Chapter 141: Great God

Daoist Gu Yi Xian

Their words astonished both of them. Their own wife had become like that, and they didn't even want to cure her?

Bai Lingmiao, holding the drum, thought for a moment. With a touch of hesitation, she advised, "Esteemed master, if she is truly possessed, she still needs treatment. Being possessed is very uncomfortable and life-threatening. How about this, I won't even charge a fee."

Hearing this, Zhao Qin's brow furrowed sharply. He lightly but firmly slammed the teacup he was holding onto a nearby table. "Cheng Xing, see them out."

Wang Chengxing, who had been waiting nearby, took a large stride, blocking the path between his master and the two women. With a faint smile, he said, "It's unsafe for young ladies to travel at night. I will personally escort you two home. Where do you live?"

Seeing the man's absolute refusal, Chun Xiaoman sighed softly, no longer insisting. She took Bai Lingmiao's hand and walked towards the door.

"Ahhh!" A tragic female scream startled everyone present. A shadow of gloom deepened on Zhao Qin's face.

Hearing the pain in the sound, Bai Lingmiao felt a pang of pity. She turned around and looked at Zhao Qin, who was still sitting calmly.

"Master Zhao, please let me try. I promise, even if I can't cure her, I won't cause any harm. Immortals are not unreasonable people."

Chun Xiaoman, standing beside her, nodded, chiming in. "Since other methods have been tried, what harm is there in trying ours? What if it works?"

As she said this, she seemed to recall something, and her face suddenly became very sad. "Or are you saying you don't even consider her family?"

"Bang!" The lacquered table instantly splintered into pieces from Zhao Qin's fist.

His eyes widened, and he stood up like an enraged lion, a powerful aura instantly washing over them.

"I never lay hands on women, but if you continue to speak disrespectfully, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Hehe..." A soft chuckle came from outside the dark room, instantly disrupting the atmosphere inside.

"Who's there! Form up!" Zhao Qin snarled. Figures stirred from the side doors.

Dozens of men dressed in short jackets, armed with various weapons, quickly surrounded them.

Shields in front, spears behind, they moved in perfect coordination.

Under everyone's gaze, a blood-red embroidered shoe emerged from the darkness and stepped into the candlelight.

Behind the shoe, a bride wearing a large red veil followed closely.

This strange sight made everyone's脸色 change. It was clear something was wrong.

As escorts, constantly on the road, the鏢師 (biao shi - armed escorts/guards) inevitably encountered evil happenings, but they also had their ways of dealing with them.

"Pull the ink line! Bring the black dogs!"

With a tearing sound, cotton threads soaked in black ink quickly formed a large net, blocking the path ahead.

Several whimpering black dogs were also brought to the crowd, waiting.

"Wait, wait, you've misunderstood," a frantic Bai Lingmiao said, passing through the ink net and pulling the second deity into the room.

As Bai Lingmiao approached, the escorts raised their weapons and uniformly retreated.

"She is... my sister. She means no harm," Bai Lingmiao struggled to explain, but it didn't seem to help.

Just then, an escort with a mustache leaned in and whispered something to Zhao Qin.

"Master... deity dancing..."

Hearing his apprentice's words, Zhao Qin's expression began to change.

Bai Lingmiao sensed the tense atmosphere around them and sighed helplessly. "Sister Xiaoman, perhaps we should go back."

She was truly afraid of her good intentions causing trouble. If a fight broke out, Bai Lingmiao wasn't worried about herself getting hurt, but she feared the trouble would escalate significantly if Senior Brother Li got involved.

Senior Brother Li already had enough problems; she didn't want to cause him more because of her own affairs.

In this situation, Xiaoman no longer cared about her own small matters. She stepped out of the ink net, ready to take Bai Lingmiao and leave the escort agency.

"Young ladies! Please wait!" Zhao Qin seemed to have completely changed, approaching them with a sincere attitude.

"Please trouble you two to help with my wife's matter. As long as she can recover, name any condition!"

"This..." The two exchanged glances, both surprised by the stark change in his attitude.

"Well, in that case—" Bai Lingmiao had just opened her mouth when Xiaoman suddenly stepped forward. "We need to go back and discuss this with my other senior brothers and sisters."

The other party's differing reactions made Xiaoman feel it was better to be cautious.

Two joss sticks later, when the two women, accompanied by all their senior brothers and sisters, were invited back into the escort agency, the treatment was distinctly different from before.

The entire escort agency was brightly lit, and all the escorts and apprentices stood ramrod straight, respectfully greeting the two.

Zhao Qin led them along the veranda into the inner rooms. As he guided the way, he turned slightly and said, "Young lady, you were right. Some things truly need to be tried. How can one know without trying?"

A somewhat nervous Bai Lingmiao smiled and nodded.

Part of her nervousness naturally stemmed from the escort agency's overreaction, and another part was because this was her first time performing an exorcism.

And with the other party's attitude like this, if she couldn't cure her, wouldn't it be very awkward?

The escort agency wasn't large. A small, independent room to the left of the former training ground was where Zhao Qin's wife was confined.

With a creak, the door opened, and a low, whimpering cry came from the dark room.

A nearby escort extended his lantern inside, and the scene within instantly appeared before everyone.

The room was not large, with thick dry straw covering the floor and walls, looking relatively clean, certainly frequently swept.

A ragged, filthy, white-haired old woman, with rusty, thick iron chains dragging at her feet, wandered in the room, crying, completely oblivious to everyone's gaze.

"My wife has been like this for thirty years. I am truly at my wit's end," Zhao Qin said, a hint of pain on his face.

"Master Zhao, rest assured, I will do my best."

A slightly nervous Bai Lingmiao glanced at the woman behind her with the red veil, took a deep breath, and walked over to her.

She reached out and gently lifted the red veil.

To the disappointment of the men curious about what lay beneath the red veil, there was another red veil embroidered with mandarin ducks underneath.

Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips, took a deep breath, then placed the red veil she had just removed onto her own head, and handed the drum to the other woman.

Xiaoman, using her sword, pushed the others around them back slightly. "Give them some space."

Feeling the change in atmosphere, everyone in the escort agency held their breath, not daring to exhale loudly.

A black fingernail gently tapped the drumhead. A sharp, even piercing, female voice emerged from beneath the red veil. "Please... invite... the deity!"