Seeing your nod, your mother looked at you steadily and said sothing cryptic, "Good, very good, extrely good!"
Not wanting to bother with the rambling old woman, you turned your head towards Wu Qiyi, "Little Yun, are you ready?"
"Mm."
Wu Qiyi nodded firmly.
"Then let’s go."
"Have you already picked out the place?" you asked, turning your head.
"Mm."
"Where?"
"The Old Yuhang Restaurant."
The so-called Old Yuhang Restaurant refers to a Chinese restaurant built in the 1860s. Although this eatery, which had weathered more than one hundred and fifty years, had gradually faded from people’s sight, many old residents of Yuhang considered its "Jiangnan Spring" to be the true fine brew of Jiangnan.
Many Yuhang locals who appreciated good liquor would co here every now and then to buy a jar or two to take ho, either to enjoy by themselves or to give to friends.
The overall architecture of this Old Yuhang Restaurant had been preserved to this day, having undergone three renovations, it still retained its ancient charm.
Before heading deep into the mountains, you had instructed Zong Wangyue to make sure to find a place that was bustling with people but not too noisy or chaotic in the vicinity.
It took a full five days for Zong Wangyue and the remaining mbers of the Detective Agency in Yuhang to diligently search and finally settle on the Old Yuhang Restaurant.
The Old Yuhang Restaurant had three floors, all of which you had now booked. Although liquor was still sold on the first floor, the second and third floors were directly closed off for this purpose. Xi Yu summoned a very mysterious team from the Luanfeng Pavilion to co over, guarding Wu Qiyi, who was considered a Young Master, at all tis.
Your mother and Zong Wangyue among others were on the second floor, occupying three tables. The dishes and drinks had already been served, and everyone was chatting while keeping an eye on the situation upstairs.
Originally, you did not want them to be involved; however, having more people could be helpful, and if anything went wrong, they could provide assistance imdiately.
All the tables and chairs on the third floor had been cleared away, leaving only you, Wu Qiyi, and Xi Yu in the vast space.
You and Wu Qiyi sat cross-legged on the solid wood floor, facing each other. Xi Yu stood at the stairwell entrance not far away, her eyes fixed on the two of you.
"Er Ya," after sitting quietly for a few minutes, you suddenly spoke.
"Mm?"
"If... if..." you hesitated for a mont, then your eyes shone with determination, "no matter what happens, you must rember that I am always by your side!"
"Mm!"
After taking three deep breaths, you evened out your heartbeat.
You slowly closed your eyes.
According to Daoist Qingyun, to break the Soul Devouring Curse, your soul had to enter her body.
There were many thods for a soul to leave the body, and you knew a few, but in the end, you used the thod taught to you by Mother En.
You slowly opened your eyes, and the Sen Luo Curse Mark in your pupils slowly began to erge.
At the sa ti, the stack of Yellow Talisman Paper that you had placed aside earlier started to rise in order, swirling above your and Wu Qiyi’s heads, rapidly forming an Innate Eight Trigrams Formation which spun, much like the Sen Luo Curse Mark in your pupils.
"All Forms of Sen Luo, Leaving Soul."
The Sen Luo Curse Mark began to rotate slowly like a wheel, and suddenly, you felt your body beco lighter as if it had been imrsed in water, with pressure squeezing all around you.
When you beca aware of your existence, you discovered that you were hovering mid-air; looking down, your body was still seated on the ground.
Interestingly, Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu shifted their gaze from your body to your Spiritual Body.
"Eh? Can you see ?"
The two won nodded, their expressions sowhat odd, especially Wu Qiyi’s, who despite staring right at you, had a hint of shyness in her eyes.
The sensation of floating in mid-air was strange, you couldn’t quite find the words to describe it, feeling akin to a balloon that a re gust of wind might blow away.
Turning to look at yourself again, you noticed the Sen Luo Curse Mark still slowly rotating in your eyes.
"Master Li, please proceed."
Xi Yu was actually quite anxious, after all, this matter concerned Wu Qiyi’s life and left no room for negligence.
You nodded solemnly; although a Spiritual Body like your original self, the Sen Luo Curse Mark in your eyes was rotating in the opposite direction to that of the main body.
"Er Ya, stay focused, don’t get distracted."
As soon as the words fell, your spiritual body entered Wu Qiyi’s body.
Dark.
Pitch dark.
It was as if ink had been spilled all around, nothing could be seen, and there was not a single source of light.
In this unfamiliar environnt, your Sen Luo Eye seed to have lost its power, no different from the eyes of an ordinary person.
"Er Ya, Er Ya—"
You started calling for Wu Qiyi, but there was no response.
Your spiritual body couldn’t float in this pitch-dark environnt; you could only walk and run on the equally dark surface, just like your own body...
"Er Ya!"
After searching for a long ti, you still hadn’t found Wu Qiyi.
"Talisman... crap!"
When you reached into your pocket, you were shocked to find yourself completely clean, not even wearing clothes. Touching your crotch in horror, you realized you weren’t even wearing boxer shorts!
Damn it!
No wonder just now Wu Qiyi and Xi Yu were looking at you with those shy and timid expressions.
What to do?
You began to feel sowhat anxious. After all, humans are creatures that gravitate towards light; it’s natural to feel scared and disoriented when one is completely enveloped in darkness and cannot see anything.
No!
You must stay calm!
You stopped your aimless search and, since you couldn’t see, simply closed your eyes.
In fact, you had always been afraid of the dark since you were very young. You rember one night when you went downstairs to buy sothing, and there was a sudden power outage at ho. It was as dark as it is now, and you couldn’t see anything.
At that ti, Wu Qiyi was in the living room, calling out your na in panic and fear.
She had been scared of the dark since she was small. Even now, when grown up, she sleeps with a dim night light on.
To let Wu Qiyi hear your voice, you shouted loudly from downstairs and entered the pitch-dark stairwell, singing with all your might.
That’s right, singing!
You ran once again, belting out a song—
"The undercurrent of sandstorms, the alternation of sun and moon,
A cinnabar line of talisman,
Unable to keep, her charming phantom cos and goes.
The howling solitude, walking alone in the dark,
Even with just a breath left, without seeing the light,
I would bury myself in the yellow earth to find you!
Embarking on this journey, full of hardships and dangers,
How could the mundane understand?
What joy is there in life, what sufferance in death,
I stake my life as the wager!
...
Until we grow old, burning our waning bodies
We shall reside within the pages of the Chi Book..."
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