He turned on the faucet and suddenly felt a cold gust sweep past him.
The chill made his hair stand on end, and he shivered.
Lian Hao leaned out to look around. The windows were closed, and the air conditioner was off. He couldn’t understand why it was so cold in the middle of summer.
Just as he pulled his head back, the bathroom door slammed shut with a loud bang, as if struck by a strong wind.
Lian Hao shuddered in fright. If he had pulled his head back a second later, the force of the door closing would have likely separated his head from his neck.
How bizarre!
He cupped his hands under the water, closed his eyes, and splashed it on his face, hoping to clear his mind.
In his daze, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of his surroundings.
Everything was pitch black!
He felt as if he were in a vast wilderness, with unknown birds cawing overhead, their cries echoing and mournful.
A foul, fishy smell permeated the air.
Lian Hao grew frightened and tried to run, but he found his limbs immobilized.
Something like ropes bound him tightly, digging painfully into his flesh.
He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
The tightening around his neck grew more intense, and his eyes rolled uncontrollably upward.
He desperately stretched his hand toward the door. On the sofa outside lay his jacket.
In the jacket’s pocket was the Protective Talisman the master had given him.
But no matter how hard Lian Hao struggled, he couldn’t move an inch.
His head was even pushed downward, forcing his mouth and nose under the rushing water.
Water flooded his nose and mouth, and Lian Hao felt the suffocating sensation of drowning.
He couldn’t believe that this small washbasin would be the end of his fate.
Scenes from his thirty years of life flashed through his mind.
Even the pain in his body became more bearable.
Just then, Zheng Xiaofeng entered the room with food.
Having obtained the Talisman, he was brimming with excitement.
He said to the unconscious Lian Zhiqiang, “Hello, Old Lian, how are you feeling?
Oh, Young Lian asked me to buy food and bring it up. Where did he go?”
Zheng Xiaofeng set down the food, picked up Lian Hao’s jacket from the sofa, and tossed it aside.
Zheng Xiaofeng’s voice snapped Lian Hao back to consciousness.
“Help…” He managed to squeeze out a faint sound but couldn’t utter another word.
Hearing the sound of rushing water from the bathroom, Zheng Xiaofeng moved closer to the door.
Although he and Lian Hao had a superior-subordinate relationship at work, they were good friends in private.
For instance, Zheng Xiaofeng had taken nude photos of Lian Hao while he was showering, threatening to sell them to older single women in the company unless he got a raise—such mischievous things he’d done before.
Haha, maybe this time he could catch Lian Hao with the bathroom door open while using the toilet.
Holding his phone, he grabbed the bathroom door handle and pushed it open forcefully.
He didn’t notice that the moment his hand touched the handle, the thick black mist seemed to encounter something extraordinary.
It churned and dissipated.
The door clicked open.
Zheng Xiaofeng felt a searing heat in his chest, as if it were about to burn through his skin!
But seeing Lian Hao’s predicament, he ignored the pain entirely.
Lian Hao’s head was submerged in the washbasin, water rushing into his mouth and nose.
Zheng Xiaofeng’s face turned pale, and he rushed to help Lian Hao.
As soon as Lian Hao’s head emerged from the water, he coughed violently. “Clo… clothes…”
“At a time like this, why worry about clothes!” Zheng Xiaofeng laid him flat and was about to call for a doctor.
After taking two steps, his mind suddenly clicked.
His chest felt scalding hot—it was that talisman, and Lian Hao’s Protective Talisman was inside his clothes.
Zheng Xiaofeng strode over to the sofa, grabbed the clothes, and hurriedly ran to the bathroom, draping them over Lian Hao in a panic.
The moment the clothes were draped over him, Lian Hao felt a warm current surge into his body, and his strength gradually began to return.
With Zheng Xiaofeng’s support, he weakly made his way to the sofa and sat down.
“I’ll go call a doctor!”
“No need!” Lian Hao’s voice was weak, but his tone was resolute. “I just need to rest for a bit.”
Seeing his insistence, Zheng Xiaofeng finally sat down and took out the talisman Jiang Yi had given him from his pocket.
