The story of how I "redeemed" the old locust tree ghost with love has somehow become even more outlandish than the story of Zhang Cai'e's Kitchen God. The version has escalated to: Chen Chanan can not only exorcise ghosts, but also talk to female ghosts, persuading a lovelorn ghost who had waited eighty years to willingly reincarnate, and even showing reluctance to part with him before leaving…
What nonsense is this?!
However, the effect is remarkable. The villagers' gazes towards me have changed from suspicion and disdain to seven parts awe and three parts curiosity. Especially the aunties and older women; when they meet me on the road, their greetings become sweeter, and their eyes scan me as if I were some rare object.
Tie Dan's mother, the notoriously shrewish Aunt Wang, actually brought me a basket of eggs for the first time ever, saying it was to thank me for "exorcising the evil spirit" for her son. I couldn't refuse and accepted it, then turned around and heard her whispering to someone outside the courtyard gate: "Tsk, Master Chen's grandson, he's really handsome, and his skills are truly wicked... I just wonder, in that aspect... does he take after his grandfather?" Then came the hushed laughter of several women.
I blushed, feeling inexplicably hot. These women, really...
A few days passed uneventfully (and restlessly), just when I thought I could finally settle down and properly study my grandfather's erotic secrets—oh no, feng shui manual—an unexpected guest arrived.
Village Chief Chen Fugui.
He was in his fifties, with a greasy hairstyle reminiscent of local government support for the central government, and a beer belly; he was a powerful figure in the village. Normally, he wouldn't even bother to look at us teenagers. But today, he rubbed his hands together, a forced smile on his face, and entered my simple main room.
"Cha Nan, busy?" He glanced around, then became more reserved when he saw Grandpa's memorial tablet, giving a proper bow.
"Uncle Village Chief, what brings you here? Please have a seat." I was a little surprised and quickly pulled up a chair. No one comes here without a reason; this old fox must have something on his mind.
"Ahem, well, Cha Nan, I heard you've recently... helped solve a few problems for the village?" The village chief sat down, took the water I poured, and asked tentatively.
"Just a little bit of what Grandpa taught me, it was just a coincidence." I was unsure of his intentions and answered vaguely.
"Hey, it's good for young people to be humble, but ability is ability!" The village chief slapped his thigh. "I've come today to ask you for a favor, to come to my house... to look at the feng shui."
Look at the feng shui? The village chief's house, one of the best three-story houses in the village, was built two years ago. They even had a feng shui master from town look at it back then. What could be wrong with it?
I looked at him suspiciously. "Uncle Village Chief, isn't your house in a good feng shui location? Backed by a mountain, with water in front..."
"No, not that one!" the village chief interrupted hastily, glancing around, lowering his voice, and leaning closer. A whiff of smoke mixed with bad breath hit me. "It's...it's my daughter-in-law! The one who came back from the city, Liu Yan! I always feel like...something's off about her!"
Liu Yan? I vaguely remembered her. The village chief's son, Chen Zhigang, did business in the provincial capital. Last year, he married a city woman named Liu Yan. I heard she was a white-collar worker, quite beautiful. She came back for the New Year, her clothes and appearance completely out of place in the village, very arrogant. This year, for some reason, she came back to the village alone and stayed there for an extended period, saying she was pregnant.
"Sister-in-law Liu Yan? What happened to her?" I asked.
The village chief's face showed confusion and a hint of fear: "I can't quite put my finger on it, it just feels strange! She's been back for almost half a year, and she's become... gloomy, doesn't like to go out, and hardly talks to anyone. Her face is always frighteningly pale, even in the middle of summer she wears high-necked clothes. The key thing is..." His voice lowered, tinged with embarrassment, "Zhigang isn't home, but sometimes in the middle of the night... I hear what sounds like a man's voice coming from her room! And... and that kind of noise!"
My heart skipped a beat. Did the village chief suspect his daughter-in-law of having an affair?
"I secretly listened twice, but nothing came of it. When I asked her, she just gave me a cold look and said I was dreaming or misheard," the village chief said, his face full of worry. "I even asked Blind Liu from town to secretly check. He circled my house once, his face changed, and he ran off without taking any money, saying he couldn't do anything! That's when I remembered to ask your grandfather, but who knew Master Chen… sigh!"
He looked at me, his eyes pleading. "Cha Nan, you've received Master Chen's true teachings, your skills are definitely better than Blind Liu's! Go help your uncle see if it's a problem with the feng shui attracting evil spirits, or if Liu Yan herself… has a problem? Don't worry, your uncle won't ask you for help for nothing!"
As he spoke, he pulled a bulging envelope from his pocket and pushed it in front of me.
I glanced at it; it was quite thick, probably several hundred yuan. That was no small sum back then. Money was very attractive to me, but this matter at the village chief's house sounded much more troublesome than the Kitchen God and the philandering ghost. Although Liu the Blind Man in town was only half-baked, he could still scare people away…
Seeing my hesitation, the village chief added, "Cha Nan, don't worry, whatever you see, I trust you! I won't make things difficult for you! This concerns the reputation of our Chen family, and… and Zhigang!" His eyes were a little red; he seemed genuinely anxious.
