Chapter 25 The Snow Covers the Truth "That's your first wife."...
The Tan residence.
Tan Wangshi paced back and forth outside the ancestral hall, sometimes clasping her hands together, her face full of pleading.
Old Man Tan stood to the side with a sullen face, feeling dizzy from being spun around by Madam Tan Wangshi. He couldn't help but shout sternly, "Stop spinning me around!"
Madam Tan suddenly stopped, a breath caught in her throat, which then turned into a mournful cry, "It's all a tragic fate—"
She rushed forward, crying, and pounded on Old Man Tan's chest. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't poisoned that child, how could she have harbored such resentment after death and caused my family so much trouble!"
Suppressing his anger, Old Man Tan dodged Tan Wangshi's blows and said angrily, "You also abandoned her outside."
“I…” Madam Tan was speechless, “I didn’t know you had poisoned me beforehand!”
"What's the use of saying all this now that things have come to this?" Old Man Tan looked at the tightly closed wooden door of the ancestral hall. "He was, after all, a son of a demon, with no good intentions. Even in death, he brings no peace to the people."
After he finished speaking, the door to the ancestral hall was opened from the inside.
An old Taoist priest in a green robe stood in front of the door, his hair and beard all white, echoing the whisk he held in his hand.
Upon hearing the voice, Madam Tan turned around immediately and anxiously grasped the hand holding the whisk. "Master Xusheng, how is my son?"
Xu Shengzi chanted a Taoist name that no one could understand, then gently closed his eyes. "Tan Li is currently injured by the resentment that condensed after the death of the demon. He is still not in his right mind. I am performing a ritual for him. Please be patient, Madam."
Xu Shengzi was highly skilled in Taoism, and he taught all the talismans in Huatan Town. He was highly respected by the villagers.
Upon hearing this, Madam Tan breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Taoist priest, you must save my son."
“Saving him is a small matter.” Xu Shengzi lowered his eyes and stared at the elderly couple in front of him. Suddenly he asked, “There is one thing I hope you will tell me truthfully, sir and madam.”
Old Man Tan let out a breath, "What does the Taoist priest want to ask?"
Xu Shengzi withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and squinted as he asked, "How could the village head have incurred the wrath of evil spirits for no reason?"
"As far as I know, no demons have appeared in Huatan Town for many years, except for—the clam spirit in the Fuzhu River."
"Could it be that the village head has encountered a clam spirit?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Tan and Mrs. Tan looked at each other, both seeing shock and panic in each other's eyes.
I cannot answer that.
The entire town of Huatan reveres talismanic cultivation and naturally despises evil spirits and heretics. Tan Chengyi's possession and coma are enough to arouse suspicion, and outsiders must not be allowed to know that the village head Tan Chengyi's wife is a demon and that she has even conceived a child with a demon.
Otherwise, their family would have nowhere to go.
Madam Tan let out a wail, raised her hands to cover her face and wept, "I don't know which deity my Tan family has offended—"
“Qiqi ran away from the manor last night and has been missing ever since. Xi Niang searched for her child all night and did not return home. My poor son—he was out all day on official business and had to come back to look for his wife and children. Who knows what evil spirits he might have encountered outside… Daoist! My son is so unfortunate!”
Xu Shengzi didn't speak, but only half-raised his eyes to look at her, as if trying to discern the truth of the lie from those eyes that were filled with complaints.
He suddenly chuckled, his breath ruffling a wisp of his beard. "Is that so? Is the old lady certain the child ran away on his own?"
Just as Madam Tan was about to show her fear, Old Man Tan spoke up: "The child is unruly, and we are very worried about him. I have already sent servants to search house to house."
"If you have any information about the Taoist priest, please do not hesitate to let me know."
Xu Shengzi's eyes darkened slightly, but he said nothing, only nodding in agreement. "Alright, the villagers in town probably don't know about this yet, so we can ask them to help us search."
Old Man Tan dared not say anything and quickly agreed.
"Then my son..." Madam Tan hesitated, peeking out to see the scene in the ancestral hall. After being blocked by half of Xu Shengzi's body, she asked anxiously, "How long will it take for Chengyi to wake up?"
