Dragon Hermit

Dragon Hermit – Chapter 21, Lingering Spirits

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Translator: Immortal Dreamer

Editor: Silavin

 


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“What are you laughing for? Pay up right now, or else I’ll beat you up!” The bald man shouted impatiently.

“You want money, huh? All right. How much?” Xia Yan asked while chuckling.

“This is a bracelet made from imperial jadeite, it’s precious!”

“Just say the number. This bro doesn’t lack money,” Xia Yan replied impatiently.

The bald man blanked out for a moment. He was decently experienced in doing porcelain drop scams, and the victims were all scared witless each time. There had never been a student who acted so nonchalant, ready to throw money.

“20,000!” The bald man pondered for a moment, then stated an amount.

“An imperial jadeite bracelet is worth only twenty thousand? I heard they are expensive. A piece like yours is at least worth two million!” Xia Yan faked his amazement.

“Yeah, that’s it. It’s 2 million!” The bald man rejoiced and almost swooned after hearing such an amount. He wondered whether this kid, who Young master Wen had wanted him to beat up, was a retard.

“How about this? My money is in the car. How about you follow me to the underground parking lot to get it?” Xia Yan suggested.

The bald man couldn’t have asked for more. It worried him that the matter would blow up if he beat up the kid before him on the street. He wasn’t expecting the kid to suggest going to the parking lot, which would make his work a lot easier!

“All right.”

“Let’s go then,” Xia Yan turned around and left while the bald man followed behind promptly. He wasn’t expecting Xi Yan to turn back suddenly and ask, “Don’t you need to pick up the bracelet? Since I’m compensating you for it, it will become mine. Maybe I can ask someone to make a jade Guanyin or something.”

“It’s just glass, so… Eh, you’re right! I totally forgot!” The bald man cursed his damn loose-lipped mouth internally and went to pick up the broken bracelet right away.

Xia Yan acted like he had heard nothing and entered the parking lot along with him. At the same instant, the five crooks came inside, and then Wen Yipin also followed.

It appeared as if Xia Yan hadn’t heard their footsteps. He didn’t even turn back and entered deep into the parking lot. Then, he raised his head and confirmed they were in the perfect location, a blind spot of the CCTVs, so he stopped. He placed the boxes in his hand down on the floor and turned around, taking out a ten-centimeter-long, black, wooden figurine from his backpack.

The impressive thing about this wooden figure was that it was the perfect imitation of a human skeleton, only lacking a skull. Xia Yan took out the Soul Storage Horcrux from his neck and began chanting a magic spell softly.

“Hoh? There’s singing too!” The bald man had also discovered this place was a blind spot. Although he was unaware of the reason this student had brought him here, it matched well with his intentions. He smacked his fist against his palm in preparation.

“Brother Houzi, you’re really something. How did you fool him into coming here? It will save us a lot of trouble!” The five crooks also arrived from behind, and one among them commented jovially.

“The kid brought me here voluntarily,” The bald man explained.

“Trouble, my ass! I have already instructed them to turn off the CCTVs!” Wen Yipin walked over while drawing in a puff from the cigarette. He tilted his neck, sized up Xia Yan, and then puffed out a cloud of smoke, “Hey, little fraud, are you so scared that you’re singing? What bullshit song is this? Why have I never heard it?”

He felt a shiver pass through him while he spoke, and that made him curse out, “Fu•k, why is it so cold? Did they install a damn AC in this parking lot?”

“Young master Wen really knows how to joke! Hahaha!” The six crooks burst into laughter altogether. The bald man, Houzi, also felt a shiver pass through him then, “Something’s wrong. It’s really a bit cold. This is so bizarre. What’s going on?”

“Whoosh!” An unscientific gale suddenly swirled up inside the underground parking lot, causing the plastic bags to go float along with the wind.

The crooks and Wen Yipin gazed at each other and felt goosebumps. Wen Yipin threw the cigarette butt away and said, “Houzi, let’s deal with the matter and leave quickly. Why is it so fu•king cold here? It’s making me feel restless!”

“Don’t worry, Young master Wen. We will do it in a moment!” The bald man fawned on him while nodding and then said, “Brothers, Young master Wen wants us to break this kid’s leg. Do it!”

“Sure!” The crooks revealed sinister grins as they charged at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan stopped chanting right at this moment, and he interlocked the Soul Storage Horcrux with the wooden figurine, joining them perfectly. It appeared as if they were both originally a single piece.

Only, as this corner was relatively dark, although Wen Yipin and the others could see that he had something in his hand, they couldn’t discern its identity.

“Lingering Spirits!” Xia Yan enunciated the words carefully.

A faint blue flame lit up in the breastbone of the wooden skeleton figure, and following it, a ghastly cry echoed in the parking lot suddenly.

“What’s that voice?” Wen Yipin cried out in alarm.

“No idea!” It also spooked the crooks and made them look for the source.

The lighting flickered suddenly, followed by the fluorescent tube’s explosion, and then another series of explosions. Two seconds later, the huge parking lot only had two flickering fluorescent tubes remaining.

A faint white shadow appeared suddenly under this dim lighting. It resembled the shape of a comet as it circles in the air. Following it, another white shadow appeared, and then a third, a fourth…

Seven white shadows appeared finally, circling in the parking lot while releasing horrifying cries.

“Ghosts!” Wen Yipin screamed and ran for his life. The six crooks had also pissed their pants in fear and scrambled for the exit.

The seven ghosts followed their targets, overtook them, and disappeared into their heads from above.

Running at the front, Wen Yipin took a sudden turn and knocked into a pillar. Although he fell down, he didn’t lose consciousness and struggled to get up.

