"Ah, Master Zhao, as the saying goes, a day as husband and wife creates a hundred days of kindness."
"Although this benefactor and I have no marital relations, we did have a day's connection. When she gazed at me with longing eyes, I knew she had something to ask of me."
"While I am not a true descendant of the Daoist sect, I am nonetheless connected to the Daoist principles."
Master Wang spoke with utmost seriousness, causing Zhao Yan's lips to twitch several times.
Master Wang bent down to tidy the white bones, completely oblivious to Zhao Yan's expression, and spoke as he worked.
"Master Zhao, her name is Ning Xiaohua. Over ninety years ago, while accompanying her family to escape calamity, she encountered bandits. Not only was she violated by the bandits, but her remains were also discarded at the entrance of this dilapidated temple."
"In the end, she was a woman of tragic fate. How could I allow her bones to be exposed at the entrance of this ruined temple? The deceased should be respected, and buried to rest in peace."
After collecting the bones, Master Wang clasped his hands together. "Amitabha!"
He then looked up at Zhao Yan and said, "That's done, Master Zhao."
Zhao Yan rolled her eyes. "When you woke up earlier, you acted as if you couldn't remember anything, and now you're saying all this."
Master Wang patted his chest. "When I woke up, I was completely disoriented. Seeing a beauty turn into a pile of white bones and a skull, I was naturally startled."
"Afterward, I recalled Xiaohua's words. I could feel her sincerity."
Master Wang was about to say more, but Zhao Yan quickly waved her hand, fearing they would miss their chance if they delayed any longer.
Zhao Yan patted the black dog's back a few times and followed the floating ghost fire, jogging ahead.
After running for seven or eight minutes, the ghost fire before them suddenly vanished.
"This fog is far too thick," said Master Wang's two disciples, following behind.
Zhao Yan turned and asked, "Where are they?"
"We're here," Master Wang replied, following Wu Jiaxin and Fu Jie.
The three of them held onto a rope, walking together.
"Master Zhao, this fog is so dense. You were only a little over a meter away from us just now, and we couldn't see you at all," Master Wang said.
As he spoke, he looked around, shining his flashlight into the surroundings.
The beam of the flashlight penetrated the fog and immediately became invisible.
"Oh, my god!" Master Wang's hand holding the flashlight began to tremble.
"Master Zhao, I just saw a shadowy figure, and it suddenly darted into the fog and disappeared."
Hearing Master Wang's words, their expressions became uneasy. The group immediately clustered closer to Zhao Yan, forming a tight circle.
Seeing the fear on everyone's faces, Master Wang patted his chest and said, "With me..."
Before he could finish, he glanced at Zhao Yan and added, "With me and Master Zhao here, this little snake spirit will surely be no match for us."
Zhao Yan felt the protective amulet on her chest grow hot. She reached into her chest and found that the amulet had turned to ash.
This amulet was designed for ghosts, not for demonic beings.
Thinking carefully, Zhao Yan frowned deeply. "This isn't good. It's not a snake spirit; it's an evil entity. My amulet has turned to ash."
She raised her hand, her fingers covered in the ashes of a burned talisman.
"Why is it an evil entity!?" Master Wang swallowed hard and quickly drew a golden coin sword from behind his Daoist robe.
He instinctively moved closer to Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan looked at Fu Jie's belly and took out a peach wood sword. "The evil entity is targeting Fu Jie's belly, likely wanting to be reborn within her."
The moment she took out the peach wood sword, she felt a sinister gaze fixed upon her.
She immediately took out three talismans and threw them towards the fog.
This evil entity was indeed cunning, hiding in the fog and refusing to reveal itself.
These three talismans, upon striking the fog, emitted a glow, and the fog they hit began to dissipate.
It was clear that this fog was mixed with yin energy, and it was extremely dense. Within a minute of the talismans being thrown, the fog regrouped.
Zhao Yan threw three more talismans and then gasped in dismay, patting her pocket. "Oh no, I'm out of talismans."
"Ah, then... then what should we do?" Master Wang exclaimed in shock.
Zhao Yan turned and gave Wu Jiaxin a meaningful look, blinking twice.
Having worked with her for so long, she believed they shared a tacit understanding.
Upon seeing this, Wu Jiaxin's expression immediately became filled with panic. "It's over, it's over, we're out of talismans, and the fog hasn't cleared. How will we get out of here? We're going to die here."
"Miss Wu, you can't be so pessimistic. You've been following Master Zhao for a long time; you should have faith in Master Zhao's abilities," Master Wang said, though his face, while appearing calm, was also starting to show signs of panic.
Fu Jie, already on the verge of collapse, became even more distraught upon realizing the gravity of the situation and the oppressive atmosphere. She couldn't help but sob.
"It's all your fault, woman! If it weren't for your troubles, how would we have ended up here? I'm going to strangle you!" Wu Jiaxin reached out and grabbed Fu Jie by the neck.
Fu Jie's face turned red as she choked, letting out continuous coughs.
"Miss Wu, what are you doing! Let go quickly!" Master Wang shouted in alarm, raising his hand to grab Wu Jiaxin's arm.
Wu Jiaxin's grip tightened, and Fu Jie's eyes began to roll back. Terrified, Master Wang cried out, "Master Zhao, help quickly!"
Zhao Yan's eyes remained fixed on their surroundings. She saw a blurry figure, unable to resist, fly out from the fog.
The fog seemed to be blown away by a gust of wind.
In these brief seconds, a talisman on Zhao Yan's body began to heat up.
Zhao Yan immediately took out a talisman and threw it towards Wu Jiaxin.
As it struck just to Wu Jiaxin's left, the talisman instantly burned into a ball of flame with a "pa" sound.
A blurry human-like silhouette formed of dark mist was immediately dispersed by the talisman.
"How dare you cause trouble in front of me! One talisman sends you scrambling with your tail between your legs, two make you cry for your mother and father, and three will scatter your soul to the winds."
Zhao Yan, holding three talismans, quickly threw them.
"Pa, pa, pa..."
The yang energy emanating from the three talismans instantly forced the evil entity to retreat. It attempted to re-conceal itself within the fog.
Having finally managed to expose the evil entity, how could she let it escape?
Stomping her foot, Zhao Yan charged forward with her peach wood sword, slashing at the evil entity that was trying to hide in the fog.
"Slash!"
With this slash, the evil entity suddenly turned its head.
"Bang." A grotesque head fell from the evil entity's neck, rolling a few times before landing at Zhao Yan's feet.
This head was covered in eyes, a total of twelve pairs.
As the head landed, all twelve pairs of eyes stared intently at Zhao Yan, then shifted to Fu Jie's belly, their gaze filled with unwillingness.
With the head on the ground, the evil entity's body dispersed like mist, and its head subsequently turned into mist and vanished.