Halfway through their journey, Old Lady Fan suddenly claimed she hadn’t brought any tools and was alone, without backup, clearly showing signs of nervousness. They had no choice but to turn back halfway, missing their supplies but gaining Liu Dashao instead. Master Wang was out of the question—he had been possessed by a ghost and his eyes were swollen like a goldfish’s, while his leg had been immobilized by Liu Dashao, wrapped in plaster. He probably wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for at least three to five days.
On their way, Old Lady Fan recounted what Ma Sandao had encountered last night with Ma Sandao. She said those four might have been people who died at the execution ground and couldn’t travel far—they were called Di Ling (earth spirits). They could only haunt the area where they died, harming people and confusing their minds. People with weak yang energy or light birth charts could see them at night. These Di Ling spirits also understood the bond between father and child; by bewitching the father, they could steal the unborn child’s soul, occupy the body, and avoid the suffering of reincarnation. That young woman, however, must be different—she was definitely a Di Sha (earth demon), capable of controlling objects, even turning paper into donkeys. That alone proved it. She could move much farther than the others. If she had truly wanted to harm him, he wouldn’t have made it back last night. This ghostly fetus they were going after might not be related to her, but as a cultivator, it was their duty to eliminate such evil. This speech left Ma Sandao trembling with fear, anxiously asking if his child could still be saved. Old Lady Fan simply replied, “We’ll see how it goes.”
Guided by Ma Sandao, Old Lady Fan arrived at the spot where Ma Sandao had woken up that morning. She immediately sat cross-legged and pulled out a handful of spirit money from her large bag. “Ma Sandao, you go over to the marsh and wait. When the moon reaches about this height, burn the money. Make sure to arrange it in a cross shape, so she knows a master is coming to capture her. If she’s smart, she’ll hide and move on to reincarnation. If not, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” She pointed at some pine trees by the roadside, “You see, just as high as those trees!”
Ma Sandao was almost in tears, “Granny, those trees are already there, and I can’t move them. Once I get over there, how will I know when the moon reaches that height?”
Old Lady Fan scratched her head, “Hmm, true. Then just wait until the fog rises.”
As soon as Ma Sandao agreed, Old Lady Fan added, “And once you burn it, run fast. As soon as the fog appears, that thing will come after you. Whatever you hear, don’t be scared—just run, don’t slow down…” Ma Sandao was already anxious and terrified… Back then, poor people couldn’t afford watches—what a hassle.
Old Lady Fan cleared a space right there and instructed Liu Dashao to place some incense and candles. She took more spirit money and began burning them one by one. Soon, she had burned a large circle, placing several yellow talismans in the center. This was quite a skill—once those talismans were laid, not even a breeze could move the ashes. Ma Sandao didn’t dare delay—he dragged his nearly broken legs and rushed straight to the marsh.
As mentioned earlier, the marsh wasn’t far from the green stone slope, but Ma Sandao’s legs ached from running, so it took him a while to get there. From a distance, he saw the fog starting to rise. In a panic, he shouted, “Fog! Slow down a bit!” Surprisingly, his shout came out in the authentic tone of Er Ren Zhuan folk opera.
In his panic, he made a mistake. As soon as he reached the edge of the marsh, he tripped and fell flat on his face. Ma Sandao didn’t even have time to cry out in pain—he immediately pulled out a fire stick and started blowing on it. This fire stick was a small paper rod used for lighting pipes or water pipes. Smokers usually kept it lit inside a small copper tube, and when needed, they blew on it to ignite a flame. Matches were hard to come by back then, so most smokers carried fire sticks. Ma Sandao blew so hard his face turned red like Guan Gong’s, but the fire stick wouldn’t light. Under the moonlight, he squinted closely and cursed furiously—it was a dead stick! Old Lady Fan had used the fire stick to smoke before leaving, so how come the one she gave him was useless?
