Chapter 188
Chapter 188
To our surprise, a shadowy figure silently appeared on the balcony outside Tang Xun’s room in the latter half of the night.
The newcomer was a tall, thin man dressed entirely in black. He moved with remarkable agility.
He quickly reached Tang Xun’s bedside, his eyes filled with guilt as he looked at her.
“Tang Xian, you finally showed up.”
Tang Tang clearly knew the man.
The moment Tang Xian appeared, Tang Tang’s composure shattered. She rushed over and began pounding on his arm, though there was hardly any force behind the blows. “What took you so long?”
“A week ago, the Sect Master sent me out of town on a mission,” Tang Xian explained. “It wasn’t anything important, but the Sect Master insisted that I handle it personally. It wasn’t until I returned that I learned something had happened to the Sect Master.”
The moment he said that, we all understood. Tang Xun had deliberately sent Tang Xian away before entering the tomb on her own.
Tang Tang asked, “My aunt trained you to be her most capable assistant and trusts you completely. Why would she deliberately send you away for this?”
“I’m not sure either,” Tang Xian said thoughtfully. “But I suspect she knew entering the tomb would be dangerous. If I’m right, she must have returned to the same ancient tomb from several years ago.”
Tang Tang frowned. “Several years ago? Which one?”
“Four years ago — the Hushan Ancient Tomb,” Tang Xian recalled. “After the Sect Master emerged from that tomb, she mysteriously suffered a strange bout of hysteria. Do you remember?”
Tang Tang thought for a moment and quickly recalled it. “Of course I remember! How could I forget? After my aunt returned, she was bedridden for days. Then she even started sleepwalking. I was so frightened that I hardly dared to sleep. I watched over her day and night until Uncle Huo prescribed medicine to calm her mind. Only then did she recover.”
Tang Xian nodded. “That’s right. The Sect Master entered Hushan Ancient Tomb alone that time as well. After she emerged, she issued strict orders forbidding any of us from ever approaching Hushan Ancient Tomb again. Anyone who disobeyed would be expelled from the Tang Sect and barred from ever being readmitted.”
It seemed the Hushan Ancient Tomb truly was a perilous place.
Yet for Tang Ao’s sake, Tang Xun had still gone without hesitation.
Who could have imagined that this trip would prove ten thousand times more dangerous than the last?
That was all the information Tang Xian could provide. He even offered, “If necessary, I can make a trip to Hushan and search for that ancient tomb.”
Tang Tang hesitated, one small hand clutching Tang Xian’s sleeve as she struggled to decide.
That was when I spoke. “Even if you went, chances are you wouldn’t be able to find that ancient tomb.”
Then I turned to Tang Tang. “Senior, call Uncle Huo and ask what medicine he prescribed for Aunt Tang back then.”
Tang Tang called him at once. Uncle Huo picked up almost immediately, showing that he had also been worrying constantly about Tang Xun’s condition.
After answering our questions, Uncle Huo said that he had noticed signs back then that Tang Xun’s Spirit Soul was not properly anchored to her body. He had prescribed a formula to steady her mind and stabilize her Souls. Fortunately, Tang Xun’s condition had not been particularly severe at the time.
Had it been serious, however, medicine from a mystic physician alone would not have been enough. Other measures would have been necessary.
Uncle Huo’s explanation confirmed my suspicions. Whoever was behind this might not have been after Tang Xun’s life. He wanted her soul.
I immediately gathered everyone and laid out my theory. “When Aunt Tang entered the tomb for the first time, she had already been targeted by him. On her second trip, Aunt Tang took the Crystal Orchid from the ancient tomb.
“The Crystal Orchid isn’t an ordinary medicinal herb. It has another name: the Ghost Plant. Legend says it is a plant that should only grow in the Underworld. So what connection does Hushan Ancient Tomb have to the Underworld?”
“But whatever the nature of their relationship, Aunt Tang took the Crystal Orchid. In his eyes, that meant she’d accepted his betrothal token, so he placed a mark on her. Perhaps once the Ghost King Butterfly leaves, it will carry Aunt Tang’s Souls to him so she can fulfill the marriage pact?”
Everyone fell into thought after hearing my theory.
After a long moment, Liu Junyan stroked my head approvingly. “That’s the most reasonable theory we have right now. Based on that, our best course of action is to find a way to trap the Ghost King Butterfly while it’s pupating. Then he’ll be the one getting anxious.”
If the other party wanted Tang Xun dead, taking forceful action against the Ghost King Butterfly would most likely implicate her, perhaps even killing her on the spot.
But if he wanted to take her Souls away to marry him, that was a different matter altogether.
Given his identity, he was no ordinary ghost. He wasn’t even a Ghost King, but someone of considerable status in the Netherworld Realm.
Someone like that wouldn’t just take any random person. He had set his sights on Tang Xun specifically.
“You should all get some sleep. Moqiong, stay and help,” Liu Junyan said. “I’ll handle the Butterfly Sealing.”
“I’ll stay too,” I immediately declared.
After all, Aunt Tang was a woman, and in her current state, it wouldn’t be appropriate to leave two grown men alone in her room with her.
Hui Moqiong immediately teased, “What’s the matter, Xiao Jiu’er? Don’t you trust Seventh Master?”
I glared at him. “Can’t you tell why I’m staying? Seventh Master is already spoken for, so I’d never suspect him of anything. But you?”
Hui Moqiong rubbed his nose and glanced guiltily at Li Qingying.
Li Qingying led Tang Tang and the others out, but Tang Xian remained by the balcony. We let him stay.
Hui Moqiong truly lived up to his reputation as Liu Junyan’s most capable assistant.
A single look from Liu Junyan was enough for him to understand what needed to be done.
All Liu Junyan had to do was tell him what Formation to lay in the room, and Hui Moqiong would execute it perfectly.
The two of them worked in remarkable harmony.
By the time everything was ready, it was already one thirty in the morning.
The Ghost King Butterfly had almost completed its pupation.
Liu Junyan stood at the center of the Formation with his head slightly bowed. He held the Prayer Beads in one hand while keeping the other upright before his chest, murmuring some incomprehensible sutra or incantation.
As he chanted, a Yin Wind suddenly swept through the room. Immediately afterward, Tang Xun began thrashing violently on the bed, making an enormous commotion.
Though still unconscious, she screamed at the top of her lungs, “No! I won’t go with you! I’m not going!”
The Butterfly Chrysalis Mark on her lower back twisted and writhed incessantly, as though desperately trying to tear itself free from Tang Xun’s body.
At that moment, several Copper Coin talismans shot from Liu Junyan’s hand. They formed a ring around the Butterfly Chrysalis Mark, then slowly contracted inward.
The process lasted a full two or three minutes.
The Butterfly Chrysalis Mark kept heaving as the Copper Coin talismans closed in, striking one another with crisp, ringing clinks. Mixed with Tang Xun’s agonized moans, the sound left my heart lodged in my throat.
Just as the Copper Coin talismans were about to close completely and seal the chrysalis tight, Tang Xun let out a piercing scream. At the sound, every Copper Coin talisman shattered.
The Formation we had laid in the room instantly collapsed.
Hui Moqiong clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Liu Junyan’s face had also gone pale, and the hand gripping his Prayer Beads trembled faintly.
The other party was terrifyingly powerful. He had destroyed the Butterfly Sealing Formation from afar…