After settling Zhang Dabiao and arranging Manager Xue in another empty room, I didn't go back to sleep directly. Instead, I sat in a reclining chair in the courtyard, contemplating Bai Ling'er's absence.
After all, she was my spirit pet. While the soul contract didn't have mandatory binding power, as time deepened, her feelings towards me had also changed, evolving from initial wariness to a sense of reliance.
I had thought that after more than a month, I had smoothed out any lingering grievances in her heart, and our relationship should have surpassed that of mere friends.
Moreover, during this period, I had always been accommodating to her requests, never even uttering a harsh word. How could she just disappear on me at such a crucial moment?
Wasn't this a betrayal, a complete letdown?
I was tempted to go look for her near the Beishan mining town, but then I remembered the promise I made to the old monk, which I hadn't fulfilled yet. A few days ago, I had barely escaped after stumbling into it. If I were trapped there again, I might not have the old monk to rescue me.
I mentally conveyed a message to Bai Ling'er, stating that I had important matters to discuss and urged her to return quickly. However, the response was still one of cold indifference, as if she hadn't felt my telepathic message at all.
It seemed that after this incident, I would have to employ some means to deal with her. If she always shirks responsibility at critical junctures, it's not a good sign.
This time, a mysterious figure helped me survive a calamity, which felt like a stroke of luck. But what about next time? Would someone else secretly help me?
The thought of the dark figure suddenly sparked something in my mind.
"So that's what the dark figure was talking about?" Looking at the pictures transmitted from my phone to the tablet, I was a bit disoriented.
"This is actually a cultivation technique for generating true qi."
Indeed, the image I was looking at was the content on the white fox skin obtained from Zhang Dabiao's father's coffin.
The text on it was from the Yin-Shang dynasty, that was true. Previously, I couldn't understand it. But after the dark figure's rambling mumbling, I could finally comprehend the text, though only the literal meaning.
The content displayed was called "Jie Tian Zhi," a form of hand seal. When performed, it could rapidly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for one's use. However, this finger technique had a drawback: it required cultivation in places with abundant spiritual energy, otherwise, it could lead to qi deviation.
As I read on, I tossed the tablet aside.
"I got excited for nothing. With the current spiritual energy depletion, where am I supposed to find a place with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate? Isn't this just toying with me?"
This was the era of Dharma decline. For ordinary demon-slaying, one relied on items with mutually reinforcing or restraining properties, combined with the yang energy within the body. As for spiritual energy? That was something from legends.
If spiritual energy were abundant now, beings like Huang San, who had cultivated for hundreds of years, would have long transformed into human form. Why would they need such a troublesome process as seeking a "kou feng" (口封, a ritualistic granting of a title or permission)?
My mind wandered through chaotic thoughts, and as I thought, I drifted into a daze and fell asleep.
However, this sleep was not peaceful. I always felt as if I had forgotten something, but I couldn't recall what it was. In a daze, I felt as if someone had approached me.
The sensation was very strange. I was clearly awake and could sense someone in front of me, yet my eyes refused to open, as if someone were covering them with their hands.
This made me furious.
It was a common tactic used by ordinary Yin spirits and vengeful ghosts – sleep paralysis.
I knew this method was quite effective against ordinary people, but it was somewhat unacceptable to me. After all, I was an Yin Gua Master, and my understanding of Yin spirits and evil entities was far greater than that of ordinary people.
If it were an ordinary person, they would attribute the sleep paralysis to a dream. But for me, a dignified Yin Gua Master, to be subjected to sleep paralysis, wouldn't Zhang Dabiao laugh himself to death if he heard about it?
I silently recited the Heavenly Gang Seal, and a surge of Xuan Yang true qi flowed from my dantian straight to the Baihui acupoint on the crown of my head. My mind became clear, and I suddenly opened my eyes to see a slightly lewd face appearing before me.
"You're seeking death..."
Needless to say, this fellow must be the one who induced the sleep paralysis. I recoiled, channeling Xuan Yang true qi into my fist, and threw a punch towards his eye socket. I didn't use lethal force, otherwise, I would have used the Tian Tui Seal.
"Ouch... I came to tell you some good news, why did you punch me!" a slightly familiar voice accompanied by a pained cry reached my ears.
At this moment, I saw a person lying not far away, dressed in a slightly worn, ancient-style pale yellow robe. He was covering one eye with his hand, and the remaining eye showed a look of resentment and grievance as he gazed at me.
"Bold evil spirit, daring to trespass into my home! I see you have no desire to live."
The main gate had been breached by Sun Chuang, so the array set up there had naturally failed, unable to form a perfect defensive measure. Furthermore, being close to Beishan mining town, some Yin spirits might have accidentally wandered in, intending to absorb Yang energy through sleep paralysis. I could understand this, as they were acting on instinct.
But this fellow clearly possessed intelligence and could speak, indicating he was no ordinary Yin spirit, at least a vengeful spirit or something similar. If he harbored malicious intentions towards me, the consequences would be unimaginable.
With a thought, I formed the Jie Tian Seal, remaining hidden but ready. If he made any dangerous moves, I would instantly scatter his soul.
"Song... Young Master Song, it's me! It's Huang San!"
"Huang San?" My eyes widened as I looked at him. "How is this possible?"
Huang San was a weasel spirit, but he hadn't reached the stage for "kou feng" yet. How could he have transformed into human form in the middle of the night? Was he making fun of me?
"Bold evil spirit, it seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin." As I spoke, I prepared to push the Tian Tui Seal forward.
The figure lying on the ground saw this and quickly got up, then knelt on the ground. A puff of yellow smoke emanated from him, and then Huang San's somewhat nervous, ugly face appeared before me.
"Huang San? Is it really you? When did you learn to transform into a human?" My astonished eyes almost fell out of their sockets.
Despite Huang San's many years of cultivation, it was only the years themselves. He hadn't reached the point of transforming into a human. After all, Bai Ling'er, whose cultivation was far superior to his, hadn't reached this stage yet. How could he have?
"I can't explain it clearly myself. It's just... someone helped me perform the 'kou feng,' and then I could transform into a human. However, due to my insufficient strength, I can only transform at night." As he spoke, Huang San transformed back into his human form.
A weasel is still a weasel. Even when transformed into a human, he had a pointed mouth and sharp cheeks, with little flesh on his jowls. The only notable feature was his shifty, beady eyes, which made him look like a thief.
Huang San's words were clearly evasive, but I didn't want to expose him. Instead, I directly asked him where Bai Ling'er had gone, why she hadn't returned with him, and if she could also transform into a human now.
"Miss Bai hasn't transformed into a human yet. I was afraid something might happen at home, so I rushed back ahead of her. I saw the main gate was damaged and thought something might have happened to you as well, so I approached to call out to you, but then..."