Chapter 2350

Chapter 2350: The Witch Doctor Arrives

"Are you challenging me in witch doctor spells?" The witch doctor was shocked. It was the first time someone dared to challenge her in her own field. As a professional witch doctor, she feared no spells and was confident that no curse could harm her.

Zhu Yanyi sniffed disdainfully. "Is that surprising? Don't you know? I like to use people's own skills against them. You are good at witch doctor spells, so I will compete with you in that. If you cannot even break my spell, you have no ability to compete with me at all."

Zhu Yanyi looked at the witch doctor calmly, her expression showing clear contempt.

The witch doctor was always arrogant. Hearing Zhu Yanyi’s words, she refused to admit she was inferior. Without hesitation, she said, "You set the challenge."

Zhu Yanyi gave a faint smile. "Are you sure? Do you not need to prepare?"

"No need." The witch doctor felt her skills were perfect. She believed Zhu Yanyi could not compare to her, as she was a true heir of the witch doctor lineage.

Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. "Alright." She pointed a finger at the witch doctor and muttered some unintelligible words. Even the witch doctor could not understand what she was saying.

Suddenly, the witch doctor found her left hand immobile. She was stunned and looked at Zhu Yanyi. "What did you do?"

Zhu Yanyi did not hide anything. She answered directly, "I cast the Zombie Curse on you. But not fully, only on one hand. You can start trying to break it now. Remember, the Zombie Curse lasts for seven hours. If you cannot break it within seven hours, your right hand will become immobile. Then, after another seven hours, your left leg, then your right leg, then your upper body, then your tongue, your eyeballs, and finally your entire head will be unable to move.

Of course, since it is just a spell, you will not die. You will simply become a conscious mummy, or a conscious zombie.

This means you will have thoughts but cannot move at all. So, starting now, you have fifty-six hours. After fifty-six hours, you will become a truly sentient mummy. Well, you can go prepare now."

Zhu Yanyi clapped her hands, seeming to have no interest in how the witch doctor would break her spell.

The witch doctor’s mood sank. She had heard of the Zombie Curse but always thought it was lost. Seeing it on Zhu Yanyi, she looked at her in disbelief. "How do you have the Zombie Curse?"

Zhu Yanyi smiled slightly, unbothered. "Actually, I don’t know many witch doctor spells. Maybe five, six, seven, or eight kinds. The Zombie Curse is one of them, and the least dangerous one. It does not kill people. Other spells are too ugly to mention. Like the Green Hair Curse, where your whole body grows green hair. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Or the Yin-Yang Reversal Curse, where a woman develops male characteristics. All of these are too ugly. I don’t like them, so I won’t cast them on you. I’ll just cast the Zombie Curse. It’s mediocre. Go try to break it."

The witch doctor had no mood to care about Zhu Yanyi’s words. As Zhu Yanyi said, she had no time to think about anything else. She did not want to become a mummy, so breaking the curse was her top priority. She hurriedly left.

Zhu Yanyi watched her leave but did not chase her. She only asked Yan Aohan, "What are we eating tonight?"

Yan Aohan smiled. "Luo Gang caught a sand python today. It is not big, but it weighs about twenty pounds. It is enough for a good meal."

Zhu Yanyi’s eyes lit up. "Great! I haven’t eaten snake soup in a long time. Today we will eat snake soup and fried snake chops."

"Madam, did you really cast the Zombie Curse on that witch doctor?" Li Yang asked curiously from the side.

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "I never lie. I said I would use witch doctor medicine against her, so I used witch doctor medicine."

"Aren't you afraid she will break your spell?" Wang Ye also asked curiously.

"If she breaks it, so be it. At most, I will agree to fight her." Zhu Yanyi did not care at all. She had done this only to scare the person. The witch doctor was simply too arrogant.

Most importantly, this person was arrogant in front of Zhu Yanyi. How could Zhu Yanyi let her off? She naturally had to take action.

"Actually, if she admits defeat and apologizes, I can still remove the curse," Zhu Yanyi said calmly.

"But looking at her arrogant attitude, it seems she needs more time to admit defeat. However, I have indeed given her time. Fifty-six hours in total. If it passes, then becoming a beautiful mummy is fine too."

Zhu Yanyi always knew that witch doctors acted based on their own nature. They always believed they were right. Unlike poison doctors, whose inheritors had no distinction between good and bad, witch doctor inheritors did have such distinctions. However, since witch doctor skills were learned by few people, it often led to arrogance among practitioners.

By setting this hurdle, Zhu Yanyi was also testing the witch doctor’s character. If her character was good, Zhu Yanyi would remove the curse later. If her character was bad, Zhu Yanyi intended to let the witch doctor experience the terror of witch doctor skills. This would also teach them that when they looked down on others, others would look down on them too.

