Bai Lingmiao’s Exorcism

“Bang, bang, bang—! Bang, bang, bang—! The sun sets beyond the western mountains, darkening the sky~, nine homes out of ten, nine homes have locked their doors. Only one home left unlocked, burning incense and beating drums to invite the immortals~”

With the rapid drumbeats echoing, Bai Lingmiao circled the naked man whose limbs were bound in the center of the room, beating her drum as she moved.

Against the wall nearby, a crowd of people—men and women, old and young—lay huddled, tears at the corners of their eyes as they trembled violently.

“Today’s summoning goes smoothly, the Southern Dipper leans on the Northern Dipper~”

“Before the summoning begins, first spit three mouthfuls of spirit water~”

“A step arrives at the Southwest and North; Qian is Heaven, Kun is Earth~”

“Only then do demons and monsters flee far, far away!!”

As Bai Lingmiao sang the Spirit-Summoning Verse through to this point, she removed the red bridal veil from her head, soaked it in a water vat prepared nearby, and, still dripping with droplets, pressed it directly onto the man’s face.

Instantly, the bound man let out a blood-curdling shriek, like a ghost howling.

The water-soaked red veil kept shifting its shape, keeping time with the drumbeats. Sometimes it bulged upward into the split-open head of a wolf; sometimes it sank into the skull, forming what seemed like a four-headed serpent fused together.

The screams grew louder and louder, climbing to an unbearable peak—until, at the very apex, the man’s body suddenly snapped taut like a drawn bowstring, then collapsed to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a blurry, barely visible, red mist-like human figure crawled out from beneath the red veil and scurried swiftly toward one of the roof beams.

Bai Lingmiao made no move to stop it. She waited until that small misty figure had burrowed into a corner of the beam before she finally walked over.

When the Second Spirit’s sharp fingernails dug into the wooden beam and pried it open with force, accompanied by the sound of splitting wood, a miniature blood-red palace appeared before them.

This small palace didn’t look like it had been made elsewhere and then placed inside; it had been carved directly from the very core of the beam.

“Have you offended someone?”

The Second Spirit’s black fingernails slashed across swiftly. The entire miniature palace collapsed in an instant, its glaring red color fading fast.

Seeing the copper coin reward that the client had set before her, Bai Lingmiao looked up at the bare, destitute walls around the room. She didn’t take the money. Instead, she simply turned and left.

“Those few copper coins are too heavy to bother carrying. Keep them and fix that beam. Think hard about who installed that beam, and next time, try to stay far away from them.”

When Bai Lingmiao stepped out and climbed onto her own carriage, she let out a breath. “Finding work like this isn’t easy.”

Chun Xiaoman waited until the Second Spirit behind her had bent its legs and climbed onto the carriage, then she gave the reins a light shake, guiding the carriage toward Niuxin Village. “Miaomiao, does this month’s immortal business count as done?”

Hearing Chun Xiaoman’s question, Bai Lingmiao nodded. “Mm. But only this month. Next month, it starts all over again.”

With that, she threw herself backward, flopping face-down on the carriage floor, picked up a book nearby, and started reading.

The contents of this book were very simple. On the left side, a single character for “duck,” and on the right side, a picture of a duck.

“Duck,” Bai Lingmiao murmured, tracing the character over and over with a small wooden stick, utterly focused.

After she had firmly memorized that character, she turned to the second page. This time, it was “pig.”

This literacy primer was nowhere available for purchase in markets; it had been hand-drawn by Gao Zhijian himself.

There were so many scriptures and cultivation methods under the ancestral hall, and they were recorded in characters. To understand what her clan had left behind, she had to learn to read.

Accompanied by the creaking of the carriage wheels, the sky gradually darkened. When Chun Xiaoman pulled open the carriage curtain, the inside was pitch black, with only a pair of green, reflective beast-eyes floating in the darkness.

“Miaomiao, it’s so late already. How about we camp here for the night?”

