Chapter 76: The Demonic Soul

Lu Biyu was so angry she wanted to hit someone, but realizing she wouldn’t stand a chance, she looked over at her elder sister, a black belt in taekwondo.

Lu Zhiruo came over and pulled Lu Biyu aside, whispering a few words in her ear—seemingly a threat—after which Lu Biyu reluctantly agreed, her heart clearly not in it.

Given Lu Zhiruo’s public status, I went to book the room first before calling the two of them to come up.

“Lie down and lift your shirt,” I said to Lu Biyu.

“What are you doing?” she asked nervously.

“Your stomach needs to be exposed,” I replied.

“I won’t,” she retorted, blushing.

Lu Zhiruo shot her a glare. Biting her lower lip, Lu Biyu looked utterly aggrieved, but in the end, she lifted her shirt, revealing a stretch of snowy skin.

I glanced over her—she didn’t have much up top, but her waist was exceptional: slender, taut, and dazzlingly pale, with well-defined abs. Clearly, she worked out a lot.

“What… what are you looking at? Just get on with it!” Lu Biyu squirmed under my gaze, feeling as if my eyes were caressing her belly, an electric tingle running across her skin, making her fine hairs stand on end.

I raised my hand, and suddenly there were several thin needles between my fingers, which I inserted halfway into her abdomen.

Lu Zhiruo nearly gasped in alarm, but seeing that Lu Biyu didn’t seem to feel much, she relaxed.

“Close your eyes,” I instructed.

This time, Lu Biyu didn’t argue, eager to get it over with.

I swept my hand over the nine needles, and suddenly flames danced atop them, the needles trembling rhythmically.

Lu Zhiruo’s eyes widened in amazement.

Meanwhile, Lu Biyu’s face turned scarlet, sweat beading on her forehead. She pressed her legs together and let out a low, delicate moan.

“She…” Lu Zhiruo looked at me.

I waved her off without answering.

Lu Biyu’s blood was cold and sluggish, blocked and stagnant. Using the Qian Yang point, I was dispersing the cold and invigorating her blood. It happened to coincide with her period, making it an opportune time to expel the cold blood.

Naturally, stimulating certain sensitive points would elicit such a reaction.

After a while, Lu Biyu’s voice suddenly rose, ending in a sharp cry as her whole body shuddered, then she collapsed, limp and boneless.

Lu Zhiruo was mortified—her sister’s reaction was a bit too much, reminiscent of certain scenes she’d secretly watched before…

I withdrew the needles, wrote a prescription, and left.

Only then did Lu Zhiruo breathe a sigh of relief and help her sister pull her shirt down.

Lu Biyu opened her eyes, which were dewy and glistening.

“How do you feel?” Lu Zhiruo asked.

“Wonderful. I feel like my soul is floating,” Lu Biyu murmured, dazed.

Lu Zhiruo spat lightly, but she could clearly see her sister’s vigor had returned.

...

I threaded my way through the crowd, about to leave Ruyi Town for the Gobi.

Just as I was about to leave town, a middle-aged man called out to me.

“Master, please wait!” The man hurried after me.

I turned and gave him a once-over, frowning slightly. His eye sockets were deeply set, and a blue vein snaked from his left eye to his right, resembling a green serpent.

This was the “Azure Dragon Root” physiognomy, which signified a life of lethal yin energy: parents, spouse, and children would all die one by one, leaving him utterly alone.

“My elderly mother has been ill for many days. We’ve invited numerous doctors, but none have helped. Master, could you come take a look?” the man asked.

“I can,” I nodded, though I found it odd. Judging by his face, his parents should have died long ago.

I accompanied the man—a Mr. Jin Yuan—to a nearby village called Little Circle, piecing together the story as we walked.

Five years earlier, Jin Yuan’s mother had been bitten by a sand viper. Luckily, treatment was prompt and her life was saved.

But ever since, she’d suffered from a strange affliction: she’d hiss like a snake and periodically shed a layer of tough, old skin.

Lately, she’d begun writhing and slithering on the ground like a serpent, and had even bitten a few of their chickens to death.

Rumors swirled through the village, and no one dared approach them. Their neighbors often hurled insults.

I followed Jin Yuan to Little Circle Village, which stood on the edge of the Gobi. The houses were built of black stone, their hues dour and somber—a bleak, oppressive air.

Before even entering the house, I stopped, eyeing the slick, stained trails beneath the eaves.

Following the marks around the back, I saw an old woman, hair white as snow and body filthy, sprawled on the ground. She clutched a chicken in both hands, gnawing at it, her mouth smeared with blood.

