Chapter 108: One Minute

Du E had once told Wu Xian.

She possessed a spirit jar capable of commanding minor ghosts that had not yet transformed into malevolent entities, so Wu Xian suspected she had used a similar method to overturn the food tray.

But he never expected Du E to produce a straw figure.

She gripped the straw figure with both hands, arranged it into the same posture as Liu Xiucai, then whispered an incantation without sound.

“Body mirrors body, heart aligns with heart—go!”

This was a talisman she had brought into the sacred land using the Eternal Position technique.

“Cheating is the Young Master’s privilege—you have no right to cheat, and it’s simple to find out if you’re cheating… write me another essay!”

Liu Xiucai had already been suspicious of the time when the food tray was overturned; now, seeing Wu Xian snatch four offerings in one go, he turned on Wu Xian.

Since he was angry.

“Half a cup of tea… one minute is enough!”

With the remaining four offerings now in Wu Xian’s hands, he was about to go to the bookshelf like Su Mi to read—when Liu Xiucai called out to him.

Wu Xian gasped heavily.

Swish!

The guillotine blade slashed down sharply.

Fortunately for him, those spikes prevented the iron pot’s handle from causing widespread burns to his hands—after all, Hard Qi merely hardened the body; it offered no resistance to extreme heat.

When Wu Xian devised this plan, he had anticipated that snatching multiple offerings at once might provoke an extra reaction from Liu Xiucai, so this was no surprise—he smiled and said.

Liu Xiucai returned to his seat with suspicion, feeling something was off.

“My apologies.”

Wu Xian first lifted Zhao Xiaofu’s corpse down, then clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

Wu Xian didn’t mind stoking his rage further.

This way, Wu Xian could safely retrieve the talisman without risking stepping on a stool.

Turning around, he revealed a cold smirk.

Hearing the word “cheating,” Jiang Xianglan’s heart leapt to her throat.

He took off Zhao Xiaofu’s coat, tore it into strips, tied them together into a long rope, threw one end over the beam, and gripped both ends, rubbing the rope back and forth against the beam.

To avoid arousing suspicion.

Wu Xian remained utterly calm—he had foreseen this outcome the moment he saw Liu Xiucai’s gaze.

Du E stared fixedly at Liu Xiucai.

Whoosh!

Soon, Liu Xiucai caught the last cockroach.

“Wait—I suspect you cheated.”

He spun around sharply, only to see Wu Xian and the others sitting upright as if nothing had happened.

“Do you have proof I cheated? And isn’t your duty to help the Young Master cheat? Why are you so strict with us?”

“Hard Qi drains blood and qi—this reaction is normal. No wonder the next use requires restoring one’s physical strength; if I did this again, I’d probably die outright.”

Liu Xiucai sneered.

Wu Xian waited a moment longer before rising and handing Liu Xiucai Jiang Xianglan’s short essay.

Wu Xian lightly rested his hands above the hot oil pot.

Wu Xian walked into the partition, estimated the distance, then went to the oil pot that had previously burned Zhao Xiaofu—now the oil remained perfectly still.

But one minute can accomplish much—even an ordinary person can run two or three hundred meters in one minute!

Wu Xian suddenly gripped the pot’s handle—the illusion vanished, and sharp spines erupted from the handle, yet not even a single layer of his skin was pierced.

Same-Body Straw Figure: A straw figure woven from moldy broom grass; once arranged to mirror a target’s posture and enchanted, it can control their movements. Dry straw breaks easily—once broken, the effect ends.

Wu Xian smiled and agreed.

“Good. This essay is acceptable. I’ll give you half a cup of tea to choose your offerings.”

While Liu Xiucai turned to catch cockroaches, Wu Xian swiftly snatched two short essays from Jiang Xianglan’s desk—one he placed on his own, the other he tossed to Du E.

A normal person would have been sliced clean in two—but the guillotine blade bounced off Wu Xian’s flesh; he slid out with a hiss, feeling only a brief pinch, no pain at all.

After completing all this.

As he hesitated, Wu Xian caught a cold gaze—Liu Xiucai sat in his chair, glaring at him, eyes blazing as if spitting fire.

After completing the incantation ritual.

Liu Xiucai periodically reached into the food tray, pulling out a lively, wriggling cockroach—suddenly, one crawled onto his hand; he instinctively shook his hand, and Du E swiftly shook the straw figure’s arm.

The talisman landed in Wu Xian’s hand.

Wu Xian lifted the full pot of boiling oil and upended it directly over the depression!

Then Wu Xian sprinted to the next partition, leapt into the narrow cabinet, and pulled out the peach offering inside.

“Three, two, one… start!”

Inside this partition was a depression, cluttered with ropes; a string of bone beads rested at the bottom, barely visible in outline.

Splash!

He abandoned watching Wu Xian and others, leapt from his seat, opened his mouth wide, and shot out his crimson tongue like lightning, snatching back the lost cockroach at astonishing speed.

“You’ve already taken three offerings—still going?”

A few seconds remained, but not enough time to grab the final offering.

Whoosh!

Liu Xiucai’s hand spasmed violently, jerking upward—suddenly flinging the food tray into the air, sending dozens of lively cockroaches scattering everywhere.

Wu Xian stared at Liu Xiucai’s bulky frame, slightly startled—just now, this fat bastard had displayed speed and strength even the wandering ghosts he’d encountered couldn’t match.

After burning Zhao Xiaofu, the illusion regenerated automatically.

Although Wu Xian broke no rule and half a cup of tea hadn’t passed, snatching three offerings at once enraged Liu Xiucai.

Liu Xiucai read through it, shaking his head slightly, then nodded.

The illusion of the narrow cabinet’s curtain vanished—revealing a gleaming steel guillotine blade!

When one minute ended, Wu Xian instantly felt drained, as if he’d just donated blood and then forced himself into sage mode all night.

Watching the cockroaches swirling through the air, Liu Xiucai panicked.

In this godforsaken place, only the Liu family mansion could produce so many plump, delicious cockroaches.

Jiang Xianglan’s face turned deathly pale, her whole body prickling with goosebumps—yet Du E wore a smile of quiet delight.

Wu Xian lifted the oil pot lid—inside floated various scalded snakes and insects; he dragged over a stool and used its leg to fish out the bone beads and gold hairpin from the oil.

Wu Xian carried the scalding oil pot swiftly to the next partition.

Not long after.

“Is it because its rank is higher—or because different types of malevolent spirits manifest different abilities…”

Swish!

Wu Xian activated the Human Spirit Technique—Hard Qi!

One minute is short—just glance at a video or read a few pages of a novel, and it’s gone.

Half a cup of tea hasn’t passed yet—use this time to grab the final offering too.

“Fine!”

The inspiration for the Same-Body Straw Figure came from a scene in “Uncle Zombie”—I tried to trace its origin, but after flipping through pages, I couldn’t find what this straw figure incantation was actually called.

(End of Chapter)