Zhu Yanyi said no more about the witch doctor. The result would be clear in two days. What was most important now was that she remembered something.

"What is it?" Yan Aohan asked curiously.

Zhu Yanyi said, "Do you remember what Mariaqiya said?"

"You mean she entered the Scorching Canyon?" Yan Aohan understood immediately. He suspected there might be a Living Spirit there.

As husband and wife, they always had such tacit understanding.

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "Do you think the Scorching Canyon might have the Living Spirit we are looking for?"

"We will know if we go there," Yan Aohan thought for a moment. "I will ask the locals later to see if I can get a map of this area. If we can get a map, it will be much more convenient for us to go."

Yan Aohan had other ways to get a map, but if he could handle things like a mortal, he would choose to do so. Here, he considered himself a mortal.

Only in this way could he truly understand the thoughts of the people here.

Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly, understanding this. "I think so too. At most, we can ask Yuan Ha for the map."

As a police officer in this area, Yuan Ha was very familiar with the local geography. When Yan Aohan asked him about the Scorching Canyon, he was only slightly surprised. "You are going to the Scorching Canyon?"

Yan Aohan nodded and said half-truthfully, "My wife, Zhu Yanyi, mostly picks her own medicinal herbs. I heard there is a Scorching Canyon here, so there might be heat-natured mineral herbs. We want to take a look. Also, we are curious about the star stone you mentioned. Let’s treat it as an adventure trip."

Yuan Ha nodded in understanding and did not doubt Yan Aohan’s words. "It is fine for you to go to the Scorching Canyon. People here often go there for a living. However, the Scorching Canyon is very hot. You must prepare for the heat, especially bringing plenty of water. Also, be careful of the ground in the canyon. The surface may look the same, but quicksand might suddenly appear under your feet. But if you are careful, it should be okay."

"Thank you for the reminder. If possible, please give us a map of the Scorching Canyon," Yan Aohan said quickly.

"That is a small matter. I have one here. Few people use maps here, so they just gather dust. Wait a moment, I will go get it for you."

Yuan Ha was very enthusiastic. she was grateful to Yan Aohan and his group. Without them, her mother would have no hope of recovery. In the past few days, her mother had been learning Tai Chi, and she found her health improving with every practice.

For Yuan Ha, the map was useless. It was better to give it to Yan Aohan than to let it gather dust.

Yan Aohan did not accept the map for free. After thinking, he gave Yuan Ha a Tai Chi manual. "This is a Tai Chi manual. It includes simple Tai Chi forms and Tai Chi sword techniques. You can understand them at home. Consider this a gift for your mother, as payment for the map."

If it were anything else, Yuan Ha would have refused. But for this Tai Chi manual, he did not refuse. He happily accepted it and said to Yan Aohan, "If it were anything else, I would not accept it. But for this Tai Chi manual, I will not be polite. My mother really needs it."

"If your mother can practice, you can too. Tai Chi forms and sword techniques are suitable for all ages," Yan Aohan smiled.

"Then I will accept it." Yuan Ha did not refuse and took the manual.

Yan Aohan returned to Zhu Yanyi with the map and briefly explained the process. Zhu Yanyi looked at the map and said, "It takes about half a day to go from here to the Scorching Canyon."

"Yes. Since your time here is almost up, we can drive there slowly," Yan Aohan said to Zhu Yanyi.

Zhu Yanyi thought this plan was good and agreed immediately.

Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan made their decision. Two days later, they prepared and left Shaojia Town, heading for the Scorching Canyon.

The road to the Scorching Canyon was through the desert. Perhaps because many people traveled there, cars could still drive on it.

With a compass, they did not worry about getting lost. They followed the map’s markings and headed directly for the Scorching Canyon.

"Looking at this vast desert, it feels a bit wasteful. It would be good if we could govern this desert," Zhu Yanyi said.

Yan Aohan asked, "When you went back last time, how is the research on environmental pollution going with Zhi Bin and Shangguan Jiacheng?"

"I gave them hints. They say they have some leads," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile. "So I plan to have them research desert governance projects after the environmental pollution problem is solved."

Zhu Yanyi did not feel guilty about exploiting Zhi Bin and Shangguan Jiacheng. Yan Aohan smiled helplessly. It seemed Zhi Bin and Shangguan Jiacheng would be very busy for the next few years.

"Master Yan, Madam, there seems to be a hurricane ahead. We need to find a place to hide," Luo Gang warned. The columnar hurricane looked faint but moved very fast.

Zhu Yanyi scanned with her spiritual sense and said, "Turn left thirty meters. There is a wind-sheltered spot. Go hide there."

