Volume One: The Soul-Guiding Gourd and the Flame of the Spirit Chapter 33: Possession

Page 1 of 3

Ah—

A heart-wrenching scream tore through the stillness of the night...

Stranger still, an eerie green light suddenly flared from the black bundle on the counter.

Gu Mo swallowed hard and, with a sudden leap, rushed forward. As soon as the black bundle was unwrapped, a flickering green glow met his eyes.

Seeing this, Gu Mo drew in a sharp breath. The green light was clearly no ordinary thing, and the source of it was none other than the ancient lamp known as the "Soul-Burning Lantern."

Fortunately, the lamp was sitting upright; the green ghostly flame had only burned a large hole through the bundle. Otherwise, that flickering fire might have consumed everything within.

"Lord Yama!" Gu Mo turned and called out, prompting Lord Yama, Jiang Jingxue, to frown and say, "There must be a resentful spirit with a heavy grudge nearby!"

At this, Xiao Yulou also nodded, his brow furrowed in concern.

Hearing their words, Gu Mo shuddered, bewildered. Pointing at the spontaneously ignited Soul-Burning Lantern atop the counter, he asked, "What on earth is this thing? Why did it suddenly flare up like that?"

Jiang Jingxue's delicate brows drew together as she sighed. "This is a divine artifact of the underworld, the 'Soul-Burning Lantern.' According to ancient texts, it can detect nearby spirits. The more powerful the spirit, the fiercer the flame!"

Gu Mo, oddly nonchalant, merely shrugged and feigned indifference. He picked up the empty teapot nearby and prepared to boil water for tea.

Seated cross-legged, Xiao Yulou looked on in confusion. "Brother Gu, how can you remain so calm?"

Gu Mo forced a bitter smile at the two before him. "If it doesn't concern me, I keep my hands off!"

He added, still smiling wanly, "Ever since I returned from out of town, I haven't had a single peaceful day. Why would I go looking for trouble with vengeful spirits out of sheer boredom?"

The innocent Lord Yama blinked and asked naively, "What does that mean?"

Before Gu Mo could answer, Xiao Yulou's face darkened. With a single gesture, the teapot lifted into the air of its own accord.

The teapot floated over to the teacup, and steaming hot tea poured forth. Seeing this, goosebumps erupted all over Gu Mo's body.

The sensation was unmistakable. The teapot had been empty—so how was it suddenly pouring hot, fragrant tea? Even Newton would have been unable to rest easy in his grave!

Gu Mo stared at Xiao Yulou in terror. "What did you just do?"

Xiao Yulou’s smile was mysterious and unsettling. "Before my memory loss, I had mastered the art of Qi cultivation. Moving objects without touching them is nothing worth mentioning!"

Gu Mo rolled his eyes at him, his face twisted in disbelief. "You’re unbelievable. This must be some old parlor trick. Maybe you’ve got a thermos hidden in your sleeve."

With that, he opened the teapot. It was still empty—yet piping hot tea continued to spill from the spout.

This was truly uncanny.

Stunned by the eerie spectacle, Gu Mo abruptly ran over and began searching Xiao Yulou’s black Daoist robes. But after a moment of patting him down, he found only a bony arm—nothing hidden at all.

Xiao Yulou’s enigmatic smile grew even more mysterious. With a flourish, he produced several yellow talismans and a palm-sized compass out of thin air.

Seeing this, Gu Mo’s worldview, established since childhood, shattered in an instant.

What the hell? What kind of world is this? Is this really the world I know?

Xiao Yulou handed the items to Gu Mo, then with a flick of his sleeve, stood up serenely.

His rich, magnetic—though faintly roguish—voice rang out again. "Lord Yama, I ask you to come with me to my shop."

Jiang Jingxue nodded solemnly and followed Xiao Yulou outside. Before leaving, the innocent Lord Yama also picked up the black bundle from the counter.

Page 2 of 3

Gu Mo was left utterly bewildered. "Hey, you ragged Daoist! Where are you taking my wife?"

Yet this sudden, honeyed acknowledgment didn't make the innocent Lord Yama pause. Xiao Yulou, dressed in his black robes, continued walking without a backward glance.

"Brother Gu, there's a pair of scissors and a red string under your counter. You can’t learn to swim by standing on the shore!"

With that, he strode away without looking back.

A chilly breeze drifted in, leaving Gu Mo standing frozen, stunned like a statue.

What the hell is that ragged Daoist up to now?

Feeling parched, Gu Mo sat down behind the counter and stared blankly at the cup of hot tea.

What is going on here? Why did they take the innocent Lord Yama with them for no reason?

He sighed as he gazed at the empty doorway. "Sigh... Even the front door's gone. I’d better just mind the shop."

With a wry smile, Gu Mo straightened his Daoist robe and pulled out his phone to scroll through funny videos.

Before he knew it, drowsiness overcame him, his eyelids drooping. He glanced at the compass on the table, then slumped over the counter and drifted off to sleep...

Crack—crack—crack!

After a long while, the racket woke Gu Mo completely.

He jerked upright and looked toward the source of the noise. A kid in a school uniform was standing at a shelf, up to something.

Looking closely, the kid was over 1.7 meters tall, with a thick mane of red hair covering his neck and ears. His uniform was caked in dirt and looked filthy.

Gu Mo rubbed his bleary eyes. The four large characters on the back of the uniform made him pause: Beihuang No. 1 High School!

Wait, that's my alma mater. Is this kid a junior from my old school?

But what is he doing in a candle shop? Stealing?

Shaking his head in confusion, Gu Mo thought, What kind of thief or brat would steal from a candle shop?