Xu Shengzi stroked his beard lightly. "No rush. Whether he can wake up after being possessed by the resentment of a demon depends on his fate."
After saying this, he turned around and blocked Madam Tan and her father from entering again.
Not a single lamp was lit in the ancestral hall.
Tan Chengyi's curled-up and twisted body lay quietly beneath the Buddhist shrine, his eyes wide open and lifeless, like those of a dead man.
Xu Shengzi stood in the darkness, gazing for a long time. Suddenly, he shook the floating dust, and thousands of white threads, like puppet strings under his control, eerily drilled into Tan Chengyi's body.
“Wake up,” he said.
Tan Chengyi slowly woke up.
He stiffly twisted his limbs, then rose from the ground as if nothing had happened, his eyes still staring blankly ahead. Xu Shengzi's fingertips twitched slightly, and he opened his mouth as if in mid-air, but no sound came out.
Xu Shengzi smiled, put two fingers together, and gently pointed them from a distance. "Village head, go and invite your mother in."
Tan Chengyi raised his head slightly, responded, and then awkwardly pushed open the door and went out.
A moment later, he "obediently" invited Madam Tan in.
The ancestral hall was gloomy and dark. An old Taoist priest in a green robe stood in front of her with a half-smile. Tan Wangshi subconsciously felt a chill.
She looked at her son, who had finally woken up, and tentatively asked, "Chengyi? Master Xusheng, what exactly happened? Has Chengyi... woken up?"
Xu Shengzi chuckled again and nodded gently, "Of course he's awake, you can see for yourself..."
Following the direction his whisk pointed, Madam Tan looked and saw her son standing there, winking at her, and then giving her a gentle and confident smile.
—The same smile as Xu Shengzi's face.
Tan Wangshi's eyes widened suddenly, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She instinctively took a step back and opened her arms to open the tightly closed door of the ancestral hall.
However, it was too late.
The demonic aura emanating from Tan Chengyi dispersed at that moment, instantly engulfing Tan Wangshi's back.
Tan Wangshi let out a muffled groan, and a large amount of bloody demonic energy immediately appeared on her body. Her pupils gradually dilated, and the color in her face disappeared completely in an instant.
"The demonic aura on the village head is the resentment condensed from the death of a demon." Xu Shengzi remained standing in the same spot, coldly watching the Tan family mother and son who had already been corrupted by the demonic aura. The smile on his face gradually faded. "According to my spirit-detecting talisman, she looks like a ten-year-old girl. If I remember correctly, your young lady, Tan Qiqi, is exactly ten years old this year, isn't she?"
Tan Wangshi was still conscious. Upon hearing this, her back stiffened, and she turned around with a horrifying expression, looking at Xu Shengzi with near shock.
Xu Shengzi's fingertips had somehow formed a talisman. The yellow talisman paper was covered with dark red seal script resembling cinnabar, which was rugged, strange, and difficult to decipher.
He ignored the puppet-like Tan Chengyi, and instead slowly walked up to Madam Tan, holding the talisman in his hand. He leaned down to look at the old woman who was trying to distort the truth, and asked, "Madam, are you really sure that Tan Qiqi has simply disappeared?"
With a gasp, Madam Tan leaned against the wooden door behind her, her expression still etched with terror. Trembling, she pointed at Xu Shengzi, "You...you..."
Xu Shengzi gently stroked his beard, this time not even sparing her a glance, only his voice, full of vicissitudes, saying: "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place—"
With that, he flicked the talisman paper with his fingertips, and the cinnabar blood seal spread out, condensing into a blood mist in the air.
Then the blood mist dissipated, and a vermilion character appeared on the blank memorial tablet.
—The memorial tablet of the late Tan family's Tan clan, whose maiden name was Qiqi.
“Tan Qiqi’s resentment is too strong. If we let her wander, the entire Huatan Town will be in turmoil.” Xu Shengzi flicked his whisk and looked at the terrified Tan Wangshi, saying, “Remember, this is the death curse I placed on her, trapping her soul in this memorial tablet. It must not be known to outsiders.”
