PCJ – Chapter 78 Snake Water

Ma An’s condition had become extremely serious. Zhang Jiaohua could see that Ma An’s whole body was completely shrouded in black aura, which was the aura of death, while his yang energy had become extremely weak, trembling like a flickering oil lamp in the wind.

Zhang Jiaohua chanted the snake water incantation, “The gods number three thousand, the years number tens of thousands, open the treasure sword in the hall, true words and traditions, start by taking refuge, three incense sticks for the gods, Jade Emperor calling upon the heavens, three incense sticks for the middle, purple clouds covering the earth, three incense sticks below, before the master, heaven demon, earth demon, swelling demon can be dispelled, segment demon can be reduced, please Copper Hoop Grandmaster, Iron Hoop Grandmaster, and the Eighteen Celestial Grandmasters, swell to this place, end at this direction, swell and retreat, heat and cool off…”

The villagers around stared intently, as if they were used to seeing shamans performing rituals. However, the shamanic rituals they had witnessed before seemed different from Zhang Jiaohua’s water transformation technique. When the shaman performed rituals, they appeared mysterious and terrifying, but there was always a sense of ambiguity. However, Zhang Jiaohua’s technique was different. When he performed his water transformation technique, he exuded a subtle aura that made the onlookers dare not even breathe heavily, for fear of disturbing him and incurring his wrath. At that moment, they couldn’t perceive Zhang Jiaohua as just a child.

Ma Changzhi stared closely at the bowl in Zhang Jiaohua’s hand, silently praying that the water he was transforming could bring Ma An back from the brink of death.

Ma An’s wife, Liu Yuehong, anxiously watched Zhang Jiaohua’s water transformation. Her emotions were in turmoil. On one hand, she worried about her husband’s safety, and on the other hand, she fretted about losing all their money if her husband died. What would their future be like? Would she end up marrying one of the old bachelors in the village who hadn’t found a wife yet? Or would she have to move to another place and leave her son, Ma Sibao, behind? Then she felt guilty for thinking about such things at a time like this, a sense of guilt creeping over her.

Ma Sibao stared blankly at the scene unfolding in the hall, not fully understanding how serious his father’s condition was. He even envied Zhang Jiaohua for being able to conduct this ritual. How cool was that? To command everyone’s attention like that.

Ma Shenggao had already thrown the cloth person to the foot of Meizi Mountain, which was more than ten miles away from the village. He returned panting heavily. Standing on the corridor, he gasped for air while watching Zhang Jiaohua pacing back and forth inside the hall.

By this time, the water in Zhang Jiaohua’s hand had already been transformed. He scooped some water from it and flicked it several times towards Ma An. The water droplets on Zhang Jiaohua’s fingers dispersed evenly in the air, like a fine mist. The mist seemed to obediently envelop Ma An’s body.

Zhang Jiaohua flicked his fingers a few more times, then handed the bowl of transformed water to Liu Yuehong. “Quickly feed this to him. Whether he can survive depends on his fate.”

This sentence sounded very impressive, a phrase Zhang Jiaohua had learned from the old Taoist. It made him sound very imposing.

“Thank you, thank you.” Liu Yuehong hurriedly took the bowl of transformed water from Zhang Jiaohua’s hand, holding it tightly, afraid to spill a drop.

Ma An’s body was swollen all over, making it impossible for him to swallow. Liu Yuehong had to use a small spoon to feed him the water bit by bit. However, the transformed water soon overflowed from Ma An’s mouth.

“Force it down.” Ma Changzhi quickly brought a pair of chopsticks and used them to pry open Ma An’s mouth, leaving a gap between his teeth where the water could be poured in.

This method worked well. Liu Yuehong fed Ma An the entire bowl of transformed water spoon by spoon.

Although it was snake water, it wasn’t as effective as expected, mainly because Ma An’s condition was too severe. However, Zhang Jiaohua could see that the black mist enveloping Ma An’s body was slowly dissipating. Although Ma An’s yang energy was still very weak, it had stabilized. With the death energy gone, as long as he took some nourishing supplements, he would slowly recover.

“Master Zhang, how is my worthless son doing?” Ma Changzhi asked anxiously.

“Not bad. How could it be so easy to recover? He just took a trip to the gates of hell, so it’s natural that he won’t recover so quickly. You can rest assured for now. His life has been saved, but he was really close to death. How much he can recover depends on his own fate. If his destiny is good, he might not have any lingering effects. If his destiny is bad, well…” Zhang Jiaohua spoke in a serious tone, imitating an adult. If it weren’t for his voice, you wouldn’t be able to tell.

Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t eaten anything, and Ma Shenggao had dragged him here, keeping him busy for so long. His stomach was growling with hunger. Everyone in this family was staring at Ma An lying on the ground. There was no sign of preparing food.

“Uncle Shenggao, can you ride the bike and take me back?” Zhang Jiaohua didn’t want to walk back, his stomach growling.

“Just going back? Wait, you must eat before you go!” Ma Shenggao’s words reminded Ma Changzhi. He quickly stood up, “Right, right, you’ve been busy for so long, how can you leave on an empty stomach? Stupid wife, hurry up and cook. Boil some water and kill a chicken.”

“Uncle Shenggao, please don’t lose the things you helped me carry.” Zhang Jiaohua remembered the bundle of money Ma Shenggao had helped him carry.

“Don’t worry, I won’t lose it on me. I’ll give it to your dad myself when I take you back after dinner. You’re just a kid, you shouldn’t carry so much money on you. I’ll hand it to your dad personally when I take you back after dinner.” Ma Shenggao patted the bundle of money in his pocket.

Zhang Jiaohua really wanted to take the bundle of money and feel the weight of it in his hand. But this uncle was just too unreasonable, keeping it in his pocket and not willing to take it out, “Okay.”

Zhang Jiaohua felt dejected.

Ma Changzhi’s wife, He Ximei, hurried back home to cook, leaving Ma An’s house in chaos, unable to start a fire.

Ma An’s family brought out some candies, snacks, and oranges and placed them on the table. These were offerings specifically for Zhang Jiaohua, and no one dared to touch them. Even Ma Sibao, the young master of the house, who was tempted to grab some snacks from Zhang Jiaohua, was immediately scolded by Ma Changzhi.

Zhang Jiaohua felt no goodwill towards Ma Sibao and naturally wouldn’t voluntarily share with him.

“Waaaah…” Ma Sibao cried bitterly. Feeling utterly miserable, as he sobbed loudly in the room.