Chapter 328: Chapter 292: Reunion

“Yao Zhen, he’s in a semi-out-of-control state now, and I estimate it won’t be long before the Zhuangyuan Ghost takes control again. Do you have a way to temporarily suppress it?”

Sang Que said to Yao Zhen, and Liu Tianyou cast a grateful glance.

Yao Zhen thought for a moment, saw the copper mirror on the ground, picked it up, cut his finger with the iron sword, and muttered incantations while quickly drawing a blood talisman on the mirror’s surface.

“Here, hold the Heart Protection Mirror to your chest, with the mirror facing your body. Try to push the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s power into the mirror. When the excessive power of the Zhuangyuan Ghost is almost expelled and balanced with you, you can stabilize your body.”

Liu Tianyou took the mirror with both hands, “This scholar thanks Kun Dao.”

Liu Tianyou hurriedly hugged the mirror, and the dark spots on his upper body gradually disappeared, while the ink-like substance on his lower body slowly formed a human outline.

Half-human, half-ghost, partly human, not harmed by the Daoist Lord’s power; the mirror, through the blood talisman, can absorb and seal only the half-ghost power.

“Hold the mirror tight, don’t drop it,” Yao Zhen reminded.

Liu Tianyou nodded hurriedly and held the mirror tighter.

“Thanks for what you just did,” Sang Que said to Luo Danian beside him.

Luo Danian replied seriously, “It’s my duty to protect the Big Boss.”

Luo Danian was quite excited at the moment, never having imagined that an ordinary person like him could one day have the power to combat ghosts, all thanks to Sang Que.

He had only heard of the firearm in Sang Que’s hands before and was seeing it for the first time today. Its power was simply terrifying.

He had no idea what Sang Que’s background was, as even in Shengjing, such firearms were rare and exclusive to the Royal Family, yet she managed to acquire one.

Yao Zhen also stared intensely at the shotgun in Sang Que’s hands but remembered Sang Que’s words not to be curious about her connections.

Sang Que slowly wrapped the shotgun again and placed it back in the Arrow Quiver on his back before asking Luo Danian to return to monitor the others. Then, he talked with Yao Zhen about Liu Tianyou’s situation.

Sang Que kept speaking, with Liu Tianyou nodding vigorously, a shocked expression on his face, and only the words “How do you know?” escaping his lips.

In fact, Sang Que saw more than Liu Tianyou himself knew.

On the day of the incident in New Year’s Eve Mountain City, Liu Tianyou was invaded by the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s Ghost Realm. He was supposed to die and become a ghost slave, but the Zhuangyuan Ghost chose to possess him.

This is a case of a person who turns into a ghost, driven by the obsession to resurrect. Cao Huiyuan was able to control the Zhuangyuan Ghost and become a Yin Walker because the Zhuangyuan Ghost actively possessed him.

Liu Tianyou, who was about the same age as Sang Que and showed promise in literature and art, was the most compatible choice for the Zhuangyuan Ghost among many scholars in town.

Therefore, Liu Tianyou survived with half his life spared. Unfortunately, his Heart Lamp was not strong enough, and the Zhuangyuan Ghost was too powerful, so after being possessed, the Zhuangyuan Ghost was always in control.

If the Zhuangyuan Ghost completely killed Liu Tianyou, the body would eventually decompose, preventing him from achieving resurrection.

In the beginning, the Zhuangyuan Ghost, transformed into Liu Tianyou, safely left Wangshan City and Qinzhou, evaded the Evil Suppression Bureau, until it encountered Yu Da.

This part of Sang Que’s vision was limited and chaotic. It seemed that the Zhuangyuan Ghost and Yu Da had clashed several times and had even fallen into and escaped from the Hidden Realm together.

The Red Umbrella Ghost swallowed by Yu Da appearing in the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s Ghost Realm was undoubtedly due to one of those clashes.

