“Someone wants me to…”
To Shui Miao, those words sounded like thunderclaps on a clear day.
In Shui Miao’s mind, the young bride was a very innocent girl, someone who knew absolutely nothing about men and women, someone who would never say anything so embarrassingly affectionate. Shui Miao turned around and looked at the young bride’s face, which now exuded a seductive charm…
“You’re saying you want me?”
Shui Miao deliberately asked, feigning confusion.
If the young bride were normal, she would surely be shocked—how could a fool suddenly speak standard Mandarin so clearly? But the young bride wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, she blushed shyly, pulled Shui Miao toward the bed, and then lay down naked, offering herself to him in the most blatant way.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that to you.”
Shui Miao shook his head, reached out to pull the quilt over the young bride, and turned to start dressing. But this was all an act—he wanted to test what kind of evil spirit had possessed the young bride, and whether it might be one of Bai Niangniang’s ghostly subordinates.
“Why? Why don’t you want me? Is it because I’m not pretty enough?”
The young bride sat up, grabbing Shui Miao’s arm and asking anxiously.
Shui Miao looked at the young bride and suddenly had an idea. Although Bai Niangniang had sealed his dantian and spiritual awareness, the jade pendant given to him by Ling Shuai was still locked deep within his soul. Just like the time he was bitten by the venomous snake—hadn’t he quickly neutralized the poison? It might have been the power of the jade pendant. So maybe now, facing this evil spirit, he could try sucking it into his body. That way, the evil energy might help break the seal, and at the same time, awaken the jade pendant. Once the pendant showed its power, the seal would surely shatter on its own.
In Shui Miao’s subconscious, Bai Niangniang’s power couldn’t compare to Ling Shuai’s.
With this thought in mind, Shui Miao suddenly pulled the young bride into his arms, kissed her lips, and sucked hard, drawing in a wave of cold, yin energy.
“Wah… What are you doing?”
The young bride panicked, letting out a deep, nasal sound as she struggled to push Shui Miao away. But he wouldn’t let go, and after a few hard sucks, he had drawn all the icy energy into his mouth and swallowed it. As the cold energy was removed, the young bride suddenly regained her senses. After Shui Miao released her, she was left in a daze, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Meanwhile, Shui Miao sat down heavily and closed his eyes.
The icy energy surged through his body like countless cold worms wriggling around, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. But then, after about ten seconds, he suddenly felt a tremor in his dantian, and the icy energy vanished without a trace, taking all the discomfort with it.
Had the female ghost been destroyed by the seal!?
Shui Miao opened his eyes in disbelief.
“Roar…”
Suddenly, a howling wind sounded outside the window, and a white figure “whooshed” away into the night.
Shui Miao quickly pulled back the curtain to look, but outside was pitch black, revealing nothing.
Turning back, he saw the young bride already dressing, standing there blankly with a look of fear in her eyes. Shui Miao approached her, looked at her for a moment, then gave a silly grin and pulled her into bed. The young bride didn’t know what had happened—she only knew that she had been sleeping peacefully when suddenly her body turned icy cold. When she woke up, she found herself naked, with the fool standing beside the bed. She was terrified—she felt like she had encountered something evil. Clinging tightly to Shui Miao for warmth, she tried to fall asleep but couldn’t. The icy chill she had felt was just too terrifying!
After a while, the young bride buried her head against Shui Miao’s chest.
“Zhang Ling, are you sometimes clear-minded and sometimes confused?”
“…”
Hearing this, Shui Miao didn’t know how to respond, so he quickly pretended to be asleep with his eyes closed.
The young bride looked at Shui Miao for a moment, saw that her “Zhang Ling Ge” was already snoring, and closed her eyes too, no longer indulging in wild thoughts. But once she was asleep, Shui Miao opened his eyes again, his mind growing more and more puzzled. What exactly had that evil spirit been? Logically, Bai Niangniang shouldn’t have done this—after all, she was a thousand-year-old ghost. How could she be so easily defeated by him? If the spirit had been one of Bai Niangniang’s disciples, that didn’t make much sense either, because the yin energy just now had been far too weak. Bai Niangniang had such powerful abilities—her disciples should be strong too.
Now, Shui Miao began to suspect there was something deeper going on.
He even suspected that the ghost that had possessed the young bride last night might be connected to the sudden streak of bad luck that had befallen the Zhang family—and perhaps even to Zhang Ling’s older sister, Zhang Juan’s family as well! Lying in bed, Shui Miao’s thoughts wandered, and the more he thought, the more confused he became, and the less he understood the truth.
