Chapter 9: The Bronze Lock Ghost Formation

As she loosened her grip, I immediately felt my breathing become much easier, and I hurriedly coughed a few times. It turns out that being able to breathe freely is also a form of happiness

The water ghost was taken aback, glanced at the girl, and exclaimed with wide eyes: "You have ruined my skin, so you must compensate me." After saying this, he suddenly appeared in front of me, and only then did I see that the water ghost's face was covered in holes and scratches, with two eyes that seemed like empty voids.

I inhaled sharply, covering my mouth with my left hand, fearing that I might cry out. To my surprise, the water ghost suddenly stopped before reaching the bedside. A jolt of fear ran through me. Could it be that it had seen through Qinhuai's formation?

Qin Huai let out a light laugh, "I originally wanted to compliment you for not being as foolish as I thought, but it seems I need to take that back." I curled my lips, too lazy to respond to him. Although we had not known each other for long, I had already grown accustomed to his arrogant demeanor; after all, he was quite capable.

I was on the verge of fainting from lack of oxygen when I suddenly remembered that I had a talisman given to me by Qin Huai. With the last bit of strength in my body, I struggled for a while and finally managed to stick it on the girl. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide, and she fainted on the bed.

I suddenly felt my heart pounding fiercely, knowing that this was my first encounter with a ghostly entity, and there was no one beside me. What if this array malfunctioned? If the water ghost got angry, what if it tore my face off along with it? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. "I... you... what if this array fails?"

The silence in the room is terrifying, with only the sound of my and the girl's breathing. Looking back, the past few days have been too bizarre; I feel as if I have stumbled into an unknown world, where one mystery follows another. Just as I solve one, an even greater secret emerges. I wonder if my brother and father are doing well. Who is the woman that placed me beside the Sunken Sand Tomb?

Suddenly, a crisp ringing sound echoed, and I immediately woke up. The room was dark, and I vaguely sensed that the door had opened. A shadow glanced around and walked towards the bedside. I caught a whiff of a foul odor. In the darkness, I could clearly see the appearance of that shadow, and I couldn't help but gasp in shock

Meanwhile, the water ghost in the black cloak returned. After being controlled by the water ghost, the girl exhibited immense strength, her hands nearly choking the life out of me. I was in a state of panic, completely at a loss for what to do, unable to even call for help. The girl tilted her head and laughed menacingly at me, while the water ghost hurriedly cautioned, "Be careful, her skin is of the finest quality."

Qin Huai cast a glance at me, "Are you the 'Hundred Thousand Whys'? The Hidden Adjustment Bureau specializes in healing elixirs. This girl is currently in a weakened state, having been attacked by the malevolent energy of a water ghost. Moreover, one of her three souls has been frightened out by that entity and is likely still lingering at the edge of the Sunken Sand Tomb. I must go help her return; otherwise, if she remains detached for too long, she will soon dissipate

I looked astonished, blinking my eyes and said, "Wasn't it said to go to the Sunken Sand Tomb to find the souls?"

Qin Huai let out a light hum, leaned close to my face, and said in a tone that was neither cold nor warm: "Are you challenging me again?" He pointed at the talisman in my hand and said, "This is the Fire Spirit Talisman. If the water ghost is captured, it will definitely control the girl to attack you or help it break the formation. You need to stick the Fire Spirit Talisman onto the water ghost's body, and remember to shout 'Urgent, urgent, as the law commands' when you do it. Make sure you have it ready. I'm leaving now"

Qin Huai did not listen to me at all. He took out four sheets of yellow talisman paper from his bag and, using a brush filled with incantations, dipped it in cinnabar to draw intricate patterns. He then placed them in a triangular arrangement on the area beside the girl's bed. While sticking them down, Qin Huai kept murmuring incantations under his breath, which I could not understand and did not know what language it was. After he placed them on the ground, the patterns that were originally on the talismans were surprisingly imprinted on the floor, while the talisman paper itself was left blank. I was instantly dumbfounded. Was this guy performing magic?

At that time, there should have been someone who appeared to help the girl; however, the person who intervened was a sorcerer, albeit one of limited ability, and likely suffered injuries themselves. Qin Huai said this lightly, then took out the purple gourd bottle from his bag and poured out a red pill for the girl to take.

