Chapter 29

This is the danger of the literary law duel: when casting a spell one must focus the entire body, allowing no distraction; even if heaven steps down, you may not leave the altar even half a step, and if any external force disturbs, the Daoist himself will suffer backlash.

Initially, I kept some troops back precisely because I feared interference; moreover, I thought Pangzi was also here, and with both sides working together I should be able to protect myself fully.

But I underestimated the bespectacled man's cunning; he left the advancing netherworld troops unattacked and instead braved danger to deal with me when my defenses were down. I also underestimated Pangzi's unreliability,

When this bespectacled man arrived, he actually kept his eyes closed, concentrating on using his Mystic Eye to peek at Yao Yirong's arousal until I was injured, at which point he came to his senses.

After Pangzi came to his senses, he stared blankly at me coughing blood, then turned his head to look at the bespectacled man, and only then let out an 'oh' as he suddenly realized that this bespectacled man had come to wreck the place.

That reaction… is really too slow, isn't it?

"Hai Sheng, I'll hold him off; you go quickly rescue the beautiful Yao Yirong, absolutely cannot let that beast defile her." After coming to his senses, Pangzi let out a loud shout, assumed a Form-Intent Tiger Fist stance, and charged at the bespectacled man.

I: "Damn it, what were you doing just now? I've vomited three liters of blood."

The soul lamp was extinguished, my head grew heavier and heavier, almost wanting to faint in an instant. But hearing Pangzi's shout, thinking of Yao Yirong still in danger, I forcibly bit my tongue, using the pain to stimulate myself awake.

Pangzi had already engaged the bespectacled man in combat, using the Tiger Form Cannon Fist from the Form-Intent Fist. In Form-Intent Fist, the dragon and tiger forms are the most fierce. The tiger form's main power, formed by the inhalation and exhalation of one breath and the courage of a tiger pouncing on its prey, becomes the fist. Force rises from the springing spring, energy erupts from the tailbone, travels from the back to the brain, then descends from the brain to the dantian, and is unleashed in the tiger's descent from the mountain, possessing the momentum of moving mountains and overturning seas. The close-quarters striking cannon within the tiger form is a fierce punching technique, each punch like a cannon blast, only able to advance, never retreat.

Although Pangzi's Form-Intent Tiger Fist lacked a bit in artistic conception, he had also received the true transmission from QingSongShu. However, this tiger cannon, though fierce, the young man was no pushover; he used the square aunt's Supreme Ultimate to neutralize most of Pangzi's force, so even though Pangzi's fists were hard, he only ended up with a flushed face, exerting effort without effect.

"Holy shit, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go!" In the melee, Pangzi again flushed with anger and shouted at me.

"Alright… I'll leave this to you." I didn't dare dawdle; after a moment of clarity, I immediately staggered out of the alley and ran toward Yao Yirong's home.

My legs went weak, my whole body poured out cold sweat, but Yao Yirong's home was still two blocks away from the North Emperor Temple; I estimated I would run out of breath before reaching there.

"Beep beep, friend, do you want a ride?" A motorcycle made a sharp turn and stopped in front of me, honking twice.

I… damn it, what era is this? I'm still running on foot, and even though there's a vehicle I won't ride, I'm stubbornly wasting that brainless effort.

"Master, we've arrived…"

I quickly climbed onto the motorcycle's rear seat and told the driver the address of Yao Yirong's home.

"Hurry up, speed up, I have an emergency…" Thinking the situation was urgent, I couldn't help urging the motorcycle driver.

The motorcycle driver was a middle-aged uncle with a mouth full of gold teeth; he turned his head and grinned at me: "No problem, watch me."

Before my head had fully turned, he gave a whoosh and opened the throttle wider.

Holy shit… is it necessary to go over a hundred kilometers per hour?

After getting off, I searched around the neighborhood for Yao Yirong's home. In the middle of the night I couldn't read the house numbers, so I relied on the trait that Yao Yirong's family is wealthy, specifically looking for those large and beautiful houses.

I never expected that I actually guessed correctly.

A five-story high villa stood out abruptly in the neighborhood, compared to the surrounding houses it was like a crane among chickens; the villa's perimeter was tightly locked with painted iron railings, the house number matched Yao Yirong's address, and barring any mishap, this should be her home.

But the iron gates all around were locked tight; I couldn't get in at all—should I knock?

If I told someone that their young lady had been taken by a ghost, they'd probably chase me off with a broom or call a mental hospital. After thinking, I decisively chose the fastest, most direct method: climbing the wall.

But… as soon as I hooked onto the iron railing, I got stuck there, unable to move; finally I exerted force and ripped my pants.

To make matters worse, as I jumped into the courtyard and my feet weren't yet steady, I saw a large wolf dog lunging at me from a corner.

This wolf dog was about my height, bared two rows of large fangs, and from its stance it seemed to want to swallow me whole.

At the critical moment, I drew a Seal Dog Spell pattern in my palm and thrust a palm toward the direction the wolf dog lunged.

