landbeastnovel Chapter 52 Clear away evil spirits
Chapter 52 Clear away evil spirits
early morning.
Lin Shi stood on the stone steps in front of the main hall, his face calm, but a hint of solemnity deep in his eyes.
More than thirty people gradually gathered at the bottom of the steps.
Most of them were families who had experienced strange things last night, as well as some villagers who came spontaneously after hearing the rumors.
The crowd was pale, their eyes still filled with fear. They huddled together in twos and threes, whispering about what they had seen the night before. With each word they spoke, the chill in the air grew stronger.
"Tell me about it."
Tell me in detail what happened last night.
Lin Shi spoke, his voice low, suppressing the whispers.
Zhao Xiuying was the first to step forward. She had changed into clean clothes and her hair was neatly combed, but the dark circles under her eyes and her slightly trembling hands betrayed her fear.
When Zhao Xiuying spoke of the shadow on the window, her voice trembled.
"That neck is so long!"
"It looks like it's been stretched out."
Zhao Xiuying gestured.
"There was a female ghost crying inside the house, saying she wanted someone to hang herself with her. The house was so cold that your breath turned to ice, and the talisman burned my palm so much that I still have the mark."
Yang Qianchui then spoke, his tone calm, but his clenched fist betrayed his fear. When he opened his palm, there was indeed a ring of yellowish-brown marks.
Wet footsteps outside the door, black foam in the water tank, children's nightmares, footprints and strangulation marks on the locust tree.
Others added to the story, and with each new account, the commotion in the crowd intensified.
Lin Shi walked down the steps and joined the crowd.
"This is precisely the test."
"Evil spirits are like weeds in a field. They may be removed today, but they may spring up again tomorrow."
"But the dragon god protects our hometown."
"Kill them if they come!"
Lin Shi's voice was clear, his gaze swept over every face, and every word struck the hearts of the crowd, gradually calming the restless crowd down.
"Starting tonight, patrols will begin in both villages."
Lin Shi made a quick decision.
Evil spirits appeared in two villages last night, using insidious methods.
Instead of a direct assault, it's just harassment. Like a mosquito bite, it's not fatal, but it's irritating, unsettling, and exhausting.
Over time, fear will erode faith and shake the foundation of belief.
"Each village patrol team consists of six people, in pairs, and each pair is equipped with a protective talisman from the Dragon God."
"Hold fast to three key locations: ancestral hall, well, and threshing ground. Evil spirits will ultimately aim to shake the core of faith, and they will come to these places sooner or later."
Lin Shi's voice was steady and powerful as he took out three newly made talismans. The cinnabar strokes were more intricate, and the paper surface had a subtle shimmering light.
"In every household, add another talisman to the inside of the doors and windows. Before going to bed, sprinkle some incense ash on the threshold. The incense ash that has been offered in the ancestral hall can ward off evil spirits. If you hear any strange noises again, do not panic. The whole family should recite the 'Treatise on Response and Retribution' together. The stronger the resolve, the more effective the talisman will be."
Lin Shi looked at everyone.
"Mr. Lin, will this really work? The talisman at Yang the blacksmith's house was burned to a crisp last night."
Someone in the crowd asked.
"If you believe, it will come true."
"The dragon god's blessing requires sincerity. The more you firmly believe in its protection, the stronger its protection will be. Although the talisman at Yang the blacksmith's house was burnt last night, the evil spirits were driven away, weren't they?"
Lin Shi's gaze was firm.
"Refund!"
Yang Qianchui nodded emphatically.
"In addition, young and strong men are arranged to take turns patrolling the main lanes of the village every night in teams of three."
"There is no need to confront the evil spirits directly. Simply knock on the clapper to warn them that someone in the village is on guard. If anything unusual is detected, immediately retreat back into the house, close the door, and recite scriptures."
Lin Shi continued.
After the arrangements were completed, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Some people left in a hurry, as if something was chasing them.
Some people kept turning back to look at the ancestral hall, their eyes filled with worry.
Some people huddled together, whispering and shaking their heads from time to time.
Lin Shi frowned and glanced back at the Flood Dragon God statue. The wisps of spiritual power were greatly affected, both in terms of quantity and purity.
Shixi Village and Shanghe Village are bustling with activity.
The men inspected the gaps in the doors and windows and reinforced the latches.
The women were busy pasting talismans on paper.
The children were repeatedly told not to go out after dark.
There was a sense of tension in the air, like a fully drawn bowstring.
Night falls.
It was getting darker and darker.
The six patrol team members took their positions and were assigned to guard three key locations.
Zhang Cheng and Chen Wu stood guard in front of the ancestral hall, holding reinforced talismans and wearing copper bells at their waists. Zhou Ping and another team member stood guard by the old well in the village, while the remaining two stood guard at the entrance to the threshing ground.
