Chapter 6: The Person in Red
The old man froze for a moment, then as if realizing something, he grinned slyly. “Girl, you’re not scared, are you?”
“…” Yun Jiao frowned, glancing again across the room, but gave no reply.
The old man assumed he’d guessed right. He patted her shoulder with a worldly air. “Don’t worry, don’t worry! With me here, all is well! I’ve seen this kind of thing plenty of times, you’ll get used to it. Just shake the bell, that’s all.” He pounded his chest for emphasis.
“…It’s exactly because of you that I don’t feel reassured.”
“Oh right, where’s that talisman I gave you back at the temple?” he suddenly remembered.
Yun Jiao reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled stack of papers he had stuffed at her before they left. “This spirit talisman?” It was practically toilet paper, only missing the bleaching step.
“Yes, that’s the one!” He snatched up the papers, shaking them proudly. “These are spirit talismans I worked hard to draw, they can repel evil and ward off misfortune. I used to sell them for two taels of silver each.” With that, he carefully counted out twenty slips.
“…So that really is forty taels worth of exorcism, huh.”
Seeing her still doubtful, the old man thought a moment, then reluctantly pulled out a single sheet of purple talisman paper. “Here, if you’re really scared, take this.”