CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 20: GETTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING (PART 2)

The Yin Child is completing the missing parts of her body.

Yan Daozi and his old friend are likely the creators of the Yin Child, or they hold parts missing from the Yin Child, which is why the Yin Child killed Yan Daozi’s old friend and why Yan Daozi is afraid.

This is also why the Yin Child appeared in Black Mountain Village.

This has related evidence, as Kou Yushan once mentioned that during the Corpse Nest incident, Yan Daozi acted, causing corpses to be torn apart out of thin air, an ability similar to the Yin Child’s power to rip off arms.

In addition, as mentioned in the Ming Zhang Notes, the yin object comes from evil spirits, giving Sang Que reason to suspect that Yan Daozi’s ability to dismember corpses is connected to the Yin Child.

Thinking of this, Sang Que immediately recalled her two visits to Yan Daozi, both times feeling a longing for the locked room on the left side; it was not her desire, but the Yin Child’s.

There is something in there that the Yin Child wants.

Yan Daozi said that taming evil spirits could be done with manners, first offering a token of thanks, then discussing how to express gratitude when acting, and afterwards offering double, yet the evil spirits might still be dissatisfied and take from the Yin Walker.

At first she focused on the contents of these rules, but overlooked that all these rules indicate one thing: that evil spirits can communicate with the Yin Walker.

If she promises to help the Yin Child acquire that item from Yan Daozi, lending her power unconditionally to eliminate evil spirits, or even to confront Yan Daozi, will the Yin Child agree?

That room not only gives her a sense of longing but also a sense of danger, indicating that the Yin Child can sense that there are arrangements inside the room to deal with evil spirits.

Being a living person, those arrangements might not have much effect on her.

The possibility of using Yan Daozi’s item to exchange for the Yin Child’s power to deal with Yan Daozi excited Sang Que inexplicably.

It’s daytime now, and she can’t communicate with the Yin Child, so she needs to wait until night falls and use the soul lamp to enter the Nine Netherworld Hell to consult with the Yin Child.

Carefully wiping away the writing on the ground, Sang Que stood up to find Kou Yushan and tell him about the tasks Yan Daozi assigned her.

The Earth Ghost of the Li Family, the child’s rhyme at Shouhou’s house, Kou Yushan told Sang Que everything he knew, but there was no useful information.

The hanged female corpse in the Liu Family Courtyard and the bloodstained book, Kou Yushan had never seen them either.

Sang Que hadn’t planned to investigate, just putting on a show.

She wanted to find the old village chief to pretend to read, but the old village chief wasn’t there either; he had gone to the Tangyuan County government, continuing to send requests for help to the Evil Suppression Bureau, while Kou Yushan still didn’t believe Yan Daozi would sincerely help Black Mountain Village.

Helplessly, Sang Que wandered around the village; most villagers were indifferent, wary, and unwilling to communicate with her.

Near noon, Sang Que ended her show of investigation and went to the Liu Family to tidy up her living quarters.

"Yu Niang."

As soon as Sang Que entered the Liu Family Courtyard, there was movement outside; Qin Fangru and He Shouhui approached, carrying bedding and some clothes.

He Shouhui came in and said, "Uncle Kou told us, said you would be living in the Liu Family Courtyard, and we are here to help you settle in. These are all new bedding I haven’t used, and these two clothes are ones my mother and I haven’t worn much. Don’t mind them."

Before Sang Que could say anything, Qin Fangru went inside with the bedding.

"Yu Niang, you should stay in this room on the east side. It’s big and spacious. Second Aunt, give me a hand, let’s put these old bedding away. Your father, help Yu Niang sweep the courtyard and see if anything is broken, fix everything."

"Alright!"

He Baosheng gave Sang Que a simple smile, picked up a large broom from the corner, and started sweeping the courtyard.

He Shou’an held a new small broom in his arms, ran to Sang Que, and said, "Yu Niang, Elder Sister, this is a broom my grandfather made himself, tied with a red string. I’ll place it upside down behind the door, so no evil spirit dares to come."

After saying that, He Shou’an ran into the house with a thump-thump-thump.

With the help of the He Family, the entire courtyard quickly looked brand new, with less yin energy and more vitality, warming Sang Que’s heart as she marveled at their kind and simple nature.

"He Shou’an."

Sang Que pulled the little fellow into a corner, squatted down, and looked him in the eyes seriously.

"Witch Lady told me to tell you to listen obediently to your parents from now on, you can’t leave the village at will even during the day, and you mustn’t go to any dangerous places, not even if someone tries to lure you away. Otherwise, Witch Lady will find out and turn you into a little dog."

Sang Que’s tone was severe, scaring He Shou’an with wide eyes, but he then showed a curious expression.

"Yu Niang, Elder Sister, how come you don’t stutter anymore? Your voice sounds really nice."

Sang Que pinched He Shou’an’s cheek and pulled it, "Thanks to Witch Lady’s blessing. In a moment, elder sister will return to normal, so don’t tell anyone, or else elder sister will spank you."

He Shou’an covered his mouth and nodded repeatedly, eyes shining as he gazed at Sang Que, recalling his grandmother saying that those who sincerely serve Witch Lady can receive special treatment from her. Elder Sister Yu Niang is amazing!

A gecko quickly crawled across the wall, Sang Que glanced at it, and went to help tidy up the house.

In the afternoon, after Kou Yushan finished his tasks, he brought two black dogs to the Liu Family Courtyard to patrol, with the black dogs barking at the old pagoda tree in the courtyard.

Kou Yushan wanted Sang Que to stay with him first, but Sang Que refused his kind offer.

She still had two Exorcism Talismans; if anything were to happen, she would rush to Yan Daozi’s place with the evil spirits, which would take only two minutes.

Kou Yushan left but returned shortly after, giving Sang Que a small bag of glutinous rice, only a handful, it seemed to be Kou Yushan’s last stock.

There was also a small bamboo tube of black dog blood, and he wanted to help Sang Que splash it on the old pagoda tree on the spot, but Sang Que stopped him.

That afternoon, she roughly read through the book Yan Daozi had given her; glutinous rice is mainly used for dealing with zombie-type Corpse Evils, not very effective against non-physical evil spirits.

Black dog blood has many uses, wasting it by directly splashing it on the tree without seeing the evil spirit’s body first, would be a waste. Moreover, splashing it wouldn’t kill the evil spirit.

Ming Zhang didn’t even understand the books he read clearly, and his confident writing in his notes misled Sang Que, making her mistakenly believe that sprinkling a mix of glutinous rice and salt at home would be enough to ward off evil spirits and ensure safety.

If it were zombies, that might indeed hold them off for a while.

Dusk fell, and Sang Que’s second day in Black Mountain Village was drawing to a close.

In the east room of the Liu Family, Sang Que lit an oil lamp and placed the Corpse Mud Jar and the soul lamp on the table.

The passing the Yin that Yan Daozi mentioned was similar to last night, applying corpse mud on the forehead, lighting the soul lamp, and going outside to find a place with many wandering souls to blend in.

Using the yin energy from the wandering souls’ bodies to cleanse the soul, it is gentle and non-irritating.

Then returning before midnight, meditating with a body full of wandering soul yin energy, visualizing and entering a dream to let the soul continue sinking deeper into the Nine Netherworld.

To enter the Nine Netherworld directly, skilled individuals can do so through meditation, whereas those unskilled need the aid of a soul lamp.

Sang Que used blood to ignite the soul lamp, lying on the table; whether her plan would succeed depended on whether the Yin Child would agree.