Chapter 24: I Must Get This Mental Damage Compensation
The moonless night sky was pitch black.
On the silent island, bright firelight suddenly ignited, illuminating a patch of the world.
Yun Wuxiang raised his hand and scattered several talismans. The moment they left his hand and flew up, the talisman papers self-ignited into flames. Even after the paper burned out, the flames persisted, guarding Yun Wuxiang’s side like loyal retainers.
In front of him was a blurred figure emitting black smoke from all over.
The scorching flames distorted the air, creating a flowing warm wind that tugged at Yun Wuxiang’s robes, making them sway gently. He pressed his index and middle fingers together and held them upright before his lips: “Cage.”
The crimson-gold flames moved at the command, flying into the black mist like firebirds, condensing into a fire cage that trapped the person.
Yun Wuxiang returned to the island immediately after the Song Yilou in the bronze mirror snitched. Upon arrival, he saw the black mist mentioned by the mirror. In the dim night, the mist appeared even blacker, as if no light could penetrate that darkness—a pure, unadulterated black.
Inside the fire cage, amidst the lingering black mist, a Song Yilou radiating a gloomy and evil aura looked at the bronze mirror. “Damn lucky bastard.”
[Soon-to-be-dead unlucky fool. To die at the Guanzhu’s hand, you can consider it euthanasia.]
Black Mist Song Yilou looked at Yun Wuxiang. “Guanzhu, I have one more sentence to say.”
Yun Wuxiang formed a seal and commanded: “Incinerate.”
The fire cage constricted. Song Yilou inside the black mist turned to flying ash within the firelight, leaving only one final sentence in the air: “Don’t trust that broken mirror!”
After clearing the black mist, Yun Wuxiang sent out another talisman. It transformed into thousands of tiny light cones raining down like dense precipitation, ploughing the entire ground. After hearing the popping sounds of a few tiny insect corpses exploding, he still didn’t stop, ploughing the ground with two more rounds of light cones.
Only then did Yun Wuxiang sweep his gaze over the ground and speak: “No need for you to tell me.”
The one in the bronze mirror claimed to be the “purest” Song Yilou. How could he trust the words of such a thing?
Tapping the bronze mirror with his finger, Yun Wuxiang asked, “Is it clean?”
[No sensation left.]
[There are two others I can’t sense anymore either.]
Yun Wuxiang’s fingers gripping the mirror tightened. “Exactly how many pieces are you?”
[Yesterday there were over ten. Before that one in the black mist died just now, there were eight. Now, I can only sense five and a half remaining.]
Yun Wuxiang: “What’s with the half?”
Since they were fragments, how could there be a 0.5?
[Failed possession, merged with a strange thing to become a semi-finished product. No need for the Guanzhu to act; I will go kill all the others.]
Yun Wuxiang had fallen into silence when he saw “over ten.” After reading the text on the mirror surface, even his killing intent faded. His voice was very calm as he said, “Song Yilou, what will it take for you to die completely?”
[I want to know too. Actually, I didn’t want to live that much before, but I just didn’t want to die at the hands of trash. I hold grudges, Guanzhu. If someone kills me, I want to take revenge.]
[If I had met the Guanzhu earlier, I might have actively asked you to kill me. Now, I want to marry the Guanzhu more. I don’t know whose husband the Guanzhu will become after I die. That won’t do.]
A sea breeze blew, lifting a loose strand of hair by Yun Wuxiang’s ear and drifting it before his eyes.
He raised his hand to tuck the hair behind his ear. His mindset entered a strange tranquility as he responded to Song Yilou’s words: “If you don’t want to die by someone else’s hand, you can still commit suicide.”
[Can’t do that, Guanzhu. I still have an enemy I haven’t killed.]
“Hmm?” Yun Wuxiang was puzzled. “Who has such a tough life?”
With Song Yilou’s ability to cause trouble, someone could survive this long?
