Chapter 7: A Slender Bolt Of Lightning
Farewell Daoist Master Qin, Xuan Xia’s state of mind had already changed.
This was truly a case of escaping from a desperate situation, where there was light after darkness and another village ahead.
And he, her one-dollar purchase employee, was that flower, that village, right?
“Careful!” Daoist Master Qin’s voice suddenly rang out.
Xuan Xia caught sight of a white shadow flashing over in her peripheral vision, and she instinctively leaned back. In that instant, a sleeve whooshed past right in front of her eyes, nearly brushing her face.
The strike missed, and the sleeve retracted—it was the woman on the water!
Xuan Xia felt lingering fear, clenched her fists again, and glared at the woman.
What did she do to deserve a sneak attack?
But the woman seemed oblivious to Xuan Xia’s emotions, and after retracting her sleeve, she spoke in a resentful tone again.
“You’re not him either. Why won’t he come see me?”
The tone at the end of her words was already on the verge of tears.
If she hadn’t just made a move, Xuan Xia might have been able to hold back a little, but now…
With a thought, a thunder-summoning incantation from the notebook popped into Xuan Xia’s mind, along with a set of hand seals. She mimicked it exactly and softly chanted to activate it.
The next second after completing the full set, a spark of electricity appeared out of thin air above the spot where the woman stood.
A thin bolt of lightning with sparks, like a little snake just hatched from its shell, crackled toward the woman.
The instant that electric spark appeared, Xuan Xia was stunned.
Whether it would hit the woman or not was no longer on Xuan Xia’s mind; her only thought was: Is this scientific?
By now, Daoist Master Qin had arrived at Xuan Xia’s side.
After carefully looking her over, he relaxed his furrowed brow with a sense of relief.
Then he asked her, “Were you scared?”
Xuan Xia blinked, glanced at the woman again, and nodded. “I was scared.”
She thought he was referring to the little bolt of lightning she had just summoned.
It was more than just scary—she even suspected she was dreaming right now, that everything was just a dream!
Daoist Master Qin’s expression was very calm as he nodded and reassured her, “No need to worry.”
Worry? Worry about what?
But Xuan Xia didn’t dwell on it and just pointed at the woman still floating on the water’s surface. “Who is she?”
Only then did Daoist Master Qin shift his gaze from Xuan Xia to the woman, but his glance was fleeting, and he immediately withdrew it without lingering.
“Just an obsession.” His reply was casual and light.
Perhaps because of their disregard, or maybe because of Daoist Master Qin’s words, the woman on the water suddenly became furious. “Have him come see me! Have him come see me!”
With each shout, the setting sun, which had been improving in color, grew a shade redder, eerie and chilling.
The woman shouted a total of four times, then suddenly moved, charging straight toward Xuan Xia and the others.
Xuan Xia’s brow twitched. Before she could react, a blue sleeve was already blocking in front of her.
Daoist Master Qin held his right hand out horizontally in front of Xuan Xia, pinched the Spirit Official Art hand seal with his left, and softly murmured something. The next second, the woman about to crash into them bounced back instantly, as if hitting a transparent glass door.
Watching the woman get repelled, Xuan Xia couldn’t help but widen her eyes, her brow arching as well.
It looked so painful.
After bouncing back, the woman took some effort to stand up again. Just when Xuan Xia thought she would get even angrier, the woman seemed afraid of Daoist Master Qin and didn’t charge again. Instead, she started up with her wailing opera singing style once more.
Xuan Xia thought to herself, Can’t beat them so you play the victim, huh!
“Do you really have to see him?” Xuan Xia couldn’t hold back and responded.
Daoist Master Qin looked at her in surprise.
Unexpectedly, the woman replied, speaking in a sobbing, plaintive tone. “One spring and one autumn have passed, and I’ve waited for him so long.”
“You’ve already waited one spring and one autumn, don’t you have any idea in your heart?” Xuan Xia retorted.
