Chapter Ten: The Debut of the Five Thunder God Talisman

“Between the six directions and within the four seas, where demons hide in secret, a single talisman will trace their path—no place to escape. Go!” At the moment the voice rang out, Mo Li swiftly produced a yellow talisman and cast it into the air. The talisman hovered briefly before transforming into a thousand origami cranes, slowly flying toward the village. This maneuver completely defied the law of universal gravitation; Sir Isaac Newton would have grumbled and walked away in frustration.

“That move is so cool! If I could learn it, I’d open a detective agency and get rich!” Liu Jun thought to himself with a hopeful smile.

Mo Li took the lead, following the paper crane into the village. They walked until the crane circled repeatedly around a well. Mo Li scrutinized the well carefully but said nothing.

“Do you know why the paper crane stopped here?” Brother Gou seemed to want to test Liu Jun and asked him.

“Isn’t it obvious? It must be tired from flying and wants to rest,” Liu Jun replied. That was hardly a challenge for someone of his wits—after all, nine years of compulsory schooling weren’t in vain.

“Fool! It’s a paper crane!” Brother Gou snapped and turned away, unwilling to continue the conversation.

Liu Jun inwardly bristled. Did Brother Gou look down on paper cranes? Did that mean cranes weren’t cranes? What’s wrong with a crane resting when tired? Of course, Liu Jun kept these thoughts to himself—not out of fear, but disdain for wasting breath on Brother Gou.

“The giant serpent is down there. Liu Jun, you and Zhang Wenyuan back off to the rear first,” Mo Li instructed.

“No problem, don’t worry. We’re not afraid—we might even help you out here, right, Brother Zhang?” Liu Jun turned to speak to Zhang Wenyuan and the others. Except, upon closer look, Zhang and the others were already twenty meters away. Impressive speed—faster than Bolt himself.

“Boundless cosmos, the way flows naturally; summon the demon! Appear!” Mo Li shouted at the well without paying attention to Liu Jun. Confident in herself and Brother Gou’s presence, she wasn’t afraid the serpent would harm him. At her command, a mass of blackness suddenly burst out of the well—it was the giant serpent. With a snake’s head, a human torso, and a thick black tail swaying behind, it was as bizarre as anything, the kind of creature studied for years if captured.

“Heavenly fire thunder god, five-directional divine thunder. Earthly fire thunder god, subdue demons and evil spirits. Evil spirits, begone! By imperial decree, swift as the law commands, bring down the thunder!” Mo Li wasted no time and unleashed a volley of thunder upon the serpent. Lightning crackled fiercely, striking the creature with majestic power. If only she hadn’t hit me with one too, Liu Jun thought ruefully—maybe she was a bit too close. Thankfully, it was divine thunder, which harms evil but spares mortals, or else he’d be joining the serpent on its final journey.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? How did the divine thunder strike you? I was definitely controlling it to target the serpent,” Mo Li asked anxiously, worried the thunder might cause Liu Jun serious harm.

“That’s easy—the little guy’s just unlucky. He’s done plenty of bad things, so the thunder didn’t like him,” Mo Yu the big black dog joked after seeing Liu Jun was unharmed.

“Nonsense. I sit upright and walk straight, always doing good deeds. I’m the type to help an old lady cross the street—how could I be struck? The divine thunder must have been a stray hit!” Liu Jun exhaled a breath of frustration.

“Tsk tsk, then why do you think the thunder struck you? Was it because you’re handsome?” Brother Gou teased.

“That’s not impossible—for my looks aren’t bad. But maybe it’s because of that the thunder mistook me for a lightning rod,” Liu Jun said, tossing a steel pipe from his sleeve. What else could he do? Without magic, lacking combat skills, his fighting style was basically shouting—if he won by yelling, great; if not, he ran. In such a perilous occupation, he needed some protection.

“Mo Li, is the serpent dead? Can we call it a day?” Liu Jun ignored Brother Gou’s disdainful glance and asked Mo Li directly.

“After being struck by the five-directional divine thunder like that, it should be dead. I’ll go check,” Mo Li said, walking to the serpent. After a moment’s inspection, she took out another talisman and applied it to the creature.

“Brother Zhang Wenyuan, go find some gasoline and burn this serpent. Afterwards, just bury the ashes in your father’s grave. Don’t remove the talisman on top,” Mo Li instructed, turning to Zhang and the others.

“Okay, got it,” Zhang replied, heading off to find gasoline. This thing was too sinister; burning it was best.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. Once everything’s fully dealt with, we can leave. If anything goes wrong because of this, the consequences will fall on us.”

“We, including Taoist Li, are actually unofficial employees of the Underworld, handling ghost matters the Underworld can’t intervene in, and eliminating demons that trouble the mortal realm. We’ve already been registered in the Underworld. Once you formally apprentice under Taoist Li and learn some magic, gaining spiritual power, you can be registered there too. Handling these matters has many benefits—you’ll understand in time. The path of cultivation is difficult and fraught with danger. You must think carefully. What happened today is just a very ordinary matter,” Mo Li explained as Zhang and the others went to get gasoline.

“Understood. I’ll think it over,” Liu Jun replied after a pause. It was clear the old man intended to take him as a disciple, though Liu Jun didn’t know why he was chosen. The path looked difficult. Learning magic seemed impressive and powerful, but with knowledge came responsibility. Today’s serpent was low-level and posed little danger. But what about next time? If he faced a formidable demon or ghost, he might not win. Escaping might be impossible, and he could lose the chance for reincarnation.

He was just an ordinary citizen. Before, he only wished for some money and a peaceful, healthy life with his family. He never dreamed of exorcising demons or being a hero. But now, after all this, was he truly willing to live an ordinary life? He didn’t claim lofty ideals like for the people or world peace—he just thought for himself, for his family. Should he learn or not? Liu Jun pondered silently, torn inside.

“If you’re willing to learn, I’ll teach you some talismans over the next few days. Soon, you’ll go with me out of town. A wealthy man approached Taoist Li, offering 300,000 yuan to handle a problem. You might get a few ten-thousand yuan as extra commission, not counting your salary,” Mo Li said.

“Alright, no problem. It’s just magic. I’ll learn—for exorcising demons and upholding righteousness!” Liu Jun declared with righteous determination. A good young man who didn’t want to learn magic was hard to find. As for money? It was just an external thing! His main goal was the people, world peace! No one could stop his selfless spirit from learning magic.