Cursing didn’t help—the spirit money still needed to be lit. With trembling hands, he fumbled in his inner pocket and pulled out a box of matches. “Thank goodness I still have these!” Ma Sandao had bought a box six months ago and had barely used it. He opened it and almost fainted—only three matches remained. He called upon every deity he knew, carefully arranged the spirit money, and struck a match. Snap—it broke. Sweat beaded on Ma Sandao’s forehead! He steadied his hand, took a deep breath, and struck another. Crack—it snapped even more cleanly, in two pieces. In the dead of night, Ma Sandao, a grown man, couldn’t help but burst into tears. He stared at the box—only one match left. Taking a deep breath and recalling years of match-striking experience, he positioned himself carefully, ready to strike. Suddenly, he cried out in despair—the tip of the last match had no phosphorus at all.
Ma Sandao smashed the empty box and turned around, wailing, “Oh my God, oh my…” Before he could finish his cry, he suddenly saw two blood-red eyes staring at him, with a white flower above them. Ma Sandao recognized this too well—it was that donkey from last night! Looking up, he saw the pregnant young woman with a pale, bloated face like a waterlogged steamed bun, her protruding dead-fish eyes locked onto him.
“My… God…!” Ma Sandao screamed in terror, springing up with a backflip. His pants were instantly soaked. But Ma Sandao was no ordinary man—while most people would freeze in fear, he became more energetic the more he urinated. He ran like the wind, urinating all the way, like the village saying went: “A water buffalo urinating can last half a mile.”
This time he ran much faster than before, and soon saw Old Lady Fan still lighting incense and candles. He screamed like a slaughtered pig, “Granny! It’s out! It’s out!” before he even finished speaking, he was already there.
Ma Sandao threw himself into Old Lady Fan’s arms, his eyes brimming with tears. Seeing Ma Sandao’s soaked pants, Old Lady Fan was delighted, “You peed? You peed?” Ma Sandao cursed inwardly, *This old woman’s eyes are too sharp—why does she always look at people’s crotches?* “Granny, yes… but the donkey—no, the young woman—is out again!” Old Lady Fan was thrilled, “Good! Peeing is good! You really are the right person!”
“Granny, I didn’t even light the spirit money!” Ma Sandao hurriedly said, but Old Lady Fan wasn’t concerned at all, “No problem. Lighting spirit money is useless anyway. She’s already targeted you—whether you burn it or not, she’ll come after you.”
Ma Sandao cursed again in his heart, *Then why did you make me burn it…* Old Lady Fan laughed, “It’s not the right time to explain this yet, but let me tell you—do you really think ghosts need spirit money after they die?”
Ma Sandao said, “I don’t believe it either. But the elders say you should burn it so the ghost doesn’t remain poor in the afterlife.” Old Lady Fan replied, “You’re right to think that way. Until you die, you won’t know what ghosts are like. Guessing is just nonsense. All these rituals and ceremonies—they’re just nonsense!”
Ma Sandao nodded, then suddenly exclaimed, “But you’re a spiritualist! Aren’t you just fooling people?”
Old Lady Fan sighed, “I have no choice. People already have their own beliefs. If you don’t say what they want to hear, they won’t believe you. After you explain, they’ll just run off. Sometimes, we’re all just fooling people—we do the work, but the words are ours to choose.” Ma Sandao sat down to rest his legs. With a living immortal nearby, what was there to fear? The three of them sat side by side.
Liu Dashao said, “Granny, what you said makes a lot of sense. I never believed in burning spirit money either. I haven’t visited my grandfather or great-grandfather’s graves in seven or eight years, let alone burned money. They’ve never appeared in my dreams complaining about being poor.”
Old Lady Fan nodded, “Seeing how Ma turned out tonight, I’ve got a good idea. He’s the right person. As the saying goes: suspicion breeds dark ghosts; weakness invites evil. People and ghosts walk separate paths, but if someone’s heart is haunted, they’ll be easily controlled by evil forces…”
As Ma Sandao listened, something felt off, “Granny, what ghost do I have in my heart? I’ve never…”
Old Lady Fan interrupted, “If you didn’t have a gambling ghost in your heart, how could you still think about gambling when you met that thing at night? Even gambling for apricots?” Seeing Ma Sandao speechless, she continued, “You, I see, are a Yin-sensitive person, just like Liu Dashao here. In our village, you’re as rare as a giant panda. I burned the spirit money to attract ghosts. Ghosts don’t need money, but they were once human and know that burning money means someone is paying respects. But with your body, you don’t even need to burn money to attract wandering souls—it’s perfect.”
