Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 468 Practice
Under Zhou You's patient guidance, Wang Ming stopped stammering. Although he was still somewhat timid, he was finally able to speak properly.

"My boss, well, although he used to be quite unreliable, he's a decent person, has a loyal personality, and takes good care of his juniors."

Lin Chen frowned, seemingly wanting to tap the table to get to the point, but Zhou You glanced at him casually, then sighed silently and retreated.

So, only Wang Ming's voice remained in the living room.

"We're a pretty big club, with dozens of people, some from our school and some from other schools. We crowdfund an adventure every few months, but as you know, we're all poor students. Except for Lin Huan, who I know seems to come from a well-off family, the rest of us don't have much money. So we usually just go to those run-of-the-mill haunted places and abandoned houses, which aren't really anything special."

"However, one day, for some unknown reason, the boss suddenly summoned everyone, saying there was a great place that was absolutely thrilling and exciting, and he was going to take everyone to see it."

"Of course, no one wanted to go at first, since the last event had just ended not long ago, and there wasn't much to do there. But our usually stingy leader suddenly said he would cover all the expenses for this event, and given his good reputation, everyone reluctantly agreed."

"But since I shared a dorm room with him, I eventually realized something was wrong."

At this moment, Zhou You finally spoke.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Ming looked somewhat confused, and after thinking for a while, he finally spoke.

"Well, he's still the same person, his appearance and way of speaking are all normal, but I always feel like something inside him has changed. He's stopped listening to his favorite rock music, and he's been eating fat that he used to never touch with a bite of. Oh, and one night I really needed to pee, and just as I was about to get up to go to the bathroom, I found him right next to the bed, eyes wide open, just staring straight at me."

Wang Ming smacked his lips, seemingly still shaken.

"I was so scared I almost wet the bed, but he quickly recovered and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. The next day when I asked him about it, he looked completely bewildered and said he might have been sleepwalking—but I've known him for years and have never seen him exhibit any sleepwalking symptoms."

Zhou You's eyes turned somewhat cold.

Based on Wang Ming's words, he suddenly remembered something.

—The ancestors of the previous demon-slaying tribe.

Those things are the same; they can replace a living person from the inside out, and unless it's a very close family member or friend, you can hardly tell the difference.

Think back to the haunting I saw at the cemetery during my brief return.
—No way, has the Black Book gone out of control or something? How could it put these things into reality?
However, even though he had thought of this, Zhou You did not say it aloud. Instead, he gestured with his eyes for Wang Ming to continue.

Wang Ming swallowed hard and then obediently continued.

"But we've known each other for years, so even though I felt something was off, I didn't stop the boss from leading the team. Besides, even if I wanted to, I couldn't. You don't know, the boss had completely gone mad at that time."

"We can talk about these things later. Let's skip this part and move on to the next one."

"Okay, okay, Zhou."

He originally wanted to say "Senior Zhou," but Lin Chen and Wen Tianyi both cast murderous glances at him, so the bachelor immediately changed his mind.

"Master Zhou, we were taken to a remote mountain forest. Everyone initially thought we'd been tricked—you couldn't even see ghosts in that place, how could there be any temple? But our leader insisted there definitely was, and led us all into that old forest, and then…"

"What's the result?"

"We really did see a temple."

A hint of fear flashed in Wang Ming's eyes, but he still forced himself to continue.

"The temple wasn't big, about the same size as a typical City God Temple. The only strange thing was that the entire temple was black, and there were no gods worshipped inside. After the leader led us in, he opened a cellar door and told me that the real deities were down there, urging us to hurry up and pay our respects."

"Some people already sensed something was wrong, but for some reason, everyone seemed to be out of control, and they just followed him down in a daze—below the temple was a completely different world, which looked like a cave, and at the very, very, very innermost part..."

At this point, Wang Ming suddenly started stammering again, and for an unusually long time. Finally, Lin Chen couldn't help but scold him.

What's inside?

"It's inside—"

But at that moment, Zhou You suddenly made his move.

