Howard Lee's forehead and spine were soaked with sweat. He cried out in pain for nearly half an hour before his face turned pale, and finally, the pain seemed to subside.
"Water, water."
I fetched some water for Howard Lee, then Susan Li got dressed and helped him to the bedside to sit down.
"Zhang Hao, what about the old monk? What exactly did you do?"
"It was Grandmaster Mingde. That old monk, he completely tricked me! He lied to me, and now my future is ruined."
As Howard Lee spoke, he actually began to cry. Tears streamed down his face, and I gasped in shock.
"Howard Lee, are you okay?"
This was the first time I'd ever seen Howard Lee cry. Growing up, I'd almost never seen him shed tears—he was always cheerful, especially around girls.
I remember once, back in high school, Howard Lee's grades were so poor that he was held back three times. When I was a freshman, he was still a senior. That time, he and a few buddies snuck out all night and got caught by the school. His future there was in jeopardy, and he was genuinely scared.
His father had warned that if Howard Lee got into trouble again, he'd send him off to become a monk. Howard Lee was miserable all day, and I thought he was about to cry. But that afternoon, I saw him and his girlfriend come out of the woods, laughing again. In the end, his father let him off one more time.
After a while, Howard Lee finally calmed down and began to speak.
"After you left the mountain, more than a month passed before Grandmaster Mingde summoned me. He said I had a strong affinity with Buddha, but was prone to attracting evil things. Because of the incident with the infant spirit, my Buddhist aura was gone. He offered to perform a ritual to protect me from being haunted by malicious ghosts, and I believed him. The spell was called the Yanglock Seal."
Howard Lee spoke with a look of deep regret; his face was the very picture of remorse.
According to Grandmaster Mingde, the Yanglock Seal could completely lock the yang energy inside Howard Lee's body. Even if attacked by vengeful ghosts or the Soul-Stealing Ghost, they wouldn't be able to drain his energy. The ritual lasted seven days and nights—Howard Lee survived mostly on water and a few pieces of fruit.
The effect was remarkable. After leaving the mountain, Howard Lee encountered several fierce ghosts. He couldn't defeat them, but as soon as they got close, they became afraid. Thanks to the Yanglock Seal, he managed to escape death each time.
"It's all my fault. I was too gullible, trusting that old monk. I kept wondering why, ever since I left the mountain, I couldn't feel any interest in women. Tonight, suddenly, I did—and look what happened. You see, I'm finished, my lower half is ruined."
Howard Lee sobbed as he spoke, then pulled down his underwear, asking me to look inside.
"Howard Lee, stop messing around," I said.
"Just look, Ethan," he insisted.
In the end, I stole a glance, but suddenly, as I pulled Howard Lee's underwear, my mouth dropped open in shock.