Ma Sandao asked, “What do you mean by Yin-sensitive? I’ve only seen that thing once last night since I was a kid. That doesn’t count.”
Old Lady Fan chuckled, “There are people whose internal fire fades when they’re tired, but who are normally full of yang energy—capable of both extreme yang and extreme yin. Such people are rare—one in ten thousand. I’m one, and so are you. These people are best suited to be spiritualists—close to evil but not harmed by it. It’s extremely rare.”
Liu Dashao caught on, “Granny, are you trying to take me as your apprentice?”
Old Lady Fan said, “Let’s talk about that later. First, let me tell you—soon, evil spirits around here will appear. Once they enter this circle, this Ding You Kai Lu Fu talisman will confuse them, trapping them inside. You just need to do this and that, like this and that… and the remaining three Di Ling can be eliminated!”
Liu Dashao exclaimed, “Wait, I have to fight too? Granny, I pee my pants at the sight of them! And weren’t there four?”
Old Lady Fan laughed, “You don’t know the benefit of peeing your pants yet—it’s called ‘releasing yang.’ Don’t worry, just follow my instructions. Also, listen carefully—why are you poking my shoulder all the time?”
Ma Sandao quickly said, “I’m not! I was just about to ask why you kept touching my back…”
“Not you scratching me?” Liu Dashao also turned pale, realizing he was in the same situation as the other two.
Suddenly, all three remembered something. They turned around at the same time and saw someone kneeling behind them, their head nearly touching their faces. The eyes were rolled up like dead fish, black blood tears slowly oozing from them. The face was covered in knife wounds, the head misaligned with the neck by half. The bloated head swayed in the night wind, as if it might fall off at any moment.
“Mommy…” Old Lady Fan shuddered, while Liu Dashao and Ma Sandao screamed in unison. Liu Dashao’s pants were instantly soaked, and Ma Sandao was wet for the second time.
Luckily, these two were the type who became braver the more they peed. Old Lady Fan rolled sideways, landing a meter away, then shouted and stood up, drawing her wooden sword in front of her chest. Liu Dashao tried to do a backflip, pushing off the ground with his feet and arching his back to leap up. But the ground was slippery from their urine, and he failed to stand—he fell backward straight into that creature’s arms. What a smooth, intimate embrace.
Coming to his senses, Liu Dashao looked up and saw the creature staring at him with affectionate, bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and shot out a long tongue straight toward Liu Dashao’s left cheek. “Oh my God!” Liu Dashao screamed, finding an unexpected surge of strength. He leapt a meter away, drenched in sweat like a fountain and urinating like the Yellow River bursting its banks.
The three steadied themselves and looked around. Good heavens! On the open ground, a dozen black shadows were floating—some headless, some missing limbs. One nearby was familiar—wasn’t that Old Yang? Both hands were severed at the wrists, his eyes completely rotten, leaving only two deep sockets. He seemed to recognize Ma Sandao standing on the left, and even without eyes, his head kept turning toward Ma Sandao. Ma Sandao cursed inwardly, *You don’t even have eyes—how do you still know to stare at me?* Old Lady Fan shouted from the side, “Ma Sandao! You said there were only four, but how come so many showed up? And they’re all fierce… These must all be Di Sha!”
“What? So many, and all fierce?” Liu Dashao took off his cloth shoe, ready to throw it at his future father-in-law’s head, thinking, *Grandpa, if you have a problem, you can’t just do this to me, right? It’s not like I touched your daughter’s hand that much—was it worth luring me here for a ghostly general meeting? This isn’t a village chief election!*
Ma Sandao felt wronged, “I really didn’t know!”
“Granny, stop talking! You mentioned that sword—throw it to me!” Liu Dashao shouted in desperation. Old Lady Fan drew a seal in the air with her wooden sword and pulled out a short blade from her waist. “Catch!” Liu Dashao grabbed the sword, groaning inwardly—it was so short, you’d believe it was a fish knife. Strangely, the ghostly shadows that had been circling inside Old Lady Fan’s paper-ash circle suddenly found direction and charged toward Liu Dashao.
