Chapter02
"A month ago, the village chief called me out of the blue and told me my parents were missing and asked me to go back immediately. I went back and looked for them, and found out that my dad had fallen and hit his head while climbing the mountain. He was gone. My mom, seeing he hadn't returned so late, went out to look for him. But somehow, she fell into the river and drowned."
So many things happened in this month that Xie had already become numb. When he recalled this incident, it was not as painful as it had been in the first few days.
He continued, "As soon as I received the call, I hurriedly booked a ticket and rushed home. I originally thought it was just an ordinary accident, but the village elders told me that my father went down the mountain at night some time ago and somehow walked into a forbidden area in our village. That place is very evil. The person buried underneath is a large landowner in the village a hundred years ago. It is said that he died unjustly and turned into a fierce ghost, wandering the village every night. Our village is poor and can't afford to hire someone to exorcise the ghost, so we can only find someone to suppress the landlord and prohibit us from going there."
People in that era were superstitious, and even if they couldn't afford to eat, they would still hire someone to deal with the evil spirit.
"My dad was acting strangely when he came home that night. He insisted on going to the grave to pay respects, hoping that he would be spared. My mom kept trying to stop him and even found someone to look after him. But as soon as the person saw my dad, he refused to take the job no matter what. My mom had no choice but to follow my dad every day. It rained heavily in the village during that time, and my mom let my dad run away without paying attention. You know what happened next."
After Xie finished speaking, he let out a long sigh and collapsed on the sofa like a boneless person.
"I don't believe in these things. Besides, my family moved to the city a long time ago, so I don't really know what's going on in the village. That period was the time when my family worshipped our ancestors. If it weren't for this reason, my family wouldn't have returned to the village once a year."
"I originally wanted to consider myself unlucky and return to work after burying my parents. After all, the project had entered a critical period, and staying away from work wasn't a good idea. But then the village elders told me to find a Taoist priest to strengthen the seal around the ghost before leaving, fearing the fire would burn me. I figured it wasn't impossible, so I went to the next village to find a famous Taoist priest. However, the seal wasn't strengthened, and I nearly lost my life."
"The matter should have ended there. I had already bought a high-speed rail ticket back home, but since that day I couldn't leave our village. No matter which way I went, I would end up back in that forbidden area. I knew it was a ghost wall, but there was nothing I could do. I consulted many people and spent a lot of money before I could get out of the village."
Xie Que originally thought that the matter was over, but now seeing what Jing Xiebai said, he guessed that he still had a lot of trouble to go through.
After listening to this, Jing Xiebai pondered for a moment, then took out three talismans from his pocket and handed them to Xie Que.
"Take these three pieces of talisman paper, stick one on the headboard of your bed, stick one on your door, and carry the other with you. As I expected, you should be able to meet the evil spirit tonight."
Xie Que knew from Jing Xiebai's words that this matter was not that simple. He took the talisman and asked tentatively: "Is this the only ghost? What about the ghosts in this house?"
Jing Xiebai paused and said speechlessly: "Do you think I'm the kind of person who would allow ghosts to be neighbors with me?"
Xie was also stunned after hearing this. He scratched his hair embarrassedly and changed the subject abruptly.
"Can I ask how much you charge?"
Jing Xiebai was half leaning on the sofa, and when he heard that, he looked up and down at Xie Que.
Xie wasn't a strong man, wearing a plain white T-shirt and black pants. His hair hadn't been trimmed in ages, covering his eyes. His skin was pale, with dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he'd been tormented by ghosts for the past month.
Jing Xiebai tilted his head and supported it with his hands, then said thoughtfully, "Looking at your current state, I don't think you can come up with much money. How about fifteen thousand?"
Xie Que was stunned. He thought Jing Xiebai would ask for a high price, but he didn't expect that the price he offered was even lower than the various masters Xie Que had previously found.
Xie nodded, secretly glad that he was not too doomed. It was only fifteen thousand, and he would be able to save up the money soon.
Jing Xiebai didn't care when Xie Que would pay. After all, he lived across the street and couldn't run away. He stood up and said cheerfully, "Please prepare five days' worth of laundry tonight. I'll knock on your door tomorrow morning at nine. Remember to open the door early. I won't be as patient as I was today."
Since he hasn't been to Xie Que's hometown, he can only help up to this point. As for whether Xie Que can survive tonight, it all depends on how strong his life is.
Before leaving, he glanced at the ghost behind Xie Que again with a probing look. He didn't understand why Xie Que was still alive after being followed by the ghost for so long.
