Chapter 94 The Dark Daytime (6) (1/2)

Chapter 94 The Dark Daytime (6)

I watched Master Liu shaking his head and became sure that Zhao Yuan would die. I immediately said, ”Did I hurt Zhao Yuan?” My heart was pounding a mile a minute. “I’ll take off the amulets!” I told him, adding after a moment of thought, “And the jade!”

He raised a wizened hand to stop me, ”Don’t be foolish.” He said, finally looking up from the unconscious girl. “You misunderstand. I only meant that you’ve wasted this jade.”

He reached down gingerly and plucked the red ribbon necklace off of her. Holding the brilliant gemstone he said, ”I curved this by hand and infused my supernatural air into it. When you wore it, it collected Yang air from your body, changing it slowly into supernatural air within the stone. The longer you wear the stone, the greater your supernatural air. The spirits you’ve encountered were afraid of you because of this, but now…” He trailed off. “You’ve given it to someone under the influence of a foul spirit, marring its effect.”

I didn’t give a damn about the stone, only the girl wearing it. “Master Liu! It’s only a stone, is Zhao Yuan going to be okay?”

His eyes sparkled in a peculiar smile. “You’re a kind boy.” He said quietly. “Don’t worry, son. She may have been chilled, but she will be fine. Your stone will have drawn her souls back to her, no matter how far they could’ve gone.”

I loosed a sigh of relief and watched the sleeping girl breathe for a full minute. “So…” I finally asked, “I broke it?”

The old man continued to smile and shook his head. “Only sullied it my dear boy.. From now on you need to wash it every day with water purified by amulet ashes. After forty nine days, the jade will be cleansed.”

“What amulet’s ashes do I use?” I asked. He gazed at me for a moment and then gestured to the expelling amulet pasted on Zhao Yuan’s blanket.

“That one.”

Outside the house, Zhao Yuan’s family sat and waited with mine. I helped Master Liu up and we walked outside to speak with them. He gave them her prognosis and assigned them to safeguard the house with amulets, treat her bedroom with ashes, and prepare a ginger brew to feed her when she wakes.

“Why her, Master Liu? Zhao Laohei asked looking tired and scared, “Why did it come after my daughter? She had nothing to do with any of this.”

Master Liu shook his head and said, ”I am not sure. We’ll know more after we catch it.”

Zhao Yuan awoke the next afternoon. The chill had fled her body and she claimed to remember none of what happened. Zhao Jie and I gave her a brief version, careful not to mention anything too graphic.

She looked horrified nonetheless. “I was possessed?” She finally asked.

We nodded in unison.

Before Zhao Yuan could say more, Master Liu cut in, ”Don’t speak Zhao Yuan, you need to rest. The spirit didn’t pursue you by accident and it may return if we can’t catch it in time.”

Zhao Laohei darted a nervous look at Master Liu. “Don’t worry.” Master Liu assuaged him. “I’m here. Even if he returns this very moment, he wouldn’t be able to make it through the door.”

Everyone sat down for a light lunch when Sima Jie arrived. His clothes were stained and discheveled and there was a sheen of sweat on his head. The long flowing strands of white hair that clung to his mostly bald head were stuck at odd angles in the moisture.

“What is it?” Master Liu asked with real concern in his voice, “Was there trouble?”

Zhao Laohei immediately offered the man his seat and went about making him a cup of tea.

Sima Jie accepted the tea gratefully and drank it down in two loud gulps. “Food,” The older man managed, “Please, I need food. Something warm, please. It was desperately cold for a moment there.”

The table fell silent. All eyes were on Sima Jie.

Zhao Laohei darted to the counter to prepare something.

“What do you mean cold?” Master Liu asked in a low voice. “Your abilities are…”

Sima Jie shook his head and coughed a laugh, saying, ”I didn’t catch it. It didn’t catch me either. But I followed it for some time.”

Everyone leaned in. “Were we right?” Master Liu asked, “Was it a demon or spirit emboldened by the dark day?”