Chapter 14, Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies

My drawing on the talisman looked like it had been drawn by a blind chicken and was rightly rather skeptical about my sh*tty talisman being able to save me in times of crisis. I wanted to ask Liu Longting to stay with me until the task was finished, but before I even had the chance to speak, Liu Longting gave my cheek a hard pinch.

“If you harm our child after I leave, I’ll make sure that none of your family members live to see another day.”

Was he threatening me?

When Liu Longting was pleasing me earlier in the day, I thought he actually felt something for me, but I was wrong. It was all for the sake of the baby snake that I was carrying in my belly!

D*mn it! I pushed Liu Longting’s hand away from my face and said, “I hate you. You better pray that I don’t get eaten by that thing. If I die, your baby will surely die with me!”

After hearing what I said, Liu Longting paused for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. He responded, “Of course I don’t want you to die. Don’t worry, if I sense any real danger, I’ll ask someone to go over to save you.”

His words made me furious. Who does he think he was? Was I an object to him? To be used whenever it pleases him and to be thrown away once he was done. I was the one doing him favors and he should show me some appreciation!

Before I was able to open my mouth, Liu Longting was gone, and I was left all alone.

I was getting angrier by the minute. I released my anger by kicking the broom that he was using earlier on. I wondered, what have I done to be treated like this? I had nothing to do with his previous misfortunes and so what if his wife was dead? It was his fault that he was not capable of saving his wife. Why was he blaming me? What kind of man was he?

I tried to subdue my anger by sitting at the Fairy Hall for almost an hour. I suddenly remembered that I needed to make offerings to Chang Batian and Chang Cuihua. I could not wait for the day that Liu Longting was fully cultivated so that I could cut my ties with him.

Nonetheless, I had to complete the task that I promised Yinggu. I could not believe that I was not able to do anything right without Liu Longting next to me.

In order to avoid any mistakes, I spent the night practicing drawing talismans, hoping that it would save my life in times of crisis.

I did not let Grandmother know that Liu Longting was going home. When I woke up the next day, I left right away to look for the troubled family.

The troubled family lived not far from me. The place was located next to a lake called Sanjing Lake between where Yinggu and I live. The lake was formed as a result of three lakes merging and was a popular destination for nearby villagers to spend their free time. When I was speaking to a member of the troubled family on the phone, he told me that he made a living by farming fishes in the lake. He did not go through the specifics, instead he just asked me to look for him at his place.

I reached their home at about 9 in the morning, and they invited me into their house to keep warm as the weather outside was rather cold.

I was a little nervous, especially since Liu Longting was not next to me. I followed the usual procedure by asking the couple what had happened.

The couple gave each other a quick look and told me that they were fish farmers and were tasked with protecting the lake. They explained that the farm was owned by a well-known businessman in their city. They then said that the problem they faced was not as serious as it sounds. A few teenagers drowned in the lake a few years ago, but their bodies were never found. Since then, strange things would happen around the lake.

“What strange things?” I asked the couple.

They gave each other another glance, and the woman answered, “I’m not sure if you’d consider this strange but every time I went fishing, I felt uncomfortable. I felt like there were eyes in the lake watching my every move and sometimes, I heard people calling for help. It’s quite frightening.”

As the woman finished her sentence, the man seemed to remember something else too. He followed up by saying, “Not only that. A few months ago when I was looking after the baby fish, I got hungry, so I went to the lake to wash an apple. I saw a white figure in the lake moving around and after I blinked, the figure disappeared!”

After hearing what they had to say, I felt so afraid that I almost cried. When the woman heard what the man had said, she was very angry and scolded him for not telling her about it earlier as she would have been scared to death if she went to the lake alone and saw the things that he had described earlier. He consoled her by saying that he did not want her to worry so he did not let her know.

As the couple argued, I tried calming myself down. Even though they claimed that they experienced these unusual and strange events, it may sometimes just be in their heads. For instance, it was not unusual for a person to feel uncomfortable and react differently if they knew they were walking past a place where people have died.

This was the human mind playing tricks on itself. If the lake was actually haunted, we needed evidence to prove it. When Liu Longting was not there, I tend to trust science better.

“That may just be your mind playing tricks on you. Do you guys have any evidence that can prove that the lake is haunted? For example, evidence that proves that you were harmed at the lake by those things or evidence that may point to their existence?”

I felt like they were looking down on me as the couple appeared to be unwilling to reveal the information to me. I would not be able to help them if they did not provide me with any information or show me any proof. After considering, the man said to me, “Yes, but you’ll need to be prepared. I don’t want to scare you.”

I was initially prepared for the investigation, but as the man said those words, I became very afraid. I did not want to go on further, but I was representing Yinggu on the task, so I must carry on.

“I’m not afraid. Show it to me.” I only managed to say it after taking a deep breath.

After I agreed, the couple stood up and brought me outside.

The couple actually lived quite a distance from the lake. On the way to the lake, the woman asked how long I had been working as a sage. She said that I looked like I was just 18 years old.

I was a little happy as she underestimated my age, but I was a little ashamed to let her know that I had only worked for half a month. Instead, I lied and said that I had worked for a long time.

“Based on my experience, most sages that I have met usually look at least 30 years old. You look a little too young to be a sage. Did you get your wisdom from your ancestors? Or did you manage to develop a bond with another sage?”

I did not expect this woman to know so much, so I told her that I developed a bond with a sage.

“My previous babysitter developed a bond with a sage. She told me that most people who developed a bond with sage will usually not be able to escape the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies. The worst consequence was death. My babysitter died because of the bond. After her death, the sage continued looking for the next shaman.”

While I was gossiping with the woman, I remembered the time when I agreed to be Liu Longting’s shaman, she also told me that her husband's face was ruined by a sage.

“What are the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies?” I asked the woman. I didn’t know that there were so many taboos on being a sage as Yinggu did not tell me all these before.

As I finished my question, the man interrupted, “Fairy Lady, take a look over there.”

I looked in the direction the man was pointing, and all I could see were layers of ice and nothing else.

“What’s over there?” I asked the man.

“There appears to be three people standing in an ice cave, but they seemed to have stood there for a long time.”

Hearing what the man had said, I could not hold back my fear and let out a sneeze. I grasped tightly onto the clothes that I was wearing and looked in the direction where the man pointed again. I finally saw it. On top of the layers of ice appeared a cave, and I could see three tall white figures in the cave. They were all hanging upside down in the cave. I could see three horrifying white faces looking right at us!