Li Mazi returned shortly with a big wooden bucket full of fresh milk. Putting the bucket on the floor, he panted, gasping for breath.

We were just on vacation, so we didn’t bring any items to deal with this particular case. It was impossible to find blood from a black dog or a peach stake in this foreign country. Furthermore, even if we did find these materials, they could end up injuring Ru Xue’s baby. That was why I came up with the idea of using fresh milk.

It was a well-known fact that people could see ghosts after smearing ox tears on their eyelids. However, not many people knew that fresh milk could expel evil spirits. Milk had a natural Yang energy that could shoo the evil away. In addition, cows were some sort of spirit-related animal. That was why cow milk was the most suitable choice when exorcising a pregnant woman. Moreover, there were no side effects from this method.

Just to be sure, I put some milk into the cup of pus I had collected and examined it. The opaque pus sizzled for a moment before the liquid became transparent at a speed the naked eye could observe. In the end, the mixture of milk and pus had become an odorless and colorless liquid!

Li Mazi was excited, and he hurriedly had Ru Xue drink the cow milk. Yin Xinyue also dipped the towel into the milk and rubbed Ru Xue’s body again. We heard the same sizzling noise that the cup of pus and milk made. Ru Xue’s face slowly regained color. At the same time, the blisters on her body disappeared, turning into a dark, foul-smelling substance.

When the Yin energy in her body was almost completely absorbed, I asked Yin Xinyue to mix the rest of the milk with water and bathe Ru Xue. It was the last step in cleansing any remaining foul presences from her. While Ru Xue was taking a milk bath, Li Mazi eased his worries, knowing that she was safe now.

I gently patted his shoulder. “Do you remember anything that happened before this occurred?”

Since that thing used Ru Xue’s body to strangle Li Mazi, they must have angered it some way or the other.

In addition, when it left Ru Xue’s body, he must have seen something, like a shadow or a swirl of air. With Li Mazi’s experience, he wouldn’t ignore such details. I knew he was too worried about Ru Xue previously to think about these things.

Li Mazi thought for quite a long time. In the end, he shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anything.”

My nerves tensed up again. Li Mazi wouldn’t deceive me. It meant that this thing was anything but simple.

And, why did it decide to spare Li Mazi’s life at the critical moment?

Looking at the horrible bruise on his neck, I knew that it wanted to kill him. If it abruptly let him go, something must have happened.

With this thought, I started to check the room. However, this room was built and arranged exquisitely. There was nothing that violated the rules of geomancy.

I regretted that I didn’t bring my compass with me. Otherwise, I could use the compass to locate the spirit. Anyway, I found nothing strange in the room, which left me at a loss of what to do.

After Yin Xinyue helped Ru Xue bathe herself, the latter woke up. She still looked pale.

Li Mazi bit his lip, asking shyly, “Little Brother Zhang, is there any method to help Ru Xue feel better?”

“She oozed a lot of pus, so she’s dehydrated now. Keep giving her water, and don’t worry,” I comforted him.

Li Mazi finally exhaled in relief. His face changed as he spoke through gritted teeth, “This time, I have to destroy that thing and send it to hell. If I can’t do that, I don’t deserve to live anymore!”

In contrast, my idea was to go home immediately as everybody was safe now. I didn’t want to provoke anyone or anything in a foreign country. However, Li Mazi was too persistent, and I knew I couldn’t persuade him. Now, I needed to assess this spirit.

Did Li Mazi accidentally provoke that foul thing? Or does the problem lie within this hotel?

If it were the former, we would be in a passive situation.

Since Ru Xue’s condition wasn’t good and we were afraid that the foul thing would come to attack again, we stayed up the whole night. After dawn, I asked the two women to take a rest.

I went downstairs with Li Mazi, trying to find some things we could use to defend ourselves. Unexpectedly, the commonly-found items that we could find at home were really difficult to get here. We searched the entire morning, and all we got was a chain of copper coins from China in an antique shop.

