The Secret Treasure of the Spirit

Chapter 22: A Moment of Crisis Sun Luyun subdued another female ghost, sheathed his copper coin sword, and watched warily as two strange men walked in. Both had dark skin and wore peculiar makeup; they didn’t look Chinese, but rather like people from Southeast Asia. Just as Sun Luyun was about to ask who they were, one of the middle-aged men, his face expressionless, opened the jar he was holding. Streaks of white light shot out from the jar, and five infant ghosts floated into the air, staring eerily at Hu Xuanhai. Hu Xuanhai was so terrified he fell to the ground. Sun Luyun shouted, “Don’t be afraid, Pang Dahai! Hurry back to me!” Hu Xuanhai scrambled and crawled his way toward Sun Luyun. With a thud, Hu Xuanhai crashed to the ground as two infant ghosts burrowed up from beneath the earth and grabbed his feet. He shouted, “Old Sun, hurry and save me!” Sun Luyun rushed over and swung his bronze sword; the infant ghosts, terrified, quickly let go. Hu Xuanhai said, “If you hadn’t come, I would’ve been dragged away by these little ghosts.” Upon hearing the word “little ghosts” and seeing the two men’s strange attire, Sun Luyun suddenly realized, “I know who they are.” Hu Xuanhai asked, “Who are they? Could they have something to do with Xia Feixue and Yang Linling?” Sun Luyun looked at the two men. “They’re Thai shamans. These infant ghosts are the famous Thai ‘little ghosts.’ Thai shamans are renowned for keeping these spirits as offerings. The jars in their hands are likely little ghost nests—the spirits live inside, sustained by the shamans, and obey their commands.” Hu Xuanhai said, “So they’re Thai transvestites. I was wondering what they were.” Then he shouted sternly, “You two Thai transvestites, don’t you know where you are? Let me tell you: this is the home of the foremost feng shui master within a three-hundred-mile radius. You dare to mess with the master of the house? If you know what’s good for you and leave, we’ll be magnanimous and let this slide.” The man on the right laughed. “Is this the best a Chinese feng shui master can do? You dare call yourself the best feng shui master within a three-hundred-li radius? I’d say you’re the most incompetent feng shui master around.” Hu Xuanhai whispered, “So they understand Mandarin after all. I thought they were Thai ladyboys who wouldn’t understand a word we said. What should we do? Old Sun, there are quite a few little ghosts around here.” Sun Luyun told himself to stay calm, then addressed the two Thai shamans: “Who are you? I’ve done nothing to you. Why are you using ghosts to come after me?” The man on the left said, “My name is Sawang, and he’s Kowang. Don’t worry—we’re only here today to beat you so badly you can’t get out of bed. We just want to knock some of your arrogance out of you; we won’t actually harm you.” Kowang added, “You’re quite bold. We’ve been using female ghosts and little ghosts to scare you these past few days, yet you’ve remained completely unscathed—and you even captured our ghosts.” Hu Xuanhai burst out laughing. “You think a few ghosts can scare us? That’s laughable. Everyone knows we’re the top feng shui master brothers within a 300-mile radius. We’ve seen far worse things—a mere handful of ghosts are nothing to us.” Sun Luyun realized, “So those characters at the gate a few days ago were written by you too. How despicable and shameless! Who sent you here, exactly?” Ke Wang pulled out a rattle. “I’ll tell you this much: we’re also part of the Wujin Group.” As soon as the rattle sounded, several little ghosts opened their mouths wide and spat out a swarm of swarming flying insects. Hu Xuanhai retreated to Sun Luyun’s side and cursed loudly, “Damn it, why do they always resort to such cheap tricks?” Sun Luyun spotted a large urn under the eaves and thought to himself: Since the Bone-Gathering Urn can contain ghosts, perhaps if I cast a spell, the urn could also trap Feichong. Sun Luyun turned and ran, leaving Hu Xuanhai to deal with the swarm of insects on his own. Hu Xuanhai strode after him, shouting, “Old Sun, if you’re going to run off, at least give me a heads-up! I can’t handle two demonic creatures all by myself.” Sha Wang and Ke Wang gave a cold chuckle as the swarm of flying insects plunged downward, resembling a billowing cloud of thick smoke, unstoppable. Sun