I saw Wang Kai’s condition worsening, and as I hesitated whether to rush out and drive away the wood spirit.
Wang Kai suddenly cried out for help.
Hearing Wang Kai’s plea, my heart skipped a beat.
Not good, Wang Kai was truly in danger.
With this thought, I didn’t hesitate for a moment.
I slammed open the bathroom door.
Holding the mirror, I charged out.
In the moonlight illuminating the room, I could clearly see.
On Wang Kai’s body, there was a blurry shadowy figure pressing down.
Wang Kai’s eyes were rolled back, his features contorted.
His limbs trembled uncontrollably, foam spilling from his mouth, looking as if he was suffocating.
Seeing this scene, my face instantly changed.
I shouted urgently:
“Demon, let him go!”
As I spoke, I took out the Bagua mirror from my person with my other hand.
Aiming it at the green-clad figure on Wang Kai, I struck.
With this strike, a startled cry of "Ah!" was heard, followed by wisps of white smoke.
Immediately after, the green-clad figure sprang up.
With a flicker, it retreated to the foot of the bed.
I shone the Bagua mirror at her.
I didn’t move at first, but anxiously called out to Wang Kai:
“Wang Kai, Wang Kai…”
Wang Kai remained unresponsive, while the green-clad figure began to inch towards the side, trying to evade the Bagua mirror’s glare.
New footprints appeared on the ground.
I glanced at the mirror and saw that the figure was an old woman in a green dress.
Before I could make another move, the old woman suddenly dodged the Bagua mirror and lunged forward.
I felt a gust of wind hit me, and before I could aim the Bagua mirror at her again.
She slammed me into the wall.
A muffled "clang" echoed, the corrugated iron wall denting inwards.
The Bagua mirror and the vanity mirror in my hands fell to the ground in succession.
The next second, I saw a blurry human hand grab my neck and press me firmly against the wall.
At the same time, a hoarse, aged voice rang out:
“Meddling fool, I’ll devour you tonight too!”
As she spoke, the blurry human head suddenly solidified, becoming clear.
It was a face like grey-brown old tree bark, still possessing a mouth and nose.
But her eyes were green.
The sight was incredibly terrifying.
My heart pounded wildly, filled with dread.
This was clearly inconsistent with the information my master had provided!
My master had said that wood spirits were merely smoke and gas, and besides entering dreams, they had no physical means of attack.
But from the looks of it, that was not the case at all.
Not only did it possess physical strength, but it was also choking me and pinning me against the wall.
The strength was immense, and I struggled to break free.
Moreover, the grip on my hands was getting tighter, my neck feeling as if it was about to be snapped.
Even more horrifying was the mouth on her bark-like face.
From it, white tendrils like tree roots were constantly emerging.
Densely packed, they kept extending outwards.
Reaching for my mouth and nose, as if trying to burrow into them.
The scene was utterly ghastly.
My heart leaped into my throat.
Although terrified, I knew I couldn’t just wait to die; I had to save myself.
I stared at her in fear, one hand covering the hand choking my neck, trying to ease the pressure.
With my other hand, I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out the fox claw.
By then, several tendrils had touched my face, and two were desperately trying to bore into my nostrils.
More tendrils were prying at my lips, attempting to enter my mouth.
I tightly shut my mouth and tilted my head back.
Clutching the fox claw in my hand, I thrust it into the wood spirit crone’s belly.
With this stab.
The wood spirit crone let out a sharp cry, suddenly releasing her grip on my neck, and recoiled backward repeatedly.
My neck and nose felt extremely uncomfortable, and I coughed dryly.
Gritting my teeth, I didn’t have time to catch my breath.
Seeing the wood spirit crone, I lunged at her in a frenzy.
I also cursed loudly:
“Damn it!”
With the fox claw in my hand, I plunged it towards her head.
The wood spirit crone, her mouth still full of tendrils.
Was now clutching her belly, looking at me with some fear.
She instinctively raised her hand to block, but it was too late.
The fox claw struck her head.
With a loud "bang," like a balloon bursting.
A burst of white smoke instantly filled the room.
The white smoke obscured my vision.
I didn’t know if the wood spirit crone would attack me.
My nerves taut, I gripped the fox claw and wildly jabbed it around the room.
I also shouted continuously:
“Come on! Come on!”
I jabbed a dozen times, and the smoke in the room dissipated.
Only then did I realize that the wood spirit crone had already vanished.
In the room, only Wang Kai and I remained.
Along with a piece of human-faced dead tree bark, and a small red thread extending out of the room.
And the ball of red thread was still rolling by the bedside, steadily shrinking.
I frowned slightly, knowing that the wood spirit crone was still alive.
She had only left behind a piece of old tree bark with a human face, and had escaped in the smoke…