Chapter 88: Hungry Ghost Path

Old Man Jiang turned his head away, as if unwilling to meet the gazes of the two elders, and said, “Essence blood is something very difficult to replenish. In the future... in the future, if he is properly taken care of, there may be some hope.”

The two elders kept thanking him repeatedly, and insisted on giving us money as gratitude, but Old Man Jiang refused. He sighed, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. I could not tell what he was thinking.

“San Wa Er, go back up the mountain first. Hui Jue and I have something to handle. We will probably return to the mountain tonight.” After leaving Guo Er’s courtyard, Old Man Jiang gave me this instruction.

“Master, I cannot go?” I actually faintly felt that whatever Old Man Jiang was about to do next might be very interesting. I really wanted to go.

“No, not today. We will talk after today.” Old Man Jiang’s words were somewhat mysterious.

At that moment, Su Rou looked at Old Man Jiang somewhat ingratiatingly and said, “Jiang Ye, can I stay on the mountain tonight?”

“Why?” Old Man Jiang looked at Su Rou, but there was no probing intent in his eyes. Instead, there was a kind of understanding, as if that question was waiting for a certain answer.

“Well...” Su Rou scratched the back of his head and said a little embarrassedly, “Jiang Ye, I know you are not ordinary people. I saw what happened today too. If I do not figure out what is going on, I will not be able to sleep. I... I did see some strange things when I was young anyway.”

“You want to wait until tonight for us to return, so you can ask about the hungry ghost worm?” Old Man Jiang narrowed his eyes, looking like an old fox.

Su Rou again revealed his signature foolish grin, but said nothing.

Old Man Jiang and Hui Jue exchanged a glance, then said something odd, “Very well. You and San Wa Er still have a long fate together. Go on.”

Su Rou cheered loudly and did not care about anything like fate being long or short, only urging me to move faster. But I felt somewhat confused inside. I only had about half a year before I would leave this place. I did not know where I would go or what I would do in the future. How could there still be any fate between me and Su Rou? Could it be that in the future I would still have ties with him, while instead I would see less and less of my family?

But Old Man Jiang liked to keep things mysterious and would not explain further. After saying that, he and Hui Jue drifted away, and no one knew where they were going next.

That night, a cold crescent moon hung in the sky. Pale moonlight scattered over the snow, quiet and bleak.

The bamboo forest was swept by the cold winter wind, producing a rustling sound, accompanied by the gurgling stream, like a lament unique to the mountains.

A night like this should have been for lovers walking and whispering in the woods. Unfortunately, in this bamboo forest, there were only four grown men.

We were sitting around a pot of winter bamboo shoots and wild mushroom soup that was bubbling with a gurgling sound. Except for Su Rou, everyone’s expression was heavy.

Old Man Jiang and Hui Jue had already been solemn since returning to the mountain. They had not said a single word. I was infected by the atmosphere and also became heavy-hearted. I knew something was not simple.

As for Su Rou, he had originally been jumping at every little thing, but he loved the fresh mountain food. Once he smelled the rich aroma of the winter bamboo shoots and mushroom soup, he could not hold himself back, looking completely gluttonous.

The soup had already been cooked, its fragrance overflowing. Su Rou eagerly scooped a large bowl, took two vegetable dishes, and a full bowl of rice, and placed them in front of Hui Jue, saying, “Hui Ye, eat.”

Before Hui Jue even picked up his chopsticks, Su Rou looked at Old Man Jiang and said, “Jiang Ye, can we put the fish in now?”

The fish had been raised in a small water pit that Old Man Jiang and I had dug. Usually, whenever we had time, we would catch fish from the stream or pool and throw them into that pit as a way to keep meat.

The mountain fish were extremely fresh, with almost no fishy smell. At this moment, they were sliced into nearly transparent thin pieces, extremely tempting, no wonder Su Rou was so impatient.

Normally, Old Man Jiang would have scolded him for being greedy, but today he only said, “Put it in.”

I understood his mood and sighed as well. As for Su Rou, he did not care at all. He threw in a piece of old ginger, and once the aroma came out, he added the fish slices one by one, then handed each of us a small dish of dipping sauce made from chopped pickled chili.

With the fish added, the soup became even more delicious, but our expressions remained heavy. Su Rou could not stand it anymore and said, “Jiang Ye, Hui Ye, San Wa Er, I am not trying to talk too much, but since there is good food in front of us, do not waste it. We can eat first and worry later. Worrying will not make things better anyway, right?”

Hui Jue, who had been drinking soup, looked up in surprise after hearing this. Old Man Jiang could not help but say, “I did not expect you to have such insight at your young age. You are quite broad-minded. Good. You should persuade San Wa Er more in the future. This kid has a hot temper but is actually very sensitive inside.”

