The Exorcist

Book 8: Chapter 39: Mirror Battle

With a rooster’s crow, the sky finally brightened. Hong Hao Hao looked at Xiao Xia who seemed close to death, formed a barrier, and then left both angrily and happily.

Xiao Xia struggled to open her swollen eyes, using the last bit of her consciousness to spit out the contents of her mouth onto her own chest. It was a small folded talisman, which Bao Da Tong had used to remove corpse poison from her the last time. Made of special paper and cinnabar, it couldn’t be burned or soaked. She had it in her mouth when she purposefully fell, using her tongue to push the talisman, folded to the size of a fingernail, to the side of her mouth, so it wouldn’t affect her speech.

She knew early on that Hong Hao Hao would definitely tie her up, so she hid this talisman just in case. The situation was almost as she expected, though she just didn’t know Hong Hao Hao would come up with such a cruel punishment to torture her.

At dawn, the mosquitoes, having had their fill of her blood, had already left. Thus, the talisman fell directly onto her skin, which was so swollen and red that its original color was unrecognizable. The Daoist power in the talisman instantly dissolved the invisible ropes that bound her.

The dominant thought in her mind was to find Ah Bai as soon as possible to save Ruan Zhan. So, even though she felt dizzy and stumbled every two or three steps, she still tried to make out the road. She emerged from the dense forest onto the mountain path.

After the bad luck, with the rising of the sun, good luck finally came. As soon as she reached the mountain road, she met the village chief of Naman Village who was going down the mountain to handle some affairs. Her whole body was swollen and her face was deformed, but the village chief still recognized her when she called out. He hurriedly carried her back to the village, and according to her intermittent explanations, also rescued the innkeeper’s family of three. Otherwise, if they stayed in the dense forest, they would also be dead sooner or later.

The family had no idea what had happened. The local shamans were called to pacify the nearby spirits, and Xiao Xia only woke up after being unconscious for a long time. She was covered in herbs applied by the village witch doctor using traditional methods. Everyone told her that if she hadn’t crawled out by herself that morning, she would definitely not have survived. If the ferocious mountain mosquitoes didn’t bite her to death, their poison would have gotten her.

It was already dusk and another day had been wasted. Xiao Xia couldn’t care less about the witch’s medicine making her numb and sore. She insisted on going to the Octagonal Tower. She had no choice but to lie to the village chief, saying that she came here because she Witch Doctor Ah Bai had appeared in her dream. Unexpectedly, she had been led astray by ghosts on the way, preventing her from helping the awesome witch doctor.

Although Witch Doctor Ah Bai had passed away long ago, she was still deeply loved in this area. The village chief was an especially staunch believer, so he no longer go in Xiao Xia’s way. He merely insisted on going with her. Xiao Xia had no choice but to bring him along. Considering the fact she had to go down the well, if Hong Hao Hao directed something to untie the rope, Xiao Xia would be stuck down there. Having the chief follow her might not be a bad idea.

As she slowly made her way down the well, she startled Ah Bai. “I felt restless all night, so it was you…”

“I’m already fine now!” Xiao Xia tried to smile, but the muscles on her face were so numb that she couldn’t feel anything. She had a layer of black and green ointment on her face, which probably made her look worse than if she had been crying. “It’s technically still your bedtime, but I have an urgent matter I need your help with.”

“What matter? And what happened to you?” Ah Bai stroked Xiao Xia’s face sympathetically. The places she touched felt slightly better.

“Keep your voice down. Who knows whether the chief is eavesdropping.” Xiao Xia pointed upwards. “I wasn’t able to come quietly after what happened, so I could only tell him you visited me in my dreams and asked me to do something. He ended up believing it.”

“That’s fine, I’ll enter his dream tonight and cover for you.” Ah Bai said, “First, tell me what happened.”

Xiao Xia whispered the whole story. When she mentioned that Ruan Zhan’s life or death was uncertain, tears streamed down her face, diluting the medicine on her face, and she immediately felt a burning pain.

“That Hong Hao Hao bullied you like that last night?” Even a kind and amiable person like Ah Bai couldn’t help but get angry after hearing about Hong Hao Hao’s deeds. She furrowed her delicate brows. “That’s how the mountain folk punish traitors of their tribe. She went too far!”

Xiao Xia shivered, not wanting to relive it a second time. But she still comforted Ah Bai. “Regardless, it’s already past. Aren’t I still alive? Now I want to ask you, can you save Ah Zhan?”

She looked at Ah Bai nervously, fearing that she would say no, but Ah Bai gave an ambiguous answer. “I can’t answer you right away. I need to think about it properly. Let me treat your wounds first. Although I can’t help you recover fully, I can at least soothe the pain.”

