Chapter 28: The First Exorcism Ritual! (2)

“Grandma Fan? Which Grandma Fan?” Liu Dashao was likely still reeling from their previous verbal exchange. His mind momentarily blank, he hadn’t yet fully comprehended the situation. Yet, as he looked more carefully, he realized there had always been an elderly woman in plain clothing quietly following Liu Laoshi. Just moments ago, she had been dressed unassumingly and had not spoken a single word from start to finish, so he hadn’t noticed her presence. Now, upon seeing her again, he thought she resembled a monkey that had suddenly leapt out from a crevice in the rocks.

“Child,” the elderly woman smiled and spoke. “We met just last year, and now you’ve already forgotten Fan Grandma!” She was already in her sixties. Although her hearing and vision were still sharp, her appearance was far from pleasing. Even describing her as having a beak-like mouth and monkey-like cheeks would be considered a compliment. Looking closely, her two eyes were deeply sunken, and her face had almost no elastic muscles or soft tissue left. Only leathery skin, dark purple from years of hardship, and prominent cheekbones remained. Her hands were rough like old pine bark, cracked with deep fissures, and thick calluses covered her palms. Her bound feet from the old era, known as “three-inch golden lilies,” resembled small dumplings and caused her to limp when she walked, as if she had a congenital disability.

Upon seeing this old woman, Liu Dashao visibly shuddered, mostly out of guilt. In his mind, he thought, “Oh no, this is bad! How did my father invite this old hag? I have a grudge with her! She might take an axe and split me in two! No, if she asks about it, I’ll just flatly deny everything. Yeah! Good idea.” Thinking this, he steadied himself and waved his hands dismissively, saying, “I don’t know you, I don’t know you at all! Hehehehe…”

He decided to take a gamble, hoping that the old woman’s memory had worsened with age, giving him a chance to deceive her successfully. Unfortunately, Granny Fan didn’t seem to fall into that category.

“Don’t know me?” Grandma Fan did not directly expose him. Instead, she puckered her thin lips and said, “Well then, how was the big pumpkin I grew? It’s fine if you ate it. I didn’t have such a big appetite for that acre of land. But why did you smash it? At least it was a harvest, something to help supplement your household. Don’t worry, Grandma isn’t angry. Kids will be kids, after all!”

On the side, Liu Laoshi finally understood and immediately turned his anger toward Liu Dashao: “You little bastard, why do you keep causing me trouble every day? If you don’t like studying, I won’t force you. But at least learn some farming skills to manage our family’s farmland in the future, marry a wife, and support yourself. But… Old Fairy Fan is a revered elder of our Xiushui Village! Don’t you dare embarrass me like this?”

“Alright, alright, it’s okay,” Granny Fan said kindly and amicably. But in Liu Dashao’s eyes, this was merely an act. Deep down, she was likely laughing heartily at his predicament.

“Fan Xian Gu (Fairy), I’m really sorry, truly sorry,” Liu Laoshi kept saying repeatedly. Then he took out a crumpled ten-yuan note from his bag and insisted on handing it to Fan Po.

“Brother Liu, what are you doing?” asked Granny Fan.

“It’s just a small token, as compensation for your loss. An acre of harvest, sigh!” Liu Laoshi sighed.

“No, I can’t accept it!” Granny Fan declined.

“How can that be? You must accept it today, whether you want to or not.” After Liu Laoshi repeatedly persuaded her, Grandma Fan finally fell silent and placed the ten-yuan note into her pocket. At that moment, the people inside the house came outside. Mama Mazzi spotted Grandma Fan, and naturally her eyes lit up, her smiling face causing the flesh beneath her chin to stretch. Village Chief Tian, however, immediately turned his stern face towards her, coldly eyeing this member of the opposing class without the slightest hint of a smile.

“Grandma Fan, you’re truly clairvoyant! Knowing that we were in trouble, you came to help us. Please come inside and have a seat; I’ll make you a pot of tea,” Mama Mazzi invited warmly.

“Hmph!” Village Chief Tian turned his head away.

“Hehehe, Sister Chen, what are you talking about? I came to draw some flowers for Brother Liu (in folk beliefs, summoning ghosts is usually called ‘drawing flowers’), to check the house.”

