Chapter 123: Binding the Souls

Following Mo Qingyan’s instructions, I invited the paper effigies out of the incense cabinet and placed them in the center of the magic circle.
The Yin energy seemed to turn into a whirlwind, beginning to spiral around the two paper figures.

“Sit at the four corners of the magic circle, and then chant according to the incantation on the paper.”
Mo Qingyan said, “This is a version modified by Senior Brother Liang; just chant along with it.”

Mo Qingyan handed us four pieces of paper that had been printed long ago and then sat at one of the corners of the circle.
Xiao Qing and Bai Yue sat at the other two corners with practiced ease, leaving only one corner for me.
I followed their lead and sat down, picking up the paper to look at the incantation, and began to read along with Mo Qingyan.

“Vast and hazy, the scattered become qi, the gathered become spirits, the father and the mother, whose virtues leave a lasting fragrance, you are the ones who gave birth to me, you are the ones who created me, to be born a child, filial piety comes first, as my parents, with deep-seated love, I sincerely request my late father and mother to accept my offerings and protect your daughter…”

It was a chant that was part-elegy and part-sacrificial text; the entire content seemed to emphasize that I was their daughter and that they should protect me.
As the incantation was chanted, the Yin energy blew faster and faster, and the two paper effigies actually stood up, appearing as if they were standing right in front of me.

“Yubing, repeat the incantation; until twelve o’clock arrives, the others will remain in their original positions and continue to cast the spell.”
Mo Qingyan said.

‘I can only chant the incantation on the paper over and over again.’

I chanted for probably over ten minutes until my throat was almost parched.
Only then did I hear the clock in the living room chime twelve times.

“Yubing, flip the paper over, dip the brush in your own blood, and draw the patterns from the paper onto those two paper effigies; make absolutely sure not to draw them wrong.”
Mo Qingyan spoke as I flipped the page; on the back, there was indeed a humanoid pattern, or rather, several different patterns combined to form a humanoid silhouette.

Each of these patterns was brimming with an evil aura, looking both harrowing and bizarre.

‘These two paper effigies are floating in mid-air; how am I supposed to draw?’

I asked, “They are so flimsy and lack support; they’ll topple over the moment I touch them, and I’ll definitely draw it wrong.”

“It’s no problem; go ahead and draw, as long as we are still maintaining the ritual, they won’t fall,” Mo Qingyan said with absolute certainty.

I could only stand up, walk in front of the two paper figures, dip the brush in my own blood, and then gingerly and lightly tap it onto the effigies, terrified that they would fall at the slightest touch.
As it turned out, Mo Qingyan’s words were trustworthy; the paper effigies actually stood upright in mid-air, remaining motionless as if they were pasted to a wall.
Even when my brush painted upon them, they did not waver in the slightest.

Yet I was still incredibly nervous; even my brush was trembling slightly.

‘Even if the paper figures don’t move, I’m afraid that one wrong stroke will cause all our efforts to go to waste.’

To be honest, although these patterns were harrowing, they weren’t particularly complex.

‘Normally, if I were allowed to practice, I could probably draw one in a minute.’

But now, going into actual combat without practice and not being allowed a single mistake put me under immense psychological pressure.
I could only draw slowly, but at this time, the other three girls were still chanting.
Yin energy was constantly emanating from their bodies and joining the magic circle; I guessed this was the foundation for maintaining the ritual.

Mo Qingyan and Bai Yue still seemed to have plenty of energy left, but Xiao Qing’s expression was already strained, and even tiny beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

‘If I take too long, she might not be able to hold on.’

Thus, I could only speed up as much as possible.
In this manner, I tried to be as careful as possible while not being too slow, looking at the diagram for every stroke I drew.
Finally, I managed to coat the first paper effigy in blood-red, bizarre patterns; comparing it to the diagram, there should be no mistakes.

I breathed a sigh of relief; that was half finished.
Next, I only needed to follow the same steps to paint the second paper figure.

However, shortly after I touched the brush to the paper, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from outside, giving me a fright.
Normally, a door opening would be nothing, but my hearing was exceptionally sensitive now.
Especially in this silent night, I could hear every rustle and movement with extreme clarity; a sudden door-opening sound was bound to startle me.

At the moment of being startled, I subconsciously lifted the brush.
Fortunately, I hadn’t drawn it wrong; moreover, since the patterns were composed of individual independent symbols, they didn’t require a continuous stroke.
It was a narrow escape, and no accidents occurred.

Even so, I was greatly dissatisfied with this inexplicable door-opening sound.

‘Who would go out in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?’

As I concentrated and continued to draw, footsteps came from outside the door.
They were vaguely familiar, like the footsteps I would dizzily hear in my dreams every night, wandering in the corridor and making me feel uneasy.

“Yubing, calm down; it’s just someone walking outside, keep drawing the patterns.”
“If there really is some ghostly thing, don’t be afraid; Yue’er is here,” Mo Qingyan said.

“I’ll let the Ghost-Eye Moth go out and take a look.”
Bai Yue once again released that moth with eye-like wing patterns; after a moment, she spoke again: “It’s nothing, just a little girl taking a stroll in the corridor.”

‘If it were any other time, I definitely wouldn’t take it seriously.’
‘But why would a little girl be wandering outside the door in the middle of the night?’
‘This is clearly abnormal, not to mention this residential area is already very eerie.’

But the ritual could not stop, so I could only pull myself together and continue to draw.
Finally, after a period of busy work, I finished drawing the two paper figures without any mishaps.

The moment I lifted my brush, the Yin energy swirled into the paper effigies like a vortex, and even all the candles on the magic circle were extinguished.
Then, the blood patterns on the effigies vanished, seemingly absorbed by the paper figures; the surface was pure white, without leaving even a small bloodstain.

The two paper effigies slowly lay down.
I felt as if a mysterious connection had been established between me and the two paper figures; I seemed to be able to sense them.

Only then did Mo Qingyan say, “The ritual is a success; now they won’t act on their own anymore, and you can also drive them to do some simple tasks.”
“Everyone can stop now.”

Bai Yue and Xiao Qing stopped casting the spell.
Xiao Qing immediately slumped onto the floor, her face pale, appearing as if she had just performed intense exercise; her short hair was stuck to her face with sweat.

“Xiao Qing, are you alright?”
I quickly supported Xiao Qing.

After taking a couple of breaths, she spoke weakly, “I’m fine, just feeling a bit exhausted.”

Using my Aura Perception, I could see that her vitality had weakened significantly.
The residual Yin energy from the ritual seemed to want to seize the opportunity to drill into her body, but the hairpins I gave her emitted layers of spiritual light, blocking the intrusion of the surrounding Yin energy.

“She’s fine, just overexerted; she’ll be better after a night’s rest.”
“If you want her to recover faster, just feed her that saucer of your blood,” Mo Qingyan said.

“This is a pigment mixed with cinnabar; how can you give it to someone to drink?” I questioned.

“Why not? Cinnabar is both a Chinese herb and a material for alchemy; taking it in small amounts is perfectly fine.”
“Besides, this saucer of your blood is good stuff; if she doesn’t use it, there are plenty of others who would want it.”