The black snake hissed its tongue, originally at ease, it panicked in an instant after making eye contact with the boy.
Probably because after meeting Li Zhiyuan, it was first the black dog blood, then the offering table, and then the drawing of curses and massage, all using traditional methods, so it mistook the boy for a folk metaphysician, a "country quack."
Just like when Liu Xiazi initially used incense ash to massage and exorcise Li Zhiyuan.
So, it was planning to wait until the people below left and then sneak back into the young girl’s body.
Now, it finally realized it had misjudged, this boy, he had some serious skills!
The black snake moved quickly; this time it was really trying to escape.
Li Zhiyuan spread open his palm.
Fengdu Twelve Commandments—Rise of the Four Ghosts.
The black snake’s body uncontrollably jerked; it was forcibly dragged down while trying to escape and landed at Li Zhiyuan’s feet, sticking completely to the ground, unable to move, almost as if there were indeed sedan chair poles pressing on it.
Li Zhiyuan bent down, reached out, and grasped the black snake in his palm.
In his Underworld state, he could feel the black snake’s violent trembling.
Li Zhiyuan took out a small compass from his pocket; he had two types of compasses.
The purple compass was too large and inconvenient to carry around, generally left in the dormitory, and Run Sheng or Tan Wenbin would carry it when necessary.
The small compass was carved by himself, easy to carry, but the downside was that it always had a fixed error that he had to correct through mental calculations each time he used it.
This kind of error seemed fixed, present since the creation of the compass, and even as his own skill level improved, the error in the compasses he made remained the same.
He walked to the offering table, picked up the bowl of yellow wine soaked with paper ash, and poured it over his palm.
The black snake instantly wilted, as if drunk, losing consciousness.
Li Zhiyuan slapped the black snake into his compass and then walked to the girl’s side. He rubbed some black dog blood off her, drew a Sealing Talisman on the compass.
According to Wei Zhengdao’s description in the "Righteous Demon Extermination Records," usually, jobs could be done by sticking a pre-drawn Sealing Talisman paper on it.
But, just like with his compasses, Li Zhiyuan made no progress in talisman drawing.
Initially, Li Zhiyuan wondered if it was because he lacked a master, as if he hadn’t been "enlightened" in talisman drawing.
Later on, he sensed that like his difficulties in invoking gods, this was some kind of limitation on himself.
According to fate theory, this was akin to the moon waxes only to wane, water overflows when too full; there should always be a symbolic gap left, or else it could lead to an early demise.
Still, without talisman papers, things were indeed inconvenient, so Li Zhiyuan decided to let Alii try to draw some for him; her wooden flower rolls that she carved for him always had strong effects.
The ancestral tablets and materials can only amplify effects; otherwise, if just having tablets was useful, then everyone would be carrying an ancestral tablet into fights from now on.
Li Zhiyuan opened the side door and walked out, saying to Mr. Luo and Zhao Hui sitting in the living room:
"Jingjing is okay now, but she’s a little weak. It’s best to send her to the hospital for observation; she might have some minor illnesses like headaches and fevers in the near future."
Zhao Hui immediately rushed into the bedroom to check on the young girl.
Mr. Luo breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at Li Zhiyuan, "Thanks for your hard work, Xiao Yuan."
"Teacher, it’s what I should do."
"However..." Mr. Luo thought for a moment, "your abilities in this area, it’s better to keep a low profile in the future, and when solving certain problems, keep outsiders in the dark, otherwise, it might affect your future development."
"Teacher, you’re not an outsider."
"Hehe." Mr. Luo patted the boy’s shoulder, "Having a clever mind is truly enviable, being able to study these things while working on your graduation project."
Mr. Luo also went inside to see the child.
Li Zhiyuan walked to the balcony, took out the compass, roughly estimated the direction, and figured out a location.
Then, he went to the living room phone, picked up the receiver, and dialed the number for the affordable store; Yin Meng answered the call. Li Zhiyuan reported a time and a place, asking her to inform Run Sheng and Tan Wenbin to meet there with all their gear.
The event at General Temple was surely thrilling, but it ended with just a simple wrap-up, and Run Sheng also wasn’t there that night.
This type of Corpse Demon base, Li Zhiyuan had already scouted it out, and its strength was moderate, meeting the criteria.
Xue Liangliang came out at this moment, leaning against the wall with a hint of regret, "I really want to go with you guys."
"Who would bring mothballs to a fight."
"Are you saying I’m useless, afraid that I’d just hold you back if I went?"
"Yep, unless you invite her up from the riverbed."
"She won’t come out." Xue Liangliang said with certainty.
"You believe her that much?"
"I know, she is scared. She told me, the Dragon King family on the river has their eyes on her."
"Well, next time when you visit our hometown for me, Brother Liangliang, you can also tell her, the Dragon King’s place counts as your maternal home too."
Xue Liangliang looked up with a proud smile, "Oh, I have that much sway?"
"Yep, it’s hard being a son-in-law, easy to be bullied without family backing."
"Hahaha, you rascal!" Xue Liangliang laughed and cursed, then extended a hand to hug the young man’s arm, "Thanks, Xiao Yuan."
"Don’t mention it; you are the big village chief after all."
"What village chief?"
At Haihe University’s affordable store, the bandit village, the one in charge according to the business license, was Xue Liangliang.
Mr. Luo and Xue Liangliang would first accompany Zhao Hui to take Jingjing to the hospital, and then the two of them would have to rush to Huangshan Mountain overnight.
Li Zhiyuan didn’t ride with them but chose to call his own taxi instead.
Sitting in the taxi, he watched the city’s nighttime scenery.
Arriving at the destination, he paid the fare.
As soon as he turned around, he saw under the streetlight ahead, Run Sheng, Yin Meng, and Tan Wenbin, shouldering their equipment, their silhouettes stretched very long.
Li Zhiyuan turned, waved his hand, and shouted:
"Let’s go, team building."