PD -Chapter 30 Yuanling Pill

It was already deep into the night. Only after everything had settled down did I start to feel the waves of pain coming from my chest.

Liu Xiaoqiang and I supported each other as we made our way back to the van. To our surprise, the thing could still start.

We backed it up along the road we had come from and were preparing to return to the motel when my phone suddenly rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that it was Zhu Zhu calling.

The moment I saw the caller ID, a bad feeling rose in my heart.

“Hello? Qiu… Qiu Han! Shanshan… she’s getting stranger and stranger! Where are you? Hurry back and save her!”

Zhu Zhu’s voice came through the phone, frantic and helpless.

I let out a sigh inwardly.

As expected, my premonition had been correct. Tang Shanshan’s condition had become even more critical.

“Don’t panic. Calm down and tell me exactly what’s happening,” I said, forcing myself to stay composed.

Zhu Zhu rambled for quite a while without managing to explain clearly. In the end, she simply started a video call and pointed the camera at Tang Shanshan.

The instant I saw the image on the screen, my heart sank.

Tang Shanshan was lying on a hospital bed, but her hands and feet were strapped down with restraints.

The most disturbing thing was her eyes.

The whites of her eyes seemed to have disappeared entirely. Her eyes were completely black, radiating a sinister aura that felt bottomless and malevolent.

Tang Shanshan had not lost consciousness.

When she noticed Zhu Zhu pointing the phone at her, she actually looked directly into the camera and curled her lips into a wicked smile.

It was as if she knew who I was even through the back of the phone.

And that evil grin was clearly a challenge directed at me.

I knew then that the consciousness inside Tang Shanshan’s body was no longer her own.

What I hadn’t expected was that the evil entity within the Yin Jade would develop its own awareness so quickly.

“Just wait.”

I gritted my teeth and spat out the words viciously.

The possessed Tang Shanshan wasn’t frightened by my threat, but poor Zhu Zhu certainly was.

I sighed, calmed myself down, and discussed the situation briefly with Zhu Zhu and Liu Xiaopeng.

In the end, I decided to have Liu Xiaopeng take the Yuanling we had just refined and rush back immediately to replenish Tang Shanshan’s primordial spirit energy.

Hopefully, it would temporarily suppress the consciousness of the Yin Jade.

As for me, I still had to continue handling the haunted-house design project I had accepted.

Because I knew very well that the Yuanling refined from last night’s Red-Robed Evil Spirit was little more than a drop in the bucket for Tang Shanshan’s current condition.

I needed to keep searching for evil entities.

Keep refining Yuanling energy.

Keep strengthening her primordial spirit.

Only then would she have a chance to overcome the conscious Yin energy that had already taken root inside her body.

My battered van was remarkably resilient.

Even though one of the windows had shattered completely, it was still drivable.

Liu Xiaopeng and I first returned to the motel, treated our wounds as best we could, and changed into clean clothes.

I used talismans to create a protective wrapping and had Liu Xiaopeng carry the Yuanling Pill refined from the Red-Robed Yin Spirit back to Zhu Zhu and Tang Shanshan.

As for me, I spent the night at the motel.

Early the next morning, I was awakened by my phone ringing.

It was Liu Xiaopeng.

“How’s Tang Shanshan?” I asked from bed.

“When I got back, Sister Shanshan seemed like a completely different person,” he said. “She was extremely violent, like she wasn’t herself anymore. It took several people holding her down before we could force that Yuanling Pill into her mouth.”

“Did it work after she took it?” I asked.

Liu Xiaopeng sighed.

“She stopped being violent afterward, but… she seems to have fallen into a coma again.”

I thought for a moment before replying.

“Being unconscious isn’t necessarily a bad thing right now. The violent Tang Shanshan you saw was probably the consciousness created by the Yin Jade. Tang Shanshan’s own consciousness had been completely suppressed, which allowed it to take control. Now that her primordial spirit has been strengthened by the Yuanling Pill, she’s able to resist it again. That’s why the Yin Jade’s consciousness can no longer dominate her body.”

“It’s just that Tang Shanshan’s primordial spirit is still too weak. She can’t suppress the Yin Jade’s spiritual consciousness and reclaim control of her body, so she’s fallen unconscious again. If her primordial spirit became just a little stronger, then perhaps…”

I sighed.

“But this proves our method works. If I gain something from this haunted house, I’m confident she can wake up.”

“Brother Han, be careful on your own,” Liu Xiaopeng said. “If you need help, I can come over.”

“No need. I’ll meet the client first and learn more about the situation. Nothing particularly troublesome has come up yet. You went through enough yesterday. Get some rest at home, and we’ll stay in touch.”

After that, I hung up.

Truthfully, I felt very grateful toward Liu Xiaopeng.

He had helped me tremendously on this trip.

He’d been injured last night and still rushed back overnight.

I felt guilty about putting him through that.

So I decided not to have him running around anymore.

I would first investigate the situation myself and make detailed plans afterward.

I quickly washed up, checked out of the motel, and asked the owner to help me find a rideshare.

After nearly an hour on the road, I finally arrived at a restaurant on the outskirts of a neighboring city.

The client who had posted online asking me to inspect a villa and design renovations for it had already sent me the location.

We had agreed to meet here today.

Perhaps I had arrived too early.

The restaurant had only just opened.

When I walked inside, the staff all looked half-asleep, lazily cleaning tables with little enthusiasm.

I was about to ask someone for directions when a very energetic young man came downstairs from the second floor.

He wore a black T-shirt, a chunky gold chain, and a flashy watch.

The only thing missing was a small leather bag tucked under his arm.

When he saw me, he froze for a moment before suddenly realizing who I was.

“Are you… A Good Person’s Life Is Hard?”

I blinked.

Then nodded.

“A Good Person’s Life Is Hard was my online username.”

“Hello. You’re Li Zi?” I asked with a smile.

“Finally meeting you in person!” Li Zi beamed. “Come on, big bro, have a cigarette!”

He immediately pulled out a pack and offered me one.

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I couldn’t really refuse.

After accepting it, I asked, “So, are we going to look at your house first, or…?”

The moment I mentioned the house, his expression changed.

A trace of fear appeared in his eyes.

He stood there silently for a long moment before forcing a smile.

“Bro, let’s not go there just yet.”

“You just got here. Must be tired from the trip. Let me treat you first.”

“We’ll have lunch right here today. Order whatever you want. The chefs are all people I poached from high-end hotels in the city. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

I glanced around the restaurant.

“This place belongs to you?”

Li Zi scratched his head.

“Ah, it’s just a side business. My main job is livestreaming.”

We had met through a forum thread and had never seen each other in person before.

But now that he mentioned it, I suddenly understood why he looked vaguely familiar.

I had definitely seen his face before.

He made short videos and livestreams on one of the major video platforms.

A small internet celebrity with several hundred thousand followers.

Li Zi led me upstairs to a private dining room and spent quite a while telling me the story of how he went from an unemployed young man to an online influencer.

But my mind was occupied with one thing only:

Finding more evil entities.

Obtaining more Yuanling energy for Tang Shanshan.

After what felt like forever, he finally finished his life story.

I immediately got to the point and asked about the villa.

Li Zi told me that he hadn’t bought the villa merely because it was cheap.

In fact, he had specifically wanted to buy a haunted house for a long time.

I was completely baffled.

People buying haunted houses because they’re inexpensive—that I’d seen before.

But someone deliberately seeking out a haunted house?

That was a first for me.