When Zhang Jinya lunged forward like that, Erniu's ghost immediately stopped knocking on his own door. Instead, turning around abruptly, the red glow on its body ballooned to an unknown extent, and the surrounding air became even colder.
"Ah!!"
From Erniu's mouth came a piercing shriek, and even I could sense the bitter resentment in it. The ghost floated in the air and flew straight towards Zhang Jinya, its fingernails elongating to over ten centimeters in length, jet-black and glinting with a metallic luster.
This attack was swift, but Zhang Jinya was not slow either. He quickly threw out the ink brush line soaked in black dog's blood. Strangely enough, as soon as he tossed the ink brush line, it straightened like a whip and with a "snap," it struck Erniu. The spot where Erniu was hit immediately smoked, as though it had been scalded!
However, even so, Erniu's spirit paused only for a moment before it lunged even more ferociously.
"Damn it, so fierce?"
Zhang Jinya obviously hadn't anticipated this sight, and he backed away in fright. But how could his speed match Erniu's? In no time, he was caught up with, and the ghost's ashen, lifeless hands harshly reached out for his chest.
Boom!
At this moment, the "Red Dragon" plastered on Zhang Jinya's chest ignited spontaneously. Erniu seemed especially fearful of it and immediately drew back its hand, which was no more than twenty centimeters away from Zhang Jinya. The ghost let out a sharp, protracted screech and retreated in haste.
Zhang Jinya, seized by this moment, took out a paper talisman from his pocket, identical to the one he had given me, and shouted: "In haste, like a law!"
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he slapped the talisman onto Erniu's chest.
Crack!
To the naked eye, a trace of electricity flashed from the paper talisman. Erniu was then hurled away, wrapped in faint blue electrical light, obviously in pain, its body constantly contorting and twitching!
"Ge Tianzhong, what the hell are you dawdling for?!"
Zhang Jinya roared at me: "Quickly go and untie the red string from the chicken's mouth!!"
I was so frightened by Erniu's fierce appearance that my calves were cramping; I had already forgotten about the rooster. You can't laugh at me for being a coward; if you had seen the fiend's savage appearance, you would have been out of your wits too!
Fortunately, Zhang Jinya's shout snapped me out of it. After exchanging a look with Zhou Jing, I quickly ran over to untie the red strings from the roosters' beaks, praying fervently that Zhang Jinya's paper talisman would hold on a bit longer.
After doing all this, Zhang Jinya seemed to run out of strength, flopping down and gasping for air. It looked like he couldn't afford another life-or-death struggle.
At this point, my hands were trembling from the scare. Zhou Jing was in not much better shape, shaking all over. It took us a long time, but we finally managed to untie the red strings from the two roosters' beaks.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The red strings were untied, and the two roosters crowed as if they were fighting for their lives. At the sound of the cock-crow, Erniu's spirit suffered even more, letting out sharp screams that could pierce one's eardrums.
Zhou Jing and I dared not delay any longer. Mustering our courage despite the fear, we ran over to untie the red string from the beak of another rooster hidden away.
Before long, the beaks of nearly eight roosters had been untied, and their cries echoed all around. The ninth rooster was closest to me, so without thinking, I ran over to the ninth rooster. Zhou Jing, that ungrateful fellow, saw he wasn't needed anymore and promptly ran off into the distance.
I cursed under my breath, but I still dragged the ninth rooster out from the corner. As soon as I saw the knots on the rooster's beak, I was stumped.
Who tied this?
Couldn't it be a simple bow like the others? Why did it have to be a knot that was as tight as death's grip? How was I supposed to untie it?
Though I was annoyed, I had no choice but to set to work on the stubborn knot. Cold sweat dripped from my forehead, blurring my vision, but I finally managed to undo half of it!
"Be careful!"
Suddenly, Zhang Jinya's voice rang in my ear. Instinctively, I looked up, and I was so frightened that I almost dropped to the ground—Erniu's ghost had escaped the control of the thunder talisman and was charging towards me. It was a mere fifty meters away!
My breath was caught in my throat, and my mind screamed that I, naturally weak under the yang principle, should not deal with these dirty things. When faced with them, they would surely target me first!
At that moment, only one thought crossed my mind—run!
In an instant, I dropped the rooster and turned to run for my life!
"Don't you run, dammit!"
Seeing me fleeing, Zhang Jinya cursed on the side: "You have the Red Dragon and the Thunder Talisman I gave you, and you're carrying the Hundred-Pacifying Knife that has slaughtered the living. Where do you think you are running to?! Turn back! I'm out of energy from casting spells, and Zhou Jing can't be relied upon. If you don't act, the three of us are gonna die here tonight!!"
At his words, I stopped dead in my tracks. The running had been a reflex action. After being reminded by Zhang Jinya, I recalled our dire straits. I may not be a righteous person, but I couldn't abandon my companions. I quickly took out the "Red Dragon" Zhang Jinya had given me earlier, not caring about how bloodied it was, and slapped it on my chest. After being treated by Zhang Jinya, it could easily be attached to a living person. I had seen its power earlier; when a ghost approaches, it will ignite by itself and prevent the filthy things from getting close. Then, I unsheathed the Hundred-Pacifying Knife with a clang. Enduring the pain, I bit my tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood from my tongue tip onto the knife. Resolutely, I turned around and charged back!
Erniu seemed to be quite afraid of the knife in my hand, slowing significantly as it charged towards me. But it was just a blink of an eye before it screamed again and lunged at me, reaching me instantly. The Red Dragon on my chest also burst into flames, making Erniu involuntarily retreat.
"To hell with you!"
Feeling threatened for my life, I summoned courage from nowhere, wielding the Hundred-Pacifying Knife and slashing at Erniu, managing to push it back a bit again.
