---

Chapter 6: The Disappeared Exorcism Talisman

“Possessed? What are you joking about… are you sure?”

Hurrying along the road, Zeng Zhuang couldn’t help but repeat the words earlier spoken, filled with confusion and disbelief.

Ahead of him and a certain priestess who was joining in on the commotion, a woodcutter turned back, looking anxious as he yelled out.

“Hey Villager, when have I ever lied to you? There really is an evil demon! Otherwise, how could that Zeng Ergou suddenly go crazy for no reason?”

Without time for debate, the three had already crossed half the distance to Zeng Family Village and arrived at a thatched house.

There, a few villagers dressed in coarse cloth were fiercely arguing and struggling; or rather, several people were collectively trying to pin down one individual, forcing him onto the ground.

“What’s going on? Everyone, stop it!”

Faced with this scene, Zeng Zhuang didn’t need to say much more, as the Villager, he rushed forward, hoping to use words to halt the conflict.

His reputation in the village was evidently quite high, as his mere voice caused the villagers to turn and look at him with bright faces.

“Zhuang, you’re finally here! We… we’re not bullying Ergou, he’s possessed!”

“I understand, keep him pinned down while I check on him…”

Noticing something was off, Zeng Zhuang approached the person being held down, who was still struggling despite being pinned, and looked disheveled from the scuffle, crouching down to touch him.

“Ow!”

To his surprise, the youth referred to as Ergou acted like a dog, even while pinned down, he opened his mouth to bite, causing the Villager to quickly withdraw his hand, his expression turning serious.

“Erratic behavior, dull eyes, tendencies to bite and howl—these are characteristics described in books of a being possessed by [Dog Demon]. He truly is possessed, but how is that possible? We have the exorcism talisman…”

He muttered, instinctively looking up towards what seemed to be Ergou’s house—a simple thatched cottage nearby—only to change color instantly.

The door and paper windows there…

Were completely bare.

“This is outrageous! Who took down the exorcism talisman from Ergou’s home? Can such a joke even be made!?”

In response to Zeng Zhuang’s furious outburst, the villagers exchanged glances, seemingly unsure how to answer.

Finally, one villager awkwardly shook his head.

“Villager, it’s not us who took down the talisman. It was clearly still up yesterday, it was only after we heard the noise that everyone rushed over. When I got here, it was already like this…”

“…”

Zeng Zhuang cast a scrutinizing gaze over the crowd.

“When did Ergou’s situation happen, who arrived here first?”

As soon as he finished speaking, one woodcutter standing beside the priestess raised his hand obediently.

“Uh, Villager, it was me.”

Saying this, he hastily continued to explain.

“I had just left your place with the Lady Fairy, thinking it was still early, planning to go into the mountains to see if I could gather some sweet potatoes or fruits for the celebration, but halfway there, I suddenly heard screams from this direction…”

“I rushed over and saw that Ergou was dancing around in front of his door like he was possessed, ignoring my calls, and even lunged at me to bite. There was nothing I could do but wrestle with him and scream for help.”

The other villagers who were helping to pin Ergou down nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, I rushed over after hearing the loud shout from Uncle Zhuang.”

“Me too.”

Listening to the villagers chatter their accounts, Zeng Zhuang spoke in a deep voice.

“So Uncle Zhuang, when you arrived, was the exorcism talisman still properly affixed to the door or had it already been taken off?”

“That…”

Uncle Zhuang scratched his head, thinking for a moment, and replied in an unsure tone.

“I really didn’t pay much attention; who could think of that at a time like this? Ergou’s crazed state scared me half to death, but I don’t think I saw it, right?”

“Hiss, then who took the exorcism talisman? How odd…”

Zeng Zhuang furrowed his brow and pondered for a long time, seemingly unable to come up with an answer, he could only turn to the villagers.

“Forget it, let’s first tie Ergou up with rope and keep him inside his house, preventing him from hurting anyone. After today’s celebration, I will immediately set off to Yangyuan City to ask a doctor to come drive away the demon; in the meantime…”

“Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, a clear voice like a silver bell interrupted, making the Villager blink, only to find that a black-haired girl had somehow approached and, just like the previous attempt he made, reached a pale hand towards the pinned youth amidst the puzzled gazes of the villagers.

“Miss Vilyric!? Be careful!”

“Ow ow!!!”

Zeng Zhuang hurried to stop her, but the youth possessed by the [Dog Demon], in a frenzied state, lunged to bite her finger!

“Stop it.”

However, under the astonished gaze of the crowd, the white-robed girl casually flipped her palm and, with a speed too quick for them to register, slammed his head back onto the ground, causing the howls to abruptly cease.

The once-unstoppable Ergou, who several strong villagers struggled to fully subdue, now seemed unable to move as though caught in an immense force, leaving only slight whimpers and strange cracking sounds that resembled bones under intense pressure.

“Uh… sorry, I went a bit overboard.”

Realizing, Miss Vilyric quickly relaxed her grip.

That was close; she almost crushed his skull…

Having grown so accustomed to battling various strong foes, she momentarily forgot just how fragile human bodies could be as the priestess quickly conjured a healing spell to prevent an inappropriate scene from unfolding.

A faint golden light seeped from her fingertips into his body, mending the already cracked bones, and took the opportunity to activate [Information Detection].

“Lady Fairy, what exactly are you doing? Could this possession…”

“Shh, quiet!”

Without needing Miss Vilyric to speak, the more educated and clever Villager Zeng Zhuang hurriedly pulled Uncle Zhuang back, preventing him from interrupting the priestess’s examination.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the sometimes-effective [Information Detection] didn’t disappoint Miss Vilyric, as soon she had a general understanding of what this so-called [Possession] was about.

This Zeng Ergou was indeed possessed, or rather, another chaotic and violent force was currently occupying his body.

The situation was somewhat similar to that of the [Superior Spirit] she encountered in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, able to take over living beings, yet not entirely the same.

The biggest difference was that what Zeng Zhuang referred to as the [Dog Demon] was merely a more muddled collection of void energy, lacking the complete rationality and cognitive capacity of the Superior Spirit; it was akin to a frenzied beast, which explained why on possession it drove this guy to madness and aggression.

Seeing the black-haired girl standing back up, contemplating with her chin resting on her hand, Zeng Zhuang, who knew she was a “Practitioner,” finally mustered the courage to inquire.

“Well, Miss Vilyric, do you have a way to treat this fellow? If not, it’s not necessary to force it; the [Dog Demon] isn’t a great demon; the doctors in Yangyuan City can drive it away.”

“It’s fine, no need for such trouble. This little problem I can handle, but…”

The priestess directed her gaze towards the now-empty door of the thatched house, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Void energy generally refers to spirit or soul; typically, when living beings die, their souls quickly merge into the three paths, transitioning through the underworld, they disperse back to heaven and earth, and aside from resentful spirits deliberately manufactured, ordinary void energy shouldn’t form such strange structures.

Could it be some reason inherent to the Ancient Spirit Realm?

Are the rules here different from that continent?

Moreover… who took down the exorcism talisman? What on earth is the significance of such an act?

This matter… is rather peculiar.

“Let’s take him inside the house; I’ll proceed with the treatment shortly. Don’t worry, I guarantee I can heal him. Also, Villager, could you tell me about the [Evil Demon] afterwards?”