Old Yang let out a scream, his bloody stumps already rushing toward Liu Dashao. From the left, a pale-white female ghost spun around, aiming for Liu Dashao’s shoulder. He saw clearly—her face was full of holes, but her long tongue was shiny and smooth, her half-rotten teeth exposed. If she bit him, he was done. Liu Dashao yelled and rolled to create distance, then drew the short sword. Old Lady Fan’s words echoed in his ears: “This sword is a Yin-attracting blade. Its sheath is made from bamboo over ten years old from a grave. The evil spirits will be drawn to you. Draw the sword, hold it across your chest—the blade has been soaked in saltpeter for a year and blessed with a rooster’s blood. Once unsheathed, it will radiate yang energy, scaring the ghosts away.”
“Whoosh!” Liu Dashao unsheathed the sword, holding it proudly across his chest, exuding heroism. But suddenly, he felt something was off. He lowered his heroic head and widened his eyes—this sword was not only short… it was broken… broken!?
Liu Dashao panicked, “Granny! Why is it broken!?”
Old Lady Fan looked and slapped her thigh, “Oh no! I was in a hurry and took the wrong one—the good one’s at home!”
Liu Dashao was about to scream when Old Yang’s stump was already in front of his face. Though short and broken, the sword still had a blade tip left. Without thinking, Liu Dashao stabbed downward. As soon as the blade touched Old Yang’s wrist, the ghost screamed like a night owl, making Liu Dashao’s teeth ache. From Old Yang’s empty eye sockets, black smoke spewed out, and his figure became semi-transparent, wailing inside the paper-ash circle. Looking at the sword, it was now just a hilt.
Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the long-tongued female ghost’s teeth were already near his face. Liu Dashao’s vision darkened, suddenly losing all strength. Then a piercing scream rang out—black smoke billowed from the female ghost, stinking horribly. As the smoke cleared, a burning talisman drifted down.
“Granny! You finally found the talisman…” Liu Dashao exhaled in relief. Old Lady Fan kept throwing talismans, and the ground was soon filled with black smoke and ghostly screams. Ma Sandao marveled, “Granny, you’re truly a god!”
Halfway through the journey, Granny Fan suddenly claimed she hadn’t brought her tools and was alone without any help, seemingly losing her nerve. Consequently, she had to turn back midway, missing her bag and bringing along Liu Dashao. Wang the Half-Immortal was out of commission, his eyes swollen like a goldfish’s from being choked by the ghost-possessed old woman, and his leg was immobilized with a wooden splint and plaster cast by Liu Dashao, likely unable to get out of bed for at least three to five days.
Along the way, Granny Fan recounted what Ma Sandao had encountered the previous night, suggesting that the four individuals were likely those who had died in the execution grounds, unable to wander far, known as earth spirits. These spirits could only cause mischief and disturb people’s minds near the place of their death. Those with a yin constitution and weak fate could see them at night. These earth spirits also knew about the blood ties between father and child. By bewitching the father, they could seize the unborn child’s spirit, taking over a human body to avoid the hardships of reincarnation. That young woman was probably different, definitely a malevolent spirit, capable of animating objects and turning paper into a donkey, as evidenced by her abilities. She could also roam much farther. If she had truly intended to harm you, you wouldn’t have returned last night. This time, to deal with this ghostly fetus, it might not be related to her, but as a practitioner, it’s our duty to eliminate such evil. Her words made Ma Sandao’s legs tremble, and he anxiously asked if the child could still be saved. Granny Fan simply replied, “We’ll have to see.”
Under Ma Sandao’s guidance, Granny Fan arrived at the spot where he had woken up that morning. She sat down cross-legged and pulled out two stacks of joss paper from her large bag: “Ma Sandao, go wait by the water’s edge and burn this when the moon rises to about this height. Burn it in the shape of the character ‘八’ (eight) to let her know that a master has come to deal with her. If she’s smart, she’ll hide and reincarnate, never causing trouble again. If she’s not, then don’t blame me for being ruthless!” She pointed to a few pine trees by the roadside: “See, about as high as those trees!”
Ma Sandao was on the verge of tears: “Granny, these trees are rooted here, and I can’t move them. How will I know how high the moon is when I’m over there?”
Granny Fan patted her head: “Hmm, you’re right. Then wait until the fog rises to burn it.”
