Chapter 79: Invoking the Ancestral Master! (1)

Zhang Enpu’s deduction was correct. The Ji Hanba was actually unharmed and had merely chosen to wait silently for someone to approach, then strike them with a fatal blow. After waiting a long time without anyone approaching, she realized her plan had failed. She immediately jumped up from the ground and let out a mocking, cackling laugh directed at Zhang Enpu.

“This… this…” Seeing the living Ji Hanba, Liu Dashao and the others were completely stunned. Wasn’t this creature supposed to die immediately after being splashed with black dog’s blood? But now…

Zhang Enpu took a deep breath and tucked the hem of his Taoist robe into his belt. Although this appearance was somewhat odd, these were extraordinary times, and he could no longer afford to maintain an elegant, scholarly demeanor. Watching closely with narrowed eyes, he warily observed the Ji Hanba’s movements while pulling out the peach-wood sword that had been stuck in the ground. “The situation has changed. I was too rash. I’ve dragged you all into this mess by coming here unprepared.”

“Master Zhang… what exactly is going on?” Liu Dashao stammered nervously.

Sighing deeply, Zhang Enpu replied, “Originally, I thought even if this female corpse were extremely dangerous, at most she’d just become a Ji Hanba recently, not yet fully developed. I believed careful handling would be enough to eliminate this threat. But I never expected… never expected…”

“Uncle, you’re driving me crazy! Why do you always stop right at the crucial moment?!” Liu Dashao complained.

“She’s already become a Blood Ji Hanba,” Zhang Enpu said decisively this time, without hesitation.

“A Blood Ji Hanba?”

“Mm.” Zhang Enpu nodded, habitually stroking his short goatee. “Some idiot must have done something despicable. This place lies east of a dam and west of a chaotic burial ground. The water here generates yin energy, which combines with the dampness, creating a strange, malevolent force. These two energies merge into a continuous, spiraling cycle. And whoever buried her placed her exactly at the vortex’s center—the gathering pool of yin energy. This not only empowered this Ji Hanba, but also transformed her corpse’s flesh and bones, creating a mother-and-child pair of malevolent spirits!”

Zhang Enpu’s analysis was too profound, filled with specialized terminology. Liu Dashao, being only a half-grown boy, naturally couldn’t understand all of it. He felt completely lost and confused, his head pounding. But when he heard the words “mother-and-child malevolent spirits,” he suddenly felt a chill run through him. He indeed recalled that when he and Village Chief Tian had narrowly escaped from this Ji Hanba before, they had encountered a very small child. Could that have been A Lan’s son? Yet when she died, she clearly hadn’t been pregnant. So he briefly shared his doubts with Zhang Enpu.

Zhang Enpu furrowed his brows, his eyes flashing with realization. “Then she must have become pregnant after death!”

“How is that possible?” Liu Dashao was stunned, thinking the old man was just making up stories like a storyteller.

“I don’t believe it,” Tian Guoqiang also shook his head, clearly unconvinced.

Zhang Enpu caught the changes in the three people’s expressions with a single glance and sneered slightly. “As long as something hasn’t been determined, it’s possible. This isn’t unusual—this is what we call a ghost giving birth.”

“A ghost giving birth?”

Liu Dashao felt like he was gaining new knowledge. He’d only heard of ghosts harming people, never of ghosts giving birth to children. He thought the old man was making things up again. “Maybe it’s just a little ghost that follows her around,” Liu Dashao offered his guess.

“Hmph, you can check for yourselves by looking at her belly!” Zhang Enpu flicked his sleeve, and the peach-wood sword spun midair before landing steadily in his palm—a truly impressive feat, like a circus act.

At Zhang Enpu’s words, Liu Dashao quickly shifted his gaze toward the Ji Hanba, who had been motionless for so long. But once his eyes landed on her, they couldn’t move away. He was shocked to notice that her lower abdomen had slightly bulged outward. Within just a few breaths, her belly had grown significantly, stretching the blood-red wedding dress she wore. “M-Master Zhang…”

“I noticed it long ago, that’s why I warned you earlier,” Zhang Enpu emphasized, his tone becoming serious and authoritative. “Stay alert. The child is about to emerge. One is already difficult to handle, but if there are two, we’ll definitely be in trouble. This Ji Hanba is filled with too much resentment. Right now, our only option is to pour black dog’s blood over her head to severely wound her. I’ll go keep her occupied and prevent the child from emerging. You must seize the opportunity to pour the last bucket of black dog’s blood directly onto her head. Whether you hit her with a club or throw a brick, as long as it’s accurate and forceful. Remember, you only have one chance. If we fail, things will get even worse.”

