Everyone turned their heads to look at Lu Chuan, and the atmosphere on the scene instantly tensed up.
One of Qi Tiangang's disciples glared at Lu Chuan with contempt, ''My master is a renowned figure in the world of sorcery, universally acknowledged for his skills. Who do you think you are to question his judgment?''
Lu Chuan said indifferently, ''I naturally wouldn't dare to doubt Master Qi's skills, but that doesn't mean Master Qi can't make a mistake in his judgment.''
At this, Qi Tiangang's expression also darkened as he turned to Gu Hongzhuang and said coldly, ''Ms. Gu, what do you mean by this?''
Gu Hongzhuang had not anticipated Lu Chuan pulling such a stunt and quickly apologized to Qi Tiangang, ''Master Qi, this is my younger brother, a bit impulsive. Please don't take it to heart.''
She tugged at Lu Chuan, saying angrily, ''Stop causing trouble for me!''
Lu Chuan shook his head, ''I'm not causing trouble; he just failed to identify the root of your problems. I didn't want you to be misled, that's all.''
Qi Tiangang snorted, ''Misled? I, Qi, have practiced Feng Shui for decades and this is the first time someone has accused me of such a thing!''
His disciples all glared at Lu Chuan, seething with anger.
''Kid, you're courting death! Believe it or not, we can cripple you right here and now!''
''Master, let us handle this ignorant fool for you!''
...
Qi Tiangang waved his hand and focused on Lu Chuan, ''Since you think I've made a mistake, why don't you tell us what the root of Ms. Gu's problems is?''
Without wasting words, Lu Chuan turned to look at Gu Hongzhuang, grabbed her wrist with the bracelet, and lifted it, ''The root is right here!''
Qi Tiangang asked, ''You mean this bracelet?''
Lu Chuan nodded, ''Exactly!''
Qi Tiangang sneered, ''It seems you really are a clueless youngster!''
He brought his compass close to the bracelet, ''This compass of mine is a Magic Artifact with the function of sensing Yin and evil energies. I've already checked this bracelet with the compass, and there was absolutely no problem. Do you think in this trade, I would make such an amateur mistake?''
The compass needle did not move at all, showing no signs of change.
He looked at a disciple, ''Go get an ancient painting.''
That disciple immediately ran off and returned with an ancient painting.
Qi Tiangang placed the compass near the painting, and the needle promptly started to tremble, indicating that something unclean was on the painting.
''Now what do you have to say?''
Gu Hongzhuang was also getting annoyed and shouted at Lu Chuan, ''Apologize to Master Qi!''
Lu Chuan ignored her and took the bracelet off her wrist, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it.
Gu Hongzhuang's face changed, ''Lu Chuan, what are you doing! Do you really think I won't get angry?''
Lu Chuan crushed the bracelet, saying, ''See for yourselves!''
Everyone looked down to see that inside the broken beads of the bracelet, there were tiny, gruesome-looking skulls mixed with a dark green, putrid oily substance.
As these small skulls appeared, the entire villa became eerily sinister.
Gu Hongzhuang was startled, never having imagined that such a horrifying thing could be hidden inside her bracelet, and quickly hid behind Lu Chuan.
The compass needle went wild, then suddenly cracked with a loud snap.
Qi Tiangang's complexion turned pale as he stumbled backwards a few steps, his hand trembling as he pointed at the items on the ground and exclaimed, ''Human bones, corpse oil, this... this is the Southern Sea Head Dropping Spell!''
''Ms. Gu, someone wants you dead!''
A gust of cold wind blew past as the tiny skulls began to shake violently, emitting dense evil energies that coalesced into a fierce female ghost with sharp fangs. Its purple, withered hand stretched out, lunging towards Gu Hongzhuang.
''Your life is mine!''
Seeing the situation, Qi Tiangang immediately took out a bronze mirror and aimed it at the female ghost, freezing her in place.
Lu Chuan glanced at Qi Tiangang, thinking to himself that this old man indeed possessed some real skills.
''Quickly leave! This is an evil spirit nurtured by the head-dropping spell, a rare and malevolent creature. I can't hold it off for long, and if we're too late, none of us will survive!'' Qi Tiangang shouted.
Qi Tiangang's disciples, having never encountered such a scene, were trembling with fear, nearly wetting their pants.
Upon hearing Qi Tiangang's words, they immediately fled towards the exit of the villa.
Just then, the mirror in Qi Tiangang's hand shattered suddenly, and the female ghost regained movement. With a shrill scream, all the doors of the villa slammed shut, resisting any attempt to force them open.
Qi Tiangang fell to the ground, his face filled with despair as he said, ''It's over, this evil spirit is too powerful. We're all going to die today...''
At that moment, Lu Chuan approached him, reached out, and took the yellow talisman paper and cinnabar pen from him, ''I'll borrow these.''
He quickly drew a complex talisman on the yellow talisman paper, then bit open his hand and let three drops of blood fall on it.
The talisman on the yellow talisman paper emitted a golden light instantly.
Lu Chuan, holding the talisman paper, rushed in front of the female ghost and slapped it on her forehead.
The ghost was immediately enveloped in golden light, letting out a terrible scream as plumes of black energy emanated from her. In the blink of an eye, she was completely cleansed by the power of the talisman.
Peace returned to the villa once again.
Lu Chuan also exhaled a long sigh of relief.
The talisman he just drew was known as an exorcism spell, capable of dealing with some low-level evil entities.