“I said when did you become so prophetic and capable!” Village Chief Tian sneered, showing an expression of sudden realization.

“Shame, shame,” replied Granny Fan humbly. When one is under someone else’s roof, one must bow their head. Let alone standing before the village chief, Granny Fan didn’t display the slightest dissatisfaction toward Chief Tian’s sarcastic remarks. Instead, she nodded but midway through nodding, she furrowed her brow and looked at Mama Mazzi: “Sister Chen, you just mentioned your family was in trouble. What happened?”

“It’s just that the kids don’t know any better,” Mama Mazzi said with regret, then proceeded to thoroughly explain the situations of the three families to Grandma Fan. Regarding Liu Dashao’s account, she exaggerated it endlessly. Standing aside, Grandma Fan remained calm, occasionally nodding or shaking her head, seemingly deep in thought throughout.

“Old Fan finally said after a while, ‘Sister Chen, I can be certain that your child has offended a deity. And that pile of paper money in front of your house is probably a warning from the deities!'”

“Waaah…” Upon hearing that her son had offended a deity, Mama Mazzi immediately threw herself to the ground, tightly hugging Old Lady Fan’s legs with both hands, crying and sobbing, not forgetting to wipe her snot and tears on Old Lady Fan’s trousers.

“Sister Chen, don’t do this, don’t do this,” Grandma Fan, not caring about these things, used her hands to support her.

“He’s my only child. You must think of a way to save him, old lady! We’re willing to spend as much money as it takes,” Mama Mazzi said.

“This isn’t a matter of money,” said Grandma Fan with a bitter smile. “Alright, I’ve already agreed, so get up! First, take me to see your child.”

Inside the room, Mazzi was similarly wrapped in a thick cotton quilt, his entire body soaked in sweat, making the quilt damp, but he kept shouting, “Cold, cold, cold…” Looking at his expression, he seemed frozen stiff. How to describe it? His lips were bluish-purple, his eyes dim and lifeless, as if covered by a layer of gauze. His face was pale, and his hands were icy cold to the touch, even colder than the refrigerator in the rich family of the town.

“This child is in serious condition!” Granny Fan gently brushed her hand over Mazzi’s pale, weak face, then quickly pulled it back, her nose and eyes wrinkling as she murmured in a low voice. Village Chief Tian stood behind them, silently watching and waiting for the right moment to expose the old witch’s deception.

“T-then… what should we do…” Mama Mazzi’s voice immediately lost its confidence, her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted. Even Dogzi’s father became anxious.

“Let me take another look!” Granny Fan shook her head, briefly closed her eyes, and gestured for everyone to step back a few paces. After clearing some space, she took out a red silk scarf from inside her blouse and tied it around Mazzi’s head. Then she laid him flat again. With her left hand forming a strange gesture, she lightly tapped the area where the red cloth was tied. Afterwards, she stepped back to the edge of the bed, took a sip of tea, and suddenly spat it onto Mazzi’s face. Before this action had completely finished, she grabbed a handful of some white substance from her pocket and sprinkled it onto Mazzi’s already damp face. This was no small matter. As soon as this white material hit the water, it immediately began jumping about, just like pouring a spoonful of water into a pot of hot oil. Although they didn’t jump very high, the sight left everyone present stunned and breathless. The rustling sound of their movements echoed throughout the entire room. At this moment, in the room, apart from everyone’s heavy breathing, the only other sound was the crackling symphony created by Granny Fan.

“F-Fan… Granny Fan, exactly what did you throw?” Village Chief Tian, filled with doubts, couldn’t help but speak up, breaking the tense atmosphere.

“It’s salt! Pure old Northeast Qing salt!” Grandma Fan answered directly without any hesitation.

“How is that possible? Are you trying to fool me? Salt doesn’t jump when it gets wet!” Village Chief Tian said disbelievingly.

Grandma Fan smiled but didn’t answer him. Instead, she took a bit of the white substance left in her pocket and handed it to Village Chief Tian. He accepted it, examined it carefully, and even tasted a little in his mouth. The intense saltiness brought tears streaming from his eyes, confirming it was indeed Qing salt. However, this did not improve his impression of the old woman who he believed was pretending to be a witch. “Hmph, there must be some other trick here!” he thought to himself. “That’s right, that’s exactly the case!”