Luyun took out some talismans and stuck them all around the large jar. He performed a series of hand gestures, then hoisted the jar, positioning the opening toward the swarm of insects, and gave a low shout. A beam of white light shot out from the jar, striking the swarm of flying insects. The moment the light touched them, it sucked the insects into the jar. Soon, the entire swarm had been completely absorbed. Hu Xuanhai shouted triumphantly, “You Thai transvestites! Even if you summoned every flying insect in all of Thailand, my senior brother need only cast a simple spell to capture them all.” Kewang rang a bell, and female ghosts and little ghosts from all around charged at the two men. Sun Luyun, however, was not afraid; the talismans on his body were more than enough to deal with these ghosts. Sun Luyun drew his copper coin sword and swung it fiercely, simultaneously pulling out talismans and slapping them onto the ghosts’ bodies one after another. He quickly subdued the two female ghosts. However, the little ghosts were small and even more agile; they were also skilled at casually detaching their own heads or spitting out flying insects from their mouths, making them quite a challenge. After a fierce battle, Sun Luyun had defeated several of the little ghosts, while Hu Xuanhai, standing nearby, was screaming in agony and crying out for help. Sun Luyun ran over to rescue him, driving away the little ghosts that had surrounded him. When Sun Luyun saw Hu Xuanhai’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh. The flying insects spat from the little ghost’s mouth had bitten his face, leaving it covered in large welts. Hu Xuanhai said, “Stop laughing, Old Sun. Hurry up and avenge me—take care of these two transvestites.” Deep down, Sun Luyun wasn’t confident he could defeat the two Thai sorcerers. Their ability to command such a vast number of ghosts had already astonished him; even he himself might not be able to summon that many. Seeing Sun Luyun’s grave expression, Sawang and Kowang guessed at his concerns. They smirked triumphantly, chanted a spell, and raised the jars in their hands. With a loud thud, two enormous, centipede-like creatures flew out of the jars. Hu Xuanhai gasped, “What are those things? How did they get so big?” Sun Luyun said, “We should count ourselves lucky. Thank goodness these ghosts and ghostly insects don’t damage the house when they attack. Otherwise, if these two monstrous insects came at us, even if we managed to dodge them, the house would collapse. Third Uncle would certainly curse me to death.” The two massive serpents lunged straight at Sun Luyun. Hu Xuanhai was so terrified he tried to dash back into the house, but several little ghosts grabbed hold of his limbs. Hu Xuanhai screamed, “Old Sun, come save me! I’m about to be snatched away by Thai ladyboys!” Sun Luyun was tied up by the two serpents and had no time to spare for Hu Xuanhai. While dodging the serpents, he swung his sword fiercely. The Copper Coin Sword was effective against them; with a single swing, he sliced a long gash into one of the serpents’ bodies. The female ghosts and little ghosts surrounding him seized the opportunity to launch a coordinated attack. Sun Luyun found himself surrounded. Even if he had three heads and six arms, facing such overwhelming numbers was a struggle, and the longer the battle went on, the more disorganized his moves became. Sun Luyun knew this was bad. If he kept fighting like this, he wouldn’t stand a chance against the two Thai shamans. He retreated step by step, trying to regain his composure. Hu Xuanhai’s cries for help interrupted him. Hu Xuanhai had been hoisted onto a tree by several lesser ghosts and hung there, while swarms of insects relentlessly attacked him. With a loud thud, a flash of yellow light pierced the body of a long serpent, which vanished with a pop. Sun Luyun, Sha Wang, and Ke Wang were all startled and looked toward the doorway, where Sun Decheng walked in. Sun Decheng chuckled, “So a Thai shaman has come to visit my home. Why didn’t you give me a heads-up beforehand?” Sha Wang and Ke Wang, having seen Sun Decheng defeat their serpent with a single move, realized there were more of them on the way. Sha Wang urged, “I don’t know who you are, but this is a matter for our Wujin Group. Please don’t interfere.” Ke Wang added, “If