“This is no ordinary money! It’s the Five Emperor Treasure Coin!” Granny Fan shouted, her hair and beard bristling. With both hands, she simultaneously executed the ‘Zhen’ (suppress) incantation, pointing at the coins and yelling loudly. However, all these efforts were like trying to shake a giant tree with an ant’s strength or stopping a chariot with a single arm. The table merely paused for a few seconds before breaking free from the restraint, bouncing even more violently, flipping over the copper basin, incense sticks, and other items, sending them crashing onto the floor and scattering in all directions. This caused Village Chief Tian and others to cry out in alarm and scramble to dodge. Granny Fan, weakened by age, was unable to withstand the force and lost her footing, falling flat onto the ground. Looking at her expression, there was no sign of pain—only fear, a deep, soul-piercing fear!
“Granny Fan, are you okay?” Wang Laoshi squatted down to help her up.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s nothing serious,” Granny Fan shook her head and picked up another copper coin that had just fallen to the ground, clutching it tightly in her palm.
“Let me help you up!”
“Okay, then I’ll trouble you…” As Wang Laoshi spoke, the pain from her bottom finally reached her nerves, causing her to yelp in pain. She didn’t resist his help and allowed herself to be pulled up. But the moment she steadied herself, her expression suddenly changed. Summoning a surge of unexpected ferocity, she suddenly tackled Wang Laoshi to the ground and turned her head toward Village Chief Tian, screaming desperately: “Get down! Quickly, get down!”
“Get down?” Village Chief Tian hadn’t yet grasped the meaning of Granny Fan’s words, standing there muttering to himself. Fortunately, Little Mazi’s mother was quite quick-witted. Sensing the danger, she didn’t hesitate and immediately followed Granny Fan’s example, throwing herself onto Village Chief Tian. As for Dog Egg’s father, he was quick and efficient—he simply crouched down and covered his head, hiding to one side.
At that very moment, the wooden door that Village Chief Tian had checked twice, with all three bolts securely fastened, let out a creaking sound as a narrow gap opened. A thin beam of light pierced through the darkness inside the house. From the living room outside the door came a faint, rustling sound of fingernails scraping, seemingly both near and far, ethereal yet terrifying, making one’s heart race with fear.
“Big Sister, you’re going too far! What the hell are you doing?” Village Chief Tian, now covered in dust and dirt, naturally wasn’t willing to let it go. After all, he was the village chief! He was about to angrily confront Little Mazi’s mother when the sudden strange noise silenced his words.
Creak—The door split open another gap, and the beam of light grew wider. At the same time, Granny Fan and the others’ pupils constricted.
“Kek kek~” Suddenly, a cold laugh echoed through the living room.
“Pa!” “Pa!” A slow, rhythmic tapping sound came from inside the door—”Pa!” “Pa!” Someone was outside the door—someone was really outside! And that someone was knocking— “Pa!” “Pa!” “Pa!”
Upon hearing the knocking, Village Chief Tian’s courage instantly surged. A confident smile returned to his face as he stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and pointed at Granny Fan with a smug grin: “Old woman, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it’s just someone knocking on the door, right? Come on, let me see who it is. Hehe, I almost forgot—it might be my wife bringing the town doctors here.” So saying, he placed his hand on the doorknob, preparing to turn it.
“Don’t open the door!” Granny Fan tried to rush forward and stop him, but it was already too late. Before entering, she had carefully pasted a yellow talisman on the outside of the door to prepare for emergencies. Now, with this charm, she might still have a moment to figure out how to deal with the situation. But if Village Chief Tian opened the door now, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Feudal relic! You have land and property, yet you refuse to work, instead scamming people everywhere! Next time when the intellectuals come down to the countryside, the first one to be overthrown will be you!” Village Chief Tian scolded harshly. However, he didn’t notice that at this moment, a hand was slowly extending from the crack in the door—pale and lifeless. Then came the other hand, followed by a head, waist, and body. A figure was slowly squeezing through the door seam, its bones making eerie cracking sounds. She struggled painfully, pausing after each body part emerged. Finally, a twisted silhouette gradually appeared in the corner by the door.
She faced Village Chief Tian motionlessly, and the air around them instantly froze, silent and suffocating.
“W-who… who are you?” Taken aback by the sudden horror, Village Chief Tian’s tongue tied up, his words stuttering.
“Kek kek, kekeke…” The creature slowly turned her face, her neck发出 “krak krak” sounds. Finally, with a sharp “snap,” her head tilted sideways. Her pale face was devoid of any color, her gray eyes filled with the despair of death. Her cheekbones were deeply sunken, her nose twisted sideways—the entire face looked as if flattened by a massive external force.
“Oh my God…” Witnessing this scene, Village Chief Tian let out a scream, rolled his eyes back, and fainted on the spot. Meanwhile, Liu Dashao by the bed shuddered, his heart feeling as if gripped tightly by a giant hand. A ghost—this was truly a ghost, purely and absolutely. If this wasn’t a ghost, then what else could possibly be called one?
“Quickly, move aside!” Granny Fan shouted again, swiftly throwing a handful of green salt left over from the previous ritual directly at the female ghost. She hoped to deliver a decisive blow. However, to her astonishment, the moment the salt left her fingers, the female ghost vanished—completely disappeared. Thus, Granny Fan could only watch helplessly as the scattered salt grains, like stars in the sky, fell onto the walls, accomplishing nothing.
“Where did she go?” Granny Fan’s face tightened, her expression tense as she looked left and right. Suddenly, she felt a chill above her head, as if something were gently brushing against her face—itchy, maddeningly so, making her want to scratch instinctively. Her heart sank. She inhaled sharply, slowly lifting her head to gaze toward the ceiling beam. There, hanging upside down, was the vanished female ghost. Her face was twisted in fury, glaring at Granny Fan with wide, white eyes. Her long black hair hung down from her face, strands flowing from her eye sockets like a black waterfall cascading from the roof.
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