This time, Yu Da somehow acquired the scroll, disguising a confined object as a yin object. For the Zhuangyuan Ghost to grow, it needed to consume ghosts suitable for it, and yin objects sufficed too.

Such items as the scroll were undoubtedly most fitting for the Zhuangyuan Ghost.

The Zhuangyuan Ghost, clever and cautious, fell into the trap and was confined in the scroll, partly thanks to Liu Tianyou’s contribution.

Hugging the copper mirror, Liu Tianyou said, “I have been alternating between clarity and confusion, but at some point, I sensed the power of the Heart Lamp growing stronger within me, keeping me clear-headed. I acted submissively, not resisting the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s power, just waiting for an opportunity.”

“The Zhuangyuan Ghost realized a problem just about to touch the scroll because I pushed with all my strength. What happened afterward, I don’t know. Until just now, I felt the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s power significantly weaken, allowing me to regain control.”

Sang Que wasn’t quite sure what happened to the Zhuangyuan Ghost inside the scroll or where Yu Da went afterward.

“Could he have fallen into the river?” Yao Zhen suggested. “I remember when the incident happened yesterday, someone told me that the river water turned completely black. I came to check, saw large ink stains in the river, but before I could investigate further, the scroll collided.”

Sang Que’s expression turned solemn. “I’ll go out and look; be careful here. I’ll find a way to get you guys out.”

Upon finishing, Sang Que took out the embroidered shoes.

Just as the red cloth on the embroidered shoes was removed, Liu Tianyou grunted; he felt the force within the copper mirror struggling, and he used all his strength to press the mirror tightly to his chest.

The Zhuangyuan Ghost definitely sensed the effect of the embroidered shoes, still unwilling to give up.

Putting on the shoes, Sang Que stepped forward, the air before her undulated with dark ripples, and she stumbled forward, landing on the ground outside.

Turning her head immediately, she indeed saw an ancient scroll floating quietly in the air, devoid of the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s control, like a dead object.

The scroll depicted the bandit village in meticulous detail, with Yao Zhen standing by a woodpile and Liu Tianyou sitting on the ground holding the mirror.

Sang Que looked around, noting many ink traces on the ground, likely the previous villagers turned ink creatures.

As people were pulled into the scroll, the Zhuangyuan Ghost tried to extrude part of its power to form human shapes.

This was also a technique; once the Zhuangyuan Ghost drew enough people inside, its extruded power might surpass the power within the scroll, potentially breaking from the outside.

Outside, the suppressed power returned to Sang Que. She released the Deceitful Bride to retrieve the scroll.

The Deceitful Bride obediently reached out but was swept into the scroll upon touching it.

Now the image showed the Deceitful Bride beside Yao Zhen, with Yao Zhen looking terrified and Liu Tianyou fearfully retreating behind the woodpile with the mirror.

These changes were instantaneous, yet the scene remained fixed.

“It seems that ghosts can’t touch this thing.”

Sang Que wrapped her hand in a red cloth and reached for the scroll herself. With no reaction, she sighed in relief, quickly rolled up the scroll, and made a hasty wrap with the insufficiently large red cloth.

She stashed the scroll and rushed to the makeshift dam, peering into the rushing river below.

No ink traces were visible in the river; could Yu Da have been swept away? This river flows into Qinzhou territory, culminating in an immense waterfall.

Determined to check it out, Sang Que was interrupted.

“Sister!”

Startled, Sang Que stopped and turned around, shocked, as a streak of black hair shot towards the temporary dam, coiling around a wooden pillar.

A teary-eyed girl clutching a black cat crossed the river gracefully, landing lightly on the dam.

Before the girl could approach, the black cat in her arms leaped into Sang Que’s embrace, gripping her clothes and wailing incessantly as if expressing countless grievances.

Xia Chan stormed up to Sang Que, hands on hips, stamping her foot, “I saw Sister first!”

Meow—

“Little Chan…”

Sang Que felt a sting at the tip of her nose, holding up the Jade with one hand, she enveloped Xia Chan in an embrace with the other.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep