PWE – Chapter 77 That Terrible Bad Thing

When Xiao Wange and Zhan Zeyan rushed into Zhao Zhao’s room, they didn’t see that “bad thing” anywhere.

The room looked completely normal, as if… the Hungry Ghost had just been playing a prank.

But Xiao Wange scanned the surroundings again and faintly sensed that something in the air felt off.

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

It felt the same as the previous night. Last night she had also sensed something strange in the atmosphere, but she couldn’t articulate what exactly was wrong.

“What exactly did you see just now?” Xiao Wange suddenly turned to the Hungry Ghost and questioned it.

The Hungry Ghost was curled up in a corner of the wall, trembling as though something terrifying had frightened it terribly.

Shivering, it raised its eyes to look at her. “I… I actually didn’t see anything. But I felt something terrifying arrive. That thing made me feel like I’d fallen into purgatory. It felt like something was squeezing my entire neck. Master, just now I… I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I think I… nearly died.”

Xiao Wange frowned deeply, her expression turning grave. “So you’re saying… that thing has no physical form?”

The Hungry Ghost shook its head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see it. I only sensed it. It was terrifying. It felt like… a demon.”

Zhan Zeyan’s expression also turned extremely grim.

He glanced at the Hungry Ghost, then turned to Xiao Wange. “Wange, the moment I stepped inside just now, I felt something staring at us. But the feeling disappeared instantly. I think there really is something huge lurking around. It’s waiting for a chance. It’s looking for an opportunity to strike at Zhao Zhao.”

He paused, then continued, “With things like this happening, I can’t go back to the unit. I need to stay here and protect you and the child.”

Xiao Wange also wanted him to stay.

But she looked at him and said, “Didn’t you say your mission is urgent? And that they specifically need you? If you stay home, what about the mission?”

Zhan Zeyan’s brows tightened. He had no answer for that.

Yes—his unit’s mission was extremely urgent. The leadership had asked him to return this afternoon. He was the one who delayed it until tomorrow morning because he wanted to spend more time with his wife and child.

If he backed out now… what would happen to the mission?

“Enough. You should still leave as planned tomorrow morning. The child—I will protect him. Tomorrow I’ll set a far stronger formation around the house. With that formation, that thing won’t be able to get near the child again.”

She said this in a low voice, then put the Hungry Ghost back into the bell.

She had actually already placed a protective formation around the house earlier today. She hadn’t expected that the formation could be broken, allowing that “bad thing” to slip through.

Now she was truly curious. What was strong enough to break her formation? Was it the man with sky-blue eyes?

But her intuition said no. If he entered this place, she would definitely sense it. But earlier, inside that room, she sensed nothing. So it wasn’t him.

That thing would definitely return. In the coming days, she’d have to stay vigilant—extremely vigilant—to protect the child.

“Wange, I—”

“If you really feel uneasy, I can borrow a hundred yin soldiers from the Judge and have them guard the child. Or I can take the child to the underworld for a while?”

In truth, living humans weren’t supposed to enter the underworld. The yin energy would corrode them. But with her there, she could use a special talisman to keep the yin energy away. If necessary, the child could live safely in the underworld.

Zhan Zeyan: “…”

Her words struck him like lightning. Take the child to the underworld?
That sounded… unbelievably strange. It felt like the child would basically be… dead.

“You don’t need to worry. Just leave tomorrow morning. You know very well you wouldn’t be much help here anyway. If a powerful entity appears, you can’t fight it. You don’t have spells. If you tried, you’d only get beaten up. When it comes down to it, dealing with that thing is my job.”

Zhan Zeyan: …!

That hurt. She hadn’t said the words “you’re useless,” but somehow… that was exactly how it felt.

He frowned slightly. He wanted to say he did have abilities…

But in front of her, his abilities really didn’t count for much.

For the first time, he felt defeated. For the first time, he felt… like a useless person.

