◎You’re Bullying Me Wuwuwu◎
Following Dou Dou’s guidance, Zhong Yao took a car to the old district of Dongchuan City. Unlike the bustling, traffic-filled city center, this area had a different kind of tranquility.
Trees lined both sides of the streets, not particularly tall but sturdy, their gnarled trunks twisting with age, bark mottled with time. Cicadas buzzed from the branches, carrying the heat and restlessness unique to midsummer.
Beneath nearly every large tree stood a wooden table, where three or five elderly men and women gathered, playing chess or cards, waving large yellow bamboo fans to cool themselves in the summer sun.
Zhong Yao walked along the street until she stopped in front of one such table.
Two elderly men sat across from each other, both with graying temples but sharp eyes and lively spirits. They were completely focused on the chessboard before them, undisturbed by the world around them.
One elder, wearing a white Tang suit, furrowed his brow, staring at the chessboard with a look of deep frustration, pondering his next move.
Opposite him, the other elder waved a large bamboo fan. The board’s situation was clear to him, and the slight upward curve of his mouth had barely faded. Patiently, he waited for the Tang-suit elder to make his move.
The Tang-suit elder hesitated, then moved a piece. The other elder’s eyes lit up with joy: “Checkmate!”
The Tang-suit elder had lost.
“[1]老 + 名字 (lǎo …) – familiar, senior, long-known jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1668871_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1668871_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Lao Xu, you’ve been losing to me all day, aren’t you ready to admit it?”
Xu Liang Zhi’s eyes went wide, his lips pouting: “Not yet, not yet! One more round.”
As the two began setting the pieces back for another game, Zhong Yao stepped forward a little and softly asked, “Excuse me, sirs, may I ask which of you is the owner of Wudu Shop?”
Both men paused. The elder who had just won chuckled: “Ah, fate has spoken. Let’s save our chess game for another day.”
With that cryptic remark, he shook his fan and slowly walked into the sunlight.
Only the losing elder, Xu Liang Zhi, scrutinized Zhong Yao from head to toe. He put aside his mischievous demeanor from the game and said casually, “Follow me.”
Zhong Yao hurried after him. Dou Dou had only told her to find the owner of Wudu Shop, without specifying the store’s exact location. She didn’t even know what the shop sold.
Xu Liang Zhi kept one hand behind his back, glancing at Zhong Yao, his voice stern: “Why have you come to Wudu Shop?”
Zhong Yao was puzzled. This was a store, of course she came to buy something. Why was the elder asking such a strange question?
“I came to buy something. I heard it’s only sold at Wudu Shop,” she answered obediently, though still a little not sure.
“What do you want to buy?”
Zhong Yao took out her phone and read aloud the list Dou Dou had compiled: “Cinnabar, turmeric talisman paper, Introduction to Talismans… and most importantly, Wudu Wine.”
Xu Liang Zhi remained indifferent as she read through the first items. Only when she mentioned Wudu Wine did his steps suddenly halt. After a brief pause, he continued walking as if nothing had happened: “Follow me.”
Zhong Yao touched her nose and silently trailed behind him. They turned down alley after alley. Xu Liang Zhi walked at a moderate pace, giving her plenty of time to take in the surroundings.
The sky above was high and vast, a pure, washed-blue canvas, with clouds drifting lazily. Sunlight filtered through the dense branches, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Vines clung obediently to the low walls, and among the lush green leaves bloomed clusters of small, unknown purple flowers. The green and purple complemented each other, and as a gentle breeze passed, the flowers swayed lightly, exuding a delicate charm.
Xu Liang Zhi stopped in front of a wooden door, pulled a long key from his pocket, and inserted it into the lock. With a soft click, the bolt slid open, and the wooden door creaked, revealing a world steeped in antique charm to Zhong Yao.
Redwood furniture added an air of classical elegance. The display shelves held various antiques, musical instruments, chess and calligraphy tools, the full array of scholar’s desk implements.
Zhong Yao hesitated at the threshold. Stepping inside, she felt as if she had been transported out of the modern concrete jungle into a rustic era she had only seen in history books.
Xu Liang Zhi instructed, “Come in and sit for a moment. I’ll get the items you need.”
Zhong Yao politely thanked him and carefully sat on a carved redwood bench, eyes wide as she scanned the room. Every antique on the shelves seemed to beckon a collector, casually displaying its elegance even to a stranger like her.
She had added Qian You Tong on WeChat, and through conversations with him, she had gained some understanding of antiques.
On the northern shelf rested a Jun kiln guan vase, and on the western shelf, a white porcelain crane-neck vase. Even the cloisonné Boshan incense burner on the small table beside her was visibly valuable.
If Qian You Tong saw these items, he would probably be so excited he couldn’t move.
Before long, Xu Liang Zhi returned carrying a cardboard box. “Here are the items you requested. However, I can’t give you the Wudu Wine just yet.”
