chapter 13
“I told you to stop shaking it.” I clicked my tongue.
“You… you…” Taoist Priest Sun clutched his left hand, staring at me in shock and anger.
His two disciples hurried over with towels to bandage his wound. One of them said, “Master, the Bell must have malfunctioned because it hasn’t been used for a long time.”
Taoist Priest Sun coughed and scolded, “It’s all your fault! This is a tool for warding off evil. I told you to maintain it properly, but you must have been lazy!”
“Yes, yes, it’s all our fault, all our fault!” The two disciples nodded repeatedly.
“If this happens again, you’re out!” Taoist Priest Sun cursed again, then shifted his gaze from me to Liu’s Mother. “I’m about to begin the Altar Ritual. Get these irrelevant people out of here!”
“Alright, alright.” Liu’s Mother turned around, glanced at us, and forced a smile. “In-law, you see there’s something going on at home right now. Why don’t you head back first? When it’s all over, I’ll have Hao’er come pick you up?”
“It’s fine, I’ll just wait here!” Uncle Yang said.
Liu’s Mother’s face darkened. “In-law, don’t take this the wrong way, but can’t you see you’re making things harder for your daughter and son-in-law by staying here at a time like this?”
“That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Just let Xiuyu come out, and we’ll leave right away!” Driver Zhang frowned.
“I already told you, Xiuyu isn’t home. If you don’t believe me, call her.” Liu’s Mother said.
“It’s because we can’t reach her by phone that we came here. If we don’t see Xiuyu today, we’re not leaving!” Driver Zhang said loudly.
Uncle Yang nodded in agreement. “That’s right, we’re not leaving.”
“You people are really…” Liu’s Mother was so angry she stomped her foot. “Go sit in the living room, have some tea, eat something and rest your feet!”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Driver Zhang and the others were about to follow, but seeing I was still standing there, they stopped again.
“Why are you just standing there?” Liu’s Mother noticed no one was following and turned back to yell.
I pointed to the empty space nearby. “This spot is fine. Bring a few chairs over, we’ll rest here.”
“You… what did you say?” Liu’s Mother glared at me.
“I’ll go get them!” The burly man shouted, then hurried into the house and carried out three chairs, setting them to the side.
Once Driver Zhang, Uncle Yang, and I sat down, he stood behind us.
Thinking it wasn’t quite right, he went to fetch a table, then grabbed two more people to bring tea and snacks over.
“You… you’re all out of control!” Liu’s Mother was shaking with anger.
I glanced at her and asked with concern, “Old Lady, your face is turning blue. Are you alright?”
“What?” Liu’s Mother quickly touched her face and cried, “Where’s the mirror? Bring me a mirror!”
Someone ran to get her a mirror. She snatched it and looked at her reflection.
“Looking in a mirror in a haunted house in the middle of the night-really tempting fate.” I shook my head, picked up my teacup and took a sip. “This tea is nice, must be expensive?”
With a crash, the mirror fell to the ground and shattered.
“This tea definitely isn’t cheap,” Driver Zhang tasted it too, chuckling quietly. “You’re scaring the Old Lady to death.”
I laughed, “If you don’t do anything wrong, you don’t fear ghosts knocking at your door at midnight. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Then Liu’s Mother went to find Taoist Priest Sun again, grabbing his clothes and insisting he give her another Talisman.
“It seems this house is really cursed.” Driver Zhang frowned, then said to Uncle Yang, “Old brother, this time we must find Xiuyu. No matter what, we have to get to the bottom of this!”
Uncle Yang nodded repeatedly, his face full of anxiety.
Liu’s Mother, after pestering Taoist Priest Sun for a while and being scolded by him, could only sulkily return, staring at the man.
The latter, seeing this, immediately clutched his chest tightly.
“In-law, have him give me back my Talisman first,” Liu’s Mother forced a smile at Uncle Yang.
Uncle Yang glanced at me. Seeing I remained silent, he lowered his head and pretended not to hear.
Liu’s Mother’s eyes widened, just about to lose her temper, when suddenly there was a loud “thud” that startled her, making her swallow her words.
We ignored her and looked across.
The two young Taoists had finished bandaging their Master and brought out a large drum, placing it in the southeast corner.
Just now, one of the Taoists had swung the drumstick and struck the drum.
The drum sounded deep and muffled, not very loud, but in the dead of night, it carried far.
Inside the large circle formed by eighteen strong young men, the incense table had already been set up.
Taoist Priest Sun, dressed in a yellow robe, lit three sticks of incense and placed them into the Incense Burner. With his right hand, he drew out the Peach Wood Sword; with his left, he picked up a piece of Talisman Paper and waved it in the air.
His expression was solemn, and he looked quite impressive.
“Master is about to perform the ritual. Everyone, be quiet!” one of Taoist Priest Sun’s disciples shouted.
Liu’s Mother quickly ordered the rest of the Liu Family to remain silent, all putting their hands together and standing still.
Taoist Priest Sun waved the Peach Wood Sword, circling the incense table, chanting under his breath.
One of his disciples began to beat the drum.
“Is drumming popular for rituals here in Meicheng?” I asked curiously.
“Uh… I don’t think I’ve heard of it. This is my first time seeing it,” Driver Zhang replied, stunned.
One of the young Taoists guarding the side shouted, “I told you to be quiet! Who’s talking over there?”
He glared fiercely at us.
I took a sip of tea and grabbed some peanuts to eat. Driver Zhang acted as if nothing had happened, picked up the teapot, and refilled tea for me and Uncle Yang.
“If anyone talks again, don’t blame me for being rude!” the young Taoist warned coldly.
We heard several swishes as Taoist Priest Sun slashed the Peach Wood Sword through the air with considerable force.
With a whoosh, a piece of Talisman Paper was flicked into the air; with a flash of fire, it ignited without wind!
“Oh!” Liu’s Mother and the others couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
Seeing the young Taoist glare at them, they quickly held their breath and dared not move.
“Everyone, step forward in turn and drink a bowl of wine!”
Taoist Priest Sun reversed his grip on the Peach Wood Sword and commanded solemnly.
The eighteen strong young men obeyed, stepping one by one to the southwest corner, picking up the bowls of wine placed on the ground, and drinking them in turn.
“How much are these people paid?” I asked the man behind me.
“About the same as us, twenty thousand for one night,” the man quickly bent down, smiling as he explained.
“Twenty thousand?” I was surprised. “Selling your life for that little? You’d get more selling a kidney!”