Chapter 88 – Setting the Trap

Perhaps because he had been on edge for too long, after dealing with the Jiang Family’s affairs, Eldest Uncle finally calmed down. It was like waiting all night for the second shoe to drop—once it did, there was a sense of relief in his expression. Wei Yang understood his uncle’s thoughts well and didn’t want this honest man to worry about anything else. After exchanging a few casual words with him, Wei Yang headed upstairs with the Little Celestial Master.

In the guest room, Lao Ye was leisurely soaking in the bathtub. Hearing them return, it didn’t bother to come out, merely stretching its neck as a greeting. Perhaps because the bath was so comfortable, the black patterns on its shell were fading, as if the ink had washed away.

Facing this ancestor-like creature, Wei Yang’s tightly wound nerves couldn’t help but relax. He walked over, scratched the turtle’s shell, added some snacks, and then collapsed onto the bed.

With his hand half covering his face, he was silent for a while before suddenly speaking, “Brother Qi, ever since I was very young, I’ve known that I bring misfortune to my family. Back then, I didn’t fully understand what ‘bringing misfortune’ meant. I was just scolded by my grandmother, and I felt wronged. Fortunately, my grandfather was there, and I got used to being scolded. Later, when I grew up and understood that my parents had died in a car accident, I secretly wondered if it was because of me. On the surface, I didn’t seem to care, but deep down, I couldn’t let it go. After my grandfather passed away, I just ran away from the village to avoid bringing misfortune to anyone else.”

“Because of this ridiculous reason, I wandered outside for many, many years. Besides Lao Ye, I didn’t make any real friends. I finally got through my teenage years and gradually put all this behind me, but then I met you and learned about all these strange things in the world… Thinking back to what my grandmother said, I suddenly became afraid. Afraid that I really am the root cause of my family’s misfortune, afraid that my parents’ and grandfather’s deaths are connected to me, afraid that I’ll bring disaster to the people around me, afraid…”

His lips moved, but he didn’t finish the last few words. At that moment, the bed beside him sank slightly, as if someone had sat down. A dry, warm hand reached over and patted his forehead.

The comfort was clumsy, but Wei Yang still managed a faint smile. He moved his hand away from his eyes and looked at the person beside him. Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt that the Little Celestial Master had become more human recently. His face was still cold, but his eyes now held emotions—something Wei Yang had been longing for so much that it ached in his heart.

There were things he had never told anyone. He wasn’t the type to confide in others. In fact, not lying to people was already being decent. But when it came to Zhang Xiuqi, he couldn’t hide anything.

“That fox said I bring misfortune, but maybe it’s not my family I bring misfortune to, but the fox spirit itself?” Wei Yang’s voice grew rough and somber, as if sand had been poured into his throat. “Maybe it saw something in me from the moment I was born, something that made me different from the other Jiang Family members. It hated me, hated and feared me, which is why it gave my grandmother that explanation. If it weren’t for the fox, would my parents have moved to Wang Village? Would they have encountered those evil spirits? Would my grandmother have hated me so fiercely, or would my uncle have been so terrified of me? Maybe the fox has some inexplicable entanglement with the Jiang Family, but that has nothing to do with me… Since it’s a wandering ghost, it should go where it belongs!”

But at this point, he paused, a trace of hesitation flickering in his eyes. “However… what the fox fears seems to be the Bone Formation. Brother Qi, have you seen that Bone Formation before?”

This was the thing that made him hesitate the most. Although the Bone Formation had made the fox extremely wary, it had also had a significant impact on Zhang Xiuqi. The one unearthed at the Miaotou Mountain Cemetery had already caused a reaction once. What about this one? Would it have a similar effect? Where did Brother Qi see the Bone Formation? Was it this one from the Jiang Family?

Zhang Xiuqi frowned, and after a long, long time, he slowly shook his head. “Not this one.”

“Was it the one from Miaotou Mountain?” Wei Yang’s heart skipped a beat. If it was about intensity, the previous one had been much more severe.

Zhang Xiuqi shook his head again. “I don’t know. My father… I don’t remember…”

His voice began to falter. Wei Yang sat up abruptly and grabbed his arm. “Don’t panic, Brother Qi. Did your father use this Bone Formation? Or did he find it somewhere?”

This time, Zhang Xiuqi neither nodded nor shook his head. He just sat there blankly. Wei Yang sighed softly and changed the subject. “If I want to take that Ghost Yin Wood Zhufang again, is there any way to keep the fox from immediately possessing me?”

Zhang Xiuqi’s brows immediately furrowed. “No. Dangerous.”

“I know. But if we want to lure it out, there’s probably no better way.” At this point, Wei Yang smiled bitterly. “Back then, it wanted to kill me, but the Talisman Jade stopped it. Now, with the Bone Formation and you by my side, should I still be afraid of it? Brother Qi, help me. Help me kill it!”

