To Raise a Soul 39.1

Chi Nan lived in an apartment building that appeared high-end, which was in line with him being a high-up, talented worker who’d just returned from abroad. 

The building security was proportionately high-end with high-tech devices to monitor and maintain access that required residents to scan their fingerprints to get in and out of the building. If a visitor didn’t have access granted by the residents, they didn’t have a chance of getting in. However, this was not an issue for Yin Yan. The landing point from using the technique could be precisely controlled, allowing him to bypass those security measures with ease.

From his position within Yin Yan’s arms, Yu Zhen was puzzled. “Why didn’t you drop us into Chi Nan’s home?” Why take extra steps and stop outside the building? 

Yin Yan didn’t reply, but the world spun around them again. 

When the world settled back into place, the two stood in a simply decorated living room.

The living room was very big, but the furnishings were a little on the sparse side. Most likely, the owner didn’t have the time to decorate the place after moving in.

Unexpectedly, Chi Nan wasn’t asleep. Although the living room remained unlit, a glow from the kitchen filtered over and there were clear sounds of someone cooking.

He’s cooking this late at night?

Although puzzled, Yu Zhen pulled on Yin Yan’s clothes, indicating that they should leave. They would return once Chi Nan was asleep.

But Yin Yan didn’t heed Yu Zhen’s suggestion. He took hold of Yu Zhen’s hand and led him to the kitchen.

Alarmed, Yu Zhen wanted to stop him. He wanted to speak, but he was afraid of alerting Chi Nan to their presence. Bitter at not being able to will his thoughts over telepathically, Yu Zhen gestured to show his opposition. He pulled at Yin Yan’s hand, trying to hold him back.

“Chi Nan isn’t conscious right now. He won’t notice us.”

Yin Yan turned around as he spoke and then wrapped his hands around Yu Zhen’s waist, lifting him slightly from the ground. Then he simply brought Yu Zhen to the kitchen’s doorway.

With his feet no longer touching the ground, Yu Zhen gave up his struggle. Feeling the warmth of Yin Yan’s hands around his waist, Yu Zhen’s ears heated up. As if he had been picked up by the scruff of his neck like a cat, he obediently allowed Yin Yan to carry him.

While the living room had been quite barren, the kitchen was completely equipped. All sorts of condiments and seasonings lined the wall and the room felt well used.

Chi Nan, still in his pajamas, stood with his head bowed in front of a pot. He stirred it mechanically with a ladle in his hand.

The scent of blood drifted in the air. Subconsciously, it drew Yu Zhen’s eyes to the pot and nausea hit him hard, causing him to almost throw up. 

A thick, red, blood-like soup swirled around in the pot. Dark red clumps of clotted blood slowly moved with the circular motions of the ladle. Whatever it was looked like it had been cooking for too long and would break apart with a touch. 

Yin Yan fished out a pill and fed it to Yu Zhen. Then he moved in front of Yu Zhen, blocking his sight. With a gentle wave of his hand, the stench of blood disappeared from the air. 

But the soup remained there, red as blood and piercing to observing eyes.

With the help of the pill, Yu Zhen calmed down. Frowning, he held down his discomfort and stepped forward beside Yin Yan. 

Although the two of them were in plain sight, Chi Nan did not appear to have noticed them. He acted like a puppet being controlled. He continued stirring the soup, but his eyes were unfocused. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Golden lights were summoned to the tips of his fingers as he prepared to help free Chi Nan from his strange situation.

However, Yin Yan stopped him and said, “Wait a moment. Use Clear Discernment and watch him carefully.”

Yu Zhen paused as instructed and then he wiped the golden light across his eyes. 

Once again, the warm lights of life in the world became apparent. Then a scene directly out of a horror movie appeared before him.  

Within his warm light, Chi Nan remained stirring his soup. While he stirred, the surrounding warm light around him appeared to be pulled off by something. Bit by bit, his light was peeled off and moved into the pot, joining the blood-red liquid within.

Worse yet, Chi Nan was gradually enveloped by the light red shroud being emitted by the pot. With each stir of the ladle, the red shroud also swirled around. A part of it twisted itself into a rope and hung around Chi Nan’s neck. Then it mysteriously stretched upwards, went through the roof, and disappeared. 

