The closer the dawn crawled, the louder the night screamed.
As Lìngxiāo crossed its border, even the spirits seemed to kneel or flee. The smile on his lips was faint and divine, but his eyes whispered the truth: he had come not to heal, but to judge.
The scream echoed through the walls, sharp enough to break through layers of glass. Outside, the couple swallowed hard.
"Do not worry… it must be the mò screaming by her tongue," the man said, comforting his wife.
She nodded slowly.
The little boy peeked from behind his mother's back and looked at him, still scared.
The door closed slowly.
"A mountain mò has possessed her… and lived inside her for years. It has not left her—even after some exorcists drove it away multiple times," Lìngxiāo said to himself, circling the possessed girl.
The mò inside her groaned, hissing in anger and panic. It was bound by his golden qì—his own demon, Mò Qīn, tangled around his neck.
"That girl is quite beautiful… and old enough…" Mò Qīn thought aloud, voice low. "I think that mò was drawn to her beauty."
He suggested this to Lìngxiāo, who was still smiling—but looked a little thoughtful.
He hummed softly. "A beautiful girl went to the mountains alone… got possessed by a mò. The question is—why would she even go there by herself? I bet that it stumbled here by itself… or someone called it to do so… for any personal reason."
"RELEASE ME, YOU FREAK!! OR I WILL KILL THAT GIRL!"
The demon yelled, desperately trying to break free.
Lìngxiāo chuckled. His smile darkened again.
"You would not do it… I know it well. Just do not waste my time. Leave her body. Talk to me directly. Tell me what your problem is… I will prepare to free you."
"YOU ARE NOBODY TO ORDER ME! I WILL NOT LET HER GO! I CANNOT! SHE IS MINE!" the demon resisted again.
Lìngxiāo raised the body by his golden qì, then roughly dropped it onto the bed, quickly binding it there. The demon cried out and panicked more when Lìngxiāo came closer to the bed—with a bottle of holy water.
"If you do not let go… then I am forced to," he said casually, with a soft yet dark smile.
Then he threw some holy water onto the possessed girl's body. The body jerked like it had burned.
"AAH! STOP! STOP THROWING THIS SHIT!!"
"Haha! Look at him!" Mò Qīn said with a smirk, sounding almost playful. "Crying like a baby already. My Gōngzǐ is the best."
Lìngxiāo took out a golden amulet with a crimson red gem at its center. He closed his eyes and pressed it against his own forehead—his smile remained at his lips.
The amulet began to glow in red and warm golden light. His long hair floated in the air. The bound demon's eyes widened—and it struggled harder.
"I warned you… but you did not believe me…" Lìngxiāo said as he harshly hit the amulet against the possessed girl's chest.
The demon was forced to leave her body. A crimson-red fog flew wildly around the room. The room grew merry with its desperate behavior.
"Heal the girl's wounds," Lìngxiāo said after leaving Mò Qīn near the girl—as he chased the demon.
The door of the mansion flew open as the demon came out.
"Lìngxiāo has driven away the mò," the man said, watching him chase it.
"She is saved now!" the woman cried, tears of joy streaming down her face.
The girl ran out of the room, panicked by Mò Qīn, and hugged her family. "Māma, this mò is going to eat me!"
"So cruel… I have helped, yet that girl did not even thank me," Mò Qīn murmured, crawling out of the room like an ugly worm.
The whole family screamed again at Mò Qīn's face.
"Ah, that is why I hate humans… they scream for no reason! I am going back to my Dàozǔ!" Mò Qīn complained before going back to Lìngxiāo's side.
On the other hand, Lìngxiāo was fighting to catch the demon. But the demon was barely able to hit him. He dodged the attacks right before they were about to land. The claws or attacks passed away from his cheeks, eyes, or throat.
Then suddenly Lìngxiāo finally caught him by his golden qì. His smile widened a little as he roughly threw the demon onto the ground hard enough to crack the earth.
"You did not believe me," he said softly again, "but believe or not… I am serious. Tell me where you have come from, why you possessed her, how you know each other." Lìngxiāo asked.
He increased his hold on the golden qì until his eyes glowed fully golden. The demon was about to resist again, but the pain was too much to bear.
"Just came from the Mō Bàyàkūyà! Now let me go!" the demon cried out.
Lìngxiāo grew silent for a while. 'All the Mō seem too curious about the outside of Bàyàkūyà and youthful females. Yet this place is too cursed to survive or die like a real thing.'
He was thoughtful with his unchangeable expression. The place was familiar. Too familiar for him.
Before he could do anything more, a small spiritual lantern flew toward him.
A message.
Without another thought, he raised his hands and made the sign of the cross. The cross formed a golden spiritual cross. He threw it toward the spirit.
It cried out again. Then he threw a lantern-shaped mirror toward the demon, which he named Jìng Róu. He caught demons, souls, and ghosts there—ones he was not sure to use as his own or release—then carefully placed it back into his robe.
He gently took the spiritual lantern into his palm while the family rushed toward him. "Thank you very much, Lìngxiāo Gōngzǐ!"
He smiled back a little wider, this time warmer with a light nod—his mind elsewhere, barely hearing them properly. "My pleasure."
"Yeah, yeah, my pleasure too, humans~" Mò Qīn murmured around Lìngxiāo's neck.
He left after taking his silent reward from them.
He smashed his hands together, chasing the lantern which turned into a glowing floating scroll.
He received a highly requested letter. He started to read it silently—his face remained unchanged.
A call for help from Yún Xi. The place called the Haunted Forever.
A silence followed as Lìngxiāo finished reading it.
"Those same people? Are they… I cannot believe," Mò Qīn said while his crimson red eyes were on the letter as well.
Lìngxiāo sighed and waved a hand over the scroll, which vanished like golden mist.
"You do not believe me that it is Yún Xi?" Lìngxiāo asked Mò Qīn with that soft smile—which said a whole different story.
"Why would I not, Dàozǔ? Let us just not go there. They are even crueler than the mò or guǐ we seal," Mò Qīn said, hearing Lìngxiāo's regular words.
"Anyways. We may move there tomorrow." Lìngxiāo said, final.
***
The next day came quite fast. He moved purposefully at the early morning, since the location was much farther. He wore his hat, carrying his own bowl—as if he could not bear to use others' items—and of course, his exorcism elements. Dedication was clear in his gaze.
"Gōngzǐ! You still choose to go?! I told you not to go!" Mò Qīn called.
"Not everyone is the same… they need me," Lìngxiāo said to Mò Qīn.
He slammed a foot on a wheel. It glowed in gold and started to fly, taking him toward his destination.
"Do you not think you will get stuck into another problem by going there? What if that guǐ really does kill you like the others?" Mò Qīn tried to make Lìngxiāo stop again.
"Then I will die… better than dying as any scared man." He said with a casual smile, his long brown hair flying behind him.
Mò Qīn growled, facepalming with his tail.
"You are impossible, Gōngzǐ. You do not have a single care for your life… not even for me?"
"I thought you would be happier if I died. You would get free from me. Besides… I am already impossible. Do you not see? A little more carelessness does not hurt."
"How could you say that?! I hate you so much!" Mò Qīn's voice lowered a bit.
"I know."
"DUMB. SELFLESS. MAN."
"I know it too."
"LÌNGXIĀO GŌNGZǏ!!"
"I am already here."