My intention was clear: I could find someone, but I absolutely wouldn't exert any effort. Either you deal with Hei Zi yourself, who might have already become a vengeful spirit, or nothing doing.
Li Zuoquan's expression shifted several times. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Just be responsible for finding him. You don't need to worry about the rest."
I knew Li Zuoquan was also a feng shui master, and his strength was comparable to a ghost king. However, after his battle with the Fifth Prince, his remaining power was unknown. For my own safety, my suggestion was to summon him outside the cave.
Li Zuoquan had no objections to this. He directly called the people guarding the cave entrance and had them carry him out. Zhang Dabiao and I walked behind. Seeing that Li Zuoquan could no longer hear us, I quietly asked Zhang Dabiao,
"Brother Zhang, do you have any way to deal with a vengeful spirit?"
"If it's a vengeful spirit over a hundred years old, I naturally have no way to deal with it. But a newly formed one is not a big problem. What's wrong, is it really possible that Hei Zi will become a vengeful spirit?"
I nodded and replied, "It's highly likely, and it's the kind with deep resentment."
Zhang Dabiao looked at me with some confusion. "How could this be? He took money to do jobs and lived a life on the edge of a knife. Even if he was killed, he shouldn't become a vengeful spirit. Is there something strange going on here?"
Glancing at Li Zuoquan, who was being carried ahead, I quietly replied, "Don't you think Li Zuoquan is too harsh on his bodyguards?"
Zhang Dabiao frowned and shook his head. "I haven't really noticed that. Bodyguards earn their money through hard work, so what's so harsh about it?"
"Hey! My good brother! Didn't you just ask me to watch Li Zuoquan beat his bodyguard? Have you forgotten?"
With my reminder, Zhang Dabiao seemed to have a sudden realization. Li Zuoquan had just beaten the duck-leg man with his cane for over ten minutes.
Not only did no one nearby try to intervene, but the duck-leg man didn't even make a sound while being beaten, as if such abuse had become a habit.
"What on earth are they doing this for? Is it just for this little bit of money from the Li family? If you're going to be a bodyguard, it's the same anywhere. Why would they be so loyal and risk their lives for someone like this?"
I was also a bit puzzled by this. This wasn't a feudal slave society, nor was it an era where a minister had to obey his lord's command to die. They were all free individuals. Even if they bowed their heads for money or possessions, they wouldn't bow to such an extent.
Seeing that Li Zuoquan had stopped and was looking back at us, I hastily ended the conversation and quickly followed.
"Perhaps, they have their own difficulties."
Li Zuoquan's subordinates executed his orders quickly. Not long after he finished speaking, a sturdy wooden table appeared before us.
I had originally wanted to ask him to find some candles, but seeing Li Zuoquan's almost drippingly gloomy face, I gave up and could only use cigarettes as a substitute.
Although the effect was slightly worse, it wasn't much different. Hei Zi had only died recently, so summoning him should be relatively easy.
Taking Hei Zi's birth date from Li Zuoquan, I did a simple calculation, and my heart sank even further. How could Hei Zi's fate be so strange?
He was born in an yin year, yin month, and yin day. If he had been born in an yin hour as well, he would have had a completely yin fate. Fortunately, he wasn't born in an yin hour; otherwise, if he had a completely yin fate, even if he became a vengeful spirit, we wouldn't be able to deal with him.
Looking at Li Zuoquan, who was a bit anxious beside me, I confirmed with him again, "Elder Li, are you sure Hei Zi's birth time wasn't an yin hour?"
"There's definitely no mistake about that. He's an orphan, adopted into the Li family by me. You know that our Li family is also a feng shui family, so we are extremely careful about these matters. You don't need to worry at all."
With Li Zuoquan's assurance, although I still felt something was not quite right, there was nothing I could do. If I refused, Li Zuoquan would surely find other ways to force me to comply. It was better to agree directly. As for whether I could subdue him, that was no longer my concern.
Using cigarettes as a substitute for candles, after paying homage to the ancestors, I lit the remaining soul-guiding incense and began to summon Hei Zi.
"Wander, soul, where do you hide? Three souls descend, seven spirits return..."
Crack—
Before I could finish reciting the incantation, a bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky, forcing back the last word "赦" (shè - pardon/release).
Instantly, my vision went black, my chest felt tight, my throat constricted, and my stomach felt as if it had been punched hard. I then coughed up blood as I lay on the ground.
Before I could even figure out what was happening, a strong wind suddenly whipped up around us, and a gloomy, oppressive laughter echoed in the air.
Hee hee—
Hahaha—
The sound was exceptionally piercing, like glass scraping against rusted iron, sharp and sinister.
The sky, which had been full of stars moments ago, was now obscured by dark clouds that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The surrounding darkness intensified, as if it could swallow even the light.
Seeing me lying on the ground, Zhang Dabiao rushed forward in three quick steps, shielding me. He had already gripped his mountain-splitting saber, his eyes blazing, ready to strike at any moment.
"Brother Zhang, we need to get out of here quickly. It seems that the one who came is not Hei Zi."
Hearing this, Zhang Dabiao trembled, "What is that thing?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely an incredibly terrifying entity, otherwise it wouldn't have summoned a clear-sky thunder. This thing probably has a significant background."
Li Zuoquan's face also changed drastically. He couldn't help but ask loudly, "What on earth did you summon, you brat?"
Supported by Zhang Dabiao, I stood up and walked quickly to him, replying with some anger, "You're asking me? I summoned it based on the birth date you provided. The rest of the problem is yours to handle."
After saying that, I ignored Li Zuoquan's increasingly grim expression. Zhang Dabiao picked me up with one arm and threw me onto his back. Turning around, he ran back towards the cave. The others, seeing this, scattered like ducks being chased by wild dogs.
Entering the cave, Zhang Dabiao put me down. Yue Er was already standing at the cave entrance, her eyes flickering as she looked towards Li Zuoquan's location.
The area where he was had now turned into a pitch-black expanse, with only faint lights shining from within, appearing like fireflies.
"You two are so wicked. Summoning something like that and throwing it at that old man, aren't you afraid he'll be killed directly?"
I grinned mischievously and said, "Don't blame me for this. This is the birth date he provided. As for the consequences, he can bear them himself. It has nothing to do with me."
As we were talking, the dense fog had already obscured the lights. A pair of blood-red eyes, the size of fists, emerged from the black mist, accompanied by bursts of strange laughter.
I stared dumbfoundedly at the large entity in the black mist, "What is this thing? Why is it so big?"
Generally, the larger the eyes, the larger the body. So, just by looking at its fist-sized eyes, I could tell that this thing was not small in size.
"I can't see through the black mist."
"Mountain God."