There was a firmness in Wei Yang’s voice that had never been there before. Zhang Xiuqi looked at him for a long time and finally nodded. He stood up and walked over to the travel bag containing the ritual instruments. Watching that tall, straight back, Wei Yang clenched his fist and lay back down on the wooden bed.

The preparations didn’t take long, and they didn’t do it at Eldest Uncle’s house. After lunch, the two of them set off for the Wei Family’s ancestral home. Without saying anything else, the environment there was simply more suitable for these kinds of things. The old house had been abandoned for years, and no one would casually wander in. Whether it was exorcising demons or performing rituals, it was clearly much safer.

This time, they didn’t waste time in other rooms and went straight to the embroidery room. After what had happened last time, the room looked even more dilapidated. Most of the windows and doors were broken, and the only embroidery stool had been smashed to pieces. When the wind blew, the window frames creaked, making the bloodstains and footprints on the floor even more eerie.

Zhang Xiuqi’s face was stern as he quickly set up a Boundary Formation on the floor. Unlike other formations, this one had the effect of isolating the yin and yang realms. It was made with limonite, which could easily obscure a person’s yang energy. If they needed to ambush a yin evil, this would be highly effective.

After setting up this formation, he placed copper coins in the four corners of the room, creating a pocket trap. Once the fox spirit entered, adding two more copper coins would complete the Seven Killers Formation, trapping the demon without issue. He also placed a Clear Mind Talisman on Wei Yang’s back, which would keep him lucid for a moment and prevent him from being easily possessed by the demon.

This multi-layered setup was completely unlike Zhang Xiuqi’s usual style, but Wei Yang needed it. His Yangyang was using himself as bait. This delicate situation forced the usually straightforward Little Celestial Master to slow down and stand firmly in front of Wei Yang.

Once everything was ready, Wei Yang took a deep breath and walked to the center of the room, sitting down cross-legged. The floor of the embroidery room was dirty, with dust mixed with limonite, giving off a choking, earthy smell. The formations surrounded him faintly, and Zhang Xiuqi sat within the Boundary Formation, watching him intently.

His gaze was filled with concern, anger, a hidden killing intent, and a faint trace of worry. But no matter what emotions were in his eyes, he never left Wei Yang’s side. Wei Yang smiled, one hand reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Bone Formation, gripping it tightly.

Compared to the Bone Formation unearthed from Miaotou Mountain, the one from the Jiang Family seemed thinner and smaller. The dense carvings of Extinction Script were like the most exquisite engravings. Wei Yang’s fingers tightened around it, and his other hand reached forward, removing the Yellow Talisman from the wooden box and opening the lid.

A small fox statue lay in the center of the box. Brother Qi had said that there should be no fox spirit in the Ghost Yin Wood now. It seemed that due to some external force, the fox couldn’t stay in the statue anymore. Perhaps it was because it lacked the nourishment of the Ghost Yin Wood that it had grown weaker, too weak to fully possess Wei Yang’s body. However, this statue was still a soul guide, a living curse that would activate as long as someone with enough bloodline power touched it. As long as someone with sufficient bloodline power held it, the fox spirit could invade their body, just as it had done for countless generations.

For the fox, this thing was both a resting place and a prison. But for the Jiang Family, it also held another kind of temptation. Wei Yang looked at the wooden carving and felt that strange sensation returning, as if someone was whispering in his ear, tempting him to reach out and grasp that damned Zhufang. This was the power of the blood oath, a double-edged sword in the truest sense.

The Clear Mind Talisman on his back suddenly felt cold, and a clear stream of energy flowed into his chest from his back. Wei Yang’s eyes sharpened, and he regained his senses. However, his hand didn’t stop, still slowly reaching into the box and grasping the fox statue.

As he did this, a cackling laughter appeared out of nowhere, sometimes near, sometimes far, ethereal and elusive. A gust of wind rushed into the embroidery room, and within the whirlwind, a faint shadow seemed to spin around, like a ghost, rushing in with a shrill cry and urgency. Without any pause, it entered the Zhufang.

The hand holding the fox statue tightened suddenly, the veins on Wei Yang’s hand bulging. But unlike last time, he didn’t throw the statue away. Instead, he gripped it even tighter! In his other hand, the Bone Formation began to emit a dazzling light. Zhang Xiuqi rushed out of the Boundary Formation, several copper coins nailed into the ground. With a stab of his dagger, there was a loud bang, and the Seven Killers Formation was complete! No matter what the fox had planned, it could no longer escape.

The cackling laughter turned into a howl of pain. Wei Yang’s body trembled violently, and his face began to change, alternating between dark and pale, as if something was fighting for control. But his eyes never grew dim, never reflected the eerie green light. Both hands slowly rose, slowly, slowly, and came together!

With a hum, white light enveloped the dark Ghost Yin Wood. Wei Yang’s body jerked violently, as if struck by a heavy hammer, and he fell backward!