Although the coins had a green patina on them, they felt warm in our hands. It meant they had a lot of Yang energy. There should be no problem in using them for self-defense, but they weren’t strong enough to destroy that evil thing.

Li Mazi suggested having spaghetti for lunch. I didn’t have any special requirements for food, so I let him order. Li Mazi thought that the food was so delicious that he asked the waiter to pack two more dishes for takeout to give to Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue.

As the waiter spoke some simple Chinese, Li Mazi chatted a little with him. “How do you make these noodles?”

“Durum wheat.” The waiter answered with a smile.

I suddenly got an idea. We could use wheat to deal with the evil spirit!

Plant seeds had spiritual properties, and tougher grains could produce better effects. That was why I always chewed soybeans when encountering foul things.

I couldn’t go looking for soybeans right now, but I could use the durum wheat. Durum wheat was the hardest type of wheat. Its effect wouldn’t be worse than the soybeans if used properly.

I was excited and pulled Li Mazi to a store to buy a bag of durum wheat. Afterward, we returned to our hotel.

When we got back to the room, the two women had gotten up. I divided the chain of coins into four parts, as each of us should keep several coins to use in case of an emergency.

Once she had eaten, Ru Xue began to look healthier. Yin Xinyue had told her the situation last night. Yet, just like Li Mazi, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

The only thing Ru Xue remembered was how her head felt very heavy when she lost consciousness. When she told me that, her face looked forlorn.

“It’s okay. Let’s see if that thing comes back again tonight. I don’t believe that it’s powerful enough to leave no trace behind!” My voice grew colder.

I asked the girls to get some rest. Then, Li Mazi and I sprinkled the durum wheat on the ground in front of the door, window sills, and around the beds in both rooms.

While working, I saw Li Mazi inadvertently scratching the bruise on his neck. “Li Mazi, is your neck okay?”

“It’s okay, just a little itchy…”

Li Mazi waved his hand as if it weren’t an important matter, so I eased my worries a little bit. Then, I used some pieces of white paper to draw some spirit talismans. However, the effects wouldn’t be as strong as when I used the yellow paper. Anyway, in an urgent situation, I could add a few drops of blood to boost its power.

After the incident last night, I decided to toughen myself up. I washed my face and went to rest. Around twilight, we all went out to find a restaurant to have dinner. I noticed that Li Mazi kept scratching his neck!

Ru Xue also noticed this. “Li Mazi, what happened to your neck?”

“It just feels a little itchy,” He tried to smile, showing his big, yellow teeth.

We all suggested that he should go to the hospital to check that bruise.

“No, I’m okay. You used milk to wash my neck and expel the Yin energy already. Don’t worry.”

We didn’t urge him further.

When we returned to the hotel, the sky was completely dark. Except for our rooms, the hotel seemed strangely quiet. Every time we spoke, we would hear our voice echoing.

Ru Xue’s courage seemed to have shrunk after the incident last night. She stayed in Li Mazi’s embrace, shivering.

I closed the curtains and switched off the light. Instantly, the surroundings were swallowed by darkness.

“Will it work? What if that thing makes no noise when it comes here?” Li Mazi scratched his neck.

“Don’t worry. It has to cross the line of durum wheat if it wants to approach us. As long as it approaches us, the wheat grains will create some noise!”

I tried to sound calm and confident. In reality, I was a little worried.

After this point, no one talked anymore, with only the clock’s ticking filling the room. Li Mazi and I hadn’t slept since last night. Soon, we both grew exhausted, especially Li Mazi. He kept dozing off so often that he was tempted to use two matches to support his eyelids.

“You two should rest for a while. If something comes, I’ll wake you up,” Yin Xinyue said, feeling worried for us.

I yawned, looking at Li Mazi. “I can put up with it for a while. You should sleep first.”

“Okay…”

Li Mazi was really tired. He mumbled something and got on his bed. Suddenly, we heard the sound of high heels from the corridor.

The noise only lasted for around two seconds, but we heard a series of footsteps as if someone was running on high heels. In the next second, everything went silent.