The woman: “…” She gave Xuan Xia a resentful look.
Unfortunately, the woman’s eyes had no whites, so that glance couldn’t accurately convey her emotions.
But Xuan Xia got it and righteously asked her, “Isn’t that right? I don’t believe you truly have no idea in your heart—you just don’t want to admit it, right?”
Just like herself in the dream, chasing for so many years—did she really have no idea deep down? She just didn’t want to admit it!
The woman: “…”
It was the first time Daoist Master Qin had seen anything like this, and he couldn’t help but slightly twitch the corner of his mouth.
The woman was choked for a moment before finding her voice again, stubbornly retorting, “You don’t understand, you don’t understand.”
Xuan Xia wore a speechless expression. Who doesn’t understand?
You understand, and you’re the most understanding in the whole world? Are you the king of understanding or the emperor of understanding?
But after a few retorts, the woman seemed about to turn dark again.
Xuan Xia immediately asked Daoist Master Qin, “Daoist Master Qin, how do we deal with her?”
Daoist Master Qin lifted his eyelids to glance at the woman again, then said flatly, “No need to deal with her. She’s already been enchanted by someone and is being kept.”
Xuan Xia was baffled by this.
Kept? Why keep a thing like this? Is it scary or what?
Or is it specifically kept to scare people?
Then why use it to scare her? Who wanted to scare her?
Did they want to scare her to death? No way—even if the king of heaven or her great grandfather came, they wouldn’t scare her to death.
She wouldn’t die until she lived to her great grandfather’s age!
Xuan Xia furrowed her brow, her thoughts racing, and while the woman didn’t turn dark, she herself felt like she might.
After a moment of silence, Xuan Xia asked Daoist Master Qin again, “Who is keeping her?”
Daoist Master Qin said he wasn’t sure, but added, “A goose leaves traces when it passes; we can always track it down.”
Xuan Xia murmured in agreement, then asked again, “So what do we do now to get out?”
Daoist Master Qin didn’t answer this time, but he raised his right hand.
Just as he was about to form the seal, the woman began sobbing. “I’ve waited and hoped, even dreaming of it in vain. He clearly promised to bring him to see me, but it was all a lie.”
Xuan Xia naturally chimed in, “Then remember clearly who promised you before, and kill that person the next time you see them.”
Daoist Master Qin’s forming hand seal shook a little, but fortunately it didn’t affect it.
The sobbing woman: “…”
Daoist Master Qin’s hand seal was complete. He lowered his eyes and softly murmured an incantation. Then, a gentle breeze blew in.
The breeze brushed over Xuan Xia’s eyes, making her blink involuntarily.
When she opened her eyes again, the woman was gone, the sky had brightened to its original state, and the surrounding scenery had changed back.
The pond was still there, the rice paddy was still there, and Daoist Master Qin in his wheelchair was still there.
After finishing, Daoist Master Qin lowered his hand and calmly turned his head to look at her.
Xuan Xia raised her hand to rub her slightly itchy eyelashes that had been brushed by the wind. When she lowered her hand, she asked the question she most wanted to know right now. “Where exactly did that woman come from?”
Daoist Master Qin turned his head toward the pond and said, “Probably the pond.”
Xuan Xia followed his gaze to the pond. In the real pond, instead of duckweed, there were patches of water chestnut leaves floating.
They were now at the edge of the scenic area’s experimental field zone.
This experimental field was provided by the scenic area for the Agricultural College to use, and students from the Agricultural College would come every few days to tend it and plant improved crops.
Like this pond—next month, they could harvest ripe water chestnuts.
But now, looking at this pond, Xuan Xia wasn’t sure if the water chestnuts would still be edible next month.
Xuan Xia felt regretful for a moment, then turned to look at Daoist Master Qin, her eyes seeming to ask: What do we do now?
Daoist Master Qin said, “Miss Xuan should check out of the hotel and stay in the Taoist Temple tonight.”
