Chapter 0057 The Decomposing Old Mrs. Bao
Everyone was surprised, including me. We all thought that Tusuo, the youngest son, would be the most scared, but he turned out to be the bravest. The village head was satisfied: "Old Zhao Second, your Tusuo is the most promising one. From now on, none of those four can boast about their bravery. It's truly embarrassing."
I took out the packet of powder. Mr. Bao produced the small bowl and a bottle of Nongfu Spring water he had prepared beforehand. He poured the powder into the bowl, added mineral water, and stirred it with chopsticks. Just as he was about to drink it, I suddenly recalled what Uncle Xie had said. That old fox was extremely cunning, and his words were often unreliable, especially when he was being vague about something—there must be a trick. My eyes darted around, and I beckoned Mr. Bao over, asking him to drink the water instead.
Mr. Bao was very surprised. Ms. Bao also walked over: "Brother Tian, what kind of water is this? What is it for?"
I said seriously: "This is Spirit-Guiding Water (Yin Ling Shui). It's only effective if consumed by a relative of the old lady. I still need to chant the incantations to cooperate with it. Hurry up and drink it; it's almost midnight."
Mr. Bao had no choice but to tilt his head back and drink all the water. I nervously observed him, truly unsure of what would happen. Five minutes passed, and Mr. Bao seemed perfectly fine. Everyone looked at me, seemingly waiting for my answer. I cleared my throat, pretending to be fully confident, and sat on a nearby stone to wait.
A few more minutes passed. Mr. Bao suddenly looked wide-eyed, his expression surprised, as if he saw something incredible. Ms. Bao asked, "What's wrong with you?" Mr. Bao didn't answer. He turned his head and looked around, appearing extremely excited. At the same time, he pointed here and there with his fingers, opening his mouth as if to exclaim, but not saying a single word.
While everyone was puzzled, Mr. Bao saw the coffin in the pit. He quickly walked over, reached out, and helped Old Mrs. Bao's upper body sit up. He then used both hands to lift her up, making the corpse stand upright. Supporting the corpse, Mr. Bao turned around, slightly crouched, and lifted Old Mrs. Bao's arms over his shoulders, hoisting the corpse onto his back.
"Husband, what are you doing?" Ms. Bao's face turned ghostly pale. Not only her, but everyone's hair stood on end. Jinsuo, who had been having diarrhea, and Tongsuo, who had been convulsing on the ground, also came over to look.
Mr. Bao, with his mother's corpse on his back, smiled as he walked around the burial pit, saying as he walked, "Mom, look how beautiful this building is. There are even wild geese landing on it!"
Tusuo asked, "Dad, what is my cousin doing?" Mr. Bao's second uncle's mouth hung open; he was speechless.
Mr. Bao continued circling with the corpse on his back, saying, "Mom, let's go upstairs and take a look now. Look at all this jewelry, all pearls and jade! It's almost blinding." While everyone was stunned, I wondered when exactly the incantation was supposed to be effective. I couldn't just keep waiting. Since I didn't know when Mr. Bao's strange actions would stop, I began to recite the incantation in a low voice.
After the first recitation of the incantation, Mr. Bao's expression became stern: "Mom, don't be angry. Those two people left long ago. They had their wedding a few days ago, and it was a huge affair! You didn't see it, but... Mom, don't you believe me? It's true, I'm not lying to you!" I continued reciting. As the second recitation finished, Mr. Bao's pace began to quicken, and at the same time, a faint smell of decay wafted through the air.
Mr. Bao gasped: "Mom, you can watch TV whenever you want from now on, and go walk the dog whenever you want. No one will criticize you, okay? Mom, please stop pinching me, it hurts!"
I began the third recitation. Mr. Bao's pace accelerated even more. Several times, his feet slipped, and he almost fell into the burial pit. Ms. Bao watched anxiously, occasionally letting out a scream. Mr. Bao shouted angrily: "Mom, what did you say? That guy seduced my wife? When did that happen? The night I went out to play mahjong? That scoundrel! When I see him again, I'll definitely kill him!" I had just finished the third recitation when I heard what Mr. Bao said. I was terrified. Ms. Bao looked at me, an expression of guilt on her face.
Suddenly, Old Mrs. Bao's corpse slid down Mr. Bao's back, but her arms remained tightly locked around his neck. An intense smell of decay wafted over, making us want to vomit. We quickly put on our masks.