[My father from when I was human. I thought he died long ago, but recently I discovered he’s still alive. So I went to visit my mother. She always mentioned that man when she was alive; she must miss him. As a filial child, I decided to send that man down to keep her company.]
Quite the filial son. Yun Wuxiang said, “Sounds like you had an unhappy childhood.”
[Yes, Guanzhu, I was miserable. I didn’t have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear when I was little. When I arrived at the Gu kiln, I was the shortest. So many people laughed at me.]
The aggrieved tone constructed a pitiful image of a lonely, helpless child bullied by others, eliciting sympathy and pity.
Yet Yun Wuxiang’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. He spoke in a tone resembling casual chatter: “How long have those people been dead? You still remember.”
[Over a decade, I guess. I shaved off a section of all their leg bones. Even if they become ghosts, they are shorter than me! Hahaha! Shorties!]
A Song Yilou who seeks revenge for the smallest grievance—that sounded right. A person like Song Yilou didn’t need sympathy from others.
Yun Wuxiang looked up at the sky, which was already brightening slightly, then looked at the stone tablet still emitting black mist. This place was originally a closed, hollow rocky hill covered with vegetation on the outside. Without digging open the hill, one couldn’t discover the stone tablet carved with sealing seals inside.
Under the illumination of the firelight, Yun Wuxiang examined the tablet and roughly recognized that the runes were used for suppression and concealment.
The concealment rune had a chip in it, and the circular suppression rune had also cracked, allowing the black mist to surge out from within.
Yun Wuxiang cut his fingertip, using blood as a medium to patch the gaps in the two runes.
[System, any data on this stone tablet?]
[This is a common sealing array talisman from the Immortal-Demon War tens of thousands of years ago. That black mist is Demon Qi—very pure Demon Qi. There might be a Heaven Demon’s remains suppressed under this tablet.]
[I was wondering how there could be a place in the Mortal Realm suitable for cultivation. This island is a massive seal.]
3339 flipped through its database, feeling like it had been consulting the database a bit too frequently lately.
[Don’t know what breed of Heaven Demon is sealed inside.]
Yun Wuxiang said: [It should be a Phoenix.]
[A Phoenix? Host, how did you know?] 3339 was surprised; its database hadn’t mentioned this.
[Don’t you think the shape of this island looks like a sleeping Phoenix?]
[It really does.]
Yun Wuxiang’s gaze swept over the entire island. Through the soil and shrubs, he seemed to see a gigantic Demonic Phoenix.
Cang Feng (Hidden Wind), Cang Feng (Hidden Phoenix).
Whether a Demonic Phoenix was sealed under the island or not wasn’t Yun Wuxiang’s primary concern right now. After checking the seal and confirming no more Demon Qi was leaking, Yun Wuxiang left the island again, rushing back to Prince Li’s Manor.
He was in a hurry to pick up his disciple.
Traveling at speed, the sky was fully bright by the time he arrived at Prince Li’s Manor.
A crowd gathered in front of Shen Lanqing’s door. There was no rough shouting; although there were many people, only one aged voice was speaking.
“Master Shen, I beg you to save my Prince. Drink this bowl of exorcism medicine, and let us try again.”
Mo Yang blocked Shen Lanqing’s door with his sword, frowning at the bowl of medicinal soup. “What exorcism medicine? I told you, the Yin energy in Shen Lanqing’s body won’t go away in a short time.”
The old steward was relentless. “Just try it. What if it works? The Prince still hasn’t woken up. We have no other way, Master Shen.”
Hearing that Prince Li still hadn’t woken up, Shen Lanqing’s gaze faltered for a moment. Then, he showed hesitation. “Mo Yang, is there really no other way to expel the Yin energy?”
Mo Yang: “Senior Guanzhu said to wait. what method could I have?”
Shen Lanqing’s hesitation vanished instantly. If his master had no way, what use could this broken soup from who-knows-where be?
“True. Old steward, take the medicine away. Those are all deceitful things.”
