Possessed Medium

Chapter 449: Possessed Medium

The Second Spirit looked down at the golden anklet around her own ankle, her voice trembling slightly. “Brother Li…”

Tears soaked through the red bridal veil, leaving five streaks of varying size on the red cloth—whether from excitement or sorrow was impossible to tell.

Bai Lingmiao could not see through her. A fog seemed to cling to the Second Spirit’s body, blocking the ability of the Zuowangdao to read her ten emotions and eight sufferings.

Li Huowang stared at her with a complicated expression. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out, grasped a corner of the red veil, and lifted it.

He had seen the Second Spirit’s appearance many times before, so he was not frightened by it. But her current look was different from before.

The animal traces on her half-beast face had receded somewhat. The silver-white fur of the fox had taken over most of the surface. The short barbs among the white fur lay as flat as possible, as if trying to make themselves look better.

Li Huowang stared blankly at that human half of her face, and at the melancholy look in her eyes. That gaze was far too much like the old Bai Lingmiao. He almost felt as if the Bai Lingmiao who had accompanied him all the way from the Qingfeng Temple had reappeared before him.

Before he knew it, he reached out and touched her cheek. The scales beneath the fur made his fingers sting slightly, snapping him back to reality.

No. The Second Spirit was not her. The old Miao Miao would never forgive him.

His expression darkening, Li Huowang began to lower his hand—but the Second Spirit caught it with her taloned hand, interlocking their fingers and holding him firmly.

But just as she opened her fanged maw, revealing the forked tongue inside, she gave up first. She pulled the red veil back down over her face and walked away, sobbing.

Li Huowang did not follow. He watched silently as the Second Spirit gradually disappeared into the darkness, then let out a light sigh.

He knew that she was also a part of Bai Lingmiao, just with a different allocation of the ten emotions and eight sufferings. But aside from giving her a matching anklet, he had no idea what attitude to take toward her.

Treat her exactly the same as Bai Lingmiao? Two Bai Lingmiaos? The thought made him feel deeply uncomfortable.

When Li Huowang returned to the lively banquet, somewhat disheartened, his mind was still fixated on the single teardrop at the corner of the Second Spirit’s enormous beastly eye.

By the time he snapped back to the present, he saw that his own bowl had already been piled high with chicken legs and meat.

Bai Lingmiao picked up a chopstick-full of chives and placed it on top of the heap. “Finished talking? Eat quickly. This banquet is to welcome you back.”

Li Huowang reached his right hand toward the table—but not for the chopsticks. He grabbed the wine jug instead.

He poured himself a full cup and downed it in one tilt.

The familiar, dizzying haze of intoxication once again shrouded his mind. That numbing sensation at his scalp gave him some relief from the weight in his heart.

To be honest, he had no experience handling this kind of situation. In his past life, he was just a high school student.

“Why won’t these troublesome things ever end?” Li Huowang muttered to himself, clutching the wine cup. He poured himself another.

By the time he finally drank himself under the table, he had figured it out. Actually, these kinds of emotional entanglements had existed in the past too. It was just that back then, he had been too busy with life-and-death matters and the struggle between reality and illusion to spare any thought for such trivialities.

The banquet ended. Drunk and half-asleep, Li Huowang felt weightless, as if he were floating on a cloud.

After a moment, the smooth silk sheets beneath him and that familiar, faint fragrance told him he was back in Bai Lingmiao’s private room.

He reached out instinctively, pulling a soft body into his arms. Stroking the hairpins among the strands of hair, he lowered his head and kissed her.

Bai Lingmiao walked along the winding earthen path of Niuxin Village. Candlelight flickered in the windows around her; every family was excitedly discussing how many days they could stretch the meat and vegetables they had brought back.

“Miao Miao, everyone’s lives are so much better now. After the feast, there’s even leftovers,” Chun Xiaoman said, smiling at her from beside her.

“If you want the horse to run, you have to let it eat hay.” Bai Lingmiao seemed utterly unconcerned, heading toward the Bai family ancestral hall in the distance.

“Besides, it doesn’t cost that much silver. The Lü troupe earns enough to cover their food. And honestly, I never expected much from them, but now that their spring opera is being sung more and more in Daliang, they’re making more and more money.”

“Yeah. Last time, an old man held a happy funeral. I heard that before he died, he specifically requested Master Lü and his troupe to perform a spring opera in front of the coffin for three full days. Hard to know what he was thinking.”

As they spoke, Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman had already entered the Bai family ancestral hall. Bai Lingmiao expertly turned the Three-Non-Monkeys and stepped through the hidden door.

Lamplight was lit in the underground hall. The urgent sound of chanting rose up the empty staircase.

“Heaven is round, earth is square, I invite the gods to descend and raise the possessed medium. Heaven urges, earth urges, the Patriarch soars on clouds and returns. The Patriarch soars on clouds and rides his horse, arriving before the altar to raise the medium’s body…”

When they walked into the main hall, they saw Lü Xiucai wearing a paper bib painted all over with scriptures. In one hand he held a triangular White Lotus flag; in the other, a short sword with spikes at both ends, which he kept striking against his own head.

“…The left eye turns into the sun, the right eye turns into the moon, transforming into sun and moon to shine clearly. The disciple comes in sincerity to pay respects…”

The spikes on the short sword had already broken his scalp. Vivid red blood dripped slowly down his forehead, covering his entire face. Combined with his manic expression, the sight was especially terrifying.

“The honored god of this altar, descend swiftly! Body transforms into spirit, spirit transforms into body, transforming into mountains and rivers to open the path of light! Step by step, I guide; inch by inch, I raise the medium! Raise the possessed medium, emit your spiritual light! Open the golden mouth, speak clearly!!”

As he shouted the final words, his right foot slammed heavily into the ground three times. Everything fell silent.

Bai Lingmiao stared at Lü Xiucai, who stood frozen like a statue, his eyes wide with rage. She frowned, thinking for a moment, then with a clang, drew the longsword from Chun Xiaoman’s waist with one hand and swung it directly at his waist.

But when the blade struck Lü Xiucai’s body, it unexpectedly produced a crisp clang of metal striking metal.

Not satisfied, Bai Lingmiao tried a few more times, but she could only leave shallow scratches on his skin.

That sword was a gift from Li Huowang to Chun Xiaoman. While it couldn’t cut down demons or evil spirits, it could still slice through iron like mud.

Yet now, that sharp blade could only inflict such minor damage on Lü Xiucai. It was undeniable that he had become impervious to blades and spears.

Lü Xiucai was beside himself with excitement, examining his own body. All the hardship and beatings he had endured to master this divine power—it was all worth it now.

Suddenly, his expression twisted into a snarl. The short sword and the triangular White Lotus flag in his hands trembled uncontrollably.

“Goddammit! That cursed old bastard! You dared to hang me up and beat me! Don’t try to stop me! I’m going to get my revenge today! I’ll tear that old bag of bones apart alive!”

“What are you—” Chun Xiaoman started to step forward, but Bai Lingmiao reached out and stopped her. “We’re not stopping you. Go ahead. Your father drank quite a bit tonight. He should be sleeping like a log.”

Lü Xiucai let out a low roar, brandishing his short sword, and charged eagerly toward the hidden door.

But just as he was about to step out, his pace slowed more and more. He suddenly raised his voice to a shout: “Don’t any of you stop me!! I’m going to butcher that old turtle today!!”