NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: Evil Repelling Token
Chapter 6: Evil Repelling Token
“I… I don’t know anything!” You Su clutched his head with both hands, shaking it incessantly. “I don’t know anything!”
Elder Ling’s eyebrows furrowed in anger, surprised that this usually clever youth could be so stubborn and cowardly. But upon reflection, his fury subsided somewhat.
Looking at the boy’s desperate struggle, it wasn’t hard to guess that the evil spirit was likely closely tied to him. Elder Ling asked himself: If he were in You Su’s shoes, would he have been able to openly confess everything?
That is just human nature…
Elder Ling sighed heavily and said solemnly:
“Young man, I know that the evil spirit might have a special relationship with you. Our acquaintance is still shallow, but that doesn’t justify your protection of it. The Dream Master’s evil spirits are highly sensitive to the mystical energy. If I act rashly and it becomes aware of this, the consequences could be dire.”
“This Evil Repelling Token will help you. Insert it into your cultivation space. If there are any evil spirits nearby, it will change its color and temperature. After you try it, you’ll have your answer. Tomorrow at the hour of Chen, I’ll wait for you here. If you return with the token, I’ll consider you a friend. If not, then you’re an enemy!”
You Su lowered his hands, disheveled strands of hair falling over his hollow eyes. This elder, who had just suffered the loss of a loved one, had shown remarkable patience with You Su.
You Su could sense that Elder Ling was extending a helping hand, holding out the jade pendant meant to ward off evil.
Elder Ling looked into You Su’s eyes and saw the turmoil inside almost spilling out of the boy’s dim pupils. He knew that You Su still had a conscience, standing on the edge of a precipice, hesitating. How could he bear to let this unpolished gem fall into the abyss? He had to pull him back!
“You Su, you are a pitiful child. But you must understand, it’s not frightening when your eyes can’t see – it’s when your heart can’t see that’s truly terrifying. The people you once knew may no longer be who they were. I failed to save my bewitched junior brother, but you still have a chance to save those trapped in delusion! So…”
Elder Ling suddenly clenched the jade pendant tightly and thrust his hand forward. “Take it!”
You Su stared at the Evil Repelling Token right before him now; his unfocused gaze seemed to sharpen:
“Can it really… save them?”
“Success depends on action!” Elder Ling’s voice sounded like a bell.
Upon hearing this, You Su brushed away the stray strands of hair covering his face, revealing sharp, defined features. The air of confusion that had surrounded him disappeared completely. Standing there, he resembled a sharp-edged sword.
Elder Ling observed the suddenly resolute young man, admiration flickering in his eyes.
Immortals often say that it’s difficult to save oneself, but is saving others any easier? Even though the road to eradicating evil might be fraught with uncertainty, seeing the young man turn away from the wrong path was already something to rejoice about.
You Su reached out and took the jade pendant.
“Tomorrow, at the hour of Chen, I will return the jade.”
Elder Ling watched the young man’s retreating figure and finally managed a faint smile.
To ensure that nothing went wrong, he needed to make some additional preparations.
…
The Mandarin Duck Sword Sect was located in the western part of Chuyun City. Due to the ongoing reconstruction in the west, this area was the most desolate part of the city. The neighboring houses stood empty, inhabited only by a few elderly residents who were too frail to move to the main district.
You Su hurried along, a cooling pastry in his left hand and the cold jade pendant in his right, his thoughts swirling.
No wonder he had felt that something was off. It all made sense after Elder Ling appeared: when he arrived at the morning market, Uncle Liu’s comment about him being late hadn’t been a simple jest.
Converting to the time of his previous life, he usually woke up at 6:45 AM, finished washing up by 7:00 AM, and reached the morning market in about ten minutes. Yet today, he arrived after 7:30 AM-twenty extra minutes unaccounted for!
The entire birthday celebration with his junior sister probably took just over ten minutes. What happened to the remaining ten minutes?
