Chapter Ninety: Thunder Demon

Chapter Ninety: The Thunder Ghost

The taxi driver dared not approach the China Vocational High School. For those who drove taxis late at night, encountering ghosts was nothing out of the ordinary. So, when the driver learned that Song Nianqiang and his companion were heading to the school to catch ghosts, he refused to accept their fare. Instead, he asked the fat man for a talisman; the fat man agreed readily.

They walked some distance and arrived at the school, gazing at the ominous cloud hovering above the entrance. Song Nianqiang frowned and said to the fat man beside him, “If we want to enter safely through the main gate, we must deal with the thunder ghost up there. Should we go through the gate or climb over the wall?”

The fat man curled his lips in disdain, utterly fearless. “Climbing the wall? If we’re going in, we go through the main gate!” With that, he pulled a talisman from his pocket, stepped beneath the dark cloud, and looked up. He slapped the blue talisman forcefully toward the sky.

A faint blue light rose from the talisman and struck the cloud. The thunder ghost within was hit, howled in pain, and swiftly descended.

Brandishing a green rod, the thunder ghost swung it at the fat man’s head. The fat man, stunned by the sudden attack, froze, unsure what to do. Fortunately, Song Nianqiang reacted quickly, forming a seal with his hands and unleashing the Sky Thunder Break. A bolt of blue lightning, as thick as a thigh, shot forth and knocked the thunder ghost aside.

Though Song Nianqiang’s attack forced the thunder ghost away, it caused no real harm. The ghost’s wings flapped, and it soared once more, its rod flickering as it appeared above Song Nianqiang’s head. Song Nianqiang barely dodged in time, and the green rod struck his shoulder hard, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“Damn it!” Song Nianqiang, enraged by the blow, grabbed the green rod as it struck his shoulder. With a surge of strength, he snapped it in two with a loud crack. The thunder ghost, weapon damaged, hurriedly clutched the remaining half and flew skyward.

Suddenly, Song Nianqiang felt a chilling sensation. The broken rod in his hand slowly dissolved into green smoke, which seeped into his body. “Shit!” He hastily flung the rod away, and the cold abated slightly.

Meanwhile, the thunder ghost’s rod was somehow restored, whole once again. Song Nianqiang flexed his shoulder; aside from a deep, piercing pain, he was unharmed. Clenching his fist, he looked up at the thunder ghost, his gaze icy.

“A mere ghost managed to wound me—what a disgrace!” Song Nianqiang quickly formed a seal with both hands. The Threefold True Fire appeared at his fingertips, and he hurled it toward the thunder ghost. Flames of uncertain hues surged up, enveloping the ghost. But with its agile wings, the thunder ghost darted through the air, evading Song Nianqiang’s attack with ease.

“Damn, I should have asked Number Seven for his pistol!” Song Nianqiang cursed himself. The gun would have been perfect against this thunder ghost—no matter how fast it flew, it could not outrun a bullet. But now, he could only sigh in frustration.

The thunder ghost lunged at him again, but this time the fat man intervened. The talismans in his hand formed a lotus flower, which he flung at the attacking ghost. A flash of golden light, and the thunder ghost screamed, blasted backward. The fat man had used the Lotus Soul-Breaking Talisman Array, an attack formation recorded in the Compendium of Talismans.

“Fatty, stand aside! If I can’t subdue this ghost, I’ll become one myself and settle the score!” Song Nianqiang, fired up, told the fat man. He formed his hands as if holding three sticks of incense, bit his three fingers, and bowed three times toward the north. He dabbed his middle finger’s blood onto his forehead.

Immediately, a shimmering golden light appeared on his brow—an ethereal eye flickered faintly. Seeing Song Nianqiang going all out, the fat man cried, “Qiangiang, it’s just a small ghost! No need for such drastic measures!” The shout brought Song Nianqiang back to his senses; realizing he had gone too far, he quickly withdrew his spell and formed a new seal, casting Threefold True Fire once again.

“Damn, I almost fell for it! Fatty, be careful—besides the thunder ghost, there’s another one here that can induce hallucinations. Find it and destroy it!” From his earlier actions, Song Nianqiang understood there was more than one ghost at the gate.

The fat man acknowledged and walked toward the gate, lotus talisman in hand. His approach was clever: the gatekeeper ghost’s sole purpose was to prevent them from entering. Now, the fat man strode boldly toward the gate, forcing the hidden spirit to reveal itself.

Sure enough, as the fat man was about to cross the threshold, a shadow appeared behind his head. The lotus in his hand flashed, covering the ghost. Knowing the lotus’s power, the ghost instantly vanished.

The fat man and the ghost battled fiercely, while Song Nianqiang was locked in his own struggle. He was at a disadvantage; every time he was about to hit the thunder ghost, it would flap its wings and soar out of reach. Though he held the upper hand, he felt thoroughly frustrated.

“Damn it! If you have guts, come down!” Song Nianqiang shouted at the thunder ghost overhead. But the ghost ignored him and continued its evasive tactics, flying away whenever his attacks came close.

Meanwhile, the fat man’s fight was nearing its end. With the lotus, he easily dealt with the ghost, charging into the school as the spirit tried desperately to block him. All the fat man needed was to hold the lotus before him, and the ghost, reckless as if it had no regard for its own life, rushed at him.

“Qiangiang, need any help? That thunder ghost is a real bastard!” The fat man even had the leisure to speak to Song Nianqiang. Eyes fixed on the thunder ghost overhead, Song Nianqiang replied, “No need—if I can’t subdue it today, I’ll take its name!” He unleashed Threefold True Fire again and again, though the repeated casting began to wear him out.

The thunder ghost, seeing the Threefold True Fire, flew higher. Song Nianqiang quickly formed another seal, not yet fully proficient but fast enough. He cast the intermediate spell, Heaven-Burning Curse: the sky transformed into a purple sea of flame. The thunder ghost, caught off guard, fell from the sky with a scream.

Seeing the thunder ghost finally brought down, Song Nianqiang rushed over, talisman in hand, ready to slap it onto the ghost’s head. But the ghost swung its green rod, forcing Song Nianqiang back, and its tail, like a whip, lashed toward his scalp.

The change was too sudden for Song Nianqiang to react. In his haste, he instinctively adopted the only ghost-catching move the old man had taught him—the T-shaped stance.

The whip-like tail struck toward his head, but at the last moment, it seemed to miss, merely grazing his scalp and hitting the ground. Realizing he had narrowly escaped, Song Nianqiang quickly retreated, while the thunder ghost soared skyward once more.

It seemed the old man’s teachings were not useless after all; they had just saved Song Nianqiang. Looking at the thunder ghost in midair, Song Nianqiang thought of the old man and strained to recall everything he had taught about thunder ghosts. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and a hint of a smile curled on his lips.