“Disaster has struck, oh my goodness! Granny Fan, if I had known it would come to this, even if you had broken my legs and forced me to go, I would never have run off there!” Liu Dashao, seeing that Tian Guoqiang and the others had not improved at all, couldn’t help but regret bitterly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had grasped a straw of hope, and he turned to Granny Fan with a forced smile, saying, “Granny, I know you’re incredibly capable. Why don’t you do us another favor? Go there alone and wipe out those monsters once and for all, and our village will live in peace from now on.”
“Cough…ugh, cough…cough!” As soon as Liu Dashao’s words reached Granny Fan’s ears, her face turned deep purple with anger. She began pounding her chest and coughing violently. She knew exactly how strong she was. Even the previous victory had been purely a matter of luck. Fortunately, the snake demoness was suspicious by nature, and Granny Fan had managed to trick her with bluffing and deception. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even be alive today. This kid sure talks big—going solo and wiping out all the demons? Unless she wanted to die, she wouldn’t dare try such a thing.
“Granny, what’s wrong with you? Could it be your bronchitis flaring up again? This kind of illness is common in cold weather! Come on, let me help you check it out,” Liu Dashao said, stepping forward and patting her back while attempting to flatter her. As the saying goes, flattery without reason usually hides ulterior motives. His manner truly gave Granny Fan the creeps, so she quickly stepped back to avoid him.
“What exactly is wrong with you?” Finally noticing Granny Fan’s unusual expression, Liu Dashao dropped his hand and frowned.
“Hehe,” Granny Fan gave a bitter laugh. “Child, I understand the principle that ‘if you don’t pull out the roots, the weeds will grow again in the spring breeze.’ I also wish to eliminate these pests completely and ensure lasting peace for our village. But I resent myself! I resent my weak magical powers, which simply aren’t up to the task!” At this, her face flushed with shame.
“Weak magical powers? Who said your powers were weak? You personally drove away that female ghost just now. Me, my father, Village Chief Tian, and everyone else saw it with their own eyes!” Liu Dashao pointed his finger around at the crowd.
“Pfft! I didn’t see anything,” Village Chief Tian turned his head away in a huff.
“Perhaps you don’t know the truth yet. Anyway, the cat’s out of the bag. Granny will explain everything to you now!” At this, Granny Fan recounted to Liu Dashao every detail of how she had tricked the snake demoness, how she had pretended, and how she had fabricated her trump card. Liu Dashao was a clever person. After hearing her explanation, and recalling what he had seen and heard at the time, including some inconsistencies in her speech and actions, he immediately slapped his head in realization and exclaimed, “Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”
“Granny, I never imagined you could pull off such a trick! You acted like a real immortal back then,” Liu Dashao burst into laughter. But as he laughed, cold sweat trickled down his back. He naturally understood how dangerous and perilous the situation had been. If Granny Fan had shown even the slightest flaw to the snake demoness, or if the snake demoness had challenged the exhausted Granny Fan to a fight, Granny Fan would have died on the spot—and he and the others wouldn’t have escaped death either.
“I was forced by circumstances. I just had a flash of inspiration at a critical moment and got lucky,” Granny Fan shook her head.
“But Granny, there’s another question I’ve been pondering endlessly.”
“Ask then!” Granny Fan nodded.
“I remember clearly that you scared off the female ghost and the snake demoness with a magical artifact you had in your pocket. I saw you put your hand into your cloth pouch—it looked so bulgy, like it really was something powerful,” Liu Dashao finally asked the question he had long kept to himself, adding, “But if this involves your secret and you’re not comfortable talking about it, just pretend I didn’t ask.”
“Hehe…child, you still think Granny was hiding some treasure in her pocket?” Granny Fan chuckled. “If I really had a treasure, I would’ve used it long ago instead of tricking that female ghost. I know you’re curious about what was in my pouch. Well then, I’ll show you!” Saying this, Granny Fan unfastened the yellow cloth pouch hanging at her waist and threw it directly to Liu Dashao. Liu Dashao hurriedly opened it and pulled out the round, bulgy object inside. He smacked his lips and looked helplessly at Granny Fan, who wore the same helpless expression.
