I used folk talismans to ward off the evil spirit.

Chapter 4 The Bureau of Mysteries Unleashes Its Power, Suppressing Objects and Causing Trouble

The next morning.

Jiang Jun woke up from his sleep and was about to go and bump the post again so that he could complete the promotion of "Ghostly Prohibition" as soon as possible.

But when he saw the folklore notebook open automatically, with its progress bar overflowing, he was taken aback: "What happened?"

He turned on his computer and quickly browsed through all the posts, only to find that only three people had submitted their work.

"Could it be that the Department of the Supernatural has made its move?" Jiang Jun guessed. "In any case, this is good news for me!"

He opened his folklore notebook, took out cinnabar, ground it into ink, dipped his brush in it, and began to compile the second talisman.

"Tomorrow is Qingming Festival, so let's add another Qingming-themed talisman."

He had a plan in mind, and without hesitation, he turned to a new page and began to write lines of small regular script.

[Amulet: Bracelet "Sorrowful Encounter"]

[Preparation: Cut jujube branches into small sections, about the length of your little finger, string them together with red thread to make a bracelet, and thread a clove of garlic through the center.]

[Incantation: Sour jujube branch, thorns reaching the sky, piercing through evil spirits and unpredictable attacks. Garlic's pungent aroma dispels malevolent energy, keeping all evil away from my side.]

[Usage: Carry this with you when you go out to ward off and kill evil spirits. It is most effective when woven on Qingming Festival.]

There was a reddish glow on the handwriting, but it was scattered and not solidified, clearly indicating that something was still missing.

Jiang Jun waited for a moment, but the information about the talisman did not materialize, so he had to add another line of text.

[Taboos: The branches of the jujube tree are thorny and must not be removed, otherwise they will not be able to kill the monsters; the garlic must be fresh, otherwise it will increase the monsters' attraction!]

A red light flashed, and the second item for warding off evil spirits was successfully compiled.

In folk customs, "guijianchou" and "guibuxu" are both used only on the day of Qingming Festival. However, when Jiang Jun compiled the text, he deliberately removed the time limit.

In particular, since the "Ghostly Sorrow" was supposed to be thrown onto the roof when he got home that day, it was a bit wasteful to use it as a talisman, so he deleted it as well.

After all, as long as the folk notebook approves, his compilation of "The Strange Encounter" is undoubtedly the original.

Jiang Jun took out the materials delivered by the local logistics company and began to make the "original talisman".

The old branches of the perennial jujube are purplish-brown, zigzag-shaped, and each node has a pair of stipular thorns, one straight and one hooked.

If you're not careful, you can easily prick your hand.

But Jiang Jun was skilled at it. He first cut off the broken branches with thorns, and then cut the rest into pieces about the length of his little finger.

He threaded a red thread through a needle and passed it through the middle of a jujube branch. Before long, he had strung it three times around his wrist.

This thing has thorns, and it's not very comfortable to hang on your wrist. If you make it longer and drape it over your sleeve, the experience will be much better.

After he finished stringing the jujube branches, he took a few cloves of garlic from the kitchen, compared them, and chose the freshest and plumpest one to string on the red string.

The red rope was tied into a knot, and the excess was cut off. The second talisman, "The Curse of the Ghost," was then successfully completed.

"Sour jujube branches, thorns reaching the sky..." Jiang Jun chanted the incantation in a deep voice.

"Clatter..." The folk notebook was opened, the bright red characters shimmering with golden light.

The string of "Strange Trouble" in Jiang Jun's hand shot out purple light needles that circled around him.

With a thought, the light needles merged into one, transforming into a purple light sword the size of a finger.

A sharp and incisive aura permeated the study.

There was also a white halo, carrying a strong garlic aroma, domineeringly filling the surroundings.

The purple and white light shone on Jiang Jun, greatly enhancing his physical abilities.

The "Sorrowful Ghost" bracelet also endowed him with two kinds of warding-off-object abilities.

The light needles vanquish evil, and together they become a sword!

Garlic aroma repels evil spirits!

Once the strange phenomenon subsided, the original charm of the talisman also became as smooth and lustrous as jade.

After studying it, Jiang Jun discovered that "Gui Jianchou" is a defensive and counter-attack type of talisman.

If the monster doesn't provoke it, it won't be triggered.

If a monster harms someone, the thorns of the jujube tree will shoot out needles of light in retaliation. Garlic will also emit a unique fragrance to help drive away the monster.

"The smell is a bit strong!" Jiang Jun shook his head, turned on his computer, logged into the forum, and began to fabricate a story about "The Strange Sorrow".

