Chapter 116: Human-Skin Ghost Painting (1)

"I saw everything that just happened. Daoist Friend Lu is indeed the one in the wrong here, and I, Xianqing, apologize to you on his behalf. Both of you are outstanding young talents; you absolutely must not let a little misunderstanding damage the peace between you." Daoist Priest Xianqing's words seemed polite, but they carried a hidden firmness that left no room for argument.

The emerald willow branch was still wrapped around my wrist. Even if I wanted to kill Lu Jin right now, I didn't have the strength to do it.

"Since you have spoken, Daoist Priest, I will spare his life today. But he must remove the talisman from this little girl." Sakurako was curled up on the ground in agony. The resentful energy had spun out of control, leaving streaks of bright red across her delicate skin.

"Daoist Friend Lu, please remove the Talisman Incantation from this little girl. You come from a prestigious orthodox sect. I imagine this isn't something you wish to see either."

Lu Jin, sprawled on the stairs, was still panting heavily. He pulled a jade bottle from his robes. Once he opened it, the scent of medicinal herbs drifted through the stairwell.

Only after taking three consecutive swallows did his complexion slowly return to normal, the strangulation marks on his neck fading.

He straightened the Hibiscus Profound Crown on his head, glaring at me with bitter resentment.

"Daoist Friend Lu, please remove the Talisman Incantation from this girl." Seeing Lu Jin remain unmoved, Xianqing frowned and raised his voice.

Lu Jin scoffed coldly. Using the wall for support, he picked himself up from the ground. His legs were still weak as he walked over to Sakurako and peeled off the Life-Decaying Talisman.

"Clear sky and peaceful earth, celestial and terrestrial essence! Nine Heavens Profound Girl, bestow upon me true clarity! I now recall the gods of the three realms; any defiance is a rebellion against Supreme Clarity!"

With the talisman art revoked, Sakurako's tightly knitted brow finally relaxed. She opened her eyes, looked at Daoist Priest Xianqing and Lu Jin, and silently hid behind me.

"Don't be afraid. I'll take you home." The little girl's exposed arms and cheeks were covered in red marks left by the uncontrolled resentful energy. It was a shocking sight, as if she had been abused.

Daoist Priest Xianqing now stood squarely between me and Lu Jin. While I couldn't kill Lu Jin, there was no way for Lu Jin to attack me either. After all, he still had to maintain his hypocritical image of righteousness in front of a fellow Daoist.

Zhong Jiu ignored the wound on his own neck and stepped up beside Lu Jin along with Wei Ling.

"You still have the nerve to come back? Do you think I haven't lost enough face already?" Lu Jin nearly slapped Zhong Jiu across the face, but considering outsiders were present, he forcefully held himself back. "Let's go!"

The three of them reached the corner of the stairwell when Lu Jin suddenly stopped. He turned his head and asked me, "I haven't asked for your esteemed name yet."

"Gao Jian."

"I offended you earlier. I will definitely pay you a visit another day to express my apologies." The gloomy expression on his face completely exposed his true thoughts. He was preparing to settle the score later, vowing to avenge today's humiliation.

"You're welcome anytime. I'm also looking forward to our next meeting." With every livestream I survived, I experienced a burst of rapid growth. By the time Lu Jin and I met again, I might just be able to give him a "surprise"!

Daoist Priest Xianqing waited until Lu Jin's group of three walked out of the Laboratory Building before finally withdrawing his willow branch. He looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. "Little brother, you really are a newborn calf that fears no tigers. Do you know who Lu Jin's master is?"

"What does it matter to me who his master is? If you hadn't interfered today, I would have made him vanish silently from this world."

"Young people are too hot-blooded. You'll only hurt yourself like this." Daoist Priest Xianqing shook his head. "Lu Jin's Daoist name is Ziqiu. Although he isn't old, he has cultivated the Dao for over a decade. He was raised by Immortal Master Profound Truth. His parentage is a mystery, and he grew up in a Daoist temple. He has brilliant natural talent and is incredibly well-liked by his elders."

"That still doesn't give him an excuse to run amok, does it?" Lu Jin was arrogant to his very bones. It was obvious from his every action that he never took anyone seriously.

After a moment of silence, Daoist Priest Xianqing said, "These matters within the Daoist sects shouldn't really be told to an outsider like you. But since you've been dragged into this, I'll tell you a little. Lu Jin is from the Profound Truth Dao. Although this sect doesn't have many cultivators, every single one of them is a mighty figure with hands and eyes reaching the sky. Alchemy, talismans, artifacts, formations, and spells—they are proficient in nearly all of them. Furthermore, the cultivators of this sect are notoriously protective of their own. Now that they have their eyes on you, I'm afraid you won't have any good days ahead."

