Time was short. Yun Jianyue recruited Fang Lin'an, and the trio (plus one ghost) sped towards Chongguang Mountain.
To save time, they drove themselves, Yun Jianyue and Fang Lin'an taking turns behind the wheel – Zhou Benxin's rotten luck made him too much of a risk.
"What exactly are we doing going to Chongguang Mountain now?" Lu Changxue emerged, embodying the 'question everything' principle.
Fang Lin'an explained, "To find his effigy. We need to see if we can perform a ritual to stabilize the situation. If it's beyond saving, or if the effigy has already fled… then we're in deep trouble."
Zhou Benxin paled. "It can flee? Isn't it just a piece of wood?"
"It's wood on the outside," Fang Lin'an corrected sharply. "Inside, it imprisons a minor spirit. That spirit is the one bearing the brunt of your misfortunes."
He elaborated: For decades, even centuries, using effigies bound with spirits to shield vulnerable children was common practice among practitioners. However, modern ethics frowned upon it. Trapping a spirit – already unlucky enough to be caught – and forcing it to absorb another's ill fate, condemning it to never reincarnate... it was increasingly seen as unacceptable.
Bound by ritual, the spirit inside the effigy forgets its true nature. It dreams it is the original person, living their life vicariously. This illusion makes it willingly absorb the original's destined calamities until they pass their second zodiac cycle (around 24 years old). Then, the effigy permanently takes the burden.
But… if the original person encounters the effigy before this time, the binding shatters. Realizing it's a trapped sacrifice, the spirit will seek vengeance. It might try to inflict the misfortunes back onto the original, or even… attempt to take their place, living out the stolen life.
Upon grasping this, Zhou Benxin's face turned ashen. "But… when I went to Chongguang Mountain… I never saw my effigy!"
"Your seeing it is irrelevant," Fang Lin'an retorted. "I told you, the spirit inside is dreaming it is you. While dreaming your life, if you were at Chongguang Mountain while it was physically there… it might have sensed you within its own dreamscape." His look was deeply meaningful.
Lu Changxue rubbed her spectral arms. "So creepy, I've got goosebumps!"
Fang Lin'an rolled his eyes. "You're a ghost. Where do you even get goosebumps?"
"Stinky treasure! He's bullying me!" Lu Changxue wailed dramatically, burying her non-existent head against Yun Jianyue's chest, the very picture of a snubbed pet seeking comfort.
Yun Jianyue patted her back soothingly while agreeing with Fang Lin'an. "He's not wrong. You are a ghost. What did he say that was inaccurate?"
"You don't love me anymore! Hmph!" Lu Changxue huffed indignantly and vanished back into the jade pendant, refusing further conversation.
They reached the base of Chongguang Mountain. Cars couldn't ascend the winding path, and no cable car existed due to the terrain. The grueling hike up began.
By the time the silhouette of the mountain-top Taoist temple came into view, dusk was deepening.
"Ugh, finally!" Fang Lin'an gasped, bent over with hands on his knees, gulping air. "Thank the heavens Lingxi Sect isn't perched this high, or I'd never have taken the path!"
Yun Jianyue, breathing steady as if she'd merely strolled around the block, scanned the darkening sky.
Zhou Benxin, also relatively unfazed by the climb unlike the wheezing Fang Lin'an, squinted towards the temple gate. "It's almost dark. Why's someone still hanging out by the entrance? Some kind of cosplayer?" His sharp eyes picked out the figure: a man in black robes, short hair, giving off a definite 'probably handsome' vibe even at this distance.
Yun Jianyue studied the back view. Something felt... familiar.
The man seemed to sense their scrutiny. He turned slowly, revealing a face of breathtaking perfection.
Recognition slammed into Yun Jianyue in the split-second their eyes met. Her hand flew to her hip, drawing the chainsaw.
A blur of motion later, the man stood directly before her. His hand clamped down on her wrist just as her thumb found the ignition switch, preventing the chainsaw's roar.
"Long time no see, my bride," Mo Chen murmured, his gaze fixed on the chainsaw blade, a wry twist to his lips that plainly said: Did you really think that would work again?
Zhou Benxin gaped. "Teleportation? Superpowers?!"
Fang Lin'an bristled, instantly on high alert. He couldn't sense what this entity was—no trace signature, no palpable aura—but every instinct screamed danger, immense and ancient.
"Husband! Long time indeed! The short hair suits you too!" Yun Jianyue beamed, radiating sunny charm as if the chainsaw in her trapped hand was a bouquet. Her fingers tightened defiantly. Mo Chen's grip was an immovable vice; she couldn't budge it an inch. She had no doubt he could crush her wrist like a dry twig, especially after her sarcastic compliment.
Mo Chen's smile was thin and humorless. "Your doing, I recall." His gaze drifted pointedly to the chainsaw.
Lu Changxue's head popped out of the pendant again, wide-eyed. "Husband? Where did this husband come from?" She assessed Mo Chen's face. "Alright, I approve. Visually, he matches."
Fang Lin'an screamed internally: Visual matching is NOT the issue right now! The issue is that woman might get her spine snapped!
"Mind letting go? Kinda hurts," Yun Jianyue asked casually, her wrist turning an angry purple beneath his fingers. Her expression betrayed no pain.
Mo Chen's smile remained, utterly devoid of warmth. "If I let go, will you try to chop me?"
"Of course not!" Yun Jianyue assured him with dazzling insincerity. "You're my darling husband, after all!"
Their eyes locked, a silent war raging. After a tense pause, Mo Chen slowly released her wrist.
The instant her hand was free, Yun Jianyue swung the ignited chainsaw in a vicious arc aimed directly at Mo Chen's neck.
Anticipated. Mo Chen vanished, reappearing inches behind her. His arms snaked around her waist, pinning her against him in an intimate, yet entirely controlling embrace. His hands clamped over hers, preventing another swing.
"Drat! He predicted me," Yun Jianyue muttered. Undeterred, she wiggled her hips deliberately back against him, rubbing shamelessly against his stomach and chest. "Hubby, nice abs! Feeling good!"
Mo Chen's expression darkened. He subtly shifted to put a fraction more space between their bodies. "What a pervert."
Yun Jianyue giggled, feigning coyness. "Oh dear, you found me out!"
Witnessing this bizarre standoff, Zhou Benxin and Fang Lin'an stood frozen, utterly gobsmacked. Words failed them.
The layers of absurdity! Zhou Benxin thought desperately. Yun Jianyue, remember you're a girl! Have some dignity! He briefly considered dialing emergency services to report a male harassment victim.
Fang Lin'an rubbed his chin, trying to process. "So… is it safe to conclude," he ventured slowly, "that Miss Yun has bumped into some sort of… personal grudge?"