Crystallized salt has long been regarded as a symbol of “purity” in both Eastern and Western cultures. Therefore, it was also believed to be able to ward off “impure” things, such as evil spirits and ghosts.

As for why salt crystals were considered a symbol of purity, ancient people discovered through their production and life experiences that many dark, dirty solutions would float with bright and sparkling particles after being heated. Since the ancients didn’t understand the principle behind it, they believed that these particles, which emerged from the mud without being stained, were a concrete embodiment of “purity.”

Ancient Chinese alchemists’ “experimental records” contained related records, as did ancient Western alchemical texts, and most of these crystals were salt. Therefore, the belief spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and this effect has been passed down to this day.

If explained scientifically, salt is a class of substances, usually composed of ions, which can conduct electricity only when molten or dissolved. However, crystalline salt can disperse electric fields and effectively neutralize electric charges. And ghosts might very well be a combination of electromagnetic waves with a certain electric charge, which is exactly counteracted by salt. Therefore, from a theoretical perspective, this explanation still holds.

Under the disheveled bedding, Mazzi’s body was still writhing like an earthworm, as if all his joints could twist freely, making popping sounds as he moved. His back, pressed against the bed, was also restless, suddenly arching high. From a distance, it looked like a stone bridge spanning a small river.

“Madam Chen, do you know your child’s birth date and time?” Granny Fan, watching Mazzi’s series of movements, had her dull eyes filled with alertness. Her wrinkled old face was taut with tension as her left hand slowly reached into the cloth bag she carried, not pulling it out but seemingly gripping something inside.

At that time, it was especially common in rural areas to put faith in birth dates and times, rather than the tarot cards and zodiac signs that are popular today. Without hesitation, Mazzi’s mother promptly recited her son’s date and time of birth. She vaguely saw Grandma Fan, who was facing away from her, nodding and smoothing a tuft of silver hair on her forehead.

“Do you have some water? Bring a basin!”

“Yes, yes…” Mazzi’s mother naturally obeyed Grandma Fan’s command without hesitation. She hurriedly stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed a copper basin, poured a full basin of water from the big water jar, and wobbled back step by step, spilling water as she walked.

“I didn’t ask you to bring so much water!” Granny Fan nearly dropped the basin due to its weight, grumbled slightly, then poured out two-thirds of the water. She set the basin down, mumbled an incomprehensible incantation, pressed her right thumb against her middle finger, raised the other three fingers high, gently tapped the water’s surface, and using her hand like a brush, drew a series of strange symbols. However, since she wrote them in the water and did so too quickly, the four people around her couldn’t even make out their outlines.

“All done!” exclaimed Granny Fan. She took a breath, then withdrew her left hand from the cloth bag. It no longer held big Qing salt, but instead a handful of incense ash—the residue left after burning sandalwood used for worshipping deities. This substance looked sticky and dirty, turning her already yellowish hand even darker with a hint of blackish hue. She didn’t seem to mind at all, continuing to sprinkle handful after handful into the basin. Soon, gray particles floated all over the basin’s surface. Granny Fan didn’t stop there; she plunged both hands into the muddy water and began kneading it vigorously, her motions almost identical to how rural people knead dough. No one could figure out exactly what she was up to. When the water in the basin had nearly all been absorbed by the incense ash, forming clumps, Granny Fan wiped the sweat from her face. Looking at everyone, she said, “Quickly bring your sick children here! I need to treat them all at once; otherwise, treating them one by one will surely wear out my old body!”

It took about half an hour for the three families to finally arrange their precious children properly. Mazzi’s mother pushed two beds together and laid out brand new thick cotton quilts. This way, it was naturally not difficult for three children to lie down, and it was warm and comfortable to sleep on. Unfortunately, Tian Guoqiang and the others were in a semi-comatose state and couldn’t feel any of this.

Grandma Fan scooped some of the incense mud from the copper basin and took a small handful of the well-mixed paste. She lifted Tian Guoqiang’s clothes and completely covered his navel with the incense mud. She did the same for Mazzi and Dogzi.