He bit his fingertip, drew a talisman in mid-air, and then pressed it firmly onto Wang Ming's head.

Wang Ming, who had been relatively normal, suddenly rolled his eyes, then began to convulse all over his body, foaming at the mouth, as if he were having a sudden epileptic seizure.

Seeing that things were not going well, the few bodyguards who were just there for show immediately tried to step forward and restrain Wang Ming, but they were forced back by a look from Zhou You after only taking a few steps.

Mind your own business!
Soon, Wang Ming's convulsions subsided, replaced by waves of dry heaving, but the vomiting became increasingly violent, as if he were about to vomit up his internal organs—

Finally, along with a pile of foul-smelling slime, a wriggling thing was forcibly vomited out.

At the same time, Wang Ming's head tilted to the side and he fell onto the sofa.

"Master Zhou, is this guy dead?"

The only person who could speak like that is Wen Tianyi.

Zhou You sighed, then casually flicked out a simple lightning talisman, which sent the other person tumbling.

"No, why do you always think I would kill people randomly? I'm a decent person, okay? This guy just passed out."

Wen Tianyi wasn't annoyed, but instead gave an awkward laugh.

"What was his condition just now?"

"Something has been planted inside him. It lies dormant most of the time, but it will activate immediately and kill him to silence him if he is about to reveal any crucial information."

"The Life and Death Talisman?"

"It seems so, but this is more sinister than that thing."

After saying that, Zhou You squatted down, picked up a chopstick, and used it to lift up the lump of stuff.

At first glance, it looks like a piece of clay, grayish and unremarkable. But upon closer inspection, you can feel that it is alive, slowly wriggling on the tip of the chopsticks, seemingly constantly twisting and turning.

Its ever-changing appearance even drew the attention of others—however, just as everyone was captivated, an eye suddenly opened from within that gray matter.

It was a bloodshot eye, filled with pleading, hatred, fear, and madness.

The next moment, everyone felt their hair stand on end, as if a hand were gripping their souls, trying to forcibly tear them from their bodies—

But then Zhou You let out a soft chuckle.

"Om!"

He had indeed lost the Sanskrit chant of the Death Curse, but reciting this six-syllable mantra of Buddhism with the bloodline of the Heavenly Dragon still had some effect in dispelling evil—in the blink of an eye, the others regained their senses. And after trembling a few times, the gray matter suddenly closed its eyes and became still.

Among them, Lin Chen was the first to come to his senses.

He shuddered and immediately took a few steps back—then glanced at the thing with lingering fear and said in a hoarse voice.

"Master, this is..."

"We've hit the jackpot. It seems that the sorcerer used a part of his own body to cast the spell to prevent this guy from revealing his secret."

Zhou You offered an explanation, then immediately snorted coldly.

"But that's fine. We don't care what's inside—I've already guessed pretty much everything anyway—since he's already brought the bait to our doorstep, let's get rid of this badly injured rat first."

After settling Wang Ming in, and following Zhou You's instructions, the necessary items were quickly and urgently prepared.

This time, he was seriously planning to set up a feng shui formation.

Unlike the hastily drawn feng shui formations used for defense before, this time the one used was something properly recorded in the book "Nine Palaces Suppressing Dragon".

A trick called 'Finding Qi and Fixing the Gate Method'.

This is usually used for locating auspicious burial sites, but if there is a blood connection, it can also be used to find people.

The location was an open space in the resort—originally used for playing golf, covered with expensive turf, but after Lin Chen gave the order, all the vegetation was cleared away at lightning speed, leaving only bare yellow soil exposed.

Zhou You also borrowed a Taoist robe from Wen Tianyi, which was unusual for him, and dressed in formal attire before walking onto the makeshift platform.

The materials are already arranged on it.

Upon opening a jar of cinnabar, its deep red color instantly caught the eye—this was clearly a top-grade product. If he were to exchange it for soul stones, he would need at least a hundred for a jar. It was a mystery how Lin Chen had managed to obtain it in such a short time.

