I have a weird dynasty

Chapter 14: The Fire of the Talisman Leads the Way
Walking out of the main house, the setting sun in the sky gradually dimmed, and the He couple were still kneeling there holding their child.

A black donkey was tied in the corner of the yard, wagging its hooves and calling out to the mulberry sparrows. No one knew what it was complaining about.

With tears in his eyes, He Baosheng gritted his teeth and stared at the yellow talisman and lantern in Sang Que's hands.

Sang Que's eyes narrowed, and he stuffed the yellow talisman into his lapel. He went back to Ming Zhang's room, then quickly came out and closed the door.

"Let's go...let's go back...back to your home."

Sang Que stammered to the couple and raised the lantern in her hand to indicate that she was here to call back the spirits.

Qin Fangru looked at He Baosheng beside her. He Baosheng took the child from Qin Fangru's arms and had no choice but to accept the reality.

"It's getting dark, let's go back first."

The two of them supported each other and walked back, with Sang Que following behind.

"Girl, I haven't seen you before. Where are you from?"

Qin Fangru fell a few steps behind and went to Sang Que to ask, her voice still a little choked.

Before Kou Yushan brought her back to the village, he had never met the He family, so they didn't know Sang Que's current identity.

Just when Sang Que was having a headache explaining his identity as he might expose his accent, two people appeared in front of him, running hurriedly in the sunset glow.

The leader was Kou Yushan, followed by a dark and thin young man who looked to be in his early twenties, with a slightly hunchback, and looked like a monkey at first glance.

Is it the skinny monkey in Mingzhang's notes where I always hear weird tunes and need glutinous rice to exorcise evil spirits?

Kou Yushan ran over and first glanced at Sang Que to make sure she was safe. Then he looked at her holding the jar and the lantern, as well as the unconscious child in He Baosheng's arms, and immediately understood what had happened.

Kou Yushan came forward to explain, "Brother Baosheng, this is Yu Niang, who was adopted by my eldest sister. She just arrived in the village today. I don't know what Taoist Master Yan saw in Yu Niang and why he insisted on taking her as his apprentice."

Hearing this, He Baosheng's eyes lit up slightly, "Brother, then you talk to Yu Niang and ask her to give me the guide talisman and the soul lamp, and I will call back my son's soul myself. Please, brother, this is my son's life, how can I trust him to someone who knows nothing?"

Qin Fangru nodded hurriedly and began to cry out of worry again. In fact, Sang Que looked very dull now and didn't look like a smart person. They couldn't entrust the child's life to Sang Que.

Although Ming Zhang was sarcastic and always asked for extra money and items from villagers, he was experienced and courageous and did have some real skills.

A few months ago, Zhao Tiancong, the youngest son of the Zhao family, also lost his soul, but was successfully recalled by Mingzhang.

However, Zhao Tiancong disappeared in the rain in the end, and no one has found him alive or dead since then.

The skinny monkey next to him put his hands on his hips and panted, looking at Sangque, "How old are you? How come you are taller than me? Have you ever done spirit summoning before? Are you sure?"

Sang Que considered it for a moment and said, "Try it."

Upon hearing this, He Baosheng's eyes turned red with anxiety, "This is my son's life, how can I just try it casually? Give me the things, I will do it myself!"

"No!"

Sang Que retreated silently, holding on to the things in her hands tightly. If it wasn't for maintaining her character, she would have simply chopped everyone down with a knife to avoid trouble and noise!

"Brother Baosheng, don't be anxious," Kou Yushan stopped He Baosheng. Seeing villagers from the courtyards on both sides sticking their heads out one after another, he hurriedly said, "Go back first. If there is anything, let's go back and talk about it first."

Kou Yushan winked at Shouhou, who quickly waved to Sangque, "Come, come, Yuniang, I'll take you to Brother Baosheng's house to prepare first."

Sang Que followed Shou Hou and walked ahead, while Kou Yushan followed He Baosheng and Qin Fangru behind.

When they arrived at the He's house, it was getting dark. Sang Que walked into the yard and saw a girl about her age holding a white lantern on a long pole and hanging it under the eaves.

The lantern was brand new with the word "甸" (Dedication) on it. The girl's eyes were red and swollen, and it looked like she had been crying for a long time.

There was also a white-haired old man in the main hall of the earthen house. He picked up a wild vegetable steamed bun and placed it in front of the small tablet on the table next to him.

"My dear young mother, Grandpa was incompetent and couldn't protect you. Now that you're gone, your brother has become like this again. This is retribution. If you are still alive, please help your brother for the sake of your parents. If you want to blame someone, blame Grandpa. You can take Grandpa's life now."

The old man was hunched over and raised his hand to wipe away his tears.

Shouhou told Sangque that the one hanging the lanterns was the second wife of the He family, who was going to get married next month, and the one in the house was old man He. Now there were only these few people left in the He family.

The second mother of the He family was very indifferent. She even ignored the skinny monkey. She just glanced at him and went into the house.

Kou Yushan followed with the He couple. Although the two of them still looked at Sang Que with distrust, they didn't say anything else.

After it was completely dark, Qin Fangru and He Erniang stayed by the bedside of He's son, Xiao Si, while Sang Que talked with Kou Yushan alone for a while outside.