The old steward was desperate enough to try anything. “If this doesn’t work, there’s chicken blood, glutinous rice, boy’s urine… We have no other choice now. Master Shen, please try more.”
Mo Yang frowned, keeping his face full of righteousness. “What use could those things have? Might as well sunbathe a bit more.”
“Right.” Shen Lanqing looked at the old steward blocking the door. “How about you all make way first, and let me go out to get some sun?”
The old steward was truly anxious. “How long will relying on sunbathing take? I heard open fire and mugwort can also drive away evil…”
Yun Wuxiang landed on the eaves. He heard this sentence as soon as he arrived, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
A fierce gale blew past. The old steward couldn’t stabilize his body in the wind and fell backward. He crashed right into the servants, while some rushed up to support him.
In the chaotic few seconds, the exorcism soup, chicken blood, glutinous rice, and other items were all flipped into the air. Various strange smells mixed together, permeating the air.
“Open fire, mugwort. Are you planning to burn him to death and then feed the meat to Prince Li?”
The gale started and stopped abruptly. Everyone in the courtyard looked left and right but didn’t see the speaker.
Until Mo Yang looked up at the roof and shouted, “Senior.”
The old steward looked up. Two figures stood on the roof, backlit so their faces were unclear. He could only judge from the clothes that one was Shen Lanqing.
The other, in white robes and black overcoat, looked ethereal and otherworldly. A gaze fell from the sky. The old steward’s dim eyes couldn’t see that gaze clearly, but he felt immense pressure hanging over his head.
“I’m taking the person. He will return after the Yin energy is resolved.”
“Mo Yang, continue guarding Prince Li.”
Mo Yang nodded. “Okay.”
The old steward’s vision blurred, and the two people on the roof were gone.
“That person just now was…”
Mo Yang: “The Guanzhu. Don’t you know him? He just sliced off the roof of the Imperial Palace yesterday.”
The old steward trembled. Of course he knew about the Qiankun Hall. With such a huge commotion, everyone in the capital had seen it. Rumors were already spreading that the Heavens were dissatisfied with the old Emperor, causing the roof of the Qiankun Hall to collapse.
Some also said it wasn’t Divine Punishment, but done by a person. He had initially thought the rumor too absurd, but now someone told him it was true?!
The old steward asked, “Does that person have a history with Master Shen?”
“Not sure. Anyway, I feel they are quite familiar.”
Mo Yang said this deliberately. He was just a bit straightforward, not a fool who couldn’t understand human speech. The old man’s attempt to use a bunch of messy things on Shen Lanqing just now made him uncomfortable.
Hearing this, the old steward rolled his eyes and fainted directly. The servants hurriedly supported him.
“Steward!”
“Steward, the Prince woke up… Steward!”
Mo Yang rubbed his nose, feeling slightly guilty. Why did this old man faint so easily?
…
Leaving aside the aftermath at Prince Li’s Manor, Shen Lanqing was now like a bird set free, emitting a joyful sense of freedom even from his hair strands.
“Guanzhu, where are we going?”
Yun Wuxiang: “Call me Master.”
Shen Lanqing hesitated, asking cautiously, “Can I… now?” No need to hide the master-disciple relationship?
Yun Wuxiang nodded. “The Yin energy on you requires a cultivation method to suppress. Once you learn the method, you are my disciple.”
As a teacher, I have already found the excuse. No problem.
Shen Lanqing understood the meaning of this sentence, and his eyes lit up. “I can learn cultivation methods?!”
He strode quickly to Yun Wuxiang, faced him, and knelt directly to kowtow three times. “Master is above, please accept this disciple’s bow!”
“Master, when can I learn the cultivation method?”
“Return to the island with me first.” After speaking, Yun Wuxiang’s expression shifted slightly, and his steps paused for a second.
Shen Lanqing took a step and found himself walking in front of Yun Wuxiang. He turned back in confusion. “Master?”
Yun Wuxiang patted the restless bronze mirror through his sleeve. “Nothing.”
[Host, you want to take the Protagonist Shou to the island now?]
