Chapter 95 – The Inside Story

The sudden turn of events left Wei Yang stunned for a long while. The alley in front of him was now empty, with the white light and the little ghost both vanished without a trace. Only the Bone Formation hanging on his chest felt slightly warm, but he hadn’t done anything! Back when he dealt with the Fox Immortal, at least he had chanted an incantation. What was going on now?

However, his daze lasted only a moment. Wei Yang quickly snapped back to reality and reached out to support the unsteady figure behind him. After confirming that there was no immediate threat, he asked softly, “Brother Qi, are you okay? What exactly happened just now?”

Perhaps because his soul hadn’t fully stabilized yet, Zhang Xiuqi took some time to steady himself while leaning on Wei Yang’s shoulder. His gaze fell on the two sections of the Bone Formation, and after a moment, he replied, “The Soul Doll was destroyed by it.”

“The Soul Doll? That little ghost was a Soul Doll?” Wei Yang’s expression changed slightly. He had heard of Soul Dolls before. Brother Qi had once been injured by one, suffering significant harm.

These things were of the same origin as the Camphor Willow Immortals, both being methods of raising little ghosts. However, unlike other methods of ghost refinement, a true “Soul Doll” required a direct blood relationship with the practitioner. The practitioner would extract the child’s heart blood and the bone from the back of the head while the child was still alive, use them as conduits to draw in the living soul, and then refine the child’s corpse into fine ash, which would be placed inside a porcelain doll. The practitioner would then nourish it monthly with their own lifeblood, turning it into a powerful protective weapon.

In ancient times, this kind of spell was mostly controlled by high-ranking officials and nobles as a means of protection against disasters. As long as the Soul Doll remained intact, no one could truly harm the host. It was most prevalent during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties. However, this practice was highly detrimental to the natural order, and most Jiangtou Masters wouldn’t engage in it, let alone use a four or five-year-old child to refine one. This Soul Doll should have been much more powerful than the one Brother Qi had encountered before. How could it have been destroyed by the Bone Formation just like that?

Even Wei Yang himself found it hard to believe, but the facts were right before his eyes, leaving no room for doubt. However, Zhang Xiuqi’s attention was clearly not on this. Once his soul finally returned to his body, he struggled to take a step toward the end of the alley. Compared to the Soul Doll and the Bone Formation, the blood talisman that could absorb soul power was far more important to him.

Due to the collision of talismanic forces, the blood talisman had now turned charred and crumbled, resembling a clump of filthy blood stuck to the ground. Zhang Xiuqi knelt down and reached out to touch the remnants of the talisman. A sharp pain shot from his fingertips to his spine, as if his soul had been torn apart again. He had indeed seen this kind of talisman before, but the one in his memory should have been larger and more terrifying…

A hand rested on his trembling shoulder. Zhang Xiuqi seemed to snap out of a dream as he looked back. His eyes were filled with confusion, as well as fear and anger. Wei Yang’s heart tightened, and he asked in a low voice, “Brother Qi, have you seen this kind of talisman before? Does it have something to do with what happened back then?”

Zhang Xiuqi nodded silently. Wei Yang suppressed the anger in his heart and glanced at the figure lying on the ground ahead. “Then let’s start by questioning these ‘insiders.'”

Instead of approaching the half-dead Jiangtou Master first, Wei Yang walked deeper into the alley and dragged out Zhao Guangfa, who had been hiding there all along. Due to the effects of the Soul Binding Blood Talisman, Zhao was now unconscious. Wei Yang didn’t hesitate. He pulled out a bottle of mineral water from his backpack and splashed it directly onto Zhao’s face.

The Soul Binding Talisman wasn’t powerful enough to truly extract a person’s soul. The cold water jolted Zhao Guangfa awake, and the first thing he saw was the scene before him: the people he had brought were lying scattered on the ground, and Master Xu was hunched over to the side, blood pooling around him, his condition unknown. Meanwhile, the two young men he had intended to deal with stood before him with cold expressions. His heart sank, realizing that he had been completely defeated.

