“Then let’s go back to Yuan Yi Temple.”
“?” Shi Pengpeng looked at him slowly, “Why are you here too?”
Yan Jing remained expressionless, “Junior brother wanted to follow you, so I came to keep an eye on him.”
Xiao Lingshu, standing nearby: ???
Brother, weren’t you here for tea?
How did you end up getting involved?
Back at the temple, Shi Pengpeng dragged Xiao Tan into the reception room and said coldly, “Get out of her body now.”
Xiao Tan looked troubled and hesitated before finally speaking slowly, “I can’t get out…”
“Stop playing games!” Xiao Lingshu thought it was still being stubborn and pressed his fingers together to point at its spiritual point, “You prefer punishment over kindness, huh…”
He suddenly gasped, his fingers feeling as if they had been pricked by needles, and he pulled back in shock, “Senior sister, there’s a malevolent curse on her!”
“What?” Shi Pengpeng was surprised.
She stepped forward to check Xiao Tan’s pulse, preparing to cast a spell for further examination.
At that moment, Xiao Tan’s right eye cleared, and her own consciousness returned.
She pleaded, “Master, please don’t hurt him. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to return to the country. He saved me…”
“What exactly is going on here?” Shi Pengpeng paused.
She had already realized that everything Xiao Tan had done earlier wasn’t controlled by the malevolent spirit possessing her but was her own conscious actions.
They clearly had a symbiotic relationship.
Xiao Tan’s right eye showed a hint of fear, and she hesitated to speak.
“If you don’t talk, I’ll have to proceed according to protocol,” Shi Pengpeng made as if to continue.
“Don’t!” Xiao Tan panicked and finally spoke, “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you everything!”
She opened her left eye, which was completely black and filled with a sinister aura.
A male and female voice spoke simultaneously, intertwining, “We escaped from the Noodle Country…”
Upon hearing “Noodle Country,” Shi Pengpeng’s spirits immediately lifted.
Many past events flashed through her mind, but she showed no outward reaction, listening calmly.
Xiao Tan said her real name was Tan Pin, originally just an ordinary office worker in Xiluo.
Not long ago, she met a netizen online who shared her interests.
They hit it off immediately and quickly became close friends.
Soon after, the netizen invited her to visit a small Southeast Asian country together, even enthusiastically offering to cover her airfare and hotel expenses.
Tan Pin didn’t think much of it and happily brought her passport along.
Upon arriving abroad, a car supposedly arranged by the netizen picked her up at the airport.
Tan Pin thought the netizen was just being considerate, but it wasn’t until she got into the car that she realized something was wrong but it was already too late.
It turned out that the so-called netizen was actually an account operated by a fraud syndicate based in the Wei Kingdom, known as the Longevity Island.
They used elaborate tactics to lure Tan Pin to the small Southeast Asian country and then kidnapped her, transferring her to the Noodle Country.
At that moment, Tan Pin felt the world spinning.
Recalling the numerous news reports about the Noodle Country’s scam compounds, she knew there was almost no chance of escape.
Even if she were lucky enough to be rescued, she would likely endure unimaginable suffering in the meantime.
At that moment, she truly wished for death.
But just as she was in despair, one of her captors secretly told her that he could find a way to let her go.
That person was the malevolent spirit now possessing her, named Wu Xiayu.
Wu Xiayu’s parents died in an accident when he was young, and he was taken in by his uncle, a crippled monk who practiced asceticism.
Wu Xiayu grew up helping his uncle and learned some rudimentary spells.
After his uncle passed away, Wu Xiayu’s spellcasting skills remained mediocre, and he struggled to make a name for himself, living a hand- to-mouth existence.
Just as he was considering changing careers to make a living, someone approached him, saying that a wealthy person in Southeast Asia wanted to host a religious ceremony and was looking for monks from the mainland to participate.
Southeast Asian countries generally follow Theravada Buddhism, and the atmosphere there is indeed much more vibrant than in the mainland.
The person spoke so convincingly, and Wu Xiayu, confident in his spells for protection, thought nothing bad could happen and went along.
He never expected that they were precisely interested in his knowledge of spells.
