Chapter 117: A Person of Status Is Truly Precious

No! I absolutely cannot become her vessel!

I gritted my teeth and pulled a talisman from my pocket with my left hand. Trembling, I chanted word by word: "Three thousand Taoist laws, thunder is supreme. Ten thousand heavenly thunderbolts, annihilate all evil. I am the God of Thunder, the God of Thunder is I! Execute this order with haste!"

I slapped the talisman onto the old hag.

At that moment, her expression changed drastically. She released my head, and the black mist retracted. She was terrified of the True Dharma.

"Break!"

I roared, and the talisman flared with white light. A thunderbolt exploded into the mortal realm, centered on the old hag.

The next second, the thunder light converged, drilling entirely into the black mist enveloping her. Instantly, the place where the old hag stood—especially that black mist—became like a storm cloud, flickering with electric sparks.

I took a deep breath, looking at Yu Nie’s corpse and the people lying on the ground.

I raised my right hand, bit the tip of my left index finger, and quickly drew the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Thunder Curse.

Squinting, I chanted: "Heavenly Dipper pure yang drought-thunder, let yin evil retreat with no place to hide. Nine-star constellations impart their essence, by my yang blood, destroy all evil! Execute this order with haste!"

Every step I took forward, the pain tore through every nerve in my body.

I finally reached the mass of black mist. Just as I raised my hand to strike with the talisman, the black mist and lightning suddenly dissipated. The old hag’s form reappeared, and she caught my right hand—the one bearing the thunder curse—with unerring precision.

She chuckled, "Little Jiang Huai, you truly surprise me. It seems Jiang Shan has passed on all his skills to you. The True Dharma and the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Thunder Curse were his most prized techniques."

"What a pity," the old hag shook her head. "You still lack the necessary refinement..."

"Ah!"

The old hag suddenly exerted force. I felt as if my wrist were about to be crushed.

Am I really going to die here today?

Just then, a resonant, powerful voice echoed across the open ground.

"Destroy evil and purge wickedness! You demoness! Do not harm my grandson!"

I turned my head to look; a pillar of fire, like a dragon, shot from mid-air directly at the old hag.

Her expression shifted. She released me and immediately used the black mist to defend herself. But the power of the fire dragon was too immense, instantly burning the black mist into nothingness. The fire dragon did not stop there, but pursued the exposed old hag.

The old hag fled in all directions while roaring into the night: "Jiang Shan! You wait for me! I will have your life!"

The old hag suddenly stopped, blocked the fire dragon with both hands, and spat out a pool of black liquid. The fire dragon was extinguished. The old hag glared at me with resentment before disappearing into the night sky.

I survived. My legs went numb, and I collapsed to the ground.

I gasped for air, turning to look behind me, but I did not see my grandfather. I only saw Song Zhong, drenched in sweat and deathly pale, running toward me from afar.

"Jiang Huai!"

After helping me up, he immediately tore off a piece of his clothing to bind the bloody hole in my shoulder.

"Why is it you... where... where is my grandfather?"

"Your grandfather? The boss? He didn't come!"

Grandfather didn't come? Then who unleashed that powerful purging curse, and what was that about my grandfather's voice?

Song Zhong saw the question in my eyes and pointed behind him. "The boss’s voice was recorded on a speaker. That talisman was also something he left at the shop; he called the shop just now and directed me to find it."

Song Zhong sat beside me, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "I’ve already called the police and the ambulance. I really have no strength left."

Watching Song Zhong’s weak state, I understood. After he had finished steaming with Song Chao, he was already exhausted. He had been looking for me when the shop’s landline rang, leading to his rescue of me just now.

Looking at Song Zhong, the two words my grandfather had said surfaced in my mind.

A noble soul?

Twenty minutes later, a large number of police officers and ambulances arrived.

When they tried to load me onto a stretcher, I refused. With Song Zhong’s support, I walked over to Yu Nie.

At this moment, I didn't know what to say to him. I knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, drawing blood from my forehead.

"Yu Nie, there was never any 'remnant' [sin] in you. If there is a next life, you must find me. I couldn't save you in this one, but in the next..."

"Jiang Huai... let's go. Your wounds need treatment..."

As I turned to leave, I vaguely saw two lines of clear tears flowing from Yu Nie’s empty eye sockets.

This matter was not over; it was merely a beginning. Whether it was Captain Cui or Yu Nie, they would not have died if not for the Golden Cicada Society.

The debts owed by the Golden Cicada Society would eventually have to be repaid.

In the hospital ward, I was neighbors with Wang Zihao.

Because of this incident, Xiao Bei, a criminal from the Golden Cicada Society, was dead. Wang had suffered varying degrees of serious injury, and I had also been hospitalized.

Wang Zihao had taken a criminal away privately, violating discipline, and received a disciplinary reprimand; the same went for the other four.

When Wang Zihao learned of the punishment, he just smiled and said he had lost his bonus for the month. But his eyes told me that if he could choose again, he would still act without hesitation.

"It’s a pity about Xiao Zhang’s leg..." Wang Zihao sighed deeply. He turned his head to look at me, lying prone on my bed, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

I shook my head. "Not very well."

I had been lying face-down on the hospital bed for three days. My shoulder had been pierced, and the doctor had dug out some flesh from my backside to patch it. At the very least, I couldn't get out of bed for a month, and I couldn't put too much pressure on my backside. Everything else was fine, except for the inconvenience of going to the bathroom.

If it weren't for Song Zhong, I really wouldn't know what to do.

"But then again, I never imagined we would be saved by Song Baoguo’s son," Wang Zihao asked, leaning against his bed. "Is he your shop employee now?"

I nodded. During the days I had been lying in the hospital bed, Song Zhong had been handling the shop’s business. Although he didn't know or understand many things, he would ask. In a month, he had already become capable of handling some matters entirely on his own.

"By the way, we have decided to set up a special task force specifically targeting the Golden Cicada Society."

I looked at Wang Zihao, my heart trembling. "That’s a good thing."

"Are you interested?"

I was just about to open my mouth, but Wang Zihao interrupted, speaking first: "You don't need to answer in a hurry. Think it over clearly."

Although my grandfather told me to stay away from the Golden Cicada Society, I felt that this was not something I needed to consider.

"No need to consider it. I must agree. Does this job come with a salary?"

"Yes, the same benefits as ours, though you won't be on the official payroll. You’ll be a contract hire. If you’re still willing once it’s officially established, let me know then."