The red ‘noose’ was still faint and loose, but it wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen once all of Chi Nan’s warm glow was peeled off and the rope had reached its peak brightness.

The scene in front of him was too bizarre. Yu Zhen’s alarmed cry was stuck in his throat. He couldn’t help but grasp Yin Yan’s hand. With a tremble in his voice, he stuttered, “H-he’s being…”

“His fate and luck are being taken.”

Yin Yan returned the hold and pulled Yu Zhen into his arms. “Let’s have a look in the other homes.”

Their surroundings changed yet again as they landed in the home of Chi Nan’s next-door neighbour.

A family of three lived in the neighboring home. They were all asleep and the energy about them was very normal. Yu Zhen sighed a breath of relief. 

However, Yin Yan appeared thoughtful. He held Yu Zhen close again and they reappeared in the home below them.

The building had a total of 36 floors, each with six homes. There were also two stairwells. Yin Yan took them away from the 18th floor where Chi Nan lived and onto the ninth floor. Again, the same terrifying scene appeared in front of Yu Zhen.  

The same kitchen light appeared and the same red pot of soup was present. The only difference in the scene was that a petite woman stood in front of the pot.

Using Clear Discernment again, Yu Zhen confirmed that the woman had also lost a chunk of her warm light, but she was missing less than Chi Nan. 

“It’s an array.”

Yin Yan was sure. He held Yu Zhen and quickly moved through the building.

Yu Zhen hadn’t been in training for long so he hadn’t yet learned about anything related to arrays. What he did know was that after Yin Yan had said it was an array, each residence he brought Yu Zhen to had the red soup and rope. The people before the pot were all very thin, between the ages of twenty to fifty, and they lived alone.

After visiting all those homes, they returned to Chi Nan’s home.

Chi Nan was still stirring the pot, but much slower than before and the red glow of the rope was much brighter.

Worried, Yu Zhen summoned golden light to his fingertips again.

“Don’t move. If you rashly break the array, those within it will suffer great damage.” Yin Yan grabbed his hand. With a wave of his other hand, he retrieved something from his space and threw it into the pot.

As if aggravated, there was a sizzling sound in the pot and it began to boil violently. At the same time, the red light on Chi Nan’s body suddenly stopped swirling and began to twist and warp.

“Hold on tight.”

Yin Yan held Yu Zhen close. Before the red light could disappear, he grabbed the ‘red rope’ around Chi Nan’s neck and forcefully tore it off. At the same time, he used the spring of his leg muscles and Reduction to One Inch to rush to the other end of the rope.

Yu Zhen felt his body soar for a brief moment before he heard a crashing sound as if they had broken through something solid.  The night wind whistled past as they were met with the sight of the building’s rooftop. 

“Who? Who broke my array?!” a shrill and unpleasant voice shrieked. 

Yu Zhen turned sideways and saw a small, shriveled up, old man at a corner of the rooftop. A weird-looking spinning wheel sat in front of the old man. Red ropes hung all over the spinning wheel and blood dripped from the top of it. 

“So, it’s a Taoist priest who’d died from hunger.”

Yin Yan let go of Yu Zhen and helped him tidy up his scarf. Under the priest’s fearful eyes, he strode forward and kicked over the spinning wheel.

“Ah! Stop it!”

The red ropes scattered over the floor and the blood was contaminated by dust.

The priest’s eyes widened with rage. He tried to stop Yin Yan but found that he couldn’t move. He looked up, expression distorted by anger, and he spat out, “Who are you!? You dare ruin my magic weapon and my array?! I hope you die horribly!”

Yin Yan ignored him. He waved a hand and the spinning wheel spontaneously combusted. The blood from the spinning wheel was also completely burned away.

The move brought back some of the priest’s rationality as he stared in shock.

“True fire! You possess true fire?! No! That’s not possible! Who are you?!” he yelled, once again losing control. He dropped the issue of his destroyed magical item as if he had seen something else that was even more unfathomable. A trace of his repressed greed showed through from the deep abyss of his eyes. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With another wave of the hand, a spiritual net suddenly appeared, trapping the Taoist priest. Yin Yan then stuffed his loud mouth.

Another gust of the night wind blew through.