Chapter 173: The Yaksha Ghost Card

Behind Lu Feng, Guo Yanzhi supported Zhong Jianguo as they walked upstairs, Zhong Jianguo's hands bound by a rope.

Xia Yubing hastily pushed Lu Feng aside, ran over to support Zhong Jianguo's other arm, and said, "Why haven't you untied my master's rope..." As she spoke, she reached out to untie the rope bound around Zhong Jianguo's hands.

"Don't... don't untie it, Little Bug, how is your injury?" Zhong Jianguo hurriedly pressed down on Xia Yubing's hand. He felt a bit dizzy at the moment, but he still retained his reason.

Xia Yubing immediately guessed why Zhong Jianguo did not want the rope untied. Hearing him ask this, she hurriedly shook her head and said, "I'm fine, just superficial scratches."

"I can tell from your complexion that it's not a minor injury. Go and rest quickly, I'm fine," Zhong Jianguo said.

"I'm fine too," Xia Yubing shook her head and said.

...

Back inside the room, Lu Feng pulled over a chair for Zhong Jianguo to sit down.

Xia Yubing hurriedly asked, "Hasn't he been cured yet?"

"I used silver needles to stabilize Uncle Zhong's mind and spirit, so he is able to remain temporarily lucid. To completely break the spell, we need to find another way," Lu Feng explained.

"Then think of a way quickly."

"Don't be anxious, sit down first. Standing up makes it easy for your brain to become oxygen-deprived," Lu Feng said, pressing Xia Yubing down onto the sofa.

Zhong Jianguo's head grew increasingly heavy and muddled. He shook his head hard and said, "Lu Feng, if any unexpected situation occurs, subdue me first. It doesn't matter if you hit a bit harder."

"I know what to do," Lu Feng nodded in agreement, then looked at Guo Yanzhi, "Bring the rope over and tie Uncle Zhong's hands and feet to the chair first."

"Lu Feng..." Xia Yubing felt somewhat worried and reached out to tug at Lu Feng's hand.

"Rest assured, it'll be fine. It's just a precaution," Lu Feng comforted her.

...

After Zhong Jianguo's hands and feet were securely tied, Lu Feng began attempting to break the soul-capturing spell upon him.

Lu Feng first took off Zhong Jianguo's upper garments, revealing numerous deep and shallow scars on his body.

Zhong Jianguo had been a soldier, formerly a special operations soldier in an overseas secret unit. These scars on his body must have been left behind during his service.

There were still three silver needles piercing the top of his head and the back of his neck. Lu Feng was going to use these three silver needles as a foundation to continue needling, attempting to break the soul-capturing spell afflicting him.

Using the Dao of medicine to vanquish evil and malevolent forces was an extremely difficult task.

Following the records of the Spirit-Preserving Needle technique, Lu Feng began the acupuncture. He continued the needling from the Fengfu point at the back of Zhong Jianguo's neck, following the twelve primary meridians, and inserted seven needles in succession down his spine.

Immediately following that, another seven needles extended from his shoulders to his elbows, making a total of fourteen needles across both shoulders.

Finally, the Spirit-Preserving Needle points were applied to Fengmen and Feishu on the back.

A total of twenty-eight needles covered Zhong Jianguo's back and shoulders, faintly forming a pattern resembling a talismanic script.

After completing the entire set of Spirit-Preserving Needles, Lu Feng lit a moxa stick and placed it atop the silver needle at the Baihui point on the top of his head.

The heat generated by the burning moxa stick slowly permeated through the silver needle and into Zhong Jianguo's body.

Apart from being used as medicine to treat illnesses, mugwort also possessed the efficacy of warding off evil spirits. The elders in the village often hung mugwort on their porches to ward off evil and expel impurities.

Among the eight major anti-evil plants, peach wood ranked first, and mugwort ranked third.

When the needling began, Zhong Jianguo had kept his eyes closed the entire time. After the moxa stick was lit atop his head, his body began to tremble.

Xia Yubing had been watching Zhong Jianguo the whole time. Seeing his body begin to shake, she hurriedly asked, "My master is shaking, Lu Feng... what is happening?"

