I felt restless and worried that Qin Minghao would hurt Qin Sisi once the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation expired. At the same time, I wondered, 

What does Senior Shu want to do? Why didn't he come to see me personally? Also, why did he use a rat to lead us here? 

Not long after we had walked along the riverbank, I heard a cold voice. “Kiddo, you’re really bold. You even dared to accept this kind of business. Aren’t you afraid of losing your head?”

I was elated. “Senior Shu, where are you?”

A shadow appeared from a big tree by the Wu River. The figure landed right in front of us. It was Senior Shu. 

I hurried to say, “Senior Shu, why did you have to hide like this? I almost didn’t find you.”

Senior Shu said, “Sigh, why did I have to meet someone like you?”

I wasn’t in the mood to chat with him as I was really worried about Qin Sisi.

I hurried to ask him, “Senior, how did you know that I was working on this case?”  

Senior Shu fumed, “It’s all your grandfather’s fault. If it weren’t for him, I would not have bothered to care about you.”

After he mentioned my grandfather, I suddenly remembered the reason why I had come here. I asked, “Senior Shu, where’s my grandpa? Did you meet him? He asked me to come here.”

Then, I looked around. My face was full of yearning and longing.

“There’s no need to look for him,” Senior Shu said. “Your grandfather can’t come here.” 

“What?” I was shocked. “He came to us yesterday.”

“Nah, that was me pretending to be your grandfather,” answered Senior Shu.

“It was you?!” My eyes widened. “Why did you impersonate my grandfather?”

“Enough with your stupid questions,” Senior Shu said. “If I didn’t pretend to be your grandfather, how could I scare that Qin guy?” 

I couldn’t understand his point. “Why did you need to scare Mr. Qin?”

Senior Shu said, “In order to disrupt his plan! When he is flustered, we will strike and destroy him.”  

“Oh?” I was still perplexed and studied Senior Shu. “Senior Shu, from your tone of voice, you seem very sure that we can deal with Mr. Qin.”

Senior Shu said, “I’m not really that sure, but it’s the only way. We can only do our best.”

I looked at him and said, “Can you tell me about your plan?”

Senior Shu said, “When you go back there, you should arrange the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation to lure the expert behind Mr. Qin. That person will come out to deal with the formation…”

“But...” I blushed to my ears and looked at Senior Shu. “I don’t know how to arrange the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation. I just know the incantation to activate it.”

Senior Shu said, “Of course, I’m not asking you to arrange the real formation. You just need to pretend a little bit. Then, when the other person shows up to mess with the formation, they’ll die.”

I was bewildered and looked at Senior Shu. “Without the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation, I can’t deal with the other party. How am I supposed to kill them?”

Senior Shu said proudly, “There’s something you don’t know. The Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation consists of seven extraordinary souls. Their enormous resentful energies are much stronger than that of the Hegemon King of Western Chu! That was why your grandfather used them to seal the Thunder Sword. After the formation is broken, the seven fiends that were sealed will be released. Since they were restrained for a long time, their resentful energies must be even stronger now. If your grandfather appears here, they will tear him into pieces. So, how could he dare to come?” 

I was speechless. 

“That’s why your grandfather asked me to tell you this. You just need to pretend that you’re going to set up the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation one more time. Of course, you have to be credible if you want to fool Mr. Qin. That’s how we can lure the expert behind him. That person will show up to deal with the formation.”

At that time, the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation would have ceased to exist, and that person will actually deal with the fiends. The seven fiends are already full of resentment. And, if someone comes to deal with them, I’m sure they’ll get even crazier.”

I finally understood and gave Senior Shu a thumbs up. “Senior Shu, you’re really good at calculating things!”

Senior Shu waved his hand. “There’s no need to flatter me. I’m not that good. Your grandfather is the one who came up with all of this.”

I said, “Since the formation is no longer working, will the fiends attack Qin Sisi and the others?”

Senior Shu waved his hand again. “Of course not. The seven fiends are now asleep. They haven’t awakened yet. And even if they do awaken, they will need some time to adjust. Only after confirming that the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation is thoroughly broken will they come out. We have to wait until tomorrow, I guess. Tomorrow, you must make Mr. Qin believe that you will arrange a new formation. However, you have to be careful. If the other person learns of our plan, Mr. Qin will send his men to trigger the seven fiends to deal with you. If that happens, then even I won’t be able to save you…”

I nodded. “Senior Shu, relax. Oh right, since the formation is no longer working, the Thunder Sword’s resentful energy will affect Qin Minghao again. How should I deal with him?”

Senior Shu reluctantly took out a talisman from his chest. It looked as if his heart was aching when he handed me the talisman. “This is a Soul Subduing Talisman, a high-quality talisman. Chuyi gave it to me. I’ve treasured it for several decades and didn’t dare to use it. Sigh, now it’ll benefit you.”

