Uh...
Zhang Kui immediately looked embarrassed.
He quickly checked the pulse before sighing in relief.
The evil hasn't been expelled yet; if the person gets scared to death, it would really be a spectacle.
"Wenchang, Wenchang!"
Yu Gaishan was also taken aback, hurriedly rushed up and felt the breath, then also sighed in relief.
"Taoist Zhang, this..."
Zhang Kui raised an eyebrow, "Don't panic, he just fainted from fright. Let me try again."
As he spoke, Gang Evil ignited in his hand again, moving toward the scholar's chest.
This time, as Gang Evil approached, the black mist began to rapidly shrink, and the scholar's body convulsed as if having a seizure.
Zhang Kui frowned and withdrew his hand.
"No wonder those people couldn't find it, this thing inside your son is neither a demon nor a ghost, it seems to be rooted with his heart, expelling the evil is easy, but preserving life is hard."
Yu Gaishan sucked in a breath of cold air, cupped his hands and bowed deeply, "Please, Taoist Zhang, save my son, Yu is eternally grateful."
"No worries, let me think of a way."
Zhang Kui turned and sat in a chair nearby, closed his eyes, and gently tapped his fingers on the table, as if pondering something.
Yu Gaishan, Old Liu, and Dong'Er watched him, not daring to breathe, afraid of disturbing him.
Zhang Kui pretended to think while his mind dwelt on the "Earth Demon 72 Techniques" interface.
Defeating the Ghost General gave him nearly two skill points worth of experience, plus the scattered ones along the way, making a total of three skill points.
The Guiding Skill is fundamental to everything, without sufficient mana many skills are unusable, so Zhang Kui had already upgraded it to level two without hesitation; the current description is:
Guiding Skill (Level 2): Passive Skill
Skill Description: Regulate breathing, enhance 7% of body strength and slowly recover injuries, mana points recover at 5 points per second.
Currently, his mana value is 50 points.
Besides that, Zhang Kui has other gains.
After communicating with Old Liu, he discovered that this world's Jianghu also has Inner Power True Qi and martial arts have corresponding variations.
But the True Qi in Zhang Kui's body is different from theirs; simply put, it's innate versus acquired, more powerful and capable of using magic.
The remaining skill point is reserved for situations like this.
Zhang Kui originally had three inclined skills.
One was Life Light Skill: Able to emit protective divine light.
The second was Talisman Skill: Learn three basic talismans.
The third was Pot Heaven Skill: One cubic meter of ring space.
Facing this situation, Zhang Kui no longer hesitated and directly activated the Talisman Skill.
Talisman Skill (Level 1): Passive Skill
Skill Description: Learn basic talismans of Evil-breaking, Sealing, and Disease-removal.
In an instant, countless theories, skills, and experiences about these three talismans appeared in his mind out of nowhere, becoming instinct as if he had practiced for hundreds of years.
Yet, a hint of melancholy flashed through Zhang Kui's heart.
What is a talisman?
Simply put, commander's seals or hand orders, a means of communicating with gods to borrow power, but the three talismans he learned didn't have the names of The Three Pristine Ones or Demon-Vanquishing Celestial Venerate, all replaced by "Qi."
In other words, he has completely severed ties with his previous life...
Sighing lightly in his heart, Zhang Kui slowly opened his eyes and said to the hopeful-looking Yu Gaishan:
"I need the best yellow paper and cinnabar."
After the level of Talisman Skill improved, it could materialize talismans from breath, but now it can only rely on external objects.
This world's Taoist sect also does talisman painting, so yellow paper and cinnabar are not rare, and with Yu Gaishan's wealth and status, they quickly brought back high-quality yellow paper and cinnabar.
Zhang Kui focused his mind and quickly drew an Evil-breaking Talisman, holding it between his fingers, it ignited in the wind, then he threw it into a prepared bowl of water.
"Pour it down his throat."
"Alright, alright..."
Yu Gaishan hurriedly helped up his unconscious son and gently poured the bowl of talismanic water down his throat.
