Chapter 297 - Chapter 297: Chapter 293: Exorcism_1

Chapter 297: Chapter 293: Exorcism_1

“Disciple!” Zhou Hao glared at him, then turned to Chen Tiantian, “Tell us the truth. Why are you insistent on joining the Yin Yang Department?”

Chen Tiantian kept her head down and didn’t speak.

Ya Sen coughed lightly: “Brother Zhou, you’ve misunderstood. This child’s talent doesn’t lie in medicine, that’s why she wants to learn the Healing Prayer Technique. She’s just a teenager, what ulterior motive could she possibly have?”

Master Zhou opened his eyes and glanced at Chen Tiantian, saying, “I’ve said long ago that I’m no longer accepting disciples. If she’s adamant about coming to the Yin Yang Department, she can only be a cleaning maid here.”

“Brother Zhou!” Ya Sen looked at Master Zhou disapprovingly. “This child is someone that the Imperial Teacher Xiaoke personally chose to be under our watch.”

Master Zhou replied indifferently, “What does the Imperial Teacher asking you to watch her has to do with me? I only accept individuals with pure intentions. This girl has ulterior motives, she doesn’t belong in my school.”

Ya Sen was so angry that he was about to storm off when Chen Tiantian quickly nodded and said hurriedly, “I… I’m willing to be a… a maid.”

This surprised not only Yingbao, but even Master Zhou and Ya Sen took a good look at her. Wen Yurong, however, found Chen Tiantian’s behavior quite unreasonable.

Ya Sen furrowed his brows, finding this woman to be a bit problematic too.

After some thought he said, “No! You should come back with me.” With that, he got up to leave.

As Ya Sen walked away with his hands behind his back, he seethed with frustration and regret about allowing Chen Tiantian to come here.

He’d not only lost face but also annoyed Master Zhou.

Zhou Wuchang was petty like that, and he feared that he would hold a grudge over this and dwell on it night and day.

Oh, how unlucky!

Seeing that the physician left, Chen Tiantian and Wen Yurong, now under close scrutiny by Master Zhou and his disciples, had no choice but to follow suit.

Once they had left, Zhang Min came over and asked his junior sister, “What in the world happened? Tell us what you know.”

Master Zhou also leaned back in deep thought, as if waiting for Yingbao’s explanation.

So Yingbao recounted Chen Tiantian’s abnormal behavior, from her hometown to Beijing, until she was parched from all the talking and took a big gulp of water that her second senior brother handed to her.

After listening, Master Zhou looked at Yingbao and asked for her birth information to perform a divination for her.

Having learned her birth information from the storybooks, Yingbao truthfully reported it.

Zhou Wuchang repeatedly studied his young disciple’s birth details, then took out his compass to perform divination for her.

In the divination, Yingbao’s luck was very strong, but there seemed to be some twists and turns, and she was even shown to have a short lifespan. This was quite odd.

For people with strong luck rarely have a short lifespan, as luck also influences lifespan.

The better her luck, the longer her lifespan. And not only that, she could also bring prosperity to her friends and family with her luck.

Master Zhou furrowed his brows in deep thought.

He didn’t have Chen Tiantian’s birth details, so he couldn’t divine her luck.

But he was certain that there must be some mentor behind Chen Tiantian guiding her, telling her that sticking to a person with good fortune would bring her luck.

But it seemed that Chen Tiantian had chosen the wrong approach, persistently resorting to the most crude methods, not realizing that such methods often backfire.

And if she still refused to give up, in the end, she might resort to extreme measures.

Perhaps even believing in certain forms of evil magic, trying to defy fate.

Master Zhou looked at Yingbao, a hint of worry in his eyes.

He was very satisfied with this young disciple of his and didn’t want anyone to harm her.

“Yingbao, come here.” Master Zhou got up and went to the altar.

Yingbao followed with a skip in her step.

She was sure that her master was about to perform a ritual for her.

Having studied forbidden curses for a long time, Yingbao had developed a blind faith in certain spells and magical techniques.

Master Zhou first took a bath and changed his clothes, then returned to the altar to begin burning incense.

The eldest disciple and the second disciple stood side by side, each holding various magic artifacts as assistants.

Yingbao stood on the other side, waiting for her master to perform the exorcism for her.

