

Yu Ruoyin felt the fatigue from carrying the coffin vanish in an instant. She could clearly sense her physical strength increasing.

The skin on her right arm gradually turned pale, and her nails slowly lengthened and turned red.

Yu Ruoyin clearly felt her body undergoing ghostification. The black crows, stripped of their yin energy, stopped multiplying. She knew this method worked.

The sachet’s color faded bit by bit, so Yu Ruoyin hurriedly tried to renew the Borrow Yin Talisman.

Just as she pulled out the talisman paper, Zhuang Huaisu’s ethereal voice drifted over. “Those are yin crows. Absorbing their ghostly energy will bring you bad luck.”

Yu Ruoyin’s hand froze as she held the Borrow Yin Talisman. “Granny, you could have said so earlier next time.”

“I will.” Zhuang Huaisu leaned tiredly against her wheelchair and quietly sized up Yu Ruoyin. “If I remember.”

“……”

Yu Ruoyin felt Zhuang Huaisu had deliberately not said anything earlier.

Seeing that the yin fire was useless, Zhuang Ciyue hurriedly picked up her brush again.

The black beast on half her face turned into black vines. The vine pattern glowed, and black vines suddenly sprouted from her back. Every centimeter along the vines, there was a flower bud. When a bud touched a black crow, it unfurled, bared fangs, and bit the crow’s wing, swallowing it whole before closing up again until it encountered the next one.

The vines spread extremely quickly, devouring all the black crows at a rapid pace.

Once all the black crows were gone, the pattern on Zhuang Ciyue’s face instantly dimmed. She wiped away the edges of the pattern and collapsed to the ground.

She scooted her butt closer to Yu Ruoyin. “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, that scared me to death just now!”

The Zhuang Ciyue before her eyes was completely different from the one moments ago.

Yu Ruoyin hurriedly pulled her up and supported her from the left alongside Nan He. “Yue-jie, weren’t you not afraid of yin things before?”

“I’m not afraid, but I was scared I wouldn’t have time to fight back.” Zhuang Ciyue patted her chest with lingering fear. “The ghosts I fought in the mountains before were all the ones Great-Aunt caught. They hit hard, but they never tried to kill me. And the weak ones couldn’t hurt me at all. This is my first time encountering yin crows!”

Zhuang Ciyue pointed to the row of bloody holes on her forehead. “Look at what they pecked into me!”

The bleeding from Zhuang Ciyue’s wounds had stopped, but the black blood spots lingered, looking very unsightly.

She felt both aggrieved and angry. “Who was so wicked as to release yin crows at the Ghost Market entrance!”

“Yue-jie, are you saying someone deliberately put these yin crows here?”

“Definitely.” Zhuang Ciyue grumbled. “Yin crows can only survive by eating live flesh and drinking live blood. This remote passage rarely sees anyone. Without someone feeding them, they couldn’t have grown this big or had the power to hurt me. My skills may not be great, but I’m still the disciple of the top Painting Yin Master!”

“……” Zhuang Huaisu tugged at the blanket on her lap. “I just said, don’t say you’re my disciple.”

Zhuang Ciyue bared her teeth at Zhuang Huaisu. “I’m still the granddaughter of the top Painting Yin Master, Great-Aunt! I haven’t settled accounts with you yet. Why didn’t you warn Xiao Yu not to use the Borrow Yin Talisman? Absorbing yin crows’ ghostly energy really brings bad luck for a long time! Were you deliberately trying to harm Xiao Yu? She’s my best friend—how could you do that!”

“I said.”

“You said it too late!” Zhuang Ciyue was still angry. She rushed over and grabbed the wheelchair. “I protest! I’m mad! I want to complain!”

“Who are you going to complain to?” Zhuang Huaisu rubbed her ears and asked lightly. “Stop yelling. Why didn’t you say anything yourself?”

“Great-Aunt! If you keep this up, I’ll really be mad for a long time! You know full well I can’t speak!”

Zhuang Ciyue now resembled a hedgehog that hadn’t raised its spines—her soft quills brushed harmlessly against Zhuang Huaisu.

Far from being threatened, Zhuang Huaisu almost wanted to laugh. “Alright, since you know your shortcomings, work hard to improve.”

“Great-Aunt!” Zhuang Ciyue angrily handed the wheelchair to Nan He. “You push!”

Zhuang Ciyue grabbed Yu Ruoyin and dragged her forward. She kept glancing back from the corner of her eye to make sure Nan He was bringing Zhuang Huaisu along.

As they walked, she vented to Yu Ruoyin. “Xiao Yu, don’t you think my great-aunt is too much? For a mediocre Painting Yin Master like me, I can’t speak after painting yin, or I’ll get possessed by ghosts! She can talk while painting yin, and she’s recognized as the top Painting Yin Master in the field. What rank am I even? I can only paint witch patterns on half my face now!”