“Don’t worry about me. What’s important is saving Ah Zhan!” Xiao Xia was a bit anxious, “And we have to leave right away. Forget about Ah Zhan being short on time. The more pressing matter is that Hong Hao Hao won’t let us off. If we don’t leave, even if she can’t reach us down here, she might go harass the village to force us out. Now that your powers have weakened and she’s become more ferocious, I’m afraid you’re not her match. I can’t let you come to harm as well.

It’s almost dark now. If we can’t get out of this mountain in time, we’ll run into her.” Ah Bai frowned and said. “You’re not the one who got me involved. Ah Nan was the one who planted this seed long ago. As his wife, I should be the one to bear his consequences.”

“It’s all my fault. I would be fine if I wasn’t in a rush to get up the mountain last night. Haste made waste.”

“Don’t be silly. Neither of us knew her resentment of Ah Nan had yet to fade, let alone the fact she was roaming this area. It was lucky she didn’t spot you the last time you came. This time, if you hadn’t come up in the middle of the night, she would have sought you out while in the village. That would have ended up harming more people. This woman is stubborn and must be removed to protect others from harm. Unfortunately, my current power is insufficient. I can only protect myself and cannot help others. Otherwise, even if I am a soul, I cannot allow evil spirits to cause trouble in this forest. Ah Bai spoke very seriously. In Xiao Xia’s eyes, it was the first time she realized that this frail woman also had the courage and determination to defend her hometown and people, which made her admire Ah Bai even more.

“What should we do then? I’ve brought the Philosopher’s Stone you gave me. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to come with me during the day, so I figured you could attach yourself to it.” Xiao Xia said.

“It’s impossible to leave today. I can still make it on my own, but you won’t survive if she catches you again. Besides, whether Ah Zhan can be saved and how to do so is something I still need to figure out. This stone was passed down to me by my master. I never really paid much attention to it. She told me many uses for this stone, but I’ve almost forgotten them all. I need to stay here to stimulate my memory. If I go to an unfamiliar place, I will remember even less.” Ah Bai thought for a moment and said. “Tonight we will stay at the Octagonal Tower. I have hidden some things in the secret compartment there. We’ll also have the high ground. We will find a way to stall her for one night and figure out a plan tomorrow morning.”

Xiao Xia thought about it and felt that Ah Bai was right. It was unwise to leave at this time, and if they hid in the well, Hong Hao Hao would go to the village to harm people. But if they are within Hong Hao Hao’s attack range and merely prevented her from succeeding, Hong Hao Hao would have no time to harm others.

So, Xiao Xia let Ah Bai possess the stone she carried with her, climbed up the well, made up a few more things and sent the village chief back before moving into the octagonal tower with Ah Bai. Watching Ah Bai busily arranging something, Xiao Xia felt a bit scared. Fortunately, she had hidden the Philosopher’s Stone well, Hong Hao Hao did not search her body. Otherwise, the hope for Ruan Zhan’s resurrection would have been completely shattered.

As soon as it got dark, the area outside the octagonal tower became lively, with all kinds of strange sounds rising and falling. In the room, the emergency light that Xiao Xia had previously given to the village chief was being used as an emergency light source. Ah Bai, with a composed and elegant demeanor, was not flustered at all. She carefully treated Xiao Xia’s injuries with her own methods. Seeing Xiao Xia’s skin that was covered with bites after the medicine was washed off, Ah Bai grew truly furious.

There was a swoosh as a bone of some unknown animal flew in from the window. Black smoke swiftly spread from the bone, turning the bamboo floor black as if burnt. Xiao Xia, who was receiving treatment, almost jumped up, but Ah Bai held her down. She calmly waved her hand and murmured a few words. The copper basin on the stand suddenly leapt up and covered that bone.

The bones seemed unwilling to be trapped, clanging chaotically in the copper basin like someone anxiously beating a gong. The copper basin trembled, almost being overturned several times, until Ah Bai picked up the bamboo pillow from the bed and struck it. Only then did it quieten down.

Ah Bai frowned and whispered. “I have really declined, not even a tenth of what I used to be.”

Before Xiao Xia could respond, a cold snort from Hong Hao Hao came from outside the window, “It’s good that you know. This world is no longer yours.”

“It isn’t yours either. I at least have Ah Nan to accompany me, and I don’t go out to harm others.” Ah Bai said. She let out a long breath, finally finishing up Xiao Xia’s treatment. Xiao Xia still suffered some discomfort as the bites would only fade after a few days, but at least she wasn’t completely swollen anymore. She had recovered her original appearance and was no longer unrecognizable.

“Ah Nan is dead!” Hong Hao Hao shouted sharply. “The person you’re protecting caused our man to die, but you’re still helping her!”