Can an ordinary person really fight against ghosts?
Jing Xiebai frowned, turned around and went home.
After seeing Jing Xiebai off, Xie sat alone on the sofa in a daze.
In fact, after being deceived so many times, Xie Que should not have agreed to Jing Xiebai so quickly, but for some reason, Xie Que inexplicably felt a sense of trust in him.
I hope this matter can really be resolved.
There would be no result from overthinking, but Xie sighed, stood up and walked towards the room.
He took out the talisman paper and pasted it carefully as Jing Xiebai said. He also took the time to discuss with the HR about postponing the interview time.
It was already past twelve o'clock when everything was done, but Xie couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep on the bed without even closing the door.
He did not sleep well. First, he dreamed that his parents asked him why he did not go down with them. Then he dreamed that he was trapped in a forbidden area, watching the evil spirits gnawing at him, unable to escape.
Half asleep and half awake, he suddenly felt someone blowing cold air into his ear. He turned away uncomfortably, but the feeling not only did not disappear, but became stronger and stronger, so strong that it seemed as if the person was approaching him.
Xie paused, and became much more sober.
Thinking of Jing Xiebai's words, Xie was about to cry but had no tears. He remained halfway turned, not daring to move. Even though he was covered with a quilt, he still felt like he was falling into an icy cave.
Xie closed his eyes in despair, thinking that this was no solution. He couldn't maintain this position for long, and the ghost wouldn't just blow air at him.
He took a deep breath, slowly reached out and clenched the talisman paper in his pocket, and suddenly opened his eyes.
He first saw the eyeball hanging in the air, then looked up and saw a bloody face pressed against him.
A rotten smell filled the air, but Xie could clearly see that the ghost face's mouth was full of black bugs crawling around.
"ah--"
Xie collapsed and screamed, picking up a pillow and throwing it at the ghost face.
The ghost face dodged easily, but this also allowed Xie, who sat up, to see his whole body.
I don’t know how to describe that body. It was crawling with bugs all over, and occasionally you could see green bones. Staring at it for a long time always made people want to tear their own body apart.
Xie Que was about to faint. He held on to his last bit of strength, remembered Jing Xiebai's words, and suddenly stuck the talisman paper on the ghost face.
A violent storm arose, and Xie heard the ghost face's incoherent roar, and saw insects constantly falling out of the ghost face's mouth, and many insects crawling out of its eye sockets.
They made dense and headache-inducing noises while biting Xie Que's hands hard.
Xie Que watched the ghost's figure gradually dissipate, gritting his teeth and holding the talisman paper. Looking at his hand, which had already exposed its bones, he almost fainted from the pain.
Just before closing his eyes, Xie was still thinking that he should have asked Jing Xiebai for two more talismans.
…
“Ding-ling-ling——”
The alarm clock rang, but Xie opened his eyes weakly.
"How come there's still an alarm clock even after death? Damn it's eight in the morning..."
Xie was halfway up when he suddenly reacted and thrust his hand in front of his eyes to examine it carefully.
He touched his hand carefully, muttering to himself, "He's not dead. It seems that man is really capable."
After saying this, he recalled yesterday's grimace and hurriedly got out of bed to check the bedroom. Apart from the talisman in his hand yesterday, even the talismans on the door and bedside table had disappeared.
Xie watched all this with a pale face, not knowing whether the ghost had disappeared or hidden again.
“Ding-ling-ling——”
The alarm clock rang again.
Xie was startled and turned off the alarm in a hurry.
He looked at the time on his phone and remembered that Jing Xiebai said he would knock on the door at nine o'clock, so he had to put aside his grimace and go wash up first.
When Xie Que had packed up and was ready to go out, there was a knock on the door.
"Wow, the door opening speed is pretty good today."
Jing Xiebai teased incoherently while holding a bag of soy milk in his mouth.
Xie didn't react at all, and looked at Jing Xiebai with a look of despair.
Jing Xiebai was amused by his appearance.
"I just dealt with a vicious ghost not long ago and haven't had time to restock my equipment. All I can do is use three talismans I drew in high school. They're not very effective, but at least they can save your life, okay?"
Xie, however, had no intention of discussing the evil spirit with him and said, "Let's go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can solve it."
Jing Xiebai's smile deepened upon seeing this, and he lazily said, "Alright, let's go, you unlucky little bastard who's been targeted by a ghost."
Xie Que: "..."
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