Chen Shi crouched down, then leaped onto the roof beam and moved along it carefully. In one hand, he held a brush dipped in a mixture of ground cinnabar and black dog blood, and he was cautiously painting on five large talismans.
The beam was narrow, so he had to be very careful. A single misstep could send him tumbling down.
These five talismans were clearly the work of a skilled talisman practitioner. They had been turned into evil spirits that followed the scent of children's urine to capture them. Once caught, the children were hung there.
If he rushed to save them, it would definitely trigger the power of the talismans, possibly harming the survivors rather than rescuing them. So Chen Shi's goal was to first disable the talismans before attempting a rescue.
However, simply destroying the talismans with force would also activate their powers. Therefore, he used the cinnabar to alter the structure of the talismans, preventing them from unleashing their full power.
Quickly, he smeared the eyes of four of the talismans, turning their heads into a mess. The most crucial part was the mouth. The mouths of the ghostly heads were linked to chains, and if the talismans were activated, the chains would tighten, threatening to pull the children's tongues out from their throats!
Chen Shi sealed the mouths of the four talismans with cinnabar, ensuring that even if they still had some power, they couldn't tighten the chains. However, the cinnabar in the inkstone was exhausted, leaving the fifth talisman untouched.
The fifth talisman hadn't captured a child, so Chen Shi thought there was no need to paint it. He moved towards the frail boy who was barely breathing.
But just then, the ghostly head in the fifth talisman slowly opened its eyes, and the chain in its mouth clinked as it moved.
Chen Shi's hand had already reached Liu Fugui's arm. Seeing this, he held his breath and stayed completely still.
The eyes of the ghostly head in the fifth talisman gradually widened, its cinnabar-painted pupils rolling as it glanced sideways at Chen Shi. The ghostly face seemed to smile, though it looked somewhat twisted.
Clink, clink.
The chain began to move, and the end of it, like a snake's head, slowly lifted.
Chen Shi's heart sank. He had been discovered!
The ghostly head of the fifth talisman suddenly spoke, its voice booming: "Who are you? Why are you disrupting my magic?"
The voice was incredibly loud, echoing through the abandoned house, causing dust to fall from the ceiling!
It wasn't the talisman ghost speaking, but its master, using the ghost's eyes to see Chen Shi and its mouth to speak with him!
Chen Shi was startled. Such skill exceeded that of an ordinary talisman master!
"Why disrupt your magic? What kind of evil art are you practicing with the village children? What do four human lives mean to you?"
As he spoke, Chen Shi grabbed the fishhook that was locking Liu Fugui's eyelid. He didn't have time to remove the hook gently, so he yanked it hard, trying to break the thin chain attached to it.
After practicing the Three Lights True Qi Technique for more than ten days, Chen Shi had gained immense strength. He could easily break stones with his bare hands, yet this thin chain was surprisingly tough. He pulled hard, but it didn't break.
He exerted more force, and finally, the chain snapped!
He grabbed another fishhook chain and used all his strength to break it.
Next were the fishhook chains on the nose and mouth!
"Even the lives of country folk are human lives?"
The ghostly head laughed coldly, "You're also a talisman master. Haven't you ever used someone else's life to refine treasures? I just want to make a life-extending lamp, using the essence of five boys to refine lamp oil. You barged into my domain and ruined my work. Aren't you even giving me a little face?"
The fifth talisman twisted, its lines moving like bright red snakes, forming the ghostly face.
"Whoosh—"
The chain hanging from the mouth of the fifth talisman moved like a snake, lunging towards Chen Shi!
Chen Shi grabbed the hook on Fugui's tongue, removed it, and reached for the chain.
He had to remove all the fishhooks from Fugui's face, especially the large hook on the tongue. Otherwise, if he rashly untied the chains binding Fugui's hands and feet, the fishhooks would tear off Fugui's entire face and pull his tongue from his throat!
That would not be saving someone, but harming them!
As he removed the hook, the chain wrapped around his arm like a giant snake, coiling tighter and tighter!
Chen Shi channeled his energy, making his arm swell with power, and flipped upwards, grabbing another chain binding Fugui's hands and feet.
He quickly wrapped the chain around his left leg to prevent falling.
Above him, the strokes of the fifth talisman solidified into a huge, blood-red ghostly head, opening its mouth wide to bite him, the stench overwhelming!
The ghostly mouth seen by the villagers was likely formed by such a talisman.
The long tongue hanging down was the chain from its mouth!
Chen Shi tried to swing the approaching ghostly head away, but it was too strong, more powerful than him, and could float in the air, beyond human strength!
Seeing the blood-red ghostly head about to swallow him, Chen Shi stomped hard, causing the roof to shake, and the wooden board holding the chain creaked.
Though not as strong as the talisman monster, Chen Shi's power was formidable. His stomp caused the roof to collapse!
Wooden boards painted with talismans, along with roof tiles and straw, fell onto the talisman monster's head!
The chain around Chen Shi's foot loosened, and he fell like a fish, holding Fugui as he descended.
As he landed, the roof beam couldn't bear the weight and collapsed, bringing the house down with a crash.
Chen Shi didn't have time to untie Fugui's chains, so he carried him and dashed outside. Just as they exited the main hall, a loud crash sounded behind them as the hall and two side rooms collapsed, burying the three rooms under walls and beams!