He walked up to Gu Hongzhuang, whose face was deathly pale, and asked, "Sister Hong, are you all right?"
Gu Hongzhuang's body trembled slightly, but she tried to maintain her composure as she said, "I... I'm fine."
Lu Chuan nodded and went over to clean up the broken bracelet on the ground.
He turned to Gu Hongzhuang and asked, "Sister Hong, who gave you this bracelet?"
Gu Hongzhuang gnashed her teeth and said, "Long Hao!"
Lu Chuan realized then that Long Hao did not have a good opinion of his father's mistress.
At that moment, Qi Tiangang approached, his eyes fixedly staring at Lu Chuan.
Lu Chuan asked, "Master Qi, what's the matter?"
With a plop, Qi Tiangang knelt down in front of Lu Chuan and gave a deep bow, "I was blind and did not recognize a true master, please forgive me!"
Seeing this, his disciples also rushed over and knelt down to kowtow.
Lu Chuan quickly said, "Master Qi, you're too polite, I'm not any true master, I just happened to know how to deal with that female ghost."
Qi Tiangang said with utter seriousness, "True master, you must not be modest. That talisman spell you used just now was like magic from the heavens; it amazed me completely. I wonder if you would be willing to take me as your disciple. I am willing to serve you as a horse or an ox, without any complaints!"
Lu Chuan quickly helped Qi Tiangang to his feet, "Master Qi, you're overestimating me. Let's forget about discipleship, but if you're truly interested, we can exchange contact information and discuss more in the future."
In his mind, he thought to himself, you're old enough to be my grandfather, having you serve me would likely lead to an internet lynching.
Qi Tiangang looked disappointed but did not insist. He exchanged contact information with Lu Chuan, complimented him some more, and then left the villa.
Gu Hongzhuang's gaze towards Lu Chuan underwent another change; she felt she had underestimated this man.
Lu Chuan turned to Gu Hongzhuang and said, "Sister Hong, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now. The way you kept your composure just now, even as a woman, is truly admirable. I need to heal my injuries quickly, so I won't bother you any longer."
Having said that, he was about to leave.
Gu Hongzhuang grabbed hold of him and bit her lip, saying, "Don't go!"
Lu Chuan looked puzzled, "Is there something else?"
Gu Hongzhuang blushed and looked down, somewhat ashamed, "I... I can't move my legs. Carry me upstairs. Stay with me tonight... I'm a bit scared to be alone."
Only then did Lu Chuan notice that Gu Hongzhuang's body was still shaking. He touched her legs and found them to be extremely stiff, a condition that arises from excessive nervousness.
"So all that composure was just an act; you truly are a strong woman," Lu Chuan couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing him laugh, Gu Hongzhuang felt even more embarrassed. She, who had always held a position of power, had never experienced such humiliation before. Annoyed, she yelled at Lu Chuan, "If you laugh again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Lu Chuan quickly shut his mouth. He didn't carry Gu Hongzhuang upstairs but instead squatted down and used his Spiritual Power to knead her legs, quickly helping her relax.
Once Gu Hongzhuang regained her mobility, she looked at Lu Chuan with annoyance and said, "You really surprised me. You helped me this time, so I owe you a favor. Just tell me what you want."
Lu Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I need some medicinal herbs to recover from my injuries. Could you help me purchase them, Sister Hong?"
Gu Hongzhuang was slightly surprised, "Is that all?"
Lu Chuan countered, "What else?"
Gu Hongzhuang laughed, "Interesting."
"Write down the medicinal herbs you need, and I'll have someone buy them right away."
Lu Chuan immediately jotted down the herbs he needed and, knowing someone else was footing the bill, he raised the required ages for the herbs a bit.
Gu Hongzhuang was highly efficient, and in less than an hour, she had someone buy all the herbs.
This made Lu Chuan appreciate the advantages of being wealthy.
He used Gu Hongzhuang's kitchen to concoct the healing medicine and, with the help of the elixir pills, began to recover.
The next morning.
In the room.
The eyes of Lu Chuan, who had been tightly closed all this time, suddenly snapped open. The Spiritual Energy swirling around him was all absorbed into his body, and his aura rapidly climbed to a new height.
Once everything settled down, Lu Chuan stood up, stretched his limbs, and an excited smile appeared on his face.
At this point, not only was his injury completely healed, but he had also successfully reached Qi Cultivation Level 2.
"If I encounter Lin Hu again, I'll kill him within three moves!"
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking came, and Lu Chuan walked over to open the door.
Gu Hongzhuang stood outside, looking much better than the day before.
Behind her stood a tall and burly man with an extraordinary demeanor.
"Let me introduce you, this is Zhou Long, a master of Inner Force Stage 5. From now on, he will be your bodyguard," said Gu Hongzhuang.
Lu Chuan's face showed surprise, "Sister Hong, I don't need a bodyguard."
Gu Hongzhuang rolled her eyes, "You've been injured. It's safer to have a skilled man by your side. He's my man, you don't have to worry. Consider it a repayment for the favor you did for me yesterday."
Lu Chuan quickly said, "Sister Hong, my injuries have healed. I don't need protection, and besides... at Inner Force Stage 5, he might end up needing my protection. It would be better for him to return."
Zhou Long scoffed upon hearing this, "Kid, what are you pretending for? Do you think I, with my strength at Inner Force Stage 5, need your protection?"