A cool breeze drifted past as the sky gradually darkened toward night.
Past the midpoint of the xu hour, a crowd shivered around the ancient well. They had been cold for half the night, yet Xu Banxian and his two companions showed no sign of making a grand display. The crowd could not help wanting to smash the whole show.
"Master, do you think that thieving daoist doesn't dare come?"
"Master, I think so too. He must have gotten stage fright and fled! Otherwise, we wouldn't have waited this long without seeing a single trace of him!"
By the ancient well, Zhang Dan and his companion each cradled a large rooster and stared doubtfully at the Bull-Nosed Daoist. He had been sitting at the worn-out daoist table the entire time, fingers curled, eyes closed, and muttering under his breath.
"What's the rush? It's for the best if he doesn't dare come — saves us the trouble!"
Xu Banxian's eyes were half-open as he glanced sideways at them, looking at ease.
The three of them could stay calm, but that did not mean everyone else could.
"We've been at this for ages, old fraudulent daoist—can you do this or not?"
"Why do you care about the Old Bodhisattva? Once he arrives, you won't get the chance to show off!"
The villagers joined in the jeering, eager to watch the spectacle, their words dripping with mockery.
Yet worry crept into their hearts: could the Old Bodhisattva really have... run off!?
"Hmph! Since you sickly, feeble bunch are so lacking in tact, this half-immortal shall show you a thing or two and open your eyes!"
A low, humming snort came from Xu Banxian's bull-like nose. His eyes snapped open, and anger showed on his old face in the dim candlelight.
"Ha — white rice wards off evil, may it fall and avert disaster!" Leaping down from the daoist table plastered with yellow cloth, Xu Banxian rolled up his sleeves and slowly swung the Demon-Slaying Sword.
With a slash, he flicked the white rice from the daoist table into the air, swaying his head as he muttered.
"Bring... the offering!"
He drew out the word "bring" for several moments,
and Xu Banxian took the two large roosters that Zhang Dan and his companion reluctantly handed him.
Afterward, the two shivered in unison and muttered that this damned weather was freezing.
"Crack!" A splatter of blood burst forth.
The two roosters had their throats slit,
unable to even let out a single cry before their wings trembled and flapped, and they departed for the west!
Then ruthless Xu Banxian performed his ritual with a low chant, and several Yellow Talismans flew onto the two roosters suspended in midair.
"Hiss!" As the crowd gasped, the Yellow Talismans burst into flame light, and shrill ghostly wails rose from the blazing fire.
At the same time, the flames reduced the two roosters to ash. Only their eerily green-glowing chicken skulls remained!
"Ah, spare me, great immortal, spare me! This little ghost will never dare cause trouble again..."
Before the terrified crowd, the half-charred chicken skull let out bone-chilling roars and ghostly wails amid the raging fire.
Two eerie green beams flickered through the flames, fraying everyone's already fragile nerves.
"Hmph! You've committed countless evils—how could this immortal let you off so easily? Die..."
"Ah... aaah~!"
Proud Xu Banxian stoked the flames higher, and the skull let out an even more agonized wail. The crowd nearby trembled, eyes wide, and forced down hard swallows.
The Black Smoke dissipated with the flame light. When the crowd came to their senses, they realized:
their backs were drenched with sweat, and the cold wind left them chilled to the bone!
"Playacting mystic nonsense!"
A young man of extraordinary bearing leaned against an Ancient Dead Tree by the ancient well. After watching the entire "exorcism," he let out a cold snort.
Xu Banxian's little trick was enough to fool the villagers, but how could it fool an insider like Feng Ling?
"Everyone! This humble daoist has uncovered the cause. A wild ghost haunted this well, causing those who drank from it to suffer strange ailments. This humble daoist has slain that ghost before all of you!"
Xu Banxian swept his gaze over the shaken faces. He wore an aloof expression while secretly savoring his smug satisfaction.
"Whoosh~!" A gust of wind blew past, and white mist rose up all around, the Cold Qi seeming to grow even stronger!
It was nearly the hai hour, when the world should have been quiet, yet the crowd had gathered here tonight for a reason.
"Great immortal, someone fell into the well by accident..."
As the crowd fell silent, an unfamiliar woman emerged from it.
"What!?" Terror seized the crowd. They rushed to the well's edge to peer down, and Xu Banxian pushed through them, alarmed.
The well's surface had once been smooth enough to call it "an ancient well without ripples." Now it churned with surging waves, as if something stirred beneath. The crowd stared down, their expressions varied.
"Boom!!" A column of water shot into the sky, startling the onlookers leaning over the well and sending many of them sprawling. Even Xu Banxian staggered several steps before regaining his balance.
"What manner of evil creature dares lurk here!? Show yourself at once..."
Xu Banxian straightened his crooked daoist hat with his left hand and pointed the Demon-Slaying Sword with his right at the column of water erupting three meters above the ground.
As if it understood him, the water column burst apart, sending the crowd stumbling again. A ghastly pale figure then plummeted from the sky onto the soaked ground.
A stench of blood spread through the air!
"Ah, it's Liu Er! Is he... dead?" One bold villager, standing closer,
The bold villager stepped forward and saw the corpse's face clearly: its blood-red eyes stared wide in death. It was the villager who had come to watch the show and had just fallen into the well.
"Hiss!!"
The crowd's hearts pounded with fear. They hurried away from the ancient well, where violent water still churned and roared.
This woman who'd brought the news — something was off about her!
Feng Ling stared at the woman who had appeared out of nowhere among the crowd.
This matter had already begun to spiral out of control — one person was already dead. If he didn't step in soon, this well might see even more disaster unfold!
"Hm?" Just as Feng Ling was about to act, he suddenly caught sight of a figure once again putting on a show beside the corpse, twisting truth into lies to sway the crowd.
Feng Ling had an idea and curled one corner of his mouth. "Xu Banxian, since you're certain this man was possessed by a ghost, dare you go down the well yourself to investigate and find the cause of this Well Eruption? That would convince the rest of us, wouldn't it!"
The Bull-Nosed Daoist had been gesturing beside the corpse and dazzling the crowd with his nonsense. He froze, then turned toward the handsome young man who had spoken. A flash of hidden irritation crossed his eyes.
"Ahem, ahem, little brother, what do you mean? This humble daoist has subdued the ghost in this well. The strange events now are nothing more than the resentment it left behind before dying. The Ghostly Qi will disperse within the time it takes an incense stick to burn!"
The crowd seemed to understand. Many villagers thought it over and nodded, clearly accepting the seemingly reasonable explanation.
"Could it be the great immortal doesn't dare?"
Two voices rang out together. Feng Ling and the woman both froze, then turned and exchanged a knowing glance—they had spoken the exact same words.
"This humble daoist fears no Evil Entity — why wouldn't I dare?" As he spoke, Xu Banxian pulled out a stack of Yellow Talismans, along with rope and a compass.
Under Zhang Dan and his companion's worried gazes and the crowd's "eager" looks, the Bull-Nosed Daoist steeled himself and slowly descended into the well, where biting Cold Qi emanated from the opening.
Feng Ling thought to himself, amused: "This old fraudulent daoist has already switched from calling himself 'this great immortal' to 'this humble daoist,' yet still boasts he's not afraid? Don't worry, someone will come save you later! Except, that rope you've tied around yourself — I'm afraid it might just... become a noose of your own making!"
No one knew how deep this well was—not even the villagers of Ancient Well Village, whose ancestors had lived here for generations...
Nor did anyone notice,
After Xu Banxian's daoist hat vanished from sight, no one noticed that two figures disappeared from the crowd at the same moment...