Chapter 118: Soul Seeking Incantation

A burst of purple light exploded, stirring up a cloud of dust. The treasure chest, being nearby, was split in two, and gold, silver, and jewels spilt all over the ground, glinting faintly amidst the smoke and lingering mist.

As Luo Xu waved away the smoke, he remarked, "You wield puppetry so skillfully, and your lightning techniques are so powerful. One day, when you look across the world, there won't be many who can defeat you."

The more he praised Little Ming Zhuo, the angrier Little Ming Zhuo became. The "Hui Mang" puppet plucked at the pipa strings, producing a series of extremely jarring sounds. The figure, as light as mist, swirled in the air, and in the next moment, it was already right in front of Luo Xu.

Pēng, pēng, pēng!

The pipa and both hands flew in a flurry, summoning several bolts of lightning as thick as bowls, like sharp spears, repeatedly striking towards Luo Xu.

Whether it was Ming Zhuo or Little Ming Zhuo, their music was deadly. The sound of the strings was like a torn screen, crackling sharply in Luo Xu's ears, trying to disturb his mind. Luo Xu quickly stepped back, lightning sparks bursting along the way, scorching the ground black with smoke. Seeing that "Hui Mang" was relentless in its pursuit, Luo Xu abruptly raised two fingers.

Dīng—

Silver ripples, like waves spreading out from a center, emanated from Luo Xu's two fingers, rippling through the chamber. "Hui Mang" immediately went limp, swaying as if drunk, a sign that the puppet control was about to fail.

"You're using wicked tricks," Little Ming Zhuo's voice came from near and far, never revealing his exact location, "and you're trying to steal my paper man!"

"You're too overbearing. You’re only allowed to hit me, and I’m not allowed to fight back. This isn’t a wicked trick; it’s the Heavenly Sea’s Soul-Seeking Incantation. Want to learn?" Luo Xu slightly lowered his fingers and flicked towards "Hui Mang," attempting to turn it back into that small paper figure. "As for this little paper man, consider it a tuition fee for the lesson. Let me borrow it for a while."

He only used a fraction of his strength, partly to avoid tearing the paper man, and partly to prevent the puppet technique from backfiring and injuring Little Ming Zhuo. But it was precisely this restraint that gave Little Ming Zhuo the opportunity to counterattack. The puppet, which had started to soften, straightened up again. "Hui Mang," half of its softened body rising, stopped playing the pipa and instead swung it directly at Luo Xu!

Luo Xu dodged. The pipa whizzed past with a shuā, missing the tip of his nose by the width of a single brush hair. The Imperial Lord sighed as his heart raced, "You said you'd pretend to be the Moon God, so why are you still swinging a pipa at me? You—"

The pipa swung again with a whoosh, cutting off Luo Xu's words.

Heaven knows, the scene was absurd. According to legend, Hui Mang was a master of music, and whenever He played the pipa, auspicious birds would hover over the divine palace, dancing gracefully. If mortals heard His pipa, their souls would leave their bodies, and they would willingly become ghosts at His temple. But now, in Little Ming Zhuo's hands, the "Hui Mang" pipa didn’t just sound like wailing spirits; it was no longer even being played. Instead, it was used purely as a weapon, relentlessly aiming blows at Luo Xu.

The curtains fluttered wildly as Luo Xu dodged again, saying, "You said you'd cut off my hand, even kill me, yet you’ve had several chances and didn’t strike to kill. You know I'm not sent by Ming Han, don’t you?"

The pipa swished past, and Luo Xu sidestepped once more, continuing, "Crying in that treasure chest was a ruse, but the pain of the Blood Shackle Curse is real. Does Ming Han often provoke Hui Mang, driving Him to madness? Once He's mad, Ming Han activates the Blood Shackle Curse to force Hui Mang into submission through you."

The robe draped over Luo Xu’s arm twitched, as if clapping its sleeves in response. "Hui Mang’s" attacks became faster and faster, and Luo Xu continued, "Ming Zhuo is so soft-hearted, never harming the innocent, even when seeking revenge. You don’t recognise me, but you know I'm not one of Ming Han's people, so you don’t really want to kill me. You just want to scare me away, to make me leave."

Back when Ming Zhuo killed the leader of the Four Mountains at Jianling Hall, he deliberately spared Fu Zheng, precisely because Fu Zheng had no involvement in past grievances. Ming Zhuo neither wanted nor needed to use indiscriminate killing to vent his anger. There were many rumours of him being a tyrant, but only one spoke of his childhood. They said he was bloodthirsty by nature. But what kind of actions could such a Ming Zhuo commit to be called bloodthirsty?

"In this world, there are two people I dislike the most: one is the Ming Han of now, and the other is the Ming Han of the future." Luo Xu disappeared right in front of "Hui Mang". When he reappeared, he was by the curtain. He reached out, pulling it aside to reveal a sealed wooden barrel behind it.

In an instant, the words Ming Han had spoken in the Nightmare Sealing Array replayed in his ears.

—The first time the Blood Shackle Curse acted up, you were just a child, crying incessantly before me. Annoyed, I stuffed you into a wooden barrel less than half your height and sealed the lid.

Little Ming Zhuo wasn’t in the treasure chest, nor protected by his mother's robe. He had been sealed inside a wooden barrel all along, right here.

"Ming Zhuo, the Soul Seeking Incantation can only be used on one person. If I'm looking for you, no one can hide you from me." Luo Xu swept away the seals on the wooden barrel. The golden characters of the curse fell away under his fingers, one by one. His heart ached, but his tone remained casual as if pressing too hard might scare Ming Zhuo away. He sounded like a carefree wanderer, "Am I impressive? If you are amazed, then let me carry you out. If you don’t agree—"

Luo Xu leaned down, shaking out the robe and wrapping it around the child in the barrel. He finished his sentence, "I’ll carry you out anyway."

The Author Has Something to Say

Late Little Onirgiri (stuffed)

Thanks for reading.

The Translator Has Something to Say

T97 wrote the leader of the "Three Mountains" but I believe this is a mistake. The chapter takes place in the past part of the timeline and there are still four mountains and not three.