※※※
In the morning, both Shui Miao and the young bride woke up early.
After a night of intimacy, the young bride looked at Shui Miao with even more affection in her eyes.
She was very capable and didn’t let Shui Miao do any chores.
Today, she didn’t lock him in the room, and he didn’t run off either. Instead, he walked around the courtyard, then crouched down in front of the bulldog’s kennel, staring blankly at the dog. A while later, the young bride finished making some porridge, and Shui Miao took a dog bowl, filled it halfway, and brought it to the bulldog. Strangely, the bulldog didn’t eat it—just sniffed at the steam, then wagged its tail happily at Shui Miao, showing obvious affection.
Maybe it wants something better?
Shui Miao liked this bulldog that was so attached to him, so he went back to the fridge and found a piece of meat, holding it out in front of the dog. But again, the bulldog didn’t eat it—it just sniffed.
Outside the villa’s fence, in the neighbor’s yard, two teenage girls, about fourteen or fifteen years old, each holding a cup, came out to brush their teeth. Seeing Shui Miao squatting outside the doghouse with the meat, one girl shook her head and said, “Sigh, Zhang Ling is so pitiful. He’s missing his dead bulldog again.”
“Yeah, Zhang Ling really loved that bulldog. He raised it himself,” the other girl added with a sigh.
The little girls were still in school, and their speech was somewhat similar to standard Mandarin, so Shui Miao understood them immediately.
Shui Miao quickly turned to look at the bulldog, his head suddenly filled with question marks.
This bulldog was clearly still alive, yet they were saying it was already dead. Why?
Shui Miao looked carefully—it was definitely alive.
To verify, he picked up a small stick and slowly touched the bulldog with it. But the stick passed straight through the dog’s body!
“Eh! It… it’s actually the dog’s soul!?”
Instinctively, Shui Miao rubbed his eyes, then looked again. The bulldog was still there, wagging its tail at him.
How could this be?
Shui Miao reached out toward the dog. It was big, and he felt a little afraid. When his hand touched it, he could clearly feel a chill—it was a ghost, not a real dog. Taking a deep breath, Shui Miao realized that even though his dantian and spiritual awareness had been sealed, his eyes could still see evil spirits.
“Woof…”
Suddenly, the bulldog let out a low whimper. Shui Miao followed the direction its paw was pointing and saw a red dog leash inside the kennel. Looking closer, there was even a yellow talisman stuck onto the leash!
There was definitely something going on here!
His heart stirred, and Shui Miao immediately crawled into the doghouse to try to tear off the talisman. But just as he was about to reach it, a cold wind suddenly swept from behind. Turning around, he saw that the spot where he had just stood was now occupied by an old man dressed in black clothes and pants. The old man had a long, thin face, a pale and gloomy complexion, and his eyes were narrowed into slits. He carried a bamboo basket on his back. He spoke in a sinister tone: “Zhang Ling, you’re not really thinking of tearing off that talisman, are you?”
At the sight of the old man, Shui Miao noticed that the bulldog was now glaring at him, growling lowly.
And the old man’s feet were floating above the ground.
This proved beyond a doubt—he was a ghost, not a human.
“Who are you? Why are you interfering with me?”
Shui Miao grabbed the talisman and asked the old man. He didn’t need to ask to figure out that the old man was afraid of the bulldog being released. The old man’s eyebrows twitched as he shot back, “Are you really going to pretend you don’t know me? Don’t you even recognize your own great-great-grandfather?”
“Great-great-grandfather?”
More like my great-great-uncle! Trying to take advantage of me, Shui Miao thought, rolling his eyes. He scratched his head and shook his head. “I don’t remember. My mind is sometimes clear, sometimes confused. Maybe you could explain the details? Exactly which great-great-grandfather are you? And why are you stopping me from freeing the big dog? It clearly doesn’t like you—could it be you did something wrong to it before?”
“Wah! Zhang Ling is talking to himself again! He must be seeing Grandpa!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go call Mom to come listen…”
The two girls, curious, ran back to call their mother, but their mother scolded them harshly and didn’t even let them finish brushing their teeth.
“I want it…”
To Shui Miao, these words were like a thunderclap on a clear day.
In his mind, his young wife was an innocent soul, completely unaware of matters between men and women. She would never say something so shameless. Shui Miao turned to look at her face, only to find it radiating a bewitching charm…
“You said you want it?” Shui Miao deliberately questioned.
