Chapter 140

Chapter 140

So that was it!

Master’s explanation brought instant understanding.

I finally knew why Xia Dong, Xia Degui, and the others remembered that afternoon so differently.

The Soul-Transfer Illusion was truly bizarre and mysterious.

As expected, Master knew everything!

“Does that mean the mysterious rogue occultist might never have entered Xia Family Hamlet at all? Could he have drawn Xia Dong’s consciousness into an illusion from far away?”

I looked at Master.

She shook her head.

“No. That evil monk certainly entered the village. A Soul-Transfer Illusion is a powerful spell, but it isn’t some fictitious immortal art from a television drama or novel. How could he seize a soul from an enormous distance?”

Master paused briefly before continuing.

“The effective range of a Soul-Transfer Illusion varies with the caster’s magical power, from roughly thirty to three hundred feet. If my guess is correct, he was probably just outside the courtyard.”

“I see.”

I scratched my head. “But even if he didn’t enter the house, shouldn’t someone have spotted him standing outside the courtyard? Wait…I understand! A glamour spell?”

The villagers of Xia Family Hamlet were all ordinary people, and nearly all their attention had been on Xia Dong and her husband. They were comforting the grieving couple and helping arrange Xia Mi’s funeral.

It would have been extremely easy for the mysterious rogue occultist to cast a glamour spell. Naturally, no one would see him.

At last, the entire incident made sense.

I looked at Master. “But what did he gain from it? What do you think the evil monk wanted?”

She glanced at me.

“How would I know? Do you think your master is omniscient? As long as he doesn’t come to Wujia Village and cause trouble, it doesn’t matter. If he does, I won’t mind destroying him.”

Master spoke with perfect calm, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“My master truly is a peerless beauty without equal beneath Heaven, possessing unfathomable magical power, truly–ow! Master, I didn’t do it on purpose. I just couldn’t stop myself from praising you!”

I rubbed my head aggrievedly. She had smacked me before I could finish flattering her.

I grumbled inwardly. Master might be extraordinarily beautiful, but she was far too wicked. She hit my head at every opportunity. How brutal! If she made me stupid, wouldn’t she be the one who suffered?

Of course, I would never dare say any of that aloud.

Still rubbing my head, I suddenly remembered something.

“Master, you mentioned something else just now…a malignant corpse spirit? What’s that? Was it the vicious entity that poor Xia Mi’s body became?”

“Yes. A vicious entity created through a Face-Down Burial at an evil feng shui site is called a malignant corpse spirit.”

As Master explained, I finally understood why the entity had always seemed both ghost and corpse.

A vicious entity created artificially through such unorthodox methods truly possessed the dual attributes of a ghost and a corpse-fiend.

It was itself a corpse-fiend, yet could also assume a ghostly form for a time. It could even briefly separate its yin energy from its physical body.

That was the final technique the vicious entity had used against me.

Fortunately, the ritual blade Master gave me was incredibly powerful. At the last moment, it unleashed its might and allowed me to destroy the entity. Otherwise, I would probably have died.

The thought made me admire Master even more.

I rested my chin in both hands, tilted my head, and gazed at her with stars in my eyes.

Master stared back in silence.

“Ah-Zhong, what kind of ridiculous expression is that? I’ve told you that boys shouldn’t act so girlish or glib. You’re still doing it! Get out.”

She actually raised a foot to kick me.

I dodged aside and sprinted out of the house.

As I ran, I looked back and called, “Don’t be angry, Master! I’m going home now, but I’ll bring dinner over later. Hahaha!”

My delighted laughter drifted on the wind.

Apparently, I was thrilled because I had evaded Master’s kick.

Of course, I knew that if she had truly wanted to kick me, I could never have dodged.

“You little rascal!”

Master’s exasperated but amused voice came from behind me.

When I returned home, Mom anxiously took my hand and turned me this way and that, terrified I might be injured.

She kept fussing without pause.

“My little boy… I heard you went to Xia Family Hamlet to catch a ghost? I couldn’t sleep all night!”

“Just hearing about ghosts scares your mother, and you went to catch one? I didn’t sleep a wink.”

