Chapter 30

Happy times are always short-lived. After taking care of everything in Thailand these few days, I had to return home. At the airport, I said goodbye to my parents reluctantly. My parents comforted me by saying that although this is Thailand, it is much better than being under house arrest, and told me not to worry.

As for He Man, she will stay in Thailand for a while.

Until I returned to Shi City, I still felt like I was dreaming.

As soon as I got off the plane, Sister Ma stopped me. I thought she was there to greet me, but she pulled me towards Shenyang. I was confused, and Sister Ma told me that I wanted to see how the Ma family performed, and since she was home to take care of some things, maybe I could see it.

I just got off the plane and was exhausted. But Xiaorong and Li Fei were watching over Fuyuantang, so it didn't matter if I didn't go back. So, Sister Ma took me all the way to Shenyang. From Shenyang, we went to Liaoyang, and finally to a place called Dawopu.

The rural area in Northeast China is similar to the village where I lived when I was a child, except that you can still see earthen walls and earthen houses. It’s still a little incredible, as if time has gone back ten years.

"Sister Ma, what exactly are you doing back this time?" I asked.

"My second aunt said she was possessed by an evil spirit. She went to several hospitals and they all said there was nothing wrong with her. From time to time, she kept talking nonsense that was incomprehensible and acting crazy. She was worried about seeing other doctors, so she called me to come back. I just happened to hear that you were coming back today, so I thought of bringing you here to see a doctor together." Sister Ma said.

We arrived at the home of the second aunt she mentioned. Her surname was Liu, and she was related to Sister Ma's family, but not very closely. But people in the Northeast are very welcoming. Not to mention relatives, even if a stranger has something to ask, they will basically help as long as you say hello.

When we arrived at Aunt Liu's house, she was alone. Upon inquiry, we learned that her son was away at university and her husband was working out of town. She had been working as a cook at a construction site, but after falling ill, the site, fearing an accident, fired her. She'd been home like this for nearly a year. Her attacks were less frequent at first, but now they occur almost every two days, a source of considerable distress to her, which is why she called Sister Ma to come and check on her.

Sister Ma went out to lock the door, making sure no one could get in, and then returned to the house.

She was sitting at the head of the kang, Aunt Liu was standing in front of her, and I was standing at the door.

Sister Ma lit a stick of incense, bowed three times towards the east, then returned to the kang, took out a box of cigarettes, lit it with a match, and took a puff.

A puff of smoke came out of her mouth, and then Sister Ma was seen yawning.

At this moment, a strange energy came over Sister Ma, and she actually began to sing an opera. Actually, it wasn't really an opera, but she was speaking to Aunt Liu in an operatic voice. I was very curious and kept watching Sister Ma. She was completely different now.

"There's a weasel on the ridge of the field. Thanks to your kindness, you didn't let it freeze to death in the field." Sister Ma sang this line perfectly like an opera. The meaning is that last winter, Aunt Liu passed by her own field and saw a weasel lying there dying. Aunt Liu was kind enough to save it.

Sister Ma continued to sing: "The Yellow Fairy was saved by you, and it is a bond between you and you. Now, you are getting along with it."

What Sister Ma meant was that Wong Tai Sin was trying to become an immortal.

Among the Northeastern spirits, there are five major families of spirits: Hu, Huang, Bai, Liu, and Hui. Hu refers to the fox spirit, Huang is the Wong Tai Sin, Bai refers to the hedgehog spirit, Liu (also known as Chang in some areas) is the snake spirit, and Hui refers to the rat spirit. To become spirits, these animals must first possess a human being to accumulate merit. The possessed person is called a disciple, a spirit-receiving disciple like Sister Ma.

When these immortals possess people, they usually torture their disciples for a period of time, which can be as short as one or two years or as long as more than ten years. During this period, some of these people go crazy, and some suffer from various strange diseases, which are usually incurable. However, after the immortals officially set up their own hall, all the diseases of these disciples will be cured. This is called "torturing the immortals."

The ways of being a spirit medium are also different. Some will come back after burning incense at the fairy's house, while some, like Sister Ma, need to smoke continuously during the period of being possessed.

When Aunt Liu heard Sister Ma say that she also wanted to become a disciple, she was delighted and asked, "When will the immortal family come?"

In Northeast China, especially in rural areas, shamans are highly respected. Each time they perform a ritual, they receive a reward. Of course, the wealthy can give money, the poor can give fruit or something, or even burn incense at the shaman's house. These days, rural residents are more affluent, unlike in the past when families were penniless, and generally offer money.

This is what makes Aunt Liu happy. Once she succeeds, she won’t have to go out to work anymore and can earn an income at home.

At this time, Sister Ma stopped singing and spoke in an ancient tune. This is definitely not Sister Ma's usual tone. We all know the Northeastern dialect, and we can hear it at once.

Sister Ma said: "On the first day of the twelfth lunar month this year, we will sit north facing south to offer sacrifices to the tablet. On the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month, we need to burn incense and offer sacrifices."

Aunt Liu agreed repeatedly, her face full of joy.

Sister Ma started yawning again, but soon returned to normal.

"Gone?" said Sister Ma.

Aunt Liu said, "Let's go."

Afterwards, Aunt Liu discussed some details with Sister Ma.

The altar shouldn't be located near a toilet or kitchen, as these are considered unclean places in folk custom. The tablet should be slightly taller than a person, but not too high. On the first and fifteenth day of each month, in addition to burning incense, dumplings should be cooked and offered. Three small, ancient wine cups should also be filled with wine. This will allow the spirit to be successfully summoned, allowing them to perform divine missions.

Aunt Liu carefully wrote everything down on a piece of paper. Finally, she slipped two hundred yuan into Sister Ma's pocket. She had to accept the two hundred yuan; she couldn't just leave it there.

After showing it to Aunt Liu, Sister Ma and I rejected Aunt Liu's suggestion to stay for dinner before leaving, and drove towards Jilin.

Sister Ma's home is in Jilin. She wanted to go home, so the two of us drove at night, and I was really exhausted.

She drove all day and I drove at night.

I was so unlucky that even drinking cold water would make my teeth ache. I was driving when it suddenly started to rain heavily. We had planned to take the highway, but it was closed, so we had to take the detour.

The downpour was pouring down like water, and the road was completely obscured. Driving in such conditions was extremely dangerous. We were planning to find a hotel, but after checking the navigation system, we realized that there was no village or shop in sight. There wasn't even a single house, let alone a hotel.

"Don't drive anymore, let's just rest on the side of the road with the lights on." Sister Ma said.

I thought there was no better way than this, so I parked the car on the side of the road, leaned back and stretched my waist. My waist was about to break that day.

After talking to Sister Ma for a while, she fell asleep. A snore broke out, and I looked over at her. She was incredibly calm, able to sleep under such circumstances. I listened to the heavy rain, feeling incredibly upset and completely unable to sleep.

I looked out the window and saw a blurry shadow crawling towards us.