Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Supporting the unconscious Xia Dong, Xia Degui looked at me anxiously.
“Young Mr. Wu, is my wife all right?”
I nodded. “Don’t worry. Aunt Xia Dong is fine. In fact, I’ve used a talisman to resolve her immediate problem. She only needs a good sleep and a few days of rest to recover completely.”
Relieved, Xia Degui carried her into the bedroom.
Xia Sanjin asked curiously what had happened.
I gave him a rough explanation. Xia Dong’s grief over her daughter’s death had become an obsession, which then twisted into malignant thoughts and produced sinister yin energy.
The entity formed from Xia Mi’s corpse later returned at night and came into close contact with her, deepening the corruption.
That was why Xia Dong sometimes descended into hysterical madness.
Xia Jianguo sighed. “I’ve lived more than sixty years, and it’s been decades since I last saw a true expert with powers like yours, Young Mr. Wu. What a nostalgic, reassuring sight. Now I’m certain the haunting will be resolved.”
Oh?
His words suggested he had seen someone like me before.
I casually asked him about it.
Xia Jianguo explained that shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic, when he was still young, he had attended a banquet in a neighboring village. Because it ended late, he stayed overnight at a friend’s house.
That night, a sound outside woke him. Curious, he opened the window and looked out.
His friend’s house stood beside the country road leading out of the village.
What he saw astonished him.
On the moonlit road, a figure in a long hemp robe was pursuing a gray shadow while holding a compass. The shadow had a vague human shape, and a single glance filled Xia Jianguo with dread.
The pursuer suddenly uttered a strange sound, brushed one hand across the compass, and flicked it forward.
Whoosh!
A streak of yellow light shot out and struck the fleeing shadow.
Xia Jianguo thought he heard a shrill, unnatural scream, though it might have been an illusion.
Either way, the dark shape broke apart and slowly vanished.
The sight left him stunned.
The hemp-robed practitioner holding the compass turned, glanced at him, and chuckled.
“Imagine that. I’m chasing a vicious ghost beneath the moon, and an ordinary person manages to see me. You’re lucky. But that’s enough. Close the window and go back to sleep.”
Xia Jianguo immediately knew the stranger was a formidable expert.
Excited, he wanted to exchange a few words so he could boast afterward that he had spoken with a reclusive master. He was barely over twenty then and still a vain young man.
But after speaking, the hemp-robed practitioner gave him no time to respond. From fifteen or twenty feet away, the stranger waved a hand through the air.
Whoosh!
A gust struck Xia Jianguo in the face.
Bang!
The open window slammed shut. More amazingly, the latch locked itself.
Startled, Xia Jianguo fumbled it open again.
But the country road outside was empty. Not a single figure remained.
Only cold moonlight lay across the fields.
“Ever since that night, I’ve known that true practitioners of the arcane arts really exist in this world.”
Xia Jianguo stroked his long beard, lost in memory.
Then he looked at me. “But in the forty years since, I haven’t seen another true expert with my own eyes. The occasional ones I encountered were probably performers using cheap tricks to fool people. I heard stories about powerful masters here and there, of course, but never witnessed one myself.”
Xia Sanjin chimed in, “And today, we have a genuine master standing right in front of us!”
Their praise left me rather embarrassed. Both men were elders many years my senior.
I waved my hands. “Uncle Sanjin, Elder Xia, please stop. If you keep praising me, my head will swell.”
Xia Degui emerged from the bedroom just then.
Ending my conversation with the other two, I told him, “Uncle Degui, Aunt Xia Dong’s problem is under control for now. Next, we need to deal with that entity. First, I need you to understand something. Your daughter Xia Mi’s soul has unquestionably gone to the Netherworld. It may already be waiting to cross the Naihe Bridge. The thing that comes at night merely wears your daughter’s empty shell. Do you understand?”
I needed Xia Degui to grasp the situation.
If he suddenly succumbed to paternal love and interfered while I fought the thing head-on, the consequences could be disastrous.
From what I had seen, Xia Degui was rational and unlikely to do that.
But one could never be too careful.
Some matters had to be settled beforehand.
Grief filled Xia Degui’s face, but he nodded firmly. “Yes, Young Mr. Wu. I understand. I know the dead can’t return. My bond with Xia Mi in this life has ended. I only hope she’s born into a good family in her next life.”
Xia Mi’s death was tragic, but she had enjoyed a good life while alive. Among country children, she had probably been exceptionally happy and comfortable.
“Good,” I said. “I was worried you might go soft when the time came and interfere with me catching it. To be honest, that poor old man across from your house was most likely killed deliberately by the entity. It has already taken a human life, which makes it vicious–and its power is probably considerable.”
“But…” Xia Degui hesitated. “If Xia Mi’s soul is truly gone and only the empty shell became a vicious entity, why doesn’t it hurt my wife? When I shouted that night, it spared me too.”
I didn’t have a good explanation.
Still, I put on a stern expression. “The shell may have become a vicious ghost, but that body was born from you and Xia Dong. It may retain a faint connection and show restraint toward you. It will show no such humanity toward anyone else. You and Aunt Xia Dong wouldn’t selfishly sacrifice the entire village, would you?”
“Of course not! Never!”
Xia Degui waved both hands frantically. He couldn’t bear responsibility for that.
The hesitation faded from his eyes, replaced by resolve and reason. I finally relaxed.
Convincing Xia Degui not to entertain any other ideas was the most important preparation for catching the entity.
Otherwise, if he suddenly changed sides at the crucial moment, things would become extremely difficult.