The collapse sent a wave of air that staggered Chen Shi and Heiguo, and dust filled the air, making Heiguo cough repeatedly.
Chen Shi held his breath and quickly untied Fugui's chains. Before he could stand, he saw the fallen beam suddenly rise, as if it weighed nothing, leaving both Chen Shi and Heiguo stunned.
"You've angered me, little village talisman master!"
The talisman monster roared from beneath the rubble, stones flying and dust swirling. The ghostly head emerged unscathed, lifting dirt, stones, and beams, floating in the air, glaring down at Chen Shi.
Its mouth was connected to a chain, and the other end was tied to a small bronze cauldron, containing the life-extending lamp oil made from the lives of four children!
When the house collapsed, it had rushed to save the cauldron, preventing the lamp oil from being destroyed.
Though it saved the lamp oil, it gave Chen Shi the chance to rescue Fugui, ruining its plan to refine the lamp oil.
The lamp oil was preserved, but its quality was greatly reduced, diminishing the lamp's effect.
The talisman monster was controlled by its master, the mysterious talisman practitioner who was furious and wanted to vent by devouring Chen Shi. But then it noticed the red talisman on the locust tree, hesitated, and sneered, "Little talisman master, we've made enemies. You can't escape! I'll catch you and turn you into lamp oil!"
Controlled by the mysterious talisman practitioner, the talisman monster began to fly away with the lamp oil. Suddenly, Chen Shi, standing in the courtyard, pulled down his pants and urinated on the collapsed house.
The mysterious talisman practitioner, observing from above, was momentarily stunned, thinking, "Did this kid get so scared he wet himself?"
Just as he thought that, the talisman monster broke free from his control and charged at Chen Shi!
The mysterious talisman practitioner was momentarily confused, then realized.
"My talisman monster reacts to the scent of children's urine, capturing them. This village talisman master is a virgin, using his own scent to lure the talisman monster!"
By the time he realized, it was too late to change the talisman monster's structure. The talisman monster was already upon Chen Shi.
At the same time, the Five Mountains House-Sealing Talisman on the old locust tree activated, shining brightly, forming five radiant mountains that pressed down on the talisman monster, pinning it to the ground!
The small cauldron in the talisman monster's mouth fell, spilling lamp oil everywhere.
Chen Shi shook himself off, pulled up his pants, walked over, and stomped hard on the bronze cauldron, flattening it. Then he squatted down, meeting the eyes of the talisman monster.
The mysterious talisman practitioner was furious but trapped under the Five Mountains, unable to move.
"We've indeed made enemies. Don't let me find you."
Chen Shi stared into the talisman monster's eyes, as if trying to see the talisman practitioner's true face through it.
"If I find you, I'll beat you to death!"
Chen Shi stood up, stomped on the talisman monster's head.
With a bang, the talisman monster exploded, turning into crimson blood and cinnabar, splattering onto the ground and soaking into the soil.
Some splattered onto Chen Shi's foot.
Though he had destroyed the talisman monster and rescued Liu Fugui, solving the case of the child-eating spirit, he still felt a lingering anger.
This mysterious talisman practitioner was indeed powerful, far stronger than the Imperial Guards he had encountered. He shouldn't have clashed with such a master, but he wanted to find this talisman practitioner and beat him until he was dead!
"You can come in now."
Chen Shi suppressed his anger and waved to the villagers outside the courtyard, saying, "The evil spirit is gone, and Fugui is safe."
The villagers hesitated but didn't dare enter.
Sanwang, the bravest, stepped in first, and the others followed him into the abandoned Tian family house.
Fugui's parents rushed over, hugging him and repeatedly calling his name.
Fugui opened his eyes slightly, whispered, "Dad, Mom," and then closed them again.
"He's exhausted. Let him sleep. Don't give him any supplements yet, just some rice soup."
Chen Shi instructed Fugui's parents to take him home.
Other villagers cleared the collapsed house, searching for the other three children, but unfortunately, they had been dead for some time and couldn't be saved.
Low sobs turned into wails.
Chen Shi felt a pang in his heart, so he and Heiguo left the abandoned house. He turned back to Sanwang and said, "You should bury the eight coffins of the Tian family too."
Sanwang was startled and quickly said, "They offended Godmother and were punished by her. Who dares to bury them?"
Chen Shi's face darkened, and he sneered, "Not burying them? If their eight bodies aren't laid to rest, they'll become more resentful and turn into evil spirits! Then, your whole village will be eaten by them! Do as you see fit!"
The villagers were frightened and quickly started preparing.
They had initially doubted Chen Shi's abilities due to his young age, but seeing him destroy the mountain-like "evil spirit," they were convinced.
The village elder ordered chairs and tables to be brought for Chen Shi to rest, offering fruits and calling two young girls to massage his shoulders and legs.
"Sanwang, come here!"
Chen Shi called Sanwang over and asked, "Have any strangers visited your village recently?"
"Strangers?"
Sanwang thought for a moment and said, "Yes, someone did. I heard they came from the provincial capital, an elderly talisman master. They said they were looking for the missing second daughter of the Zhao family from the provincial capital and wanted to stay in our village for the night before leaving at dawn. The talisman master was quite nice and even drew some talismans for us."