If his wife were normal, she would surely be shocked—why would a fool suddenly speak in perfect, articulate Mandarin? But she showed no surprise. Instead, she shyly nodded, pulled Shui Miao to the bedside, and lay down naked, offering herself in blatant temptation.
“Sorry, I can’t do that to you.”
Shui Miao shook his head, pulled the blanket over her, and turned to get dressed. He was feigning ignorance, testing to see what kind of unclean spirit had possessed his wife—perhaps one of Lady White’s ghostly minions.
“Why? Why don’t you want me? Am I not pretty enough?”
His wife sat up, grabbing Shui Miao and pressing for an answer.
Shui Miao looked at her and suddenly remembered: although Lady White had sealed his dantian and spiritual realm, the jade pendant given to him by General Ling was still locked within his soul. Just like the time he was bitten by a venomous snake, hadn’t he neutralized the poison quickly? Perhaps the pendant had played a role! Now, facing this unclean spirit, he could suck it into his body. Not only could he use it to break the seal, but he might also awaken the pendant. Once the pendant activated, the seal would surely shatter.
In Shui Miao’s subconscious, Lady White’s power was no match for General Ling’s.
With this thought, Shui Miao suddenly pulled his wife close, kissed her lips, and sucked hard, drawing in a chilling, Yin energy.
“Mmph… What are you doing?”
His wife panicked, letting out heavy nasal sounds as she struggled to push him away. But Shui Miao held firm, sucking in several mouthfuls of the Yin energy before swallowing it. As the energy left her, his wife suddenly regained clarity. Released from his grip, she was utterly confused, with no memory of what had just happened.
Shui Miao sat down heavily and closed his eyes.
The Yin energy surged wildly inside him, making him feel as though countless cold insects were crawling under his skin, causing extreme discomfort. But within seconds, his dantian trembled, and the Yin energy vanished without a trace. All discomfort disappeared instantly.
Had the seal destroyed the female ghost?
Shui Miao opened his eyes, incredulous.
“Roar…”
A howling wind sounded outside the window, and a white figure vanished with a whoosh.
Shui Miao hurriedly pulled back the curtain to look, but the darkness outside revealed nothing.
Turning back, he found his wife already dressed, standing dazed and looking at him with fearful eyes. Shui Miao approached her, looked her over, and suddenly grinned foolishly before pulling her into bed to sleep. His wife had no idea what had happened. She only remembered sleeping soundly, then feeling a sudden chill, and waking up to find herself naked and standing by the bed with the fool. Terrified, she felt she had encountered something unclean. She clung tightly to Shui Miao for warmth, too frightened to sleep—the memory of that Yin chill was too horrifying!
After a while, she buried her face in Shui Miao’s chest and asked, “Brother Zhang Ling, are you sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused?”
“…”
Shui Miao didn’t know how to answer. He quickly closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
His wife looked up at him, saw that he was already snoring, and closed her eyes, dismissing her wild thoughts. Once she fell asleep, Shui Miao opened his eyes, his mind filled with even more doubt. What exactly was that unclean spirit? Logically, Lady White wouldn’t do something like this—she was a thousand-year-old ghost. How could he have destroyed her so easily? If this ghost were one of Lady White’s disciples, that didn’t make sense either, because the Yin energy was too weak. With Lady White’s immense power, her disciples should be formidable too.
Now, Shui Miao suspected there was more to the story.
He even wondered if the ghost that possessed his wife tonight might be connected to the sudden misfortune that had befallen Zhang Ling’s family—and perhaps even to Zhang Ling’s sister, Zhang Juan, and her family! Lying in bed, Shui Miao’s thoughts ran wild, growing more confused and further from the truth.
※※※
The next morning, Shui Miao and his wife woke up early.
After the previous night’s intimacy, his wife’s gaze held a newfound closeness.
She was very capable, not letting Shui Miao do any work.
Today, she didn’t lock him in the room. Shui Miao didn’t wander off but simply walked around the yard until he reached the bulldog’s kennel. He crouched down and stared blankly at the dog. After a while, his wife finished making porridge. Shui Miao filled a dog bowl halfway and brought it to the bulldog. Strangely, the dog didn’t eat it—it just sniffed the steam, then wagged its tail affectionately at Shui Miao.
Maybe it wanted something better?
Shui Miao liked this friendly bulldog, so he went back inside, found a piece of meat in the fridge, and offered it to the dog. Still, it didn’t eat, only sniffed.