Now fully awake, Gu Mo glanced at the counter. His phone was untouched, but the compass’s needle was locked directly on the kid.

While Gu Mo pondered this, the kid turned around.

Beneath the red hair was an ashen, corpse-like face, devoid of color. The eyes were hollow voids, no black pupils to be found.

Sharp, sinister teeth tore into the two white funeral candles in his hands, chomping away—the kid was nearly finished eating them.

Gu Mo suddenly understood: this was the resentful spirit the innocent Lord Yama had mentioned!

The terrifying child glanced at Gu Mo, then turned back to continue gnawing on the candles.

When the child turned, Gu Mo noticed that he was standing on tiptoe, obviously possessed by a ghost!

Damn, I must be out of my mind, sleeping so soundly with a ghost right in my shop!

Remembering his grandfather's ghost stories, Gu Mo reached under the counter for the red string and scissors. The tale went that if you wrapped red string around the finger of someone possessed and stabbed scissors into their chest, the spirit would be driven out.

But...

Only someone with extremely strong yang energy could do this—someone with an exceptionally "hard" fate.

At the thought, Gu Mo tensed up. The words "extreme yin fate" flashed through his mind.

He scowled and cursed Xiao Yulou inwardly. That damn Daoist must have planned this from the start—why else would he take the innocent Lord Yama and all the underworld artifacts, leaving me to deal with this?

As this storm of thoughts raged, Gu Mo’s scheming side emerged.

If this spirit wants to eat, I’ll make sure it gets its fill. Maybe if it's satisfied, it’ll leave on its own.

With that, Gu Mo plucked a string of paper ingots from the shelf and gently tapped the possessed kid.

In a flash, the kid’s body stayed still but his head spun 180 degrees to face Gu Mo.

A jolt of terror shot through him. That kind of move would have snapped an ordinary neck!

Page 3 of 3

The waxen-faced child stared at Gu Mo, then snatched the string of paper ingots from his hand.

A moment later, the sounds of crunching and chewing filled the air. In the blink of an eye, the string of paper offerings was devoured, stuffed down the kid’s throat.

Gu Mo’s eyes widened, round as saucers, and a shadowy figure outside the shop startled him further.

But there was no turning back now. Gu Mo grabbed a handful of sandalwood incense and offered it to the possessed child.

The kid accepted without hesitation, crunching and munching away, his belly swelling under the school uniform.

Over the next few minutes, Gu Mo fed the child several red and white candles, until the spirit finally calmed down.

Then, a series of hysterical, ghastly laughs echoed in Gu Mo’s ears.

"Hehehe..."

The eerie laughter made Gu Mo’s hair stand on end, but after all his supernatural encounters, he was less afraid than before.

Relying on the strategy of meeting all changes with calm, Gu Mo steadied himself and watched the child giggle in place.

After laughing for a few minutes, the possessed child seemed to tire of it and stopped, fixing Gu Mo with a dead stare.

Gu Mo, his expression unchanged, cleared his throat and spoke. "Emmm... Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Why linger in the realm of the living, spirit?"

The spirit possessing the child sneered coldly. "Linger among the living? I was a lonely, wandering ghost to begin with—no one ever made offerings to me. Just now, that brat even pissed on my grave. If it were you... could you stand it?"

Gu Mo sighed, realizing the kid had really crossed a line, not even picking a proper place to relieve himself.

He cleared his throat again, looked the spirit in the eyes, and said, "He was wrong, no doubt. But he’s just a child..."

The spirit retorted with a chilling sneer, "A child? Does being a child excuse rudeness? And I’m supposed to just take that?"

Gu Mo was left speechless. Still, it was the middle of the night, and a ghost had broken into his shop—he had to resolve this somehow.

So he humbled himself and tried to negotiate with the spirit. "Er... In that case, could you do me a favor and spare the kid? I’ll make sure he offers you proper respects afterward."

But the spirit had no intention of giving Gu Mo any face.

"And who are you? Why should I do you any favors? ...Besides, I’m already full. Once I kill this little brat, I can take over his body and return to the world!"

Hearing this, Gu Mo was stunned. If the spirit really killed the child, he’d be a suspect no matter what—he’d never be able to clear his name!

Visions of being arrested, thrown in jail, massaging the shoulders of some prison boss, and losing his own dignity flashed through Gu Mo’s mind.

Suddenly, the possessed child let out a sinister laugh and began choking himself, his pallid face turning crimson as the hollow eyes bulged, ready to pop out.

Gu Mo quickly wrapped the red string around the child’s hand.

With a swish, the child lashed out, kicking Gu Mo in the stomach and sending him flying.

With a dull thud, Gu Mo crashed into the shelf, altar offerings raining down on his head.

"Ugh... ugh..."

The child, suffocating, saw his face swell with blue veins standing out.

Gu Mo leapt to his feet, snatched the yellow talismans from the counter, and rushed at the child.

The spirit dodged nimbly, sending Gu Mo sprawling to the floor, eating a mouthful of dust—his talismans shredded to pieces.

Seeing the child’s suffering, Gu Mo steeled himself and prayed.

"Soul-Binding Cord!"

With a shout, a crisp metallic jingle rang out. A flash of cold light shot from Gu Mo’s chest as the icy Soul-Binding Cord flew out and bound the wandering spirit tight.

The spirit let out a soul-piercing wail.

Ah—

The shriek made Gu Mo tense up, goosebumps breaking out all over him once more.

Not daring to hesitate, Gu Mo seized the opportunity, gripping the Soul-Binding Cord with both hands and pulling hard.

With a swoosh, two translucent souls were yanked free by the cord.

At the critical moment, the child’s body collapsed to the ground.

Seeing this, Gu Mo was left at a loss...