After saying that, he also stopped being gloomy, picked up his chopsticks and said, “Eat. Let us happily finish this meal first, then deal with the worries later.”

The atmosphere finally improved. We happily finished the meal. After cleaning up, Old Man Jiang had me light a small charcoal stove, placed a pot of water on it, and the four of us sat around the fire. I knew he was about to say many things.

But the one who broke the silence first was me.

“Master, you said my tiger claw was washed with medicinal water. What kind of medicinal water was it?” I had asked this question in the afternoon, but Old Man Jiang had been angry with me and did not answer.

“It was boiled with mugwort and cinnabar, to cleanse the evil yin energy from it,” Old Man Jiang said calmly.

“Master, tell me about that hungry ghost worm. I clearly saw a ghost face, I never expected it to turn into a worm in the end.” I finally asked the question that had been troubling me all afternoon.

“For this, let Hui Jue explain it to you first. In Buddhist teachings, there is the concept of the hungry ghost path. I will let him give you some basic knowledge,” Old Man Jiang said while bringing out four teacups. The mountain spring water was already close to boiling.

When the hot spring water was poured over it, the green tea leaves floated up. I did not know what kind of fine tea my master had hidden away, but once brewed, its fragrance filled the entire room.

Hui Jue picked up the covered tea bowl, took a deep breath, sipped the tea, then began speaking in standard Beijing dialect about the hungry ghost path.

“All beings are divided into six paths. The hungry ghost path is one of them. In the world of hungry ghosts, their lives are extremely miserable. Can you imagine the suffering of being hungry for a hundred years yet never able to eat? They are constantly experiencing this kind of torment. Hungry ghosts come in many types, I will not go into all of them here, but the most special thing about them is that unlike other spirits, hungry ghosts possess a physical body.”

“What is a physical body?” Su Rou asked after taking a sip of tea, immediately grimacing from the heat. It was no surprise, he was not someone who knew how to taste tea.

“Ghosts are normally formless, wandering the world as spiritual entities. Having a physical body means they possess flesh and blood. This is closely related to the special nature of the hungry ghost path. Human souls can fall into the hungry ghost path, but the hungry ghost path itself can also reproduce. Among hungry ghosts, there is the ghost mother, who can give birth to hundreds of ghost children at once. Some of these children are born as hungry ghosts, while others are human souls that have fallen into the hungry ghost path and become attached to it. Hungry ghosts are miserable beings, but some can still develop great powers. However, in such a cruel environment, those who reach great power are extremely rare. The construction of the hungry ghost tomb in this market town makes the purpose of its builder suspicious.” Hui Jue stopped there.

I felt a knot in my heart, full of questions, but before I could ask, Su Rou jumped in first.

“Having a physical body means it has the body of a big worm? That is disgusting. Could the ghost mother be a giant worm too?”

Old Man Jiang smiled and said, “The forms of hungry ghosts are countless. What is strange about appearing as a worm? Do you know about Miaojiang gu techniques? No, you probably do not. Some beautiful women use special methods to control hungry ghosts to maintain their figure. Unfortunately, people mistake it for parasites or worms, which is absurd. No matter what form it takes, it will eventually manifest as ghost children, just like the relief carving you saw on the gate of that hungry ghost tomb.”

Hui Jue added, “The hungry ghost path originally belongs to its own world of hungry ghosts. This is the human world, and there are special restrictions here. They cannot be born directly in the form of ghost children. But the human world is like paradise to them. Any hungry ghost that manages to appear here is unwilling to return. However...”

“Alright, Hui Jue, do not say more about this,” Old Man Jiang coughed, as if reminding him.

Hui Jue immediately fell silent.

Both Su Rou and I were middle school students. We had basic geography knowledge and understood that the Earth was a sphere with continents and oceans. So where exactly was this hungry ghost world? Which continent? Which ocean? Nonsense.

We wanted to ask, Su Rou wanted to ask too, but what we received was silence.

I knew Old Man Jiang would not explain further no matter what. So I asked instead, “Master, what are you worrying about? Is Guo Er’s matter not already resolved? Also, what exactly is essence blood?”

“Essence blood? Essence blood is the mother of blood, the key to maintaining the continuous generation of a person’s blood. Some people are full of vitality, others are anemic. That is the difference in innate abundance of essence blood. It is extremely difficult to replenish. Aside from precious medicines, one must cultivate daily. Ordinary people cannot easily restore it. As for what I am worried about... Guo Er’s matter is resolved?” Old Man Jiang’s brows furrowed tightly.