Just then, two girls around fourteen or fifteen years old from the neighboring villa walked out, each holding a cup, ready to brush their teeth. Seeing Shui Miao crouching by the kennel with meat, one girl shook her head and said, “Ah, Brother Zhang Ling is so pitiful. He’s still missing his dead bulldog.”
“Yeah, Brother Zhang Ling loved that bulldog so much. He raised it from a puppy,” the other girl added sympathetically.
“…”
The girls were still in school, and their dialect was close enough to Mandarin for Shui Miao to understand.
Shui Miao quickly turned to look at the bulldog, his mind flooding with questions.
The bulldog was clearly alive, yet they said it was dead. Why?
He looked closely—it was undeniably alive.
To test it, he picked up a small stick and gently poked the bulldog. To his shock, the stick passed right through its body!
“Huh! It’s… it’s the dog’s spirit!?”
Shui Miao rubbed his eyes instinctively and looked again. The bulldog was still there, wagging its tail at him.
How could this be?
He reached out to touch the bulldog. It was large, and Shui Miao felt a bit afraid. When his hand made contact, he felt a distinct chill—it was a ghost, not a real dog. Shui Miao took a deep breath. It seemed that even though his dantian and spiritual realm were sealed, his eyes could still see unclean spirits.
“Whimper…”
The bulldog let out a low whine. Shui Miao followed the direction it was pawing and noticed a red dog chain inside the kennel. Looking closer, he saw a yellow talisman attached to the chain!
There’s something here!
His heart racing, Shui Miao crawled into the kennel. Just as he was about to tear off the talisman, a cold wind swept up behind him. Turning, he saw an old man dressed in black standing where he had been moments ago. The man had a long, gaunt face, as if carved by a knife, with gloomy, ashen skin and eyes narrowed into slits. A bamboo basket was strapped to his back. He spoke to Shui Miao in a sinister tone, “Zhang Ling, you wouldn’t be thinking of removing that talisman, would you?”
Seeing the old man, Shui Miao noticed the bulldog glaring at him, growling lowly.
Moreover, the old man’s feet were floating above the ground.
This confirmed it—he was a ghost, not a human.
“Who are you? Why are you meddling in my business?”
Shui Miao grabbed the talisman and questioned the old man. It was clear the old man feared the bulldog being released. The old man’s eyebrows twitched, and he retorted, “How dare you play dumb with me! You don’t even recognize your own Third Granduncle?”
“Third Granduncle?”
I’m your Third Granduncle! How dare you mock me! Shui Miao’s eyes darted, and he scratched his head before shaking it. “I don’t remember. My mind is sometimes clear, sometimes confused. Could you explain? Which Third Granduncle are you, and why won’t you let me free the big dog? It seems to dislike you. Did you do something to wrong it?”
“Wow! Brother Zhang Ling is talking to himself again. He seems to see Grandpa!”
“Yeah, yeah! I’ll go call Mom to listen…”
The two girls, curious, ran back to call their mother, but their mother scolded them harshly and didn’t even let them finish brushing their teeth.
The Third Granduncle glanced at the girls and said irritably to Shui Miao, “I’m your father’s third uncle, your Third Granduncle. Those two girls are my granddaughters, and you’re their third brother. So, am I your Third Granduncle or not?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “All the misfortunes that befell your family were brought by this big dog. It offended Fifth Master Long from the west end of the village. Fifth Master Long is the most vicious Gu sorcerer in our Miao village of Shuilong Ridge. You yourself were cursed by him and turned into a fool. I’ve told you this over a dozen times, and you forget every time. Now you want to remove the talisman? Are you trying to get us all killed?”
“Wait, Third Granduncle, how would freeing it kill us all?” Shui Miao was very curious. He hadn’t realized this was a Miao village, and that there was a vicious Gu sorcerer named Fifth Master Long hiding in the west end. It sounded serious.
Third Granduncle shook his head, his lips curling in frustration. “Oh, Third Nephew! What am I going to do with you? I’ve repeated this to you dozens of times. Fifth Master Long’s household worships three black dragon spirits. If you free this big dog, it won’t harm Fifth Master Long—it’ll be killed instantly by his minions. Once Fifth Master Long finds out it was you, he’ll come for all our lives! I beg you, stop fighting him. You can’t win.”
“I want it…”
To Shui Miao, these words struck like a bolt from the blue.
