I followed his gaze.
Ah Xiu was smirking at us.
Although his hair was disheveled, his eyes did indeed gleam with an unusual light under the candlelight, unlike the confusion of an ordinary madman.
"It's not that I'm pretending to be crazy, what I mean is that female ghosts are very good at choosing their hosts."
Liu Sandao took out a soul-suppressing rope from his inner bag, with a rusty copper coin tied to the end of the rope: "If she suffers a loss when you fight tonight, she'll definitely try to take advantage of the weakest living creature."
He glanced at the third girl tied to the locust tree; tears welled up again beneath the red blindfold.
"Especially for people who are mentally confused, their three souls and seven spirits are loose and scattered, like opening the door to welcome guests."
"Of course, you're different. Anyway, don't worry, you only need to deal with the female ghost, and I'll take care of the rest. We'll work separately!"
Just then, Zhou Guilan's shouts urging the banquet to begin came from afar.
Liu Sandao suddenly grabbed my wrist: "I'm going to add a Soul-Locking Talisman to Ah Xiu, and while I'm at it, I'll set up an 'Ambush Formation' on all four sides of the Burial Mound."
He pulled a gold chain from his waist and stuffed it into my hand. "This chain has been soaked in black dog's blood for forty-nine days. When the ghosts of the children appear later..."
"etc."
I gripped the chain tightly and asked in confusion, "How do we cut off her lifeline? We can't just whip her with the chain, can we?"
He grinned: "See the tai chi clasp on the pendant?"
He used his fingernail to lift the cover, revealing a copper plate engraved with the Big Dipper: "Female ghosts are afraid of yang fire. You tighten your grip on the chain and recite 'Lin Bing Dou Zhe Jie Zhen Lie Zai Qian' before throwing it at her face."
"stop!"
I stared at the crescent-shaped scar on his cuff: "The formation you set up... does it require your own blood?"
Liu Sandao's eyes flickered: "Don't worry about that. Remember, the female ghost must be stained with black dog blood before midnight."
He suddenly lowered his voice, his hot breath brushing against my earlobe: "If you see me come back covered in blood, don't open the door. That's not me."
"remember!"
He paused, then continued, "After you swing the chain out, run southeast quickly, that's where I buried the 'Yang Fire Basin'!"
I remembered Ah Xiu's blood-written letter in my dream last night, and my throat suddenly tightened: "Are you sure you want to force the female ghost to the mass grave? What if the spell goes wrong..."
Even if things don't go wrong, we have to force it.
Liu Sandao took out a talisman and stuck it on my back.
The last stroke of the character "镇" on the talisman is drawn out long, like a hideous knife scar.
“The ground beneath this village is full of yin veins. Female ghosts can be resurrected infinitely by borrowing the power of the earth veins. Only the ownerless wandering souls in the mass grave can share her resentment. Let’s take this opportunity to catch her like a turtle in a jar.”
Just then, the voice calling us to eat rang out again.
Liu Sandao paused, turned around and shouted at me, "Remember! Don't let anyone near the bridal chamber before midnight, especially those wearing red veils!"
I watched as he squatted down next to Ah Xiu and wrapped the Soul-Suppressing Rope around her ankle three times.
Ah Xiu suddenly quieted down, letting him apply cinnabar to her forehead.
"Groom, what are you looking at? Hurry up and toast everyone with the bride!"
Aunt Wang's youngest son came over with a wine bowl in hand, a piece of uneaten cured pork trotter still stuck to the rim of the bowl.
He nudged my lower back with his elbow and gestured toward the bridal sedan chair with his chin: "The bride is getting impatient!"
A soft rustling sound came from inside the bridal sedan chair. Half of an embroidered shoe was visible under the red veil, and two of the twin lotus embroidery threads on the shoe had come undone, revealing the bluish skin underneath.
"Come on, let's toast Brother Liu first!"
Chen Dashan patted my shoulder, the calluses on his palm brushing against the "Soul-Stabilizing Talisman" on the back of my neck.
The wine bowl he handed me contained a piece of mugwort leaf, the very same wedding wine I had seen in my dream, mixed with datura.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liu Sandao standing in the shadows of the ancestral hall.
He shook his head slightly at me, making a "stop" gesture with his fingertips at his waist.
The bride was helped out of the bridal sedan chair; her figure under the red veil was as thin as a sheet of paper.
"What are you spacing out for, groom!"
Zhang the Cripple squeezed through the crowd carrying a bag of corn liquor: "Quickly lift the bride's veil!"
The crowd burst into laughter, and some people started banging pots and pans and making a fuss.
The bride's fingertips trembled slightly inside her sleeve.
When I reached out to touch the red veil, Liu Sandao suddenly coughed.
"Let's offer a toast first, let's offer a toast first!"
I chuckled awkwardly, withdrew my hand, and turned to pour wine for the villagers.
Aunt Wang wiped away her tears as she took the bowl: "I've finally waited for this day, for my second son's marriage..."
Her voice suddenly choked up, and in the end she could barely speak.
When I was toasting Liu Sandao, he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
The angle at which the wine jug was tilted was just right so I could see the scar on his cuff shining.
That was a sign of the Taoist secret technique "Golden Light Mantra".
"Don't drink the nuptial wine."
He whispered, his gold chain brushing against the back of my hand: "There's datura powder at the bottom of the wine glass in her hand."
The bride's wine glass gleamed eerily under the light, and sure enough, fine purple powder settled at the bottom.
I pretended to stumble, and the wine glass shattered into dust on the blue bricks.
As the powder scattered, I saw Chen Dashan's expression change drastically. Behind him, Zhou Guilan was hanging a "Hundred Children Picture" on the corner of the door.
"Oh dear, may everything be well!"
Zhou Guilan picked up the broken pieces with a smile and said, "I'll go get a new cup."
The crowd erupted in noise again, and someone slipped a red paper packet into my hand, containing a piece of wedding candy.
Beneath the mugwort ash on the surface of the sugar granules, the dried petals of datura can be faintly seen.
I remembered Liu Sandao's warning, so I pretended to put the candy granules in my mouth, but actually hid them in my sleeve.
"Let's drink the nuptial wine!"
Chen Dashan, holding a wine bowl, shouted at the top of his lungs, a piece of unswallowed cured pork still stuck to his yellow teeth.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