“You go ahead and get things ready. I’ll keep reading a bit more.”

Hearing her reply, Chun Xiaoman let out a soft sigh, pulled the curtain back down, and went to gather firewood.

Miaomiao had changed not only her personality but also her way of doing things. She had become especially stubborn, holding fast to one principle.

Once she had decided to learn to read, apart from eating and drinking, she spent every single moment buried in her book, as if she wouldn’t stop until she had mastered the characters completely.

By the time Chun Xiaoman had gathered enough firewood and set up a campfire beside the carriage, she saw the Second Spirit standing silently in front of her, holding some wild vegetables in its arms.

“Thanks. I’ll go get the pot. You watch the fire, make sure it doesn’t go out.”

With just the two of them eating, there was no need for the huge pot they used to use. A normal small iron pot would do. Chun Xiaoman broke the flatbread into small pieces and tossed them into the pot.

When the bread was half-softened, she threw in some dried meat strips and wild vegetables, and a simple, makeshift dinner was ready.

When she saw that Bai Lingmiao was even holding the book while she ate, Chun Xiaoman shook her head helplessly. This sister of hers was practically obsessed.

“Why go through all this trouble? Gao Zhijian can read, can’t he?”

“Relying on heaven or earth isn’t as good as relying on yourself. And besides, his mind isn’t sharp enough. What if he reads it wrong and you don’t even know?”

“Have you forgotten how Li Huowang tricked that useless fool back then? I don’t want to make the same mistake.”

“Then… how about hiring a few tutors?”

“Mm, that’s a great idea. Then those tutors will find out I’m a remnant of the White Lotus Society, and they’ll go straight to the Supervisory Heavenly Office to report me.”

Chun Xiaoman’s brow furrowed slightly. The Miaomiao of the past would never have made sarcastic remarks like that.

When the Second Spirit used its chopsticks to pick up two pieces of meat and set them in Chun Xiaoman’s bowl, some of her displeasure eased.

“You’re still the best.” Chun Xiaoman leaned gently against the Second Spirit’s shoulder and continued eating her own meat-and-vegetable-soaked flatbread.

After they finished eating, the two of them lay down on the bed to rest, one on the left and one on the right, back to back.

With a soft tap, Bai Lingmiao’s hand fell onto Chun Xiaoman’s shoulder, causing the remaining dissatisfaction in her heart to gradually fade.

She turned over, and just like in the old days, gently held the other girl with her eyes closed. No matter how much Miaomiao had changed, she was still Chun Xiaoman’s good sister who had comforted her in her weakest moments.

Just as she was about to close her eyes herself, another body pressed up against her from the back—the Second Spirit’s body.

“Oh, you two…” Chun Xiaoman simply lay flat on her back, an arm around each of them.

By the time Chun Xiaoman woke up the next morning, she realized the carriage beneath her was already moving.

She yawned, walked to the front, and tried to take the reins from the Second Spirit, but the other wouldn’t give them up.

“I’m here. It won’t tire me out. Driving a carriage isn’t like walking on foot.”

Just as the two were locked in their quiet dispute, a small county town appeared ahead of them. Various tenant farmers were rushing into the town, carrying all kinds of things: wild game, bamboo baskets, furs, and more.

“Oh, right. Today’s the fifteenth. Market day.”

The carriage entered the county town, and an immediate roar of noise washed over them. The streets on both sides were packed with people selling goods and people buying.

There were also plenty of folks who didn’t seem to be buying anything at all, and the whole street was severely congested, making the carriage crawl along at a snail’s pace.

“Why is it so noisy?” Bai Lingmiao, a look of impatience on her face, pulled open the carriage curtain. The bright sunlight nearly blinded her.

Just as she was about to pick up the ribbon Li Huowang had tied around her wrist and wrap it around her eyes to shield them, she unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.

“Xiaoman, look over there. Isn’t that Xiucai Lü?”