“Is that so? But what if even you, Master, don’t know that this talisman water is poisonous?”
“What did you say?” Hu Wang’s face filled with disbelief, then quickly twisted into a look of deep humiliation.
“What nonsense! These talismans of mine are sacred objects, blessed by incense offerings. The cinnabar is also a holy substance that wards off evil, personally prepared by me. How could I not know their properties? You woman—first you accuse me of poisoning, and now you claim I ‘don’t know’? You contradict yourself. You are clearly trying to confuse everyone and frame me unjustly!”
He turned to the Old Madam and spoke with indignation, “Old Madam, please see clearly. Ever since I entered this residence, I have devoted myself wholeheartedly to exorcising evil for the Second Young Master. I have not dared to slack off in the slightest. Yet today, this woman first disrupted the ritual, then used wicked methods to slander me, and now speaks nothing but nonsense. Her intentions are truly malicious!”
At this point, the Old Madam’s trust in Hu Wang had already diminished greatly.
However, Hu Wang did have a reputation. If the talisman water were truly poisonous, why had those who drank it before been fine?
Many noble households in the capital also invited Daoist priests to perform rituals. Never had it been heard that such “holy water” was toxic.
“Shen, this silver hairpin changing color slowly is not enough to convince everyone. Since you insist this water is poisonous, do you have any other solid proof?”
This was exactly what Shen Lingwei had been waiting for.
“Replying to the Old Madam, I do have another method.”
With that, she turned and picked up the tray she had brought earlier. On it was a small bowl containing half a bowl of rice water.
“The Master claims this water purifies evil. Then I will use the essence of the most ordinary grains to test it.”
Hu Wang’s eyelid twitched. “What are you trying to do?”
Shen Lingwei lifted the bowl. “This is rice water I made this morning. There’s just a little left.”
To prove she wasn’t lying, she even took a small sip.
Then, under everyone’s astonished gaze, she poured a small amount of the rice water into the bowl of talisman water.
The crowd held their breath, staring intently.
After a few moments, the originally clear, milky-white rice water began to turn faintly grayish-green, as if contaminated. It gradually became cloudy, eventually turning a dark green.
The crowd’s eyes widened in shock. “This…”
The Old Madam, clutching her prayer beads, abruptly stood up, her eyes filled with alarm.
Shen Lingwei held up the bowl for everyone to see. “Everyone, please look. The rice water changes upon contact with poison—this is solid evidence. It is a commonly used folk method for testing toxins. Though simple, it has never failed.”
“The Second Young Master’s body is weak. This water cannot even tolerate the gentlest rice broth, yet you still call it life-saving holy water?”
Hu Wang’s face turned pale. He staggered back two steps, shaken. “Wicked arts… this must be your wicked arts…”
“Who exactly is using wicked arts? Doesn’t the Master know in his own heart?” Shen Lingwei countered.
Then, she picked up a yellow talisman from the table, unfolded it in front of everyone, and pinched a bit of white powder from the tray, lightly smearing it onto one corner.
What happened next stunned everyone.
She brought the talisman close to a candle flame—whoosh!—it suddenly ignited with a greenish flame, exactly like the “fire-from-a-distance” trick Hu Wang had just performed.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
“My heavens! H-how does Madam Shen also know how to ignite fire from afar?”
“Could this also be some kind of street trick?”
Whispers spread rapidly. The Old Madam’s face darkened, her cloudy eyes flashing with sharp intensity.
“Master Hu,” she said coldly, pointing at the bowl of talisman water, “what is the meaning of this?”
All the color had drained from Hu Wang’s face. His lips trembled violently.
“This… this is impossible!”
He stared at the burning talisman in Shen Lingwei’s hand, stumbling backward until he collided with the ritual altar.
“Y-you… who exactly are you?”
Only insiders would know such a method of igniting fire from a distance. How could a village woman possibly know it?
His gaze swept over Shen Lingwei’s face suspiciously, as if suddenly realizing something. His voice rose sharply:
“A mere widowed woman from the countryside—how could you know such a secret technique? You… could you be a traitor from some Daoist sect?”
Shen Lingwei was stunned by his reasoning, momentarily speechless.
“Master, you overestimate me. I am just an ordinary woman—how could I be part of any Daoist sect? I simply saw some street tricks from a traveling healer who passed through our village.”
A flash of viciousness appeared in Hu Wang’s eyes, his false benevolence collapsing into something feral and unhinged.
“Demon! How dare you deceive the people here! Today, I will act on heaven’s behalf and eliminate you!”
Before anyone could react, Hu Wang suddenly shouted, raising the bell in his hand high above his head and shaking it violently toward Shen Lingwei.
“Clang… clang… clang…”
The piercing sound struck like needles into everyone’s minds.
Those in the courtyard felt as if something inside their heads was being tugged and twisted, causing intense pain.
Shen Lingwei, being closest, bore the brunt. The scene before her began to distort and overlap, echoes ringing endlessly in her mind.
Seeing something was wrong, the Old Madam quickly ordered the servants to take Pei Ke away.
“Quick! Make sure the Second Young Master isn’t harmed—cover his ears!”
Chen Shitou snapped into action, grabbing a cloth from a maid, knotting it, and pressing it over Pei Ke’s ears. “Quick, this way, Second Young Master!”
The surrounding servants covered their noses and staggered backward.
Near the altar, only Shen Lingwei remained. The eerie ringing drilled into her head like knives. It felt as if countless ants were crawling inside her brain.
At the same time, thick smoke drifted in from somewhere, forcing its way into her nose—numbing and irritating. Her consciousness felt like it was being violently pulled, as though something was trying to invade it.
She clenched her teeth, her nails digging into her palms, forcing herself to stay focused.
Hu Wang stood at the center of the smoke, shaking the bell like a madman.
“Demon, reveal yourself at once!”
She staggered and accidentally knocked into the offering table, sending bowls and offerings crashing to the ground.
But the sudden noise disrupted the rhythm of the bell, breaking the wave of sound for a brief moment.
Now!
Seizing the chance, Shen Lingwei bit down hard on the tip of her tongue, using the pain to regain clarity.
At the same time, her nails dug deeply into her palm, piercing the skin and drawing blood.
Hu Wang shook the bell even more violently.
“Demon, look into my eyes!”
Shen Lingwei forced herself not to look, not to listen—but the sound was relentless, and the smoke continued to choke her.
She held her breath and bit her tongue harder, the taste of blood filling her mouth.
Hu Wang, eager to subdue her quickly, stepped closer, attempting to use his soul-capturing technique at close range.
Shen Lingwei, who had been keeping her head lowered, suddenly gathered her strength and, at the precise moment, spat a mouthful of blood toward the ringing bell.
“Pfft!”