Lady Tan was trembling.
"Did you understand?"
"I...I understand..." Madam Tan's face was ashen, like a dying woman. After agreeing, she looked anxiously at Tan Chengyi behind Xu Shengzi, and with her last shred of sanity asked, "Then my son..."
Xu Shengzi smiled again, his words gently reassuring, "Don't worry, the village head will still be useful."
After he finished speaking, he flicked the whisk in his hand and murmured something. Tan Chengyi immediately moved in response and followed him step by step to his side.
Xu Shengzi raised his hand and made a "shh" gesture to Madam Tan, then gestured for Tan Chengyi to go open the door.
Tan Chengyi obeyed orders without question.
It was nearly noon outside, and the blizzard had not stopped, with a thick layer of snow already piled up in the courtyard.
Since something had happened at home, to avoid making a scene, the servants who had been serving the family had all been dismissed by Old Master Tan. This time, only the old servant who was used to the family remained outside, bowing and standing at the door.
Upon seeing Tan Chengyi emerge, he was overjoyed. "My lord! You've finally woken up!"
Hidden in the shadows, Xu Shengzi gently pressed his finger down. Tan Chengyi then spoke, asking calmly, "Where is Father?"
The old servant, unaware of what had happened, quickly turned around and invited Old Man Tan back from the side room.
Old Man Tan looked at his son, vaguely sensing that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only tentatively say to Xu Shengzi, "My son was able to wake up this time thanks to the Daoist Master's kind assistance..."
Xu Shengzi gently raised his hand, interrupting him before he could finish speaking, "Master, please calm down."
"Although the village head has woken up, the demonic energy in his body has not yet been cleared. I will take him out to find a way to exorcise the evil."
Old Mr. Tan frowned, clearly hesitating for a moment.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Xu Shengzi reassured him, "This matter must not be made public. Just say that I am going to find my daughter immediately."
Seeing that Old Master Tan seemed to be relieved, Xu Shengzi pondered for a moment, "There is one more thing. This demon's resentment is too strong, and it has even affected the old lady."
"My wife?"
"The old lady has been invaded by demonic energy and her body needs to be properly recuperated. In time, when a destined person is found, perhaps the demonic energy can be expelled from her body."
"As for that child..." Xu Shengzi paused, holding the whisk in his hand, "Perhaps he is destined to face a calamity. If we use Taoist magic to search for him, it may bring disaster to his family."
"Perhaps...we should just let nature take its course."
These words were exactly what Old Man Tan wanted to hear. He thought that Xu Shengzi was thinking of his family wholeheartedly, so he quickly bowed and thanked him.
No one knew where Xu Shengzi was going to take Tan Chengyi, but out of fear of evil spirits, everyone tacitly allowed him to do so.
As night deepened, the alleys of Huatan Town were deserted.
The snow, half a foot high, reached up to a person's calves. A long string of icicles hung from the eaves, echoing the old talismans. When the wind blew, they rustled and scattered snowflakes everywhere.
Tan Chengyi followed Xu Shengzi step by step like a puppet, leaving deep and shallow footprints in the alley.
Until the very end.
Xu Shengzi suddenly stopped, flicked the dust in his hand, and pointed at the figure at the end of the alley.
The voice pierced through the snow—"Village head, look."
Tan Chengyi then looked up.
She was a woman dressed in thin clothes, with tangled hair hanging down, obscuring most of her face, only revealing her gentle almond-shaped eyes.
She was muttering inaudible words as she bent over, searching for something in the snow. Her expression was urgent, then sorrowful. Her fingers repeatedly brushed away the snow beneath her feet, her hands already covered in sores, yet she refused to stop.
Under the control of the virtual child, Tan Chengyi took a few more steps forward and this time he finally heard what she was saying.
"Qiqi, don't be afraid, where are you? Mother is here, Mother is here."
Tan Chengyi's actions caused a tremor in the ground.
At the same time, Xu Shengzi's voice came from behind him—"That's your first wife."
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Author's Note: Feel free to leave a comment! From now on, I'll be updating daily at 8 PM! [doge][doge][doge]
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