paranoianovel Chapter 53 Following the Clues to Combat
Chapter 53 Following the Clues to Combat
Morning light.
Smoke rises from the chimney.
The crowing of roosters and the barking of dogs.
Farmers go to the fields.
Shixi Village.
Shanghe Village.
The village has returned to calm, but this is only on the surface; undercurrents are still surging.
A group of women gathered together, whispering about the well gushing water the previous night.
At the edge of the threshing floor, the old men pointed in the direction where the light from last night had disappeared, marveling at it.
In front of the ancestral hall, believers are particularly devout when offering incense.
However, many people watched from a distance or had their eyes wandering.
Lin Shi was not careless; the wild Taoist priest hiding in the shadows would not give up easily.
The third night.
The evil spirits have changed their tactics.
There was no physical manifestation, no eerie sounds, only a more insidious form of mental harassment.
Once midnight passed, almost all the dozens of households in the two villages, those with weak wills or even the slightest doubt about the belief in the dragon god, were simultaneously plunged into nightmares.
Some people dream that they fall into a river and can't make a sound no matter how much they shout.
Someone dreamed that their house caught fire and burned down half the village.
An elderly person dreamed that their deceased relative was standing in front of their bed, soaking wet, and said it was very cold down there.
Some children dream of being chased by a dark shadow, running and running, but never reaching the end.
After waking up, I felt a lingering palpitation and couldn't sleep all night.
Lin Shi adjusted his approach, sending out a calming talisman made of a mixture of cypress leaves, cinnabar, and incense ash that had been offered.
People who have nightmares will still dream, but there will be changes in their dreams.
In the dream of falling into the river, a phantom of a dragon suddenly rises from the water and lifts me up.
Amidst the raging fire, a cool rain suddenly fell, extinguishing the blaze.
An elderly person dreamed that their deceased relatives were guided away by golden light and departed with a smile.
As the children ran, a clear, cool stream suddenly appeared beneath their feet, and the dark shadows receded upon contact with the water.
The fourth night.
The livestock in the village were restless. Chickens took flight in the middle of the night, breaking open their coops. The guard dog barked wildly at an empty space until it was hoarse. Even the docile old oxen paced anxiously in their sheds, banging against the wooden fence with a loud thud.
The fifth night.
Utensils move without reason. Bowls and chopsticks on the stove shift by themselves, water ladles roll off the edge of the vat, and farm tools hanging on the wall fall down in the middle of the night. These are all small things, but they send a chill down your spine. There's something in the house that you can't see, yet it's moving your things.
The sixth night.
Three children suddenly developed a high fever and were delirious, talking nonsense. One said there was a hand pulling him from the well, another said there was a person laughing on the tree, and the third kept repeating that it was so cold and the river water was so cold.
……
Lin Shi and his clone, the dragon, calmly dealt with the evil spirits that appeared every night.
The Seventh Night.
Before the window of the side hall of the Jiaoshen Temple at Linshi Station, the deep night was filled with the tranquility of Shixi Village and Shanghe Village in the distance. Turning my head to look at the deep forest in the northwest, I realized that the chilling influence of evil spirits these past few days was coming from this direction, and their location was different every night, constantly shifting.
Who is the hunter?
Who is the prey?
Lin Shi sneered.
In the past few days, the wild Taoist priest has been hiding in the shadows, like a patient hunter probing little by little, trying to figure out the extent of his and the dragon god's response, especially the effectiveness of the talismans, and the psychological limits of the villagers.
Wasn't I also taking advantage of this opportunity?
As the belief in the Jiao God spread beyond Shixi Village to Shanghe Village, its influence grew, and sooner or later it would attract all sorts of increasingly powerful evil spirits.
The wild Taoist priest is quite strong, which is a good opportunity to hone the villagers' will. There will definitely be even stronger enemies to come, and with this exercise, they will be more at ease when they encounter even stronger enemies next time.
These days may seem passive, but in fact, the gains have been enormous.
First, Shixi Village and Shanghe Village, two villages that had been estranged from each other due to disputes over water, differences in beliefs, and various grievances, have now gradually merged after sharing the experience of fighting against external evils.
Secondly, after being tempered, the power of the steel is not only unaffected, but becomes stronger and more resilient, just like iron that has been repeatedly hammered away, with impurities gradually removed and only purity remaining.
Third, the dragon gained more faith power, especially in the process of dealing with evil spirits. Its power not only did not decrease, but increased by more than one point.
Yourself?
Perception further transforms into spiritual awareness, expanding the range of what can be seen and heard. It not only covers the two villages but also extends outwards by nearly ten miles. At the same time, it becomes more acute, especially at detecting evil spirits and malevolent forces. It can accurately detect even the slightest trace of them as soon as they appear.
Another huge gain was that, in a moment of crisis, the dragon shared some of its memories, and I learned from the dragon knowledge such as drawing talismans and learned more secrets of this world.
Time passed second by second.
child time.
Lin Shi stared intently into the depths of the mountains to the northwest, as if he could see a pair of cold eyes watching him from afar in some damp cave or abandoned temple. There was no frustration, only the satisfaction of a successful scheme and a deeper greed.
"It is impolite not to reciprocate!"
"It's my turn to make my move tonight!"
A cold smile appeared on Lin Shi's lips.
These days, every night he cleanses away evil spirits. The dragon has already figured out the location of the wild Taoist priest by following the cold, lingering traces and the faint, ethereal threads of evil magic. If he hadn't been forcibly suppressing the evil spirits and taking advantage of this rare opportunity to hone the will, teamwork, and faith of the villagers of Shixi Village and Shanghe Village, he would have already gone straight there.
Now that my goal has been achieved, it's time to settle accounts.
Lin Shi let go and stopped trying to stop him.
Deep within the Azure Pool.
The dragon slowly raised its head.
The chains hummed softly as the massive body slowly stretched out in the deep water. Although it could not completely break free from its restraints and leave the Azure Pool, the chains were loosening, allowing some of its power to extend along the water veins.
An invisible yet powerful will quietly traveled upstream along the Qinghe River, passing through the winding river channel, seeping into the tributary streams, and finally reaching that deep mountain.
Wherever it passed, water vapor rose silently, and a light mist appeared in the forest.
The abandoned mountain god temple, nestled halfway up the mountain, was long since dilapidated. Wild grass grew among the crumbling walls, and only half of the statue remained, covered in cobwebs. Behind the temple lay a natural cave, its entrance partially obscured by vines, exuding an eerie atmosphere.
Deep inside the cave, a single, eerie green light flickered.
The wild Taoist priest Yin Zhizi sat cross-legged on a blue stone, with a black cloth covered with evil talismans spread out in front of him. His withered fingers twirled a string of prayer beads made of animal bones and black jade, and a cold smile hung on the corner of his mouth.
After several probes, he gained a great deal, figuring out the dragon god's reaction speed, strength characteristics, and protective range, while also understanding the limits of the two villages' believers' endurance. More importantly, he confirmed that although the dragon god possessed some abilities, it seemed to be bound by something; otherwise, it would have already tracked down and attacked him.
"Three more days, no, two more days."
"Once we've figured out the last bit of information about that dragon god, we can set up the Nine Yin Devouring God Formation."
The wild Taoist priest Yin Zhizi muttered to himself, his eyes flashing with green light, when suddenly his whole body stiffened.
The temperature inside the cave was dropping rapidly. It wasn't an ordinary cold; it was a bone-chilling, watery chill. Water droplets began to seep from the stone walls, dripping clearly in the silence, and a strange pressure permeated the air, as if a colossal creature was approaching.