I never expected that using high - level talismans without permission would bring about such a terrifying backlash.
I'm a very cautious person by nature. After studying the art of yin and yang for so long, my masters all said that I was overly timid and lacked creativity. My wooden personality, which never overstepped the boundaries, was only suitable for being a conservative fortune - teller, not a mage.
If my masters forbade me from doing something, I would definitely not do it. If they allowed me to do something, I would still probe like a snail many times.
So, I never knew that violating the rules would result in such a heavy punishment.
My heart, as if struck by a sledgehammer, immediately lost its power to beat.
I didn't even have time to tell Si Jiangchen to run away quickly before my body went limp and fell to the ground.
In a daze, Si Jiangchen's big hand held me and pulled me into his arms. I could clearly see myself lying limp in his arms, while the Taoist priest named Li Chengxian showed an expression of surprise and anger on his face.
"Du Xinghe, not only do you raise ghosts, but you also dare to attack the underworld minions!!"
His voice was both hoarse and shrill.
How could Si Jiangchen allow him to say another word? With his left hand holding me, his right hand, without any sign of movement, had already grabbed his neck.
Li Chengxian immediately rolled his eyes from being pinched by his fingers.
As soon as black mist began to rise from Si Jiangchen's arm, it was suddenly dispersed by a shower of small electric sparks. There seemed to be countless purple - blue lightning bolts constantly swimming through the blood vessels under his skin, shaking his body along with it.
"Sister... it all depends on you!!"
At some point, Si Tong's living soul had floated above my head. As he spoke, he stretched out his two chubby little hands and slapped them hard on the Baihui acupoint on my head.
In an instant, I fell from mid - air as if struck by lightning. The feeling of weightlessness made me unable to help but let out a muffled grunt, and I suddenly opened my eyes.
Blood seeped out from the corner of Si Jiangchen's lips again. I took a deep breath and struggled desperately out of his embrace. I picked up the rake on the ground and smashed it down on Li Chengxian's head.
He was a human, not a ghost, fox, or monster. Ordinary spells had no effect on him. I also learned from his example and used "physical attacks".
Although Li Chengxian couldn't feel Si Jiangchen's terrifying devouring power, he still couldn't withstand his strength.
Si Jiangchen's fingers pinched him until he almost fainted.
When I smashed the rake down, he risked his life to turn his head to the side. The teeth of the rake didn't hit his head, but landed on his left shoulder.
I was small and weak, and didn't cause him any serious injuries.
However, the sharp pain still woke him up. He desperately used both hands to push Si Jiangchen's fingers away and crawled out, rolling as he went.
"Si Jiangchen! I recognize you!"
Li Chengxian's voice came from outside the curtain, "Si Tong is still in my hands. You dare to treat me like this, haha! Wait for that little beast to be refined until he doesn't recognize his relatives, and come back to take revenge on you!"
With his cruel laughter, Si Tong, who had originally floated beside us, suddenly let out a scream and was quickly dragged into the black space, as if tied by an invisible rope...
"Sister, we!"
The little ghost that I had caught before suddenly ran in front of me, "We're in the water!"
After he said that, he and his companions were also dragged away, disappearing without a trace in a gust of cyclone that blew up out of nowhere.
I grabbed the rake in my hand and rushed out of the door, only to see the courtyard door creaking. Li Chengxian had run faster than a rabbit and had already disappeared.
Worried about Si Jiangchen and Uncle Yang and his wife in the house, I didn't dare to chase any further and quickly returned to the main room.
Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang had helped the exhausted Si Jiangchen to a chair and sat him down.
When they saw me enter, they quickly welcomed me over.
"Turn on the lights!"
I wiped the blood off the corner of my lips.
So, using a spell beyond my rank was nothing special.
I thought angrily in my heart.
Aunt Yang walked over to the wall and "slapped" the switch on. The lights in the main room came on. The two soul - catching messengers that I had fixed in place with my green talisman were still maintaining their original postures, a sense of panic seeping from their eyes.
The green talisman, borrowing the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, was the ultimate spell to subdue ghosts. The two messengers had to wait until the spiritual consciousness attached to the green talisman was completely exhausted before they could regain their freedom.
I threw away the rusty rake in my hand and walked in front of the altar to pick up the talisman brush saturated with cinnabar. I drew a ghost - trapping formation around the two translucent soul - catching messengers. The vermilion strokes weren't too eye - catching on the blue - brick floor, but they made the fear in those two fellows' eyes even deeper.
After I finished drawing the formation, I finally took out a section of willow branch made by braiding eight willow branches together from my backpack.
I had casually broken this off this morning by the brook where Xiao Shanzi drowned. I originally wanted to use it as a soul - guiding object, but unexpectedly, I could use it on the two soul - catching messengers now.
The willow branch was about half a meter long and had a few fresh leaves on it.
I raised the willow branch and "cracked" it like a whip before lashing it down on the soul - catching messengers.
"Squeak!" "Squeak!"
After two sharp cries of a ghost, the soul - catching messengers could finally move. They covered their heads and ran around in a mess from being whipped by the willow branch in my hand, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't escape the unnoticeable cinnabar lines on the ground.
"Release Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang's souls!"
I had watched Uncle Yang's living soul leave his body with my own eyes. Since I had captured the two masterminds, I naturally had to make them return the souls they had captured.
"No!"
One of the soul - catching messengers was whipped until black mist rose from his body, but he still stubbornly said, "Anyone whose soul has been captured has already been registered in the underworld. How could they be released?"
"Humph!"
I sneered and whipped another willow branch at him.
"Aiya! Ouch!"
The two soul - catching messengers became visibly shorter as black mist rose from their bodies.
The willow tree was extremely yin. Not only did it attract ghosts, it could also subdue them.
Everything in the world had its own checks and balances. Beating ghosts with a willow branch made the ghost shrink by three inches every time it was whipped. Looking at the height of the two soul - catching messengers, I was afraid that they would become as short as the dwarf Ding Gu from the Water Margin after a few more whips!
"Little girl, stop hitting! Stop hitting! We'll release them! We'll release their souls!"
The other messenger was very observant. Trapped in the formation by me and whipped by the willow branch until his soul was a few points weaker, he naturally didn't dare to show off his skills anymore. He quickly covered his head and begged, "Please release us first, and we'll release their souls."
I sneered and scolded, "Do you think you're stupid, or am I stupid?"
As I said that, I raised the willow branch in my hand again.
"No! Don't hit!!!"
The messenger was so scared that he crawled around the ground. The willow branch whipped at their magical images, and also at the spiritual consciousness that they had cultivated for many years and the awe of the common people.
If I whipped a few more times, I was afraid that their cultivation for thousands of years would be destroyed in an instant!
As he wailed, he pulled out a long string of paper - like folders from his soul - capturing plaque and pinched out a writing brush from behind his black hat. He "swished" twice and crossed out two names before showing me a pitiful smile.
"Little girl... little grandma, please treat the two of us... like a fart and release us..."