Among the six crooks, two of them had knocked into pillars too, while out of the remaining four, three had gone crazy and were beating up the bald man. The bald man also acted as if it didn’t hurt at all and giggled like an idiot.

Wen Yipin and two crooks got up in succession, and just as before, they knocked their heads towards the pillar. Since they didn’t have the momentum from running this time, it didn’t pack much force, so they didn’t fall this time. But they kept knocking their heads to the pillar dauntlessly, again and again. Soon after, a bump had popped up on their heads, making them look like Buddha.

Xia Yan wiped the sweat off his forehead and enjoyed the scene before him, nodding satisfactorily. If he hadn’t absorbed the undead elements from the Ouija divination, he might not have been able to use this novice-rank undead magic.

The so-called spirits were actually similar to the effect caused by Ouija divination. They were amalgamations of undead elements. Just like how magnets can attract iron filings from sand, magic spells created a magnetic field that used a unique way to attract the corresponding element. And this spell — Lingering Spirits — produced a magnetic field that influenced the brain of humans.

In simple terms, it was an illusion. When used by a mage of high caliber, Lingering Spirits could take a person’s life with ease. Xia Yan was just an apprentice mage, so he had limited strength. Even with the Horcrux’s help, the effect of the spell was minimal and could only produce simple illusions.

Therefore, Wen Yipin and the two crooks who were hitting their heads against the pillars were in a state known as ghastly estrangement. No matter which path they took, it would lead them to the pillars.

The other three crooks saw their most hated foe in the bald man and hence didn’t hold back while hitting.

Xia Yan left the parking lot amidst the sounds of heads knocking into pillars and their screams. As Wen Yipin had made someone switch off the CCTVs, he didn’t worry about leaving any evidence behind.

As for Wen Yipin and these six crooks, their nightmare would continue for a good while. Until the undead elements that had invaded their brains dissipated naturally, or some expert dispersed it for them.

Xia Yan assumed that Wen Yipin wouldn’t dare to bother him temporarily after going through such an experience once.

Soon after Xia Yan had left, someone found Wen Yipin and the other six and called the police. The police then delivered them to the hospital, and from now onwards, the Computer Plaza’s underground parking lot had gained an urban ghost legend. This made the property’s owner invite a geomancer, and then a monk and a priest. The ruckus hadn’t settled for a long time.

These were all things that would happen later. By the time Xia Yan had returned to the dorm along with the boxes, his three roommates were already back. Hou Xiaotian gave him a somewhat weird look, while Zhao Qiang and Qin Jian were fiddling with the router, sweating all over their bare chests.

The dorm also had four new mini electric fans, and the power strip had all kinds of cords coming from it. The packaging boxes were all strewn across the floor and painted the picture of a typhoon’s aftermath.

“Well, damn! Xia Yan, so you were a wolf in sheep’s clothing! You were wearing street market brands on the day before yesterday and had a Nokia. Today, you’re dressed in famous brands and have a laptop, phone, and tablet from Fruit, which are worth a few ten thousand. You aren’t playing some melodramatic game where you act like a fallen prince, right?” Zhao Qiang called him out immediately after seeing the things Xia Yan had brought.

“Eh… Someone gifted them to me!” Xia Yan pondered for a bit and didn’t tell them he had earned some money as the chances of a freshman being able to make over twenty thousand through proper means were close to nil.

“They couldn’t be gifts from a woman, right?” Qin Jian also joined in, “Xia Yan, you aren’t being kept by a wealthy woman, right? You are a university student. How could your world views be so skewed? Aren’t you letting down your admission to Sihe University? Aren’t you letting down your wife being groomed in your mother-in-law’s house? Aren’t you letting down Zhao Qiang, Hou Xiaotian, and me? I only have one thing to say to you… introduce a wealthy woman to me too!”

“Right! Xia Yan, please!” Zhao Qiang joined in on the fun too.

“Fu•k you!” Xia Yan showed them the middle finger then said, “It’s a gift from a relative. Whose family doesn’t have a few wealthy relatives!”

“Anyway, we won’t believe that!” Zhao Qiang and Qin Jian shook their heads together.

Hou Xiaotian didn’t join them as he had seen Xia Yan get into that beautiful woman’s Porsche. Although he didn’t know what kind of relationship they had, Hou Xiaotian felt that this classmate of his wasn’t a simple person!

After messing around for a while, Xia Yan took out the laptop, booted it up and installed the software he required. He also charged the tablet and installed apps in it. With four laptops releasing heat inside the dorm, even though the electric fans were running at the max setting, the heat had drenched the four of them in sweat.

“Military training will begin tomorrow,” Zhao Qiang commented while looking at a movie.

“Are there any beauties among the freshwomen this time?” Qin Jian was so focused on installing a game, that he didn’t even turn his head while asking this question.

“Isn’t Qi Ziyu a beauty?” Zhao Qiang replied.

“She isn’t!” Qin Jian explained, “We can romance beauties, but Qi Ziyu is an exception. She is a goddess that only appears in dreams!”

“Can you even romance a woman?” Zhao Qiang shot him a look of disdain.

“What are you trying to say? This bro can’t romance?” Qin Jian screamed in dissatisfaction.

“The military training is a battlefield!” Zhao Qiang stated solemnly.

“I heard that the juniors and seniors enjoy laying their hands on freshwomen the most!” Qin Jian also became aggressive, as if he were facing his nemesis.

“They say that at least half the girls might get wooed after the military training!” Zhao Qian added.

“There will be someone for us among them, for sure!” Qin Jian shouted loudly while pumping his hand up.

Xia Yan and Hou Xiaotian smiled as they looked at the duo put on a show. They also felt restless, as, during university life, who didn’t wish to experience a love worth remembering.

 



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