Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 106 Demons and Ghosts Make Their Move
Inner city, Wu family.

Buddhist shrine in the backyard.

Two white lanterns swayed on the eaves, their eerie glow casting a particularly sinister light on the entrance.

"Dong dong qiang! Dong dong qiang!"

"Ah! What a beautiful woman with a fair face! Could she be a soul that has stepped out of a painting?"
Her eyebrows resembled distant, verdant mountains, and her eyes, like autumn waters, concealed her anger.

Her silk skirt swayed gently, untouched by dust.

It's even more real than a living person!

"Dong dong qiang! Dong dong qiang!"

...

The drums and gongs resounded, the pipa played a melodious tune, the opera sang with varying pitches and rhythms, and the voices of men and women mingled and murmured, carrying far and wide.

It looked as if a theatrical troupe was performing in the hall.

Until the two white lanterns turned to face up, revealing the ghost face on the cover, with thick eyebrows and cold eyes, spouting music and opera lyrics...

The sounds of gongs and drums, pipa, and opera singing that were heard earlier all came from these two lantern monsters!
"Oh dear—"

You flatter me, sir!
This body of mine,

However—

The rouge ash that had not yet burned out before his death

"The spring that lingers in the bones even after death..."

"Dong dong qiang! Dong dong qiang!"

...

The sound of opera singing drifted through the half-closed door, carried by the night breeze, causing the candlelight in the hall to flicker and sway.

Separated by a curtain, light and shadow are scattered.

The tiger and wolf warriors, corpse arhats, bone bodhisattvas, blood Buddhas, and other figures enshrined there all seemed to have come to life.

Its bloody mouth opened and closed, its bloody eyes glared angrily, and a chilling, malevolent aura swirled around it, creating a sinister and terrifying scene.

This is no Buddhist temple, it's clearly a den of demons and monsters!

In the very center stands a two-zhang-tall white bone Bodhisattva, seated cross-legged with a mudra, solemn and dignified.

"May the Bodhisattva have mercy!"

Master Wu knelt on the prayer mat, holding three sticks of blood incense in his hand. His eyes and mouth were black, his body was swollen, and his face was as pale as a dead man.

The white bone bodhisattva's eye sockets suddenly lit up, and two balls of phosphorescent light flickered like lamps.

The next moment, a plume of white smoke shot out from its chest, quickly spreading and obscuring the view.

When the smoke cleared, the skeletal body had vanished, replaced by a graceful figure.

Her face was veiled by a light gauze, her figure was curvaceous, and her skin was as white as snow; she was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Buddha!"

Master Wu's face lit up with joy. He respectfully placed the blood incense stick in the burner, lowered his head, and his eyes darted around.

More than 20 years ago, he was just an insignificant illegitimate son of the Wu family.

Lacking talent and not valued, he was assigned to the family caravan to escort goods.

During a cargo escort mission, the caravan was robbed by bandits, resulting in heavy casualties. He was stabbed several times in the chest and, in a panic, fled into the deep mountains...

I encountered a Bodhisattva in a dilapidated old temple.

From then on, his life changed completely, and everything went smoothly for him, with all his misfortunes turning into good fortune.

In just twenty years, he became the head of the Wu family in Shanyang County.

Over the years, all those who opposed him, disagreed with him, or stood in his way have died.

Drowning, slitting one's throat, hanging, being sucked to death by a woman, hitting one's head against a wall...

In short, the ways he died were varied and had nothing to do with him.

All of this is thanks to the protection of the Bodhisattva.

He knew, of course, that the Bodhisattva was a demon who consumed living people every day, devouring them alive, a very bloody affair.

But so what?
If it weren't for the Bodhisattva, he would have died on the night of the bandit attack.

"What's the matter?"

The female demon twisted her waist and sat down on the altar, her eyes glowing eerie green, and inhaled deeply.

The blood incense burned rapidly, emitting a pungent, bloody odor, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into ashes, transforming into a wisp of smoke which she inhaled.

This blood incense is made primarily from the blood and bones of eight- or nine-year-old children, and each stick requires almost one child to make.

Fortunately, in this world, as long as something can be solved with money, it's not a problem.

Mr. Wu licked his lips and whispered:
"Lei Qu, commander of the White Lotus Army, is approaching. His mount is a white-horned beast with thunderous eyes. Should we, Bodhisattva, avoid him?"

The Thunder-Eyed White Xie has a particular fondness for devouring the soul cores of demons and ghosts. Its innate thunder magic is most effective against evil spirits and ghosts.