Lu Feng pressed down on her hand to keep her from moving wildly and explained, "This is expelling malevolence. Mugwort has the power to drive away evil and impurities. The reason Uncle Zhong went mad and injured people is because a malevolent force has possessed his body. Once the moxa stick finishes burning, it should be just about over."

Zhong Jianguo's body shook more and more violently, and finally, he opened his mouth and let out a groan.

Lu Feng hurriedly gestured to call Guo Yanzhi over and said, "Open the windows, light a few moxa sticks, and smoke the room."

Guo Yanzhi acknowledged the order and ran off to do the work.

...

After Zhong Jianguo stabilized, Lu Feng pulled out the silver needles from his body one by one.

When the final silver needle at the Baihui point was withdrawn, Lu Feng bent down, looked directly into his face, and called out, "Uncle Zhong, you can wake up now. How do you feel?"

Xia Yubing also anxiously crowded close, staring at Zhong Jianguo's face.

Zhong Jianguo slowly opened his eyes, shook his head, and said, "I feel pretty good, my head isn't nearly as dizzy either... Wait... no! Something's not right..."

As he spoke, Zhong Jianguo's brow began to furrow tightly. His head tilted sideways as if something was burrowing into his brain.

"What is happening?" Xia Yubing asked anxiously.

Lu Feng frowned and stared at the changes in Zhong Jianguo.

"Ugh... no... something is fighting for my body! Oh no! Quick! Shoot me!" Zhong Jianguo ended up roaring hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot and terrifyingly crimson. His hands began to struggle, but being bound, he couldn't move. In the end, he leaped up along with the chair and opened his mouth to bite Lu Feng.

Lu Feng hurriedly took a step back to dodge, pointed at Zhong Jianguo, and shouted loudly, "Quick! Hold him down!"

Guo Yanzhi had just been burning mugwort to smoke the room; hearing the sound, he rushed over to help and joined Xia Yubing in pinning Zhong Jianguo down.

Lu Feng pulled out a silver needle and stabbed it straight into the Baihui point on the top of Zhong Jianguo's head.

The moment the needle pierced in, Zhong Jianguo instantly went still and passed out.

"How could this happen?" Seeing Zhong Jianguo in this state, Xia Yubing's tears burst forth.

Thinking as he spoke, Lu Feng said, "After the acupuncture just now, he had indeed improved, but then he suddenly went mad again... There must be something carrying malevolence on his body! Quick, find it!"

The three of them hurriedly searched through Zhong Jianguo's person and finally found a wooden plaque inside his clothes.

Xia Yubing reached out wanting to pick it up for a closer look, but Lu Feng hastily stopped her, "Don't touch it!" Then he found a piece of paper, wrapped the wooden plaque in it, and picked it up to examine it.

"What is this?" Guo Yanzhi pushed up his glasses and leaned in to look closely.

"A ghost plaque."

"What is carved on it?" Guo Yanzhi was particularly interested in such mysterious objects.

"A Yaksha." Upon seeing this wooden plaque, Lu Feng immediately understood what was going on. "This wooden plaque is called a ghost plaque. It is carved from locust wood, and the design depicts a Yaksha."

The Yaksha pattern carved onto the wooden plaque was extremely detailed. One could clearly discern a fierce and hideous ghost, holding a serpent spear nearly eighteen feet long in one hand and a ghost-faced shield in the other, wearing armor and floating in mid-air—extremely ferocious and terrifying.

Guo Yanzhi took out his phone and snapped a photo of the wooden plaque.

"Now is not the time to study this, think of a way to save my master quickly!" Xia Yubing said somewhat angrily, seeing the two of them staring at the wooden plaque in study.

Lu Feng looked at Xia Yubing, smiled, and said, "Rest assured, once we found this ghost plaque, everything will be fine. Burn it with moxa, and Uncle Zhong will wake up."

"Then hurry up and burn it!" Xia Yubing said as she fetched a basin, crumbled several moxa sticks into loose mugwort floss, and placed it inside the basin.

Lu Feng placed the ghost plaque into the basin and then ignited the moxa floss.

The flame flared up, igniting the wooden plaque, and the color of the flame slowly shifted from fiery red to a deep, murky green.

Within the murky green flames, one could faintly perceive a Yaksha-like ghost struggling and roaring.