Chapter 116: Soul-Chasing Art [1]

Page 1 of 3

The Soul-Chasing Art was a mysterious spell from the esoteric arts of divination and magic. As long as one obtained a personal belonging of someone, one could use it to locate its owner.

Yet Yan Yu merely rolled his eyes. “Never learned it.”

“...I never taught you? Ahem, my memory is failing me...” Lin Xuan gave an awkward smile. “Give me the photograph. I have appendicitis at the moment, so I can’t use any powerful spells for now, but this little soul-chasing technique is still well within my abilities.”

Yan Yu took out Ye Han’s photograph and handed it to Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan drew a talisman from his pocket, wrapped the photograph in it, and began murmuring:

“Valiant General of the Skull,
Answer the summons of the Bronze Commander.
Hasten from the Nine Yin Realms,
Let starfire descend upon the altar.
Pursue the soul across a thousand miles,
Seize the spirit swift as the wind.
Let the Thunder of the Big Dipper wheel,
Let the astral radiance darken the heavens.
Hear my command and obey at once.
Defy not the decree of the Underworld,
Lest punishment be without end!”

As soon as he finished reciting the incantation, the talisman suddenly burst into flames and transformed into a cloud of blue smoke. To everyone’s astonishment, the smoke slowly took the shape of a human figure in midair.

It was Zhang Qi!

“Zhang Qi. So it really was that bastard. I knew he was up to no good!” Lin Xuan cried out in anguish. “Poor little Mengmeng—she was actually used by that despicable wretch!”

Yan Yu immediately rose to his feet. “I’m going to catch him.”

“Good luck, my disciple!” Lin Xuan promptly crawled back into the tent, leaving only his head outside. “Your master has appendicitis, so I’ll stay out of you young people’s affairs.”

“...”

Yan Yu asked the students nearby and learned that Zhang Qi had entered the mountains with the male students to search for Yang Xuefei before he returned. No one knew where he was now.

Just as Yan Yu was preparing to follow them into the mountains, Fatty and Hao Zhuang came rushing into the mortuary from outside. Panting heavily, they said, “Boss, Boss! We found out where Zhang Weiwei is!”

“Where is she?” Yan Yu asked hurriedly.

“Zhang Weiwei... Zhang Weiwei is the wife of Wang Yong, the village chief’s son—the madwoman we saw!” Fatty explained.

Yan Yu’s expression changed.

“Boss, should we—”

“Let’s go. We’ll find Zhang Weiwei first!”

Zhang Qi had come to the village for a reason. He would not run, and even if he tried, he could not get away. So Yan Yu decided to find Zhang Weiwei first and uncover the whole truth.

...

In the courtyard of the village chief’s house.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

The sun had only just risen, and noon was still a long way off. After locking Zhang Weiwei inside the courtyard, Wang Yong hurried away.

Zhang Weiwei sat alone in the courtyard, staring at the large water vat beneath the wall and giggling incessantly.

“Hee-hee-hee... You’re back... You’re back!”

She hopped and skipped around the vat, her smile stiff and unnatural, her appearance extraordinarily frightening.

Suddenly, Zhang Weiwei stopped and leaned toward the vat.

Looking at her own face reflected in the water, she muttered to herself, “Am I beautiful? I’m so beautiful... You’re so beautiful...”

The reflection in the water rippled gently before transforming into Ye Han’s face. Instead of being frightened, Zhang Weiwei became extremely excited.

“You’re back! You’re back!”

“I... came... back...”

An eerie smile spread across Ye Han’s face. A pair of pale hands rose from the water and gently cupped Zhang Weiwei’s face.

Zhang Weiwei stopped smiling. Gazing at the face in the water, she suddenly began to weep silently, great tears streaming down her cheeks.

“It was all my fault. It was all my fault...”

“Since... you know... that you were wrong... shouldn’t you... repay your debt?”

Ye Han suddenly tightened her grip and yanked Zhang Weiwei into the water vat!