As soon as Ma Sandao agreed, Granny Fan added, “Once you burn it, run fast. When the fog appears, that thing will come after you. No matter what you hear, don’t be afraid, just run, and don’t slow down…” Ma Sandao was both anxious and terrified… In those days, poor people couldn’t afford watches, and it was indeed troublesome.
Granny Fan cleared a spot and instructed Liu Dashao to set up a few incense sticks and candles. She then took a stack of joss paper and began burning it, scattering it around. Soon, she had burned a large circle, placing a few yellow talismans in the center. This was indeed a skill, as once the talismans were placed, the night wind couldn’t blow away even a speck of ash. Ma Sandao didn’t dare delay and, dragging his nearly broken legs, hurried to the water’s edge.
As mentioned earlier, the water’s edge wasn’t far from the stone slope, but Ma Sandao’s feet were in pain, and it took him some time to get there. When he arrived, he saw, to his dismay, that the fog was already rising over the water. In a panic, he shouted, “Fog, slow down!” His shout even carried the tune of a traditional folk song.
In his haste, he made a mistake. Just as he reached the water’s edge, he tripped and fell face-first into the mud. Ma Sandao didn’t even have time to cry out in pain. He immediately pulled out a fire starter and blew on it. This fire starter was essentially a small paper stick made from joss paper, used by those who smoked pipes. When not in use, it was kept in a small copper tube, smoldering inside. When needed, it was taken out and blown on to ignite a flame. In those days, matches were hard to come by, so most smokers carried a fire starter. Ma Sandao blew on it until he was out of breath, his face turning as red as Guan Yu’s, but the fire starter just wouldn’t light. He squinted in the moonlight and cursed in frustration—it was a dud! Before leaving, Granny Fan had even used a fire starter to light her pipe, so why had she given him a dead one?
Cursing didn’t help, as he still needed to light the joss paper. With trembling hands, he pulled out a box of matches from his inner pocket. Thank goodness he had these! Ma Sandao had bought a box half a year ago and had been sparing with them. When he opened it, he nearly fainted from anger—there were only three matches left. Ma Sandao silently called upon every deity he knew, carefully stacking the joss paper, and struck a match. It broke. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He steadied his hands, took a deep breath, and struck another match. This time, it snapped cleanly in two. In the darkness of the night, Ma Sandao, a grown man, couldn’t hold back his tears. Staring at the box, he saw only one match left. Drawing on his years of experience with matches, he prepared himself and was about to strike it when he suddenly burst into tears—the last match had no head.
Ma Sandao threw the empty box to the ground and turned to wail, “Oh, my mother, my…” Before he could finish, he suddenly saw a pair of blood-red eyes staring at him, with a small white flower above them. Ma Sandao knew this creature all too well—it was the donkey he had seen the previous night. Looking up, he saw the pregnant young woman, her face pale and swollen like a steamed bun, her bulging, lifeless fish eyes fixed on him.
“Oh… my… God!” Ma Sandao let out a life-threatening scream, leaping up like a carp, and immediately wet his pants. Ma Sandao was no ordinary man. Most people, when scared out of their wits, would freeze in place, becoming easy prey for ghosts. But Ma Sandao, the more he peed, the more strength he seemed to gain, running and peeing simultaneously, as the villagers would say, “like a water buffalo peeing half a mile.”
He ran back much faster than he had come. Seeing Granny Fan still lighting incense and candles, he screamed like a pig being slaughtered, “Granny, it’s out, it’s out…” Before he could finish, he was already there.
Ma Sandao grabbed Granny Fan, tears welling up in his eyes. Granny Fan, noticing his soaked pants, was delighted: “You peed? You peed?” Ma Sandao cursed inwardly: This old woman has sharp eyes, always looking at people’s crotches! “Granny, yes… but the donkey, no, that young woman is out again!” Granny Fan was overjoyed: “Good, you peed! You’re indeed a match for her!”
“Granny, I couldn’t light the joss paper!” Ma Sandao said urgently, but Granny Fan didn’t seem to care: “It’s fine. Lighting joss paper is useless. Once they’ve set their sights on you, whether you light it or not, they’ll come for you.”
Ma Sandao cursed inwardly: Then why did you make me light the joss paper? Granny Fan smiled: “It’s not the right time yet. Let me explain this to you. When people die and become ghosts, do they still need joss paper?”
