Chapter 10 Does It Still Smell of Snakes

After getting an understanding of the situation, I hung up the phone. I asked Liu Longting how we should proceed; after all, they were of the same species.

Listening to what Ma Jianguo had to say, Liu Longting’s expression remained unchanged. He told me we did not need to prepare anything to deal with that and could head there right away.

Ma Jianguo’s house was quite a distance from mine. It was in Tieling, and I did not have a car yet so all I could do was get a train ticket. It was an approximately six-hour journey!

I thought that I would have to suffer alone on the train, but unexpectedly just as I was heading out, Liu Longting casually told me to prepare his luggage. He would be sitting on the train with me.

That was going to be awkward. I did not mind if he accompanied me, but why would he want to sit on the train with me. Furthermore, I did not have much to talk about with Liu Longting—it would be uncomfortable to sit together.

However, since Liu Longting wanted to, I would obey his wishes. We went to the train station together.

Only I could see him, so he did not even need any sort of identification. There were not many people on the train, but a big man like him still chose to sit next to me. He was good looking too; if only he was not a sage. A brief thought flashed through my mind, thinking it would be such a catch if he was my boyfriend.

We did not speak much on the way, nor was it convenient to converse. Close to arrival, Ma Jianguo called me saying he was already waiting for me at the station exit.

Before I met Ma Jianguo, the image I had of him was of a pitiful middle-aged man who looked like he had suffered through a lot of pain. However, I was surprised when instead he was a young-looking, red-faced man wearing a suit and tie. From outward appearance alone, he definitely did not look like he was in his forties, nor did he look like someone who wallowed in the pain of tragedy. He looked like a normal businessman.

“You’re Ma Jianguo?” I tried asking.

“Hello hello! You must be Shaman Bai. I am indeed Ma Jianguo. Miss, you’re young but still so talented, and very pretty to boot.” As Ma Jianguo was singing me praises, he turned his gaze next to me, and asked, “Who is he?”

I turned and saw Liu Longting standing next to me. Was he not invisible to everyone else? How could Ma Jianguo see Liu Longting? Faced with Ma Jianguo’s sudden question, I could not think of a way to explain my relationship with Liu Longting.

“I’m her lover who has accompanied her to investigate this case,” Liu Longting said to Ma Jianguo with a calm expression.

Ma Jianguo was no less enthusiastic. The smile on his face grew as he told me he could not imagine that it was unimaginable that I married so young...

Maybe it was because Ma Jianguo’s laughter was different from his uncontrollable sobbing on the phone, but I suddenly lost my goodwill toward him. I did not bother with any more pleasantries, and told him, “Is your daughter at home? Bring me to her so I can ask a few questions and figure out what exactly the two snakes told her.”

After my reminder, Ma Jianguo seemed as if he suddenly remembered that I was here on serious business. He immediately invited me into his car to head back.

His home was a small western-style house in the suburbs which was decorated quite poshly. When I walked into the house I could smell a very thick scent of snakes. It was similar to the smell that was there the night Liu Longting came into my room but was much more pungent. Standing in their house felt like standing in a snake nest—it made me extremely uncomfortable. I wanted to just leave the house immediately.

Ma Jianguo shouted toward the second floor for his daughter to come down, while he prepared some tea for Liu Longting and I. Liu Longting looked around the room and told me to be cautious, and that the situation might not be what Ma Jianguo had described.

Just as I was going to ask Liu Longting, Ma Jianguo came back with his tea set. His daughter also came downstairs holding a doll.

It was a little girl of around seven or eight years of age who did not like to talk. Seeing Liu Longting and I, she rubbed her eyes and asked Ma Jianguo who we were.

“It’s the shaman who’s here to help us chase away the monsters, Xiao Ling. Why don’t you tell them what the two snakes told you in your dreams?”

The moment the girl heard I was a shaman, she fixed her gaze on me. Her once normal face started to twist, and her gaze turned sharp as a knife, fiercely staring at me as if I was a monster. She suddenly threw her doll aside and ran toward me and bit my arm. Her mouth was still able to let out a sharp cry, “Who invited you to meddle in my business? No one’s allowed to meddle! I’ll kill whoever does!”

