Chapter 14

Chapter 14

At nine o’clock that night, we arrived at the site of Master’s accident.

The rain hadn’t completely stopped; a fine mist of drizzle drifted across the road.

A section of the pavement was cordoned off, looking battered and broken. Beyond the guardrail, a shattered headlight was still visible.

Kong Liang, who had barely managed to hold it together until now, suddenly refused to get out of the car.

“Those freaks are still behind us! Are you crazy? Are you trying to get me killed?”

“What are you afraid of? Your father is right here!” I roared at him.

“So what if he’s here? Didn’t he die right here too?”

I raised my hand and slapped Kong Liang across the face. “Why do you think your father came here? What do you think he was doing?”

“Fine! I’m the one who ruined my dad! I’m a useless piece of trash!”

Kong Liang’s cheek swelled up instantly from the blow. “But I’m still not going down there! If you want to go, go yourself. You’re all so capable, so why are you forcing me? I’m not getting out!”

Seeing that words were useless, I simply got out of the car, walked around to Kong Liang’s side, and yanked his door open.

“What are you doing? Don’t force me-”

Seeing me reach for him, Kong Liang began kicking his legs like a madman, trying to scramble into the back seat.

I pinned his legs down, leaned into the car, and grabbed his arm. Ignoring his pig-like squealing, I dragged him out by force.

“Don’t you always feel like your parents owe you?”

“Don’t you always think you’re so damn special?”

I pinned Kong Liang down onto the asphalt. “Then today, you’re going to experience it for yourself. You’re going to see exactly how your father traded his life for yours!”

“I won’t do it! Let me go-”

Kong Liang struggled desperately, but he was too weak. I held him down firmly, rendering him unable to move.

“If you don’t do it today, I’ll leave you right here!”

I grabbed Kong Liang by the back of his collar and forced him to look me in the eye.

“Why do you think I insisted on bringing you here for the Calling Back the Spirit ritual?”

“I made up my mind a long time ago. Today, you either help me bring Master back, or you can stay here and keep him company forever!

“Either way, Master’s Wife and Kong Yi will probably have a much smoother life without you around.”

Kong Liang was terrified by the look on my face. Shivering, he nodded. “I get it, brother. I won’t do it again. I’ll listen to you.”

I handed Master’s Spirit Tablet to Kong Liang and made him hold it.

Then, I prepared to Carry the Banner and burned the Joss Paper. At nine-thirty, the Calling Back the Spirit ritual began.

“Dad-”

I kicked Kong Liang in the leg. “Call his full name first!”

Kong Liang jumped in fright and quickly turned to shout, “Kong Jia, born on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month in the year of Jia Chen. Having met with a sudden calamity, your eldest son Kong Liang and your apprentice Long Changdong invite your soul to return. Home is to the northeast, the Eternal Lamp lights the path, and a Lotus-Covered Road is laid…”

After he finished the incantation, I held the Soul Summoning Banner and led Kong Liang back and forth along that stretch of road.

We had to walk exactly nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, calling out as we went.

As Kong Liang called out, tears began to stream down his face, and his voice broke into a sob. He said, “Dad, come back. Dad, I’m here to pick you up. Dad, I was wrong…”

I looked up at the pitch-black sky and joined in. “Master, it’s time to go home.”

The rain suddenly intensified. We were nearing the end of our walk.

At that moment, the atmosphere changed. The rustling sounds from the mountain forests slowly faded into silence.

On the slopes beyond the highway, dark, indistinct shadows began to appear.

Kong Liang started trembling uncontrollably again, glancing at me repeatedly.

I whispered, “Keep walking. Only a hundred steps left.”

A cold wind blew from the mountains, causing the Soul Summoning Banner in my hand to flap violently.

I gripped the pole tightly and kept leading Kong Liang forward without stopping.

Kong Liang’s voice rose and fell; he was truly terrified.

I could only help him call out: “Kong Jia, let your soul return. Home is to the northeast, the Eternal Lamp lights the path…”

Just then, the freaks who had been following us caught up once more.

Kong Liang froze in his tracks. I turned back, grabbed his arm, and forced him forward.

Thirty steps left. Twenty steps. Those dark shadows on the slopes began to converge toward the highway.

Gusts of yin wind howled, even bending the pole of the Soul Summoning Banner.

Kong Liang was babbling incoherently now.

One moment it was “Dad, I was wrong,” and the next it was “Brother, I won’t do it again!”

Finally, as we took the last step, the freaks entered the range of our car’s headlights.

The headlights, which I had left on, began to flicker rapidly before dying with a sharp pop!

The freaks, still holding their umbrellas and wearing raincoats, suddenly accelerated!

I shoved Kong Liang and yelled, “Get in the car!”

Then, I drew the Soul-Whip from my waist. Three sharp cracks-*snap, snap, snap*-echoed through the air.

The freaks on the road vanished instantly.

However, I felt an icy, bone-chilling aura pierce right through my body!

Still, with the sound of the Soul-Whip, the things beyond the highway didn’t dare approach.

I leaped back into the truck in a few bounds. Kong Liang scrambled in on his own, nearly failing to close the door in his haste, but fortunately, he hadn’t dropped Master’s Spirit Tablet.