Hearing this, I finally understood why Daoist Priest Xianqing hadn't intended to intervene between me and Lu Jin in the beginning.

"Profound Truth Dao..."

As I muttered those words, Daoist Priest Xianqing thought I was scared and gently patted his coarse cloth robes. "You don't need to worry too much. They are cultivators, after all. They aren't like those crooked and evil paths."

Daoist Priest Xianqing's comfort didn't sound the least bit convincing to me. If I hadn't known the method to break the Profound Truth Talisman just now, my legs probably would have been chopped off. Did that not count as going too far?

I asked Daoist Priest Xianqing a few more questions about the Profound Truth Dao before leaving with Sakurako. It was still an hour-and-a-half drive back to Jiangcheng from Xinhu High School.

Halfway through the taxi ride, Onitsuka Ayaka's call came in. I flipped open my phone and saw that there were actually several missed calls from her.

"Hello?"

"You finally picked up. Did you find Sakurako?" Onitsuka Ayaka sounded frantic on the other end of the line.

"Don't worry, I found her. Sakurako is with me right now. I'll let her talk to you." I held the phone up to Sakurako's ear, but the little girl shoved it away, keeping her head down and refusing to speak.

"This..."

I held the phone, unsure of what to do. Onitsuka Ayaka's voice came through the line again. "I'm relieved as long as she's with you. Where are you? I'll drive over to pick you up."

Before I could reply, Sakurako snatched the phone away. With a tap of her small finger, she hung up the call.

"I want to get out."

Sakurako stood up in the car and grabbed the door handle. Seeing this, I quickly told the driver to pull over. I paid the fare, secretly sent a text message to Onitsuka Ayaka, and then got out of the car with Sakurako.

The bustling city was filled with heavy traffic and lively noise, but none of it had anything to do with the little girl in front of me. Wearing her backpack, she walked along the curb and squeezed into the crowd.

Nobody paid attention to her. At most, they would spare her an extra glance because of her small and cute appearance, only to forget her the moment they turned away.

The little girl often wandered around all alone, whether it was in the city during the day or in her nightmares at night.

Loneliness wasn't terrifying. What was terrifying was being so lonely that you grew numb to it, ultimately losing any interest in making a change.

The girl walked far down the street and finally stopped in front of a movie theater. An advertisement poster for "Citywide Romance, Thank You For Being Here" was pasted on the transparent glass doors.

The men and women in the poster embraced each other sweetly, seemingly igniting the temperature of the entire city. But that was ultimately just a fictional movie. Reality was the people coming and going, each wearing their own carefully crafted masks as they hurried along.

Sakurako lingered at the entrance of the movie theater for a long time. It was the first time I saw vibrant colors in her eyes.

I gently took the little girl's hand and pushed open the glass doors of the theater under her slightly puzzled gaze.

"What movie do you want to see?"

Sakurako didn't pull away. Instead, she habitually lowered her head. I touched her cheek; it was flushed red and a little hot.

"Is... is this considered a real date?" She buried her head so low it almost touched her chest. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.

With my enhanced senses, I naturally heard her clearly, but it was better to play dumb in this situation. "Let's just watch Citywide Romance."

After buying the tickets, the ticket seller stopped Sakurako and me. She pointed at Bai Qi, who was wagging his tail and darting around. "Sir, no pets allowed."

Coincidentally, just as I was about to negotiate with the ticket seller, the sound of sudden braking rang out outside the doors. A moment later, Onitsuka Ayaka ran inside in high heels. Seeing that Sakurako was fine, she grew emotional and crouched down to hug her.

However, Sakurako subtly dodged her. I had no idea what had happened between them. Standing between this incredibly gorgeous mother and daughter, I instantly drew the stares of countless onlookers.

"Well, I just wanted to take Sakurako to see a movie, nothing else." I quietly shoved the two tickets for Citywide Romance into my pocket. I tried to let go of Sakurako's small hand, but the kid gripped me tightly and refused to let go.

"It's fine. As long as Sakurako is happy. I owe her far too much."

Onitsuka Ayaka slowly stood up. I gave her an apologetic smile. "Then I'll leave Bai Qi with you for now. After the movie is over, I'll take Sakurako home."

I turned around and led Sakurako into the screening room. Onitsuka Ayaka watched me walk away with her daughter and suddenly stomped her foot, overflowing with jealousy.

'Could Gao Jian have actually done something to Sakurako? I've been reading people for over a decade; I shouldn't be wrong about him!' Feeling thoroughly displeased, she angrily rubbed Bai Qi's head with both hands. Not to be outdone, Bai Qi let out a weird bark and snapped at her lifelike blue fox tattoo.

"Ah! You perverted dog! Where do you think you're biting?!"