Warding Of Evil Spirit

Whoosh—Crack—!* A leather whip, dipped in cold water, was raised high in the air, then lashed down sharply from Steward Ma's wrist, accompanied by a whistling sound, like a dagger, like a sharp saw, striking Chu Weiyang's back. Instantly, the gray-black hemp clothing was torn with a tearing sound, and the edges were stained deep red by the blood seeping from the wound. It wasn't a real dagger, nor a real saw. The whip fell, also tearing open several repaired patches on the hemp clothing, and tattered pieces of cloth hung on Chu Weiyang's body, revealing several pre-existing dark red bloodstains, which then mingled with the blood, becoming indistinguishable. Throughout, the young man merely swayed forward slightly, following the force of the whip. He seemed oblivious to the pain, showing no other reaction whatsoever, merely keeping his head down and never glancing at the steward. In the cramped cave, people were crammed together, the buzzing sound sharp, but the others seemed not to hear it, like Chu Weiyang, heads bowed, their expressions a mixture of indifference and numbness. Chu Weiyang didn't look up, and the steward wasn't annoyed. He always stood at the entrance of the cave, cracking his whip—the only difference being who stood on the outermost edge. It was like a whistle, a clap of the hands, a knock on the doorframe. Master Ma was a man of principle, even towards the slaves of the Demon-Suppressing Cave, he maintained this level of courtesy. "Two things!" "First, starting today, everyone's daily requirement for refining demonic essence will increase from one and a half pots to two pots! While we're still breathing, there's no room for negotiation!" "Master Ma knows you're all struggling, and don't think I treat you like dirt. The second thing is, starting today, everyone's rations will double!" Only then did the group in the cave react, raising their heads to stare at Steward Ma. Their faces were gaunt and sallow, their eyes numb with pain. Steward Ma's face stiffened instantly. He suddenly felt as if he were standing at the gates of hell, surrounded by a sinister ghost realm. Those faces, those empty eyes, that dark and cramped environment—it didn't seem like the mortal world at all. He was speechless, a growing fear creeping into his heart. If everyone in this cave was a ghost, what was he, Master Ma? "Frying bull and horse heads for little devils all day long? What a coincidence, my surname is indeed Ma..." Thinking this, the steward felt increasingly uneasy, a mixture of shame and anger welling up within him. Suddenly, a surge of malice arose within him. He glanced at Chu Weiyang, who was standing at the door turning to look at him, and without warning, Steward Ma abruptly raised his whip and lashed it hard across Chu Weiyang's back! This caught everyone off guard. Chu Weiyang tightly pursed his lips, enduring the pain without uttering a sound or showing any further change in expression. Everyone else was stunned. Even Steward Ma himself was stunned for a long while. Having expelled the malice from his heart, he felt an emptiness within, which only intensified his unease. This must be due to the heavy malevolent energy in the Demon-Suppressing Cave, which had shaken his mind! For the sake of my cultivation, I should leave this filthy place as soon as possible! With this thought, Steward Ma shouted sternly. "What are you all standing there for! Get to work! Behave yourselves! I'm watching you!" With that, he cracked his long whip again, then walked away from the cave entrance with his hands behind his back. The foreman's footsteps faded into the distance. No one spoke from the dim cave. After a few breaths, the sound of iron striking metal came from the entrance. Looking closely in the light, one could see Chu Weiyang standing at the cave entrance, taking a fist-sized piece of iron ore from a pile of baskets. Just holding it in his hand, Chu Weiyang's body tilted slightly to one side. The iron seemed extremely heavy; the moment it touched Chu Weiyang's palm, the blood-rust color on it seemed to come alive, shimmering with a strange, spiritual light that seemed to seep into Chu Weiyang's torso from his arm. Chu Weiyang, who had endured two lashes from Foreman Ma without flinching, now, facing the corrosive energy of the iron, the young man trembled uncontrollably. In just a few breaths, Chu Weiyang's face turned from sallow to deathly pale. Yet, he still managed to raise his other hand, hovering it over the empty jade bottle beside him. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. Gradually, pure malevolent energy condensed in Chu Weiyang's palm, swirling into a vortex, finally solidifying into a single drop of crimson water, which fell into the jade bottle an arm's length high. Thus, a drop of malevolent essence was condensed. One drop, two drops, three drops… Before long, when he looked again, the iron ore held in Chu Weiyang's other hand had been completely drained of its malevolent energy, its spiritual light dissipating. With a slight exertion of force from Chu Weiyang's palm, it instantly turned to dust, scattering between his fingers. Dust gradually filled the cave. The already dim sunlight slanted through the narrow opening, shining obliquely into the dusty cave, suddenly cutting into beams of light, making it appear even more eerie and sinister. And so, the long day passed. Clang— only when a large, steaming cauldron was placed at the entrance of the cave did the crowd, numb all day, seem to come alive. The cauldron contained a thin layer of white broth, barely a speck of oil, with bits of almost blackened, rotten vegetable leaves floating on top, and occasionally a piece of meat that reeked of a foul, fishy odor. It was like pig swill. Yet even so, their increasingly short breaths were filled with an uncontrollable craving. In the Demon-Suppressing Cave, hunger tormented humanity far more than pain. Everyone who had survived there could clearly remember every sensation of hunger—it began with anger, then anxiety, and after a few days, walking became difficult, then even thinking became extremely strenuous. Emotions and feelings became a burden, thoughts and bodies gradually separated, and death could come at any moment. Despite their hunger and longing, the people in the cave remained calm. They all turned to look at Chu Weiyang, who stood at the entrance. But Chu Weiyang, at that moment, turned his head to look deeper into the cave, at a particularly imposing figure among the crowd. The man slowly approached the entrance. Through the faint yellow light of the evening, one could vaguely make out a bald, muscular man with a prominent scar across his face, almost cleaving it in two. This appearance seemed to truly possess the air of someone who could suppress demons. The man stood before the cauldron, gripping a ladle in one hand and taking the empty bowl from Chu Weiyang in the other. He shoved the first two ladles into the cauldron, and when he scooped them up, there wasn't much broth. Among the rotten vegetable leaves were several large, clearly visible pieces of meat. Only on the third ladle did the man scoop a spoonful of clear broth from the surface and pour it into Chu Weiyang's bowl. This was the best bowl in the cave, and Chu Weiyang's "reward" for voluntarily standing at the entrance and receiving the steward's whip that day. Throughout, the burly man never actually examined the rations in the large cauldron to see if they had truly doubled as Steward Ma had claimed; nor did Chu Weiyang mention the extra lash Steward Ma had given him later. He simply silently accepted the bowl the burly man handed him, holding it steadily and firmly to his chest, walked deeper into the cave, and sat stiffly on a stone along the wall. After drinking half a bowl of soup, eating the rotten vegetable leaves, and then chewing on a piece of raw meat, the bald, burly man finally sat down beside Chu Weiyang, bowl in hand. He too moved with difficulty, leaning half his body towards Chu Weiyang, then lowered his head, his hoarse voice echoing only between the two of them. "Last night during meditation, the accumulated negative energy completely sealed off all my meridians. A whole night of sitting in vain yielded no progress . Little Chu, I fear I am about to die."