Ghost Talisman Scripture: No Living People Allowed.

Chapter Three: The Unsettling Ghost

People often say life is unpredictable, and it's certainly true. Not only did a wife fall from the sky, but a copper coin sword also fell, proving the principle that everything has its counterpart—mutual generation and mutual restraint. After posing a problem for me, it also helped me out of a predicament.

But I'm puzzled. Who is this girl, and why is she helping me?

Since I grew up in the family of a blind fortune teller, I haven't had many friends, and practically no close female friends. If I had any, it would be that simple-minded girl from the east end of the village, known as "Silly Girl."

Her family owns a blacksmith shop; she's skilled at wielding a sledgehammer, but I don't believe she can exorcise ghosts with a copper coin sword.

Besides, Silly Girl never seems to know how to harm men; she's always been afraid of them. Why would she run away when she sees me?

While I was still stunned, I heard the old blind man in the outer room yelling angrily, "Lei Xueting, you're breaking the rules! Trying to rob me outright?"

"I've been here several times and you've ravaged me every time! What kind of stupid rules are you talking about? Tonight I'm taking it all!"

The voice sounded like a middle-aged man.

But the voice was strange. Oh, I remember now, it's the person who often has their fortune told by the old blind man.

"You're dreaming!"

The old blind man roared furiously, and it seemed he and Lei Xueting were fighting. Bang, bang, bang—the outer room was a chaotic mess, quite a scene.

After hearing their conversation, I understood what was going on. No wonder this person, dressed like a big city dweller, always came to the old blind man for fortune telling; it turned out she wanted our things.

But after being ravaged by the old blind man several times and getting nothing, she couldn't resist trying to rob us.

Now that a formidable enemy was at hand, no matter what the old blind man wanted to do to me, we had to unite against him.

Just as I was about to rush out, I realized I wasn't dressed yet. I found my clothes and was about to put them on when I heard Lei Xueting shout, "Xiao Xi, catch her!"

While I was still wondering who Xiao Xi was, the girl who had just jumped out the window immediately jumped back, moving with surprising agility, and swung a rope around my neck.

I couldn't breathe immediately; all my strength vanished.

Then, a s***h across the back of my neck struck me, and everything went black; I lost consciousness.

I don't know how much time passed before Xiao Xi's girl woke me up by splashing water on me. At first, I was groggy and thought it was raining, but when I woke up, I saw her scooping water from the river and splashing it on my face.

Seeing that I was awake, she sat down by the river, panting, to rest.

This river was more than a mile from our house; getting someone weighing over 100 pounds like me here must have been exhausting.

Suddenly I remembered I wasn't dressed yet. I reached out to cover myself, only to find I was tightly bound with rope, seemingly on my upper body. I felt relieved.

She was there, ignoring me. I started to wonder, who was Lei Xueting, the one the old blind man always "boned" with? Why did she kidnap me?

If it was for ransom, forget it. Knowing the old blind man's penchant for risking his life rather than his money, he wouldn't pay a single penny even if his own father were kidnapped.

Lei Xueting, who was frequently "boned" by him, surely understood his temperament.

Besides, the little money he had wasn't worth his scheming.

Could it be for the Ghost Talisman Scripture?

I think that's possible.

The old blind man treasured this book immensely. Even I, someone who isn't superstitious, was completely engrossed in it, almost to the point of obsession.

This book was definitely no ordinary book; otherwise, the old blind man wouldn't have kept testing me, and Lei Xueting wouldn't have endured his constant humiliation.

Having figured this out, I felt at ease. Their purpose in capturing me was simply to make sure I was a "living scripture," and that I would reveal the contents of the Ghost Talisman Scripture.

As long as I gritted my teeth and kept quiet, I believed they wouldn't dare kill me.

The late autumn night was chilly. I was only wearing a headscarf, and a slight breeze made me shiver.

I glanced at Xiao Xi sitting by the river. She hadn't stopped for a while; I knew she was waiting for Lei Xueting.

But when would that old woman come? Maybe the old blind man had pinned me down again, leaving me freezing for most of the night—I'd definitely get sick.

Just as I was lost in thought, I heard a few gurgling sounds from the river.

At first, I thought it was just fish bubbling and didn't pay much attention.

But then, the water gurgled and boiled, the sound eerily loud in the quiet night.

Xiao Xi couldn't sit still any longer. She got up and turned on her flashlight. In the blink of an eye, she saw half a profile: fair skin, large eyes, long eyelashes—she looked like a young, pretty girl.

As she stared at the river, her expression changed. My heart skipped a beat; I knew I'd encountered something unclean.

This river had many terrifying rumors in the area. It was said that many people had drowned there. The old blind man had repeatedly warned me not to come to the riverbank, saying that vengeful spirits lingered there, frequently coming out to take their place, and once someone was taken, even a god couldn't save them.

Xiao Xi immediately took out a yellow talisman from her bag. I breathed a sigh of relief; so she knew how to exorcise ghosts. That put my mind at ease.

However, the hand gesture she made greatly puzzled me. It looked like a "thunderbolt spell," but her fingers were terribly wrong, a crooked and awkward mess.

Speaking of incantations, they are crucial in the Ghost Talisman Scripture. As the saying goes, "A talisman without incantations is powerless." Whether performing rituals or burning talismans and chanting spells, incantations are essential; otherwise, they will have no effect.

The wonder of incantations is a long story, which we'll leave for later.

Seeing my finger placement was incorrect, I quickly reminded her, "Xiao Xi..."

"Shut up, don't use my name."

This girl has a bad temper; she won't even let others use her name.

"Your finger placement is wrong; it won't work like this."

"What do you know?

This is authentic Maoshan magic!"

She turned and glared at me fiercely, then turned back to continue casting the spell.

I was stunned, not because of her pretentious attitude, but because this girl was simply too much. She was like the celebrities in the posters on my doghouse wall—far more impressive than Xiao Qing. I was completely dumbfounded.

Xiao Xi silently chanted some incantation, then shook the yellow talisman in her hand without striking it.

She scratched her head: "Why didn't it burn?"

Just as she finished speaking, a wave of water surged up from the river, splashing us both.

The water droplets that landed on us smelled particularly foul. I knew something was wrong. I tried to get up, but we were bound and couldn't move.

Xiao Xi screamed and turned to run. Another wave of water surged ashore, carrying strands of hair that suddenly wrapped around her ankles, pulling her backward and causing her to fall to the ground.

Then she dragged her into the river, passing right next to me, grabbing my rope and refusing to let go.

This time, I was dragged into the river too.

I can't swim. As soon as I got in, I swallowed several mouthfuls of river water and almost choked to death.

Fortunately, though panicked, I quickly closed my mouth and nose, and circulated my breath in my abdomen, which provided temporary relief.

Xiao Xi was clearly a strong swimmer; she struggled to the surface only to be pulled back down, grabbing onto me with one hand and climbing onto a small tree on the riverbank with the other.

Once we both surfaced, I hurriedly told her to untie the rope binding me.

This girl was incredibly stubborn, shouting at me, "No, no, I won't!"

I was almost furious. Just as I was about to say something, the pulling force increased, and my left hand, which was gripping the tree, finally loosened, and we both quickly sank to the bottom of the river.