Chapter Two: What kind of good person can be someone who associates with beasts?
"Ah Wu, you've given birth! You've given birth to a son! Mother and child are both safe! I have a grandson now!"
Grandma Chen's voice was very loud and reached the ears of the onlookers, causing a great deal of discussion.
She grabbed Jingwu's hand, her eyes welling up with tears of joy, and stuffed red eggs and lucky money into her hand.
“I forgot to give you the money I gave you for the divination. It’s here with the wedding money, a total of sixty coins. Take it quickly. When I got home, I saw my daughter-in-law lying on the ground, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain. If it weren’t for you, she and her unborn child might have died. After my daughter-in-law finishes her postpartum confinement, I’ll have her come to thank you in person.”
"No need. It's your daughter-in-law and grandson's lives that weren't meant to end. They wouldn't have died even without me." At most, they would have suffered a little more. Jingwu didn't say this part aloud.
"No, no, no, you did save both of them."
Jingwu looked down at his fingers, which were stained red by the egg, and was about to speak when he saw Aunt Chen scratch her head sheepishly.
"I was worried that you'd be gone, so I dyed it a little too quickly and it's not dry yet. Don't mind it."
"It's alright, Aunt Chen. I really should go back now." Jingwu smiled and put the red eggs into Shao Che's basket of sweet potatoes that had been sold, bidding farewell with a beaming smile.
The uncle and nephew had already packed their things and were leaving.
As they passed the orphanage, Jingwu paused, then said to Shao Che, "Uncle, wait for me."
Shao Che looked at the three big characters of the orphanage, not understanding what she was going to do, but he still nodded and stood at the door waiting for her.
Jingwu went inside and donated half of the money Chen Da Niang had given him for divination and the wedding gift to the orphanage. Divination and fortune-telling reveal heavenly secrets, which can easily diminish one's own blessings and incur divine retribution. Donating half of his income can be considered a way to balance cause and effect and also accumulate merit.
She handed the money to the nanny at the orphanage, and then felt her merit increase. Only then did she leave, satisfied.
As the two walked home, Shao Che hesitated for a long time before asking, "Awu, did you really learn fortune telling at Shuangcheng Temple?"
“Yes, not only divination and fortune telling, but also talisman spells and magic. My master taught me everything he knew.” Jingwu followed behind him, heading home. “It’s just that I haven’t mastered it yet. Give me another five years, and I’m sure I’ll be able to learn it well.”
If the Jing family hadn't written to her urging her to return soon, and if her master hadn't also advised her to go home, she would never have wanted to leave the mountain.
As the two entered the village, it was already dark.
In the village, several households had already closed their doors, turned off their lights, and gone to sleep.
As Jingwu passed by a house, he smelled the aura of a vengeful ghost. He turned his head and saw a woman dressed in green sitting on the eaves with her legs crossed and her hair disheveled. Her eyes were fixed on Butcher Chen, who was working in the yard.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she reached out to do some calculations, her brows furrowing tightly.
Just then, Shao Che greeted Butcher Chen with a smile, and the two chatted for a bit.
When Jingwu saw the female ghost in green fix her gaze on his uncle, he knew something was wrong. He stepped forward, blocked her view, and warned her with his eyes.
The female ghost smiled provocatively and then disappeared from the rooftop, her brows furrowing even more deeply.
Upon returning home, he immediately retrieved the ten talismans he had brought from Shuangcheng Temple and distributed four of them, which were used to exorcise ghosts, to the Shao family.
"Uncle, keep this talisman close to your body."
"Huh? What's this?" Shao Che took the talisman and asked in confusion.
"I brought these from Shuangcheng Temple to ensure your safety; you should all keep them close to your bodies."
Upon hearing this, the aunt looked at the pattern on the talisman and assumed it was drawn by her master. She then put the talisman away carefully and made sure her two twin sons put it away as well.
Shao Che received a look from his wife and carefully placed the talisman close to his body.
"Uncle, for the next few days, wherever you go, make sure to keep the talisman safe." Jingwu said earnestly to the man, "Also, don't go out no matter what noise you hear these next few nights."
The female ghost came seeking revenge. If she still had any sense, she should have understood her warning. The only fear is that she lost her mind and hurt innocent people.
Butcher Chen committed a heinous crime against her, and she wouldn't stop the female ghost from seeking revenge. However, if she were to harm innocent people, she would have to intervene and eliminate her.
Shao Che rarely saw her with such a serious expression, and subconsciously nodded in agreement.
