Thinking of this, Xie Zhaofan suddenly pulled a deep yellow talisman from her sleeve.
“Sister, look at this.”
Xie Jinyi was slightly taken aback. “What is this?”
“An exorcism talisman I got from the City God Temple when I went out yesterday.”
Xie Zhaofan handed the talisman over, her expression quite serious.
“I thought that since things have come to this, we couldn’t just let Xiangling keep suffering. So, I went to find a Daoist who claimed he could exorcise evil. I’m not sure if it’ll work, though.”
Xie Jinyi took the talisman and examined it closely for a moment. Although she had traveled the world with her master for many years and had encountered some occult arts, she hadn’t deeply researched anything truly involving exorcism or suppressing evil auras. Therefore, she couldn’t judge whether this talisman was genuine or fake for the time being.
She looked up at Xie Zhaofan, the anger in her heart having dissipated quite a bit without her realizing it.
At the very least, she could see that while this foster sister of hers acted outrageously and sometimes made people want to discipline her severely, she hadn’t chosen to stand idly by once she realized the maidservants were truly in trouble.
“Whether it’s effective or not, we’ll know once we try it.”
Xie Jinyi put the talisman away and said after a moment of silence, “Since you’ve already sought this so-called exorcism talisman, come with me.”
“I also want to see if this talisman has any effect.”
Xie Zhaofan certainly wouldn’t refuse. She had come here specifically to solve this matter. More importantly, she wanted to see what that eerie bronze ornament really was and whether this so-called exorcism talisman possessed any power outside the system.
If it truly was effective, she might even prepare a few more to keep on her person in the future; after all, no one knew how many strange and bizarre things were hidden in this world.
Xie Zhaofan stood up, patted her skirt, and followed her with a smile.
As for that little prank from a few days ago... she would leave it at that for now. If she couldn't trip up the Child of Destiny, she couldn't actually let an innocent little maidservant suffer indefinitely.
Although she, Xie Zhaofan, had dubbed herself the world's number one villainess, even she had lines she wouldn't cross. At the very least, she really couldn't bring herself to bully an innocent little maid.
After arriving in Xie Jinyi’s room, Xie Zhaofan watched as the other woman carelessly took that bronze ornament out of its brocade box and placed it on the table. In her heart, she was utterly impressed by her foster sister's courage.
This thing had put Chunxing and Xiahe through quite an ordeal just a few days ago, and even Xiangling was now plagued by nightmares; it didn't look like an ordinary ornament no matter how you sliced it. Yet, Xie Jinyi’s expression was as calm as if she were handling a common piece of jade, not even furrowing her brows.
Xie Zhaofan silently moved two steps to the side.
Anyway, if anyone asked her to touch this cursed thing now, she would absolutely refuse. Even if she had a vague suspicion that those so-called evil auras might not affect someone like her—whose Spirit was powerful and whose Constitution far surpassed ordinary people—guessing was one thing, and actually reaching out to touch it was another.
Second Young Miss Xie wasn't tired of living. Knowing there might be a ghost involved and still insisting on touching it wasn't bravery; that was having a mental problem.
Xie Jinyi didn't notice her small movements, instead looking at her and asking, “How do we use your talisman? Get to it.”
“That’s easy.”
Xie Zhaofan nodded and didn't continue to play the mystic. She immediately had Chunxing take out that Evil-Warding Talisman bought from the City God Temple. She personally unfolded the paper and carefully stuck it onto the bronze ornament.
Then, she had someone bring a fire starter and directly ignited the paper. The flames slowly licked along the cinnabar patterns, and a faint blue smoke rose. The paper quickly turned into a small pile of ash, drifting onto the table.
The room fell silent.
Xie Jinyi looked at the motionless bronze ornament in front of her. After a moment of silence, she finally couldn’t help but ask, “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Xie Zhaofan replied with righteous confidence.
Xie Jinyi: “...”
Chunxing: “...”
Xiahe: “...”
Xiangling: “...”
Four people and eight eyes all stared at Xie Zhaofan simultaneously, making her feel a bit embarrassed.
“What are you looking at me for?” She cleared her throat, forcing herself to maintain her composure. “That’s what the Daoist taught me. I’m not a member of the occult, so how would I know if it’s effective?”
At this point, she couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, “Besides, he charged me five taels of silver. It can't be completely useless, right?”
Even Chunxing felt this sounded unreliable. Especially Xiangling—the anticipation on her face dissipated visibly. Having just gone through several consecutive nights of nightmares, she now felt immense fear toward that corpse-pale face. If a mere piece of burnt paper could solve it, she would naturally be overjoyed. However, the bronze ornament before them hadn't changed in the slightest. It didn't emit black smoke, make any strange noises, or burst with the legendary golden light. It was truly hard to believe it had any effect at all.
Feeling a bit guilty under their stares, Xie Zhaofan could only intentionally pull a long face.
“Alright, alright! If it's not effective, it's not effective. At worst, I’ll go to the City God Temple again tomorrow and smash that old Daoist’s stall. If he dares to sell fake goods to this lady, he clearly doesn't know what's coming to him.”
Hearing her arrogant words, Xie Jinyi didn't think they were that malicious. In fact, she felt this foster sister of hers was actually somewhat cute and straightforward at times.
She gently shook her head and said, “Those who have truly inherited the orthodox methods in this world are few and far between. You’re certainly optimistic, believing any random Daoist from the City God Temple would have the power to exorcise evil and protect a house.”
Xie Zhaofan blinked and didn't argue. She had also guessed that this talisman was likely just for psychological comfort. But her true purpose in coming here wasn't to verify the paper but to use this opportunity to see if Xie Jinyi had a way.
After all, this woman was someone suspected to be the Child of Destiny, with a mysterious master and staggering medical skills. Moreover, with someone like Prince Qin—the number one expert in Great Zhou—at her side, she shouldn't be stumped by a broken bronze ornament, right?
However, Xiangling’s condition was becoming increasingly severe, leaving little time for her to slowly test things out. If they continued to delay, who knew what other trouble that bizarre thing would stir up?
Thinking of this, Xie Zhaofan’s eyes flickered slightly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she reached for her hair.
In the next moment, she pulled a Teal Jade Hairpin from her pitch-black hair.
Xie Jinyi was slightly startled. Before she could ask, she saw Xie Zhaofan walk up to the bronze ornament with the jade hairpin in hand.
“Since whatever malevolent entity this is is so mysterious, I’d like to see just how powerful it is.”
Xie Zhaofan spoke arrogantly, but her heart was actually a bit anxious. After all, she didn't know if this jade hairpin would really work either.
Rate on N.U.
