Chapter 106: Wish Fulfilled

The bodyguard who had called the ambulance for Guangqi arrived just in time to lift the injured and unconscious Nian Xue onto the stretcher for emergency bleeding control.

Liang Lingzhi arrived a moment too late. Seeing Nian Xue gravely wounded and unconscious, he stood frozen for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. Nearly breaking down, he rushed forward, tightly grasping her hand and shouting, “Nian Xue, Nian Xue!” Heartbroken, tears welled up uncontrollably.

Noticing the darkening of her brow, his heart jolted. “She’s suffered a psychological trauma!?”

“Nian Xue is so capable; it must be Guangqi’s trickery!” Liang Lingzhi wiped his tears repeatedly, urgently reciting a mental purification chant to help Nian Xue recover from the damaged mental barrier.

He repeated the chant over ten times, and finally, Nian Xue’s eyes fluttered open, albeit groggily. Seeing Liang Lingzhi with eyes closed, tears streaked across his face as he kept chanting, her heart warmed. “This idiot always cries when he sees me hurt.”

“Hey,” she smiled bitterly, “you big man, crying like this—aren’t you ashamed?”

“Nian Xue!?” Liang Lingzhi’s eyes snapped open. Seeing her pale face awaken, joy surged within him and he impulsively pressed a fierce kiss to her lips.

“That’s wonderful, that’s wonderful!” Overcome with joy, he cradled her cheeks in his hands. “If anything had happened to you, what would I have done!?”

“Damn you! Dare to kiss me, do you want to die?” Nian Xue blushed and cursed.

“I love you deeply!” The idiot cried and laughed, gripping her hand even tighter.

“Sir, please show some respect,” a nurse standing beside Liang Lingzhi said coldly. “In this sacred and pure ambulance, is it appropriate to be kissing and hugging like this?”

“It’s beyond control, feelings are overwhelming!” Liang Lingzhi smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, sorry!”

“Alright, it’s just a stab wound; I’m not going to die!” Nian Xue propped herself up with a smile and reached out to wipe away his tears. “Stop crying. If you keep crying, I’ll start crying too!”

“I’m not crying, I’m not crying!” Seeing her gentle care, warmth flooded Liang Lingzhi’s heart.

“Oh, by the way, I need to inform Master about your condition!” He hurriedly pulled out his phone to call Chen Yao but was gently stopped by Nian Xue. “Tell him I’m only slightly injured. Ye Dong’s fate is uncertain now. I don’t want the boss to worry about me and lose focus.”

“Nian Xue, understood!”

The call connected.

“Hello? Zhi? How is Nian Xue!?” Chen Yao’s voice was anxious.

Liang Lingzhi forced a smile. “Master! Don’t worry, Nian Xue isn’t in critical condition—just a few injuries.”

Hearing the report, Chen Yao finally exhaled in relief.

“Lingzhi, take good care of her,” Chen Yao said gravely. “You’re close. Comfort her and make sure she doesn’t blame herself.”

“I understand, Master. Has Ye Dong been found!?”

“Soon. We already know his location. Da Chun has been deployed,” Chen Yao replied. “Time is tight. Talk later.”

Liang Lingzhi nodded repeatedly. “Finding Ye Dong is the priority. Master, I entrust everything to you!”

Meanwhile, wearing headphones, Guangqi sneered. “So Ye Dong’s already found. Fortunately, I planted a bug on Nian Xue; otherwise, this would have been delayed.”

He clenched the ocean-blue jade pendant in his hand and laughed silently. “With this pendant, I have leverage to threaten Huang Wuchang!”

...

At the hospital.

“Guangqi, our feud is sealed,” Chen Yao cursed inwardly. “You damn treacherous dog! Just wait for your end!”

As he fumed, a voice called out from the corridor.

“Master, I’ve obtained Ye Dong’s essence blood!” Zilong ran up, handing over several sealed drops.

“Well done, Zilong!” Chen Yao took the essence blood and strode toward the morgue.

“Master, there’s one cabinet we can’t open with our keys. Check if there’s a seal here!” Da Chun urged anxiously.

Chen Yao looked up. All the refrigerated corpse cabinets were open except one—the seventh from the left in the third row.

Without hesitation, Chen Yao whispered sharply and activated his Divine Eye.

Inside the cabinet lay Guangqi’s body, surrounded by five talisman seals in white, black, yellow, red, and cyan, bearing spell inscriptions. His breathing was faint; he was on the brink of death.

“Golden light true form, open!” Chen Yao snorted coldly. A golden radiance burst forth, illuminating the dark morgue instantly.

“Rumble!” Thunder roared over the icy wasteland where Ye Dong was trapped. The dark sky turned ominously unnatural.

Dozens of soul-seeking lanterns swiftly floated in with the lightning.

Ye Dong’s heart leapt. “It’s Master’s soul-seeking lanterns! Haha, Master is here to save me!”

“This is bad; someone’s trying to break in here!?” The black-faced man squinted and stepped back several paces. “Brothers, what do we do now?”

“What else? Run!” The white-faced man panicked. “It must be that Daoist Riyu coming to rescue him!”

“Then hurry up!” Ye Dong barked, “If it weren’t for you five bastards, I’d have escaped already! Get lost!”

“Fine, fine, we’re leaving!” The green-faced man grinned nervously and turned to leave but suddenly seemed possessed. He grabbed his bow and shot arrows at the soul-seeking lanterns!

“Whizz!”

