After a period of commotion, everyone returned to their rooms. Sister Zhang and her husband were busy trying to conceive, and Chen Yun needed to recover from her injuries. As for me, I thought her injuries had already healed. I wondered what she was still doing here. Was she, as Sister Zhang suggested, interested in me? Or did she, as Fifth Princess surmised, have other intentions?
After they had retired, I didn't rest. Instead, I closed the main door, affixed a sealing talisman, and activated the Six-Line Xuan Yang Formation to its alert mode, all to guard against any underhanded tactics from the Hu family.
During the day, Wang Defa's assurance, coupled with the Hu family being a prominent clan, meant they likely wouldn't openly attack me. However, at night, anything was possible. After all, my residence was in a "desolate wilderness," with no neighbors nearby. If anything happened, there would be no one to testify.
After checking all my defenses, I finally returned to my room to rest. My body was exhausted, and I fell asleep as soon as I lay down.
I don't know how long I slept before I heard someone calling my name. The voice was very faint, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz. What was most irritating was that it kept calling, incessantly, which was extremely annoying.
Angered, I cursed, "If you have something to say, spit it out."
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted it.
My master had always warned me that if someone called your name from behind after dark, you must never answer or turn around. If you answered, your soul would be seized by vengeful spirits. Turning around would easily extinguish the yang fire on your shoulders.
Now, I had inadvertently cursed, committing the grave mistake of responding to someone in the dark. Thinking this, I wanted to bite my tongue to wake myself up.
Despite my thoughts, my body was out of my control. Not only did I not wake up, but I felt my body tighten, as if encased in a thin plastic film. Then, my body loosened and passed through, a sensation that felt all too familiar – the separation of the soul from the body.
I was instantly and thoroughly awakened. Who had come to snatch my soul? Could it be Black and White Impermanence?
I felt my "heart" pounding. I scanned the room but found no sign of them. This gave me some relief. If they were here to collect my soul, it would be a major problem, as it would mean my lifespan had ended.
Since it wasn't Black and White Impermanence, it meant someone was using magic from a distance.
I silently recited the "Calm Heart Incantation" to resist the one trying to pull my soul. I knew that once I left my physical body and this courtyard, only death awaited me.
"Pure clarity, no mind; calm heart, no sound; my mind is at ease... break through the mortal dust..."
As the Calm Heart Incantation took effect, I felt the force pulling my soul lessen. However, I still couldn't return to my body. The moment I neared it, the murmuring from the other side intensified, creating a stalemate.
This stalemate was clearly advantageous to whoever wanted to harm me. If the soul remained separated from the body for too long, the body would die. Then, it wouldn't be them snatching my soul, but Black and White Impermanence.
As I pondered how to break this deadlock, the murmuring from the other side suddenly grew louder, like the beating of war drums. Yet, mixed within it was a soft, melodious female voice, reminiscent of gentle rain in Jiangnan, which made me feel drowsy.
I knew I absolutely could not fall asleep now. The consequences of doing so were obvious, even if I used my toes to think.
Despite my thoughts, the urge to fall asleep kept whispering in my ear, "Sleep! Sleep quickly, and you can see your mother. Don't you miss your mother?"
Mother? What a strange term. I had forgotten how long it had been since I last saw my mother. It had been ten years, perhaps?
As my resolve wavered, my body moved uncontrollably. The moment I stepped outside, I was met by a pair of bright, red-rimmed eyes, looking at me with its head tilted.
"Big Black, save me..." I hadn't expected Big Black, who slept in my room, to have wandered to the doorway and fallen asleep. It was now my lifeline.
Big Black made a gesture for silence in a human-like manner, then spoke with a human voice, "There are two soul-snatching experts outside. I don't know which faction they belong to. Follow me, and I will protect you from behind."
Seeing Big Black speak, I completely forgot my current predicament and asked with a trembling voice, "How... how can you talk?"
Big Black shook its large head and explained, "You are currently in a soul-state, so you can hear me simulating sounds by vibrating the surrounding air with my ghost power. Living people cannot hear this. Speaking like this is very strenuous. We'll find a way to communicate later when there's time."
"Then... you must keep a close eye on me." Before I could finish speaking, I felt the force controlling my body suddenly increase significantly. Immediately, my body lifted into the air and flew westward. The moment I ascended, Big Black, like thick ink, soared up with me.
The flight was not very fast. After only a few minutes, we stopped and landed before a small altar. Behind the altar stood two figures: one tall and imposing, likely the disciple, and one short and hunched, likely the master.
Both of them were dressed entirely in black, and they wore ghost-head masks, clearly intending to conceal their true faces.
"Who are you? Why are you trying to seize my soul? Don't you know that soul-snatching leads to hell?" I asked directly. Since they could seize a soul, they must understand ghost language, otherwise, how could we communicate?
To ordinary people, my words would sound like the wind, but to the two black-clothed figures, they were normal sounds, albeit with a ghostly aura.
"You are Song Qingyun?" the tall figure asked in a chilling voice.
"Nonsense, if it's not your grandpa, who else could it be?"
"You... you're asking for death..." The tall young man was furious that I would curse. He picked up a willow branch from beside the altar, intending to whip me.
Willow branches are specifically used to deal with ghosts. If my soul were whipped by this, even if I could return to my body, I would be crippled, or worse, become an idiot, as a damaged soul cannot be repaired.
Just as the willow branch was about to strike, the old man behind him shouted, "Stop!"
The young man asked with confusion, "Why? He's going to die sooner or later. Wouldn't it be better to turn him into a fool?"
"Hmph, you know nothing, boy? If you cripple Zhang Danian's disciple, do you think you can still establish yourself in the underworld? Besides, your master has some questions for him."
The young man, who had just been reprimanded, clearly felt wronged. He muttered that his master wasn't here, so what was there to fear... but his master's glare silenced him.
"Young man, we have no personal enmity with you. We are merely taking money and resolving troubles for others. It's unavoidable, and we hope you can understand."
I really wanted to retort, "Understand your grandmother's leg!" If you were being soul-snatched, and someone said this to you, would you understand? But the words that came out were, "It was the Hu family who hired you, wasn't it?"
"Heh heh... I can't tell you that. I have a question, and I hope young friend can help me answer it."
"A question? What question?" I asked, frowning.
"The Tiger Kui Seal, did you really give it to the Hu family?" As he spoke, the old man's eyes shone brightly, as if there were stars in them, making me feel an urge to pour out my heart.
This is bad. This old man wants to use a mesmerism technique to extract information. If I hadn't been constantly reciting the Calm Heart Incantation, I would have fallen for his trick. Since I wasn't mesmerized, why not deceive him once?
I pretended to be mesmerized and replied, "No."
This made the old man's eyes gleam with excitement. He quickly pressed, "Where is the real Tiger Kui Seal?" Even his disciple took a step closer, eager to know this information.
Seeing Big Black appear behind the old man, I smirked and said, "It's right behind you."
"Behind me." The old man turned around in confusion, only to be met by a gaping maw.
"Woof woof..."
"Ah..."
"Where did that dog come from..."