Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Blood Talisman

Listening to the sounds from the forest, everyone heightened their vigilance. But after a while, several of the martial artists realized:

"... Something’s not right."

"It doesn’t seem like it’s Meng Yuniang."

"I think so too. When Meng Yuniang came, it wasn’t like this."

Qian Gui, standing to the side, anxiously listened to the others' discussion, feeling his legs shaking uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the martial artists beside him quickly discussed and came to a conclusion: if it’s not Meng Yuniang, then what could it be? They still needed to stay cautious, but they should first figure out what’s going on. It would be best if they quietly investigated, then make plans accordingly.

Jun Tao patted Qian Gui on the shoulder: "Brother Qian, you should hide."

Qian Gui trembled and said, "Okay, okay, I’ll hide."

Jun Yang looked at him and saw that Qian Gui was already looking around, seemingly searching for a tree to shield himself behind.

Unfortunately, his size made this a very difficult task.

Jun Yang suggested, "Brother Qian, how about this, let me help you up the tree?"

Qian Gui glanced at the tall trees nearby, feeling a little afraid, but he knew he was a burden now. The martial artists were willing to take care of him and not abandon him, which was already enough—he couldn’t ask for more.

So, Qian Gui nodded, "Alright, trouble you, Brother Jun—hiss!"

Time was tight. He managed to get out the first half of his sentence, and Jun Yang understood his meaning, immediately going to help.

Jun Yang was quite strong. Even though from appearances, it seemed like one Qian Gui could equal two Jun Yangs, the Emei swordsman still held his breath and managed to lift Qian Gui up into the tree.

Jun Tao, looking up from below, couldn’t help but smile, despite the urgency of the situation. He said, "Brother Qian hid well. Now, no one will be able to find him."

As his words fell, Jun Yang climbed down from the tree. The sounds from the forest had gotten very close, and the brothers no longer hesitated, swiftly slipping into the woods themselves.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan had already hidden themselves. Bai Zhengliu handed the piece of cloth with the blood talisman to Mei Yinghan and, using the brief window of time, quickly drew another talisman.

With two blood talismans on their bodies, the two of them took the lead without hesitation. Finally, they saw the figures emerging from the forest.

Bai Zhengliu’s pupils slightly contracted. There were three people in total, and he recognized two of them—one was Ma Er, and the other was Feng Lao Liu.Although Ma Er spoke with disdain towards Feng Lao Liu, earlier when they were guarding the front yard of the Tan family, Ma Er had called out Feng Lao Liu's name. Combining this with the fact that the middle-aged woman and the tea stall owner had mentioned them together, Bai Zhengliu deduced, "It seems that although Brother Ma and Feng Lao Liu are not particularly close, they are partners who can drink and eat meat together."

This wasn’t exactly a new observation. To use Fu Ming as an example—just thinking of his name made Bai Zhengliu's heart stir slightly—his status was well-known, and wherever he went, he was surrounded by people. Some of them Fu Ming would directly refuse, and then turn to Bai Zhengliu to complain, "They don’t even know what they’re about, and they dare to try and build relationships with me."

There were others, however, whom he greeted with a smile, only to complain behind their backs: "After all, they're influential people, so I have to give them some face."

In life, who could always stay only with true friends?

Bai Zhengliu had no intention of judging that. He simply thought, "If that's the case, the next person to consider is Wang Chongxi—eh, Brother Ma doesn't seem quite right?"

It wasn’t just Bai Zhengliu who had this thought. Not far away, Mei Yinghan also made a gesture to Bai Zhengliu. Bai Zhengliu focused and saw that Mei Yinghan shared the same thought: "… These Tan family people, as they walk, their steps and movements are identical, their expressions vacant. They must be under the control of the vengeful spirit."

What were they being controlled for?

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan directly speculated. Most likely, they were looking for someone.

In other words, although the Tan family and the surrounding forest were centered on Meng Yuniang's power, after they left her sight, she couldn’t directly know where they were.

This thought made Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan both breathe a sigh of relief. At that moment, thinking back on the departure of Nie Qing’e and Lu Qing, their moods were different.

Did Senior Nie and Senior Lu also realize this? The reason Meng Yuniang was able to track them so closely before was because these two, already dead and under her control, were so close to the martial artists. Not only were they blocking the others because of their own deaths, but they also didn’t want to drag everyone down.

To resist Meng Yuniang like this, not following her commands… Bai Zhengliu couldn’t bear to think about what would happen to the couple after they left. He could only tell from Ma Er and the others’ conditions that Meng Yuniang had learned from her mistake and would no longer give any of the souls under her control a chance to move freely.

However, this also gave the martial artists an opportunity.

Unable to control their own bodies, they could only move in a rigid, mechanical manner, meaning Ma Er and the others could only see very limited angles, which was exactly what the martial artists needed to set their plan into motion.

In an instant, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan came up with an idea. They both squeezed the blood talismans in their hands, then moved forward quietly. One went left, the other right, and in no time, they arrived behind Ma Er and the others.

"Pa pa"—two sounds. The blood talismans were stuck on Wang Chongxi and Feng Lao Liu, who were standing to the left and right.

The three wandering souls turned at the sound, but by then, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, who had been behind them, had already used their lightness skills to vanish without a trace.