“Hiss—hiss…” The old woman turned, craned her neck, and reared back like a snake preparing to strike, hissing as if flicking a forked tongue.

“A few days ago, I invited a master to exorcise her, but he ran off in a panic. That’s when I realized my mother might not be possessed, but suffering from some illness,” Jin Yuan explained.

I stepped forward and, with a flick of my hand, plunged a Soul-Stabilizing Needle into the old woman’s brow.

In an instant, she rolled her eyes and collapsed.

“Carry her inside,” I told Jin Yuan.

He lifted his mother into the house, anxiously asking, “Master, what is wrong with her?”

“I need to examine her first,” I replied.

Channeling my energy to my eyes, I gazed at the old woman.

Suddenly, I saw the shadow of a snake coiled around her.

If I wasn’t mistaken, this woman should have died long ago. The only reason she still lived was that the soul of a snake demon had possessed her—erasing her own spirit but sustaining her body’s life.

But demon souls were exceedingly rare, as demons lacked emotions and memories, and thus left behind no lingering attachments or resentment. Once dead, their souls dissipated. Obsession and resentment were the key to forming malevolent spirits.

Except, of course, in naturally yin-rich places; in such locales, any dead being could become a wraith. Such places were called Death Zones.

“Your mother is possessed by a demon soul, but her life is already at its end. Without the demon soul, she’ll pass on naturally,” I told Jin Yuan.

His expression changed; his former reverence vanished, and he snapped, “I thought you had some real skills, but you’re just another charlatan. Get out, get out!”

I couldn’t be bothered to argue. I simply pulled out the Soul-Stabilizing Needle and turned to leave.

But just as I stepped outside, two Taoist priests barged in.

“Senior Brother, this is the place. That demon soul is ferocious,” a young priest, about twenty, said to the older one.

The elder nodded, then glanced at the flag on my case and said coolly, “Master, you’re working out of bounds, aren’t you? Everyone knows Ruyi Town is my territory.”

“Is that so? Then please, be my guest,” I replied, heading out, intending to inspect the spot where the old woman had been bitten.

“Stop!” the elder priest barked.

My gaze chilled as I slowly turned. “What do you want?”

“All those in our line of work who come to my territory must present a calling card and obtain my permission before doing business. Don’t you know the rules?” he said coldly.

“Rules?” My eyes narrowed, a dangerous aura rising from within, the bloodlust I’d kept suppressed now seeping out.

The elder priest met my gaze and recoiled in terror, a chill seizing his heart and soul.

Such murderous intent—how many had this man killed?

The killing intent within me mounted, layer upon layer. I took a step toward him.

The priest’s mind went blank, terror engulfing him, and he collapsed in a heap.

“You think you’re worthy to lecture me about rules?” I withdrew my killing intent and turned away.

The younger priest hurried to help his senior to his feet, not daring to make a sound.

The elder priest, regaining his wits, found his back drenched with cold sweat.

Just then, the old woman suddenly charged out, hissing as she lunged at them.

“Monster, die!” the elder priest, furious and still shaken, struck her crown with his palm.

At once, the snake demon’s soul was driven out and dissipated, and the old woman fell lifeless to the ground.

Jin Yuan burst out, wailing when he saw his mother’s corpse.

He suddenly grabbed a hatchet and swung it at the two priests, but the elder priest struck back with his peachwood sword.

Jin Yuan crumpled, but as he fell, he brought the blade down on his own head.

In an instant, the hatchet buried itself halfway in his skull, blood streaming down—he was dead.

“Senior… Senior Brother, did you kill him?” the young priest stammered.

The elder priest was dazed—he hadn’t meant to kill anyone. This was trouble; if their master found out, he’d be flayed alive.

“It wasn’t me, you hear?” he roared, grabbing the younger priest by the collar.

The young man nodded frantically, too scared to speak.

A cold gleam flashed in the elder’s eyes. He barked, “Listen, Huixin, he wasn’t killed by me. It was that wandering doctor.”

“What?” Huixin gaped.

“That doctor is clearly a demon himself—so much killing intent, he must have dozens of lives on his hands. Such a fiend must be eradicated,” the elder priest said, slapping Huixin on the head and fixing him with a hard stare.

“Yes, yes, I understand, Senior Brother,” Huixin nodded hastily.

I made my way to the spot where Jin Yuan’s mother had been bitten, taking out my compass to calculate.

After circling the area several times, I murmured, “This is a vein of yin energy, though most of it has dissipated. Still, faint traces remain, proving the true source still exists, sending out threads of yin from somewhere nearby.”

But finding the source would take time and effort.

I sat down, lit a cigarette, and leisurely watched the sunset glow over the yellow sands, my heart suddenly lighter.