It turned out that the Longevity Island compound was no ordinary fraud syndicate.
It had somehow gathered a group of people who practiced dark and unorthodox arts, with a mastermind behind the scenes.
In addition to engaging in typical fraud and kidnapping, Longevity Island also produced a large number of sinister items, which were sent back to the mainland through online channels.
They didn’t have enough manpower, so they also tricked and controlled practitioners like Wu Xiayu, forcing them to participate in creating those evil items and even using their spells to control other kidnapped individuals.
Wu Xiayu was no match for them and was forced to join their group.
But the methods of Longevity Island were too cruel and horrifying, and he endured mental torment day and night, nearly breaking down.
It wasn’t until later that Longevity Island, believing Wu Xiayu was now one of them, relaxed their surveillance and even sent him to escort the newly arrived Tan Pin.
Seeing Tan Pin so young, Wu Xiayu couldn’t bear it.
During the transfer, he found an opportunity to take her and escape.
Those people wouldn’t give up, chasing them relentlessly.
Wu Xiayu was unlucky and got shot, his life hanging by a thread.
He knew that if he died, not only would Tan Pin be unable to escape, but with those practitioners of dark arts around, he wouldn’t find peace either.
Thus, he made a desperate decision.
Using a forbidden technique taught on Longevity Island, which involved sealing malevolent spirits into objects, he infused his own soul into Tan Pin’s left eye.
From then on, he and Tan Pin became one.
With his power, Tan Pin managed to mesmerize their pursuers, using inhuman strength and speed to flee back to the airport before Longevity Island could react, escaping back to their homeland.
Normally, upon returning, they should have reported to the authorities.
However, Tan Pin hesitated because once the authorities were involved, Wu Xiayu’s secret would be exposed.
Even though he was already dead, the mistake had been made, and his soul would face punishment in the underworld.
Wu Xiayu had sacrificed his life to save Tan Pin, and she couldn’t bear to send him to suffer.
But at the same time, both she and Wu Xiayu were tormented by the demonic energy.
The method Wu Xiayu used to seal himself into her eye was an extremely sinister curse.
Even he couldn’t release himself, and the dark energy gradually eroded Tan Pin, while he himself slowly turned into a demon.
Helpless, he could only suggest Tan Pin seek external help, asking other cultivators to perform rites to alleviate some of the sins.
But Tan Pin feared Wu Xiayu’s secret would be discovered and dared not approach renowned masters from major temples.
After much deliberation, she decided to seek out some folk practitioners with a bit of skill but limited experience.
If they discovered anything, she and Wu Xiyu could still escape.
However, many of these people were frauds.
To distinguish them, Tan Pin and Wu Xiayu devised a plan: first, they used tarot cards as a decoy to test the practitioner.
If the practitioner could detect and dispel the malevolent energy on the cards, they would then bring out the jacket.
The jacket wasn’t some vintage piece but the clothes Wu Xiayu wore before his death.
When he sealed himself into Tan Pin’s eye, his terrifying memories and the emotions of the victims he had encountered also attached to the jacket, turning it into a cursed object.
Only by dispelling the energy on the jacket could Wu Xiayu’s suffering be temporarily alleviated.
Before finding Shi Pengpeng, Tan Pin had already approached several people, but unfortunately, all turned out to be charlatans.
Compared to them, Shi Pengpeng’s profile was too blank and didn’t meet Tan Pin’s requirements.
But Tan Pin couldn’t find anyone more suitable and, out of desperation, decided to meet her.
When they first met at the teahouse, seeing Shi Pengpeng so young, Tan Pin thought this attempt would also be futile.
Little did she know, she had stumbled upon a tough nut to crack.
“So that’s how it is,” Shi Pengpeng suddenly understood.
Beside her, Xiao Lingshu exclaimed, “Huh? Didn’t you approach my senior sister because you saw she was affiliated with Yuan Yi Temple?”
“What Yuan Yi Temple?” Tan Pin was puzzled.
“When I looked at her profile, her workplace was blank. If she had filled it in, I probably wouldn’t have approached her.”
Her primary requirement was that the person must not be affiliated with any organization.
Xiao Lingshu:”……”