“Haha, are you really so sure?” A voice suddenly echoed from behind Grandma Fan. Tian, the village chief, slowly rose from the ground. His expression was eerie, foam dripping from the corners of his mouth. But his eyes, usually sharp and intelligent, now looked oddly dull and lifeless.
“Huh?” Grandma Fan raised her eyebrows. A white shadow flickered before her eyes, and the female ghost had already vanished. When she heard the village chief, a grown man, speaking in a woman’s voice, she immediately sensed something was wrong. This creature had possessed Tian, and now the situation was really serious.
“Heeheehee…” Tian twisted his waist, one hand covering his mouth, striking a shy pose like a young girl. His voice was unusually soft and seductive. But hearing such a melodious voice coming from this man from Northeast China was creepy and unsettling, making one’s skin crawl.
Just moments ago, Liu Dashao had looked like a man ready to face death, but seeing Tian’s actions now, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter, almost choking. He chuckled, “Chief Tian, oh my god, you… you can actually perform opera? And you’re even doing the female lead! Hahaha, I can’t take it anymore, hahaha…”
“Chief, chief! What’s wrong with you?” Liu Laoshi approached hesitantly. With his grayish dog-like paw, he patted Tian’s back, thinking the man had just been stunned with fear. But to his surprise, when his hand touched Tian’s skin, it felt icy cold—completely lacking the warmth of a normal person.
“Damn it, Chief, did you stay up all night watching porn last night? You’ve caught a chill!” Liu Laoshi cried anxiously. He wanted to call over Dog Egg’s father to help fetch a stretcher and carry the village official away, showing his usual helpfulness. He wasn’t very knowledgeable. As soon as he saw the ghost disappear, he assumed Grandma Fan had already dealt with it, so he now felt safe enough to show off his concern. But instead of a grateful reply from the village chief, what came was a long, slimy tongue. Tian’s jaw dropped wide open, his tongue stretching out like a hanged ghost. The tip of the tongue began swirling around Liu Laoshi’s nose, dripping sticky saliva down both sides of his nostrils, emitting a strong, bloody stench.
“Uh, Chief, did you get bitten by a dog or something? Could it be rabies?” Liu Laoshi stared at the long tongue and timidly asked.
“Dad!” Without hesitation, Liu Dashao slammed the oil bottle to the ground, creating a row of sharp glass shards. Then he rushed toward Liu Laoshi. From childhood to adulthood, Liu Dashao had read countless storybooks, either by stealing or tricking them away. Plus, he had heard countless tales from the village elders. Naturally, he knew that Tian might have become possessed by a ghost, just like in the classic tales of “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.” His old man was really something—when someone was about to attack him, he still stood there like an idiot, flirting with the enemy? You may know them, but they sure don’t know you anymore! Once possessed, the ghost would bite and attack anyone without hesitation.
However, Grandma Fan and Liu Dashao were a step too late. When they reached Liu Laoshi, Tian’s tongue had already shot out and wrapped around his neck, tightening hard. Liu Laoshi’s legs kicked wildly, his face turned blue, and his mouth made incoherent sounds as he gasped and groaned together, unable to utter a single word.
“Damn it, just try touching my dad’s finger! I’ll kill you for it!” Liu Dashao waved the oil bottle angrily.
“Master Liu, don’t act rashly,” Grandma Fan pulled him closer to herself, her eyes alertly watching the possessed Tian.
“Kid, you’ve got guts,” Tian said without anger, smiling instead. His eyes glanced sideways at Dog Egg’s father and Little Mazi’s mother, who immediately rolled away in panic, not daring to even look at him.
“What the hell do you care about my guts? Just get lost!” Liu Dashao roared.
“Hmph,” Tian snorted coldly through his nose, tightening his tongue slightly around Liu Laoshi’s neck. This time, Liu Laoshi looked even more agonized. Another slight squeeze, and even a god wouldn’t be able to save him.
“You…” Because of his concern for his father, Liu Dashao now dared not move, slowly lowering the hand that held the oil bottle.
“Good, I like this better,” Tian nodded in satisfaction. As a response, he loosened the tongue around Liu Laoshi’s neck slightly. As soon as he could breathe again, Liu Laoshi gulped in several deep breaths and shouted hoarsely, “You little brat, don’t worry about me! Run away with the others!”
“Stupid!” Tian’s eyes turned cold, tightening his tongue again and pulling Liu Laoshi close. “It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten a live human. Swallowing him alive might taste pretty good!” With that, Tian gave Liu Laoshi a seductive wink, making everyone around him feel nauseous. Even Liu Laoshi broke out in goosebumps.
“Hold on!” Grandma Fan raised her hand, interrupting Tian. “What exactly do you want?”
“What do I want?” Tian let out a hysterical laugh. “Who told you old hag to push me? If I can’t live, then none of you will either!”