[Mhm. I need to calm his Yin energy before the next plot point starts. I can only use cultivation methods.]
[But the Protagonist Shou shouldn’t go to the island this early.]
[In the plot, I shouldn’t have appeared this early either. Prince Li’s Manor shouldn’t have had a Daoist visit. Prince Xuan shouldn’t have been hit with a Love Gu and fallen for a Mirror Demon. There shouldn’t be ghosts at the Spring Banquet. And a Song Yilou shouldn’t have drifted onto my island before the plot started.]
There were so many holes in the plot that Yun Wuxiang didn’t even need to bother hiding his selfishness. Others’ movements were far bigger than his; mixing his own in wasn’t conspicuous at all.
[If I don’t hurry to stabilize Shen Lanqing’s constitution, I’m afraid I can’t even guarantee the next plot point.]
3339 fell silent. This wasn’t wrong. Actually, the plot had long been messed up by a group of intruders; now it was just barely maintaining a superficial resemblance.
[Host… do you need me to apply for a Spirit Subsidy for you? Your current mission load has exceeded the original, and due to Song Yilou, I feel your application for mental damage compensation has a high probability of being approved.]
3339 genuinely believed its Host should receive a subsidy!
Spirit Subsidy—such a thing existed?
Yun Wuxiang asked: [How many energy points is the Spirit Subsidy?]
3339: [This depends on the Main System’s judgment. Hosts who are harassed by characters like perverted killers or gloomy psychopaths from the original work during missions will receive a large sum of mental compensation. This is also one of the motivations for some Hosts to deal with perverts under immense pressure.]
[However, out of humanitarian care, we pay more attention to the Host’s mental health than the mission. We do not recommend Hosts force themselves to undertake such tasks for energy points.]
[Unless the Host strongly requests it themselves or… is unlucky like us to encounter it midway and doesn’t have spare energy points to abandon the mission and pay the penalty.] 3339 hugged its poor self at the end.
Yun Wuxiang asked: [System, do you think Song Yilou fits this standard?]
[Absolutely fits! He wants to turn the Host into a Gu! Such coercive behavior violating personal will and wishes causes huge psychological trauma to the Host.] 3339 said with conviction.
Yun Wuxiang: Although he didn’t feel he had any psychological trauma, for energy points, he could have some.
[Mhm, those bugs of his…]
Actually, most of them looked quite pretty, considered good-looking among insects. Song Yilou did have some aesthetic sense; it was just that he wasn’t very interested in insect-like things.
Just as Yun Wuxiang planned to change the reason, he heard 3339 excitedly say: [Right! He’s also covered in bugs! Too scary!]
[Exactly.]
[He also wants to marry the Host! He’s already a ghost; he wants a ghost marriage!]
[Correct.]
[He’s despicable, actually lusting after the Host’s body!]
Yun Wuxiang pressed down on the restless bronze mirror in his sleeve again. Recalling someone licking his ankle, he felt faintly irritable.
[Go apply. I must get this mental damage compensation.]
[Okay, Host! I will definitely help you get this compensation money!] 3339 ran to fill out the application form, full of motivation.
Yun Wuxiang brought Shen Lanqing to Cang Feng Island, placed him in the Daoist temple, and let him choose a room to tidy up first.
While Shen Lanqing was organizing his room, Yun Wuxiang took out the bronze mirror. The surface changed from bronze to blood red. Looking closely, it wasn’t a pure red; rather, the mirror surface was covered with densely packed words, all repeating “Guanzhu.”
Yun Wuxiang shook the mirror surface, then said, “What are you doing?”
[Guanzhu, you took him as a disciple! But not me!!!]
[Why? Where am I worse than him?]
Yun Wuxiang said calmly, “The difference is that if his head is chopped off, he will die. You won’t.”
[…]
[Guanzhu, your standard is wrong. what use is taking a disciple who dies easily?]
Yun Wuxiang: “I’m happy to. At least he is a human.”
Non-human species can roll aside.
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