Jingwu turned his gaze to his aunt and two younger cousins, and only felt relieved when he saw them nod.
She walked into the courtyard, formed a hand seal, and set up a barrier to prevent the Shao family members from escaping.
After dinner, Jingwu returned to the attic where her older cousin lived. Since he studied in the county and rarely came back, she lived in the attic.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, transforming the merits of the day into spiritual cultivation.
Downstairs, Shao Che was vividly recounting the events of that day on the street to his wife, describing what had happened to Aunt Chen.
The woman listened with great interest, and after realizing her niece's abilities, she began to speculate about what she would say that evening.
In the middle of the night, a shrill scream came from outside, waking Jingwu. She didn't intend to pay attention to it, after all, it was the butcher and his wife who had committed the crime, and they should pay for it.
Just as she closed her eyes, intending to go back to sleep, she sensed the approaching aura of a vengeful ghost.
From the courtyard came the cries of Chen the butcher's daughter: "Uncle Shao, help! Open the door!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Shao Che didn't think much of it and opened the door to walk into the yard.
Chen the butcher's seven or eight-year-old daughter gave Shao Che a strange smile as he went out to check. Seeing him step out of the barrier, she conjured up a sharp armor to deliver a fatal blow, but was burned by the talisman on his chest and retreated repeatedly.
Shao Che was terrified when he saw that eerie smile and the bright red armor.
He felt a burning sensation in his chest and remembered what his niece had said that night, so he scrambled into the house.
At this moment, Jingwu appeared in the courtyard. Looking at the girl, she immediately saw through the other soul within her. She then cast a spell, forcing the female ghost's soul out of her body: "You've already avenged Chen the Butcher's family, why drag innocent people into this?"
"What kind of good people can be associated with that beast?" The female ghost in green looked at the thin girl in front of her, her eyes filled with hatred, and she frowned: "I underestimated you. It seems you have some skills."
Severely injured by the talisman, her anger intensified, her reason consumed by hatred. She immediately turned and flew into the air, intending to drag the people of Green Bamboo Village down with her.
Today, no one in this village will survive!
Jingwu frowned and immediately conjured four or five spiritual ropes, binding the female ghost flying in mid-air tightly. He pulled her down, made hand seals, and cast a calming spell into her body to bring her back to her senses.
"Why? Why are you stopping me too?" The female ghost regained her senses, collapsed to the ground, her face full of pain: "Butcher Chen bullied and humiliated me, drowned my daughter, and his wife beat me to death after childbirth. Why didn't you stop them then, but now you're stopping me?"
Jingwu sighed. The person in front of him was called Yu Niang. She had lost both her parents at a young age and was raised by her grandmother. When she was fifteen, her grandmother passed away, and she lived alone in a house by the river.
One day, Butcher Chen passed by and saw that she was beautiful as she washed clothes by the river. He then harbored evil intentions. After inquiring and learning that she had no parents and lived alone, he broke into her house under the cover of darkness and forced himself on her.
Afterwards, in order to stop her from making a fuss, he coaxed her into marrying him.
In this world, survival is especially difficult for women. Yu Niang dared not imagine how people would gossip and curse her after she made a big fuss about this and found out she had lost her virginity. She could only swallow her grievances and place her hopes on Butcher Chen, hoping that one day he would marry her.
But as the days went by, Chen the butcher repeatedly broke into her house, and even after she became pregnant, he still couldn't marry her.
Butcher Chen was over forty years old and had only one daughter. He longed for a son, but dared not take a concubine because of his wife's fierce nature.
Upon learning of Yu Niang's pregnancy, he hatched a plan to abort the child and keep the mother. To appease Yu Niang, he promised to marry her immediately after the child was born.
However, after ten months of pregnancy.
Yu Niang gave birth to a daughter, which greatly disappointed Chen the butcher. He did not want to raise another daughter, so he threw the child into the latrine and drowned her.
No matter how much Yu Niang begged him, she couldn't save her daughter.
When Butcher Chen's wife found out about this, she came to their door and beat Yu Niang to death, even though she had just given birth.
Yu Niang died with resentment. After her death, she transformed into a vengeful ghost, absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate herself. She lay dormant in Chen the butcher's house for three years, finally waiting for this day to take her revenge.
Jingwu pulled himself out of Yu Niang's memory, looked at her bloodshot eyes, and sighed: "Butcher Chen and his wife have committed many evils and deserve to die. But the other people in the village did nothing to you, so you can't hurt them."
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