Evil Qi

A long time later, I woke up on a bamboo bed inside the Daoist temple.

Grandfather and Su Er had been keeping watch by my side, never leaving for a single step. As soon as they saw me open my eyes, they hurried over to support me.

Su Er took hold of my arm and asked gently, "Zhong Lăng, are you alright?"

I was still exhausted, so I could only manage a weak shake of my head in response.

Grandfather felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this: "It's good that you're alright."

Su Er was still very worried, incessantly observing me from head to toe. Suddenly, her gaze stopped right under my arm, and she said in panic, "Zhong Lăng, your arm?"

I looked toward my arm in confusion. Without my realizing it, my arm had become covered in black veins—specifically, unmistakable black lines. Furthermore, if one looked closely, each vein was filled with countless blood threads, looking exceptionally eerie.

I tried to grab my arm, but I felt absolutely nothing. I involuntarily trembled and said, "Grandfather, my arm... I have no feeling in it anymore. What's happening, Grandfather?"

Upon hearing this, Grandfather immediately observed my glabella, his eyes streaked with blood: "Evil Qi, Evil Qi is seeping into every corner of your body."

I looked at him with a dazed gaze: "Does it have to do with destroying the Vengeful Ghost?"

Grandfather sighed and spoke slowly, "I also wondered why the Vengeful Ghost didn't attack you when it appeared today. Perhaps it was because of this Evil Qi."

Grandfather's words were correct. During the battle yesterday, from beginning to end, the Vengeful Ghost never even looked at me. It was very likely that this Evil Qi had existed in my body from the start, so the Vengeful Ghost viewed me as one of its own and didn't attack. That was why my elimination of it was so smooth.

But I still couldn't understand why Grandfather had placed an Air-Descending Talisman on me at that time.

Thinking of this, I asked him my question: "What is the effect of the Air-Descending Talisman, Grandfather?"

Grandfather lowered his voice and explained, "The Air-Descending Talisman not only helps the user move more lightly but also prevents Yin Qi from invading. At that time, I was afraid Yin Qi would take the chance to enter, so I used it. I didn't expect that this kind of Evil Qi was already present in your body."

Truly, "the Dao is one foot high, but the demon is ten feet high." No matter how carefully one calculates, in the end, we were still harmed by those people.

My body felt as if all its strength had been drained; no matter how I tried, I couldn't sit up.

Seeing my intention to sit up, Grandfather quickly said, "Just rest for now. Today is the twenty-fifth of June; in a few days, we can go to Ghost Gate Pass to help treat you."

Seeing his serious expression, I obeyed and lay back down, constantly raising my hand to observe it. When would all of this truly end?

At that moment, Fourth Uncle walked in from outside. Before he could even sit down to rest, he cursed hurriedly, "That despicable person is still in the village!"

I looked at Fourth Uncle doubtfully. Seeing this, he waved his hand and said, "Little brat, just rest."

Grandfather's gaze carried a hint of questioning as he looked toward Fourth Uncle: "How do you know?"

It was obvious that Fourth Uncle's anger had not yet subsided: "Yesterday, when Zhong Lăng destroyed the Vengeful Ghost, a dark shadow flashed past us. After everyone returned to the temple, I followed the scent of Yin Qi to a place, but I temporarily couldn't enter."

Grandfather spoke with a bit of excitement: "Where is it?"

Fourth Uncle paused for a moment, calmly recalling: "It seems to be the Temple of the Residence God."

Grandfather raised his head, a few sparks of surprise showing in his eyes: "Residence God? If it's a temple for the Residence God, how could demons and ghosts enter it?"

Fourth Uncle wasn't surprised to hear this, as his knowledge was very profound: "They call it the Residence God, but in truth, it's just a Tudigong who governs the land. But if a demon is stronger than the Tudigong, naturally he will be driven away, and they will exploit the incense of the villagers to cultivate."

There was even such logic? When I was young, my mother once said that if we establish a temple for the Tudigong but the deity's power isn't strong enough, it's no different from worshipping a ghost. Because they will seize the temple and enjoy the incense that was meant for the Residence God.

Grandfather frowned, his tone becoming somewhat serious: "This is bad. If we don't handle this quickly, I fear they will grow even stronger and affect the villagers."

Hearing this, a hint of guilt appeared in Fourth Uncle's eyes: "Is it because of me?"

Grandfather glanced at him and then lowered his voice to comfort him: "No, whether you did that thing or not, they would have run rampant regardless."

Fourth Uncle's mood improved slightly upon hearing that: "Although I didn't directly harm them, I am still at fault in this matter. I won't let them harm anyone else."

Grandfather nodded in satisfaction.

As the proverb goes, "One does not strike a person who admits their mistakes." Now that Fourth Uncle knew his fault, he was no longer to be blamed.

I thought to myself, I wonder if these people have any connection to the female ghost I met before? If they are of the same ilk, is it worth doing so many heaven-defying and atrocious things just to kill me? Wouldn't killing me directly be much easier?

What do I have that makes them go to such trouble? Righteous Qi? Yes, Righteous Qi is my strongest invisible weapon. But now, having been poisoned by the Yin-Yang Jiangshi, my Righteous Qi has diminished somewhat, which allowed the Evil Qi to invade.

After talking for a while, Fourth Uncle's nose twitched repeatedly, and then he walked directly to my bedside: "Evil Qi? I've smelled the scent of Evil Qi since the moment I stepped in."

Grandfather took my arm and showed it to Fourth Uncle: "Zhong Lăng has been infected by Evil Qi."

Fourth Uncle was a bit startled upon seeing it: "Was this Evil Qi caused by the Vengeful Ghost yesterday?"

Grandfather shook his head pensively and then said, "It might be that the poison of the Yin-Yang Jiangshi is emitting Evil Qi."

Fourth Uncle spoke again: "This Evil Qi must be suppressed in time. If the Evil Qi attacks the heart, Zhong Lăng will surely face only death."

My whole body shivered; I felt like an unlucky person, first poisoned by a corpse and now infected by Evil Qi.

They just want to kill me, is there a need to go to such lengths?

Su Er was panicked when she heard this and asked, "Is there a way to treat it?"

Fourth Uncle said, "There is a way, but we must find a supreme Yang object to hope to block the Evil Qi."

Hearing this, Su Er immediately thought of supreme Yang objects: "A Bagua Mirror."

Fourth Uncle pondered for a long time but finally shook his head: "Although a Bagua Mirror has strong Yang energy, but..."

At this point, Fourth Uncle hesitated, making the three of us anxious as we asked, "But what?"

Fourth Uncle seemed to realize something and suddenly burst into loud laughter: "Haha, a Bagua Mirror made of Agarwood is a supreme Yang object; it will definitely suppress it! As for whether the Evil Qi can be completely dispelled, that will depend on this little brat's own Righteous Qi."

Su Er felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart and said happily, "See, you have great fortune and a long life. Then Uncle, please bring out the Agarwood Bagua Mirror."

Looking closely, aside from this Daoist temple and the clothes on his back, he had nothing of value. Hearing Su Er's words, Fourth Uncle felt as if he had been stabbed in his weak spot and scratched his head in embarrassment: "Agarwood is of the highest grade; how could I possibly have it?"

That was true; he spent the whole year in hidden cultivation and didn't even let the villagers at the foot of the mountain know about the temple, so where would he get the incense money to make a Bagua Mirror out of Agarwood?

But unexpectedly, he spoke with some interest: "But I have a friend who is a carpenter; he might be able to help everyone."

Su Er was momentarily very excited and said, "That would be wonderful!"