“The Immortal Lady is wonderful, but following her and learning these things makes me worry constantly. You’d be better off focusing on school…”
Maybe all mothers were like that. They constantly worried their children might get hurt, so they nagged endlessly.

Her concern touched me, but the lecture still made my head spin.

I hurriedly changed the subject.

“Come on, Mom. Don’t I rank first in my entire grade? One day, I’ll get into a top university and prove it to you.”

“That’s not what I mean, sweetie. I just think it’s dangerous, and I–”

“I know, I know. Go make dinner, Mom. I’m going inside to see Dad.”

Without waiting for her to continue, I fled.

Dad was reading the newspaper inside.

“You’re back, son? Everything go smoothly?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and exhaled in relief.

Thank goodness Dad wasn’t nearly as long-winded or frightened of everything.

Perhaps he also understood that my path had been inevitable. I had been born with a weak bazi. If I didn’t actively study these arts, the supernatural events I encountered helplessly would be even more dangerous.

He didn’t ask anything else about the esoteric arts or supernatural matters. Instead, we talked about stories in the newspaper.

He said the entire economy was developing rapidly, with countless opportunities to make money in the cities. He wondered whether he should find work there too.

“Many young people from the village have already left for work. Some went to our main city, some south to Guangdong, and others east to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. I hear they’ve all earned good money and broadened their horizons.”

I stared at him.

So Dad wanted to leave the countryside and try his luck in the wider world too!

Hearing it so suddenly, I couldn’t bear the thought.

I immediately pulled the two thick envelopes from my pocket, set them on the table, and slapped them twice with a grand flourish.

“Dad! You don’t need to worry. Your son earns plenty now. I made eight thousand yuan from a single trip to Xia Family Hamlet. Look!”

Eight thousand yuan was almost equal to our family’s income over the previous two or three years.

Dad looked at the two envelopes and sighed.

“Son, I heard you went to Xia Dong’s house to handle some unclean thing. I don’t understand any of that, so I won’t question you. But the only reason they could pay so much is that Xia Degui works in the city, right? If he’d stayed in the village, he couldn’t have paid you this much even if his life depended on it. Isn’t that true?”

Uh…

Put that way, he seemed to have a point.

The new millennium was approaching, and the economy was developing at a furious pace.

Supposedly, anyone brave enough to leave the village and venture into the world could earn at least some money.

Certainly more than they could make farming.

But I couldn’t bear to let them go.

I studied in Lianghe Town and could come home every weekend. I might spend my days learning magic from Master, but in the evenings, I still sat with Mom and Dad in the main room, chatting and watching television. The whole family laughed together.

If they left to work elsewhere, they might return only once a year.

Our family would be reunited only during the New Year.

I lowered my head, my chest tight.

“Hahaha! Come on, son, don’t look so hurt. I’m only discussing the idea. Even if I decide to seek work elsewhere, it won’t be now. I’ll wait until you finish middle school, at least. Once you’re fifteen, you’ll be able to take care of yourself.”

Dad smiled and ruffled my hair.

Only then did I relax.

All right. No matter what happened, we still had plenty of time.

For the next three years, at least, I could continue enjoying the warmth of home.

We talked about school for a while. Once Mom finished dinner, I carried some to Master’s house and ate with her. Then I returned home and watched television with my parents.

We tuned in to Lianghe Town Television.

In the late nineties, television stations weren’t as strictly regulated as they would become, and they enjoyed considerable freedom.

Almost every county and town could operate its own station.

That was why we had Lianghe Town Television, commonly known as the “video station,” since it broadcast movies from videotapes.

It never showed television dramas. The station manager, who also operated the equipment, simply played videotapes, all of them Hong Kong films.

That’s right–the station had only one employee!

He served simultaneously as manager, projectionist, purchasing agent, janitor, security guard, and anything else the place required.

How did I know so much about it?

The man happened to be a distant relative of Zeng Jin’s, and their families remained in touch. Zeng Jin had told us all about it at school, making Yao Nan, Wang Dachun, and me roar with laughter.

The three of us settled in front of the television.

Black-and-white static flickered across its tiny screen. Soon, an image appeared, followed by the movie’s title.
Four bold words filled the screen–Mr. Vampire!

