PCJ – Chapter 421 Soul Capturing Bottle

“What are you doing?” Chen Dianzi tried to stop Zhang Jiaohua, but it was too late.

Zhang Jiaohua ran very quickly. He saw a long-necked vase exposed in a corner of Luoatang. This porcelain vase, Zhang Jiaohua had seen before! If it weren’t for the mountain leopard that had been by his side last time, Zhang Jiaohua might have fallen into a big trap. But this time, he could clearly feel the presence of the long-necked vase.

The reason he rushed over without hesitation was not because he loved the exquisite vase, but because he felt the call of Jinhu and the others.

Jinhu and the others were nurturing their soul in the bell in his hand. How could they possibly be calling him? Zhang Jiaohua sensed that the call was coming from the vase itself.

Zhang Jiaohua practiced every day, and his talent was good. With the inheritance he had received, his Meishan martial arts were no longer inferior to Chen Dianzi’s. How could Chen Dianzi stop him?

Zhang Jiaohua ran down Luoaling quickly and jumped into the pond. He actually walked on the muddy surface as if it were solid ground and swiftly picked up the long-necked vase.

“Stop!” Suddenly, a loud shout came from the bank.

Zhang Jiaohua ignored it and quickly ran back up Luoaling.

The one who shouted was, of course, Sun Lei, a subordinate of He Shouye. He was responsible for guarding the area and preventing anyone from entering the great tomb. Seeing Zhang Jiaohua rushing into the pond to pick something up, he immediately shouted to stop him.

But Zhang Jiaohua’s speed was so fast that before Sun Lei could catch up, Zhang Jiaohua had already ascended the mountain from the other side. Sun Lei hurriedly chased after him.

“Don’t run!” Sun Lei shouted loudly.

Though Zhang Jiaohua was climbing the mountain, he was still as fast as ever. Sun Lei could never catch up. After running for a while, he could no longer see Zhang Jiaohua. Sun Lei didn’t dare to chase any further; he was worried it was a diversion. Since he didn’t know exactly what the boy had picked up from the pond, he figured the most important item must still be in the tomb. So, Sun Lei stopped and returned to the edge of Luoatang. He quickly called He Shouye to send more people over.

He Shouye and Long Wuyi, upon hearing that a child had picked up an item from the pond, immediately became furious and blamed Sun Lei for being useless.

“Hurry up and seal off Luoaling! Use the excuse of setting up the scene, and seal off the area around Luoatang completely. We can’t delay filming any longer. Otherwise, unnecessary talk will only harm our plans,” He Shouye ordered.

Long Wuyi nodded. “We need to move fast. Actually, we just need to guard the entrance and prevent anyone from getting close. The rest can be handled by the crew. We can’t let them remain idle for too long, or else something unexpected might happen, and it would be hard to manage.”

Soon, the film crew received good news that the obstacles around Luoatang had been cleared, and filming could resume soon. Lin Jianming was overjoyed. The actors, who had been idly waiting every day, also finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Great, we can finally start shooting. I’ve gained so much weight in these few days,” Tang Yan complained.

Chen Cheng, on the other hand, didn’t mind. She had been through so many things these past few days that it seemed like more than most people would experience in a lifetime. Although she had long known that her nominal father had no real connection to her, unexpectedly meeting a biological sister and a biological father in a small village had completely taken her by surprise.

“Are we starting soon?” Chen Cheng said lazily.

“Xiao Chengzi, how’s your family situation going?” Tang Yan asked with concern.

Chen Cheng shook her head. “It’s a mess, a total mess. I don’t think I’ll ever sort it out in this lifetime. Life feels like a dream. I don’t even know if I’m dreaming or if this is real. I’ve been in movies for years, but nothing compares to the drama of my family. If my family’s situation was made into a movie, do you think I could play the lead role?”

Tang Yan chuckled. “Seeing you like this, I’m relieved. When the time comes, I’ll play your sister.”

“Deal. Yan Jie, you better keep your word,” Chen Cheng smiled.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiaohua, holding the vase, quickly evaded Sun Lei’s pursuit and ran all the way to Black Rock Ridge.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua…”

Zhang Jiaohua could clearly hear the calls of Jinhu and the others coming from the vase. Their voices were just as they were back then, unchanged. But weren’t they supposed to be in the bell? How could they be in the vase?

Zhang Jiaohua looked at the vase for a long time before realizing that it wasn’t an ordinary vase—it was a magical artifact, likely capable of capturing souls. Could it be that this soul-capturing vase had trapped Jinhu and the others’ souls?

Zhang Jiaohua quickly summoned his ancestors to refine the soul-capturing vase, immediately feeling as though the vase had become a part of his own body. Inside the vase, there was a very strange space capable of capturing souls. Zhang Jiaohua found the souls of Jinhu and the others inside the vase.

“Jinhu, Fu Gui, Xiao Shuan, Gou Wa, Man Cang, how did you all end up here?” Zhang Jiaohua’s voice began to tremble.

“Jiaohua, we tried calling you when we were taking a bath, but you wouldn’t wake up. The five of us came to bathe, but Man Cang got his foot caught by something, and when we tried to pull him out, we were all pulled into the water. When we woke up, we found ourselves in this strange place. We heard your voice just now and shouted as hard as we could,” Jinhu said.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched the back of his head. “But I’ve seen you before and placed you in the bell.”

Jinhu replied, “We had three souls. That day, one was sucked into this vase, another escaped, and the last one is still in our body.”

“How do you know that?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, puzzled.

“We saw it when we were sucked into the vase,” Gou Wa replied hastily.

“So what should I do now?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, feeling a little at a loss.

“Don’t worry. Tonight, when you release our two souls, we’ll be able to merge back together,” Jinhu said.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t return home but waited until nightfall on Black Rock Ridge. As soon as the sky darkened, he couldn’t wait any longer and immediately released Jinhu and the others from the soul-capturing vase. He also released the remaining souls from the bell. Just as Jinhu had said, the two souls merged instantly when placed together, becoming one.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, we’re leaving,” Jinhu suddenly said.

“Where are you going?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, puzzled.

“We don’t know, but we know we must leave,” Jinhu replied.

“Please don’t go,” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Jinhu and the others all shook their heads.

“No, we have to leave.”