That sound was unbelievably high pitched and was as piercing as scratching chalk on glass. Thankfully my clothes were thick and the child could not bite into my flesh. Liu Longting’s reaction was quick, as he grabbed the child’s head and pushed her back with force. The child fell right onto the sofa and sobered up. She sat on the sofa sobbing.

Ma Jianguo kneeled on the floor with a plop. “It's those two snakes again. Those two snakes possessed her. Miss shaman, you need to save my daughter!”

It was the first time Ma Jianguo cried from the time I met him. I wanted to tell Ma Jianguo that I would help him settle this matter, but before I could get the words out of my mouth, Liu Longting interrupted and said, “I’ve already figured out what’s wrong with your family. It’s actually not that easy to handle, and it can’t even be done by today or tomorrow so let’s call it a day for now. My wife’s already tired after being on the train for so long. Just send us to a hotel to rest and we’ll help you tomorrow.”

I wanted to resolve the matter quickly but Liu Longting was delaying it. I did not understand what he was thinking, but I needed to work in tandem with him so I went with it and said I was indeed tired.

“Why would you go to a hotel if you’re tired? Just stay at my house. I’ve got a few guest rooms.” Ma Jianguo stood up immediately and asked his daughter to bring us upstairs.

Liu Longting narrowed his eyes at Ma Jianguo, then got up to leave.

There was no other way since Ma Jianguo still needed us to help him with the exorcism. He brought us to a hotel in the city, booked a room for us, and said he would pick us up tomorrow.

Liu Longting closed the door and paid him no mind. I was very curious and asked him why he did not resolve this matter quickly so we could go back early.

“There’s actually nothing causing trouble at their home at all. In fact, his house probably has been offered to a spirit, which is why he could see me and thought I was a normal person.”

A house offered to a spirit would normally never be disturbed by evil. Yet Ma Jianguo invited us to help him with an exorcism. Was this not like wearing a raincoat while holding an umbrella, and doing more than needed?

“Then was the little girl faking her possession just now? And what about that pungent snake smell in the house?”

When I mentioned the snake smell, Liu Longting gave me an incredulous look and nodded. “That must’ve been arranged to cloud our judgment. If my guess is correct, his actual target is us.”

“We have no grievances with him? Why would he target us?”

“Sometimes wanting someone’s life is not a matter of revenge. After all, both of us can be counted as people with cultivation right now. Earlier, I sensed that the spiritual energy in his house was so weak it was almost non-existent. If that spirit animal did not waste a lot of his cultivation, the situation would not be like this. I suspect that Ma Jianguo wants to steal our spiritual energy to offer to the spirit of his family.”

Wanting to steal the spiritual energy of others to enhance oneself as a sage; was this not a demon instead? Not bothering to wait for me to understand, Liu Longting told me he was going to take a bath. After all, we were not afraid of him since based on the current situation, we were still at an advantage.

Liu Longting was originally someone who stood above mere mortals in my heart. After all, aside from doing those things to me, he acted like an angel visiting the mortal realm. When he told me he was taking a bath, he suddenly felt so much more mortal, which was quite funny. I thus did not hold him back from asking more questions.

The sound of flowing water could be heard from the bathroom. Listening to the sound of water, I unexpectedly started to fantasize about Liu Longting with some immoral intent. I had seen his body that night at the temple and it looked like a male model from television.

“Bai Jing, help me get my clothes,” Liu Longting shouted at me from the bathroom.

His shout momentarily snapped me out of my thoughts, making me feel quite embarrassed. I hurriedly grabbed some sleepwear, but Liu Longting had already opened the door and just stood there with water dripping off him. I jumped in shock and turned my head around refusing to look at him. I held up his clothes and said, “Here.”

Liu Longting placed his hand on the clothes, but with a flick of his wrist, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bathroom. He closed the door and pinned me against it. He leaned his chest—which was still dripping pearls of water—against my face, and asked, “Does my body still smell of snakes?”