Chapter Sixty: Envoys from the Underworld

Boom!

It was as if an invisible force descended from the void, crashing into the earth with a muffled thud that sent dust scattering in all directions.

"What a sensation. Isn't this exhilarating?"

The feeling of channeling incense power and unleashing an 'art' filled him with uncontrollable excitement. Although he couldn’t yet gauge its true power since it was cast into thin air, this was a genuine 'art,' a real means to deal with those vengeful spirits. Now that he could wield it, his heart brimmed with newfound confidence.

Only then did he glance at his attribute panel.

Secret of Subduing Shadows: Beginner (1/100)

There, the record of this 'art' was already inscribed. He felt even more satisfied.

Of course, every advantage comes with its drawback. The only regret was that this 'art' demanded a tremendous amount of his incense power each time it was used. One casting consumed half his reservoir. In other words, at his peak, he could only perform it twice.

"Naturally, this is just because my incense cultivation is still shallow," Chen Yushu mused, quite at ease with the situation. "As my cultivation deepens, I believe I'll be able to cast it continuously without effort."

Incense cultivation was the very foundation for employing ‘arts.’ Without enough power, every move had to be carefully measured.

...

The next morning.

Shi Hao knocked on his door.

"Brother Chen, I'm here," Shi Hao entered, visibly anxious. "It really was a close call this time. Thank goodness you gave me a second talisman, or it wouldn’t have been enough."

He quickly recounted his experiences from the previous night. It had indeed been dangerous. Before going to bed, he had already pasted a warding talisman in his room. But before midnight, something began battering the door. When he awoke, he watched the talisman intently, witnessing its brightness gradually fade before turning pitch black.

He didn’t dare hesitate and hurriedly put up the second talisman. Being somewhat reckless, he soon dozed off again, only to wake at dawn to find that talisman also charred black.

Fortunately, he hadn't had any nightmares, which clearly meant that whatever it was had left, unable to get in. After all, his only peculiarity was his constitution, which made it easier for such things to enter his dreams; he held no deep grudge with any of them, so they wouldn't bother to force their way in.

"So it seems these warding talismans do work," Chen Yushu muttered. Seeing Shi Hao’s surprise, he smiled, "These are warding talismans, twenty in total. Remember to keep at least two for yourself. If those things aren’t dealt with today, they’ll surely pay you another visit tonight."

With that, he handed Shi Hao a stack of talismans.

As for the evil-banishing talismans, he intended to keep those for himself—he still had to work at the pharmacy during the day, after all, and needed some protection.

"Great! Thanks, Brother!" Shi Hao accepted them with eager delight, but did not accompany Chen Yushu further. This was their unspoken agreement; for now, it was best that no one knew of their acquaintance.

...

At dawn.

The doors of the Liu family pharmacy were tightly shut.

Seeing this, Chen Yushu knew at once that something had happened inside.

Sure enough, after entering through the side door, he learned that two people had died on the second floor: one was Ma, a pharmacy worker, the other was Brother Dao, a gang member. Both had been possessed and driven mad the previous day.

Neither survived the soul-sucking of the wraiths—they died on the spot.

As for the rest...

He dared not go upstairs. He only heard from the apprentices that everyone else was in terrible shape, as if they’d spent several sleepless nights in a pleasure boat—visibly emaciated.

Last night, they’d heard people crying for help, begging to go home...

"This is a real haunting," someone couldn’t help but say.

The others nodded in uneasy agreement; just standing there, they felt a chill all around.

"I heard the authorities are here. Seems like someone from the Office of Shadow Suppression has arrived. Also, I saw the manager return—he’s upstairs now," said another apprentice.

At this, most people breathed a sigh of relief.

"If the Office of Shadow Suppression is here, then I’m not worried. They’re the professionals. Those so-called spirit mediums from yesterday didn’t look capable at all. Especially that kid—looked younger than me, how could he have any real skill?"

Another apprentice chimed in, and the others nodded, "True. I also heard them say there were five ghosts. That’s terrifying. Luckily, they’re all haunting those people upstairs; if they started trouble down here, it would be a disaster."

It was just a pity about Ma. Word was, when his body was carried out, his face was a ghastly blue, covered in scratch marks.

"Scratch marks? Did he do that to himself?" an apprentice asked.

"They say he strangled himself. The other one died the same way. Apparently, no one upstairs dared to sleep last night."

Chen Yushu felt a heavy weight in his heart. This was exactly why he was glad he had already moved out. Those wrathful ghosts were vicious indeed. By day, they dared not act rashly, but at night, they grew bold.

The two who had been possessed, their wills weak and minds overthrown, couldn't resist and ended up strangling themselves under the ghosts’ control. The others, though spared death, must be faring terribly as well. Only because they were all martial artists with robust vitality could they hold out at all—anyone else would have perished by now.

"I just wonder if those two wrathful ghosts, who killed their hosts, are still here," Chen Yushu worried inwardly. Especially the one whose aura was turning blood-red—it might not yet be a true wraith, but it was close, and when provoked, no ordinary person could withstand it.

Just then, as they spoke, they saw someone descending the stairs from the second floor.

It was a man in his thirties or forties, wearing a gray robe and an official’s hat, his expression grim. Following him was an elderly man in his fifties or sixties.

The first was a minor official from the Office of Shadow Suppression, and the elder was Su Ming, manager of the Liu family pharmacy.

"Master Wu, Manager Su," greeted Steward Zhou, waiting below.

Both nodded in response. Manager Su turned to the official, "Old Wu, you must help me think of a solution."

"One or two would be manageable. Five at once, that’s another matter. The real trouble is, we can’t separate them—if we do, they’ll riot. You saw what happened yesterday. If Old Wang hadn’t risked his life to hold them in, if even one or two had escaped, not a soul upstairs would’ve survived."

Wu Hong shook his head, frowning deeply.

The pharmacy’s troubles were minor compared to the commotion at the yamen yesterday. Even with the imperial aura suppressing things and with almost the entire Office of Shadow Suppression present, they barely contained the situation—several members perished, the rest all wounded. He himself was injured, though not as badly as the others.