“Again?!” Liu Dashao’s face visibly twitched.

“Yes. I can’t do it myself.”

“Then… who will do it this time?” Liu Dashao’s teeth chattered slightly. As soon as he spoke, he wished he could slap himself because he noticed that at that moment, Tian Guoqiang and Ma Xiaoyan’s eyes were shining like spotlights, locking onto him as if there were flowers growing on Liu Dashao himself.

“W-Why are you all looking at me?”

“Big Brother… hehe… you understand,” Tian Guoqiang chuckled foolishly, but to Liu Dashao, this laughter sounded even more terrifying than the Ji Hanba’s laugh.

“I… I refuse! I already did it once!”

“Don’t worry, just go ahead. I’ll be right here cheering for you, wishing you success!” Tian Guoqiang patted Liu Dashao’s shoulder earnestly.

“Go to hell!” At this moment, Liu Dashao felt he couldn’t even cry anymore—he had cried all his tears away. The sea was full of water, and his heart was full of tears.

“Stop dawdling. Time waits for no one. I’ll count to three, and then we’ll act separately!” Zhang Enpu shouted and counted to three, then resolutely charged forward with his peach-wood sword toward the Ji Hanba. However, after taking several steps, he realized that he was the only one shouting the countdown—the three behind him hadn’t joined in at all. Zhang Enpu immediately felt his scalp tingling, but since he had already started moving, he could only grit his teeth and continue. Before rushing off, he even muttered a curse: “Don’t blame me if we can’t subdue the Ji Hanba and we all end up dead!”

This warning finally worked. Liu Dashao, who had been praising the old man for being braver than Liu Hulan, had no choice but to grit his teeth, pick up the bucket, and follow with small, quick steps. Tian Guoqiang spat into his palms, rubbed them together, reminded Ma Xiaoyan to stay safe, then grabbed a thick tree trunk like a small cannon and followed behind, ready to seize the opportunity to strike the Ji Hanba with it. With this thickness and weight, even if she were the reincarnation of the Monkey King, he’d make her so furious that her three souls would jump and her seven orifices would spew smoke!

Seeing Zhang Enpu’s sneak attack, the Ji Hanba was already furious. Fortunately, her resentment was too strong, and her Ji Hanba body was unaffected by the black dog’s blood. Her abilities hadn’t been weakened at all. In her rage, the Ji Hanba wildly waved her black claws, causing flying sand and stones, and a fierce wind. Dense pebbles and branches rained down on Zhang Enpu like a storm.

The Ji Hanba’s fury put Zhang Enpu in grave danger. He barely had time to dodge the flying stones and branches, let alone counterattack. Soon, he was hit by a flying stone and fell to the ground. However, Zhang Enpu, who had lived for many years and practiced Taoism for decades, wouldn’t be defeated so easily. He immediately sprang back up like a carp flipping upright, tightened his grip on the peach-wood sword, and launched three quick strikes. The Ji Hanba, however, ignored the attacks and kept charging at Zhang Enpu, determined to tear him apart. Realizing this was a dangerous situation, Zhang Enpu thought, “You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing the bait!” He gritted his teeth, leaned back, and formed a bridge with his body. At that moment, the Ji Hanba’s claws narrowly missed his face. The proximity was so close that Zhang Enpu could feel the pain from the scrape on his cheek. This was the perfect opportunity. At the same time, Zhang Enpu pushed his right heel backward to stabilize his balance. Using the power from his waist, he spun like a top on the spot. His left hand formed a mystical seal and lightning-fast, he reached out and clamped down hard on the Ji Hanba’s shoulder. The Ji Hanba had thick, tough skin, so she didn’t seem to feel much, but Zhang Enpu’s nails digging into her flesh caused him to cry out in pain. However, he knew which was more important. He bent his elbow and then extended his arm, applying a clever force that lifted the Ji Hanba’s entire body into the air, about two or three meters high. While the Ji Hanba was still dazed, searching for Zhang Enpu, he sneered coldly, gripped the peach-wood sword tightly, and used the downward force of his fall to stab the Ji Hanba fiercely in the back of her neck.