Luo Gang notified Wang Ye, who was driving the other car. They turned left thirty meters. It turned out to be the back of a solidified sand dune, which was quite sturdy.

They had just parked when they felt the wind outside was extremely strong. Through the glass, they saw the columnar hurricane sweep past nearby. Sand splashed and stuck to their windows. If they had not hidden in this spot, they might have been swept into the sky.

Watching the hurricane leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Indeed, the desert is as mysterious and unpredictable as the ocean," Zhu Yanyi remarked.

Yan Aohan nodded. "Alright, let’s continue. Adjust the direction and don’t make a mistake."

Luo Gang agreed. Their compasses were special, so this incident did not affect them. They accurately guided them to a place.

"Is this the Scorching Canyon?" Zhu Yanyi had expected fire around the canyon, but in fact, it was not like that. There was no fire here. Instead, there was water everywhere.

Yes, water. But the water here was warm, commonly known as hot springs. Probably because they were hot springs, the water here could not be drunk.

Zhu Yanyi looked at the scene with some helplessness. "The scenery here is so nice. There are hot springs, yet it is called the Scorching Canyon. Look around, there is lush green grass and spring-like vitality."

"Wife, you are not using that idiom correctly," Yan Aohan reminded her helplessly.

Zhu Yanyi glanced at Yan Aohan. "I naturally know the idiom is not used that way. But using it occasionally is fine. Besides, what is wrong with using it like this? At least I don’t think it is bad, and you all understand what I mean."

That was true. After Zhu Yanyi spoke, everyone actually understood what she meant.

Yan Aohan coughed. "Wife, shall we go in directly?"

"Let’s go in and look. Since they call this place dangerous, we must be careful, especially with our footing," Zhu Yanyi reminded everyone. As for the medical vehicle and the travel car, Yan Aohan put them away. Luo Gang and the others were used to this, as it was more convenient.

The six people did not rashly rush in. Instead, they first looked around to understand the terrain.

If these hot springs were elsewhere, it would be fine. But this was a desert. Hot springs in a desert indicated a water source below, and possibly a volcano. It was unknown whether it was a dormant or active volcano. Regardless, the most important thing was to be careful of the quicksand Yuan Ha had warned about.

"Yuan Ha said there is quicksand here. Mariaqiya encountered it and obtained the desert essence. Why can’t I see it?" Li Yang looked curiously at his feet.

"Quicksand is like a mischievous child. If you are not careful, it will be under your feet. So be careful and don’t get into trouble," Zhu Yanyi said cautiously, looking around.

For some reason, Zhu Yanyi felt something strange here. It was not exactly strange, but it gave her an uncomfortable feeling.

"Aohan, have you noticed? The existence of this place seems very unreasonable," Zhu Yanyi said.

Yan Aohan nodded. "Indeed, it does not conform to common sense. Even if there is a water source here, forming an oasis would be good enough. How could it become such a place? Perhaps because of this, people do not come here," Yan Aohan guessed.

After all, this place was too bizarre. Ordinary people would indeed not come here.

Zhu Yanyi thought for a moment. "We must still be careful."

Just as she was speaking, she felt the wood-attribute spirit stone on her wrist heat up. Zhu Yanyi’s heart moved. She looked at the wood-attribute spirit stone and said, "Xiao Mu, what is wrong?"

Xiao Mu flew out. Ignoring the surprise of Luo Gang and the others, she sat on Zhu Yanyi’s shoulder. "Master, there is a trace of Xiao Shui here?"

"Xiao Shui?" Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. "Is that the name of the Water Living Spirit?"

"Yes, I named it. Master named me Xiao Mu because I am a Wood Living Spirit. So the Water Living Spirit is Xiao Shui, the Fire Living Spirit is Xiao Huo, the Earth Living Spirit is Xiao Tu, the Metal Living Spirit is Xiao Jin, and the Day Living Spirit is Xiao Bai." He finished with a look seeking praise. "Master, am I not smart?"

Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned. This naming style was very similar to hers. "Xiao Mu is right. The names Xiao Mu gave are good. You feel there is a trace of Xiao Shui here?"

Xiao Mu nodded. "There is a trace of Xiao Shui here. But Xiao Shui is very weak. It should be trapped by something."

Hearing this, Zhu Yanyi looked at Yan Aohan. Yan Aohan pondered. "Water and fire are incompatible. Since something can trap the Water Living Spirit, it is likely that there is a fire field—a volcano—below."

Zhu Yanyi thought this made sense. "Xiao Mu, you go in first. We already know Xiao Shui is here. We will definitely find it."

There were few wood elements or vitality elements in this place. Zhu Yanyi did not want Xiao Mu to get hurt.

Xiao Mu agreed and then drilled into the wood-attribute spirit pearl.