“Last time in the barrier…”

“My bone brush broke then, and the witch patterns on my face failed, leaving me only able to shout with my mouth.”

“I see.”

Yu Ruoyin chatted with Zhuang Ciyue while occasionally glancing back, trying her best to slow her down.

Ever since she learned she would be unlucky, she took extremely careful steps.

She was used to being unlucky herself, but now she had Jiang Huaining on her back.

Zhuang Huaisu, pushed by Nan He, caught up to them. Seeing Yu Ruoyin’s cautious demeanor, she drawled, “You don’t need to worry too much. Your fate is already bad enough—this bit of yin energy won’t affect it.”

“……” Yu Ruoyin now understood why Zhuang Ciyue’s voice had gotten louder and louder. She felt an urge to yell at Zhuang Huaisu too. Yu Ruoyin forced a smile. “Maybe I should be happy about that?”

Zhuang Huaisu ignored her reluctance and sincerely approved of her suggestion. “That works too.”

“Yue-jie, let’s hurry out!”

Yu Ruoyin’s steps quickened a bit. She did not want to talk to Zhuang Huaisu right now—it made her angry.

She and Zhuang Ciyue walked ahead and were the first to step out of the cave.

Instead of fresh air, a wave of heat hit them upon leaving the narrow, chilly cave.

The suddenly soaring temperature caught them off guard. The scorching heat nearly burned their skin. Yu Ruoyin was somewhat okay, but Zhuang Ciyue’s fair skin reddened immediately. She quickly changed the witch pattern to one of frost and snow. A wave of cold air emanated from her body. She hurriedly grabbed Yu Ruoyin’s arm to cool her down. “So hot, so hot! Why did it suddenly get this hot!”

Yu Ruoyin felt hot too, but perhaps because of her body’s current special state, it was not as exaggerated as Zhuang Ciyue’s.

She even found Zhuang Ciyue’s hand on her arm a bit too cold, but it was a kind gesture, so she did not pull away.

Zhuang Huaisu emerged and immediately saw the frost flower pattern on Zhuang Ciyue’s face. Her expression darkened. “Is that how I taught you to use witchcraft?”

“I’m hot. Very hot.”

Under Zhuang Ciyue’s repeated declarations, Zhuang Huaisu also noticed the unusual temperature.

As a top Painting Yin Master, her bones and meridians were partially ghostified, so she was less sensitive to temperature than Zhuang Ciyue. But she had keen observational skills.

She patted Nan He’s hand. “What about you?”

Fine beads of sweat dotted Nan He’s forehead. She slowly opened her mouth and exhaled a breath of hot air. “Hot.”

“Isn’t it nighttime now?”

Zhuang Huaisu gazed strangely at the moon hanging overhead.

The moonlight was bright, and stars filled the sky—a fine night scene.

Zhuang Ciyue pulled out her phone. “The weather says twenty-five degrees. It’s way over forty-five now. What’s going on?”

Yu Ruoyin leaned over and looked with Zhuang Ciyue. An answer suddenly formed in her heart. “I think I know what’s happening.”

“Hm?”

Zhuang Huaisu and the others looked over. Yu Ruoyin nervously clenched her fists. “Yue-jie, you should remember what Qingzhen-jie told you—Xia Yu-jie is a spirit of nature, responsible for guarding summer. Xia Yu-jie is injured now, and not lightly.”

“Hiss…” Zhuang Ciyue recalled it and clutched her forehead. “Don’t tell me it’ll be this temperature until Xia Yu recovers.”

“Not necessarily.”

Yu Ruoyin was not sure either, but it was probably the reason.

They had been lingering on the yin-yang boundary before, and the cave had yin crows. This was their first contact with the true outside temperature after Xia Yu’s injury.

No wonder Lu Qingzhen had kept saying it would be cool when carrying out the coffin, that living people feared heat, and something about the weather outside.

Yu Ruoyin had only half-heard it at the time and not paid attention. Now she understood.

Zhuang Ciyue let out a heavy breath. “I didn’t like that Lady Xia much before, but now I love her. Please get better soon.”

“This temperature is good—no ordinary people will go out easily now.” Zhuang Huaisu leaned against her wheelchair and glanced up at the coffin on Yu Ruoyin’s back. “Congratulations. No need to worry about scaring anyone.”

She had not even thought of that.

Right… the coffin!

Yu Ruoyin hurriedly tried to set down the coffin. Zhuang Huaisu looked at her puzzled. “What are you doing?”

“I need to check if Auntie Ning is hot. I covered her with a blanket. I have to…”

“You…” Zhuang Huaisu incredulously interrupted Yu Ruoyin. “Do you think the owner of Four Spirits Shop would be afraid of heat?”