Ma Sandao said, “I don’t believe it either, but the elders say you have to burn it, fearing that the dead might become poor ghosts.” Granny Fan replied, “You’re right to think that way. People who aren’t dead don’t know what ghosts are like, so they make things up. All these rituals and ceremonies, I think they’re all nonsense!” Ma Sandao nodded, then suddenly exclaimed in shock, “But aren’t you, the master, supposed to specialize in this? Aren’t you just fooling people?”
Granny Fan sighed: “There’s no other way. People have their own beliefs. If you don’t say what they want to hear, they won’t believe you. Once you explain, they’ll run away. Sometimes, we’re just fooling people, doing what they want while saying what we want.” Ma Sandao sat down, resting his legs. With a living immortal by his side, what was there to fear? The three of them sat together.
Liu Dashao said, “Granny, what you’re saying makes sense. I’ve long stopped believing in burning joss paper. I haven’t visited my grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s graves in seven or eight years, let alone burned joss paper, and I’ve never seen them come to me in a dream complaining about being poor.”
Granny Fan nodded: “Seeing Little Ma’s condition today, I’ve come to understand something. He’s a match for her. As the saying goes, suspicion breeds dark ghosts, and a weak body is easily invaded by evil. Humans and ghosts are inherently separate, coming and going without interfering with each other. But if a person’s heart harbors a ghost, they’re easily controlled by evil spirits…”
As Ma Sandao listened, he felt something was off: “Granny Fan, what ghost is in my heart? I’m…”
Granny Fan said, “If you didn’t have a gambling ghost in your heart, would you have had the mind to gamble after encountering such a thing last night, and gamble for apricots at that?” Seeing Ma Sandao speechless, Granny Fan continued, “You, I see, are someone with a connection to the yin, just like Liu Dashao. In our village, you’re as rare as a giant panda. I burned that joss paper to lure the ghosts. Ghosts don’t need joss paper, but since they were once human, they know that when joss paper is burned, someone is paying respects. With your body, you don’t even need to burn joss paper to attract wandering spirits and lonely ghosts. That’s quite something.”
Ma Sandao asked, “What do you mean by a connection to the yin? Since I was a child, I’ve only encountered that thing once last night. That doesn’t count, does it?”
Granny Fan chuckled: “There’s a type of person who, when exhausted, loses their yang fire. Normally, they’re full of yang energy, capable of extreme yang and extreme yin. Such people are one in ten thousand. I’m one, and you’re one too. Such people are most suited to be masters, able to approach yin and evil without harming themselves. It’s extremely rare.”
Liu Dashao, hearing this, felt a bit intrigued: “Granny Fan, are you thinking of taking me as your disciple?”
Granny Fan said, “We’ll talk about that later. First, let me tell you, in a little while, the surrounding evil spirits will appear. Once they enter this circle, the Dingyou Public Road Talisman will disorient them, making it impossible for them to escape. When the time comes, just do this and that… and the remaining three earth spirits will be eliminated!”
Liu Dashao exclaimed in shock, “Why do I have to do it? Granny, I wet my pants at the sight of these things. Besides, weren’t there four?”
Granny Fan laughed, “Don’t you know the benefits of wetting your pants? It’s called releasing yang energy. Hehe, don’t worry, just do as I say. Also, listen carefully to what I’m saying. Why do you keep poking my shoulder?”
Ma Sandao quickly said, “No, I was going to ask why you keep touching my back…”
“Wasn’t it you scratching me?” Liu Dashao also turned pale, clearly in a similar situation.
The three of them suddenly realized something. They turned around simultaneously and saw a person kneeling behind them, their head extended close to their faces. Lifeless fish-like eyes rolled upward, black tears of blood slowly oozing from their eyes, their face covered in knife wounds, their head and neck half-separated. The swollen head swayed in the night breeze, seemingly ready to fall off at any moment.
“Mother!” Granny Fan’s body shook, and Liu Dashao and Ma Sandao let out simultaneous screams. Liu Dashao immediately wet his pants, and Ma Sandao did so for the second time.
