Around eleven o'clock at night, Mo Chuan followed Wang Bao to the hospital. After a few turns, they arrived at an independent ward.
This ward was particularly striking—ten yellow talismans were pasted on the door, and a bowl of rice mixed with some unknown blood was placed in a pile of incense ash opposite.
Wang Bao was eager to see Wang Hu, but Mo Chuan stopped him, pointing to the ground. A line was drawn on the floor with what looked like incense ash powder, and at the doorway, about five centimeters from the ground, a red string was threaded with seven copper coins.
"Good heavens, whether this barrier works or not, it certainly looks imposing," Wang Bao exclaimed.
Mo Chuan nodded and said, "Alright, take me inside."
The two of them crossed the incense ash and the red line, opened the ward door, and entered.
Inside the ward, an old Daoist priest in tattered clothes, carrying a peach wood sword on his back, sat cross-legged on the ground. An incense burner was placed in front of him, while on the other side, a tall, thin man and a doctor were tending to a large man on the hospital bed. This man, despite being nearly two meters tall with a muscular build, had a pale complexion, and the scars on his arm were raw, slowly oozing black blood.
"Second Brother! I've found the expert who saved us that day!"
The tall, thin man, addressed as Second Brother, looked up. Upon seeing Mo Chuan's young face, he couldn't help but frown. "A Bao, has the expert you found awakened his abilities for a month yet?"
"It really is him! Brother Chuan, show them your ability!"
Mo Chuan, too lazy to waste words, directly summoned the Soul Guiding Lamp. It floated slowly above his left hand, emitting an ominous aura.
"..." Wang Lang, being conscious at the time, had glimpsed the female ghost being sucked into this object, so he nodded without saying anything.
"Young friend, how old are you?" the old Daoist priest suddenly opened his eyes and asked.
"Esteemed Daoist Master..." Mo Chuan frowned, sensing a hint of hostility in the old Daoist's tone.
"This humble one is Nanshan Zi, a third-tier ability user who cultivates Daoist magic." The old Daoist priest's eyes flashed. "Young friend, how old are you?"
"Uh... I'm 18 this year..."
"Such a young age, you must have awakened your abilities not long ago. Yet, the ghostly energy in that lamp is so dense. If you are given more time, you might become a menace to society..."
Seeing the old Daoist's words taking a wrong turn, Wang Bao quickly interjected, "Daoist Master, this is my classmate. He has no issues with his character, and he even dealt with the mother of this little ghost. He is quite capable."
"Daoist Master, this little ghost will arrive in the next few days. Let's capture the little ghost first before discussing other matters, shall we?" Wang Lang, seeing the situation, also spoke up to mediate.
"...Young friend, once this matter is resolved, this humble one hopes you will accompany me." After speaking, the old Daoist priest closed his eyes again and remained silent.
"It seems Principal Liu was right... people in Jibei, especially the older generation, are very prejudiced against ghost cultivators..." Mo Chuan shook his head and sat down on a chair, beginning to survey the ward's arrangement.
"Second Brother, why has the person changed? Wasn't it that young Daoist priest originally?" Wang Bao asked Wang Lang quietly.
"This old Daoist happened to pass by. Seeing Elder Brother's condition, he drove away that half-baked young Daoist priest, re-arranged the formation, and waited to kill the little ghost."
Wang Bao was about to ask something else when he felt a gust of cold wind. The ward's lights flickered instantly and then went out with a buzzing sound.
Wang Lang quickly summoned his iron chain and shielded Wang Hu, Wang Bao, and the doctor behind him, warily watching the surrounding darkness.
Mo Chuan also silently summoned the Soul Hook and the Soul Guiding Lamp, his gaze fixed on the ward door.
"Tinkle, tinkle..." A sound of colliding copper coins echoed. Nanshan Zi opened his eyes, drew out his peach wood sword, and said, "They've arrived."