“Go to sleep,” Xiao Wange said as she pushed him out of the room.

He sighed inwardly, said nothing more, and returned to his room as she wished.

After he left, she walked into the courtyard.

Standing in the center, she looked around, then bit her finger. She flicked droplets of her blood toward the edges of the yard.

Those droplets instantly solidified into beads, then sank into the soil.

She frowned, began forming hand seals, and quickly started establishing a new formation.

She had intended to do this tomorrow, but for safety’s sake, she set it up tonight.

After all, he was sleeping alone in that room. If something happened to him… what then?

Though her instincts said the entity was targeting Zhao Zhao and wouldn’t go after him, she still needed to be cautious. And since he was leaving tomorrow, she needed to prepare protective talismans for him. With them, even if he encountered evil spirits, he would be safe.

Once the formation was complete, she hurried back inside.

She took out cinnabar and yellow talisman paper and began drawing charms.

She intended to draw ten or so—but without realizing it, she drew dozens.

Holding the finished talismans, she went to the main hall. His packed backpack sat on the table. She slipped the talismans inside, then returned to her room to sleep.

…

Zhan Zeyan lay down on his bed. Despite the earlier incident, he thought it would take him a long time to fall asleep.

Unexpectedly, he fell asleep in under three minutes.

Once asleep, a mysterious totem appeared on the back of his neck.

The totem emitted a faint red glow, bathing the room in eerie light.

The sleeping man didn’t sense the changes on his neck. Breathing steadily, he slept on, unaware.

The totem’s glow grew stronger, the markings flowing like living lines.

The room glowed like a crimson purgatory.

After three or four minutes, the red light vanished—and the totem disappeared.

But…

Not even ten seconds after the totem faded, Zhan Zeyan suddenly sat upright.

His eyes snapped open—blood-red, dark, like the eyes of a demon.

He put on the coat lying beside him, climbed out of bed, and walked to the center of the room.

Then—

His body leapt upward, passing straight through the roof as if it didn’t exist.

Standing atop the roof, he scanned the surroundings. In the distance, Red Pagoda Mountain was shrouded in thick fog, eerie in the night.

He stared at it for a moment—then his figure blurred.
He shot toward Red Pagoda Mountain.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wange knew nothing of this.

Outside, everything was silent. Not a trace of abnormal aura could be sensed. After lying in bed for a dozen minutes, holding the child, she slowly closed her eyes.

…

The next morning at five, Zhan Zeyan woke up on schedule.

After waking, he frowned. His body felt unusually exhausted.

As if he’d fought a massive battle during the night—one that drained his strength.

He was puzzled. Last night, aside from what he did with Wange, he hadn’t done anything else.

So why was he so tired now? Had he not slept well?

But this wasn’t the feeling of being sleep-deprived.

This was physical fatigue—overexertion.

He sat on the bed for over ten seconds, waiting for the exhaustion to ease, before getting up.

By then, Xiao Wange was already awake.

She had gone to the kitchen to cook him a bowl of egg noodles.

She brought the bowl to him and said, “I made egg noodles. Eat before you—”

Before she could finish, she was startled by his condition. His face was pale, and fatigue lay heavy between his brows.

She frowned and asked quickly, “Are you not fully awake? Why do you look so tired?”

Zhan Zeyan accepted the noodles.

He glanced at her and nodded. “Mm, probably just not awake yet.”

He didn’t want her to worry, so he could only say that.

She stared at him. “I told you to sleep early. Look at you now—are you even fit to leave?”

Zhan Zeyan nodded. “Of course. I’m just not fully awake. Once I get in the bus to town, I can sleep on the way.”

Xiao Wange pressed her lips together. She wanted to say more, but after looking at him again, she swallowed her words.

For some reason, she felt something was wrong with him. His aura had changed somehow—but she couldn’t tell exactly how.

Zhan Zeyan finished his noodles quickly.

After eating, his complexion improved, and his energy returned somewhat.