Zhong Yao felt a bit troubled. Dou Dou had emphasized that among all these items, Wudu Wine was the most important. And now, the very thing she needed most wasn’t being given to her, how did that make sense?
“Is there a particular reason for that?” she asked, blinking in curiosity.
Xu Liang Zhi looked at her strangely. “The Wudu Wine I have is sold by the jar. I see you came empty-handed, how would you carry a whole jar along with this box?”
“I’m not refusing to sell it. Give me an address later, and I’ll send it to you via courier. You’ll just have to cover the shipping cost yourself.”
Zhong Yao misunderstood him and awkwardly twisted her mouth into a small smile. “Then how much is all of this?”
Xu Liang Zhi held a smoking pipe in his mouth but hadn’t lit it, mindful that the young girl was present. “It’s free.”
Zhong Yao froze mid-swipe on her phone, surprised. “Free?”
“The things you want, I can’t give you. Since that’s the case, I might as well give them to you for free, it’s not like they’re worth much. But remember, the courier fee is on you.” He pulled out a QR code and pointed to it. “Just scan and pay 50. I’ll send it via local SF Express, and it should arrive tonight.”
Zhong Yao transferred the 50 without hesitation, though she still felt a twinge of guilt. “Then I’ll write you an IOU. When you decide how to price things in the future, you can contact me anytime.”
Xu Liang Zhi yawned. “Suit yourself. Alright, take the stuff and go.”
“Thank you, sir,” Zhong Yao said, carefully writing the IOU on a piece of paper and attaching her contact information before carrying the box out.
Once Zhong Yao’s figure disappeared completely, Xu Liang Zhi lit his pipe, a sly smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He dialed a number. “Lao Chen, the person you’re looking for? I’ve found them for you.”
The box looked big but was actually not very heavy. Zhong Yao carried it back to school with ease.
The dormitory was empty, so she unceremoniously opened the box and took out its contents. To her surprise, beyond the items she had requested, there were unexpected extras.
Dou Dou popped out of her phone, eyes wide as it looked at the additional books. 【Unexpectedly, besides Introduction to Talismans, he also included Talismans: Beginner and Talismans: Advanced. Keep them for now, you’ll have a chance to use them later.】
Zhong Yao nodded, her fair fingers brushing the cover of one book. It was a thin blue paperback, the type often seen in martial arts TV dramas. The title was written vertically in bold brush strokes: Yiweng Lu (“Record of Strange Events”).
“What’s this?” Zhong Yao asked, curiously opening it. The pages were slightly yellowed, written in small vertical characters, and some pages contained strange, bizarre diagrams. “It can’t be a picture book, right?”
【Record of Strange Events is a compendium explaining all the bizarre phenomena in the world. It covers things like the evil spirits you encountered before and the talisman abilities used by Xing Chu and others.】
Dou Dou sounded equally surprised. This book hadn’t appeared on the market for a long time, yet it had been casually given to Zhong Yao. 【You can start by looking at the section on evil spirits. This time Chen Zhu Jing was also troubled by an evil spirit. Knowing your enemy is the key to victory. Once you understand it deeply, you can apply the right measures.】
Zhong Yao couldn’t wait and began reading immediately. Although the vertical text and traditional characters were a little unfamiliar and challenging, the content was captivating.
The section on evil spirits was especially detailed. Zhong Yao didn’t read everything, only what she needed before setting the book aside.
She learned that all things in the world have spirits, and both benevolent and malevolent intentions exist in every being. Their presence is like black and white, yin and yang, opposing, yet transforming into each other.
Most creatures have a predominance of benevolent intent, allowing them to follow natural laws and live orderly lives. A small number of beings, however, harbor more malevolent intent than benevolent. After they die, they transform into evil spirits.
Evil spirits exist contrary to the natural order, and their growth is naturally unacceptable to it.
They gain power by harming living beings, and humans, with the richest spiritual energy, are their primary targets.
Each type of evil spirit has different methods of harming others. Currently, over a hundred types are known, each with its own distinct name.
According to the book, the type of evil spirit Meng Yu encountered attacks directly and is considered one of the lower-level spirits, called a “Pacha.” The one Chen Zhu Jing faced is more advanced, usually using intermediaries to take lives, collectively called “Rogue” spirits. Among them, the evil spirits that steal someone’s luck are specifically called “Luck Rogues.”
Zhong Yao frowned, her expression serious. “It says here that for a Luck Rogue to steal someone’s luck, there’s a necessary condition: they must know that person’s birth date and time. So Chen Zhu Jing must have accidentally revealed his birthday, which is why the Luck Rogue targeted him.”
Dou Dou pondered. 【It’s not impossible, but I think another possibility is more likely. The first time I saw Chen Zhu Jing, I noticed his luck was much higher than average, well above the mean.】
“So the Luck Rogue targeted him because his luck was strong?”