I remembered my grandfather's teachings: if you see something strange, help as much as you can. Besides, it's a few hundred yuan! Enough to buy so many copies of *Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard*… oops, I mean, so many sheets of red paper!
"Okay, Uncle Village Chief, I'll go take a look. But let me make this clear first, I can only do my best; I might not be able to solve it." I took the envelope; it was heavy.
The village chief was overjoyed: "Good, good, good! When is a convenient time?"
"Right now." I stood up. "The yang energy is strong during the day; it's easier to observe."
I slung my canvas bag over my shoulder again and followed the village chief towards his imposing little house. On the way, the village chief briefly explained Liu Yan's situation: an only child from the city, from a well-off family, and she and Chen Zhigang had a love marriage. After returning home to prepare for her pregnancy, she initially seemed normal, but later became increasingly withdrawn, and her appetite changed, developing a craving for raw, cold, and fishy foods.
When we arrived at the village chief's house, the courtyard was quiet. The three-story building, covered in white tiles, was indeed conspicuous in the village. I stood at the courtyard gate, not immediately going in, but first concentrating my mind to sense the overall "qi" (energy).
At first glance, the building had a square layout, backed by a small hill, with a stream flowing around the front—in terms of feng shui, it was indeed auspicious, gathering qi and generating wealth. But upon closer inspection, I noticed that the area above the building, especially towards the master bedroom on the third floor (presumably where Liu Yan lived), seemed to be shrouded in a very faint, almost imperceptible gray-black aura, barely noticeable without close inspection. This aura didn't seem like ordinary yin or evil energy; instead, it had a…sticky, slippery feel, making me very uncomfortable.
"Uncle Village Chief, is Sister-in-law Liu Yan's room on the third floor, the one on the east side?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, that's it! It was specially prepared for her; it gets the best sunlight." The village chief nodded quickly.
I stepped into the courtyard. As soon as I entered, the sticky, uncomfortable feeling became more pronounced. There seemed to be a faint, indescribable, sweet-and-sour smell in the air, similar to stale blood tofu.
The main room on the first floor was empty. We went straight to the third floor. The stairs were paved with marble, and they felt cool underfoot. The closer we got to the room on the east side of the third floor, the stronger the sweet-and-sour smell became, and the more pronounced the grayish-black odor.
The village chief stopped outside the door and knocked nervously: "Yanzi? Yanzi? Open the door, Dad wants to see you."
There was no response from inside.
The village chief knocked again, raising his voice, "Yanzi?"
After a long while, a hoarse, weary female voice came from inside: "Dad, I'm asleep. I'm not feeling well. I'll talk to you later."
"Open the door. Dad has asked someone to come and check if you've offended anything," the village chief said, giving me a wink.
I stared intently at the door. As the village chief spoke, I clearly "saw" (or rather, sensed) an even denser, dark gray aura, like living tentacles, seeping silently from under the door, swirling around our feet before quickly retreating.
This wasn't an ordinary ghost! It was more like… a "possessive entity" with a strong obsession and malevolence!
"I told you, I'm fine! No need to look!" Liu Yan's voice suddenly became sharp, filled with resistance and a hint of… panic?
The village chief's face darkened; he was about to speak again. I raised my hand to stop him, and pulled a palm-sized, slightly damaged bronze mirror from my bag. It was one of my grandfather's old belongings, said to be able to reveal unclean things.
I pointed the mirror at the door and adjusted the angle. In the dim light, the mirror, which should have reflected the wooden door's pattern, was now blurred, then gradually revealed a distorted image—a writhing, slimy, leech-like phantom, like a giant black leech, was coiled around a person behind the door! And the person's abdomen was slightly swollen, emitting an eerie gray light!
I gasped!
Seeing my drastic change in expression, the village chief leaned closer to look in the mirror: "What did you see?"
I quickly put the mirror away and whispered, "Uncle Village Chief, let's go downstairs. The situation is more complicated than we think."
Seeing my grave expression, the village chief didn't dare ask any more questions and hurriedly followed me downstairs. Back in the main room on the first floor, he anxiously asked, "Cha Nan, what happened? Is there really something evil? Has it possessed Yanzi?"
I carefully chose my words: "There is indeed something attached to Sister-in-law Liu Yan. But it's not an ordinary ghost; it's more like... a 'yin fetus' or a 'parasite' kind of evil entity. Moreover, this thing might be connected to the fetus in her womb."
"What?!" The village chief's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, his face turning pale. "A yin fetus? A parasite? Then... then my grandson..."
"It's not certain yet," I frowned. "This thing is very malevolent, and it seems to possess intelligence; it's very alert. Forcing it might harm Sister-in-law Liu Yan. We need to think of a way to lure it out, or at least figure out its origin and purpose."