“Crack!” The peach-wood sword couldn’t withstand such a heavy impact. It let out a weak, muffled sound as it pierced the Ji Hanba’s neck, bending into an arc with one end stuck in her neck and the other held tightly in Zhang Enpu’s fingers.

“Die!” At that moment, Liu Dashao suddenly appeared behind the Ji Hanba without warning, covering her with the bucket of black dog’s blood. After Zhang Enpu had told him there would only be one chance, Liu Dashao had quietly circled around behind her while she was fighting with Zhang Enpu, holding his breath and waiting for the old man to create an opportunity.

“Ahh…” Drenched in black dog’s blood, the Ji Hanba let out a piercing scream, her body emitting green smoke and trembling violently.

“Brilliant!” Zhang Enpu was delighted. In the blink of an eye, he jumped back to the ground, re-sheathed the nearly broken peach-wood sword behind his back, and rushed toward the Ji Hanba with mystical hand signs. He believed he could subdue this menace today. Otherwise, if they entered the village and started killing innocents, it would create a huge problem. However, Zhang Enpu was extremely unlucky. As soon as he approached the Ji Hanba, he felt a jolt of numbness and was violently repelled, tumbling several times before groaning in pain, his face covered in dust. At the same time, a pool of dark black blood appeared beneath the Ji Hanba’s feet, and within it, a fleshy mass was slowly wriggling. Gradually, the mass transformed into an infant.

“Bad! The little Ji Hanba has emerged!” Zhang Enpu was greatly alarmed. Just as he was about to get up, a chain of intense pain shot through his shoulder, forcing him back to the ground.

Liu Dashao’s breath caught in his throat. The child’s left eye was staring at him, blood-red, almost as if it were bleeding. The strange body suddenly vanished completely into the Ji Hanba’s form, leaving only the left eye, as if embedded in the Ji Hanba’s clothing, fixedly staring at the group. The eye on the clothing was exactly at the child’s height, less than a meter tall. But that large, blood-red left eye made Liu Dashao and the others feel a chill run down their spines. Suddenly, a baby’s cry echoed through the entire graveyard:

“Waaah… waaah…”

This cry was not one of newborn joy but filled with hatred and contempt for the world. The sound made Liu Dashao’s hair stand on end, even though he kept muttering to Tian Guoqiang and Ma Xiaoyan that it was just a foolish child having a fit, nothing to fear.

The infant’s crying continued, distant, as if coming from another world. Gradually, it transformed, shifting… from crying into a cold, mocking laugh. The laughter suddenly pierced their ears. The sharpness of the laughter made everyone’s hearts tremble, as if their hearts had turned into taut strings, tightly squeezing their hearts!

“Everyone, be careful! This thing I’ve seen before—it’s just a foolish child!” Liu Dashao said while cautiously moving closer to Ma Xiaoyan and the others. Although he sounded casual, even he himself didn’t know what was going on now. Perhaps it was self-deception, but it was better than running away in fear! The sharp laughter of that thing grew increasingly terrifying, as if mocking them, drawing closer and closer. If the previous crying had come from another world, this laughter now seemed to hide right beside your ear, leaving you nowhere to escape!

At that moment, Liu Dashao felt a tight grip on his ankle. The wound on his foot, which had just healed, tore open again! That icy sensation made his cloth shoes almost stick to the ground, unable to move an inch. Liu Dashao looked down and saw a hand, nearly skeletal, tightly gripping his injured ankle!

That emaciated, almost skin-covered-bone hand firmly gripped Liu Dashao’s ankle. The white skin was almost like a sheath over a bone hand—rigid and icy cold! Startled, Liu Dashao tried desperately to free himself but found his legs as if filled with lead, unable to move an inch!