Fortunately, these two were the type who grew braver the more they peed. Granny Fan rolled to the side, landing a few feet away, and with a soft shout, steadied herself. She then drew a wooden sword from her side and held it horizontally in front of her chest. Liu Dashao, meanwhile, performed a carp leap, pushing off the ground with his feet and arching his back, trying to jump forward and stand up. However, the ground was slippery from their urine, and instead of leaping up, he fell backward, right into the arms of the creature. This embrace was indeed smooth.
Liu Dashao came to his senses and looked up to see the creature staring at him with deep, blood-filled eyes, its gaze filled with affection. Suddenly, the creature opened its mouth, and a long tongue shot out toward Liu Dashao’s left cheek: “Oh my God!” Liu Dashao screamed, summoning an unknown strength, and leaped several feet away, sweat pouring from his body like a fountain, and urine gushing like the Yellow River bursting its banks.
The three of them stood still and looked around. Good heavens, it was a disaster. In the open space, a dozen or so shadowy figures were moving about—some headless, some missing legs. Nearby was a familiar figure—wasn’t that Old Man Yang? Both his wrists were severed, his face was a mess, his eyes gone, leaving only deep sockets. He seemed to recognize Ma Sandao standing to the left, and even without eyes, his head turned toward Ma Sandao. Ma Sandao cursed inwardly: You don’t even have eyes, yet you still manage to stare at me? Granny Fan shouted angrily, “Ma Sandao, didn’t you say there were only four? Why is there such a large group? And they’re all fierce… I think they’re all malevolent spirits!”
“What? So many, and all fierce?” Liu Dashao took off his cloth shoe, ready to throw it at his future father-in-law’s head, thinking: Damn it, if you have a problem, you can’t just do this, can you? Just because I touched your daughter’s hand, you had to trick me into coming here to have a general assembly with these things? This isn’t an election for village chief.
Ma Sandao felt deeply wronged: “I really didn’t know!”
“Granny Fan, stop talking. Give me that sword you mentioned earlier!” Liu Dashao shouted in the critical moment. Granny Fan drew a short sword from her waist and handed it to him. “Here, catch.” Liu Dashao caught the sword and couldn’t help but groan inwardly—it was so short, more like a fish-cleaning knife than a sword. Strangely, the ghostly figures that had been circling within the ash circle Granny Fan had burned now seemed to find direction and headed straight for Liu Dashao.
Old Man Yang let out a strange cry, his bloody severed wrist reaching for Liu Dashao. At the same time, a female ghost in white robes spun around from the left and lunged at Liu Dashao’s shoulder. Liu Dashao could see clearly—the female ghost’s face was riddled with holes, but her long tongue was smooth and shiny, half of her white teeth already rotted and exposed. If she bit him, there’d be no escape. Liu Dashao let out a cry and rolled away, then drew the short sword. Granny Fan’s earlier words echoed in his ears: “You’ve taken this Evil-Drawing Sword. Its scabbard is yin, made from bamboo that’s been on a grave for over ten years. The evil spirits will be drawn to you. Draw the sword and hold it horizontally in front of your chest. The blade has been soaked in saltpeter for a year and consecrated with rooster blood. Once drawn, its yang fire will be intense, and it will surely scare the ghosts away.”
With a ‘whoosh,’ Liu Dashao drew the sword and held it horizontally in front of his chest, feeling a surge of heroism. But then he noticed something was off. He lowered his heroic head and opened his heroic eyes wide, only to discover that the sword was not only short… but also broken… broken!?
Liu Dashao’s scalp tingled in panic: “Granny Fan, why is it broken!?”
Granny Fan looked and slapped her thigh in frustration: “Oh no, I was in a hurry and grabbed the wrong one! The good one’s still at home!”
Liu Dashao was about to wail in despair when Old Man Yang’s severed wrist reached out in front of him. Seeing that the sword, though short and broken, still had a bit of blade left, Liu Dashao didn’t think twice and flipped the broken sword downward, stabbing it into Old Man Yang’s wrist. Old Man Yang let out a piercing scream, like a night owl’s cry, making Liu Dashao’s teeth ache. Two streams of black gas shot out from Old Man Yang’s empty eye sockets, and he retreated, his form becoming somewhat transparent. He wailed within the ash circle. Liu Dashao looked at his sword—it was now just a hilt.
