Chapter 56: Just Which Immortal Have You Offended?

Among the injured, the most striking were, of course, the two savage men—one a member of a notorious gang, the other the apothecary's clerk, Brother Ma. After glancing at them, she went straight to stand before Brother Ma, her gaze probing sharply.

She met a face tinged with blue, eyes hollow and empty.

"Ah..."

As if struck by an overwhelming terror, she let out a panicked scream and retreated five or six steps.

At that very moment, the elderly man holding a disk stepped forward, the pointer of his instrument aimed at the gang member. He walked two steps closer, stowed the disk, and drew a small drum from his black satchel.

He held the drum level and struck it gently.

Bang!

With a thunderous sound, clarity seemed to flicker in the gang member's eyes.

Seeing this, the old man struck the drum again—once, twice, thrice...

Thud!

On the third strike, the drumhead suddenly broke, splitting under his touch.

Instantly, his face turned ghostly pale, blood streaming from his mouth, ears, eyes, and nose, as if wounded by some supernatural force. He staggered backward several steps, colliding with the old woman who had screamed in fright.

"My drum..."

"How fierce!"

Both cried out at once, terror etched on their faces.

"Master Gong, you have witnessed it yourself," the old man said. "The entities they provoked are far too fierce and powerful. My humble skills are useless against them. Forgive me!"

Among the two who had first turned pale, the old woman glanced at the martial arts master, pressed her hands together in greeting, and then walked directly toward the apothecary's entrance.

"Aunt Ding, I know you have the ability," Master Gong called after her, eager to persuade. "If you would lend your hand, money is not an issue."

"I know my own limits," she replied. "Four vengeful spirits and one wrathful ghost—such a scene, you overestimate me." With that, she left.

"Master Liu, what do you think?"

Master Gong turned to the remaining elder.

This man, dressed in a black robe, was one of the rare few who truly understood the trade, able to see the spirits at a glance. He shrank back, a troubled look on his face.

Unlike Aunt Ding, who came from an affluent family and whose son was a deputy under the local commander, she could afford to disregard Master Gong and the Sea-Ravaging Gang and walk away from trouble.

But Master Liu worked alone, living in the town and unable to act so freely.

So, he spoke cautiously, "Among these, the others are merely tainted by evil energy. With rest, or a few techniques, the malice can be dispelled. For example, the drum that Wang Minggui just used is quite effective—striking it a few times near them should remove the malice. But he went straight for the most dangerous one and suffered for it."

Yet, those two and the group convulsing nearby are different.

They carry real filth. To be honest, I dare not act rashly. One is hard enough to deal with, let alone four or five. My suggestion is to invite the officers from the Town Magistrate's Bureau—Master Wang, Master Wu. Their skills far surpass mine; they can certainly resolve these entities."

"Do what you can," Master Gong said helplessly. "If you can dispel the malice, do so. As for the Town Magistrate's Bureau... they are busy. To tell you the truth, this is only part of the matter. Some are still at the government office. Did you notice the manager of the Liu family apothecary hasn't come? His own body isn't clean, either."

Master Liu's pupils contracted. "Just what sort of immortals did you provoke this time?" he asked bitterly.

...

Shi Hao was clever.

He knew his abilities were limited, like a lamb among wolves, bound to be exposed sooner or later.

So, while no one noticed, he slipped into the decoction room to find Chen Yushu.

"Brother Chen, I must ask for your help again," he said, pulling Chen Yushu aside and speaking in a low voice.

"I can't help," Chen Yushu replied, waving his hand.

"I just sold a treasure fish and got thirty taels of silver. I'll split it with you," Shi Hao whispered, gritting his teeth.

"This is too difficult," Chen Yushu said, tempted for a moment but then shaking his head quickly. "There are five vengeful spirits, each more powerful than the last time. How can I help?"

"All thirty taels are yours," Shi Hao blurted out, then explained, "After last time, I realized I have a very unusual constitution. Almost every time I encounter these entities, they come to me in dreams. After we parted, within a few days, one found me, entered my dreams. Fortunately, all went well—I solved its problem, and it rewarded me with a treasure fish. This time, I was called here because the last entity I met was connected to a minor leader in the Sea-Ravaging Gang. I helped him, and now I'm dragged into this again."

"You can just withdraw," Chen Yushu frowned, though temptation flickered in his heart. Thirty taels was a considerable sum, and he was short on cash. But remembering the danger of these vengeful spirits, he shook his head.

"I can't," Shi Hao said, long-faced. "You don't understand—my constitution is too peculiar. This time, I showed myself openly. Tonight, they'll surely come for me..."

"So serious?" Chen Yushu's expression tightened. Five vengeful spirits, one nearly evolved into a wrathful ghost, with traces of red—if it found Shi Hao, death was almost certain.

"Here, I have a few talismans. Paste them at home; they should hold off the spirits for a while. In a few days, someone will deal with them, and you'll be safe," Chen Yushu said, thinking for a moment and handing Shi Hao several talismans.

"What are these?" Shi Hao's eyes brightened.

"House-guarding talismans," Chen Yushu replied.

"Any others?"

"None," Chen Yushu said, then warned sternly, "Those entities are formidable. Avoid them if you can. Otherwise, I won't be able to save you."

"Don't worry," Shi Hao breathed a sigh of relief, quickly handing a black pouch to Chen Yushu, then returned to the shop.

Chen Yushu opened the pouch—it contained exactly thirty taels of silver.

He was speechless. Though Shi Hao could be reckless, he was undeniably generous.