Master Zhou began to recite the exorcism spell with a peach wood sword in his hand: “I am the sacrificial wine for the heaven, I am the messenger of the earth. I carry the weapons of a thousand spirits, millions upon millions, lined up before and behind me, to my right and left…”

As he recited, he started to walk: “What god dares stay, what ghost dares block? Righteous gods should stay, wicked ghosts must leave. Go now as if given a command!”

While speaking, he made a few swings with the peach wood sword around and above Yingbao’s head.

Yingbao knelt on the mat, made hand gestures and silently recited the exorcism spell.

She had to get rid of the unluckiness from both her past and present life.

And, of course, all the haunting spirits in these scripts must be banished.

At the end, Master Zhou drew a talisman, burned it and mixed it with water, asking Yingbao to drink it.

Honestly, Yingbao did not believe in this talisman water, but had to drink it to complete the ritual.

After the young apprentice drank a bowl of talisman water, Master Zhou used three fingers to dip cinnabar and drew a mark on her forehead, telling her not to wash it for three days.

So, Yingbao had to endure not washing her face for three days with the cinnabar mark on her forehead.

Interestingly, she had not encountered Chen Tiantian since her master performed the exorcism.

Of course, this could also be because she moved from her previous dormitory to the Yin Yang Department.

Generally speaking, Yingbao felt refreshed recently and even went with her master and senior brothers to exorcise a ghost for someone.

The family seemed wealthy. The forty-year-old host only had a son, who was born to a concubine but was brought into his main wife’s room after birth and raised solely by her.

However, something mysterious happened. When the child was about one year old, he began to cry day and night, refusing to eat or drink milk, and rejecting to be held. When held, he cried even harder.

Many doctors were invited, and numerous medicines were given, but the child became weaker and did not show any improvement.

Left with no choice, the old master finally asked Master Zhou from Huimin Pharmacy to help.

Master Zhou was a famous Healing Prayer Technique practitioner in the county, who rarely took action, but once he did, he could cure anything.

Thus, Yingbao had the opportunity to follow her master and to see how he exorcised the evil and cured the child at the residence of the wealthy local civilian Zhu.

Master Zhou first looked at the constantly crying child, checked his limbs, head, abdomen and lower back, then walked around, asking Zhu and his wife many questions.

Then, he walked to the entrance of a small courtyard and said, “There’s an ominous presence here.”

Zhu was shocked and stuttered, “M…Master Zhou, th..this is where my concubine lives, how could there be an ominous presence?”

Master Zhou coldly replied, “Are you questioning my ability?”

“N..No, no! I am just curious. Please, Master, cleanse this place.” Zhu didn’t dare to say any more.

Zhou Wuchang asked the eldest disciple to set up an altar at the entrance of the small courtyard, and began to worship and perform the ritual.

Two women inside the yard tried to come out, but were stopped by Zhang Min: “My master is performing a ritual. You may not leave. An ominous presence can hide anywhere. Maybe it’s hiding on you. If you take it out, all our previous efforts will be wasted.”

The concubine, looking weak and delicate, turned her eyes to Zhu: “My Lord, I… I am scared…”

Zhu sighed and gestured: “Just stay in the room, you can come out after the master finishes the ritual.”

Left with no choice, the concubine and the maid stayed in the room.

Zhou Wuchang, with an expressionless face, asked Zhu to bring a bowl of clear water. He washed his hands alone, then drew talismans and recited spells. Later, he ordered someone to catch a rooster. After cutting its throat, he sprinkled the chicken blood on the ground and the talisman paper.

Watching from the side, Yingbao was somewhat puzzled on why her master didn’t exorcise the child but came to the concubine’s door instead.

Soon, the courtyard and the house of the concubine were enveloped in incense smoke. The eldest disciple danced an exorcism dance. Master Zhou continued to draw talismans and attached them to the door and windows of the concubine’s house.

In the courtyard, they could hear Master Zhou reciting spells. He pointed his peach wood sword toward the concubine’s direction, “The sixth jia, the sixth yi, the evil spirit comes out! The sixth bing, sixth ding, the evil spirit returns to the underworld! The sixth wu, the sixth ji, the evil spirit stops…”

The concubine was terrified and trembling inside the room.

When Zhou Wuchang sprinkled chicken blood everywhere while holding the slaughtered rooster, the concubine suddenly screamed and knelt down, knocking her head against the floor towards Master Zhou. She screamed, “It’s not me, it’s not me, it’s not me… I… I didn’t poke a needle in his belly… I… I had no choice… they said that when you grow up, the lady will sell me… I… I had no choice…”