I suddenly turned pale, not wanting to be looked down upon by Qin Huai, and mustered the courage to say: "Let's go, quickly find the person's soul, don't ruin Master Qin's reputation." Qin Huai left with a half-smile, as he had instructed his family not to enter the inner room, so the girl's parents merely glanced in a couple of times before leaving.

"What does it mean?" I said, increasingly confused. "Master Qin, could you please explain it clearly all at once?" I said helplessly

The water ghost paused for a moment, then turned and exited the door, making not a sound. I was momentarily stunned; could it be that the water ghost had a change of heart? Or perhaps it sensed the presence of a formidable individual here and chose to withdraw? Regardless of the reason, it had left, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the water ghost had not returned for a long time, I walked over to the girl's bedside to see how she was doing.

He stared at me intently, grabbing my arm with a firm grip. A sudden burning pain shot through me, and I let out a scream, leaving a dark handprint on my arm. I immediately felt dizzy and nauseous, as if I were adrift in the ocean, disoriented. I began to uncontrollably vomit black water, as if my stomach were completely swollen. My nose was blocked with sand, and in that moment, I felt so miserable that I just wanted to end it all. The water ghost grabbed my neck, and I closed my eyes, preparing to await my death.

Ah? I exclaimed in shock, "You can't possibly leave me here alone to deal with the water ghost, can you? I don't know anything!"

As I walked over, the girl suddenly opened her eyes, her face contorted to the extreme. In a man's voice, she said, "Do you think I didn't notice that someone had been here and set up a formation? Underestimating me by waiting for me to crawl in is truly naive." After saying this, the girl swiftly got up from the bed and reached out her hand to grab my neck.

I was so tired that I unknowingly fell asleep while sitting on the stool. Qin Huai left around eight in the evening, and at that time, it was not yet completely dark. In my drowsy state, I began to have that same dream again. Before me was my father's face; he was continuously speaking to me, but I could not hear him clearly. I tried to lean in closer to listen, but my father's face gradually transformed into that of the woman in white. I shuddered all over.

After finishing, Qin Huai brushed off the dust from her hands, handed me the remaining talisman, and hung a small bronze bell in the corner of the bed, saying: "I have already set up a ghost-locking formation ahead; you just need to watch. The ringing of this bronze bell will indicate that the entity has arrived."

Qin Huai rose and said: "Did I say I would take you? You should stay; the water ghost will return to claim her skin. That thing is vengeful and has already left a mark on the girl's leg, so it will inevitably come back. After taking the skin, its next target will be to find the sorcerer for revenge. We must capture it when it comes in order to cure her illness completely"

I seem to have understood a bit, please continue: "So she must have been targeted by the water ghost, the black handprints on her legs were left by the water ghost from www.hetushucomcom, and the fine marks on her neck that I saw should be from that thing preparing to strike. But since it was ready to strike, why did it not succeed?" I asked in astonishment

The so-called water ghost is actually a person who has drowned. Their souls are unable to attain peace in the afterlife and must pull someone else in their place in order to be liberated. What I cannot understand is that there is no water around, so where do the water ghosts come from

The shadow was entirely wrinkled, with deep brown skin that was damp. With each step he took, he left behind wet footprints. He was wrapped in a garment resembling a cloak, obscuring his face. His left index finger was missing a digit, and it was certain that this creature was indeed a water ghost

What kind of medicine is this? I asked curiously

I let out a sound of surprise just as I was about to leave, when Qin Huai suddenly grabbed me and asked, "Where are you going?"

Qin Huai pointed to the black handprint on the girl's leg and said, "This is left by the water ghost when it pulled the girl. I said he is not an ordinary water ghost, because he does not need water at all"

Qin Huai paused for a moment and said: "Since your disappearance, there have been continuous reports of people going missing in the surrounding villages. The condition of the bodies that have been found is always the same; the skin on their faces has been peeled off. Human skin contains a certain essence, and when combined with a specific dark magic, a water ghost that obtains this skin can temporarily leave the water and is not afraid of sunlight. However, the essence dissipates quickly, so it must constantly change skins."