Originally, the cinnabar had been a vivid, striking red, but now a corner of the talisman was burned, and even its color had faded.
Zheng Xiaofeng whimpered.
He hadn’t even repaid the money he owed, and now one use of the talisman was already gone.
Still, it was fortunate he had this talisman, or else Lian Hao…
After resting a while longer and feeling no major issues with his body, Lian Hao spoke in a low voice, “Go pick up the master quickly. I’ll wait right here. Hurry!”
Zheng Xiaofeng didn’t dare delay and dashed out in a flash.
His heart still pounding with fear, his hands trembled as he drove, practically speeding all the way to the hotel where Jiang Yi was staying.
He knocked urgently on the door.
“Oh, here to repay the money so soon?!” Jiang Yi opened the door and saw Zheng Xiaofeng, but the next moment, she noticed something was off.
There were traces of a talisman blessing on him.
Zheng Xiaofeng was on the verge of tears. What kind of timing was this?
How could you open your mouth and ask about money? Are you obsessed with it?
“You’ve run into trouble.”
Zheng Xiaofeng grabbed Jiang Yi’s wrist. “Master, let’s go quickly. Lian Hao nearly lost his life. I’ll explain on the way.”
During the drive, Zheng Xiaofeng exaggerated the story, casting himself as the hero.
Knowing Lian Hao was in danger, he had stepped up without hesitation, charging ahead to rescue him from peril.
Jiang Yi:…
Without the talisman, what could you have rescued?
By the time Jiang Yi arrived, besides Lian Hao and the unconscious Lian Zhiqiang, there were three other people in the room.
Lian Hao sat beside Lian Zhiqiang, clutching the clothes and tightly holding the old man’s withered hand.
Cui Bin and Liang Ru were fawning over a man as if he were a star.
He appeared to be in his forties, dressed in traditional Chinese attire, adorned with various strings of beads, his fingers constantly twirling them, exuding an air of arrogance.
With Cui Bin present, Liang Ru felt much more confident. “Lian Hao, this is Master Lin, whom I found.
He’s very famous in Jishi. If he intervenes, he’ll surely be able to save the old man.”
As Liang Ru introduced him, Master Lin placed his hands behind his back, straightened his chest, and displayed his “immortal demeanor.”
Having nearly died just moments ago, Lian Hao trusted no one now except Jiang Yi. “Is that so?! Unfortunately, the person I found has also arrived.”
Cui Bin and Liang Ru looked toward the door.
When they saw the young and beautiful Jiang Yi behind Zheng Xiaofeng, Liang Ru’s face filled with disdain, but Cui Bin cried out in shock, “It’s you!”
As he spoke, he walked over to Master Lin’s side. “Master Lin, I wasn’t sure who cast the Nightmare Talisman on me.
Now I’m certain—it was her!”
Cui Bin had taken Liang Ru’s money, intending to find a fake master to deceive her.
Unexpectedly, the person he had commissioned had, after some twists and turns, found Master Lin for him.
This Master Lin had recognized that Cui Bin was tormented by nightmares, but the caster of the talisman was exceptionally skilled, and he was utterly unable to break it.
Fortunately, the person who cast the talisman only intended to teach him a lesson, as the effects of the Nightmare Talisman would naturally dissipate within a month or so.
Master Lin, eager to earn a few bucks from Cui Bin, gave him several talismans and instructed him to burn them to ashes and drink them before bed, promising full recovery within half a month.
In reality, those talismans merely induced temporary unconsciousness.
Once unconscious, one’s consciousness naturally scatters, leaving no possibility of dreaming.
Unaware of the truth, Cui Bin spent a night in a coma and woke up feeling refreshed the next day, thus convinced of Master Lin’s formidable powers.
With Master Lin as his backing, Cui Bin grew bolder. He turned to Lian Hao and said, “Young Master Lian, you may not know this, but this woman is ruthless and vicious. She cast a Nightmare Talisman on me, someone she had only met once, subjecting me to immense torment.
Such a person doesn’t deserve to be called a master—she’s nothing but a demoness.
We must never let this demoness perform the funeral rites for Old Master Lian, or his life will be in grave danger!”