Chapter 15: The Celestial Gang Talisman Displays Its Might

"I almost thought you got busted washing your feet yesterday!" Zhang Hang's voice came through the phone. "I knocked at your place at noon and didn't see you; I was just thinking of heading to the Public Security Bureau to bail you out!"

Gu Zhao had slept last night in a mountain village in the otherworld, so he never saw the messages Zhang Hang sent him last night, nor did he reply to any from this morning or afternoon, naturally causing Zhang Hang to grow anxious.

Gu Zhao was scrolling through his phone with no mood to banter with Zhang Hang, so he casually made up an excuse: "Erlang Shen wouldn't let me pass the level; I played until nearly dawn before sleeping and haven't checked my phone since."

Fortunately, he had already spoken with his honored mother yesterday morning, and she hadn't contacted him again today; his relationships with other classmates were merely ordinary, so his absence for a single day went entirely unnoticed.

Only Zhang Hang, that foul-mouthed friend, would actually invite him out tonight to accompany him in filming a restaurant-review video.

"You're so rich; why not just hire anyone to go with you?" Gu Zhao asked.

"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing by hiring you? You come help me film, and I'll treat you to a meal," Zhang Hang replied. "I'll send you the address; hurry over."

Finally, he added a tempting line: "I've created a new model for restaurant reviews; there are benefits today~"

Gu Zhao looked at the disconnected call, could only sigh, and began packing to leave; however, he casually snapped his fingers, causing a glimmer of purple light to flicker at his fingertip. "If there are no benefits today, I'll let you experience the thrill of being electrocuted."

One hour later...

"Baozimen, a great master cast a divination for me, saying it is auspicious for me to start a business, suitable for new media food exploration, and that I can build a career and harvest love during the process!"

"I must say, the quality of this hotpot restaurant is too high; handsome men and beautiful women everywhere. Could it be that I'll find my destined lady on my very first day?"

"Beautiful lady, do you believe in love at first sight?"

"You don't believe? Then please serve me a red-oil broth base; a mandarin duck pot doesn't suit me."

"Divination? Of course I believe in it, because one of my childhood friends is an orthodox successor of the Daoist sect; not only is his Wu Gong excellent, but his divinations are incredibly accurate."

"He said that if I had money, my studies would suffer, and indeed my studies suffered; he said I wouldn't find true love in nightclubs, and indeed I found none."

"Which great master? Naturally, it's 【@GuangZhaoRiYue】. He practices the Daoist Three Lights Method, and can also draw lots, tell fortunes, interpret dreams, and analyze feng shui—whether it's Ziwei Doushu or the Godly Physique of the Commoner... Okay, okay, I won't say more..."

"The red-oil broth has arrived. Sister, do you know why I ordered the red-oil broth? It's because I am fiery and boiling hot, needing a spring of clear water—hey sister, why are you suddenly speaking Sichuan dialect? Don't think I don't know that 'Laozi Shudaoshan'."

Gu Zhao never dreamed in his wildest dreams that Zhang Hang's new niche would be picking up girls inside restaurants.

But he had to admit, Zhang Hang was young, possessed seven-tenths of his own handsomeness, and with wealth and leisure time honed his tongue in nightclubs; after negotiating with the restaurant staff to flirt with girls only to be ruthlessly rejected by them, it truly created entertaining content.

On the other side, He Xiuniang arrived again at the village entrance behind the mountain village, which led to the rear mountains, at the beginning of You Hour, gazing expectantly into the depths of the forest.

However, until the sun neared setting, she had not waited out the figure she held in her heart.

"But the Young Master said he would return tonight," Xiuniang murmured to herself.

She frowned, thought for a moment, then couldn't help but lightly bite her lower lip; showing slight hesitation, she glanced back at the village once before taking small, quick steps into the mountain forest.

Normally, as long as one did not venture too deep, the mountain forest behind the village was not dangerous; the hunter Li Erping entered the mountains from here, and village women walking this path to pick wild fruits and gather mushrooms; Xiuniang herself had entered the mountains to pick flowers in the spring.

However, the villagers always entered the mountains during the day and exited at dusk, never spending the night within the forest.

Xiuniang walked along small paths through shallow grass the entire way, avoiding potential snakes and insects, and soon ventured deep into the forest; when she looked back, the village along her path was already obscured by dense trees, completely invisible.

Xiuniang raised her head to look at a small hill in the distance, wanting to go there to see; perhaps from there she could catch a distant glimpse of Gu Zhao returning?

She recalled picking a large, red mountain flower on that very hilltop during the spring, wondering, "I wonder if Young Master Gu will stay here until next spring?"

A strange sense of expectation flashed through Xiuniang's little mind, just as a rebuke sounded from not far away; though the voice was not loud, it traveled a great distance without diminishing.

"You cannot escape; hand over the divine statue!"

"Don't you just want to transform into human form? I will take you to meet the Sect Leader; perhaps the Sect Leader can help you transform and even reward you with the seat of a Divine Consort within the sect."

"Ying ying ying!"

Xiuniang was startled; whipping her head around, she saw a white shadow darting through the forest, quickly approaching her.

"Ying—"

A sharp cry rang out; the white shadow seemed to only just discover Xiuniang, crashing into a large tree merely several zhang away.

"Bang!"

The great tree suddenly exploded; a white shot forth from the bursting wood chips, clearly changing direction to move sideways away from Xiuniang.

"Hm? Where did this little girl come from? Get the hell out of this deity's way!"

Right behind the white shadow, a mass of black qi rolled forth; because trees blocked the view and the forest grew dark earlier than outside, Xiuniang had completely failed to notice it until now.

Now facing the onrushing black qi, Xiuniang was already stiff all over; let alone moving, she could not even scream.

She could only feel a wave of coldness; within her entire field of vision, everything was turning black.

"Ying ying..."

The white shadow let out a mournful cry but showed no intention of turning back.

But just as the black qi closed within three chi of Xiuniang, as if about to swallow her whole, Xiuniang suddenly felt a warmth in her chest.

The next moment, a warm aura enveloped Xiuniang, instantly dispelling the cold, calming her heart, soothing her fear, and restoring her vitality.

"Hm?"

At that very moment, a force of Gang Qi imbued with the light of the sun, moon, and heavens suddenly rose from Xiuniang's body, rushing toward the oncoming black qi with speed faster than lightning.

The black qi was only three chi from Xiuniang; it had not even had time to react to the white shadow's sudden change of direction, so how could it possibly dodge this onrushing Gang Qi?

"Shua!"

The Gang Qi and the black qi collided silently.

The black qi was instantly scattered into pieces by the Gang Qi.

"Ah!"

A piercing scream of agony rang out; Xiuniang, who had been so stiff she couldn't move, was startled into a full-body shudder, then looked up to see a faint, looming black human figure emerge from the dispersed black qi.

"Ah!" Xiuniang screamed.

"Ahhh!" The black shadow also screamed.

The Gang Qi continued its assault; the black qi shrouding the human figure kept dissipating, clearly impacting the black shadow that had been charging forward at full speed.

The black shadow exerted its full strength, finally halting its forward momentum to retreat at full speed, only to discover in terror that the Gang Qi, not yet exhausted, had followed and continued its assault against him.

"What is this thing?"

The black shadow, both startled and furious, could only gather the black qi once more and charge toward the gale.