The Great Spirit

The woman's reply caught them both off guard. His own wife was in such a state, and he didn't even want to try and cure her?

Bai Lingmiao, clutching the drum, thought for a moment, then spoke with some hesitation, trying to persuade him. "Uncle, if she's truly possessed, you still need to treat it. Being possessed feels terrible, and it's a matter of life and death. How about this? I won't even take any payment."

At these words, Zhao Qin's brow furrowed sharply. He set the saucer he was holding down on the table beside him with a dull, pointed clatter. "Chengxing, see them out."

Wang Chengxing, who had been waiting by the side, took a large step forward, placing himself between his master and the two women. A practiced smile hung on his face. "It's not safe for young ladies to walk the dark streets alone. Allow me to see you both home. Where do you live, misses?"

Seeing that he had shut the door so firmly, Chun Xiaoman let out a soft sigh. She didn't press further. Taking Bai Lingmiao's hand, she turned and led her towards the door.

"AAAAHHH—!" A woman's shrill, agonized scream jolted everyone in the room. A shadow of gloom settled even deeper on Zhao Qin's face.

Hearing the pain in that voice, Bai Lingmiao's heart ached with pity. She turned back to look at Zhao Qin, who remained seated there.

"Master Zhao, please let me try. I promise, even if I can't cure her, I won't cause any harm. My Immortal isn't so unreasonable."

Chun Xiaoman nodded, backing her up. "You've tried everything else. What harm is there in trying our method? What if it works?"

As she spoke, a wave of sadness seemed to wash over her face, as if she were remembering something. "Or is it that you don't even care about—"

Before she could finish, CRACK! The lacquered table was shattered into pieces by Zhao Qin's fist.

His eyes were wide, blazing with fury. He rose to his feet like an enraged lion, his powerful presence immediately pressing down on the room.

"I never raise my hand against women. But if you two utter another disrespectful word, don't blame me for being rude!"

"Hehe..." A light laugh drifted in from the dark room outside, instantly disrupting the tense atmosphere indoors.

"Who goes there! Form up!" At Zhao Qin's low command, heads moved in the side passages.

Dozens of men in short smocks, wielding various weapons, swarmed forward.

Shields in front, spears behind. They moved with practiced coordination.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a single deep-red embroidered shoe stretched out from the darkness, stepping into the candlelight.

Following close behind the shoe was a bride, her head covered by a large red wedding veil.

The bizarre sight made everyone's face change. One look was enough to tell this was something wrong.

Being escorts, always on the road, they had inevitably run into some strange and wicked things before. But they also had their own ways of dealing with it.

"Get the ink-line! Bring the black dog!"

With a zzzzip, a line soaked in black ink was quickly drawn into a large net, sealing the path ahead.

Several whimpering black dogs were also brought forward into the crowd, held in readiness.

"Wait, wait, you've got it all wrong!" Bai Lingmiao said anxiously, stepping through the ink-line net and pulling the Er Shen towards the house.

As Bai Lingmiao drew closer, the escort agency men raised their weapons instinctively, stepping back in a unified retreat.

"She's... she's my sister. She means no harm," Bai Lingmiao tried to explain, though the effect was poor.

Just then, a bodyguard with a two-pronged mustache leaned in and whispered something into Zhao Qin's ear.

"Master... jumping the gods…"

Upon hearing his disciple's words, Zhao Qin's expression began to change.

Feeling the tense, hostile atmosphere surrounding them, Bai Lingmiao let out a helpless sigh. "Sister Xiaoman, maybe we should just go."

She was truly afraid of doing a good deed that ended in disaster. If it came to a fight, Bai Lingmiao wasn't worried about getting hurt herself. She was afraid of what would happen if Senior Brother Li got dragged into it. That would be a real disaster.

Senior Brother Li already had enough trouble. She didn't want to add more to his plate because of her own affairs.

With the scene as it was, Xiaoman had completely forgotten her own small matters. She stepped out from the ink-line net, ready to lead Bai Lingmiao away from the escort agency.

"Young ladies!! Please wait!" Zhao Qin seemed to have transformed into an entirely different person, walking forward with a sincere demeanor.

"I humbly ask the two of you to help my wife. If you can make her well, just name your price!"

"This..." The two women exchanged a glance, both deeply puzzled by his sudden complete change of heart.

"Well, if that's the case—" Bai Lingmiao began, but Xiaoman stepped forward quickly to interrupt. "We need to go back and tell our other senior and junior brothers first."

His dramatically different reaction made Xiaoman think it was best to have a safety net.

Two sticks of incense later, when the two were invited back into the escort agency, accompanied by all their senior and junior brothers, the treatment was noticeably different from before.

The entire agency was brightly lit. All the bodyguards and apprentices stood at rigid attention, welcoming the two of them.

Zhao Qin led them along the veranda towards the inner rooms. As he guided them, he turned his head and said, "Miss, you were right. Some things really do need to be tried. You never know unless you try."

Bai Lingmiao, looking a bit nervous, smiled and nodded.

Part of her nervousness came from the escort's overreaction. The other part was because this was her first time performing a spirit-banishing ritual.

And with them showing her this much respect, it would be very awkward if she failed.

The agency wasn't large. A small, detached room to the left of the training ground was where Zhao Qin's wife was being kept.

With a squeak, the door swung open. From the pitch-black interior came the sound of a low, sobbing whimper.

A nearby bodyguard extended his lantern inside, and the scene within was revealed to all.

The room was small, with thick reeds laid out on both the floor and the walls. It looked fairly clean, as if it were often swept.

Inside, an old woman paced and wept, her hair a disheveled white, her clothes tattered and filthy. A rusty, heavy iron chain trailed from her foot. She seemed completely oblivious to the stares she was drawing.

"My worthless wife has been like this for thirty years now. I have been at my wit's end," Zhao Qin said, a flash of pain crossing his face.

"Master Zhao, don't worry. I will do my best."

A nervous Bai Lingmiao glanced back at the woman in the red veil, took a deep breath, and walked over to her.

She reached out and gently lifted the red veil from the other woman's head.

To the disappointment of the men who were curious about what lay beneath, there was yet another red veil embroidered with mandarin ducks underneath.

Biting her lip, Bai Lingmiao took a deep breath. She placed the veil she was holding onto her own head, then handed the drum to the other woman.

Beside her, Xiaoman used her sword to push the onlookers back. "Give her some space."

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, everyone in the escort agency held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

A dark fingernail gently tapped the drumhead. A sharp, almost piercing female voice came from beneath the red veil.

"~Summoning~ the ~Spirit~!"