Sang Que was asking Kou Yushan how much he knew about the steps of summoning spirits.

Kou Yushan could only give a general idea. In fact, most of the villagers in Heishan Village only knew the general idea. They knew that they had to use guiding talismans and soul lamps, that they had to call out the name all the way back, and that they would meet wandering souls on the way.

But they didn't know which finger's blood should be taken for the guide talisman, how to light the soul lamp, and which part of the hair was needed as a medium. And the most important rule, Yan Daozi deliberately didn't tell her.

Fortunately, it was written in Mingzhang’s notes.

Don’t look back when you lead the soul back!
Ming Zhang did not remember those cumbersome and harsh conditions, but only remembered this one, which means that this one is the most important one, and it may be okay to discount the others.

"How confident are you?" Kou Yushan asked Sang Que.

Sang Que thought about it seriously. Although she didn't know what situation she would encounter on the way back that would force her to turn back, as long as she ignored everything and kept her head clear, and didn't let her mind run wild and scare herself, it shouldn't be a problem if she tried once.

"Try your best."

Kou Yushan nodded. In fact, he was the only one among everyone who believed in Sang Que. After all, she was the daughter of the temple priest. Even if she had not learned anything, she must have her own strengths.

Otherwise, she would have died with Mingzhang when she returned to Heishan Village for the first time.

"Do you think Yan Daozi will follow me?" Sang Que asked. She was most afraid of this.

Kou Yushan said, "If you don't leave the village, he might follow you, but once you leave the village, he will definitely not follow you. He is a person who cherishes his life very much. He has been in Heishan Village for more than half a year, and the farthest place he has been to is the woods over the wheat field. Most things are handled by Mingzhang."

Sang Que nodded, feeling relieved but also nervous.

"Please tell me again about Black Mountain Village and the surrounding terrain, as well as the approximate locations of each family."

Kou Yushan dipped water from the bowl and drew and explained to Sang Que on the table. Sang Que looked focused and listened carefully. He had never been so serious even in class.

She was afraid of unexpected situations and getting lost in a panic. The night here was definitely not like what Yan Daozi said. Even if it was just a wandering spirit that was not as evil as a ghost, she had to be extremely careful.

What's more, Yan Daozi was obviously trying to trick her, and wanted to lower her vigilance with light words.

After a while, Sang Que remembered the terrain clearly, as well as what Kou Yushan said about judging the time based on the position of the moon and the direction based on the position of the stars. He said to Kou Yushan, "Let them all come out. I don't want to waste my breath."

Kou Yushan went into the inner room and persuaded everyone to come out. When summoning souls, it was taboo to have outsiders in the room.

After everyone came out, Sang Que quickly walked into the house with something in his hand. Just as He Baosheng was about to speak, the door slammed shut, leaving him no chance.

"His father, what should we do? Shouan is still so young. I feel so sad..."

Qin Fangru grabbed He Erniang's arm and couldn't stop crying. The family could do nothing at this moment and could only wait silently and pray for a miracle to happen.

inside the house.

Sang Que looked at the child who was only seven or eight years old lying on the earthen kang and sighed silently.

"I will try my best, and I hope you can give me some support. If you want to survive, you can't just rely on others. Your parents know that others are unreliable."

There was a sewing basket at the head of the kang. Sang Que took two tufts of hair from He Shouan's head, leaving one extra tuft just in case.

He held the needle over the flame of the lamp and burned it for a while, then Sang Que picked up He Shouan's middle finger on his left hand and pierced it, squeezed out a drop of blood, and smeared it on the guiding talisman.

The blood was like fire, instantly igniting the yellow talisman. Then a fist-sized green flame sprang out and circled around He Shouan.

Sang Que smeared a handful of corpse mud on her forehead. The cold feeling made her shudder. She quickly burned the needle on the lamp again and pinned it on her clothes as she would need it later.

After the talisman fire turned three times, it flew out at lightning speed, directly through the closed window of the house.

Sang Que picked up the soul lamp and hatchet without thinking, pushed open the window, and jumped out with one hand.

After landing, Sang Que froze and found that his character had collapsed.

She looked around, fortunately there was no one around, because God knew the talisman fire could penetrate walls and fly so fast.

Fu Huo was circling outside the He family's yard, waiting for Sang Que to catch up.

Heishan Village is backed by the majestic Dahei Mountain and faces a barren forest, taking root in the gap between the mountains and the plains.

Under the cover of night, the mountains are silent, the bright moon is obscured by dark clouds, the towering mountains seem like indescribable horrors, the shadows of the trees are baring their fangs and claws, and there are countless unknown evil spirits hidden in the deep forest.

Sang Que didn't think too much at first, her mind was all focused on the steps of summoning the soul. At this moment, she suddenly stepped into the darkness and faced the deserted village alone. She found that she was still afraid.

The greatest fear of mankind is the fear of the unknown. In addition, fear also comes from insufficient firepower.

She has both now, but the arrow is on the string and must be shot!

Pressing the thing hidden in his lapel, Sang Que held the hatchet tightly and the lantern in hand, and walked firmly towards the cluster of talisman fire outside the yard.

"go!"

(End of this chapter)