Chapter 29: Demonic Possession

The grim news brought by the young man shattered the night's stillness in Huai Valley Village.

Liu Shan apologized to Wu Chang, disregarding his own half-drunk state, and led the group stumbling toward the other end of the village.

Wu Chang naturally did not miss this sudden incident, following the crowd in action.

On the way, he pulled aside a villager who had used talismans to verify the mountain-blocking ghost and asked what had happened.

The man he stopped was named Liu Jinfu, who gave Wu Chang a brief explanation.

Since the demonic infestation began, every year before the Chusui Sacrifice, the village's children and women were sent to reside on the mountaintop at the village's edge.

The mountaintop had strong yang energy, making it difficult for demons to approach; only after the Chusui Sacrifice ended and the demons were suppressed would the children and women be brought back into the village.

This year's demonic infestation was especially severe; since two days ago, even those hiding on the mountaintop had been attacked by the demons.

The little Ning mentioned just now was the granddaughter of Village Chief Liu Shan, just sixteen this year, graceful and gentle, the object of admiration for every youth in the village.

Liu Ning was naturally intelligent, deeply favored by Liu Shan, and the beloved jewel of the entire village; if anyone's demonic attack would be hardest for the villagers to accept, it was either Liu Shan or Liu Ning.

For the village youths, this order might even be reversed.

The group left the valley and climbed the mountain path; soon after leaving the village, a thin black shadow caught up with them.

It was a boy, with facial features suggesting fourteen or fifteen, but due to malnutrition, his body was only developed to the level of an eleven- or twelve-year-old.

He wore a tattered single-layer robe, crudely stuffed with rice straw for warmth, and stepped in leaky straw sandals, running while clapping and shouting: "Fire! Fire dragon! The fire dragon's climbing the mountain again! The immortal has come!"

"Run! Run faster!"

"It's exciting!"

"Hehehe…"

Liu Shan and the others, their hearts fixed on Liu Ning, climbed the mountain without looking back; Liu Jinfu, unable to bear the boy's noise, threw a stone at him and snapped: "Shut up!"

The boy was struck on the forehead by the stone, lost his balance, and sat hard on the ground. He cried from the pain, yet still wore a foolish grin, repeating over and over: "Fire, fire, fire…"

Wu Chang glanced at the boy and asked, puzzled: "Who is he?"

Liu Jinfu spat. "This cursed fool's an idiot. The village chief, being kind-hearted, wanted to take him in as a village guardian to absorb misfortune—but his life force is too stubborn. Even lost in the mountains, eating roots and drinking dew, he survives—and yet he curses the village, bringing chaos to every chicken and dog."

"At a time like this, he still causes trouble—probably a demon spy. If little Ning suffers even a scratch, I'll cut out his tongue."

When the two arrived at the mountaintop residence, the atmosphere was suffocating; no one needed to ask—something had happened.

Through the silent crowd, a bearded hunter dressed in rugged garb stood facing off against Liu Shan inside the house.

"Uncle Shan, can't you face reality yet? Everyone's reached their limit! To prevent another little Ning, we must start the Chusui Sacrifice early!"

"If you can't make this decision, then hand over the chief's position to me—I'll make it!"

Liu Shan trembled with rage, pointing at the hunter and bellowing:

"You bastard! How dare you say that? Have you been waiting all along for little Ning to die, so you could force me to approve an early Chusui Sacrifice!"

The hunter: "I haven't…"

Seeing the conflict escalate, Wu Chang cleared his throat and interrupted their quarrel.

"Are you here to save someone or to argue? Where is she? Let me see."

Liu Shan lowered his pointing hand, snorted, then turned with a forced smile toward Wu Chang:

"Master, please follow me to the inner room."

Entering the inner room, Wu Chang saw Liu Ning, the girl everyone spoke of.

His first impression of Liu Ning was far from the beauty Liu Jinfu had described.

It wasn't her appearance—it was that she had not died peacefully.

The girl had been attacked by the demon while asleep; the disheveled bed showed signs of her struggle. Her face was deathly pale, twisted in terror, as if she had clawed her way from the bed to the floor. In her frenzy, she tore at her own hair, turning her long black locks into bloody patches of baldness; on her slender neck lay ten dark bluish finger marks—made by her own hands.

After being possessed by a demon, residual demonic energy clings to the body; anyone who touches it will soon attract the demon. The corpse must be exposed to sunlight all day before burial, so Liu Ning still lay on the ground in her final struggle pose.

Liu Shan could not bear to look at his granddaughter on the ground, turning his head away. Even this once-toughest man in the village, struck by overwhelming grief and fury, could no longer maintain the composure befitting a chief.

Wu Chang was about to offer condolences when suddenly an intuition struck him—he stepped forward to examine Liu Ning's body.

This act instantly ignited the villagers behind him.

"Master, don't! Little Ning still carries demonic energy—do not touch her!" It was Liu Shan who spoke.

"Stop! What are you doing to little Ning's body!" It was the hunter who had argued with Liu Shan.

"Get back! If this outsider goes mad, don't let him hurt us!" It was the onlookers.

Wu Chang ignored the commotion behind him. After a quick check of Liu Ning's condition, he slowly turned and said: "She's merely startled—her soul is still recoverable."

"Really?" Liu Shan's eyes lit up with hope.

Wu Chang nodded.

If he could save Liu Ning, he could solidify his established persona and gain the support of Huai Valley Village.

By the time of the Chusui Sacrifice, the entire village would be his stage.

He pretended to recite a mantra, then shouted: "Flag, come!" The Soul-Purifying Banner appeared in his hand from his personal space.

This trick of summoning an object from nowhere stunned the villagers; the room fell silent, all eyes fixed on Wu Chang.

Wu Chang held the banner and circled Liu Ning with a special gait, muttering incantations.

Under normal circumstances, Wu Chang, granted authority over the Soul-Purifying Banner, could activate it using his own energy with minimal preparation.

But to maximize attribute utilization, he had not allocated any attributes to energy, forcing him to use the Chiyuan Sect's method—specific steps paired with incantations—to activate the banner.

Precisely because the procedure had become more complicated, the villagers found him even more impressive, their gazes growing increasingly reverent.

After waving the banner three times, accompanied by a faint white glow, Wu Chang's vision shifted to black and white.

The living were white; the dead were black.

Liu Ning, lying on the ground, appeared as a shade of gray between life and death.

Her body was already turning black; a thin white thread extended from her, drifting toward the window.

That white thread was Liu Ning's life soul.

The evil spirit had possessed her, causing her living soul to leave her body; if the soul was returned to the body in time, she could still be saved.

Wu Chang held the Soul-Cleansing Command Banner, standing in place. With only a thought, his vision extended along the white thread within Liu Ning's body.

His gaze passed through the window, through the safe zone at the mountaintop, and down the mountain to its base.

Only when he was nearly at the valley exit did he see Liu Ning's white living soul.

Liu Ning's living soul looked utterly bewildered, moving along with a deep crimson point of light.

That deep crimson point of light was very familiar to Wu Chang—it was a wraith with a blood-colored last wish.

He first waved the Soul-Cleansing Command Banner, severing the connection between Liu Ning's living soul and the deep crimson point of light, and guided Liu Ning's living soul back to its body.

Then his gaze locked onto the deep crimson point of light, his eyes full of curiosity.

This was the first time he had ever seen a wraith that could move on its own without attaching itself to anything else.

Let me see what exactly you are.

(End of Chapter)