The preparations for what Elder Hua had mentioned were completed by noon.
After lunch, Old Cai tidied up his belongings, and the three of them set off towards the mountain.
Old Cai led the way, with Elder Hua and Yu Daohan following behind.
Yu Daohan gazed at the surrounding trees, noting that the mountain was covered in willow and peach trees.
Willow trees represented Yin, while peach trees represented Yang. The intermingling of Yin and Yang suggested a hidden order.
They arrived at the place where the tree had been cut.
Upon closer inspection, a stone lion was found to be split in half, with only the roots of a peach tree remaining beside it.
Elder Hua nodded, and Yu Daohan produced three sticks of incense, handing them over.
Elder Hua took the incense, lit them, and planted them in the soil before the tree roots. "Burn the spirit money quickly," he instructed.
Old Cai blinked in surprise and poured out all the spirit money he had carried on his back.
Ta~ta.
Old Cai struck the lighter twice without success, his heart beginning to panic, his hands trembling involuntarily.
Seeing this, Yu Daohan took the lighter, struck it, and the flame began to ignite the spirit money.
As the spirit money caught fire, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the otherwise calm environment.
The spirit money, which had been burning, was extinguished by the sudden strong wind and swirled into the air.
The three of them looked up at the sky filled with spirit money. Elder Hua's expression was solemn as he stared at the three sticks of incense.
The spirit money brushed past Old Cai's shoulder and fell to the ground. Although it was daytime, Old Cai broke out in a cold sweat.
As all the spirit money landed on the ground, the three sticks of incense simultaneously extinguished.
Elder Hua glanced at the incense, then turned his head to look at Yu Daohan.
Yu Daohan looked at the incense: two short and one long, a sign of great misfortune.
Elder Hua let out a cold snort. "Since that's the case, there's nothing more to discuss."
With that, he turned and began to walk down the mountain.
Yu Daohan said nothing and followed Elder Hua down the mountain.
It was obvious that negotiations had failed. If the soft approach didn't work, they would have to resort to force.
As they descended the mountain, a loud bang suddenly echoed from a distance, followed by a bolt of lightning.
Yu Daohan looked in the direction of the lightning strike; it was directly above Changshou Village.
Elder Hua glanced at it, a flicker of killing intent in his cloudy eyes. "Little Yu, get ready. We'll deal with this thing tonight."
Yu Daohan grunted in response.
Upon arriving at Old Cai's house, Elder Hua sat in a chair without speaking.
Old Cai's face was ashen. "Elder Hua, do you have confidence tonight?"
Elder Hua nodded and uttered two words: "Eighty percent."
Time passed by, minute by minute.
After dinner, the two began to prepare the necessary items, awaiting the arrival of night.
As the sun set, the sky darkened. Elder Hua instructed Old Cai's family to hide in their rooms and not come out.
In the darkness, Elder Hua sat outside the main hall, his eyes fixed on the closed front door.
Yu Daohan, meanwhile, sat on the doorstep, his right hand habitually resting on the Kanglong Jian behind his waist.
"It's here," Elder Hua said, his eyes suddenly turning cold.
Yu Daohan stood up and drew the Kanglong Jian from his waist.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew the front door open, and a mass of black energy flew in, transforming into the shape of a lion.
The resentful lion, seeing that someone was blocking its path, lunged directly at Elder Hua and Yu Daohan.
Elder Hua's fingers condensed, and the yellow talismans placed around the courtyard suddenly emitted golden light.
The golden light transformed into chains that wrapped around the resentful lion.
While the resentful lion was bound by the talismans, Elder Hua seized the opportunity to draw three silver needles and shoot them.
Before the three silver needles could hit their mark, the resentful lion shook its massive body and let out a roar, shattering the chains.
It then roared again, blowing away the incoming silver needles.
Elder Hua remained unfazed, taking out a purple pill and swallowing it.
The resentful lion's blood-red eyes glared at Elder Hua, and it crouched down, charging forward.
Yu Daohan gripped the Kanglong Jian, ready to charge, when he felt a strong killing aura approaching from his side.
He saw Elder Hua charge forward, his figure as swift as lightning.
Seeing Elder Hua charge towards it, the resentful lion leaped forward, its claws like blades, slashing at Elder Hua.
As the resentful lion slashed at him, Elder Hua sidestepped to the left, dodging the sharp claws, and simultaneously drew silver needles from his waist, stabbing at the resentful lion.
The resentful lion, pierced by Elder Hua's three silver needles, began to roar.
The three silver needles were like flames, and the black energy at the wounds dissipated rapidly.
The resentful lion spat a mass of black energy at Elder Hua, who dodged backward.
Seeing Elder Hua dodge, the resentful lion turned and fled towards the outside.
Yu Daohan, who was preparing to strike, saw the resentful lion attempting to escape. He waved his hand, and the Kanglong Jian flew out, embedding itself in front of the door.
Before the resentful lion could react, Yu Daohan rushed forward, pulled out two small green flags, and planted them in the ground.
From beneath the resentful lion's feet, rope-like green threads emerged, entangling it.
Bound by the green threads, the resentful lion roared, but no matter how it struggled and tore, the green threads remained motionless.
Elder Hua walked up to the resentful lion and drew three silver needles from his waist, preparing to stab it.
The trapped resentful lion stared at Elder Hua and spoke, "Why?" Its eyes were filled with killing intent.
Elder Hua withdrew the silver needles he was about to thrust. "You've killed those who deserved to be killed. I'll have this family worship you. On every festival, they will burn incense and offer sacrifices. When your merits are complete, you can even become a mountain god. How about it?"
The resentful lion roared. "I only needed fifty more years to complete my merits and achieve enlightenment, but they destroyed my stone body and cut my peach tree. What crime have I committed?"
Elder Hua shook his head and sighed. "You killed Liu Qidong and his entire family of four. Your revenge should be complete. If you still wish to achieve enlightenment, then spare Cai Yongyi's family."
The resentful lion fell silent. Its stone body was destroyed, and it was now merely a mass of resentment. If it wished to survive and achieve enlightenment, it needed to be worshipped.
It was faced with two choices: either be destroyed by Elder Hua now, or spare Cai Yongyi's family, thereby continuing to live and achieve enlightenment.
The resentful lion eventually compromised, lying on the ground. "You keep your word."
Elder Hua nodded and pulled out the three silver needles that had been inserted into the resentful lion.
Seeing that an agreement had been reached, Yu Daohan pulled out the two small green flags planted in the ground.
As the green threads disappeared, the resentful lion stood up. It glanced at Yu Daohan behind it, then at the Kanglong Jian embedded in front of the door, and finally transformed into a black mist, flying out the door.
Yu Daohan walked over and pulled out the Kanglong Jian, looking at Elder Hua. "Old sir, wasn't that a bit too simple?"
Elder Hua shook his head, looking out into the dark night. "If it didn't want to die, this was its only choice."
Yu Daohan nodded, feeling a sense of helplessness. Perhaps he had been too tense. In this world, who wasn't afraid of death?
At this moment, Cai Xiuqin, who had been inside the house, witnessed everything through a crack in the door.
The two walked to the chairs in the main hall and sat down. Elder Hua cleared his throat. "Alright, you can come out now."
The door was opened, and Cai Yongyi and his wife emerged, followed by their daughter, Cai Xiuqin.
Elder Hua informed Cai Yongyi of the materials needed for tomorrow's worship of the resentful lion.
Cai Yongyi agreed and went to arrange rooms for the two of them.
Author's Note:
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