Mom shrieked and threw herself into Dad’s arms.

“Oh my goodness, how scary!”

“There, there. Weren’t you the one who wanted to watch this?”

Dad patted her back and comforted her softly.

I stared at them in silence.

I was speechless. Mom, all you’ve seen is the title. How are you already this frightened?

Dad said, “This isn’t your first movie like this. Don’t we watch them together all the time at night? Aren’t you used to them yet?”

“I’m still scared. Every time I watch one, I’m scared.”

I was even more speechless.

Looking at Mom, I smiled helplessly. “Why watch if you’re afraid? We could switch to a larger station, like Sichuan Television, and watch a drama instead.”

Mom pulled away from Dad, sat straight, and shook her head.

“No! We’re watching this.”

I couldn’t begin to understand her.

Dad burst out laughing and explained.

“Son, your mother wants to learn more about your line of work. Ordinary people like us can never know what truly happens. The real methods are taboo, and without talent, we couldn’t learn them anyway. So we watch these movies to understand a little. They’re stories and entertainment too.”

So that was it!

I suddenly understood.

No wonder they had been watching all kinds of Hong Kong zombie and ghost movies at night lately. They were trying to learn more about my world.

The films were fictional, but their stories still concerned the supernatural and the esoteric arts.

I felt both touched and amused.

“Mom, if you really want to know about these things, I can tell you. I only avoid discussing them because I’m afraid you’ll get scared.”

That was true. I usually steered clear of the subject and talked only about school, my teachers, and classmates. It allowed me to appear like a perfectly ordinary, well-behaved student.

Dad shook his head, leaned closer, and lowered his voice.

“Better not. We don’t truly need to know anything. We just watch for fun, like any other story. If you tell us too much, your mother will only worry even more about your safety. Besides, we have the Protective Talismans and other things the Immortal Lady gave us. We aren’t likely to encounter these strange events ourselves.”

“All right.”

I nodded helplessly.

Who would have guessed my parents would try to learn about their son’s life by watching Hong Kong zombie and ghost films? I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But the heroes in those movies all belonged to prestigious schools such as Maoshan. They were worlds apart from my folk arcane lineage!

For one thing, even with my ritual blade, I doubted I could defeat the zombie on the screen.

If I encountered one, my only choices would be to run or die.

After accompanying Mom through her shrieks and gasps until we finished Uncle Vampire, I ate a late-night snack–noodles with tender pork and wild mushrooms that Mom had made–then went to bed.

Naturally, I dreamed of Roundy, that fat bird. We played together and wandered through a dense forest.

How advanced would my cultivation have to become before it could remain beside me in the real world too?

…

I spent the next two or three days relaxing.

During the day, I studied magic with Master. At night, I chatted with my parents and watched Hong Kong ghost films.

And so the afternoon of the holiday’s fifth day arrived.

According to my arrangement with Old Cao and Li Miao, it was time to return to Lianghe Town.

Boss Duan should have finished making the photocopy of the Fubei County Gazetteer by now, shouldn’t he?

After lunch, I prepared to leave.

I planned to visit Bai Su and Huihui first, so I needed to allow two or three extra hours.

I even went to the village clinic and bought anti-inflammatory medicine, disinfectant, and a few other supplies, packing them all in a bag.

“Be careful on the road, sweetie. Come home early next weekend. You had seven days off and stayed home for only four or five–and that includes the time you spent in Xia Family Hamlet.”

Mom nagged as she packed food, exercise books, and textbooks into my backpack.

“I know.”

I slung the backpack over my shoulders, grinned, and hugged her and Dad tightly. Then I rushed from the courtyard like a gust of wind.

Naturally, I stopped at Master’s place at the far end of the village to say goodbye.

I wanted to hug Master too, but she dodged me. Well, I could try again next time.

There would always be another opportunity.

After leaving Wujia Village, I followed the same route as a few days earlier and found the hidden cave where Bai Su and Huihui lived.

“Miss Bai! Little Huihui! Are you home? I’ve come to visit. I brought some anti-inflammatory medicine for you, Miss Bai, and some human snacks for Huihui to try.”

Standing at the cave entrance, I called inside with a smile.