As the Seal Dog Spell was released, the wolf dog happened to knock me down; its two rows of teeth flashed with cold light, almost biting me, while my Seal Dog Spell struck the wolf dog's body just right.

"Whine…" The wolf dog up close actually whined twice, then suddenly released me and ran back to its kennel with its tail between its legs.

This effective… I looked at my palm in astonishment. This Seal Dog Spell is one of Splendid Light's minor arts; Pangzi passed it to me. When he first taught me this spell, he lewdly claimed it could subdue any vicious dog, preventing dogs from barking at you, and it's an essential spell for picking flowers at night and confessing love upon entering a house.

At first I didn't believe it, but after trying it once I did. Moreover, I had also entered Yao Yirong's courtyard.

But I didn't know which floor Yao Yirong's room was on; if I guessed wrong, what would I do?

Wait, have I been here before?

Even though my head was a bit muddled, I felt everything around was familiar. Right, I had seen this place through the troops; Yao Yirong's bedroom is on the second floor of the house.

I slapped my head hard, then followed my memory of the bedroom's location and climbed to the second floor.

Sure enough, in a room at the corner of the second floor, I found Red Granny.

At that moment, Red Granny was alone contending with the body and spirit of Ou Yaofeng. Because the soul lamp had been extinguished, Red Granny's spirit was also weak. Moreover, Ou Yaofeng seemed to have something protecting him—something invisible and intangible, likely a protective banner or similar treasure. A Daoist priest only dares to project his spirit after setting up a protective banner on the altar or placing a protective seal.

Given the vast disparity in strength, Red Granny kept retreating, barely able to hold on.

I hastily took out the command flag and silently chanted the spell.

Just as I finished preparing the spell, Ou Yaofeng struck Red Granny with a palm, causing her to lose her fighting ability.

After defeating Red Granny, Ou Yaofeng gave a lewd chuckle and lunged toward Yao Yirong on the bed.

Now……

In an instant, I jumped through the window; just as Ou Yaofeng was about to pounce on Yao Yirong, my command flag arrived. Without any hesitation, I swung the flag and struck him.

"Ah…" Ou Yaofeng let out a miserable cry, wounded by the killing aura of the command flag, nearly having his soul and spirit scattered.

Strike while the iron is hot; I was about to chant the spell to collect his soul and spirit. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot from my head, making me lose consciousness instantly, and the hand that was pinching the Seal Finger also went to rub my head.

Ou Yaofeng also took the opportunity to flee at that moment. However, I trust the power of the Yin Mountain Command Flag; even if his soul and spirit manage to return to his body after this blow, he would likely become a complete idiot, and even if he harbored harmful intent, he would lack the ability to act on it.

"You brat, why did you only show up now? What just happened? Not only are the troops you assigned me gone, but I feel as if I were smashed by a thousand‑jin stone, my soul and spirit nearly scattered." Red Granny said weakly to me.

I sheepishly rubbed my head and apologized to Red Granny: "Sorry to trouble you, Red Granny; something unexpected happened on the altar just now, I…"

Before I could finish, Red Granny cut me off: "Alright, alright, no need to explain so much; quickly look at that little girl on the bed. If you arrive half a step later, that little girl will likely be devoured by that evil ghost."

Only then did I remember Yao Yirong on the bed; I hastily took out the nether jade to collect Red Granny, then, enduring my mental fatigue, went to look at Yao Yirong lying on the bed.

Ou Yaofeng had been driven off, but Yao Yirong had not yet returned to normal. Still on the bed, she muttered deliriously with a flushed face, her body twisting uneasily, even sweating fragrant sweat on her forehead.

"Hey, wake up." I tapped her cheek with my hand; who knew Yao Yirong would hug me and smear saliva on my face.

"Wake up" this time I almost shouted, and I slapped her face twice with a pa‑pa sound.

Possibly from the sting, Yao Yirong woke up. At first her gaze was hazy as she looked at me, unable to tell direction. Then she seemed to see a monster and let out a shrill "ah" scream.

Seeing her awake, I initially breathed a sigh of relief, but instantly that relief turned to anger. Because after Yao Yirong's scream, without distinguishing right from wrong, she threw a punch at my face.

Normally, this punch would be nothing to me. But just now the soul lamp had been extinguished; I was enduring fatigue of body and spirit, scraping together strength to crawl in.

Now that I saw she was unharmed, my spirit had already reached the point of exhaustion; before I could relax, I saw a fist hurtling toward my face.

With a bang, the fist struck my brow; its force was nothing like a woman's. It made my eyes see stars.

Finally, I couldn't bear that dizzy sensation any longer, and with a thud I collapsed to the ground.

At the very moment I closed my eyes, I saw Yao Yirong's face flushed with anger, and I heard some noisy sounds. Compared to that, I had just shouted too loudly, disturbing the others in the room.

The next day, I woke up in the detention center; the police officer said I had climbed over a wall in the middle of the night to break into a residence, intending to steal and... molest women.

I: "……"