Chapter 25: The Talisman-Selling Vendor Part 1

Fang Yan, the bodyguard, pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number. Soon, Wang Ya’s sharp ears caught a man’s loud voice drifting from the phone: “Hello?” accompanied by the sound of shuffling mahjong tiles. Fang Yan handed the phone to Zheng Yanxia, and a smile appeared on her face as she called out, “Uncle Li.”

“Qiqi, why are you calling Uncle Li so late? Lao Huang, Lao Huang, your daughter’s on the phone! Look at you saying she’s been too busy with the feng shui master to even touch the ground lately—here she is, calling me! Qiqi, did you miss Uncle?”

Zheng Yanxia said, “Uncle Li, I really did miss you. I’ve run into big trouble.”

“What’s the matter? Tell Uncle Li. Uncle Li will send people to grab them.”

Wang Ya heard the jovial tone and thought it sounded like some creepy uncle teasing a kid with candy.

Zheng Yanxia said, “Two experts and I were working overtime at the construction site to set up feng shui arrangements when over sixty people suddenly rushed in with gunpowder guns and homemade landmines, shooting and killing at us.” With a helpless tone, she added, “We’re surrounded!” Then she tossed the phone back to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan hung up.

Zheng Yanxia said, “Police aren’t here yet, so don’t take his calls.”

Fang Yan replied, “Understood.”

Zheng Yanxia lowered her voice. “Those thugs are just weaklings, and the three knife-wielders aren’t a threat either. I just have a feeling there’s a real danger lurking in the darkness, unmoving. Wang Ya, don’t speak or reveal your position.”

Wang Ya thought to herself, I’m a living person standing right next to you all—as long as your eyes aren’t blind, you can see me… Suddenly, she remembered the Conceal Qi Talisman pasted on her. People could see her with their eyes, but ghosts tracked by qi, so they might not find her! Looking at the thick yin qi around, though she didn’t know where the ghosts were, there were definitely fierce ghosts hiding nearby. Could Open-Eyed Blind’s sensed threat be the ghosts? Maybe the ghosts didn’t know where she was and feared her as a ghost-exorcising expert, so they lurked without moving?

Suddenly, the green vine wrapped around Zhang Beauty’s arm slithered out like a snake, shooting diagonally and plunging headfirst into the hard ground over a meter ahead. It vanished instantly. She said, “Done!”

Wang Ya’s mouth fell open in shock before she closed it, squinting to scrutinize the spot where the vine had burrowed. She couldn’t find even the slightest trace on the solid, packed earth—no hole for the vine, not even a small pit! She wondered inwardly, Could that green vine be a spirit body? Though invisible to the naked eye, with her keen senses honed from years of cultivating Tao, Wang Ya felt a surge of “qi” rising from underground, dispersing the thick yin qi enveloping them. In that instant, she even smelled the scent of spring renewal and new buds sprouting.

In a flash of inspiration, Wang Ya didn’t hesitate. She pinched out a Ghost-Seeking Talisman and slapped it forward, then stepped into the Eastern Azure Dragon position of the Tai Chi Array. She formed the Eastern Yi Wood Azure Dragon Ghost-Exorcising Seal, gathering the drifting Yi Wood power in the air and channeling it along the Ghost-Seeking Talisman!

Wang Ya had already been exhausted, barely able to form seals with her Taoist power to strike. But now, the air was suddenly filled with wood spiritual energy. If it normally took ten units of strength to unleash a Yi Wood talisman, now it took only one. This seal-forming was easier than ever before, yet the power she gathered felt stronger than any time prior. As she thrust the seal out, she even heard the whoosh of it tearing through the air.

Zhang Beauty and Old Tang, right beside Wang Ya, naturally saw her actions. Cultivators of Tao all knew some hand seals—most involved just the hands, occasionally with feet tracing circles on the ground without much movement. But Wang Ya was different. From their close vantage, they felt her steps whip up wind, her speed so fast she seemed to glide like a phantom across those fixed positions. Her form blurred like an illusion, yet her hand gestures, movements, and aura during the seal were crystal clear. The qi field she formed, solemn and majestic, gave them the illusion of seeing a dozen Vajra guardians from Buddhism standing before her. Though Vajra were burly and fierce, and Wang Ya was a delicate, beautiful young woman without that ferocity, she blended Daoist lightness and ethereality with Buddhist solemnity, exuding an aura both immortal-like and demonic.

This aura erupted into terrifying power as Wang Ya lightly shouted, “Eastern Yi Wood transforms into Azure Dragon—exorcise the ghosts!”

Wang Ya’s seal thrust looked ordinary—no flashy effects visible to the eye, just an elegant motion from the pretty girl. But those near her felt the air shudder violently, their eardrums aching as if thunder rumbled past, a fierce tiger roared by, or a dragon charged with claws outstretched.

Old Tang, Huang Qi, and Zhang Beauty simultaneously staggered back over a dozen steps!

Immediately after, from the darkness about three hundred meters away came several extremely shrill screams. The cries tore through the air, piercing eardrums—inhuman, vaguely like rat shrieks: “Jii—” or “Squeee—.” These came from at least three entities! Old Tang, experienced with ghost entities, knew this sound well: the agonized wails of ghosts when their souls were wounded. Such screams meant they were near death or half-crippled. Ghosts were spirit bodies without vocal cords; this was the resonance from their souls violently vibrating the air.

Very few ghosts could speak like humans, like Ghost Granny. Those had cultivated vocal cords and partial physical form, bordering on yao. Plants, animals, or long-aged objects could become yao, and so could ghosts.

After slapping out the seal, Wang Ya immediately left her position and stood between Old Tang and Zhang Beauty. She knew enemies still lurked in the shadows, wary of her—that’s why they held back. She had to stay hidden. With the Conceal Qi Talisman concealing her qi, she was like a hidden blade beside Old Tang’s group, ready for a lethal strike on any approaching foe. If the enemies wanted to deal with them, they’d have to find her first!

The enemy in the dark and us in the light was the most passive position—for both sides.

Now, with Wang Ya in the shadows plus the Ghost-Seeking Talisman, she had turned the tables somewhat, putting her in the dark and them in the light, seizing some initiative. Of course, her Ghost-Seeking Talisman only worked on ghosts, not like Open-Eyed Blind’s Heavenly Eye Penetration that detected humans and ghosts alike. She couldn’t deal with hidden humans or know their tricks, so she didn’t dare move rashly. If someone lurked with a homemade gun, they might shoot her dead!