Gradually, from the grayish soil, a small head slowly emerged, gradually protruding outward. It looked up at Liu Dashao, its blood-red left eye reflecting his image. Its right eye was tightly shut, making it look particularly strange. It tilted its head upward, its large forehead dark blue, its pale lips wrapped around teeth that didn’t belong to a human—uneven and widely gaping at Liu Dashao.

“Damn it!” Liu Dashao struggled desperately to shake his leg free, but he couldn’t move at all. Now he finally understood what it meant to be completely at someone else’s mercy—he was like a piece of meat on someone else’s chopping block! At this moment, our Liu Dashao suddenly recalled a line from “Journey to the West” that had left the deepest impression on him: “Wukong, hurry and save your master…”

“Big Brother!” Tian Guoqiang and the others wanted to help Liu Dashao out of righteousness, but the creature snarled viciously at Tian Guoqiang. Accompanied by a roar like that of a wild beast, not only did it stun Tian Guoqiang, but even Liu Dashao himself dared not move. Ma Xiaoyan, being a girl, was even more distressed, and she began to cry tears of frustration.

Its roar was an indescribable kind of howl. That creature was simply… simply… to put it bluntly, Liu Dashao never wanted to hear such a sound again in his entire life. It was like a wild beast that had been provoked and was now angrily warning the intruder—if possible, it would pounce the next second and tear the prey in front of it into pieces!

The creature seemed to enjoy the reactions of the people. Its gaze fell on Liu Dashao’s injured ankle, revealing a greedy look. Suddenly, it extended a somewhat purplish-black tongue, long and thin, and licked over Liu Dashao’s injured ankle. Because of its grip just now, Liu Dashao’s ankle had torn open again, now oozing fresh red blood. As the creature’s tongue brushed over Liu Dashao’s blood, it seemed to be enjoying itself, and it began to giggle incessantly again!

It seemed the creature was now in a very good mood. Liu Dashao twitched his mouth. “Damn it, this foolish child might have already considered me as food! If it’s like her dead mother and also likes to suck blood…” Liu Dashao thought, “Damn, I don’t want to die in such a disgusting way!”

Well, he might as well try treating a dead horse as a living one!

I奉 the command of the Celestial Immortal Hua Dao Jun. The rivers, mountains, sun, moon, seas, and stars are all in my hands. I command light to shine and darkness to retreat. The thirty-three heavenly spirits are under my command, moving east when I say east, west when I say west, south when I say south, and north when I say north. Those who follow my command shall be ennobled; those who disobey shall be beheaded! Ah… Amitabha Buddha, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva… whatever, Lord Laozi, I invoke the urgent power of the Law!

This was the first incantation taught to him by Grandma Fan, and he was going to try it against this creature. Liu Dashao himself smoked, drank alcohol, and ate meat, breaking almost all the taboos of both the Taoist and Buddhist monks. If it weren’t for the protection of the Pi Xiu ring he wore, reciting this incantation would have been useless. Now, although it might not be very effective, he had no choice but to try.

Liu Dashao, reciting the Buddhist sutra in a hoarse, raspy voice, filled the entire graveyard with his chanting. Although it sounded chaotic, jumbled, and disjointed, by the end, he couldn’t even tell which part connected to which, but it did have some effect. In his field of vision, the jade pendant around Liu Dashao’s neck seemed to glow slightly, as if issuing a final warning.

Sure enough, the creature glared at Liu Dashao with its vengeful left eye and suddenly disappeared back into the soil. Along with it, Liu Dashao’s ankle was also released. As soon as it left, Tian Guoqiang rushed over to support Liu Dashao, who was almost collapsing.

“Big Brother, are you okay?!” As Tian Guoqiang supported Liu Dashao, Liu Dashao’s gaze suddenly fell on the area behind Ma Xiaoyan! The sun behind the dark clouds emitted a dim yellow light, eerily glowing with a ghostly aura. A small shadow, like flowing water, slid to Ma Xiaoyan’s feet. Liu Dashao’s expression changed instantly. He shoved Tian Guoqiang aside and, in the blink of an eye, watched helplessly as the small shadow climbed onto Ma Xiaoyan’s shoulder.

“Yanzi!” Liu Dashao almost shouted at the top of his lungs.