you do interfere, we’ll deal with you as well.” Sun Decheng said coldly, “How amusing. This is my home. You’ve come here to cause trouble, attacked my nephew and his classmates, and now you’re telling me not to get involved.” Upon hearing this, Sha Wang and Ke Wang realized he was the owner of the house. Sha Wang said, “In that case, we’ll have no choice but to deal with you as well.” Two female ghosts flew toward him. Sun Decheng pulled a bamboo tube from his robe, chanted a spell, and with a whoosh, the female ghosts were sucked inside. Sha Wang shook a bell, and another serpent dropped Sun Luyun and lunged toward Sun Decheng. Sun Decheng, however, seemed completely unfazed. Without haste, he pulled out a yellow nail and struck the serpent’s head with it. With a loud bang, the serpent’s head split in two and vanished into thin air. Sun Luyun was astonished by his third uncle’s prowess. He usually looked like a penniless old man, yet he had subdued the long snake and the ghost—which had left him in a desperate struggle—in just a few moves. Hu Xuanhai shouted, “Old Sun, come save me!” Sun Luyun cut through a few minor ghosts and was about to run over to rescue Hu Xuanhai. But Sun Decheng had already produced a talisman, which whizzed around Hu Xuanhai. The talisman encircled him, instantly forming a burst of flame that incinerated all the flying insects and drove the minor ghosts back. Sha Wang was utterly stunned and began to feel a bit intimidated; the man before them was likely not someone they could handle. Ke Wang wanted to keep fighting, but Sha Wang grabbed his hand: “Let’s get out of here first. We’ll come back another day to get our revenge.” The two Thai shamans turned and fled. Sun Luyun and Hu Xuanhai gave chase, with Hu Xuanhai shouting, “Don’t run! Come back here! I’m going to capture you and lock you in the bathroom for three months!” Sun Luyun said gratefully, “Third Uncle, if you hadn’t come, Hu Xuanhai and I would have suffered a crushing defeat.” Hu Xuanhai added, “Third Uncle’s reputation is no exaggeration. You truly live up to being the top feng shui master within a 300-li radius—you scared those two Thai transvestites off with just a few moves.” Only now did Sun Luyun truly admire the title he’d always thought Sun Decheng was joking about. He’d even rebranded it as “the number one old bachelor within a three-hundred-mile radius.” But today’s battle completely changed his impression of the shabby old man standing before him. Sun Decheng said, “Those two Thai transvestites were quite skilled. It’s only natural that you couldn’t beat them, Luyun. You managed to handle so many female ghosts and little ghosts, and you even thought to use a jar to subdue Feichong—that’s no small feat.” Sun Luyun still felt his face flush. If his third uncle hadn’t shown up, he would surely have exchanged glances with Hu Xuanhai and gotten thoroughly beaten up. Sun Decheng looked at the chaotic courtyard. “After all that activity, I’m actually getting hungry. Pang Dahai, I hear your business has been doing well lately. Why don’t you go out and buy some food to treat us?” Hu Xuanhai immediately agreed. “Sure thing. You guys wait here; I’ll go buy some roast pork and wine right away.” That night before going to sleep, Sun Luyun’s mind was filled with thoughts of the Wujin Group. He even wondered if Yang Linling, Diao Yan, and Qin Wu had deliberately sent people to deal with him. But for some reason, he also felt that Yang Linling had nothing to do with it. If it had been her, she would have acted long ago—why would she wait this long to send two Thai sorcerers? For the next few nights, Sun Luyun lived on edge, fearing the Thai sorcerers might return, and remained vigilant against any female ghosts or little demons coming to cause trouble. But the nights that followed were uneventful. He thought to himself that perhaps the reputation of the “Number One Bachelor within a 300-Mile Radius” had already scared off the Thai sorcerers, so there was no need to worry. He decided he’d head to Xiamen the next day to see if the young miss from the “Unlucky Urgent Group” was there and return the jeep to her. But early the next morning, as soon as Sun Luyun reached the door, he noticed a letter had been slipped under the door at some point. Curious, he picked it up; the envelope bore no sender’s name.