Zhang Kui activated Tongyou Skill, and the evil Qi entrenched in the scholar's heart was soon torn apart by some force and dissipated completely.
Before long, the scholar slowly opened his eyes, initially somewhat confused, then seemed to remember something, his eyes reddened, "Father, your child..."
Before he could finish, tears streamed down.
"Alright, alright, don't say anything, my son, rest now."
Yu Gaishan was so overjoyed his lips were trembling, and he turned to give a grand salute to Zhang Kui.
"Taoist Zhang's great kindness, the Yu family will never forget."
Zhang Kui nodded and said nothing more, while Old Liu happily approached, exchanging pleasantries with Yu Gaishan.
In this world, there's no such thing as merit; cultivation cannot do without resources, companions, methods, and places, but Zhang Kui himself wasn't keen on these social formalities, so he let Old Liu handle them.
As expected, Yu Gaishan, afraid of his young son's relapse, begged the three of them to stay for a few more days to extend hospitality.
Old Liu didn't decide, he turned to look at Zhang Kui.
Zhang Kui glanced at the wan-looking scholar on the bed, his eyes shifted, and he laughed heartily,
"Then let's stay a few more days, the food here is quite good..."
...
Night fell, the bright moon hung high, and a cool breeze blew gently.
The three of them were arranged in a delicate small building in the rear courtyard, Zhang Kui picked up a jug of wine, flipped onto the roof, and lay down to drink alone under the moon.
Old Liu silently smoked dry tobacco nearby.
Unlike the tranquility of the backyard, the front yard was brightly lit and bustling with laughter from time to time.
"Where's Dong'Er?"
Zhang Kui took a sip of wine and asked.
Old Liu chuckled while smoking,
"She went to the front yard. People from Celestial Eagle Manor visited today, Yu Gaishan was in a good mood and held a large banquet, Dong'Er also went to see that young master."
"Young girl in love, a sight to behold..."
Zhang Kui chuckled, glanced at Old Liu, "Why didn't you go?"
He had long noticed that Liu Mao'Er was a cunning old man, initially trying to have him as a free bodyguard.
But the gratitude for saving and burying him was genuine, and with Old Liu's rich Jianghu experience, Zhang Kui was happy to have two companions for mutual support.
Liu Mao'Er took a puff of dry tobacco,
""In the end, in the end, the Jianghu ages, when I was young I thought this Jianghu was wonderful, always thinking of making a name for myself, yet my martial skills were mediocre." "Unknowingly, my peers have all passed away, and I remain a small figure without any ambition, just muddling along…" Zhang Kui smiled without speaking, taking another swig of wine while gazing at the large bright moon. Everyone has their own thoughts and paths. In this world, immortals are just a legend, but he has a great path leading to heaven, waiting to temper himself in this world of mortals, and after growing, to destroy the "General's Tomb," then roam at the ends of the earth. I wonder if there's Guanghan above this bright moon? Suddenly, his eyes sharpened, a grim smile playing at his lips, "I knew something was wrong, as expected they're here!" With that, he picked up the broad sword beside him, dove down from the rooftop like a night hawk… ... In a secluded courtyard of the Yu Mansion's rear residence. Inside the side room, the weak scholary Yu Wenchang lay fast asleep in bed, while the serving maid also dozed off at the round table, her head propped up by her right hand, nodding off little by little. Outside the courtyard, a sudden cold wind started blowing, causing the fallen leaves on the ground to rustle. In the dim shadows of the bamboo at the corner of the courtyard, the shadows seemed to lengthen, inching towards the side room in an undulating manner, then slowly rising, transforming into a figure in a black robe with a covered face. He slowly raised his hand towards the side room… Suddenly, he jerked his hand back like he was electrocuted and retreated abruptly. Clang! A greatsword fell from the sky, accompanied by a flaming red Gang Evil, piercing into the bluestone slab. Zhang Kui arrived with a gust of evil wind, casually picking up the greatsword from the ground, cracking his neck with a menacing