In his eyes, his young wife was the picture of innocence—utterly naive about matters between men and women, and certainly not the type to utter such suggestive words. He turned to look at her face, only to find it radiating an alluring charm.
“You said you want it?” Shui Miao deliberately questioned, feigning confusion.
If she were her usual self, she would surely have been shocked that a “fool” like him could suddenly speak flawless Mandarin. But instead of surprise, she responded with a shy nod. She pulled him toward the bed, lay down naked, and presented herself to him in blatant seduction.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do this to you.”
Shui Miao shook his head, pulled the quilt over her, and turned to get dressed. He was playing dumb, testing to see what kind of unclean spirit had possessed his wife—and whether it was one of Madame Bai’s ghostly minions.
“Why? Why don’t you want me? Am I not pretty enough?”
She sat up, grabbing his arm and pressing for an answer.
Shui Miao looked at her and suddenly remembered: although Madame Bai had sealed his dantian and spiritual realm, the jade pendant given to him by General Ling was still locked within his soul. Just like the time he was bitten by a venomous snake and quickly neutralized the poison, perhaps the pendant was at work again. If he could draw this unclean spirit into his body, he might use its energy to break the seal and awaken the pendant’s power. Once the pendant activated, the seal would surely shatter.
In Shui Miao’s subconscious, Madame Bai’s power was no match for General Ling’s.
With this thought, he abruptly pulled his wife into an embrace, kissed her lips, and inhaled sharply—drawing in a wave of chilling Yin energy.
“Mmph… What are you doing?”
Panicked, she struggled and tried to push him away, but Shui Miao held firm. After a few deep breaths, he swallowed the cold energy. As the Yin energy left her, his wife suddenly regained clarity. Released from his grip, she was utterly confused, with no memory of what had just happened.
Shui Miao sat down and closed his eyes.
The Yin energy surged wildly inside him, like countless icy worms writhing through his body. The discomfort was intense, but within seconds, his dantian trembled, and the cold energy vanished without a trace. All discomfort disappeared.
Had the seal destroyed the female ghost?
He opened his eyes, astonished.
“Whoosh…”
A gust of wind howled outside the window, and a white figure swiftly vanished into the night.
Shui Miao rushed to draw the curtains and peer out, but the darkness revealed nothing.
Turning back, he found his wife now dressed, standing frozen and staring at him with fear in her eyes. He approached her, gave a silly grin, and led her back to bed. She had no idea what had happened—only that she’d been sleeping soundly when a sudden chill seized her. Waking to find herself naked and standing by the bed with the “fool,” she was terrified, convinced she’d encountered something unclean. She clung tightly to Shui Miao for warmth, too frightened to sleep again. That icy sensation had been too horrifying.
After a while, she buried her face in his chest and whispered, “Brother Zhang Ling, do you sometimes have moments of clarity… and other times not?”
“…”
Shui Miao didn’t know how to respond. He quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
She looked up at him, heard his soft snoring, and finally closed her eyes, setting aside her confusion. Once she was asleep, Shui Miao opened his eyes again, his mind swirling with questions. What was that unclean spirit? Logically, Madame Bai wouldn’t be involved in something like this—she was a millennium-old ghost, hardly one to be easily vanquished by him. And if it were one of her disciples, it didn’t fit either—the Yin energy had been too weak. With Madame Bai’s immense power, her disciples should be formidable.
Now, Shui Miao suspected there was more to the story.
He even wondered if the spirit that possessed his wife tonight was connected to the sudden misfortune that had struck Zhang Ling’s family—and perhaps even to Zhang Ling’s sister, Zhang Juan, and her family. Lying in bed, his thoughts grew more tangled, the truth feeling further out of reach.
※※※
The next morning, Shui Miao and his wife rose early.
After the night’s intimacy, she regarded him with a newfound closeness.
She was capable and diligent, refusing to let Shui Miao lift a finger.
Today, she didn’t lock him in the room. He didn’t wander far, merely circling the yard until he reached the bulldog’s kennel. He crouched down, staring blankly at the dog. Shortly after, his wife finished preparing congee. Shui Miao filled a dog bowl halfway and brought it to the bulldog. Strangely, the dog didn’t eat—it only sniffed the steam, then wagged its tail affectionately at him.
Maybe it wanted something better?
Shui Miao liked this friendly bulldog, so he went back inside, rummaged through the fridge, and brought out a piece of meat. But again, the dog only sniffed it without eating.