The people were gone, but their gazes remained on the wandering souls. They held their breaths, especially when they noticed that Wang Chongxi and Feng Lao Liu could still turn around.Ah, failure…

Although the two of them had anticipated this outcome—uncertain patterns on the talisman, materials for the talismans that were even less reliable… when this scene actually unfolded before their eyes, both still felt a wave of disappointment rise in their hearts.

They felt this way, and the Jun brothers, who were hiding nearby and observing, were no better. The two of them sighed in unison, realizing that dealing with the vengeful spirit was still an impossible task.

Perhaps they were destined to follow in their senior sister and brother-in-law's footsteps. That was fine, but Jun Yang and Jun Tao were more concerned about whether other Emei disciples would come after them because of the letter they had written earlier, thinking of re-entering the Tan family to investigate. Would they, too, play the roles of senior sister and brother-in-law, pretending to be alive?

The two brothers shared a heavy heart. The difference was that Jun Yang felt down for a longer time, while Jun Tao, having a different perspective from his brother, noticed other details earlier.

He gestured to Jun Yang: “No, it’s useful! It’s really useful!!!”

Ma Er had already noticed the blood talismans on his two companions and was raising his hand to peel off the talisman paper. This detail made everyone startle, and they all realized at once: "Why is Ma Er making the move? Is it because the other two wandering souls can’t act?"

To confirm this, it was simple.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan didn’t give Ma Er a chance to truly touch the blood talisman. The two of them, one on each side, simultaneously drew their weapons and struck at Ma Er’s body!

Considering the earlier reminder from Ma Er, they restrained their strength. They only ensured that Ma Er's actions were stopped but didn’t seriously injure him.

...But the attack still cut a piece of flesh from him. The blade used was from a non-rusted part, and Bai Zhengliu still remembered the information he got from Liu Niangzi. Ma Er had indeed been injured by the Twenty-eight Generals before and had only regained his senses after repeatedly being harmed.

With this experience in mind, Bai Zhengliu had high hopes for the current situation. But he also knew that the current Twenty-eight Generals’ power after being injured probably wasn’t as strong as before… hmm?

In the darkness, even a small halo seemed especially obvious.

The faint glow, much weaker than before, appeared at the tip of the blade and entered Ma Er’s body. At this moment, Ma Er suddenly jolted and actually broke free from Meng Yuniang’s control!

He looked at Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, then glanced at Feng Lao Liu and Wang Chongxi beside him—now, everyone could confirm it. After the blood talismans were applied, Wang and Feng were indeed affected. Apart from shaking their heads, they could no longer move!

With two good pieces of news, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan felt uplifted. But then, they heard Ma Er speak, "You—if you reveal yourselves now, won’t you be leading that vengeful spirit here?"

All the martial artists, along with Qian Gui, who was still hiding in the tree, were deeply troubled upon hearing this.

Bai Zhengliu remained quiet for a moment but then said, “Let it come. Now that we have a way to control her, it’s better to face her sooner rather than later.” The longer they waited, they really didn’t know how their wounds would develop.

Although they had applied medicine, the conditions during their bandaging had been poor. Continuing to stay here, there was the risk of infection, fever… all these risks were present. And with food running out, they might not even need to worry about Meng Yuniang finding them. The details alone were enough to make them die four or five times over.His tone was flat, and his expression calm. Ma Er heard it and was slightly stunned. Looking at Mei Yinghan beside him, as well as the Jun brothers who were peeking out from their hiding spots, the wandering soul was surprised to find that they all had the same attitude.

This made Ma Er’s mood complex. If he had the intelligence and courage of these martial artists, perhaps he wouldn’t have ended up like this? But looking at Bai Zhengliu’s blade, the thing on Qian Gui’s chest, and the strange patterns drawn on the fabric behind Feng Lao Liu and Wang Chongxi, he realized that he was still no match for them.

Ma Er could only say, “I don’t know what you put on these two, but just this alone won’t be enough to deal with that ghost.”

Bai Zhengliu thought about the embroidery on the Twenty-eight Generals and believed this point as well.

He said seriously, “Ma brother, do you have any ideas?”

Ma Er curled the corner of his lips and sneered, “If I hadn’t gotten involved with you lot, I could still be at the Tan family eating meat and drinking wine every day. But if I get involved with you, I’m afraid…”

Bai Zhengliu: “Oh.”

Ma Er: “……” He looked at the swordsman, then at Mei Yinghan and the others, and felt a bit frustrated when he realized that they didn’t seem in a hurry at all. After saying “Oh,” he went back to pointing at the cloth behind Wang Chongxi and Feng Lao Liu, talking to himself.

Ma Er could only clear his throat and say, “But this thing still has some usefulness. If you draw more and keep some in reserve, it could have a surprising effect.”

Everyone finally looked back at him. Jun Tao’s face was filled with worry as he said, “Draw more? We may have blood, and we don’t mind using it, but…” If they ran out of blood at this critical moment, it would be a troublesome situation.

Ma Er’s eyes flickered slightly when he heard this, “So you guys are using human blood to draw these?” He paused and looked left and right, “There are still two blood gourds here; you can use them.”

Everyone: "……"

They looked at Ma Er with disdain. Especially Bai Zhengliu.

You Ma Er, even if they were just your drinking buddies, you didn’t have to be so cruel, did you?

Author's Note:

Don’t judge a book by its cover =_="