#Top Secret Leaked! The "Ghostly Sorrow," a century-old rural talisman against evil spirits, is fully revealed today.

#Must-See for Qingming Festival! Three Steps to Make a "Ghost-Repelling Amulet"—Wear It and Evil Spirits Will Avoid You

#LimitedTimeForQingmingFestival! This amulet for warding off evil spirits has everyone in the neighborhood copying it.

*

The Bureau of Supernatural Phenomena in Qingjiang City.

News Center Director Nie Xiaoyu urgently approached Li Ming: "Director! That person has released a new talisman!"

Li Ming was startled and quickly logged into the forum, where he soon found Jiang Junxin's post.

"A mysterious sorrow? Are you referring to sour jujube branches?"

Although most of those ancient folk customs are based on hearsay and have no effect on warding off evil, he still had some understanding of them as the head of the city's Department of Supernatural Affairs.

"First willow twigs, then jujube branches—both are folk remedies believed to ward off evil..." He tapped lightly on the desk. "This mysterious person seems to have a particular fondness for folk customs?"

Nie Xiaoyu guessed, "This person might be a folklorist? Or perhaps a local sorcerer or shaman?"

Li Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Ever since the arrival of the Abyss 40 years ago, the government has been intentionally cleaning up invalid folk information to avoid misleading people and harming them instead."

"After so many years, there probably aren't many scholars still studying folklore. Perhaps we could try to find a way to explore this from a different angle?"

The supernatural being whose words become law is too domineering for them to track down, but they should be able to learn about it from the sidelines without much trouble.

Nie Xiaoyu understood: "Then I'll ask someone to inquire first, to see if any folklore scholars have recently experienced any changes?"

Li Ming nodded and then added, "In such a short time, this person has used the concept of 'words become law' to define two different types of talismans. This person's understanding of supernatural objects must have reached an extremely profound level."

"Therefore, you must act with caution, prioritize friendly contact, and never offend the other party or push them to the opposite side."

Nie Xiaoyu accepted the order and left.

Li Ming thought for a moment, then called over Liu Yan, the director of the logistics center: "Make a hundred of those 'Strange Trouble' figurines made from jujube branches, so everyone can see their quality!"

"If they work well, we'll increase the quantity to a thousand. The materials are simple, and they're not difficult to make. Having more on hand means we can easily replace them if they break."

*

In the study, Jiang Jun stared at the progress bar on his folklore notebook, which was a hundred times longer than "Ghostly Prohibitions," and fell silent.

"I'll probably need to create about ten thousand talisman clones to unlock the next editing permission?"

He shook his head and stood up: "Never mind, with these two protective artifacts by my side, I should be able to get through this Qingming Festival safely."

"Moreover, I can only compile four items for now. Before unlocking more pages, I need to carefully consider the third one."

He was about to go out to buy some sacrificial items for tomorrow's tomb sweeping when his phone suddenly rang.

The call came from the parents of one of his female tenants, surnamed Zhou, who said they had lost contact with her.

The factory where she worked was closed for the Qingming Festival. All her fellow villagers who worked with her had gone home, but she was nowhere to be found.

Fearing something might happen, her parents asked Jiang Jun to check on her in her rented room.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jun was reminded of unpleasant memories.

A few years ago, when his parents were still alive, a tenant on the third floor died in his room. His body decomposed for a week and even showed signs of grotesqueness before it was discovered.

That scene was a source of childhood trauma for Jiang Jun.

In this world teeming with strange and bizarre creatures, such an accident becomes even more unbearable.

Jiang Jun frowned, hung up the phone, took out his keys, went out, took the stairs, and headed straight for room 404 on the fourth floor.

The self-built house left by his parents has six floors and a layout of two elevators and four households.

Room 04 is a studio apartment. Turn left after exiting the building and you'll find the stairs. It's quite far from the elevator and doesn't sit next to the other three apartments on the same floor.

Jiang Jun arrived at the door of room 404, knocked, and called out loudly, "Sister Zhou! Is Sister Zhou home?"

After a long while, no one answered.

The tenant of apartment 403 next door poked his head out and replied, "Boss Jiang, there's been no word from Xiao Zhou for five days."

Jiang Jun asked in confusion, "Grandma Xie, how did you know?"

Grandma Xie said, "Little Zhou puts the trash at the door every night in advance and takes it away to throw it away the next day."

"But five days ago, I noticed that she didn't put any trash in front of her door, and I thought she had moved out or gone home."

Jiang Jun frowned slightly, took out a spare key, and opened the door with a "click".