Wei Yang took in his expression and said coldly, “Boss Zhao, right? Thanks for inviting an expert to deal with us. What, did you want to get revenge before you died?”

During the earlier interrogation, Wei Yang had managed to extract some information about the human trafficking organization. Although it wasn’t much, it was enough to scare Zhao, which was highly effective for someone in the underworld.

Zhao Guangfa was indeed frightened by Wei Yang’s tone. He shivered and pleaded in a trembling voice, “Boss, it was my fault for not recognizing your greatness. I’ve offended you two. Name your price, and I’ll make it up to you. I’ll never show my face in Shanxi Province again…”

Wei Yang’s lips curled into a smirk. “What do you think we are? We wouldn’t even glance at a small fry like you. But collaborating with someone who practices dark arts crosses the line of our Xuanmen. The Taoist Court has issued a kill order.”

The mention of the Xuanmen and the Taoist Court was enough to strike fear into Zhao’s heart. He immediately cowered. “Master! Master, I really don’t have anything to do with Xu Song! He’s… he’s just a debt collector! You know how it is in our line of work—there’s a lot of ‘loss.’ He’s a Jiangtou Master who needs children’s souls for his craft, so he forced himself on us! This time, he just happened to be passing through and heard about the incident on the train, so he wanted to confront you two. Normally, he has no connection with us! Look, people like us who do shady things wouldn’t dare get involved with these supernatural matters!”

Zhao Guangfa was practically in tears as he spoke, but Wei Yang didn’t believe a word of it. Perhaps Xu Song had indeed approached the scum trade on his own, but a human trafficking ring leader would never miss the chance to curry favor with a “master.” Who knows how much “material” they had actively provided him? These heartless creatures deserved nothing less than execution. However, Wei Yang showed no trace of this on his face. He merely frowned in disgust. “Passing through, huh? Do you know what he was here for?”

“Yes, yes!” Zhao Guangfa answered quickly. “He was looking for someone, another person who practices Taoist arts. Apparently, he’s from Sanliao Village. His master sent him to track this person down, and he recently arrived in Shanxi Province…”

What? Wei Yang’s heart tightened, and he followed up, “Is it a middle-aged man with an immortal-like demeanor? Surname Zeng?”

Zhao Guangfa’s heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that these two were connected to the man Master Xu was looking for? But he quickly hatched a plan to divert the blame. He nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes! He even asked us to help look for him, but I refused. How could ordinary people like us get involved in a fight between immortals? Master, it seems they have some ill intentions toward that Master Zeng. Isn’t it a coincidence that you happened to run into this…”

Wei Yang didn’t pay any attention to his attempt to shift the blame. Instead, he asked, “Have you ever met Xu Song’s master?”

Zhao Guangfa was taken aback and quickly shook his head. “No, never. Xu Song always came to us on his own. He never mentioned anything about his own affairs…”

“Oh? Is that so? Then you’re useless after all.” Wei Yang sneered and kicked Zhao in the chin. Zhao’s head slammed against the wall with a loud thud, and blood streamed down his face as he passed out again.

However, even after dealing with the gang leader, Wei Yang’s expression remained grim. He immediately pulled out his phone and called Director Sun, briefly explaining the situation. Director Sun was also shocked, never expecting that the human traffickers would dare to retaliate against Wei Yang and Zhang Xiuqi. He immediately agreed to send people to clean up the scene, arrest all the gang members, and told them to stay put.

After a few quick exchanges, Wei Yang hung up and turned to look at Xu Song, who was lying nearby. It seemed this man was indeed connected to the events involving Brother Qi and his father years ago, and it even involved Master Zeng’s whereabouts. But would such a ruthless and evil man really reveal the truth?

After a moment of hesitation, Wei Yang asked in a low voice, “Brother Qi, how long do you think this guy has left to live?”

It was a fair question. Xu Song was now completely unconscious. His gaunt face looked as if he had aged twenty years in an instant, and even his hair had turned gray. Blood stains covered his chest, and it seemed he was barely breathing.

