Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect

“Miss Zhuang, did the spirit disturb you last night?” Ye Shaoyang had a sudden thought and asked her this .

“No . Since you came, the feeling of being peeped on by someone has disappeared . I can finally have a good night’s sleep again . Thank you so much, Mr . Ye . ” Zhuang Yuning said gratefully .

Ye Shaoyang asked for her Protection Talisman and sensed it with his Gang Qi . The Spirit Qi inside had thickened . The spirit came last night! It seemed like it had not given up on weakening the power in the Protection Talisman . Although the spirit’s action shocked him, he was not worried as the matter had basically gone according to his plan .

However, he did not reveal his findings to Zhuang Yuning . He did not want to frighten her . He spoke to her while looking at the thunderstorm outside, “The Yin Qi is stronger during a rainy day . You’d better be careful tonight . ” Then, he grasped her wrist .

“Mr . Ye, what… . ” Zhuang Yuning jumped with a start . Ye Shaoyang said nothing and reached out for a cinnabar pen from his belt and drew a Thunder Curse on her palm .

Only then did Zhuang Yuning understand his intentions . A strange feeling appeared in her heart when she looked at his serious look as she felt the temperature of his palm .

“I drew a Thunder Curse on your palm . In times of emergency, you can blow at the curse and smack the spirit . The curse will repel it and protect you temporarily . Remember, don’t wash it off . ”

Zhuang Yuning opened her palm and stared at the Taiji symbol and asked curiously, “Blow at the curse? Why?”

“The Yang Qi in your blow will activate the curse . Bear in mind, you can only use it three times as the Yang Qi is produced by the three mortal lamps in a human . Use it only when it is really critical . ”

“What would happen after three times of use?” asked Zhuang Yuning .

Ye Shaoyang smiled, “I will be here before you use up the curse . ”

The rain stopped after two hours . The sky was still murky; it was a bad weather for an outing . So, the three decided to stay at home . Zhuang Yuning played the piano . Although Ye Shaoyang did not understand music, he could sense frustration and sadness through the music; he did not know if it was the song or her emotions expressed in the melody .

After eating dinner, Ye Shaoyang went back to his bedroom and drew more talisman papers until midnight . Suddenly, the room blacked out . A power outage! Ye Shaoyang was started . Immediately, he ran out to the balcony to check on other villas . He felt relieved when he saw the surroundings were pitch-dark; he concluded that a power failure in the electricity network had occurred after the thunderstorm . Knowing that people would not repair it this late at night, he shut the windows and went to sleep .

It rained heavily after half an hour of his sleep .

Bang! Thunder woke Zhuang Yuning . She sat up and reached out for her phone . It was half-past twelve . Outside, it was raining and blowing hard .

Power cut?

Zhuang Yuning reached out for the television remote control from her bedhead and tried to switch on the television to test if it was a power cut or merely a problem with the light bulb . The television switched on and displayed a snowy blank screen .

Zhuang Yuning was puzzled, Poor signal? But her television used the internet; it was not a CCTV or an old fashion television that would display the snowy type of blank screen when it had a poor signal .

While she was stunned by the screen, it slowly changed into an image . She heaved a sigh . She was wide awake now, so she leaned against the bedhead, waiting for the image to turn clearer:

It was a black and white image . A dark sky . A group of people carried a lantern and walked on a mountain road . The video was captured from far and had low resolution, so Zhuang Yuning could only differentiate their genders through their body figures and the length of their hair .

Some of them were playing with a suona-like musical instrument . The mood of the music was almost funeral, which horrified Zhuang Yuning . She simply changed channels at once, but it was still a black and white image . It looked like the exact same group of people carrying a coffin and preparing to bury it . Again, she switched to the next channel .

The screen changed to an old, broken house . A long-haired woman sat on a small bench . She was carrying a baby in her arms . She held a needle as big as an awl, suturing the face of the baby .

The room was dimly lit and due to the low resolution, Zhuang Yuning could not see the face of the baby clearly . She suspected that the baby was a doll . The video kept playing for quite a long moment before Zhuang Yuning sensed that something was wrong and changed to a next channel . However, the screen did not change no matter what she pressed; nothing happened even when she clicked the power button .

What happened?

Zhuang Yuning stared at the screen and realized that there was no TV symbol .

She hurried to the TV and tried to remove the plug . When she looked at the socket, she was stupefied . She blankly stared at the empty socket and the plug that was hanging free from the back of the TV .

The TV was unplugged!

Zhuang Yuning slowly retreated and fell onto the bed . Her face appeared expressionless as she gazed at the screen . Now the image had drawn closer, only focusing on the baby doll . It was the face of a young boy; his eyes were shut, and scars and sutured wounds covered his face .

The black suture thread resembled a centipede resting on its pale skin .

The lady held the same needle, piercing the doll’s face again, and again to close the wound . As the image grew closer, the lady turned to face the screen, lifting up her long hair and smiling to Zhuang Yuning . No way! She looked exactly as Zhuang Yuning! Or rather, it was her face!

Before Zhuang Yuning could react, the baby doll opened its eyes . Its pair of blood-tinged eyes glared at her . It stretched its mouth open widely and laughed in a spooky manner .

The laughter not only sounded from the TV, but also from behind her . Turning away from the TV quickly, she saw a pale-looking boy standing in the rain, outside her window hammering the glass with its both hands .

“Help!!”

Zhuang Yuning screamed involuntarily . She retreated as the pale-looking boy extended its arm and opened the window . The Spirit Repelling Bell shook vigorously and rang out loud once the boy squeezed in and touched the red thread . The laughter disappeared, the TV turned off, and the room returned to pitch-black darkness .

It was as though nothing had happened .