chapter 8

A proper ghost would never let its victims find a real Master of the craft.

And besides, the Jiang family were merchants. How would they know anyone genuinely skilled?

They’d only find fame-seeking charlatans—people with a few tricks but no real power.

Not me. I was a vengeful ghost with real skill and experience.

So when I possessed this so-called Master, dripping in gold and silver and living in a villa, I felt nothing at all.

Before me, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang recounted the whole story, then handed me a check with great respect.

I paced, pretending to ponder, before saying: “By the looks of it, this ghost is extremely fierce.”

“But the two of you needn’t panic. I’ve been in this line of work for over forty years, and I’ve dealt with cases like this before.”

After a good round of smooth talk, I told them my plan.

They were to bring Jiang Xiaoxiao and Jiang Zhiheng to the hospital where I’d died, tonight, for an exorcism and funeral rites.

Seeing how confident I sounded, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.

That night.

In the hospital room.

The bloodstains had been wiped clean by the janitors, but the room still looked gloomy and oppressive.

Jiang Xiaoxiao and Jiang Zhiheng, both in wheelchairs, looked around warily.

I wore a Tang-style robe, muttering incantations under my breath, shaking a black bell.

I paced and set up a compass formation.

If they knew anything about the craft, they’d realize my incantation was for summoning souls, and my bell was for unsettling the mind.

And once the formation was complete, this ground would become prime real estate for calling souls and gathering ghosts.

For the final step of the formation, I placed a black idol in the center and jammed three incense sticks upside down in the burner in front of it.

In an instant, a fierce wind rose, and the compass spun wildly.

I bellowed: “She’s here.”

Then I began chanting rapidly.

The wind died down for a moment, then surged back, blowing the talisman paper away.

I wiped cold sweat from my brow and said gravely: “This female ghost is too fierce. She can’t be captured head-on.”

Jiang Xiaoxiao was already panicking, and at these words she looked utterly despairing: “Master, then what do we do?”

I said slowly: “We must save her soul. Only then will you be safe.”

Jiang Zhiheng asked hastily from the side: “How do we save her?”

I coaxed: “When a vengeful ghost comes for your life, it must mean the karma of its past life hasn’t been settled.”

“In this formation, I will chant, and the two of you will burn spirit money for the deceased. As long as my chant doesn’t stop, the paper money must not stop either.”

“At the same time, you must confess your part in the karma with the ghost, one by one. Only then can her soul be released.”

At these words, the Jiang siblings’ faces instantly showed hesitation.

They looked at the anxious Mr. and Mrs. Jiang and said nothing.

I sneered inwardly and summoned another gust of wind.

This time, the lights went out.

I barked: “I see her.”

“Isn’t she wearing a red dress, head all crooked, with a bunch of stitches on her neck?”

“A vengeful ghost showing herself means she’s about to strike again! This formation won’t hold much longer!”

Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately clutched her head and screamed, while Jiang Zhiheng knocked over his wheelchair and collapsed limply to the floor.

Seeing this, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang urged anxiously: “Xiaoxiao, Zhiheng, don’t be afraid. Just do what the Master says.”

“Say what really happened, and you’ll be fine.”

They naturally assumed that Jiang Ye’s lingering spirit meant she was up to no good, consumed by envy of the two siblings.

So they couldn’t understand why the siblings wouldn’t confess.

The Jiang siblings were panicking, but they still refused.

There was nothing for it. I let blood seep from the soles of my feet.

It slowly flowed toward the siblings.

Jiang Xiaoxiao felt it first and shrieked.

That familiar sensation washed over her again, shattering her mental defenses.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

She wheeled herself over to the brazier. Under the flames, her face, twisted with fear, was clearly visible.

Her hands trembled as she began tossing spirit money into the fire.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao do it, Jiang Zhiheng couldn’t hold out any longer either. He crawled to the brazier and started throwing in paper money.

Mr. and Mrs. Jiang looked on with worried, heartsick expressions at these two frightened children.