Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Sorcerer’s Howl

This was truly defying the heavens!

Two strands of bloody spider silk shot out from behind Xing Xinman, aimed straight at me and the old man Ma. Ma took a mouthful of water from his gourd and sprayed it toward the silk; immediately, the strands dissolved and fell to the ground.

But Xing Xinman was relentless. She scuttled rapidly across the ceiling, firing several more threads from behind her. The old man darted left and right with remarkable agility, narrowly dodging the attacks. Grabbing a stool, he swung it a few times, tangling up all the silk that came at him.

I wasn’t nearly as fortunate. Years of neglect had left me with poor physical fitness; all I could do was wave the feather duster in my hand, barely managing to fend off the oncoming strands. The silk was thick and incredibly tough—one sharp tug, and the feather duster was wrenched from my grasp, flying across the room!

I was alarmed—this strength was inhuman!

More spider silk came hurtling toward me; I dodged in panic, flinging anything I could grab in its direction. The strands tore through every obstacle, pressing closer and closer.

Suddenly, something tightened viciously around my ankle. I crashed to the floor, my whole body dragged backwards by a tremendous force, banging into things left and right. I clawed desperately for something to halt my momentum, but it was useless.

After a while, I was hoisted into the air; my wrists and ankles were completely bound, stuck fast to the ceiling, unable to move!

My heart leapt into my throat! Xing Xinman's eerie, upturned face was just inches from mine—her expression utterly lifeless, eyes vacant, as if she were in a dreamless sleep.

Her clothes writhed, and a huge spider emerged, making my scalp crawl and my back go cold. This spider was even larger than the one from last night! So last night’s was just a “child”—this was the “mother”!

Was the talisman Ma gave me useless? It hadn’t helped at all! I had no feud with this spider, so why was it targeting me? Was it just picking on the weakest prey?

The ghostly spider crawled out completely, perching on Xing Xinman’s back like a shell. It bent its eight legs, then suddenly leaped straight at me!

My heart stopped. I felt a chill all over. I thought, “This is it—I’m not going to die from a ghost curse, but at the hands of a giant spider!”

Suddenly, a thunderous roar split the air. The old man Ma stood tall, shielding his face with one hand, shouting at the top of his lungs.

But this was no ordinary shout: it resonated deeply, full of power, nearly bursting my eardrums and shattering my composure!

Bound as I was, I could only turn my face away, squeeze my eyes shut, and try to block out the sound. The roar seemed endless, making everything around vibrate, but I had no time to worry about that.

Abruptly, the bindings on my body loosened. I fell heavily to the floor.

The old man’s voice ceased.

My head rang and my ears buzzed for a long while before I recovered. Just as I tried to get up, something heavy crashed down in front of me—it was Xing Xinman. With a thud, another object landed at my side: the giant ghost spider!

Terrified, I scrambled to my feet and rushed to Ma’s side.

Neither Xing Xinman nor the spider moved.

The old man stepped forward, took a mouthful of water from his gourd, and sprayed it on the spider. The monstrous creature’s eight legs twitched, and its body shriveled, withering into a dried husk. Ma sprayed it again; the husk didn’t move an inch—it was dead for good.

He checked on Xing Xinman; her eyes, which had been wide open, finally closed, and the strange lifelessness left her face.

“How is she?” I asked, still shaken.

“With the ghost spider dead, the source of the witchcraft is gone, but full recovery will take some work,” Ma replied.

He told me to carry Xing Xinman back to her room. Remembering her earlier appearance, I couldn’t help feeling uneasy, but managed to help her back and lay her on the bed. Ma gave her a sip of water from his gourd.

“What now?” I asked.

“Call Xing San and the others back,” Ma said as he headed outside.

Back in the main hall, he sprawled out on the sofa. The desiccated corpse of the spider still lay where it fell.

I called Xing San and then asked Ma, “Was that technique you just used the Lion’s Roar?”

“Lion’s Roar, my foot! That was the Witch’s Howl—communing with spirits, disturbing the mind, and shattering evil! The Witch’s Howl is the ancestor of the Daoist Howl! You ought to learn a thing or two!”

I pressed on: “Why didn’t the talisman you gave me work? And why did that thing target me?”

“That talisman is for wandering ghosts and lonely spirits; it wasn’t meant to work here. I gave it to you to calm your nerves so you wouldn’t act so timid,” Ma said casually, as if it were nothing.

Damn him! Calm my nerves? I nearly died! That old man was clearly getting back at me for not helping earlier!

Not long after, Xing San and his wife hurried home, with Su Feiyong and his wife following close behind. Seeing the dead spider and the mess, Xing San anxiously asked about Xing Xinman.

“The ghost spider is dead, but for her full recovery, you’ll need to do a few things,” Ma said.

“Just tell us—we’ll do whatever you say,” Xing San replied, nodding repeatedly.

“You need to soak pomelo leaves in clean water and wash her body three times a day until she wakes. Also, find a bunch of bluegrass, tie it into a bundle, and hang it above her door to ward off evil. And remember, after this ordeal, her soul has been disturbed—when she wakes, do not scold her about what happened, or she could lose her spirit entirely.”

“We’ll do it all, exactly as you say!” Xing San promised.

Ma finished his instructions, and the couple hurried off to check on Xing Xinman.

I looked at the old man next to me and quietly said, “You could have woken her up directly, couldn’t you?”

He glanced at me but said nothing.

Soaking pomelo leaves and hanging bluegrass were just ordinary methods to dispel evil. And Ma had specifically told Xing San and his wife not to blame Xing Xinman.

Though the couple had shown great concern for their daughter since I arrived, she had nearly lost her life while out at night, and they had known nothing of it. Who could say what their usual treatment of her was really like?

Xing Xinman’s problem was resolved, but there were still two other girls. Whether Ma was truly devoted to saving others or just wanted to buy time, he took the initiative to help and got in touch with Yue Wanqi and the parents of the two girls.

The parents, already driven to despair by the situation, were desperate for help—and when they heard someone had already cured one of the afflicted, they seized at the chance without hesitation.