"Can you see me?" Following the woman's voice, I faintly saw an incomparably beautiful face. Though pale and lifeless, it was deeply alluring.
"I can see you," I said, unable to suppress my pounding heart.
"You only need to say 'I do' loudly three times, and you'll follow me," the face said, her mesmerizing eyes winking at me, exuding a charm that sent ripples through my heart. How could I refuse?
"I do…" Just as I uttered the first phrase, the face suddenly vanished, and my mind became clear again. The scene before me changed as well. The pool water was now calm as a mirror, reflecting the silhouettes of the five of us. Wait, when did Little Roller Blade show up?
At this critical moment, Dead Little Miss panted heavily and said, "Quick, bite your finger and place a drop of blood on your forehead." It seemed she had pulled me back from the brink once more.
Alarmed, I immediately squeezed some blood from the wound on my finger and smeared it onto my forehead.
"This Yin Ghost Array is too powerful. I can't communicate with you anymore, or even I might be pulled out of your body. From now on, you must be careful on your own..." Before she could finish, Dead Little Miss's voice vanished abruptly. She must have retreated to avoid the array's onslaught.
The fresh blood from my finger sealed my spiritual aperture, proving to be remarkably effective. Though I still felt the pervasive chill, my mind was no longer under the array's influence. I turned to first apply some of my blood to Xiao Ying's forehead, followed by Little Roller Blade, Wu Long, and Big Mouth Rong. Xiao Ying and Little Roller Blade both shivered and woke up, but Wu Long and Big Mouth Rong remained as frozen as before, standing there blankly.
Little Roller Blade clutched his chest and exclaimed, "That was close! If you hadn't sealed my spiritual aperture with your blood, my soul would've been taken."
Xiao Ying stared at the two of us with a perplexed expression, then looked at Wu Long and frowned. "Why aren't they waking up?"
I shook my head, indicating I had no idea. Little Roller Blade sighed and said, "Their souls are long gone. Trying to retrieve them will be nearly impossible."
"Where are their souls?" Xiao Ying asked anxiously.
"In the pool," Little Roller Blade replied, pointing behind us.
Xiao Ying started to turn her head to look, but Little Roller Blade yelled, "Don't look! If you do, your soul will be taken too!"
Terrified, Xiao Ying jerked her head back and grabbed his arm, asking urgently, "Then how do we save them?"
"I don't know!" Little Roller Blade said, looking deeply ashamed.
I closed my eyes, recalling the Maoshan secret arts and Taoist spells Dead Little Miss had taught me, searching for a solution. To my surprise, I found an ancient Taoist technique called "Jujube Wood as a Boat," specifically used against waterborne malevolent spirits. Opening my eyes, I immediately pulled out my peach wood sword and asked if either of them had a knife on them.
Little Roller Blade pulled a dagger from his bag and said, "With a nickname like Little Roller Blade, how could I not carry a blade? What do you need it for?"
Xiao Ying, delighted, said, "You've thought of a way to save them!"
I nodded but didn't answer Little Roller Blade. Taking the dagger, I cut down the hilt of the sword, leaving about a foot of the blade, and carved it into the shape of a small boat. On the stern, I inscribed the character "Float," on the bottom "Spring," and on the hull "Dragon."
"Do you have a Six Ding Six Jia Talisman?" I asked Little Roller Blade.
"Yes." He pulled out a stack of yellow talismans and handed me one.
After burning the talisman and chanting the "Flying Float Spell" seven times, the jujube wood boat was complete. I then instructed Little Roller Blade to use his unique soul-guiding technique to retrieve the two souls from the pool and return them to Wu Long and Big Mouth Rong's bodies. Though skeptical, he pounded his chest and said it would be no problem at all. To him, this was child's play.
Holding the wooden boat, I walked cautiously to the edge of the pool, avoiding any direct gaze into the water. Once there, I placed the boat on the surface and began chanting the Flying Float Spell:
"From the great Eastern Sea, over a hundred thousand miles,
My boat shall go wherever it pleases;
All evils, retreat and disperse.
I call upon the command of the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis."
To my astonishment, the heavy jujube wood did not sink. Instead, it floated on the water and began to drift gently. Xiao Ying's large, dark eyes widened in curiosity, while Little Roller Blade stood with his mouth agape, as if he had just realized I wasn't so ordinary after all.
"Don't just stand there! Be ready to guide the souls back!" I shouted at Little Roller Blade.
"Oh, on it!" He ran up, forming a lotus-hand seal and staring intently at the water's surface.
As the jujube wood boat sailed across the pool, it dispelled the malevolent energy. The strands of cold mist that had risen earlier vanished without a trace, indicating that the alluring spirit in the pool had been subdued. Since Dead Little Miss had retreated, I was back to relying on my mortal vision and couldn't see the spirits.
However, Little Roller Blade had a knack for this. Letting out a cheer, he recited, "Wandering spirits, why linger? Return to your proper place. The three souls and seven spirits, come forth! I command you to return!" With a sharp movement of his hand seal, he sent the spirits toward Wu Long and Big Mouth Rong.
Wu Long and Big Mouth Rong both shuddered violently, exhaling heavily as they returned to life.
Relieved, I looked at them with a heart full of gratitude for the knowledge I had gained from Dead Little Miss. Then I glanced at Little Roller Blade and thought to myself: so this is how the soul-retrieving spell works—today was a lesson learned.
Xiao Ying rushed over to Wu Long, holding his hand and exclaiming joyfully, "Cousin, Wang Lin saved you!"
Big Mouth Rong, however, collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily and cursing, "Damn it! I nearly died in that pool!" Only then did I get a good look at him: about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a bulbous nose and an unusually large mouth—easily half again as big as a normal person's. When he opened it, it looked like a crocodile's.
Wu Long smiled bitterly and asked me, "So you've figured out the truth?"
I shot him a cold glance, said nothing, and walked toward the wall opposite us. I was sick of hearing about "truth"—just the word felt like an insult.
On the wall, I had noticed a section of stone that didn't fit, forming a neat door-like outline. It seemed to be an exit. I reached out and pushed.
"Don't push—" Wu Long, Big Mouth Rong, and Little Roller Blade all shouted in unison.
But it was too late. The stone door creaked open, and a chilling wind howled through, making a ghastly "wuu-wuu" sound as it blew in. Before I could make out what lay beyond, there was a sudden crack, and my headlamp shattered, plunging everything into darkness.