Chapter 28: He Came Back (2)

That evening, after 8 pm, the village quieted down. Normally it would not have gone so silent so early, as if it were the dead of night, but recently because of my second sister’s situation, everyone had been going to bed unusually early. As soon as dusk fell, no one would go out, afraid of running into something unclean.

Our house was still lit. Night had long since lost all meaning for us. We still had to keep watch over my second sister.

At that time, my mother and eldest sister were by my second sister’s bedside. My mother was holding my second sister’s hand, crying nonstop. My eldest sister also had tears on her face, her expression utterly dejected and numb. Having received a fairly orthodox education, her worldview had clearly been shaken in recent days, though she still could not fully accept it. What she could accept even less was that her younger sister was being tormented by that mysterious thing, while she, as the older sister, was completely helpless.

As for my father, he was squatting on the step under the eaves, smoking. His eyes were somewhat vacant. Recently he had developed this habit of staring off into space. Whenever that happened, I would squat beside him to keep him company. My heart also ached. The silhouettes of the old man and the child looked so desolate.

Men and women were ultimately different, even at a young age. There was a difference. Once sadness was buried deep inside, silence would follow like a shadow. Even though that silence pressed down like a mountain, he still could not cry anymore.

Just as things were in this relatively “normal” moment for our family, a knock sounded at the door.

My father suddenly stood up, viciously threw his cigarette to the ground, and cursed through gritted teeth, “That damned evil ghost, who else is she going to harm? Come at me instead!” After that, he stormed toward the door. I followed right behind him, full of anger.

At a time like this, no one would come knocking. The whole village was already in a state of panic. So both my father and I immediately thought it was the evil spirit.

We could not be blamed for being so jumpy. After long-term torment, even the slightest stimulus could make our already fragile family feel like we were going insane.

Fear? We had long stopped being afraid. We had seen too much already. At times, we even wished we could take my poor second sister’s place. What remained was only sorrow and heartache, wounds born from helplessness.

So my father could rush to open the door without hesitation, and I could follow him without hesitation too. Even if a green-faced, fanged demon was standing outside, we would fight it to the end.

“I want to see what the hell you are up to!” my father roared as he yanked the door open. I also clenched my small fists, ready to fight.

“I came to your house to drink and eat meat,” a lazy voice sounded from outside the door. A filthy old man stood there with his hands behind his back, smiling at me.

Under that gaze, I who had just been ready to fight for my life could not help but take a step back. That smile was so indecent it made my skin crawl.

What the hell did he want?

Compared to my caution, my father saw who it was and suddenly relaxed completely. It was a kind of indescribable state, as if he had finally found something to rely on, and then the will that had been holding him up all this time suddenly drained away, leaving him weak and unsteady.

My father squatted down and cried. He cried loudly and uncontrollably.

I stood there stunned, completely at a loss. Weren’t we not even afraid of ghosts anymore? How could my father be frightened into tears by this lecherous old man?

But what my father did next shocked me even more. He suddenly grabbed the old man’s leg and cried out, “Master Jiang, save us, save us!”

This, this, this… had my father gone mad? Or was he grasping at straws in desperation? How could he be asking this disgusting old man for help?

“Aaah…” A scream came from behind me. It was my mother. In the next moment, I saw her rush to the door like a gust of wind. She looked at the old man but could not say a word, only tears streaming down her face.

What was going on with my family?

The old man, however, was calm. I did not know where he got the strength, but he lifted my father, who was crying like a child, with one hand and stepped into the courtyard, casually closing the gate behind him.

“Why are you crying? With me here, what blind thing could take your second daughter away?” he said calmly once inside.

Those words made my father and mother, who had just been crying miserably, immediately stop and wipe their tears.

“I said I would take care of it, that I would come back. You can rest easy. And see, the facts prove it too. I and my good disciple are indeed bound by fate,” the old man suddenly laughed indecently again, and his filthy hand reached out to pat my head.

He even muttered softly, “I thought I was about to die, turns out I was kept alive just to meet my good disciple.”

His voice was too low. My parents did not hear it clearly. I only felt completely confused, assuming it was nonsense.

“Spit it out, spit it out… who are you? Why should we believe you can save my second sister!” I jumped up to dodge his hand while glaring at him. I just could not stand him.

“Third child…” my father shouted at me from the side. My mother also hurried to pull me back.

But the old man did not care at all. He smiled and waved his hand, then grabbed my head. No matter how I dodged, I could not shake off his hand.

What came next was even worse for me. He pulled me over and squeezed my face with both hands, rubbing my cheeks and head hard until several dirty fingerprints were left on my face. Only then did he let go, looking at me with satisfaction.

“Mmm, that looks more like it,” he said.

I pouted aggrievedly and did not dare make trouble anymore. First, my father was glaring at me fiercely, clearly very displeased with my defiance toward the old man. Second, I had already been frightened by him. My face felt numb, and my head was dizzy.

“Xiuyun, go quickly and prepare food for Master Jiang. There must be meat, and there must be alcohol!” my father ordered loudly, having already wiped away his tears.

“Yes, yes…” my mother hurriedly agreed.

“No rush, no rush. I will go take a look at second daughter first,” the old man said casually, then walked into the house with his hands behind his back. My parents followed closely.

Although I found this Jiang old man very unpleasant, inexplicably I was also very curious about him, so I quickly followed inside as well.

In the room, Old Man Jiang immediately saw my second sister lying on the bed. She was now thin to the point of being skeletal, her face pale as paper, her breathing extremely weak. He sighed, and there was also a hint of anger in his expression.

My eldest sister also saw him. She stood up and stared at him in shock. He smiled at her and said, “So you have grown this big now. Heh, the little girl has become quite pretty. Not bad, not bad.”

My eldest sister seemed to have some memory of him. She pointed at him as if wanting to say something, but his expression suddenly turned serious.

“You all just watch. Do not make a sound and disturb me. I am going to fight this malicious evil ghost properly,” he said.

My eldest sister fell silent. My parents were even quieter. Even I held my breath, wanting to see what this old man could actually do.

He examined my second sister carefully from head to toe, then lifted her eyelids to look. “Three souls and seven spirits, one soul and four spirits are missing. They need to be recovered. If that evil ghost comes again and forces out more of the soul from the living body, then I will also be in serious trouble,” he said.

My father could not help asking, “Master Jiang, is that thing still on my second daughter? If all the souls are gone, what happens to her?”

“Right now it is not there. It cannot possess her at all times. It depends on timing and opportunity. If all the souls are lost but the life force of the body is not extinguished, then she will become a living corpse and never wake again. If the life force is extinguished, then what do you think happens? Even the gods would be helpless then.”

After saying that, Old Man Jiang fell into thought for a moment, then looked at my father very seriously.

“Speaking of which, most resentful ghosts and evil spirits were once pitiful people. A Child Fate person should do more good deeds to dissolve their calamities or turn misfortune into blessing. Also, my Daoist way does not seek to rule the world, only to cultivate the self and follow natural order of all beings. Unless absolutely necessary, I do not wish to destroy a soul completely. But your second daughter’s situation… I am afraid you also have a heavy anger in your hearts that is difficult to release. Whether to capture it, persuade it, or fight it, you decide.”