Chapter 42: Green Face Part 1

Huang Qi’s voice rang out: “Wang Ya, don’t get mad yet. Haven’t you noticed something off about this place?”

Wang Ya took a deep breath and snapped irritably: “Zheng Yanxia, are you seriously expecting the Yellow Springs underground to pop up in some basement with a door?”

Old Tang lifted the hem of his clothes, reached inside, pulled out a small medicine bottle, and tossed it to Wang Ya. “Use it sparingly. It’s for reducing swelling and bruising.”

Zhang Qingshui’s voice sounded: “This is indeed a basement.” She paused, then added: “More precisely, it’s an underground palace with Restrictive Seals. Wang Ya, if Little Qi ever offended you before, I apologize on her behalf, but could you change how you address her?”

Wang Ya looked at Zhang Qingshui with amusement and said: “Does it bother you that I call her Zheng Yanxia?” The more she watched, the more Zhang Qingshui seemed like a mother hen fiercely protecting her chicks.

Zhang Qingshui turned, stared coldly at Wang Ya, arched her brow slightly, and said: “Yes, it does.”

Huang Qi said softly: “Qing Jie, it’s fine.” She quickly changed the subject: “The air here is circulating, so there must be an exit. What did you notice earlier? Wang Ya, aren’t you injured? Rest for a bit. Qing Jie and I will scout ahead.” With that, she pulled Zhang Qingshui away.

Old Tang stood up and said: “I’ll go with you.” He followed Zhang Qingshui and Huang Qi as they left.

Wang Cheng’an said to Wang Ya: “Yaya, I need to pee.”

Wang Ya waved him off to go by himself. She lowered her head, unscrewed the medicine bottle Old Tang had given her, and found it was a jar of ointment with a strong herbal scent. Old Tang had taken the flashlight, plunging her surroundings into pitch blackness—no light seeped in anywhere, dark enough that she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face. Wang Ya had to apply the ointment to her face blindly. The ointment seemed to contain mint or something similar; it felt cool on her skin and eased the burning pain considerably. She smeared it over her face and neck, using up half the jar. Not wanting to be too stingy, she pocketed the rest to return to Old Tang later.

Once her face was coated, Wang Ya sat in place to rest. Her energy held up fine, but her body was covered in wounds that hurt with every slight movement. Crucially, her chest—the most important part for a woman—had been injured too. Taking advantage of the darkness and privacy, Wang Ya quickly placed both palms over her chest and gently rubbed. As she rubbed, she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. Startled, she looked up and saw a massive, eerily green face hovering at least ten meters above, right over her head. That green face had a pair of glowing green eyes as big as green lanterns, staring straight at her. When Wang Ya looked up, the green face actually smiled at her. Wang Ya’s hairs stood on end; she cried out in the darkness: “Holy shit, a ghost!” She pulled out a Vermilion Bird Suppressing Evil Talisman and slapped it toward the eerie green face.

The Vermilion Bird Burns Evil Talisman transformed into a fiery red Vermilion Bird talisman pattern that lunged at the green face. Midway there, a wave of greenish fluorescence surged from all directions, caging the Vermilion Bird pattern like a bird in a trap. It flapped a few times before being snuffed out.

Wang Ya yanked out an ancient bronze coin and swiftly scattered it, forming a Big Dipper Seven Stars Formation on the ground. She stepped into the Tai Chi Array, formed seals again. Positioning herself at the White Tiger directional point, she formed the White Tiger Evil-Breaking Seal and thrust it upward—only to find the green face above had vanished.

A shrill cry suddenly came from afar: “Yaya—”

Wang Ya cursed inwardly: Not good. She scooped up the ancient bronze coins from the ground and bolted toward the source of Wang Cheng’an’s voice. She ran incredibly fast, each stride covering nearly two meters, yet she still couldn’t catch up to the sound.

Wang Cheng’an’s shrill cry echoed from even farther away: “Yaya—”

Wang Ya heard his voice drifting farther and farther. Anxious, she shouted: “Dad—” Then yelled: “You damn Flower Demon, you damn green-faced freak, come at me if you’ve got the guts!” She shouted again: “Dad, pee on it—” Before she finished, she slammed into something. Caught off guard, her raised knee smashed into a hard object. Momentum carried her forward, crashing her entire body into it with a heavy thud—a wall! Wang Ya grunted in pain and crumpled to the ground. Her leg, which had hit first, throbbed so badly she couldn’t straighten it; her chest and face followed suit, going numb from the pain, barely feeling like her own anymore. Clutching her knee, she sat on the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks.

After a long while, she caught her breath. She touched her knee—sticky and bloody; it had swollen too. Gritting her teeth through tears, Wang Ya stood. She could no longer hear Wang Cheng’an’s voice.

Wang Ya reached into her pocket for talismans and found she’d nearly used them all, pulling out only one Vermilion Bird Burns Evil Talisman. She lit the talisman paper, and in its faint glow, she saw a stone pillar about a meter wide in front of her, wrapped in thumb-thick roots that extended high into the darkness overhead. While the Vermilion Bird pattern still burned with some effect, Wang Ya slapped the talisman paper onto the roots. They writhed violently as if scorched by fire.