Zhang Xiuqi answered coldly, “Spell backlash. He won’t live past today.”

Any spell could backfire, especially dark arts like this. Once the spell was broken, there was a high risk of death. Xu Song, unlike the ancient nobles who used Soul Dolls, had treated the Soul Doll as his lifebound artifact. Breaking the spell would directly affect his life soul. The fact that he was still clinging to life was a testament to his considerable skill.

Wei Yang nodded in understanding and quickly made up his mind. Since Xu Song was going to die anyway, they might as well try to extract some information from him. Without further hesitation, he said to Zhang Xiuqi, “Brother Qi, do you think you can make him come around for a moment? Maybe we can get something out of him…”

A stream of cool energy seeped into Xu Song’s heart, and he shuddered violently as his eyes snapped open. The once sharp, hook-like eyes were now dull and unfocused. He strained to look at the two figures before him, and his pale lips trembled as he spat out, “You… you’re… still alive…”

His voice was filled with venom. Wei Yang smiled faintly. “Dealing with someone like you doesn’t require much effort. Master Zeng asked us to pass on a message: when you get to the underworld, make sure to pave the way for your master so he doesn’t stumble.”

At these words, Xu Song spat out another mouthful of filthy blood. “You… and him… so that’s it! Hah, Master… cough! Revenge…”

“Your master will avenge you?” Wei Yang’s lips curled in mockery. “I doubt it. You know what kind of person he is, don’t you? He’ll probably forget about you in no time.”

This seemed to hit a nerve. Xu Song coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his skin visibly withered, as if it had lost all moisture. Yet his venomous eyes still glared at the two men. “That… Zeng… can’t escape! You… hah… my master… is the Myriad Sects True Body… hah… eternal life…”

Before he could finish, his bulging eyes suddenly fixated on the Bone Formation hanging around Wei Yang’s neck. His eyes widened in shock, and he blurted out, “Witch Bone! How… two… you!”

Xu Song’s throat convulsed, and he spat out a chunk of bloody flesh before falling silent forever.

The last few sentences sent a chill down Wei Yang’s spine. He couldn’t help but shiver and turned to Zhang Xiuqi. “Brother Qi, did you understand what he was saying?”

What was the “Myriad Sects True Body”? How was it connected to “eternal life”? And why did he call the Bone Formation around his neck “Witch Bone”? However, Zhang Xiuqi’s eyes were also filled with confusion, as if he had never heard of these things before. Wei Yang sighed and didn’t press further. “It seems Master Zeng has touched a nerve with these people, which is why they’re so desperate to hunt him down…”

No wonder they hadn’t been able to contact Master Zeng recently. He must have been on the run, trying to avoid leading his pursuers to them. Who would have thought that by chance, they had managed to take out one of Master Zeng’s enemies? Perhaps this would ease some of the pressure on him. Wei Yang tightened his grip on the rope in his hand and immediately said, “Brother Qi, let’s go home. Master Zeng might be looking for you too! Once we reunite with him, we’re bound to get some answers!”

Whether it was Brother Qi’s lost memories or the Bone Formation around his neck, there had to be some answers somewhere. Zhang Xiuqi nodded and reached out to grab Wei Yang’s wrist. Feeling the firm grip, Wei Yang couldn’t help but smile slightly. Then he remembered the turtle he was holding and quickly lifted the rope to check on it.

In the heat of the moment, he had thrown Lao Ye out to protect them. Now that he thought about it, he felt a pang of fear. What if the old turtle hadn’t been able to withstand the attack either? However, under his worried gaze, Lao Ye merely rolled its beady eyes lazily, not even bothering to poke its head out of its shell. It looked either utterly exhausted or simply too lazy to move. Wei Yang sighed in relief. At least the two beings by his side were safe and sound.

Soon, the sound of police sirens approached from the distance. Wei Yang didn’t linger any longer and, still holding Zhang Xiuqi’s hand, walked toward the alley entrance.