Volume Three: The Fox Immortal's Tomb - Chapter Thirty-One: Sudden Mutation

After hearing me out, both of them nodded. I said, "Then tonight we just need to wait for the show. The Skinning Ghost will definitely come after midnight. I will open your 'Heavenly Eyes' at eleven o'clock, and then we'll watch how the Skinning Ghost meets his end."

After that, I said to Li Kun, "Old Li, go to the courtyard later. Since our courtyard is quite large—I estimate it's at least thirty meters across—to prevent the Skinning Ghost from escaping into the house, place the paper effigy in the center of the courtyard. I don't believe the Skinning Ghost can resist such a large piece of 'meat'."

Li Kun nodded, and Xu Tian asked, "Old Liu, doesn't that mean the black dog blood and rooster blood we prepared were for nothing?"

I smiled and said, "Of course not. Since this Skinning Ghost has killed so many young women, do you think he’ll get off with just a simple soul-scattering? We’ll be using all of these things on him tonight."

As I spoke, I got up and walked to the storage area in the outer room. After rummaging through some clutter, I found what I was looking for and brought the three items back into the room.

When Xu Tian and Li Kun saw what I was holding, their eyelids twitched violently. To their surprise, I was clutching three water guns!

As their mouths twitched in disbelief, I picked up the largest one, pumped the pressure chamber a few times, and confirmed it was still functional. I smiled and said, "For the sake of our safety, we’ll stand outside the golden net tonight and blast him with the rooster and black dog blood."

Hearing this, Li Kun hurriedly grabbed another large water gun and said, "Old Liu, you really have the most devious ideas. This method is not only safe but also satisfying. It looks like the Skinning Ghost is in for a rough night."

Xu Tian looked at us with a helpless smile and remarked, "You two are truly the Wolong and Fengchu of our generation."

I chuckled, "You flatter us. Old Xu, hurry up and test the other water gun. If it doesn't work, there are plenty more in the outer room. I only remembered this trick when I saw these guns while coming back; otherwise, I was prepared to just throw the blood with basins."

Xu Tian nodded and tested the third gun. All three were in good condition. It seemed the Skinning Ghost was destined for a miserable night.

We went out into the courtyard. I looked around and decided on the center, right by a wall about a meter high. I pointed at it, and Li Kun leaned the paper effigy against one end. I surveyed the surroundings, determined to see the coverage of the golden net created by the Ghost Sealing Talisman.

I took out the Soul-Suppressing Bell, closed my eyes slightly, held the bell before me, and chanted slowly: "The flow of Yin and Yang is profound and endless; from the solstices, we return to the nine palaces. If one masters the principles of Yin and Yang, the heavens and earth are held in one's palm. Heavenly Eye, open."

After chanting, I gave the bell a gentle shake and opened my eyes. As I did, I saw streaks of black mist still shrouding the entire village. Seeing this, I became even more determined to eliminate the Headless Ghost and the Skinning Ghost; it would be a service to the people.

Holding the Ghost Sealing Talisman Xu Tian had given me, I walked over to the side room and stuck it onto the wall.

The moment the talisman touched the wall, my vision brightened. Just as Xu Tian had described, a surge of golden light rippled across the wall. I turned around and looked up.

At a height of about twenty meters, a large, square golden net had firmly encased our courtyard. Each gap in the net was no larger than a fingertip.

Looking up, I saw nothing but golden light. The sight was truly shocking, and I was secretly amazed at how powerful this Ghost Sealing Talisman really was.

Li Kun and Xu Tian stared at me, dumbfounded. Li Kun asked, "Old Liu, don't just stand there! How is it? Does the talisman work?"

I nodded and said, "It doesn't just work; this talisman must have come from the hand of a true master."

They both gasped, eager to see the scene in the courtyard. But before they could speak, I turned around and pulled the talisman off the wall.

Seeing them staring at me blankly, I knew they wanted to see the spectacle. I said, "The talisman can't be activated yet. If the Skinning Ghost notices it, he might not show up. Don't be impatient; when he arrives, you'll see the golden net clearly, and you'll see the Skinning Ghost himself just as plainly."

They nodded. Xu Tian added, "Right, we can't expose it too early. Let's go back inside and prepare the blood. When the time comes, we’ll grab our gear and finish him off."

We returned to the room and started our preparations.

Time ticked by, and it was past eleven. We wanted to rest, but with these thoughts in our heads, we tossed and turned, unable to sleep—or at least, unable to sleep soundly.

Seeing that the time was right, I said to them, "It's time. I'll open your Heavenly Eyes now."

They sat up straight, excitement in their eyes. Li Kun said, "Finally, I'll get to see the world through the Heavenly Eye."

He stood up and came before me. "Old Liu, start with me."

I nodded, placed the Soul-Suppressing Bell before his eyes, chanted the incantation, and gave the bell a gentle shake.

Immediately after, Li Kun felt a chill in his eyes. No, "chill" was an understatement; he felt as if his eyes were in the Antarctic while his body remained in the sweltering heat of the southern summer.

He instinctively reached up to touch his eyes. He tried to open them, but his eyelids felt nailed shut, no matter how hard he tried. He felt as if something were about to burst forth from within his eyes, and an icy, bone-chilling cold flooded his entire body.

Li Kun felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.

Xu Tian and I were horrified. Xu Tian cried, "Old Liu, what's wrong with Li Kun? Why is he like this?"

I was equally stunned. "That's impossible! I used the correct incantation. Why didn't I have any reaction when I opened mine? What is going on?"

We both knelt beside him, anxiously calling his name.

I reached out to steady him, but the moment my hand touched his skin, I recoiled in terror. I looked at Xu Tian, panicked. "It's bad. Something has gone wrong with Li Kun."

Li Kun collapsed onto the floor, his body convulsing involuntarily.

I looked down at his face, and my pupils constricted. A layer of frost had formed on his eyelids, and waves of frigid air were leaking from his eyes.

Seeing this, I warned Xu Tian, "Old Xu, don't touch him!"

I quickly brought the Soul-Suppressing Bell to my eyes, closed them, recited the incantation rapidly, shook the bell, and snapped my eyes open.

The moment I did, I was struck dumb by the sight before me.

The room was filled with thick, black mist. I realized with dread what was happening and looked back at Li Kun’s eyes.

Black, concentrated ghostly energy was seeping out of his eyes. It was vastly different from the mist surrounding the village. If the outside mist had been this dense, Xu Tian and I would have struggled to move even an inch.

I said to Xu Tian, "This is a disaster! Why is ghostly energy leaking from Li Kun's eyes? How could this happen?"

Xu Tian was equally horrified. "What? Ghostly energy? How can a living person have ghostly energy? Li Kun isn't dead!"

I considered the Soul-Severing Blade. If I stabbed it into Li Kun's eyes, it could absorb the ghostly energy, but he would be blinded. If I didn't, he would be frozen to death by his own internal energy.

I was at a complete loss. Li Kun continued to tremble, the icy energy pouring from his eyes. Frost began to coat the room, and Li Kun’s face was already covered in a layer of ice.

Just as we were panicking, the unexpected happened.