smile, "What manner of creature are you? Lift that veil and let me have a look!" The strange person silently glanced at the greatsword burning with Gang Evil, then suddenly transformed into a black shadow and leapt over the wall. "Trying to run!" Zhang Kui snorted coldly, and with a bang, the bluestone slab beneath his feet shattered, and he too vanished from the spot. That strange person moved like a black ribbon, ghostly navigating through the rear residence, with Zhang Kui close behind. It has to be said, Baji paired with Taoist guiding True Qi makes one's attack power even more formidable, but without a corresponding Lightweight Skill, Zhang Kui was at a disadvantage here. From the Earth Demon 72 Techniques, there is a technique called Rock Jumping to improve body skill, yet Zhang Kui dismissed those ordinary martial arts, hence he clearly couldn't catch up this time. Frustrated, Zhang Kui simply ignored the intricate walls, charging through them like a wild bull. Bang! Bang! Bang! One wall after another fell in the rear courtyard, bricks and stones shattering, and women's screams rung one after another… In the front courtyard's main hall, a group of Jianghu people were joyously drinking, Yu Gaishan being a little tipsy, raising his cup high, "Today we have a double celebration, first, my son is free from evil clutches, and the friends from Golden Eagle Manor…" Before the words were finished, the ground began to rumble, and soon the wall beside them suddenly burst open, with a mighty figure erupting through. "Who goes there!" "How dare you!" The martial artists present all drew their swords and blades. "Get out of the way!" Zhang Kui roared angrily, crashing into and sending seven or eight people flying along his path, and then jumped into the air, swiftly shooting out a talisman. "Seal!" With a slap, a black shadow landed on the ground, its body shimmering with a faint light from the talisman. Zhang Kui laughed heartily, without even looking, backhanding a punch to knock away a fellow attempting a sneak attack. "Let's see where you run off to now…" "Everyone stop!" Yu Gaishan quickly intervened to stop the crowd from making further moves, and then jumped over with two other people to inspect the black shadow, "Taoist Zhang, what is this?" Zhang Kui chuckled, "I sensed something odd about your son earlier today, didn't expect there indeed was a demon at work." "A demon?!" Yu Gaishan's eyes widened in shock, while other martial artists gathered curiously and quickly understood the situation. Fear flickering in Yu Gaishan's eyes soon transformed into decisiveness, he cupped his fists, "Taoist Zhang, could you please ask why this demon is harming my son." Zhang Kui raised an eyebrow, "Could it be your son did something disgraceful? Many well-dressed scoundrels with a gentlemanly appearance are out there." Yu Gaishan was left speechless, bitterly smiling: "Though I'm no paragon of virtue, my son is genuinely pure-hearted, frequently using his pocket money to secretly support orphans and widows." "Oh, let me ask then…" Zhang Kui strode forward, yanked off the black shadow's hood, frowning, "What kind of thing is this?" Beneath the hood, a mass of foul-smelling black sludge writhed, barely maintaining a humanoid form, with bits of bone occasionally emerging to the surface. Sludge monster? Zhang Kui waved a hand in front of his nose, "What a stench, aren't you an outhouse spirit? Can you talk?" Monster: "Gurgle, gurgle…" Zhang Kui shrugged towards Yu Gaishan, "No way, language barrier, let's just finish it off!" With that, the greatsword ignited with Gang Evil, with a casual stab, the monster immediately spilled its Yin Qi, collapsing into a heap of sludge on the ground. The experience bar only slightly increased. "Turns out it's just a small fry…" Zhang Kui was a bit disappointed, then disdainfully wiped the foul-smelling sludge on someone nearby. It happened to be the "Lustful Young Master." He looked at the black handprint on his once-spotless garment, a dry heave coming over him, cupping his fists, "This Taoist…" "Talk to Old Liu about the clothes compensation." "No…" The "Lustful Young Master" forced a smile, "I actually wanted to say, there's more than one of these demons, I've seen another just a couple of days ago…""