His archery was deadly accurate—one arrow per lantern, three lanterns down in a blink!

“Hey, what are you doing!?” Ye Dong was stunned. “Why are you attacking again!?”

“My body’s not under my control!” The green-faced man wailed, pulling another arrow. “Look, my hands won’t obey me!”

“Thwack!” Another lantern fell from his arrow.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed!?” The white-faced man was alarmed, blocking the green-faced man. “Why can’t you stop!?”

“There’s something wrong!” The black-faced man’s expression shifted. Like the green-faced man, he drew an arrow from behind and fired three shots at the lanterns.

“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!” Three lanterns fell with a thud, breaking Ye Dong’s heart.

“Damn you! Are you trying to kill me?!” Ye Dong shouted furiously, eyes bloodshot. “If I die here, will you take responsibility!?”

“It’s not us, bro,” the black-faced man hurried to explain. “Our bodies aren’t under our control. It feels like someone else is puppeteering us!”

“Hey, my hands won’t listen either!” The white, red, and yellow-faced men cried out almost simultaneously. “Bro, they’re not lying. Our limbs are really being controlled!”

Ye Dong frowned deeply, a chill running through his heart. “It must be Guangqi!”

Indeed, it was Guangqi’s doing. The “Puppet Technique” he cast on the freezer cabinet activates when anyone touches it. Though these five ghosts were ancestors, they were still spirits vulnerable to Guangqi’s talismanic manipulation.

“Damn it, why couldn’t you have just stayed put earlier!?” Ye Dong cursed wildly. “When my Master comes, he’ll burn you all to ashes!”

“We don’t know why we came!” The white-faced man’s face was twisted in confusion. “After the offering, we accepted the tribute and candles and came as instructed!”

Hearing this, Ye Dong was even more certain it was Guangqi’s scheme.

“If Guangqi gains powerful magic, his threat will be a hundred times greater than Huang Wuchang’s!” Ye Dong’s heart sank. “No matter what, I must stop his ambition or more lives will be lost!”

Meanwhile, more soul-seeking lanterns were shot down by the five ghost men, each arrow piercing Ye Dong’s heart like unbearable pain.

“Is it Puppet Technique?” In the morgue, Chen Yao sneered contemptuously. “A mere trifle!”

“Exorcise!” He moved his hand in a seal, sending a gust of wind with the character “Expel” toward the cabinet. Strangely, the five talisman seals, untouched by the storm, were blown away as if by magic.

With a loud bang, the cabinet swung open, revealing Guangqi’s frost-covered body.

“Ouch!” Just as the five ghost men were about to shoot down the last five lanterns, their bodies jolted violently, sending them flying several meters before crashing hard to the ground.

“That hurts!” The green-faced man howled, clutching his swollen head.

“Hey, my hands can move again!” He laughed heartily, shaking his arms. “I can move them! I can move them!”

Ye Dong finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens, thank heavens!”

Suddenly, the pain in his back flared anew.

“Ahh!” Ye Dong screamed, unable to contain the piercing agony.

“Hey, what did you do?” The black-faced man was shocked. “We didn’t hurt you!”

“Damn it, shut up!” Ye Dong shouted in pain and rage. “My body’s already a mess, and you keep sabotaging me! Ah! It hurts!”

The pain nearly knocked him unconscious again.

...

“My God!” Da Chun and Xiaobao hurried forward. Seeing Ye Dong’s soul trapped in the cabinet, both cursed loudly. “Guangqi is too vicious, a true villain!”

Chen Yao gently pushed them aside, placing his glowing hand lightly on Ye Dong’s forehead and murmuring:

“Heaven and Earth are boundless; I borrow the cosmic law! With the supreme power of the golden light divine incantation and the bright lamp as a beacon, I seek disciple Ye Dong’s soul. Taiyi Heavenly Venerable, come swiftly as commanded!”

As he finished, golden light poured continuously into Ye Dong’s body.

“Too dazzling!” Ye Dong, on the brink of death, squinted and looked toward the golden light above. Murmuring, “Is this a last glimmer of life? Or is heaven coming to take me to a realm free of suffering?”

“Good disciple, good disciple, Master has come for you!” Chen Yao’s voice echoed through Ye Dong’s chaotic mind.

“This is bad. Daoist Riyu really came!” The black-faced man shuddered. “Run! Anyone who breaks in here to take someone is not to be trifled with!”

The five ghost men nodded and fled desperately.

“Master?” Ye Dong sensed the icy chill in his soul receding, warmth returning bit by bit. A sudden jolt sparked realization. Using his remaining spiritual strength, he shouted hoarsely, “Master, Master, I’m here!”

Da Chun saw Chen Yao’s tightly furrowed brow slowly relax and quietly cheered, holding Xiaobao’s hand. “Master is smiling. There’s hope, there’s hope!”

“Disciple, Master has finally found you!” In the chaotic world, Chen Yao appeared like a heavenly warrior, gently lifting Ye Dong from the frozen wasteland and enveloping him with his supreme golden light to dispel the cold.

“Master, what’s the situation outside? Are my brothers and sisters safe?” Ye Dong coughed weakly.

Chen Yao smiled with relief. “They’re fine. Only Nian Xue has minor injuries. Nothing serious.” He cradled Ye Dong against his shoulder, soothing him softly. “Good disciple, I will now help you escape this suffering.”

In reality, Ye Dong’s frostbitten face gradually regained color, and his eyes slowly opened.