“Is that so?..” I lowered my head and muttered.

“What’s wrong?”

I gathered my courage and asked, “That Gudiao, did it break through your seal and run away in the past?”

Wen Jiubo’s expression changed a little. He looked at me. “How did you know?”

“No, I just..”

Instead of questioning me any further, Wen Jiubo nodded and replied, “Yes, it did.”

“Huh? Really?” I asked, unsure of myself.

“It was about 50 years ago,” Wen Jiubo said. “The Gudiao once broke through my seal. Back then it attacked a village and ate a third of its population. However, the villagers thought the murderer was a female ghost who had been lingering in the village for a long time. They asked me to exorcize the ghost. At first, I didn’t think too much about it, I believed their words and captured the ghost.”

My heart suddenly sank and I probed further, “And then?”

“Later on I found out that it had nothing to do with the female ghost. The Gudiao was so powerful that it broke my seal and looked for food in the village.” Wen Jiubo smiled slightly and said, “I sealed the monster again and sent the ghost to its rightful place.”

“Is this the whole story?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes, it is.” Wen Jiubo frowned. “Of course this is the whole story, what else did you expect?”

“No, this isn’t what I mean.” I felt guilty as I shook my head. “Ah, I just want to know.. do you remember the name of that female ghost?”

“No, I don’t. How can I remember her name after such a long time? Besides, I only met her once. Maybe she didn’t have a name.” Wen Jiubo looked at me strangely. “Why do you ask?”

“Urm, nothing! It’s nothing! I am just curious,” I hurriedly changed the topic in case he asked more questions. “The Gudiao seems like an extremely powerful creature, how did you manage?”

“Yes, it’s a tough task to seal it. I can only do it for a limited period of time, but.. ” Wen Jiubo suddenly turned his head back to look at me and grinned. “But this time is different because I have you by my side.”

I didn’t think Wen Jiubo would still say some lover’s nonsense at this moment, but my face still flushed uncontrollably.

“What? I know nothing, I’m just a bystander.” I stepped back, trying to escape. “Don’t ask me to do anything.”

“No, don’t be so cold.” Wen Jiubo approached me with a smile. “Your power is far stronger than you think. You know, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-floor pagoda. You’ll save lives if you help me.”

I clearly knew that this was just an excuse, but I was still persuaded by him. I nodded while in distress, as if I was waiting for my turn on the chopping block.

“Okay.. what do you want from me?”

“Did you bring the fan with you?” Wen Jiubo asked.

I nodded hesitantly.

“Take it out and unfold it.”

“Oh, oh!” I took the fan from the backpack and clumsily held it in my hand. “Umm, like this?”

Wen Jiubo looked at me helplessly as if I was mentally handicapped. “It’s reversed.”

“Oh, oh, like this?” I turned it around.

It seemed that my awkwardness gave him a headache. Wen Jiubo sighed and held my hands. “Like this, you stretch your finger and unfold the fan. The fan blade should face the front. Strengthen your wrist.”

“Oh, okay!” My heart suddenly accelerated and I subconsciously raised my voice.

What was going on here? Like a coach teaching a clumsy kid, Wen Jiubo’s arm was placed against mine, his chest was pressed against my back and he taught me how to hold my fan steadily.

“Okay, do you see the Gudiao’s eyes?” Wen Jiubo asked from behind me. I nodded nervously.

“Look into its eyes and don’t look away.” Wen Jiubo held my hand, pointing the green fan at Gudiao. “Then repeat what I say. You can say it slowly, but you can’t make any mistakes, okay?”

I was too nervous to talk, so I nodded firmly.

Then, Wen Jiubo slowly chanted, “I invoke the power and authority of God.”

“Urm, I invoke the power and authority of God,” I repeated.

“Be humble under the mighty hand of God.”

“Be..Be humble under the mighty hand of God.”

“Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, the enemy of man’s salvation.”

“Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, the enemy of man’s salvation.”

The Gudiao began to howl and struggle furiously as if it was in great pain.

Wen Jiubo held my hand, using the fan to draw a Sanskrit word in the air and said, “Begone!”

“Begone!”

After saying those words, the fan began to shake in my hand. And then, the Gudiao let out a groan. The complicated Sanskrit pattern began to glow with light.

The fan was shaking more and more violently. It was shaking so fiercely that I could barely hold it in my hand.

“Hold it tight,” Wen Jiubo whispered into my ear and grabbed my hands tightly.

Rather than helping me, it made me want to let go of it!

However, I clenched my teeth, trying as hard as I could to keep the same posture. After a while, the Gudiao turned into a cloud of green smoke, leaving only a thin paper man on the ground.

“Are we done?” I still held the fan tightly and didn’t dare to let go of it.

Wen Jiubo walked over, picked up the paper man and grinned at me. “We’re done. Good job!”

I let out a breath before feebly crouching on the ground. The fan slipped away from my hand. “It was so close, I almost dropped the fan.”

“If you had done so, you would probably have ended up in the Gudiao’s stomach.” Wen Jiubo said with a smile.

I immediately protested, “Oi, can’t you say something nice?!”

“You just sealed one of the nine most powerful monsters in Chinese history.” Wen Jiubo smiled at me. “And you did it successfully. You’re indeed my boy, Gu Yu. You did really good for a first time.”

I didn’t expect Wen Jiubo to praise me so straightforwardly, I smirked and scratched my head. “Than..thank you!”