"It's rotting! Dad, look quickly!" Tusuo, wearing a mask, pointed at Old Mrs. Bao's corpse. Several flashlight beams illuminated the scene, and everyone was shocked to see that Old Mrs. Bao's remains were now highly decomposed. Bone and flesh had separated. Ms. Bao couldn't help but tear off her mask, turning aside to vomit violently.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bao was still vigorously running around, holding the two decomposed arms. I quickly motioned to his two uncles. The village head also shouted: "Quickly, pull him back!"
Tongsuo and Yinsuo's courage seemed to have returned. They rushed forward with Tusuo. Tongsuo and Yinsuo held Mr. Bao around the waist, and Tusuo reached out to grab the two arms. Unexpectedly, the arms were so rotten that when he pulled hard, the skin and flesh came off, leaving the bones of the forearm and hand still gripped by Mr. Bao, looking like pork trotters that had been stewed until the meat fell off the bone.
Tusuo quickly threw away the rotten flesh, also feeling nauseous. Mr. Bao's strength suddenly surged. The two strong men couldn't hold him back. The village head yelled: "Get some rope! Tie his hands and feet!"
The village accountant frantically took a coil of hemp rope from the jeep and threw it to Yinsuo. Several people worked together, tying Mr. Bao's hands behind his back and firmly securing his hands and feet as if they were trussing up a pig. Mr. Bao lay on the ground, still smiling, arching and straightening his body as if he were still jogging.
The remaining work was much simpler. I instructed Tusuo to remove the Spirit-Guiding Talisman. Everyone then collected Old Mrs. Bao's remains, placed them back in the coffin, and nailed the lid shut, preparing to move her back to the ancestral graveyard the next day to be buried with Old Mr. Bao.
That night, Mr. Bao rambled on incessantly. Ms. Bao was terrified that he would become mentally ill and kept pleading with me. I called Uncle Xie. Uncle Xie was surprised to hear that I had given the powder water to the client and asked why I hadn't drunk it myself.
I was straightforward, saying I didn't trust him. Since he didn't tell me what the powder was, what its function was, or what the consequences were, I didn't dare to drink it. Uncle Xie chuckled: "Brother Tian, you've worked with Frank Fang for too long, and like him, you don't trust people. To be honest with you, that powder was carefully concocted by the Arjan master. It's called Intermediate Realm Powder (Zhong Yin Fen). The formula is complex, containing Indian fly agaric, the ashes of those who died violently, and dozens of kinds of pollen. When a person drinks it, they experience hallucinations, and their three souls and seven corporeal spirits temporarily leave the body, allowing them to be seen by spirits. This makes it easier to communicate with ghosts."
"How can he recover?" That was what I cared about most.
Uncle Xie said: "Have him wear the Spirit-Guiding Talisman. He'll be fine after seven days, but he can't eat any meat during those seven days." I followed his instructions, put the Spirit-Guiding Talisman on Mr. Bao, and told Ms. Bao not to worry, as it was nothing serious.
Mr. Bao's uncles clearly didn't trust me much. Seeing their nephew in this state, they insisted we stay in the village for a few more days, perhaps worried he wouldn't recover. For those seven days, the villagers treated me with rich meat dishes every day, and I gained at least seven or eight pounds. After seven days, Mr. Bao indeed gradually returned to normal consciousness. Ms. Bao and everyone else were relieved.
On the day of Old Mrs. Bao's reburial, almost the entire village came. Hundreds of people witnessed this major event together.
In any case, the matter was finally resolved. The three of us drove back to Dalian city. According to our agreement, the couple still owed me the remaining 20,000 yuan. Mr. Bao drove directly to the bank, saying he would then take me to the train station. I was extremely happy. This is the most exciting and addictive part of doing amulet business.
Because the passenger seat belt was broken, Ms. Bao sat in the back seat with me. She was wearing tight jeans. As we approached the bank, for some reason, I suddenly found Ms. Bao's thighs, tightly encased in denim, very sensual. I reached out to touch her. Ms. Bao was startled and quickly took my hand away, anxiously glancing at Mr. Bao, who was driving.
Fortunately, he didn't notice. Ms. Bao glared at me repeatedly with her eyes, signaling me not to do that. In fact, my heart was pounding even faster. My action just now was completely out of my control. I secretly prayed that the payment for this job was about to be made, and I desperately hoped I wouldn't have another episode right now, or the situation would be impossible to salvage.