“He’s my man, not ours.” Ah Bai corrected seriously, “And he is not dead. He has a wisp of soul accompanying me, that’s enough. You, with all your wants, cannot understand that this sort of love is enough for me.”

The response was a thump was one of the windows was sent flying. Ah Bai swiftly stood up, forming a seal with her hand and pointing towards a tall tree outside. The tree immediately bent, leaning towards the window, its dense foliage blocking the opening where the window used to be.

Bang! Another window was blown away by an inexplicable strong wind, and a huge face appeared by the window. It was Hong Hao Hao. She had suddenly turned huge, her eyes filled with rage, intent on swallowing those inside the tower.

Ah Bai took a step forward and stood in front of Xiao Xia. She opened her arms, striking the small drum at her waist with dance-like movements. She had found it in the tower’s hidden compartment.

The sound of the drum was clear and melodious, and it sounded wonderful to Xiao Xia’s ears. Judging by Hong Hao Hao’s expression, it was not so enjoyable for her. She tried several times to break in through the window, but each time she was repelled by the sound of the drum. After a while of stalemate, she finally couldn’t bear it and retreated for the second time.

Ah Bai’s figure flickered, and Xiao Xia hurriedly stepped forward to help, but grasped at nothing. Only then did she remember that Ah Bai was just a soul that she couldn’t touch.

“Let me help you. What should I do?” She said anxiously.

“My witchcraft can’t hold on anymore. However, if you trust me, give me all your talismans.” Ah Bai’s face was pale. Clearly, repelling Hong Hao Hao took a lot out of her.

“What are you saying? How could I not trust you?” Xiao Xia scolded her and placed all her talismans on the windowsill in front of Ah Bai. At the same time, she took off her bone necklace.

Ah Bai had a sudden idea. She whispered a few things in Xiao Xia’s ear. Before Xiao Xia could react, a third window started shaking. This time the force was extremely great, and it felt as if the whole tower was vibrating.

“Are you putting on a show, with one scene at a time? Messing things up won’t result in a good outcome.” Xiao Xia shouted angrily.

Clang!

The third window opened, but Ah Bai had already reached it. As soon as the window opened, she immediately cast the talisman that Xiao Xia had given her. She was Si Ma Nan’s wife, and he was a master of Daoist arts. So although she had never studied it, she had heard of this Five Elements Forbidden Art. At this moment, using her witchcraft to perform the orthodox Daoist technique seemed to have decent effects. She forced a gust of black wind to retreat step by step, preventing it from sweeping into the room.

In Xiao Xia’s view, Ah Bai not only looked much more graceful using these talismans, but the power was also greater. The water spells were fluid, the wood spells were nimble, the earth spells were steady, and the metal spells were resounding. The fire talismans struck the ground one by one, looking from a distance like a field of sparks.

Bao Da Tong’s blood talismans were well made, and Ah Bai was skilled with witchcraft. Therefore, despite Hong Hao Hao being stronger than Ah Bai, she wasn’t able to break in. The more she couldn’t get in, the more anxious she became. The entire area around the octagonal tower was filled with a sinister wind, with broken branches, leaves, and clumps of mud swirling around, making the bamboo building creak and rattle, giving Xiao Xia the feeling of being on a cliff, teetering on the edge.

“I can’t hold on any longer. Prepare to enact our plan.” Ah Bai’s voice suddenly entered Xiao Xia’s mind.

Without saying a word, Xiao Xia unceremoniously crawled under the bed. Just as she settled in place, the only door was suddenly pushed open. A pair of women’s feet stepped in, and another pair wearing embroidered shoes stepped up to meet them.

Xiao Xia couldn’t see beyond that. Only two pairs of feet not touching the ground moving back and forth on the floor. Tables, chairs, and benches were all smashed to the ground. In less than a few minutes, all the noise and those two pairs of feet disappeared together, leaving the building in dead silence.

Xiao Xia quickly crawled out from under the bed and saw that everything in the room was destroyed, except for the table which was still intact. On the table was the emergency lighting and an old-fashioned bronze mirror. At this moment, the mirror’s surface was pitch black and did not reflect any light.

Following Ah Bai’s instructions, she quickly walked to the mirror and wiped the surface with the unique talisman from Bao Da Tong. She immediately noticed that the black aura swirling around the mirror dissipated, revealing two little figures inside the mirror fighting each other. They were Ah Bai and Hong Hao Hao.

The two people seemed to be fighting with magic, but Hong Hao Hao was attacking while Ah Bai was constantly dodging, clearly at a disadvantage. Xiao Xia was anxious and quickly moved the light to take a closer look. She saw the two of them fighting faster and faster, gradually becoming two shadows, indistinguishable from each other.

“Ah Bai, be careful!” Regardless of whether she could hear her, Xiao Xia called loudly.

…….

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