I couldn’t help but laugh because I found the flaw in his words. “Senior Shu, stop joking. You said you’ve treasured this talisman for a few decades and that Chuyi gave you this, but it makes no sense. Chuyi doesn’t look older than twenty-five. Don’t tell me that he knew how to draw talismans since he was born.” 

Senior Shu gave me an awkward smile. “Kiddo, you know nothing. Do you know about the so-called reverse growth? Chuyi was born old and is getting younger.” 

I didn’t pay too much attention to his words as he was just talking nonsense. In the meantime, I remembered that Li Mazi was still controlled by Senior Shu’s life-bound rat, so I asked him to restore Li Mazi’s sanity.

Senior Shu smiled. “Don’t let Li Mazi see me. The less people know about this, the better. No matter what, your life is at stake here.” 

I nodded. “Senior Shu, don’t worry. I won’t tell anybody else about

this.”

Senior Shu exhaled in relief. He turned around and left.

After Senior Shu left, the life-bound rat on Li Mazi’s head jumped down and disappeared into the grass by the road.

Li Mazi almost coughed his lungs out.

“Li Mazi, wake up! Wake up!” I waved my hand in front of Li Mazi. Eventually, Li Mazi got a hold of himself.

“Holy crap.” As soon as Li Mazi woke up, he yelled, “I feel like I fell asleep just now.” 

“Really?” I ridiculed him.

Li Mazi looked baffled and gave me a nod. “Yes. Moreover, I had a strange dream.”

I just smiled. “What dream?”

“I dreamt that I became a rat.” Li Mazi pondered then said, “It’s really strange. I even wanted to steal something.” 

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “We should go back. It was just a dream.”

Li Mazi pulled me back. “Go back to where? Didn’t we come here to meet your grandfather? If we can’t find him, we will be doomed when we go back there!” 

“I met my grandpa,” I said. “He told me how to set up the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation.”

“Eh?” Li Mazi was surprised. “How come I didn’t know that?” 

“You just had a nice nap, didn’t you?” I asked. 

“There is something wrong here.” Li Mazi grabbed me and didn’t want to let me go. “No wonder I had that strange dream... Your grandfather bewitched me! Why didn’t he come to meet us face to face and had to bewitch me? I really wanted to see a Netherworld messenger!” 

I just made up an excuse. “The Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation is our family’s special technique, and we can’t let outsiders know about it.”

Li Mazi complained. “You guys are so narrow-minded! Anyway, did you learn it?”

“Of course I did,” I said. “I had learned it before, so it was just a review for me.”

Li Mazi was excited and didn’t doubt my words. We both returned to the manor.

When we returned to the manor, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Gold-toothed and Qin Sisi were watching over the sleeping Qin Minghao.

As soon as he saw us, Gold-toothed rushed over to us. “How did it go?”

“Everything went smoothly. I saw my grandfather, and he told me everything about the Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation. Tomorrow, I will set up the formation one more time, sealing the Thunder Sword again.”

Gold-toothed was elated. “At that time, we’ll be free to go.”

I asked Qin Sisi, “Did your father wake up?” 

“He woke up once, but his body was too weak and his mind was not clear. He ate something then fell back to sleep.”

“That’s good, then.” I nodded. 

Li Mazi asked, “Will we be safe tonight?” 

I shook my head. “I’m not sure. The Seven Fiend Soul Locking Formation is still broken, and the resentful energy in the sword is still there. It might hurt Qin Minghao again, so we should be careful.” 

Then, I took out the talisman Senior Shu had given me and stuck it to Qin Minghao’s forehead, hoping for the best. 

To avoid any unexpected situations, I asked Li Mazi to get some black dog blood and soya beans. In case the talisman didn’t work, we had to fight Minghao.

While we waited, Qin Minghao went crazy again. He roared and thundered indignantly. His body struggled so hard that two burly security guards couldn’t suppress him. 

Luckily, the talisman worked. The moment Qin Minghao was about to break free, the talisman flashed. Qin Minghao screeched and fell back to his bed, no longer moving.

I exhaled in relief, but I somehow regretted using that talisman. Although Senior Shu liked boasting, he was right about this high-quality talisman… How could it be normal if it could subdue the ghost of the Hegemon King of Western Chu?

Qin Sisi saw my painful look and understood what was going on in my mind. She asked with a smile, “How much was that talisman worth?” 

I smacked my tongue. “That talisman was priceless. It's not something you can buy with money.”

Qin Sisi smiled at me and raised a brow. “I understand.” 

I was stunned.

 ‘You understand?’ Does she think that I’m asking her for a sky-high price...?

If she wanted to give me money, I would gladly accept, so I just kept quiet.  

We waited until the break of dawn, but nothing strange happened. That talisman didn’t only have the power to expel spirits, but it could also calm one’s mind. I could tell this by watching Qin Minghao’s face. He looked much better now, just as if he was a normal, sleeping person. 

Qin Sisi was amazed after seeing the change.