Chapter 791: Want to Tear Something

Finally, relying on Xue Shao to narrow the range, he kicked away a stone beneath a locust tree, and Xiao Hong finally reacted, staring blankly at one spot.

Xue Shao saw it at once and immediately went with Xi Jin to dig.

In comparison, the reunion between Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yanbai's club was much simpler.

After splitting up for a short while, Tao Yanbai, lost and unsure, glanced at the club in his arms—its eyes darting around—and decisively turned back to find Miao Zhen.

"Fourth sister, let's stick together," Tao Yanbai hugged the club tightly: "I'm afraid it'll run off."

Miao Zhen glanced at the ginseng doll in his arms, full of excitement, and said: "Even if it runs, we'll find it again. Something like it? If it hides deep in the mountains and forests, it might still survive—but here, if it shows its head even once, it's dead. Better to stay with us than with others. At least we occasionally wash its feet and give it baths. Little Uncle might pull two of its roots, but if it falls into someone else's hands, they'll probably boil it whole—with the sprouts still attached."

The eager club calmed down, squatting silently in Tao Yanbai's arms. Afraid Miao Zhen might act, it turned around and hugged his neck, tears welling in its eyes.

Miao Zhen then stopped terrifying it and said to Tao Yanbai: "Still, it's better if we stick together. This forest is huge—we can't just search blindly."

Miao He: "Then how do we find it?"

Miao Zhen sat cross-legged, pulled out a bundle of yarrow stalks, and immediately used the Great Expansion Divination method.

Tao Yanbai stared: "Fourth sister, you—you've already learned the Great Expansion Divination?"

"Mm," Miao Zhen bent her head, fiddling with the yarrow stalks, answering casually: "After returning from Wa country, Master wrote to say I must learn divination. Divination is fundamentally about numbers—it's for resolving doubt."

She looked up at Tao Yanbai, her gaze sweeping: "They carried Xiao Hong's three bone fragments all the way here just to ensure she couldn't retaliate even in death—to bind her forever. That means someone among them knows the Spirit-Ghost Dao and believes in it deeply."

"Raising ghosts requires specific conditions; binding and destroying them do too," Miao Zhen arranged three yarrow stalks, thoughtful: "And this place is close to Long Hushan. The west is strong in Yang, the south strong in Fire—only north and east remain possible…"

Miao Zhen laid out the yarrow stalks one by one until all conditions were arranged by direction, then began her calculation.

Since she had only recently learned divination, it took considerable effort.

Tao Yanbai and Miao He trusted her completely and didn't rush—crouching beside her as she calculated for nearly half an hour, until finally she clapped her hands: "Found it. Thirty degrees northeast of east, there's a banyan or locust tree."

The three immediately hugged the club, pulled out their compass, and headed straight for thirty degrees northeast.

A straight line—no turns at all. If a tree blocked the way, they circled behind it and kept going; if a thicket blocked them, they flew over. Absolutely no detours.

And their speed was swift—they ran with qinggong, until the compass began spinning erratically, at which point Miao Zhen suddenly stopped.

The other two rushed forward to inspect the compass; the club also poked its head out of Tao Yanbai's arms, urging: "How is it? How is it? Did we find it?"

Miao Zhen pressed its head down: "What's the rush?"

She walked a few steps, turned, walked a few steps, turned again—then pointed ahead in delight: "Look—the locust tree!"

Indeed, it was a locust tree. Within two zhang around it, no other trees grew—not even weeds.

They circled the locust tree, frowning: "Can't tell exactly where it's buried—where do we dig?"

Miao Zhen glanced at the compass—it trembled constantly, chaotic and unstable. She felt that even divination couldn't help now.

And the range had been narrowed to the limit—the rest depended on digging.

So she pulled out a spade and shovel: "Come on. Start digging outward from beneath the locust tree. I don't believe we won't find it."

The club leapt out of Tao Yanbai's arms at once, chin raised: "Now it's my turn, right? Wait!"

With a puff, it plunged entirely into the earth. Tao Yanbai and Miao He were startled, lunging to grab it—but their heads collided and they fell hard on their backsides. Miao Zhen stepped forward two paces, then sensed the club moving rapidly beneath the ground, so she stopped.

The club burst out of the earth with a puff, spat out a mouthful of mud: "There's something dirty over here—terrible. I think it's what you're looking for."

Miao Zhen and the two companions exchanged glances and began digging beside where the club had emerged.

They had hoped the club would just fetch the object for them, but it was repulsed, saying the thing made it feel ill—so they had to dig themselves.

Moments later, the three unearthed a red cloth bundle.

They exchanged glances, gently lifting the bundle. It was wrapped in yellow talismans, sealed at both ends with nails.

Miao Zhen: "So cruel…"

She pulled out the nails, peeled off the talismans, and unfolded the cloth—inside lay a single bone, with a nail driven into it.

Less than a li from here, Xue Shao also unearthed a red cloth bundle. The moment he peeled off the yellow talisman, Xiao Hong threw back her head and wailed, clutching her head as she slammed into the locust tree with a thud, writhing in agony.

Hong Yan immediately embraced her—but Xiao Hong violently shoved her away, snatched up the red cloth bundle, and vanished instantly.

Hong Yan turned pale with shock and hurried after her, tracking her aura.

Xue Shao sprinted after them: "Where are you going—?"

Pan Yun also unearthed a red cloth bundle. The moment she grasped it, she snapped her head up, didn't even have time to greet the weasels, snatched up Wang Cong, and shot off like a wind.

Weasel Auntie: …

Miao Zhen and the others were crouched on the ground, studying how to pull the nail from the bone, when a cold wind swept past. They looked up—and saw Xiao Hong hovering above them, eyes blood-red, hair drifting.

The three were startled, nearly dropping her bone.

"You scared the hell out of us! Xiao Hong, don't you know ghosts scare people to death?"

Xiao Hong stared fixedly at the bone in the bundle, coldly: "That's my bone."

"Yes, it's yours," Miao He picked it up and handed it to her, asking: "Need us to pull out the nail? We just looked—it might shatter if you yank it out by force."

Blood tears dripped steadily from Xiao Hong's eyes, her face streaked with tears: "This is my bone—I hurt so much~~"

Miao Zhen sighed, stood, and hugged her: "If you want to cry, cry."

Xiao Hong clenched the bone tightly in her hands, blood tears spurting: "I want to tear something now."

The three instantly sidestepped. Seeing the club still crouching before her, Miao He grabbed its hair and yanked it over, then all three pointed at the locust tree: "This locust tree was planted by them—tear it!"

Xiao Hong charged forward.

By the time Pan Yun arrived, dragging Wang Cong, Xiao Hong was screaming as she tore at the tree.

She snapped its branches, ripped them into shreds. Unable to break the trunk, her nails lengthened as she tore at the bark.

Pan Yun halted, silently set Wang Cong down, and crouched with Miao Zhen and the others to watch her tear the bark.

(End of Chapter)