I was momentarily encouraged and raised the knife ready for a desperate fight, but before the second strike could land, a series of barking sounds came from behind, and a black shadow rushed past me, pouncing directly on Erniu and tearing into the ghost like a mad beast.
It was Blackie!!
Blackie came to protect its master, but it was clear that this mastiff was no match for Erniu transformed into a resentful ghost. It was slashed by Erniu's long black nails, covered in blood, but it refused to let go despite its mortal wounds, as if it didn't know pain.
I felt a pang of pain in my heart. I knew Blackie was risking its life here to save me. I raised the knife and prepared to go rescue Blackie.
"Don't!"
Zhang Jinya shouted from the side: "That Hundred-Pacifying Knife of yours is too fierce. After being soaked with the blood of your yang tongue, one slash and her soul will be shattered. She is also a pitiable person. Don't sever her chance for reincarnation. Just untie the ninth rooster's mouth, and leave the rest to me!"
On hearing this, thinking of Erniu's plight before her death, my heart softened. I put away the knife, bent down, and started to untie the red string from the ninth rooster's beak. I had only untied half of the stubborn knot just now, and the rest was easy to solve. It didn't take long before I had untied it.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The ninth rooster crowed, and Erniu screamed in agony, dropping Blackie to writhe miserably on the ground.
Watching this scene, the courage I had just mustered up disappeared, and my legs went weak, making me collapse to the ground. A chill breeze made me shiver, and only then did I realize how my clothes were drenched with sweat.
"Woo, woo..."
Blackie limped over to me, whimpering. Its body was sliced open in several places, almost deep enough to see flesh, covered in blood. It threw itself into my arms and kept licking my chin, nudging my chest with its head.
I felt so heartbroken seeing it like this, my nose stung, and I was on the verge of tears. I had seen Blackie bravely pouncing on the ghost to save me. Something tugged at my heartstrings, and I couldn't help but hug Blackie tightly.
"Creak!"
At this moment, the door of Erniu's house abruptly opened. A man in his forties poked his head out. Seeing what was happening at his doorstep, he was so shocked that he froze in place.
Needless to say, this must be Erniu's father!
As soon as the man appeared, the red glow around Erniu intensified, and its blood-red eyes filled with resentment as it floated up and charged at the man. However, it didn't get far before being repelled by an invisible force. At the same time, one of the nine roosters suddenly became much weaker, its crowing quieter.
Erniu's red glow grew even fiercer, completely mad as it charged at the man again and again, each time being repulsed.
"Not good, seeing her father, her resentment is intensifying. If this goes on, she'll eventually break through the Nine Yang Spirit Trapping Array!"
Zhang Jinya suddenly shouted: "Xiao Tian, go and beat up that silly fool who ran out to watch the spectacle and don't stop until I say so!"
At this moment, I was already anguished by Blackie's injury from trying to save me, a surge of anger ready to explode from my chest. Upon hearing Zhang Jinya's command, I charged at the man. He was startled and quickly tried to shut the door and retreat into the house, but how could I let him get away? I grabbed his hair, dragged him out, threw him on the ground, and kicked him twice in the face. The man was already terrified by his daughter's ghost, not even fighting back, just wailing miserably on the ground while I pounded him.
I poured all my fury onto this man, using every bit of strength I had.
If this beast hadn't abused Erniu for being a girl, causing her to harbor resentment and become a vengeful ghost after death, would Blackie end up injured for protecting me?
In short, if this beast had been just a tiny bit kinder to his daughter, things wouldn't have come to such a pass!
I couldn't tell you how many punches or kicks I had thrown, but eventually, the man's screams grew fainter.
"Stop hitting him."
Suddenly, a timid female voice came from behind me. Only then did I stop, turning around to see that Erniu's ghost, at some point, had ceased assaulting the spirit-trapping array. Its red glow had dimmed a lot, its eyes clearing of malice and almost dissipating entirely, ceasing to be the vengeful ghost determined to take lives. It looked at me sadly: "Stop hitting him. After all, he is my father."
At this point, I finally understood why Zhang Jinya had asked me to beat the man. Doing so would attenuate the resentment surrounding Erniu. But it truly made me feel uneasy. This girl, in such a state, still recognized this man as her dad, filling me with an inexplicable sense of sorrow. I turned to glance at the man, now bloodied from my beating, and felt a surge of suffocation. I lashed out with another fierce kick.
"Stop hitting him."
Erniu hastily stopped me, saying, "I know you are a good person. Thank you, but please don't hit him anymore. I don't hate him now."
I exhaled a long breath and finally curbed the impulse to continue striking. As I calmed down, I realized the acute pain from biting my own tongue, and I couldn't stop drawing breath sharply due to the hurt.
At that moment, Zhang Jinya has already sat cross-legged on the ground and began to chant continuously. Looking up at Erniu, he said, "The grievances you have suffered in this life have all been aired out just now. The joys and sorrows of this life shall return to dust. Go now."
With those words, Erniu started to emit blinding light, with its body disintegrating from its feet, inch by inch into specks of light.
I knew this meant Erniu was being led to reincarnation, the prelude to entering the cycle of transmigration. Suddenly remembering the purpose of our visit, I shouted, "Wait! Tell me who killed you!"
Zhang Jinya, hearing my words, froze, his face flashing with frustration, realizing he too had forgotten to ask sooner. It was understandable, given how Erniu's ghost had just given us a near-death scare, completely driving out our original objective. Now, as we finally remembered to ask, Erniu was almost ready to depart, leaving behind only two words before dissolving into nothingness.
"Rouge…"
These were the last two words Erniu said to us before entering the cycle of reincarnation.