Chapter 140: Great God

Chapter 140: The Great Deity

The man's words caught the two women off guard; his own wife had been reduced to such a state, yet he had no intention of curing her?

Holding her drum, Bai Lingmiao pondered for a moment before advising with a hint of hesitation, "Master, if she has truly been possessed, it must be treated. The agony of possession is unbearable and life-threatening. How about this—I won't even charge a fee."

Hearing this, Zhao Qin's brows knitted sharply, and he set the tea saucer in his hand down on the nearby table with a deliberate, moderate clink. "Chengxing, show them out."

Wang Chengxing, who had been waiting to the side, took a long stride to block the path between his master and the two women, a faint smile playing on his lips as he said, "It's not safe for young ladies to walk the night roads. Allow me to escort you both home. Where do you reside?"

Seeing that the other party had blocked their words so absolutely, Chun Xiaoman sighed softly, ceased to press the matter, and pulled Bai Lingmiao's hand to walk out of the room.

"Ahhh~~!" A miserable woman's scream startled everyone present, casting an even darker shadow of gloom over Zhao Qin's face.

Hearing the agony in that voice, Bai Lingmiao truly couldn't bear it; she turned around to look at Zhao Qin, who was still sitting upright.

"Master Zhao, let me try. I promise that even if I cannot cure her, I won't cause the slightest harm. The immortals are not unreasonable people."

Chun Xiaoman nodded from the side and began to chime in. "Since all other methods have been tried, what's wrong with trying ours? What if it works?"

Speaking of this, she seemed to remember something, and her face suddenly turned deeply sorrowful. "Or do you simply not treat her as—"

Before she could finish, "Bang!" The lacquered table was instantly shattered into pieces by Zhao Qin's fist.

His eyes bulged, and he stood up like an enraged lion, an overwhelming aura instantly sweeping over them.

"I never lay hands on women, but if you continue to speak insolently, do not blame me for being impolite!"

"Hehe..." A light chuckle drifted in from the pitch-black outside, instantly disrupting the tense atmosphere inside.

"Who's there! Form the array!" At Zhao Qin's low shout, heads swarmed at the side doors on both sides.

Dozens of men dressed in short martial attire swarmed forward, wielding various weapons.

Shields in the front, spears in the back, moving with perfect tacit understanding.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a blood-red embroidered shoe stepped out from the darkness and into the candlelight.

Behind the shoe, closely following, was a bride covered with a large red veil.

This bizarre scene made everyone's expressions change; one look told them something was terribly wrong.

Since they were escorting goods and traveling year-round, the escort guards inevitably encountered some eerie matters, but they also had their own ways to deal with them.

"String the ink line! Bring the black dogs!"

Accompanied by a tearing sound, the cotton thread soaked in black ink quickly formed a large net, sealing off the path ahead.

Several whining black dogs were also dragged into the crowd and held in readiness.

"Wait, wait, you've misunderstood." An anxious Bai Lingmiao spoke as she passed through the ink net, pulling the Second Deity toward the room.

As Bai Lingmiao approached, the escort guards raised their weapons and retreated in unison.

"She is... she is my sister, she means no harm." Bai Lingmiao tried hard to explain, but to little effect.

Just then, an escort guard with a pair of mustaches leaned over and whispered something into Zhao Qin's ear.

"Master... spirit dancing..."

Hearing his disciple's words, Zhao Qin's expression began to change.

Sensing the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere around her, Bai Lingmiao sighed helplessly. "Sister Xiaoman, maybe we should just go back."

She was truly afraid of making things worse with good intentions. If a fight broke out, Bai Lingmiao wasn't afraid of getting hurt herself; she just feared that if Senior Brother Li got dragged into it, the trouble would be immense.

Senior Brother Li already had enough trouble; she didn't want to cause him more because of her own affairs.

In such a situation, how could Xiaoman care about her own minor feelings? She stepped out of the ink net, preparing to lead Bai Lingmiao out of the escort agency.

"Two young ladies!! Please stay!" Zhao Qin seemed to have completely transformed into a different person, stepping forward with a sincere attitude.

"I beg you to lend a hand with my wife's condition. As long as she can recover, name any condition you wish!"

"This..." The two exchanged a glance, both feeling quite astonished as to why the other party's attitude had changed so drastically.

"Well, in that case—" Just as Bai Lingmiao began to speak, Xiaoman suddenly stepped forward. "We need to go back and discuss it with my other martial brothers."

The other party's different reaction made Xiaoman feel that it was better to put a lock on it first.

Two incense sticks later, when the two, accompanied by all their martial brothers, were invited into the escort agency again, the treatment was obviously different from before.

The entire escort agency was brightly lit, and all the escort apprentices stood perfectly straight, welcoming the two.

Zhao Qin led them along the corridor toward the room. While guiding the way, he turned his body slightly and said, "Young lady, you were right. Some things indeed need to be tried; how can you know if you don't try?"

Bai Lingmiao, looking somewhat nervous, smiled and nodded.

Part of her nervousness was naturally due to the escort agency's overreaction, and the other part was because this was her first time doing exorcism.

Moreover, now that the other party had such an attitude, if she couldn't cure her, wouldn't it be very awkward?

The escort agency was not large; a small, independent room to the left of the previous martial arts practice ground was where Zhao Qin's wife was kept.

With a "creak," the door opened, and low, mournful sobbing came from the pitch-black room.

An escort guard nearby thrust the lantern in his hand inward, and the scene inside was instantly presented before everyone's eyes.

The room was not large, and the floor and walls were covered with thick dry grass; it looked relatively clean, surely swept often.

A ragged, filthy old woman with whitening hair, her feet burdened by rusty thick iron chains, paced back and forth in the room, crying and completely ignoring everyone's gaze.

"My wife has been like this for thirty years; I am truly at my wits' end." A trace of pain flashed across Zhao Qin's face as he said this.

"Rest assured, Master Zhao, I will do my utmost."

Somewhat nervous, Bai Lingmiao glanced at the woman covered in the red veil behind her, took a deep breath, and walked to her side.

She reached out, grabbed the woman's red veil, and gently lifted it.

To the disappointment of the men who were curious about what was under the red veil, there was actually another red veil embroidered with mandarin ducks underneath.

Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips, took a deep breath, placed the red veil in her hand onto her own head, and then handed the drum in her hand to the other woman.

Xiaoman to the side used her sword to push the others around her back a bit. "Spread out a little more."

Sensing the change in atmosphere, everyone in the escort agency held their breath, not daring to breathe heavily.

Black fingernails gently tapped the drum surface. A sharp, even somewhat piercing, female voice came from under the red veil. "Inviting~ the~ deity~~"

(End of Chapter)