In addition, groups of three strong young men carried lanterns and struck bamboo clappers as they slowly made their way through the main alleyways. The sound of the clappers carried far in the still night, rhythmic and steady.
The layout is exactly the same as Shanghe Village.
Lin Shi did not stay in the ancestral hall, but returned to his own small house and sat cross-legged behind closed doors.
A single lamp flickered dimly.
"snort!"
"Bring it on!"
Lin Shi sneered, and with a thought, he directly reached his clone, the dragon, and every inch of land and every nook and cranny of Shixi Village and Shanghe Village were all covered by his spiritual senses.
child time.
The first wave of harassment arrived as expected.
Shixi Village.
Well platform.
Zhou Ping suddenly felt the talisman in his arms getting hot. He looked up sharply and saw wisps of black mist rising from the well. Under the thin moonlight, the mist condensed into a fleeting shadow. The lower half of the shadow was churning black mist, while the upper half resembled a woman with disheveled hair. Her hands were outstretched, with long, thin, black fingernails that were at least three inches long. She had no facial features, and her face was just a mass of black mist. But it was clear that she was looking at him.
Zhou Ping gritted his teeth and raised the talisman. A flash of golden light appeared, and a small cluster of flames emerged.
The shadow let out a sharp shriek, retreated several feet, but did not dissipate. It merely wandered around the well platform, the black mist brushing against the ground, leaving charred marks. It began to cry, not a mournful cry, but a low, suppressed sob, like the last gasp of a drowning person.
At the same time, a cloud of gray fog drifted over the threshing ground of Shixi Village. Several faces, men, women, and children, could be vaguely seen in the fog. Each face was distorted in pain, its mouth wide open, yet no sound could be uttered.
At the main entrance of the ancestral hall, Zhang Cheng witnessed the most bizarre scene: a row of wet footprints appeared out of thin air on the ground, one after another, walking towards the hall's gate. Wherever the footprints passed, a thin layer of white frost formed on the bluestone slabs.
As the footprints reached the bottom of the stone steps, the golden light of the talisman could not completely stop them. The footprints slowly stepped onto the first stone step.
The frost then spread upwards.
Sweat beaded on Zhang Cheng's forehead as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Wu. The chanting grew louder and louder, almost a shout. Their footprints stopped on the second stone step, where frost had accumulated even more thickly, as if resisting something.
The north end of Shixi Village.
cottage.
Lin Shi opened his eyes.
Through spiritual perception,
The three evil spirits in Shixi Village and Shanghe Village occurred almost simultaneously, echoing each other.
The hands behind the scenes are currently hiding in a forest several miles away, manipulating the puppets with invisible, evil threads.
"That's enough!"
Lin Shi gave a soft shout, his thoughts shooting like arrows straight to his clone, the dragon.
Deep within the Azure Pool.
The dragon opened its cold, golden vertical pupils, the chains creaked softly, and silent ripples spread across the dark water. An overwhelming dragon's might erupted from the heart of the pool, traveling along the invisible power of faith that connected every talisman and every devout thought, precisely reaching the villagers in every location in Shixi Village and Shanghe Village.
Well platform in Shanghe Village.
Just as Zhou Ping was feeling the talisman burning so hot he could barely hold it, and blisters had formed on his hands, a deep dragon's roar suddenly came from the well. It wasn't something he heard with his ears; it resounded directly into the depths of his soul, making his mind tremble.
Immediately afterwards, the well water, without any wind, automatically gushed upwards in a clear column.
The water column scatters into thousands of sparkling droplets in the air, each one shimmering with a pale blue light, sprinkling around the well platform.
The shadow touched the water droplets, making a sizzling sound like boiling water splashing on snow. The black mist quickly melted away, and the distorted shadow struggled and deformed in the rain of light, eventually turning into a wisp of smoke, which was blown away by the night wind and disappeared.
The well platform was restored to its original state of cleanliness.
Above the threshing ground, wisps of golden light seeped into the gray fog, as fine as hair, intertwining and shining like the rising sun. Wherever they passed, the gray fog dissipated rapidly, as if encountering morning dew under the blazing sun. Suddenly, the faces within the fog twisted to their extreme, emitting a silent scream. They flickered a few times in the night before disappearing completely.
On the stone steps of the ancestral hall, the moment the row of wet footprints stepped onto the third step, clear spring water suddenly seeped from the ground. The spring water silently washed over the footprints, erasing them completely, and the stone steps dried with the warmth of the water. At the same time, all the tiles on the roof of the ancestral hall simultaneously shimmered with a very faint blue hue, as if the invisible clear water had cleansed them from top to bottom, removing all impurities.
Three instances of harassment.
At the same time, the evil spirits in Shanghe Village were eliminated.
Nothing else happened that night.