Dou Dou nodded. 【Exactly. But thinking too much now won’t help. You’d better act quickly, finish the talismans to temporarily halt his luck from being drained, so you can save his life.】
Dou Dou had already sent her a tutorial video on making talismans that suppress Luck Rogues. Zhong Yao opened her phone and watched it carefully several times, memorizing every step. Then she took out her brush, cinnabar, and turmeric paper, slowly drawing irregular, curving lines with no discernible pattern.
She had no experience with calligraphy, and this was her first time attempting such a complex task as drawing talismans. Her hand trembled on the first talisman, making the already unsteady lines look like crude, chaotic scribbles.
Dou Dou covered its face in disbelief. 【Are you planning to scare the Luck Rogue to death with this talisman?】
Zhong Yao smudged some cinnabar on Dou Dou’s face. “Shut up.”
Dou Dou’s normally pale little face turned bright red. It froze for two seconds, then fluffed up angrily. 【Zhong Yao!】
Zhong Yao was surprised to see its hair stand on end when it got mad, a perfect illustration of the saying “hair bristling in anger.”
Seeing Dou Dou storm toward her as if it were going to bite her, Zhong Yao suddenly felt guilty. Quick as a flash, she pressed the freshly drawn talisman onto its forehead.
The turmeric paper was longer than her hand, and once stuck on Dou Dou, it completely covered its tiny body.
Zhong Yao giggled, thinking it would quickly get free, and turned back to continue drawing talismans.
After several practice attempts, her lines became noticeably steadier. Although still crude, each talisman looked progressively better than the last.
She finished the final stroke and rubbed her aching wrist, only to realize something was missing.
It seemed… the little chatterbox who had been beside her the whole time was gone.
Her heart tightened as she quickly looked around for Dou Dou. “Dou Dou? Where are you?”
Then she noticed the first talisman she had drawn was still standing upright. A chill ran through her.
She lifted the talisman and found Dou Dou pinned beneath it, its small red face tearful, standing rigidly.
As the talisman was removed, the tears that had hovered in its eyes finally fell, streaming down its cheeks.
【You’re bullying me, boohoo.】
Zhong Yao was stunned. Flustered, she tried to wipe Dou Dou’s tears, but forgot how much smaller it was than her. When her fingers reached out, she accidentally pressed it onto the table, making it cry even louder.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing it sob pitifully into a little tearful mess, Zhong Yao felt both heartache and a struggle to suppress the corner of her mouth from twitching upward.
Although… she really did want to laugh.
She forced herself to control her expression, cupped Dou Dou gently in her hands, and went to the bathroom to wash the cinnabar off its face. “Why didn’t you just tear off the talisman earlier and kept standing there like that?”
This time she deliberately softened her touch, using only the softest part of her fingertips to clean Dou Dou’s cheeks.
Dou Dou pouted but didn’t speak.
Thinking back to the overwhelming pressure that first talisman had exerted on it, it got scared and hiccupped, letting more tears fall.
It was supposed to be a talisman to suppress the Luck Rogue, so why had it worked on Dou Dou as well?
Dou Dou was thoroughly confused, and no matter how Zhong Yao asked, it kept its mouth tightly shut.
If it admitted that it had been subdued by a crude talisman, Zhong Yao knew she would be gloating endlessly, but it just couldn’t do that.
Meanwhile, Zhong Yao grew increasingly concerned. “If you keep not talking… you haven’t gone mute, have you?”
She grabbed a tissue, wiped the remaining water from Dou Dou’s face, and carefully set it back on the table.
Dou Dou glared at her. 【You’re the mute one.】
Hearing its familiar voice, Zhong Yao finally relaxed, it was the Dou Dou she knew!
【Practice on your own. Once you finish, write Chen Zhu Jing’s birth date and time on the back of the talisman, soak it in Wudu wine for three hours, and then find a chance for him to drink it. The Luck Rogue won’t be able to affect him temporarily.】 Dou Dou’s little legs trembled as it slowly climbed back into the phone. After taking a “serious hit” today, it needed a proper rest.
It shamelessly started goofing off.
Zhong Yao watched this little “curse drama” play out before her again, her mouth twitching, by now, she was used to it.
She picked out a fresh sheet of turmeric paper, concentrating fully as she drew the mysterious, unpredictable lines. This time, her strokes flowed much more smoothly. But on the last stroke, a sudden commotion from downstairs broke her focus. Her hand wavered, and the talisman was completely ruined.
“All together, all together!”
Zhong Yao, annoyed, tossed the brush aside and angrily ran to the window to look down. Below the dorm, a crowd had gathered, and in the center stood a man and a woman.
The man wore a white T-shirt, his thin frame visible from above. Zhong Yao squinted, barely able to make out that his face looked unusually pale.
He was holding a girl tightly. She tried to pull away, but he kept her pressed against him.
Was this another dramatic breakup? Another annual “resented couple” spectacle.
Zhong Yao sighed inwardly, she had never been interested in such matters. But as she turned, her gaze suddenly caught a familiar face.
The girl… wasn’t that Chen Xiang!?
References[+]