“Each of you three families, help your children sit up straight. I’m going to perform the ritual!” After Granny Fan gave her instructions, Dogzi’s father and Mazzi’s mother quickly hugged their children and slowly helped them sit upright on the beds. However, their bodies were extremely weak and trembled uncontrollably, forcing their family members to use their hands to support them and keep them steady. Although Village Chief Tian was very reluctant, seeing that the town doctor still hadn’t arrived, he could only sigh inwardly and, adopting the attitude of trying every possible means, even if it meant treating a dead horse as a living one, helped Tian Guoqiang sit upright as well.

Grandma Fan nodded, took out three incense sticks, and here there was no lack of an incense burner. She simply flipped through a few items and inserted the incense.

Grandma Fan found a pair of scissors and cut three human-shaped patterns from red paper, placing them in front of the incense burner. After mumbling for a while, she finally spoke in a strange tone: “Whatever you see or hear later, don’t be surprised or scream, or it will cause trouble.”

Fan Po Po found a pair of scissors and cut three human-shaped figures from red paper, placing them in front of the incense burner. After mumbling for a while, she finally spoke in a strange tone: “Whatever you see or hear later, don’t be surprised or scream, or it will cause trouble.”

After receiving everyone’s assurance, she walked to the temporary altar made from a table, humbly bowed three times, took a mouthful of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and blew it toward the candle. A roaring fire dragon erupted, appearing particularly glaring and terrifying in the dimly lit room. Watching from the edge of the bed, Liu Dashao’s heart involuntarily skipped a beat, nearly jumping out of his chest.

“Darn it, this old witch is just trying to scare people!” Liu Dashao muttered to himself, grabbed the corner of the quilt, and shrank further toward the bed.

At this moment, the bedroom door had already been tightly closed, and the only window for ventilation on both sides had been shut. The entire cramped space was illuminated by only a faint beam of light, making the floating dust clearly visible. However, something was quite strange: since both the window and the door were closed, there shouldn’t have been any wind. Yet the two burning candles kept flickering, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, sometimes drifting, sometimes falling, without any consistency. Fan Po’s deeply sunken eye sockets were made even more terrifying by the candlelight. Combined with her occasional eerie, ghost-like cries, if this scene were placed on a midnight street, it would surely scare many people to death.

“La la mi ma hong…”

“La la mi ma hong…” Her hands, resembling chicken claws, pressed tightly on the table. Grandma Fan kept chanting her incantations while repeatedly banging her head hard against the solid wooden table, one loud thud after another, as if she felt no pain at all. This left Liu Dashao, standing beside her, once again with his mouth wide open in shock. “Oh my god, is this old woman’s head made of iron, or did she train in iron head kung fu at the Shaolin Temple? She’s incredible! If I could master that skill, I’d be unstoppable—even ten bricks wouldn’t stand a chance against me!”

“Bang!” Suddenly, Grandma Fan’s eyes, which had been half-closed revealing only the whites, flew wide open. Spiderweb-like blood vessels rapidly spread from both sides of her eyes toward the center, forming a strange pupil. These pupils resembled two enormous searchlights, emitting sharp glints as they scanned the room. Then their owner, Grandma Fan, clasped her hands together, continuously performing the act of worshipping the gods. She began chanting:

“I invoke the Three Pure Ones, the Three Realms, the Three Celestial Sovereigns, Laozi, Zhang and Zhao Erlang, Master Yuewang, Master Li Gong, the Old Man of the Eastern Mountains, the Young Girl of the Southern Mountains, the Earth Mother Yuanjun, the Seven Lords of Hengshan, the Nine Lords of Luoshan, the Three Heavens’ Kaihuang, the Five Sacred Mountains’ Dadi, the Divine Mansion of Shenxiao, the Dragon and Tiger Xuan Tan Zhao Marshal, the Three Maos Immortals, the Five Planets and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions. May all these deities and immortals, wielding talismans and spells, cure diseases, bring the dead back to life, subdue demons, and eliminate evil spirits. May they respond to every call and come at every summons, even acting of their own accord when not called upon!”