"Then... then what do we do?" The village chief was completely at a loss.
I pondered for a moment. Grandpa's notes seemed to mention a similar situation, extremely difficult to handle, requiring specific timing and a medium. Moreover, it was necessary to see Liu Yan herself and observe her closely.
"Uncle Village Chief, find an excuse today to make Sister-in-law Liu Yan go out for a short while, just an hour or two," I said. "I need to check on her carefully. Also, prepare a few things: rooster blood that's at least three years old, fresh willow branches, and… a piece of underwear she usually wears."
The village chief blushed at the last item, but in this urgent situation, he didn't care and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, I'll figure something out right away! Get the things ready as soon as possible!"
That afternoon, the village chief somehow managed to persuade Liu Yan to go out, saying a doctor from town was coming to the village for a free clinic and she needed to have her fetus checked. Liu Yan seemed very reluctant, but under the village chief's insistence, she put on a wide-brimmed hat and slowly left.
The village chief immediately gave me a signal. I went upstairs again and used the key the village chief had given me to open the tightly closed door.
As soon as I entered the room, a pungent, sticky, and fishy smell hit me, almost making me nauseous. The room was elegantly furnished, but the curtains were drawn tightly, making it dimly lit. On the dressing table were some cosmetics scattered haphazardly, and an open jewelry box containing a few pieces of gold jewelry, but their luster was dull.
My gaze fell on the bed. The blankets were unmade, crumpled into a ball. On the sheets, near the pillow, were several inconspicuous, dried dark red spots.
I approached, dipped my finger in, and smelled it. There was a very faint smell of blood, mixed with a stronger, sweet, metallic scent.
This wasn't the smell of human blood… or rather, not entirely.
I continued to examine the room. In the bedside table drawer, I found some strange things: several empty glass bottles, the labels torn off, but with traces of dark green slime at the bottom; a small, sharp eyebrow razor, the tip bearing dark red marks; and a diary.
I opened the diary. The first few pages were normal, recording the joys of my honeymoon and early pregnancy. But as I read on, the handwriting became increasingly illegible and distorted, and the content grew increasingly bizarre:
"...He came again, his cold hands touching my belly, saying our child is growing up quickly..."
"...So hungry, I want to eat raw food...The rooster tastes so good, the blood is warm..."
"...Why doesn't Zhigang believe me? He says I'm crazy...Only 'he' understands me..."
"...The person in the mirror is becoming more and more unfamiliar...The thing in my belly is moving, but it's not the baby moving..."
The diary abruptly ended a few days ago.
I closed the diary, my heart heavy. It seems Liu Yan herself has some awareness, but she's already severely affected and even controlled by that thing. This thing grows by absorbing the blood and energy of living beings, and its target is likely the fetus in her womb! Once the fetus is formed, it will probably completely take over, and Liu Yan herself will be in grave danger.
I must act quickly!
Following a method from my grandfather's notes for setting up a "ghost-detecting array," I drew simple talismans in the four corners and center of the room with cinnabar. I then took a small pinch of prepared incense ash (this time, I used my grandfather's treasured ash, said to possess Buddhist properties) and sprinkled it at the array's core.
As soon as I finished setting it up, the incense ash in the array moved on its own, slowly rotating, its color gradually changing from grayish-white to tinged with a faint black aura, finally pointing towards the wardrobe in the room.
Wardrobe?
I went over and opened the wardrobe. It contained many clothes, mostly Liu Yan's. But at the very back of the wardrobe hung an old-fashioned men's Zhongshan suit, dark blue, faded from washing, and of a very old style—definitely not something Chen Zhigang would wear.
The sticky, grayish-black aura emanating from the suit was the strongest!
I carefully used two willow branches (used for warding off evil) to pick it out. The pockets were empty, but when I gripped the shoulder, a chilling sensation shot through my fingertips, as if I were holding a block of ice, not fabric.
That's it! This garment is a crucial "possession" of that evil spirit!
I tied the garment with a willow branch, preparing to take it away for further processing, when suddenly the village chief's anxious shout came from downstairs: "Cha Nan! Come down quickly! Yanzi...she's back ahead of schedule! Her complexion is off!"
So fast?
I quickly stuffed the garment into the black cloth bag I'd brought, hastily tidied the room, wiped away the cinnabar traces, leaving only a tiny, inconspicuous speck of incense ash in the center, and hurried downstairs.
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I came face to face with Liu Yan entering.
She stood in the doorway, her wide-brimmed hat removed, revealing a face deathly pale. Her once beautiful eyes now seemed unfocused, the whites of her eyes covered with fine red blood vessels. She stared intently at me, then slowly turned her gaze to the black cloth bag in my hand.
Suddenly, she grinned, revealing an extremely eerie smile—completely out of character and age, carrying a chilling, sinister aura—her voice hoarse:
"Little master...see my clothes? Those are my 'man's'...don't touch them."
A chill instantly shot from the soles of my feet to the top of my head!