The Summoning and the Scorned Spirit

A cacophony of sinister cackles erupted, causing Bai Wanwan and her companions to instinctively cover their ears. The sound was as jarring as fingernails scraping across a blackboard, sending shivers down their spines.

As if mocking Bai Wanwan directly, the voice persisted, coiling around her ears.

It seemed to whisper… ‘What capabilities does Bai Wanwan, a mere greenhorn, possess to utter such ludicrous and exaggerated claims?’

‘She still seemed to cling to her childish innocence, yet she dared to audaciously utter the words “summon a deity”?’

‘What credentials did she possess?’

‘Her age was but a fraction of its own, and even the decades the Deng family had spent establishing themselves in Bai City surpassed Bai Wanwan’s entire lifespan.’

‘How much fortune had it siphoned from the Deng family, clinging to them like a parasite? How could it possibly be subdued by a mere greenhorn like Bai Wanwan?’

It was utterly laughable!

“I can’t shake the feeling that this ghost is mocking us?”

Liu Guochang also discerned a disturbing undertone within the malevolent laughter, as if an unseen multitude had encircled them, ceaselessly assailing them with scorn and mockery that pierced to the very bone.

The inexplicable surge of irritation left Liu Guochang seething with discontent.

Yet, facing this haughty derision, he was powerless, a nameless fury simmering within him.

“It *is* mocking us.”

Bai Wanwan took a deep, steadying breath, her gaze fixed on the talisman in her hand.

“I originally intended to spare its life, to make it relinquish the Deng family’s fortune, and then send it off to reincarnation.”

“Now… not only will it relinquish the Deng family’s fortune, but it will also be utterly obliterated!”

Bai Wanwan tore the half-drawn talisman in her hand and, picking up her brush again, began to sketch anew.

The mocking whispers intensified, and the environment within the Golden Hundred Halls began to shift unsettlingly. In the deepest room, not a sliver of light penetrated; from its pitch-black depths, a low growl resonated.

Several pallid corpses, their necks ensnared by chains, drifted slowly out of the room.

Their faces were so disfigured as to be unrecognizable. They hovered in mid-air, slowly drifting forward…

A truly chilling sight.

Deng Shuqi was utterly petrified, never having witnessed such a terrifying spectacle. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Liu Guochang still retained a semblance of composure. He scanned his surroundings, desperate for an escape route, but the main door behind them was sealed shut, leaving them with no path of retreat.

“Master Bai, please, think of something!”

At this point, Liu Guochang could no longer maintain his last shred of composure; his voice was laced with a noticeable tremor.

“Rise!”

Bai Wanwan muttered an incantation, then let out a sharp scoff, and slapped the talisman directly onto her body.

Instantly, the talisman burst into a flash of flames, and Bai Wanwan’s eyes underwent a striking transformation.

Both Deng Shuqi and Liu Guochang were utterly dumbfounded. The mere sight of the talisman spontaneously igniting had already fractured their preconceived notions of reality.

Bai Wanwan, who had moments ago maintained a refined, ladylike posture, suddenly took a forceful step forward.

It was a resolute, powerful stride, instilling a subtle, yet undeniable, sense of confidence in both Deng Shuqi and Liu Guochang.

The chained specter-corpses, under Bai Wanwan’s piercing gaze, froze instantly in their tracks.

The chains binding them emitted a harsh clatter of metal, and the surrounding, grating sneers abruptly ceased.

The air itself seemed to solidify. The sudden silence seemed to challenge Bai Wanwan, as if asking… ‘No, you’re actually capable of this?’

“I thought it was some formidable demon; turns out it’s just a mere petty spirit pilfering human fortune.”

“Little one, your cultivation is shallow. You need to invite me to possess you for such a trivial matter? Fine, resolving this can be considered eliminating a menace for the people.”

“As for payment, it’ll be as your grandfather stipulated: three jars of fine wine, three sticks of quality incense.”

Bai Wanwan’s voice, now speaking to herself, carried a distinct note of ruggedness and untamed defiance.

“Hold, please! Might I inquire, exalted immortal, which heavenly path you hail from? This humble one merely resides here, using minor tricks to eke out a living. I wonder if you could perhaps spare this one’s life? This one is willing to relinquish all that it has accumulated, enter the cycle of reincarnation, and be reborn.”

Just as Bai Wanwan was about to act, a voice, barely suppressing a tremor, suddenly echoed from the surroundings.

However, her response was a derisive scoff, a tone of scorn and disdain mirroring the very mockery the malevolent spirit had directed at them earlier.

“What’s that got to do with me? The lass has a request of this old man. Since I’ve arrived, it’s only slaughter, no salvation. You can figure out how you provoked her yourself.”

“And what kind of wretched thing dares to ask this old man’s name? I’m your damn great-great-grandfather!”

“Rise!”

A single chain shot forth in response, instantly wrenching a struggling dark shadow from the depths of the Golden Hundred Halls.

Against such absolute suppressive power, the dark shadow had no room for resistance beyond its struggles and pained shrieks.