Grandma Fan exhaled in understanding. She suppressed the backlash from her previous spirit-summoning ritual and spoke steadily, “Great Immortal Snake, I’ve already performed a ritual asking you to spare these children. I promise I will repay you in the future, ensuring you won’t be at a loss. For someone in my line of work, this is already the utmost kindness.”
At this, she raised her eyebrows, took a few steps forward with her bound feet, and pointed at Tian with a stern expression. “It was you who refused to let this go again and again! Then don’t blame me for using great magic to send you into the cycle of reincarnation, down to the eighteenth level of hell, where you’ll be crushed by evil spirits forever, never to be reborn!”
Upon hearing Grandma Fan’s words, Tian’s face twitched slightly, and his hands trembled a little, clearly frightened. For a moment, he couldn’t speak.
Grandma Fan, being a seasoned old hand, sensed an opportunity at once. She lowered her guard slightly and put on a fierce expression again, her left hand pretending to reach into her pants, as if pulling out some precious treasure. “Countless beings have their own paths. I can see that you’ve worked hard to reach your current state. I don’t want to see your efforts go to waste. I’ll give you one last chance—if you release him and return to where you came from, I won’t stop you. Otherwise…” Grandma Fan’s hand moved slightly outward, making the possessed snake spirit even more suspicious.
“What… what are you taking out?” Tian took a step back, using Liu Laoshi as a shield in front of him, cautiously asking. Truthfully, he already knew the answer—it must be a powerful magical artifact, something that could definitely defeat him. Otherwise, this ugly old woman wouldn’t be so confident. After all, the salt and the needle she had used earlier were both pulled from her pants, each more effective than the last. Especially that thin, long needle almost ruined his inner elixir.
Indeed, the most powerful tools were always saved for last. By this logic, whatever the old woman held now must be even more formidable. The snake spirit thought more and more deeply, convinced of its reasoning. Grandma Fan’s gaze at him was full of meaning, growing sharper and fiercer. Oh no, was she about to strike?
Actually, she had misunderstood. The reason Grandma Fan’s expression kept changing wasn’t because of any deep meaning—it was because of stomach pain. Who told her to perform spirit-summoning at her age? She was lucky not to have been crippled by it. Now, oh my, her stomach was churning, her intestines twisting, her insides rolling painfully. Grandma Fan was close to tears but couldn’t show it, having to endure it all. But it was so unbearable that her face twitched slightly, her eyes flickered strangely, causing the snake spirit to misunderstand her completely.
Grandma Fan took a deep breath, suppressing her internal pain, and took another step forward as a strategic move. “Have you thought it through? I don’t want to take a life. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have held back earlier. I only used thirty percent of my power!” Of course, there were advantages to being a shaman. After doing it for so long, they all became Oscar-worthy performers. Her expression and movements were so realistic that even Liu Dashao was stunned, truly believing this old woman possessed some kind of royal aura. Wow, people like her were rare these days, and elderly women like her were even rarer. And this old woman wasn’t just impressive—she was incredibly impressive…
That was how he saw it. But with every step Grandma Fan took forward, her heart skipped a beat. Who said she wasn’t scared? In fact, she was more frightened than anyone else. She was only using a strategy, taking advantage of the snake spirit’s cowardice and suspicious nature, pretending confidence while actually being afraid.
“Thirty percent? You only used thirty percent of your power?” Tian, now possessed, was stunned, almost tightening his tongue out of nervousness and nearly strangling Liu Laoshi, who was already turning pale. So this unremarkable old woman was actually an expert. If she had used only thirty percent of her power to push me to this point, what chance would I have if she used her full strength? The snake spirit finally began to waver, his tone softening.
“Of course!” Grandma Fan deliberately raised her head and gave it a contemptuous glance, as if the snake spirit were just an ant on the ground, something she could step on or drown with a spit if she wanted. The only reason she hadn’t done so was because she didn’t feel like exerting herself.
“As the saying goes, it’s better to part ways amicably. Although I’m in the business of exorcising evil spirits, I don’t want to take lives unnecessarily. Hehe, those who understand the situation are the wise ones. Surely you understand, right? If you were smart, you’d just get lost! Stop annoying your old mother here!”
But in Grandma Fan’s heart, she was actually thinking: “Oh my god, hurry up and leave! I can’t hold it anymore! Why does my stomach hurt so much? Could I actually need to go to the bathroom? If we really fight, I’m afraid you could kill me with just one finger.”
“Hmm… I need to think about this,” the serpent spirit murmured, wrestling intensely with herself. Meanwhile, Granny Fan was inwardly weeping buckets. For heaven’s sake, you monster auntie, what more is there to consider?! My stomach is killing me, and my whole body’s been battered to bits from your throwing me around. If we don’t leave soon, this whole act is going to fall apart!
“If I release him, will you really let me go?” The snake spirit looked at Liu Laoshi, who had briefly lost consciousness, asking anxiously while still hesitating.
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