"Hee hee hee~" A strange laughter drifted into the ward from outside the door. Then, the ward door suddenly opened, and a gust of cold wind carrying incense ash blew into the room, instantly making the already dim interior even more obscured.
"Old man, are you trying to pass off this thing as a beggar's meal?" A short, jet-black figure appeared at the doorway. He threw an empty porcelain bowl in front of the old Daoist, then kicked away the red thread and entered the ward.
Amidst the clinking of copper coins hitting the floor and the shattering of the porcelain bowl, Nanshan Zi's face darkened. He whispered, "This ghost's power is far beyond my imagination. Be extremely careful later. This humble one might not be able to attend to you all."
With that, Nanshan Zi bit his finger, wiped the blood along the peach wood sword, and then declared, "Heavenly lightning, be my guide! As commanded, Thunder Punishment!"
Nanshan Zi waved his wooden sword, and a golden arc of electricity shot out, striking the little ghost's shoulder.
"Ahhh—!!! That hurts! You old man! I'll kill you first!" The little ghost shrieked and charged at Nanshan Zi.
Nanshan Zi breathed a sigh of relief, then his wooden sword danced agilely, and several golden arcs of electricity shot towards the little ghost from different directions. However, the latter chuckled, dodged them with a few quick movements, and evaded Nanshan Zi's attacks.
"Hehehehe! You can't hit me! You can't hit me!"
Nanshan Zi swung his sword again, and a larger silver arc of electricity struck towards the little ghost, but it was still dodged.
Seeing the little ghost getting closer, Nanshan Zi hurriedly said, "This humble one has a way to heavily injure him! Can any of you hold him off for ten seconds!"
Nanshan Zi's hands moved rapidly, continuously forming seals. Yellow talismans gathered and spun around him, emitting a dangerous red glow.
"I will!" Wang Lang's iron chain flew, "You little brat, taste this!" With that, the iron chain in his hand shot out, entangling the little ghost's ankles.
"He's entangled!" Wang Lang was happy for only a few seconds before realizing the little ghost's immense strength and that he couldn't hold him back at all.
The little ghost, dragging Wang Lang, continued to fly towards Nanshan Zi.
"This is bad! Daoist Master, dodge quickly! I can't hold him!"
"Bang!"
Wang Lang crashed into a cabinet, his iron chain slipping from his grasp. The little ghost, unimpeded, charged at Nanshan Zi at full speed.
Just as the little ghost's claws were about to harm Nanshan Zi, Mo Chuan predicted the trajectory, and the dark green hook tip pierced the little ghost's body.
The little ghost let out a "wa" of a scream and was about to break free when Nanshan Zi shouted, "Great Taiyi Fire, Nine-Nine Return to One, As Commanded, Great Taiyi True Thunder!"
A rumble of thunder echoed from outside the window, and a bolt of lightning struck into the ward. The violent lightning, accompanied by yellow talismans, directly hit the little ghost's head. In the dazzling lightning, the little ghost's figure let out painful wails and screams.
"Dao... Daoist Master, will this work?" Wang Bao asked, dragging the unconscious Wang Lang behind Nanshan Zi.
"Don't worry, this ghost fears this pure Yang lightning the most. In just half an hour, it will surely be reduced to ashes," Nanshan Zi said, subtly wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.
However, as the thunder subsided, a black, mud-like mass wailed on the scorched floor, "Old man, I will kill you..."
Nanshan Zi's face felt a sting. Just as he was about to make another move, the hook that Mo Chuan had retracted flew out again, scattering the little ghost paste that had just begun to reform. Then, a lantern flew directly above the little ghost paste, and a flash of dark green light passed. The little ghost paste immediately stopped its self-repair and, amidst wails, transformed into green light and entered the Soul Guiding Lamp.
Nanshan Zi's pupils contracted as he stared at Mo Chuan's lantern.
Seeing that the little ghost was eliminated, Wang Bao looked back at Wang Hu and noticed that his face had regained some color. He excitedly shouted, "It's done! Big Brother is all right!"