Chapter 185: Wrapping Things Up
The woman showed no mercy, and Ren Yaozhe was immediately strangled, gasping hoarsely, his expression already twisted beyond recognition.
This was also Xuan Xia’s second time seeing a ghost strangle someone; the first time was with that Li Qiaozhen.
But unlike that time with Li Qiaozhen, this time, no matter the reason, she didn’t want to stop it.
Retracting her gaze, Xuan Xia turned her attention to Daoist Master Qin, glancing at the talismans he had just drawn.
They were cloud-pattern talismans that looked extremely complex just from seeing them; Xuan Xia had never seen them before, but she knew their effects.
“Are you okay?” Xuan Xia saw that his lips were paler than before; with such complex talismans, she couldn’t estimate how much blood he had let.
Daoist Master Qin leaned back against the chair with his hands at his sides, smiling upon hearing this, his tone relaxed. “I’m fine.”
Then he turned to ask about her in return: “What about you? You didn’t get hurt, right?”
Xuan Xia spread her hands. “No.” She was truly lucky; among the three, she was the only one unscathed, neither beaten nor having cut herself to let blood.
Probably knowing what Xuan Xia was thinking, Daoist Master Qin smiled again. “That’s good.”
After smiling, he looked toward Ren Yaozhe, his expression cooling down.
Across from them, Ren Yaozhe was also looking at Daoist Master Qin, laboriously raising his hand, gasping from his mouth as if he wanted to say something to Daoist Master Qin.
However, Daoist Master Qin showed no curiosity at all.
Just as Ren Yaozhe was about to be strangled to death, lightning silently flashed across the sky again; this bolt was brighter than any before, dazzling the eyes.
Xuan Xia couldn’t help but close her eyes.
At the same moment she closed her eyes, she heard a clattering sound, like something falling to the ground.
The first item that came to her mind was the thin stick magic tool with a bell on the end that Ren Yaozhe was holding.
But hadn’t his magic tool just fallen already?
Xuan Xia puzzledly opened her eyes, only to find that they were no longer on the lush mountain top.
They had already returned to the Daoist Temple.
The thick fog around them had cleared away at some point, and the lonesome ghosts that had attacked them earlier were now all huddled far away in the courtyard.
They were still scary, just in a different form.
Originally fierce and terrifying one by one, now they all stood with hands at sides, simply eerie ghostly figures.
Xuan Xia quickly looked up toward Ren Yaozhe again.
In reality, Ren Yaozhe was also being strangled around the neck by the woman’s long sleeve, and the sound just now was indeed his magic tool hitting the ground.
Without his magic tool, Ren Yaozhe flopped like a drowning fish, helplessly gasping from his mouth, his eyes rolling back as if he was truly about to die.
Daoist Master Qin suddenly spoke: “Spare him for now.”
“Why?” the woman asked in a deep voice.
Though she asked, the woman obediently eased off some of her strength.
Ren Yaozhe breathed air again, his rolled-back whites slightly coming down, revealing half a black eyeball.
Looking at Ren Yaozhe’s ghostly appearance, Xuan Xia quickly chimed in: “Yes, yes, spare him for now; we can’t let him die in my temple!”
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain.
The woman: “…”
The woman didn’t understand what Xuan Xia meant; she just looked at Xuan Xia and said, “You told me that when I see the person who deceived me again, I can kill him.”
Xuan Xia said, “Yes, yes, that’s right; otherwise, take him somewhere else, just not in my temple. We have business operations tomorrow!”
The woman showed a thoughtful expression, as if considering Xuan Xia’s words.
Beside them, Yan Wentao first showed a speechless expression, then asked, “Teacher Qin, it should be fine now, right?”
“Mm.”
“That’s good.” Yan Wentao let out a breath of relief, and the next second, he plopped down on the ground, looking completely drained. “I can’t stand anymore; let me rest a bit.”
Xuan Xia was startled and hurried over to support him.
“Daoist Master Yan, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Yan Wentao wanted to wave his hand but found his arm too heavy to lift, so he could only say, “I’m fine, I’m fine; I’m just a bit tired. I’m okay.”
Though he said that, his body was clearly not okay at all.
Not only could Xuan Xia not support him, but seeing his eyes roll back as he fainted, she grew even more anxious.
Fortunately, Daoist Master Qin had already called Li Xinze’s name.
The next second, the doors of Lingguan Hall opened, and aside from Uncle Zhong, the three young men came out.
Daoist Master Qin directed Li Xinze and Li Fu to take over Yan Wentao, and instructed Lu Changfeng to go to his room and fetch talismans.
Xuan Xia said, “Shouldn’t we send Daoist Master Yan to the hospital?”
He had let blood and been thrown around in the illusionary scenery; Xuan Xia was very worried that Yan Wentao might have internal injuries.
After all, injuries in the illusionary scenery would carry over to reality; the previous Ren Tongli who had been seriously injured still had no news of waking up.
Xuan Xia didn’t want Yan Wentao to become a second Ren Tongli.
Daoist Master Qin probably thought of it too and immediately had Li Xinze and the others drive Yan Wentao to the hospital.
Then he said to Xuan Xia, “You go with them too; get checked out.”
Xuan Xia looked around the temple’s situation and refused: “I’ll go with you later.”
The injured wasn’t just Yan Wentao; Xuan Xia wouldn’t forget that Daoist Master Qin had also let blood.
Right now, his lip color looked even paler than in the illusionary scenery. Xuan Xia was very worried he might end up in the same state as Yan Wentao the next second.
Daoist Master Qin was silent for a moment until Lu Changfeng returned with the talismans; then he nodded and sent everyone off to accompany Yan Wentao to the hospital.
Only he and Xuan Xia remained in the temple.
After the others left, Daoist Master Qin began wrapping things up.
The talismans he had Lu Changfeng fetch were all specifically for dealing with Ren Yaozhe.
Whether substitute form technique, gold cicada shedding shell, or other life-saving escape techniques, none of them worked anymore.
Xuan Xia helped tie up Ren Yaozhe, during which Daoist Master Qin made a phone call to Baoyi Temple.
The Ghost Festival ritual over at Baoyi Temple had just ended not long ago; Gong Ziliu and the others hadn’t slept yet. Upon learning that Ren Yaozhe had been caught at Changsheng Temple and that Changsheng Temple needed help, they immediately generously said they would bring people over.
–
Ren Yaozhe recovered after a while and finally came around, immediately showing his perverted smile again, his line of sight darting back and forth between Daoist Master Qin and Xuan Xia.
Xuan Xia looked down at him and said irritably, “Stop putting on airs; that cowardly look of yours when your throat was gripped is still fresh in my mind.”
Ren Yaozhe: “…”
Putting away his smile, Ren Yaozhe snorted heavily, looking quite unconvinced.
“Your time is running out,” Daoist Master Qin said to him.
Ren Yaozhe rasped, “If I hadn’t misjudged your abilities, the one running out of time would be you.”
Daoist Master Qin didn’t engage with that; the result was already clear anyway. What he wanted to know was something else. “Back then, you were expelled from the Mystic Sect because you were researching artificially creating illusionary scenery, right?”
Ren Yaozhe smiled but didn’t answer.
But it didn’t matter if he didn’t answer; his attitude had already given the answer.
Daoist Master Qin asked again, “You being expelled from the Mystic Sect was actually for show to outsiders, right? The Ren Family, or rather the Cui Family—what’s their goal?”
Ren Yaozhe laughed until he coughed. “The Ren Family, the Cui Family—impressive. Looks like you know quite a bit too.”