It wasn’t a magical artifact at all—it was simply a bright red apple.
“I like apples, so I always carry one in my pocket. I never expected it could come in handy at a crucial moment,” Granny Fan scratched her yellowed teeth and smiled sheepishly. Fortunately, the snake demoness had already left. If she had overheard the conversation between this old woman and the young man and discovered the truth about the so-called “trump card,” she would probably have coughed up blood and smashed her head against the ground.
“Oh, I see,” Liu Dashao’s expression darkened, and he felt as if he had fallen into a deep abyss.
“Child, don’t lose heart. Looking so discouraged is so unspirited!” Granny Fan understood Liu Dashao’s thoughts and tried to comfort him. “Although Granny isn’t very capable, I’m still confident I can save these three children.”
“Really?” Liu Dashao immediately raised his head, excitedly asking.
“Yep.”
“But I need someone to help me with a small favor—neither too big nor too small.”
“Can it be me?” Liu Dashao pointed at himself.
Granny Fan’s eyes, narrowed into slits, hesitated for a moment before she finally uttered one word from her withered mouth: “Okay!”
“What kind of trick are you plotting now, Fan Xidou?” Village Chief Tian sneered.
Granny Fan’s lips curled slightly. “The children’s souls started to vanish from the Lingguan Temple, so naturally we must begin there. The only solution now is to send someone back to the Lingguan Temple to retrieve their lost souls using my talismans, restoring their souls so we can smoothly proceed with the soul-calling ritual.”
“Go back—back—back to Lingguan Temple again?” At the mere mention of Lingguan Temple, Liu Dashao’s earlier bravery vanished into thin air. His face turned pale with fear, and he reverted to his timid self, stammering as he spoke.
“Exactly!” Granny Fan said firmly. “Originally, I wanted to go myself, but I’m too weak after being thrown around by that snake demoness. My body feels completely battered. So I can only ask someone else to do this for me.”
“Granny, can’t we skip going to Lingguan Temple? Can’t we think of another method? I know you’re smart and resourceful,” Liu Dashao pleaded with a bitter face.
“No!” Granny Fan completely dashed Liu Dashao’s last bit of hope. “This is currently the best and only method. If we don’t recover their lost souls soon and retrieve the rest from the underworld, in seven days these three children will die completely, and even I won’t be able to do anything then.”
Looking at his friends, Liu Dashao gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, finally agreeing: “Fine! I’ll go. It’s just a trip, right? I don’t believe I’ll be eaten alive.”
“Good! That’s courage!” Granny Fan smiled and nodded. Slowly rising, she rummaged through the mess of scattered items on the ground and pulled out a yellow piece of paper. In a few quick folds, she made it into a lifelike little paper crane. Then she picked up a wolf-hair brush, dabbed a bit of cinnabar on each of the crane’s eyes, blew on it gently, and repeated the same process for two more cranes. Together with a dragon-and-phoenix-decorated yellow talisman, she handed them all to Liu Dashao.
“Listen carefully. When you arrive at the temple, first burn some paper money for the spirits and ghosts there to appease them and prevent them from causing trouble and ruining the ritual. I don’t have any paper money, so you’ll have to prepare it yourself. After burning the paper money, light this talisman. Remember, you must wait until it’s completely burned to ashes before releasing the three paper cranes. At that moment, the cranes will guide the souls back. Don’t lose them, because once you leave the temple, those cranes will carry the souls of Guoqiang and the others,” Granny Fan instructed.
“I remember everything,” Liu Dashao nodded.
“Although it’s still daytime, I’m still a bit worried. Maybe you should find an adult to go with you,” Granny Fan suggested.
“No, I can go alone,” Liu Dashao replied.
“Originally, I had hoped your father could accompany you. He’s capable and reliable, but unfortunately, he’s bedridden now and of no help. As for Dog-Dan’s father, he’s always timid and even more frightened now, so he won’t work either. Then who should I ask to accompany you?” At this, Granny Fan intentionally glanced toward Village Chief Tian.
“Hmph! It’s just entering a temple. What’s the big deal? I can accompany my nephew there,” Village Chief Tian sneered.
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