Chapter 288

Chapter 288: The Self-Sabotage Ace

Sensing that the Jiang Liu Yi brothers were ready, Yu Zhi Yi took out a sound transmission talisman and, driving it with spiritual energy, said calmly: “I will count to three, then we light the exorcism talismans.”

She stood with her back to Jiang Liu Bin and hid the sound transmission talisman so well that he could not see it floating in midair.

She counted to three in a steady rhythm, then brushed her pale hand across the exorcism talisman.

Although Jiang Liu Bin could not see the hidden sound transmission talisman, he clearly saw her move.

He saw that she held no fire starter; she only touched the talisman paper with a light stroke, and the talisman paper ignited.

It ignited.

It ignited!

Jiang Liu Bin’s eyes flew wide, badly startled. He blurted out: “What kind of skill is that?”

Yu Zhi Yi could not be bothered to answer, and she looked away. [She had zero interest in explaining anything to this so-called brother.]

An ordinary person cannot spark fire out of thin air, but for someone from the mystic sect it is not hard.

With her current level, pinching out a simple fireball technique is as easy as lifting a hand.

But she had no wish to explain any of this to him.

On the other side, Jiang Liu Yi and Jiang Liu Yun also lit their exorcism talismans.

They could not conjure fire, so they had already used a fire striker to light dry twigs. As soon as Yu Zhi Yi’s “one” fell, both men used the twigs to touch fire to the talisman paper.

Notably, nothing went wrong on Jiang Liu Yun’s side.

But on Jiang Liu Yi’s side, the moment “one” fell, an evil wind rose from nowhere and blew his twig out.

Luckily there were still glowing embers. Though surprised, Jiang Liu Yi did not panic; he made a snap decision and pressed the talisman paper to the ember.

Fortunately, that talisman paper seemed very easy to catch. Even a spark was enough to set it burning, so no mishap occurred.

The burning talisman paper had barely fallen onto the bones when a violent wind roared up along the Heaven-Climbing Steps, and there seemed to be sharp, piercing cries inside the gale.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Blasted by the wind, everyone struggled to tell whether it was only the howl of air or the screams of something in pain.

Only Jiang Liu Bin stared round-eyed, his face draining white.

Because he clearly saw that when the talisman paper burned out, a blurry human shape slowly floated up before his eyes.

It was a gaunt man, clothes in rags.

His gaze was dull, his hair filthy and tangled, and his shoes were worn through in several places.

Most important of all, he had no black pupils, only the whites of his eyes.

Also, his feet did not touch the ground; he hung in the air.

Most important of all… his chest…

When this “man” appeared, his face twisted, as if he were enduring a great pain.

Yu Zhi Yi took out the oil-paper umbrella she had prepared in advance and handed it to him.

With the umbrella’s cover, the man still looked very pale, but the pain on his face eased a little.

He looked around, dazed, and asked: “Why… why am I here?”

Yu Zhi Yi said: “Yang Tian Fang, twenty-eight years old. You were unlucky from birth to now. Your worst day came when you walked past two men fighting, and one of them stabbed you to death.”

Yang Tian Fang widened his ghostly eyes.

[He remembered everything.]

He remembered his cursed life.

He had been the young master of a minor official’s household. His father’s rank was not high, but he still belonged to the scholar class and had some local connections and respect.

He should have lived a worry-free life.

But he was unlucky from the very start.

While still in his mother’s belly, he almost got miscarried several times because she ate the wrong food.

He barely survived to his birth day, then could not come out because the cord was around his neck and nearly strangled him.

Luckily, his father found the most famous and experienced midwife in the area. Using her special methods, the midwife delivered him and saved his life.

Even so, the rough birth hurt his body, and his mother’s health was badly damaged. She could never have another child.

When he was one, he almost choked to death while nursing.

When he was two, he was nearly smothered by a quilt.

…

From childhood on, he ran into every kind of bad luck people had heard of and not heard of.

His worst near miss came when he was almost killed by a flowerpot falling from the sky as he walked down the street.

He survived only because he wore a peace talisman his mother had begged for him. As he passed the restaurant where the flowerpot would fall, he stopped for no reason at all. If not for that pause, his head would have been smashed open on the spot.

He grew so afraid of his bad luck that he did not dare marry, worried he would spread it to a wife and children and bring them harm.

He finally made it through about a third of a lifetime, but at twenty-eight, because of two brawny men who had nothing to do with him, his life ended there forever.

Thinking about this life of nonstop misfortune, he was overwhelmed by grief and filled with hatred at fate.

Black qi poured out around him at once, covering his face so no one could see his expression.

On the mountain path, the temperature dropped in an instant. Everyone except Yu Zhi Yi hugged their arms against the cold.

Jiang Liu Bin was stunned. [He never imagined he would actually see a ghost.]

As for the Marquis Wu’an heir apparent and the other guard, they only wondered why the mountain air had turned so cold; they did not think much else.

Seeing Jiang Liu Bin’s terrified, wide-eyed stare, the two exchanged a look, baffled.

Jiang Liu Bin did not notice them. Pointing at the smoking-black Yang Tian Fang, he stammered: “G-ghost… run!”

He said “run,” but his feet felt rooted to the ground and would not move at all.

He was only a fifteen-year-old boy. No matter how spoiled he was at home, he was still a child.

Fear of the unknown is born with us, and he could not beat it yet.

Frowning at Yang Tian Fang, who was about to turn into a vengeful ghost, Yu Zhi Yi slapped down another exorcism talisman and warned: “If you become a vengeful ghost and hurt people, I will not hesitate to collect you on the spot.”

With a snap, the black qi around Yang Tian Fang scattered.

Yang Tian Fang froze.

Yang Tian Fang was scared.

Yang Tian Fang felt wronged and blurted out: “I was unlucky my whole life, and I can’t even resent it a little?”

By reading his face, Yu Zhi Yi had already seen the track of his life. To be honest, even she thought his bad luck was pitiful.

But she said only: “You cannot blame anyone else. If you have to blame someone, blame your previous life.”

Yang Tian Fang’s rage hit a snag, and he said: “Huh?”

Even though Yu Zhi Yi had lived two lives and seen many storms, once she saw his fate she could not help but sigh: “If you do not ask for trouble, trouble will not come. Your past life was basically a self-sabotage ace.”