Just then, two girls around fourteen or fifteen from the neighboring villa walked out, each holding a cup, ready to brush their teeth. Seeing Shui Miao crouching by the kennel with meat, one girl shook her head and said, “Ah, Brother Zhang Ling is so pitiful. He’s still missing his dead bulldog.”
“Yeah, he loved that dog so much. He raised it from a puppy,” the other girl added sympathetically.
“…”
The girls were still in school, and their accent was close enough to Mandarin for Shui Miao to understand.
He turned to look at the bulldog, his mind flooding with questions.
The dog was clearly alive—why were they saying it was dead?
He looked closely, confirming it was indeed there.
To test it, he picked up a small stick and gently poked the dog—only for the stick to pass straight through its body.
“Huh? It’s… it’s the dog’s spirit!?”
Shui Miao rubbed his eyes instinctively. When he looked again, the bulldog was still there, wagging its tail.
How could this be?
He reached out to touch it. The dog was large, and he felt a bit afraid. But when his hand made contact, he felt a distinct chill—this was a ghost, not a living dog. Shui Miao took a deep breath. It seemed that even with his dantian and spiritual realm sealed, he could still see unclean spirits.
“Whimper…”
The bulldog let out a low whine and nudged something with its paw. Shui Miao followed its gesture and spotted a red dog collar inside the kennel. Looking closer, he saw a yellow talisman attached to it.
There’s something here!
His interest piqued, Shui Miao crawled into the kennel. Just as he reached for the talisman, a cold gust of wind swept behind him. Turning, he saw an elderly man dressed in black standing where he had been moments before. The man had a long, gaunt face, gloomy and ashen, with eyes narrowed to slits. A bamboo basket was strapped to his back.
“Zhang Ling,” the man said in a sinister tone, “you weren’t planning to remove that talisman, were you?”
Shui Miao noticed the bulldog growling lowly, glaring fiercely at the old man.
Moreover, the old man’s feet hovered above the ground.
This confirmed it—he was a ghost, not a human.
“Who are you? Why are you meddling in my business?”
Shui Miao gripped the talisman and questioned the old man. It was clear the ghost feared the dog being released. The old man’s eyebrows twitched. “How dare you play dumb with me! Do you really not recognize your Third Granduncle?”
“Third Granduncle?”
You’re the Third Granduncle? Trying to pull rank on me? Shui Miao’s eyes darted as he rubbed his head and shook it. “I don’t remember. My mind comes and goes. Maybe you could explain? Which Third Granduncle are you, and why are you stopping me from freeing the dog? It seems to dislike you—have you done something to wrong it?”
“Wow! Brother Zhang Ling is talking to himself again! He looks like he’s seeing Grandpa!”
“Yeah, yeah! I’ll go get Mom to listen…”
The two girls, curious, ran inside to fetch their mother, but she scolded them harshly and didn’t even let them finish brushing their teeth.
The old man glanced at the girls, then turned back to Shui Miao irritably. “I’m your father’s third uncle—your Third Granduncle. Those two girls are my granddaughters, and you’re their third brother. So, am I your Third Granduncle or not?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “All the misfortune in your family was brought by this dog. It offended Dragon Fifth Master from the west end of the village. He’s the most vicious Gu sorcerer in our Miao village of Shuilong Ridge. You yourself were bewitched by him and turned into a fool. I’ve told you this over a dozen times, and you forget every time. Now you want to remove the talisman? Are you trying to get us all killed?”
“Wait, Third Granduncle, how would freeing it get us all killed?” Shui Miao was deeply curious. He hadn’t realized this was a Miao village, and that there was a sinister Gu sorcerer lurking in the west end. It sounded serious.
Third Granduncle shook his head, exasperated. “Oh, Zhang Ling, what am I going to do with you? I’ve repeated this so many times. Dragon Fifth Master keeps three black dragon deities. If you free this dog, it won’t harm him—it’ll just be killed by his minions. And once Dragon Fifth Master finds out it was you, he’ll come for all our lives! I’m begging you, stop challenging him. You can’t win.”
The old man shook his head, his lips curling in frustration. “Oh, Zhang Ling, what can I say to you? I’ve repeated this to you dozens of times already. Long Wu’s house enshrines three black dragons—powerful spirits. If you release the big dog, it won’t even be able to harm Long Wu. It’ll be killed instantly by his little ghosts. And once Long Wu finds out it was you who did it, won’t he come after all our lives? Great-great-uncle, please, don’t fight against Long Wu anymore. You can’t win.”
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