"Finally, I have a magical artifact to protect myself, but this magical artifact needs to be used with divination, which I don't know how to do." Sun Yan carefully held the extremely exquisite mask in his hands, feeling troubled.
The original owner lived in Chinatown since childhood, where there were overseas Chinese from both Taiwan and Hong Kong Island, as well as from Min Yue.
Every festival, Chinatown would host temple fair celebrations. The Ksitigarbha King touring the streets was one of the famous folk parades, where the 'General Zeng and General Sun' were quite renowned.
The two generals were responsible for supervising good and evil deeds in the human world and recording them quietly.
General Sun, with a blue face and fangs, would diminish the fortune of evil people, while General Zeng, with a red face and fangs, would grant blessings and longevity to good people, thus named General Zeng and General Sun.
In folklore, the two generals were ruthless characters who would only kill without saving evil spirits, cutting down evil ghosts and sending their lingering souls to the Underworld, never to reincarnate.
Therefore, those who could play General Zeng and General Sun in the temple fair celebrations were all divination children.
They would hold Asking for Directions Incense on their heads, step with the Three-Step Praise, able to invite the gods to possess them.
"If I could borrow even one percent of General Sun's power, it would be enough to deal with the evil spirit in the mirror, without the need for such a troublesome all-night vigil against the evil spirit."
Sun Yan sighed, placing the mask on his face as he looked into the mirror, and in an instant, his heart shuddered as he felt his demeanor change dramatically. His gaze became fierce and mighty, likely scaring the evil spirit.
"It seems like it doesn't have any other effects, or does it only react when the evil spirit appears?"
After studying it for a while and seeing that the mask did not really respond, Sun Yan could only take it off, put it away, and get up to draw open the curtains, letting the sunlight from outside illuminate the room.
Standing vigil against the evil spirit all night, such draining and exhausting work, was a struggle even for a young man like Sun Yan, being a torment for both mind and body.
Fortunately, it was worth it, as he finally vanquished the evil spirit in the mirror.
Sun Yan took out his notebook and opened it to check.
...
Evangelical Town Cemetery
Demon Exorcism Tomb: 1
Cemetery Building: Main House (Unlocked: Exploration degree 5%)
Cemetery Entry: Gaze at Fear
Tomb Magical Artifact: General Sun Mask
Tomb Guardian: None
Cemetery Members: None
Daily Task [Only Seek One Corpse]
Timed Task [None]
Bounty Task [The Cursed Magic Mirror (II)]
Dungeon Task [None]
...
"Hmm?"
Seeing the changes in the notebook, Sun Yan was taken aback.
He thought he had completed Joles' bounty task but didn't expect last night was just the first part.
The cursed magic mirror had a sequel!
This meant he hadn't completely destroyed the hidden evil spirit within the magic mirror, which was indeed bad news.
——
Daily Task [Only Seek One Corpse]
Task Difficulty: ☆
Task Description: As the Graveyard Master, you should be familiar with the cemetery's operation flow, handling the collection and burial of corpses is a basic skill for the Graveyard Master, go complete your first burial task!
Task Requirement: Bury a corpse in the cemetery
Task Reward: Tomb Guardian
——
Bounty Task [The Cursed Magic Mirror (II)]
Task Difficulty: ☆☆☆
Task Description: You achieved victory in your first spirit communication clash with the mirror evil spirit, but this is only temporary peace, the evil spirit is planning a new retaliation against you.
Task Requirement: Eliminate the evil spirit within the magic mirror and remove the curse the spirit left on the victim.
Task Reward: Tomb Magical Artifact
——
"Shit." Seeing the two new tasks in the notebook, Sun Yan couldn't help but pinch his stiff cheeks.
Where could he find a suitable corpse for collection and burial?
Although in America, due to the legalization of the leaf, there were many homeless vagrants who were already halfway into the grave, lying on the verge of death under various bridges and in sewers, that couldn't be a legitimate reason for Sun Yan to legally transport them to the cemetery for burial.
If discovered, the consequences would certainly be troublesome.
And the new bounty task, its difficulty was immensely significant.
Sun Yan knew he was just an amateur, lacking the capability to confront the bizarre and mysterious evil spirits, let alone eliminate them.
"Perhaps the key to breaking the situation lies in the main house; the notebook shows that I've only explored 5% of it. Although my grandfather is gone, he was the notebook's owner for decades and completed many tasks. He should have left something useful for dealing with the evil spirit."
Sun Yan closed the notebook and slipped it into his pocket, then began searching every room of the main house.
Soon, he discovered an old book tightly wrapped in oiled paper in the study, with beautifully handwritten traditional Chinese characters all over it.
Four large characters on the cover: "Mountain Chasing Manual."
...
Joles lay flat on the bed, immersed in sweet dreams, with a smile on his face, showing that he was sleeping well.
Ever since he got that mirror, he hadn't had a good night's sleep.
Every time he fell asleep, a group of women with twisted faces and bodies covered in burn marks would chase him frantically in his dreams, trying to trap Joles in the dream forever.
They would also let out devilish wails, pushing Joles' nerves closer to breaking down day by day.
On this night at Evangelical Town Cemetery, the terrifying women and wails didn't appear in his dreams, allowing Joles to enjoy an exceptionally sweet sleep.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The phone beside the bed suddenly rang, pulling Joles out of his dream instantly. He picked up the phone urgently, eager to answer it.
"Joles, how's the situation over there? Did Father Stephen help you solve the trouble? The Eastern person's skills in this area are indeed impressive. I've always thought he's California's greatest Exorcism Master."
"Henry, Father Stephen is dead; now it's his grandson, Father Jackson, at the cemetery."
Joles drew a cross over his chest: "Thank heavens, this Father Jackson seems to have truly learned his grandfather's skills, for I actually had a good sleep last night."
"What? Father Stephen is dead? Oh no, how could this happen, the police station encountered a case today, I was planning to get help from him in Gospel Town, this is terrible."
Joles immediately said, "Maybe you can ask Father Jackson for help, he seems young but feels very reliable."
"I'll have to try, I'm on the road now and will be there soon."
After hanging up, Joles stepped out of the room feeling refreshed, and upon entering the living room, he saw Sun Yan sitting on the sofa intently reading an old book.
"Good morning, Father Jackson." Joles greeted him respectfully.
Although Sun Yan was younger than him, since arriving at the cemetery, no weird occurrences had happened around him anymore, and the curse from the mirror seemed to have been contained.
This alone raised Sun Yan's stature in Joles' heart, making him worthy of respect.
"And to you," Sun Yan replied with a nod without looking up, acknowledging the greeting.
At that moment, his entire focus was absorbed in the "Mountain Chasing Manual," deeply moved by the content documented within.
This manual written by Sun Yan's grandfather recorded all the evil spirits he encountered throughout his life and methods to deal with them, practically serving as an encyclopedia of the exorcism realm.
For Sun Yan, the content of the "Mountain Chasing Manual" was precisely the help he needed at the moment.
The way of exorcism lay within.