"Thunder-eyed White Xie? Hmph!"

The female demon's tone was full of apprehension, but she wouldn't back down, and she coldly snorted:
"discuss later."

Mr. Wu nodded, his expression somber. After a moment of silence, he said in a hoarse voice:

"Changqing... is he alright?"

More than a month ago, his most promising son, the third son Wu Changqing, died in Black Wind Mountain, and only his head returned.

Fortunately, a Bodhisattva intervened and temporarily saved their lives.

But this is not a long-term solution; after forty-nine days, death will still occur. Unless, of course, a blood relative is willing to sacrifice their life for them.

Parents, children, brothers, and sisters are all blood relatives.

Wu Changqing's biological mother died early, and he had only one son after being married for many years.

The other siblings are either dead or married far away, and none of them are around.

Now, there are only three people who can take his place in death.

Master Wu, son of Wu Changqing, and—

Xu Qidong!
That's right, Xu Qidong and Wu Changqing are half-brothers, sharing the same father but different mothers, and are blood relatives!

This is also why he was so anxious to find Xu Qidong.

It's absolutely worth it to exchange the life of an illegitimate child for the life of the third son.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and Xu Qidong disappeared without a trace.

Even when the Suspended Mirror Bureau and the Demon Suppression Bureau joined forces, they couldn't find it.

Even more ridiculously, that idiot Lu Dongya actually claimed that they were kidnapped by the White Lotus Sect!

"Whether they were kidnapped by the White Lotus Sect or not, how could I, a dignified White Lotus Envoy, not know?"

That's truly terrifying!
“His soul is sealed in his skull and cannot break free for the time being, but once the forty-nine days are over, the Heavenly Drum will remove his name, and his soul will surely be scattered.”

The female demon glanced at him, playing with her hair, a playful look on her face:

"He doesn't have much time left. Have you thought it through?"

"I... I'll think about it some more, I'll think about it some more."

Mr. Wu's face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, he mumbled a reply and got up to take his leave.

If we can find Xu Qidong, everything will be fine.

But if you can't find it...

Either let his most outstanding son be utterly destroyed.

Either he or his most beloved grandson will die in his place.

There is no third possibility.

"But I haven't lived enough, I haven't had enough of women, and I don't want to die!"

Mr. Wu clenched his fist, his eyes hesitant, but eventually became firm and indifferent.

For a father to die in place of his son is unfilial and intolerable to Heaven.

Besides, if a child dies, another one can be born. Changqing is only in his twenties, he has plenty of time to have more children.

Let Xiao Wang have a happier time these next few days.

It was not in vain that he came into this world.

Mr. Wu sighed softly, his eyes sweeping over his surroundings, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

This is... a spider?
On the beam, a black spider the size of a fist is diligently weaving its web.

However, with the Bodhisattva present, there should be no flies or insects, and no living beings, within a hundred feet around the Buddhist hall.

How come there's a big spider?

and also--

Why aren't those two lantern monsters singing opera anymore?

My face is covered in spider silk!

not good!

Master Wu's expression changed drastically, and he was about to speak...

In an instant, a cold wind arose, ghosts wailed, and gongs, drums, and conch shells resounded.

A pale, translucent arm reached out from inside the Buddhist hall and grabbed at the black spider on the beam.

The Bodhisattva has intervened!
"Discovered."

On the spider web, Liu Sheng felt his hair stand on end and cursed his bad luck.

He had previously transformed into a black spider and stealthily made his way to the backyard. After a brief observation, he noticed the strangeness of the Buddhist hall.

The air was filled with eerie winds and malevolent mists, devoid of any Buddhist serenity.

Especially the lanterns at the two ends of the eaves, making a lot of noise, are really annoying.

Fortunately, these two monsters were just different species; after smearing their faces with two mouthfuls of spider silk, they became mute.

He hid on the beam, tapping his claws to eavesdrop on what was happening inside the hall, only vaguely hearing the words "not much time left" and "think about it some more".

A terrifying aura rose within the hall, not quite as powerful as the Golden-Toothed White Elephant, but certainly no less terrifying—

Demon!
The air was murky and dark, like stagnant water, thick and foul-smelling.

There are indeed demons and ghosts!

"escape!"

With a leap, he sprang from the beam, opened his mouth and spat out spider silk, which stuck to a rock about eight or nine feet away.

Just then, a cloud of ghostly mist descended, enveloping him in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a pale, translucent ghostly hand, which gripped him and squeezed him tightly—

"Qiang!!"

(End of this chapter)