Before Liu Dashao could catch his breath, the long-tongued female ghost’s teeth were at his face. Liu Dashao’s vision darkened, and he suddenly lost all strength. Just then, a shrill scream echoed in his ears. The long-tongued female ghost was engulfed in black smoke, a foul stench filling the air. As the smoke cleared, a burning talisman floated down.
“Granny, you finally found the talisman…” Liu Dashao, having narrowly escaped death, let out a sigh of relief. Granny Fan’s figure swayed as she quickly pasted several more talismans. The open ground was filled with black smoke and the cries of ghosts. Ma Sandao, watching from the side, exclaimed in admiration, “Granny Fan, you’re truly an immortal!”
Before he could finish, Granny Fan spoke: “Dashao, keep an eye on your side. I only brought ten of these Six Jia Evil-Repelling Talismans. Once they’re used up, it’ll be up to you to handle things.” Liu Dashao hadn’t fully understood when a ghostly figure floated toward him, its hands reaching for his neck. Wait, this ghost looked familiar—wasn’t it Old Man Zhao, who died of a stroke? His head hung from his neck, connected by only a thin strip of flesh, his ten fingers like daggers thrusting forward. In desperation, Liu Dashao shouted, “Wait, wait, Old Man Zhao, Ancestor Zhao, I’ve played cards with you!”
Surprisingly, this shout seemed to have an effect. Old Man Zhao’s hanging head tilted slightly, as if examining Liu Dashao. At this moment, only three ghostly figures remained in the area, all staring motionlessly at Liu Dashao. Old Man Zhao relaxed, thinking they must have recognized him as a familiar face, and began to ingratiate himself: “Ancestor, we’re neighbors after all… that…”
Before he could finish, Liu Dashao saw Granny Fan looking at him with extreme fear, as if he were a monstrous evil spirit. Just as he was about to ask, he felt a chill on his back. Sensing something was wrong, he turned around: the flower, the donkey, the young woman…
Liu Dashao, startled like a frightened toad, jumped three feet into the air with both legs. After two jumps, he landed right next to Granny Fan. He noticed Granny Fan’s entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and his own voice trembled: “Granny, why are you so scared…” Granny Fan swallowed hard and said, “These things are so scared of her that they don’t dare move. What do you think?”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao began to understand the extent of the young woman’s power. Ghostly cries surrounded them, and the three ghostly figures desperately tried to escape but couldn’t leave the ash circle. Were they really trying to befriend me? Just then, the woman on the donkey let out a sinister laugh, sending chills down Granny Fan and Liu Dashao’s spines: “This old woman has some skills.” As soon as she finished speaking, she let out a sharp laugh, and a gust of yin wind swept the ash circle clean.
Granny Fan’s teeth chattered: “She can talk, and she can laugh?”
Ma Sandao added, “She can talk. Last night, she even asked me for an apricot!”
Surprisingly, this shout had an effect. Old Zhao’s dangling head tilted slightly, as if examining Liu Dashao. At that moment, three other ghosts stood still like Old Zhao, staring at him. Liu Dashao relaxed, thinking they recognized him as a neighbor, and tried to chat, “Grandpa… we’ve been neighbors…”
Before he finished, Liu Dashao noticed Old Lady Fan staring at him with extreme fear, as if he were the greatest ghost in the world. Before he could ask, he felt a chill on his back. He turned around—those flowers, that donkey, that young woman…
Startled, Liu Dashao jumped like a frightened frog, springing up at least three feet high. He bounced twice and landed beside Old Lady Fan. Feeling Old Lady Fan trembling all over, he asked nervously, “Granny, why are you so scared?”
Old Lady Fan swallowed hard, “When they saw her, they were too scared to move. Don’t you think I should be scared too?”
Hearing this, Liu Dashao finally understood her power. Nearby, ghostly screams echoed. The three ghosts desperately tried to flee but couldn’t escape the paper-ash circle. So it wasn’t because they recognized him after all. Suddenly, the woman on the donkey let out a cold laugh, chilling Old Lady Fan and Liu Dashao to the bone: “This old woman actually has some skill.” As soon as she finished speaking, she let out a sharp laugh. A cold wind blew, and the paper ashes on the ground were instantly scattered.
Old Lady Fan’s teeth chattered, “She can talk? And laugh?”
Ma Sandao replied, “She can talk. She even asked me for an apricot last night!”
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