Everything else was pretty much the same. After checking everything, Zhou You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he took out an antique copper coin from the brocade box and flicked it into the air.

After the money had multiplied several times, it landed precisely in the due south direction.

Then he took a piece of pitch-black wood struck by lightning and placed it in the due north direction.

Next was a tortoise shell, clearly a contraband, placed on the soil in the northwest.

Soon, the eight directions of feng shui were suppressed by various objects. Zhou You returned to the altar, picked up the severing evil, took out some cinnabar, and recited the Taoist scriptures.

"Heaven is round, earth is square; laws and decrees are in nine chapters. Five divine rulers guard their respective territories."

As the feng shui ritual began, everything started to glow with a dim light. Zhou You, in one go, placed the rooster, the black carp, and the square pig on the altar. Then, he wrapped the prepared yellow talisman in the ash and threw it into the fire basin.

next moment.

With a piercing shriek, thick black smoke shot into the sky from the brazier—

But before it could take shape, Zhou You chopped off the rooster's head with a single sword stroke, then dipped his sword in the blood of the rooster's comb and flicked it in mid-air.

The black mist twisted and contorted, as if struggling desperately, but at the same time, a bell rang.

"Northeast, not very far away, it seems that guy is still in the city."

Everything went very smoothly. Zhou You checked the details and then picked up another scale from the black carp.

The black energy twisted again.

This time, the copper coin was stained with a bloody light.

"Although it's in the city, the population density isn't that high. That makes sense. Even if he uses his magic remotely, he still needs to avoid crowds to prevent being caught while casting the spell."

The sword turned again, but just as it was about to cut open the pork, suddenly, the entire altar trembled.

Then, countless wails and screams rang out, as if thousands of wronged souls were crying in my ears at the same time. At the same time, the black mist swayed more violently, and it was about to break free from its restraints and escape.

Zhou You was stunned.

"—Interesting. Even injured like this, you're still planning a final gamble? No... do you still think I'm only proficient in swordsmanship and a complete novice when it comes to magic?"

He then burst into laughter.

"Okay, you're right, I am indeed a novice, and this is even my first time setting up an altar. But you also need to know one thing: with this kind of gap, the so-called skill level doesn't really matter."

With a flick of his wrist, Zhou You placed several talismans on the brazier, and the wavering black mist suddenly paused—but this was just the beginning.

The brocade box on the right suddenly opened, revealing several long nails neatly arranged—these were not ordinary iron nails, but coffin nails that had been buried in the shady place for hundreds of years and had not yet rusted—Zhou You casually pulled one out, flicked it against the herb core next to it, and then pressed it hard onto the gray matter.

The wailing stopped, and from the depths of the darkness, a faint scream seemed to drift in.

Zhou You was not the kind of person who liked to let things go easily. He picked up another piece of yellow paper from his sword, then stepped on the Yu Step and continued to recite the next scripture.

"A fortress of bronze and iron, where ten thousand demons lurk. Six Ding wield halberds, six Jia brandish spears."

The black mist struggled more and more fiercely, but the surrounding flames seemed to have turned into a cage, and no matter which way it rushed, it could not escape.

But soon, it—or rather, the sorcerer—realized the situation and decided to use another method.

The ash in the brazier suddenly swelled, with countless blood vessels spreading within it, like an inflating balloon, growing larger and larger, seemingly about to burst—

It's a very simple principle: since we can't rescue them, we might as well destroy it to save Zhou You from tracking us down.

However, Zhou You just smiled and stopped using the magic array. Instead, he reversed his sword and thrust it towards that thing!
Duan Xie broke through all the blockades and instantly struck its core.

Of course, after that, the thing deflated like air, but the ritual was completed in its final stage—a few things flashed by in the flames before suddenly exploding.

Although it was only at a glance, Zhou You was still able to recognize what it was.

—It is the residue left after the high temperature swept through, and a group of people coming and going, all with sorrow on their faces.

In the city, but sparsely populated, and fitting these descriptions.
Basically, there's only one place.

(End of this chapter)