In the afternoon, the village aunties and grandmothers came to visit Lin Zitong in small groups.
Lin Zitong was praised so many times that afternoon, it was more than she had been praised her entire life.
Only after dark did everyone return to their homes, filled with topics to discuss, anticipating the next meeting at the village entrance.
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong tidied up the house and made the bed. As soon as they finished, Jiang Ting and Long Feicheng returned.
Long Feicheng found Yan Shouyi's house with a flashlight and immediately began to complain upon entering:
“I seriously suspect Jiang Ting's dad did it on purpose. Seeing me as free labor, he had me deliver over three hundred cases of beer to eight surrounding villages this afternoon. I’m exhausted!”
Jiang Ting also looked embarrassed: “Didn't my dad treat you to two meals?”
“That’s true, and he even brought out some eighteen-year-old aged Daughter Red.”
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong were surprised when they heard this.
Bringing out eighteen-year-old aged Daughter Red to entertain Long Feicheng seemed like too high a standard.
Isn’t this something usually reserved for a son-in-law to drink?
Could it be that Jiang Ting’s dad took a liking to Long Feicheng and intended to recruit him as a son-in-law?
The two kept their thoughts to themselves. Jiang Ting seemed unaware of this custom and, with a face full of anticipation, held Lin Zitong’s hand, asking when she could start the facial mask.
Yan Shouyi called Lin Zitong aside, pressed a protective charm into her hand, and said:
“When you apply the mask to her later, place this charm on Jiang Ting. If the sorcerer comes tonight, this charm can conceal Jiang Ting’s aura. Also, help me get a few strands of her hair; I have a crucial use for them.”
Lin Zitong readily agreed. When she took Jiang Ting to apply the facial mask, she followed his instructions exactly.
After Jiang Ting finished her facial mask and fell asleep in the room, Lin Zitong brought Jiang Ting’s hair out to find Yan Shouyi.
“What do you need her hair for?” she asked.
Yan Shouyi smiled mysteriously, “If the sorcerer comes looking for us tonight, we’ll lure him into a trap. These few strands of hair are the bait.”
As he spoke, he took out another charm and wrapped Jiang Ting’s hair in it.
The charm, rolled up with the hair, was folded into a triangle. Yan Shouyi shook it and asked Lin Zitong, “Do you smell anything?”
Lin Zitong sniffed and thought for a moment, “It’s Jiang Ting’s aura?”
Lin Zitong was no ordinary person. What their noses detected was not just scent, but the unique “aura” of every person or thing.
The charm in Yan Shouyi’s hand now emitted Jiang Ting’s aura.
Ordinary demons and ghosts identified living beings by their aura first. Therefore, if the sorcerer intended to find Jiang Ting tonight, he would undoubtedly follow her aura.
At that time, the sorcerer would find not Jiang Ting, but the charm in Yan Shouyi’s hand.
Lin Zitong asked, “Are you going to carry this charm with you?”
“For something like this, of course, we should let Jiang family’s good son-in-law do it!” Yan Shouyi cast his gaze towards Long Feicheng.
Long Feicheng, having just finished showering, was in the courtyard playing with the big shots in a chat group on his phone.
Yan Shouyi approached him, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, “Little Long, can you do me a favor?”
Long Feicheng, having profited handsomely by betraying Yan Shouyi today, earning five hundred and thirty thousand, was overjoyed. So, without a second thought, he replied, “Brother Yan, we have a life-or-death friendship. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll go through fire and water for you!”
With Long Feicheng’s words, Yan Shouyi felt relieved. He held the charm, explained its function, and the possibility of the sorcerer showing up tonight.
Long Feicheng listened, then silently put down his phone and said, “Brother Yan, I don’t think we’re that close. As the saying goes, distance creates beauty…”
“Didn’t you just say we have a life-or-death friendship and that you’d go through fire and water for me?” Yan Shouyi was astonished.
“Yes, I’ll go through fire and water, but beyond that, I’ll find someone else more capable!”
Long Feicheng cupped his hands and was about to flee, but Yan Shouyi firmly held him in the chair.
He wore a smile that looked uglier than a cry, “Brother Yan, a forced melon isn’t sweet!”
“Whether it’s sweet or not isn’t up to you to decide, you have to taste it to know. Besides, a forced melon might not be sweet, but it quenches your thirst!”
Yan Shouyi felt their conversation was veering off track, so he cleared his throat and got back to business, “Don’t worry, I’ll prepare the Palm Thunder Talismans for you tonight. Your task is to lure… no! To entice the sorcerer to appear. The rest will be handled by me and your sister-in-law!”
“Really, is it that simple?” Long Feicheng asked, still worried.
“It’s really that simple!”
Seeing Long Feicheng’s continued reluctance, Yan Shouyi added, “How about this, you help me lure the sorcerer tonight, and tomorrow I’ll let you take a few photos to post in the group and fool those fools.”
Long Feicheng slapped his thigh, “Brother Yan, we have a life-or-death friendship. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll go through fire and water for you!”
Yan Shouyi narrowed his eyes.
How familiar that sentence sounded. He seemed to have heard it from some scoundrel just moments ago.
Thus, the plan to lure the sorcerer was settled.
Long Feicheng, carrying the charm, slept in the room next to Jiang Ting’s, while Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong made some preparations, turned off the lights, and stayed awake in the house.
Waiting for the sorcerer to take the bait.
…
Deep into the night.
Without the city's neon lights, the night was pitch black. No more lights vied with the moon; the small mountain village paths were covered by faint moonlight.
The December cold wind blew, and the wild grass by the roadside swayed gently, like wandering lonely souls by the roadside.
Suddenly, a head streaked across the air, five to six meters above the ground!
Its speed was so fast, like a swallow flying low, covering a distance of over ten meters in the blink of an eye.
A long, bloody intestine trailed beneath the head.
Bell-like eyes searched for a target in the darkness, and its decaying mouth occasionally spat out disgusting mucus.
The head followed the aura and finally arrived at the Yan family’s doorstep.
Looking at the feng shui layout of this house, the head felt something peculiar.
But it didn’t think much of it. Compared to city dwellers, ordinary villagers cared more about feng shui, and it was normal for them to hire a feng shui master to set up a feng shui array for their homes.
Thus, the head, through the only open window, burrowed into the house.
That was Long Feicheng’s room!
Long Feicheng had covered his head with the quilt. In reality, he hadn’t slept at all, but was hiding under the covers playing on his phone.
After playing for several hours straight, Long Feicheng’s bladder was full, and he was about to go out to relieve himself. Suddenly, he remembered the matter of the sorcerer.
Could the sorcerer be right outside the quilt?
Long Feicheng shivered, and his urge to urinate intensified.
Although he really didn’t want to face it, he was an adult now, he couldn’t possibly wet the bed, right?
So, Long Feicheng mustered his courage, lifted the quilt, and prepared to get out of bed.
However, the moment he lifted the quilt, a bloody head was resting on the headboard, its two dark, empty eyes staring at Long Feicheng at such close range…