You Su felt a chill run down his spine. His earlier encounters with the monstrous forms of his junior sister and master’s wife weren’t just a simple dream.
In his shock, You Su had already reached the entrance of the sect’s old residence. Suddenly, he stepped on something hard. Picking it up, he realized that it was a piece of wood.
The signboard had fallen down again.
This custom-made signboard had four large characters on it: Mandarin Duck Sword Sect .
He hadn’t commissioned this signboard to look grand, but to cover the decaying old one underneath. Over the years, this new signboard would occasionally fall off, as if the old one below was protesting.
You Su gently traced the old tablet, feeling the powerful strokes of each character. Although he couldn’t see them, he knew what they said because his master had read them aloud to him:
Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Harmonious Mandarin Duck Sword Sect.
When he was younger, You Su had wanted to remove the old signboard out of pride, but his master forbade it, saying that the ancestral gate plaque couldn’t be replaced so easily. You Su outwardly agreed, but after his master left, he secretly ordered this new signboard to cover the old one overnight. Ever since then, he’d often check if it had fallen, and after his junior sister arrived, he checked even more frequently.
Perhaps she still believed that Mandarin Duck Sword Sect was the sect’s full name.
You Su hammered the signboard more securely into place and pretended to inspect the sect grounds. He remembered how, just before his master had left, he had casually promised to protect the sect. Looking back now, he realized that it wasn’t as simple a task as he had thought.
“Why are you coming back so late?”
You Su was startled by his junior sister suddenly appearing at the door. He inwardly cursed himself for letting his guard down – this trip could have ended not with him returning home, but with him plunging into an abyss.
“Why are you so nervous?” Ji Lingruo pouted. “Where’s my pastry?”
You Su pulled out the still warm pastry from his chest. Ji Lingruo’s eyes immediately lit up, and she eagerly snatched her share, feeling its warmth in her hand. Then, indignantly puffing out her rosy little cheeks, she scolded, “Why is the pastry all soggy? Tell me! What have you been doing?”
“I was chatting with someone on the way,” You Su replied apologetically.
Ji Lingruo didn’t believe him for a second. Her beautiful eyes darted around suspiciously, and then her delicate brows furrowed in anger. “Were those people bothering you again? You’re so good at bullying me, but when it comes to outsiders, all you know how to do is run away! Why don’t you fight back? The more you avoid them, the worse they’ll get, you know!”
Ji Lingruo was indignant, as if she had experienced similar treatment herself, and lamented her lack of strength to stand up for You Su.
“Then I’ll run even faster next time,” You Su said with a faint smile.
“Hopeless!” The young girl stamped her foot in frustration, looking utterly exasperated. But in the next moment, her expression softened slightly and she said guiltily, “And you… didn’t you catch a cold? Why didn’t you rest properly? Who told you to go buy pastries?”
“I just went because I felt like it. It’s no big deal.”
Only then did You Su remember that earlier he had lied to his junior sister, claiming that he had caught a cold. In truth, his original reason for buying the pastries was to thank her for celebrating his birthday, since these flaky pastries were her favorite food. But after his encounter with Elder Ling, the words “I bought them specifically for you” simply wouldn’t come out of his mouth.
“You could’ve let me go buy them!”
“Would my junior sister really go out on the street?”
“Forget it. Yesterday, when I went to the bookstore and the ironworks for you, I nearly lost half my life. Just thinking about it scares me.”
“My junior sister should actually go out more often.”
“No way! I… I’m so pretty, a lot of bad people would notice me!” The young girl nervously clenched her small fists.
“You’re right,” You Su said, pretending to agree.
“All right, I’ll go back to my room. You should also rest soon.” Ji Lingruo turned to leave with her pastry, but then spun back around and added, “Oh, right! There’s some medicine for your cold on your desk. Drink it quickly before it gets cold!”
“I’ll drink it right away. Thank you, junior sister.”
You Su watched as his junior sister disappeared down the corridor. His hand, which had been gripping the jade pendant tucked into his chest, slowly relaxed.