Chapter 3: Thunder Talisman, First Kill
791 Words
The fog thickened fast, swallowing the floor tiles and curling up the walls like living smoke.
From within the darkness, the creature emerged.
Eight feet tall, humanoid in shape—but its face was a smear of shadow, flickering like a dying screen. Its long, twisted fingers clawed the temple tiles as it floated forward, moaning in a language no human tongue could form.
Hellshade Wraith.
Born from centuries of unresolved death, cursed rituals, and places where yin energy pooled like stagnant water.
Qin Shuyan didn’t hesitate. She pressed her palm against her compass, and a series of five glowing rings expanded outward from it, hovering in midair like layered shields.
“Hold the outer perimeter. I’ll take the center.”
Lin Yechen gulped. “You’re just gonna assume I know how?”
“You are the Azure Emperor’s heir, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but the guy didn’t exactly leave an instruction manual!”
“Then make it up,” she snapped. “You’re Taoist. Improvise!”
She launched forward. Her feet slid across the ground with eerie precision—Feng Shui stepwork. As the wraith lunged, she flicked a talisman up into the air, igniting it with a flick of her nail.
“Yang Flame Talisman—Burn!”
A sheet of fire burst across the creature’s face. It shrieked, recoiling—but only briefly. The flame dimmed too quickly.
“Damn it,” she muttered. “Its resentment’s too dense—normal talismans aren’t enough.”
The creature whipped around, eyes glowing red. It charged.
Lin’s instincts kicked in.
He stepped between them, fumbling out the Thunder Talisman that had manifested earlier in his hand.
The moment he focused on it, words surged into his head—not English, not Chinese, but something older, etched into the marrow of his bones:
“Five Thunders command the sky—Strike!”
He shouted the words aloud, slamming the talisman into the air.
CRACK—!
A blinding arc of blue lightning exploded from above, hitting the wraith dead center.
The force knocked Lin backward into a pillar—but the wraith screamed. Its body shimmered, distorted, and chunks of its form began crumbling like ashes.
Qin Shuyan stared. “That was real thunder. That wasn’t you—that was him.”
“He is me now,” Lin coughed, wiping blood from his mouth.
The wraith wasn’t dead, though—it regenerated its lower half with a horrible squelch and lunged again.
Qin tossed him another talisman.
“This one’s mine. Just channel your qi through it.”
He grabbed it without thinking, and for the first time, felt the flow—like warm lightning moving from his chest to his fingertips. The talisman glowed gold.
“Seal!” he yelled.
The paper burst, forming a radiant chain that wrapped around the wraith’s limbs.
She followed instantly, leaping with a sword drawn from her back. It wasn’t a modern blade—it was short, curved, and made of blackened peachwood, glinting with copper nails and engraved runes.
“Peachwood Demonbane—Slice!”
The blade struck home.
The Hellshade Wraith let out a final, shrieking cry before erupting into gray mist that scattered on the wind.
Silence.
The fog began to lift. The compass on her hip stopped spinning.
Qin landed, exhaling. “One strike. Clean.”
Lin slumped against a stone pillar, panting.
“Okay… first real fight as a Taoist… 6 out of 10?”
She walked over and held out a hand to help him up.
“I’d say 4.5. You nearly electrocuted yourself.”
He took her hand anyway, chuckling. “You really don’t pull punches, do you?”
“Ghosts don’t either.”
They stood there for a moment, the last echoes of thunder fading above.
“Why were you even here?” he asked finally. “This place isn’t on any map.”
“I was sent by my family,” she said, brushing dirt off her sleeves. “They detected a disturbance in the southern Dragon Vein. The seal on the Azure Emperor was one of the last spiritual anchors holding the region stable.”
“So when I broke it…”
“The balance tilted,” she said. “You’re not just some unlucky student anymore. You’re now at the center of every major Taoist force’s radar.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “Neat. Do I get a badge?”
“You get responsibility. And probably a price on your head, once word gets out.”
Lin exhaled slowly.
“…Sounds fun.”
She gave him a long look.
“Well, Taoist Emperor. Ready to leave the mountain?”
He grinned.
“Let’s go stir some ghosts.”
- Writer
