The Swallowing Tongue Lantern

A woman who holds the lives of everyone within a five-mile radius in her hands is telling you a story. Would you listen? At that moment, I was nodding eagerly like a grandson, thinking, This is an opportunity! Once I figure out why you're still lingering in the mortal world, I, this old Chinese doctor, will have a chance to prescribe the right cure.

She spoke to me in a dreamy, almost murmuring tone as she began her story.

She had been a student at this university, back in the summer of 1996. She had fallen hopelessly in love with a male classmate, but he already had a girlfriend—who happened to be her roommate. But she didn't care. She seduced the man, and after they slept together, she managed to get him to break up with his girlfriend. However, the man deeply regretted it afterward and distanced himself from her. This angered her, so she decided to get her revenge. During a dinner party, she got the girlfriend drunk, pretended to escort her home, and then dumped her on the street, leaving her to walk away.

That woman ended up in a car accident and was left paralyzed for life. She had hoped that this would bring the man back to her, but instead, when she confronted him, he publicly scolded her and told her never to contact him again.

Feeling like her life had no meaning anymore, she jumped from the seventh-floor classroom on her birthday.

As she finished her story, I couldn't help but feel cold sweat forming on my back. How eerie. Logically, you got what you deserved. You tore apart a good couple, and now you're still acting all self-righteous about it?

Women are terrifying creatures. This lady here? She was a mess—destroying people's lives both in life and death. If it weren't for her sheer power, I would've already sent her on her way with a talisman.

But then again, what was the point of arguing about the past? She was already dead, and those two workers were long gone. It wouldn't bring them back. The right thing to do now was to convince her to move on, to find peace in the afterlife.

Standing there, facing her for so long, my legs couldn't stop trembling. It had taken a while, but I was finally starting to get used to the sensation. I forced a smile, trying to appear friendly and approachable. But looking back, it probably just made me look like a sycophant.

I opened my mouth, "Umm… Sister, you see, the person you liked is probably long gone from this school. And those two workers—they were innocent. You've already passed away… this building is about to be demolished… there's nothing here for you anymore. You should... you should head to the underworld, get reincarnated. Find a good man in your next life."

Once I finished, I watched her closely. Clearly, my words had hit a nerve. She started to tremble and mumbled, "Man... I'm dead... man..."

She repeated those words over and over. That's when I began to realize something wasn't right. The temperature around me plummeted, and I felt my breath freezing in the air. My nose hairs even felt like they were sticking together. She kept murmuring, but then I saw something that nearly made me wet myself.

The hem of her yellow dress—her robe—was slowly darkening, right before my eyes. I wasn't sure what I had said wrong, but I knew this was a bad omen.

It was turning blue.

Oh shit!!!

They say that in a crisis, a person can tap into hidden potential. My mind raced, and the only thing I could think of was that if her entire outfit turned blue, I'd be the one going to the underworld first—along with the students in this school.

In a moment of panic, I dashed forward, taking out the "Jia Wu Yu Qing Breaking Evil Talisman" and pressed it against her forehead. But I was so nervous I forgot to shout the crucial "Ji Ji Ru Lü Ling!" My talisman stuck to her forehead, but nothing happened. That's when I realized my mistake.

I quickly raised my hand again, forming the sword gesture, and shouted, "Ji Ji Ru Lü Ling!!"

That's when it all went wrong. She suddenly screamed, "Why should I die? Why not those men?!"

A rush of intense negative energy struck me, slamming into my chest with full force. It was like being hit by a racing car at seventy miles an hour. It knocked the breath out of me, and I flew backward, crashing into the wall. If this were a TV show, I would've spit out blood by now, but in reality, I was just in excruciating pain. The biggest pain came from the back of my head, where I had hit the wall hard.

I was dazed, my head buzzing. In the chaos, I saw that the woman was tearing the talisman off her forehead and was coming straight at me.

Shit, was I destined to die today? No way! I couldn't die!

Ignoring the pain in my head, I grabbed the "Jia Zi Wen Qing Soothing Spirit Talisman" from my jacket pocket and shouted, "Ji Ji Ru Lü Ling!!"

Thank god, this talisman worked. Her hands stopped just twenty centimeters from my head. I could clearly see her hands, which were much longer than mine—her nails like the claws of a monster.

But the worst part was that the talisman only slowed her down. She hesitated for a moment, but then she charged at me again. I had no choice but to make a run for it.

I rolled like a lazy donkey and scrambled toward the door. I didn't hesitate. If I didn't run now, I'd be dead.

I sprinted down the stairs, feeling my legs shaking and the pain in my head. Thoughts raced through my mind: Shit! Negotiation has failed. I can't defeat her in direct combat. If I want to survive, I'll need to play it smart.

I reached the third floor and found an empty classroom. I quickly shut the door behind me and hid in the back, gasping for breath. It was winter, but I was sweating from the fear. This was real life, not a movie. I had no idea how I was going to get out of this alive.

But hiding wasn't enough. I knew she would find me eventually. So I began thinking back to what Master Jiu had said about the extreme Yin and extreme evil.

The lady hadn't reached the point of extreme Yin and extreme evil yet, which was the only thing that gave me hope. I remembered reading something about it. She was probably somewhere between the two, a half Yin, half evil spirit. That was highly irregular. But there was no time to wonder about the details. I had to come up with a plan.

I looked at the remaining talismans. These were my bargaining chips in this battle. I'd already wasted a "Jia Wu Yu Qing Breaking Evil Talisman," and used two others, leaving me with only four.

I cursed under my breath. If only I hadn't wasted so much time in college... If I had practiced the Three Pure Books more, I would've had dozens of talismans by now. But I didn't have time to dwell on that now.

I glanced at the remaining four talismans, and suddenly, I had the urge to slap myself.

No, I couldn't confront her head-on. That would be suicide. I had to get creative. My mind flashed back to a simple array in the Three Pure Books. I wasn't skilled enough to perform a proper formation, but I could adapt it.

The Swallowing Tongue Lantern Array came to mind. The array was based on the Palace Star, with three specific talismans forming a shape that resembled a mouth. Demons and evil spirits caught within it would be trapped like prey in a tongue. But I didn't have the necessary skills to create a full formation.

Still, I could adapt. I quickly placed three talismans in specific positions around the classroom, and clutching the final one—"Ding Yi Ju Qing Protecting Talisman"—I positioned myself by the door.

I had just finished setting everything up when I heard her voice again, closer this time.