Zhang Weiwei struggled violently, but Ye Han’s strength was terrifyingly great. She could not break free!

Behind her, Ji Mengjie, her entire body drenched in blood, leapt into the courtyard. Her glinting nails looked ready to strike Zhang Weiwei at any moment.

Just then—

“The universe is boundless, the Way follows nature! By decree!”

A streak of golden light flashed across the sky and struck Ji Mengjie squarely between the brows. With a shriek, she fell rigidly to the ground.

Yan Yu burst through the gate with Fatty and Hao Zhuang!

“Ye Han, stop!”

The woman in the water vat abruptly released Zhang Weiwei. Zhang Weiwei broke free at once and collapsed onto the ground, her face deathly pale and her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

“Fatty, Big Guy, take care of the two of them!”

After giving the order, Yan Yu charged straight toward the water vat.

But just as he was about to reach it, the vat exploded. Shards slammed into Yan Yu’s chest and sent him staggering several steps backward. A mass of black smoke rose from the shattered vat and flew northward.

“Don’t run!”

Yan Yu was about to pursue it when Fatty suddenly let out a desperate scream.

“Boss, help me!”

Ji Mengjie, who had been unconscious, had somehow awakened and seized Fatty by the throat!

Yan Yu cast an unwilling glance at the black smoke in the sky. Then he immediately turned back, drove his elbow into Ji Mengjie, and freed Fatty from her grasp. He bit into his middle finger and swiftly drew a Soul-Calming Seal across Ji Mengjie’s forehead.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

The moment the Soul-Calming Seal was completed, Ji Mengjie began shrieking. Wisps of black smoke seeped from her body. Zhao Qingqing crawled out of Yan Yu’s backpack and opened her mouth, swallowing every strand of smoke.

At last, Ji Mengjie collapsed limply to the ground.

“It’s all right now.” Yan Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

“Boss, the vice class monitor...”

“She was possessed by a wandering spirit. She’s no longer in danger. Keep an eye on her for now,” Yan Yu said.

Fatty and Hao Zhuang nodded, watching Ji Mengjie cautiously, as though they were still somewhat afraid of her.

After devouring the black smoke, Zhao Qingqing suddenly said to Yan Yu, “Darling, the spirit possessing Ji Mengjie wasn’t a wandering ghost. It was... one of the victims of the Rongli Bridge disaster.”

Yan Yu’s pupils contracted.

Because the upstream floodgates had been opened, had the bodies of those victims who had not yet been found been swept all the way to Fengmen Village?

But those controlled spirits had no reason to possess Ji Mengjie, nor to attack Li the Butcher and Zhang Weiwei!

“It was Zhang Qi. He’s been controlling everything from behind the scenes,” Yan Yu said.

Zhang Qi was no ordinary man. Judging by what they had seen, he possessed considerable skill in the arts of yin and yang.

Hao Zhuang suddenly stared at the woodshed in the courtyard. “Boss, why do I hear something coming from that room?”

After witnessing such a terrifying scene, Hao Zhuang and Fatty had become rather jumpy.

Everyone fell silent. Yan Yu tilted his head and listened. Sure enough, faint sounds were coming from the woodshed.

Fatty and Hao Zhuang picked up a woodcutter’s cleaver and a hoe from the courtyard and followed Yan Yu to the woodshed.

Yan Yu kicked the door open!

“Mmph! Mmph-mmph-mmph!”

Inside, Master Cao sat weakly in a corner, covered in dust and bound hand and foot. A bundle of straw had been stuffed into his mouth.

When he realized that Yan Yu was the one who had arrived, he became extremely excited and began grunting frantically.

Yan Yu hurried over and untied him.

“Blegh! Blegh! Blegh!... Master, you finally came! They tortured me terribly!” Tears streamed down Master Cao’s aged face. “You never came to rescue me all these days. I thought you had forgotten me!”

Yan Yu’s mouth twitched. “How could I possibly forget you? I’ve been doing everything I could to find you!”

Page 3 of 3