Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 221 Violating Taboos
In the woods, the eerie, sinister sounds of the mandrill made Ran Qing instinctively uncomfortable.

What made him even more uncomfortable was what the mandrill said.

"A deal... a trade with a spirit medium, Mo Baifeng and I."

"You and me, a deal..."

It was ultimately a wild beast. Although it could mimic human speech, its words were incoherent and as obscure and unpleasant as its voice.

Ran Qing frowned, still not understanding what the mountain demon meant.

Suddenly, something round and chubby was thrown out of the darkness and rolled to the fire.

Ran Qing glanced down and her expression changed drastically.

It was a pale human skull, the flesh and blood on it had been gnawed and licked clean, and there were some fine teeth marks on the surface of the skull, which were obviously eaten clean by a mandrill.

But the bone was dry and had been gnawed on for a long time, yet the mandrill kept it with him...

In the woods, a stiff and eerie voice continued, "What Mo Baifeng wants is the skull of an old corpse from the mountains."

"You give me, I give you, deal."

"Five wild ghosts."

"The spirit walker..."

The mandrill's voice was deep, even with a hint of excitement.

Ran Qing looked at the pale skull on the ground, but couldn't understand it.

This mandrill had met Aunt Liu before, and even made some kind of deal with her?

So after this guy recognized him as a spirit medium, he actually came over wanting to continue the transaction... What is this skull? What does Aunt Liu need this for?

Furthermore, Aunt Liu actually deals with this kind of eerie monster? And asks it to help her find something?
Shouldn't we stay away from or try to get rid of such harmful evil spirits?
Trading with evil spirits in the mountains is one of the taboos for spirit mediums, explicitly prohibited by the "Witchcraft and Spiritual Arts"...

Ran Qing squatted down and gently poked the pale skull with a twig.

The skull, gnawed clean and devoid of any flesh, is so pristine it resembles a work of art.

Ran Qing examined the skull carefully for a long time but couldn't see anything unusual about it.

But the mandrill in the forest waited for a long time, and gradually became agitated.

"A spirit medium!"

"trade!"

"Wild ghost!"

Seeing that Ran Qing kept poking at the skull, it became angry and irritable, urging Ran Qing to complete the transaction.

Before Ran Qing could react, the skull suddenly shrank back into the darkness.

Something was clearly attached to the skull, and the mandrill pulled it back.

Seeing this, Ran Qing remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded and said, "Okay! Deal."

"Stand back a bit, and I'll summon five wandering ghosts for you right now."

The evil spirits in the mountains have a great appetite for wandering ghosts.

Previously, when the fog shrouded Moonlit City, many monsters from the mountains took the opportunity to enter the city and prey on the wandering ghosts and spirits within.

Now, in the desolate mountains and wilderness, the number of wandering ghosts and spirits is scarce.

Ran Qing set up a simple altar for the dead, and used white paper strips wrapped around tree branches as a makeshift soul banner, thus beginning the process of summoning souls and ghosts.

Because it only attracts wandering ghosts and spirits, and there is no specific target, any wandering ghost or spirit that comes will do.

Ran Qing's ceremony was incredibly simple.

He sat by the makeshift altar he had set up beside the fire, not even needing to take out his small drum. He simply piled up some offerings and softly chanted incantations to summon ghosts.

Gradually, a dull, empty old man's figure appeared beside the fire. It staggered to the fire, bent down to pick up the flatbread placed on the altar, and began to chew.

As soon as the old man appeared, a foul-smelling wind suddenly blew in.

A hideous monster covered in bloody human skin suddenly sprang out of the woods.

It pounced directly on the wild ghost, knocking the old man's figure to the ground and chewing it up.

Ran Qing's eyelids twitched when she saw this.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu stood to the side, their faces equally grim.

Although they were just mindless wandering ghosts, the scene of the ghosts being pounced on, torn apart, and eaten by the mountain demons was still terrifying. Apart from not having blood splattered all over the ground, it was almost no different from a living person being eaten.

Only the emaciated old man, driven by instinct, struggled and howled as the mandrill dragged him into the forest, eating him as it went.

Mo Li cursed, his face grim, "That wretched old woman actually made this kind of deal with the mountain demon..."

Those who walk the path of the dead roam between the netherworld and the mortal realm. They are skilled at dealing with evil spirits and vengeful ghosts, but not at dealing with evil spirits in the mountains.

Therefore, the "Witchcraft and Spiritual Arts" prohibits those who travel to the underworld from trading with evil spirits in the mountains, and even in unavoidable circumstances, killing them is the preferred method.

Beware of being harmed by evil spirits in the mountains, as those who practice spirit walking have little knowledge of or countermeasures against such practices.

But Aunt Liu broke the taboo and made a deal with the mountain demon. The deal was so bloody that she lured innocent, wandering ghosts to feed the mountain demon... This is an evil thing that only evil people would do!
Ran Qing stood by the fire, her face equally grim.

He couldn't understand why his sixth aunt would do such a thing. Although she had a bad temper, she would risk her life for Ran Qing, a complete stranger. She was clearly a kind person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

But the fact that this mandrill was so adept at asking for a trade proves that it had traded with Aunt Liu more than once.

Mo Li glared at Ran Qing and said, "Aren't you going to stop? Are you really planning to bring four wild ghosts to feed the mountain demons?"

At this moment, Ran Qing continued to wave the simple soul banner and chant incantations, continuing to summon the wandering souls and ghosts in the mountains.

Hearing Mo Li's angry scolding, Ran Qing paused slightly, but did not stop and continued.

At this moment, another dazed and listless wandering soul was attracted by the incense smoke drifting in the wind and the aroma emanating from the ancestral altar.

It was a young man who died tragically in a car accident. He was covered in blood, limping along with his left leg. His head was pierced by a sharp stone, and one of his eyeballs had been punctured by the stone.

It walked dazedly to the altar, bent down and picked up the soft pancake that had been bitten in half.

The next second, a bloody wind howled, and the ugly mandrill pounced out again.

This time, however, the mandrill did not immediately begin to eat. Instead, it glared warily at the girl by the fire before dragging the wild ghost into the forest.

Soon, painful screams and chilling chewing sounds echoed through the dark forest once more.

Mo Li was furious: "Ran Qing! Do you know you're violating the taboos of those who walk the path of the dead?!"

"By associating with evil, you too will be corrupted!"

"The traditions of those who walk the spirit path are inherently sinister, and now you've violated a taboo... Do you want to become a monster like that old hag and run into the mountains?"

Mo Li was anxious and angry.

However, Long Zongshu whispered a word of advice: "Um... Mo Li, we've already started, let's get rid of this mountain demon first."

"And don't you want to know what the skull that Sixth Aunt traded with the mandrill was for?"

Little Cotton also whispered, "That's right, Mo Li, it's just once anyway. As long as Ran Qing doesn't do it again, it'll be fine. It'll only be once, there won't be any problems."

While wandering spirits are indeed innocent, they cannot be considered harmless.

These wandering spirits, driven by instinct, sometimes attack the living.

For example, before Ran Qing became a spirit medium, many wandering ghosts followed them and lingered there.

Long Zongshu and Xiao Mianhua were somewhat uncomfortable when they saw the wandering ghosts being led over to be fed to the mountain demons, but they remained much calmer.

They couldn't understand why Mo Li was reacting so strongly.

(End of this chapter)