Chapter Sixty-Two: Obstacle Within an Obstacle

When Jiang Wei explained his plan, Master Liu found it quite reasonable as well. The time they could trap Qiongqi would be enough to return to the Celestial Realm and retrieve another Immortal Seal. Thus, Master Liu assigned tasks to everyone: Gu Za would set up a barrier to prevent disturbances, Qingfeng would keep watch nearby, Master Liu would prepare the altar, Qin Xiaomo would help him mix cinnabar, and Jiang Wei, headphones on, sat at the computer doing something unknown.

Curious, Qin Xiaomo approached the computer and overheard Jiang Wei’s headphones: “Eighty thousand.” Jiang Wei looked up, a hint of excitement in his voice. “This is really fun.”

Qin Xiaomo, somewhat annoyed, glanced at Master Liu, who grinned mischievously. “Ah, I’m just cultivating a card partner. When all this is done, we’ve agreed we’ll play cards together when we’re free, right?” He winked at Jiang Wei.

“Yes, yes, I’ll come often when there’s nothing to do,” Jiang Wei replied enthusiastically.

At this moment, Qin Xiaomo felt something was missing. After pondering, she suddenly remembered—Jidou! She had originally left Jidou in the house, but she had searched everywhere and couldn’t find her. She hurriedly called her, but the phone played: “Hello! The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable...” Usually, this meant either the phone was malfunctioning or she was out of the service area.

A sense of unease struck her, and she quickly asked Master Liu and the others, “Did any of you see Jidou when you just returned?”

“No.”

“Oh right, we told her to stay and watch the house. Where is she?” Qingfeng suddenly remembered.

“She’s a bit careless but definitely reliable. She would never leave without saying anything,” Qin Xiaomo, having been friends with her for so long, knew her well.

“Master Liu, do you have time to help look for her?” Qin Xiaomo felt inexplicably trusting of him in this house.

“Give me her birth details. I’ll calculate,” Master Liu said. Qin Xiaomo watched as he scribbled on yellow paper, occasionally counting on his fingers. After a while, he said, “Jidou’s yearly fate falls in the palace where the Tianpeng star resides, with the element Gui present, which means she encountered a swindler. Yet, the palace also has the auspicious gate and the element Qi, so it’s a lucky configuration and she’s not in danger. But her yearly fate entering the tomb suggests she’s caught up in trouble or has been locked up.”

“A swindler? Locked up? What’s going on?” Qin Xiaomo tried to imagine every possibility, but failed.

Just then, Jiang Wei finally looked up. “She might have been trapped.”

“What do you mean? Right! You’re an Immortal Lord—you should be able to find people, shouldn’t you?” Qin Xiaomo suddenly realized.

“I didn’t mention it earlier, but when I entered, I sensed a barrier here. I was busy saving you, so I left it alone,” Jiang Wei replied, a bit late.

“There is one; Master set it up,” Qingfeng responded.

“My point is, beyond the usual spell barriers, there’s another layer—an enchantment within an enchantment, difficult to detect. Perhaps she’s trapped in it,” Jiang Wei clarified.

Master Liu quickly broke the barrier he had set before. Sure enough, in the center of his living room, a mist appeared, shimmering with wave-like patterns under the light, stretching and flickering, almost imperceptible unless you looked closely.

“Someone has definitely been here,” Master Liu frowned, though he didn’t seem overly anxious—it shouldn’t be too difficult to handle.

“Will she be okay if she’s trapped?” Qin Xiaomo asked worriedly.

“She should be fine. Do you think she’d leave?” Master Liu suddenly asked Qin Xiaomo without context.

“No, she wouldn’t leave without seeing me return,” Qin Xiaomo replied, though her heart wavered.

“Then she won’t be lost.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if she walks out that door, she won’t be able to find it again. This is an illusion: once outside, she’d enter a labyrinth-like scene, either starving or... exhausted to death,” Master Liu explained.

“Quick! Save her!” The word ‘death’ made Qin Xiaomo’s skin crawl.

“Qingfeng, black dog’s blood! It’s the fastest and most effective way to break a spell.” Master Liu ordered. Qingfeng splashed the dog’s blood onto the watery pattern, and instantly, the waves vanished. Jidou appeared in the living room, utterly confused.

Suddenly seeing several people surrounding her startled Jidou. “Ah!” She gathered herself, recognized Qin Xiaomo and the others, and quickly said, “How did you all suddenly appear in front of me? Is this some kind of magical technique?”

“Jidou, are you alright?” Qin Xiaomo’s fear lingered.

“I’m fine. I just kept waiting for you all and decided to call, but my phone had no signal. I wanted to go out to look for you, but worried you’d come back and not find me. So I played on the computer, got bored, then wandered around the living room, looking at everything. Look, I even tossed the turtle shell for divination several times.”

Suddenly, Master Liu asked, “Did any strangers come into the house?”

“No,” Jidou replied, thinking for a moment. “Ah, earlier I ordered delivery. I only took the food from the delivery person at the door—does that count?”

“It counts,” Master Liu said, carefully examining Jidou. “What did he look like?”

“What’s wrong? I remember he wore a black cap and mask, with the brim pulled low so I couldn’t see his face clearly.” Jidou felt confused as everyone scrutinized her. “Why are you all so tense?”

“The black powder on your sleeve—where did it come from?” Jiang Wei, now dressed in Daoist robes, poked his head from behind the computer. Jidou turned, cheeks reddening shyly. “I don’t know. Who’s this?”

“Oh, this is...” Qin Xiaomo wasn’t sure how to introduce him, so she looked at Jiang Wei. He waved generously. “I’m Jiang Wei. I’m here to help Master Liu.”

“Jiang Wei—that’s a lovely name.” Jidou hurried to the computer and, seeing him playing mahjong, exclaimed excitedly, “I love mahjong! Let’s play together when we have time.”

“Uh, sure... sure,” Jiang Wei replied.

Jidou, delighted, ignored the others, scribbled her number on a slip of paper, and handed it to Jiang Wei. “Now that you’re all back, I’m tired. I’ll head home first.” It was Jiang Wei’s first time being flirted with by a girl, and he was at a loss—Jidou surely couldn’t imagine she was flirting with an Immortal Lord.

“Don’t go home. It’s too late. I won’t feel comfortable with you going alone,” Qin Xiaomo said, looking at Master Liu. “Master, can she stay here?”

“No problem. I won’t claim to be the safest in the province, but certainly in the city. Qingfeng, take Miss Jidou to the guest room to rest.”

After Jidou left, Qin Xiaomo turned to Master Liu. “Master, why does leaving the door trigger the illusion?”

“Because I set up a barrier in the house; no one can activate a spell inside,” Master Liu explained with confidence.

“The damaged Immortal Seal must be related to this person. First, he secretly stuck a rune on Jidou’s clothes. When she brought it inside and touched the copper coin, the spell activated, the rune burned up, turning into black powder. When I returned and touched the copper coin, the Immortal Seal cracked,” Jiang Wei analyzed.

“How did he know you’d touch the copper coin?” Qin Xiaomo was puzzled.

Jiang Wei glanced around the house. “He calculated the odds. For Daoists and immortals, the things we touch most are yellow paper and copper coins.”

Master Liu sighed, voice grave. “It seems the opponent knows this place well, and must have been watching us from somewhere for a long time. We didn’t notice a thing—his skill is profound.”