Chapter 9: The Hundred-Year Tiger Claw

“Then what exactly is wrong with my son?” My father now knew that I had been born at an extremely yin moment, but he believed there had to be other people across China born at the same time. Why was his son the one haunted by a hundred ghosts?

“The coincidence lies in your son’s Child Fate and the fact that he was born exactly at that moment. The soul of someone with a Child Fate is extraordinarily powerful. Sometimes there can even be a phenomenon known as a double birth chart. That means the Child soul within the body and the original soul that reincarnated into this life have not completely fused, creating the special condition of two souls. That results in a double birth chart, in other words, two sets of birth data. To put it simply, the soul belongs to yin, while the physical body belongs to yang. If the soul is too powerful, the person becomes excessively yin and deficient in yang. Being yin is not necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, it grants extremely strong spiritual perception. The birthmark on the back of your son’s head is evidence that his spiritual perception has become powerful enough to form an eye. Furthermore, a powerful soul makes it very easy to perceive the workings of heaven and earth!” Old Man Jiang explained carefully while my parents listened with only partial understanding.

Even so, my parents understood one thing. Their son’s destiny was yin, and he had also been born at a yin moment. That was no small matter.

“Then my son...” My mother was extremely anxious.

“With a weak yang body, he will naturally be frail. People with Child Fate are already prone to many tribulations and are often difficult to raise to adulthood, though it is not without a solution. In addition, your son has attracted all the wandering ghosts in the surrounding area. First, people with Child Fate naturally attract such things. Then there is the timing of his birth. A child’s soul is unstable to begin with, and with Child Fate, excessive yin and deficient yang, it is like heaven covering earth and yang enclosing yin. Your son’s body has great difficulty containing his soul. Every one of those wandering ghosts wants to take his place. Obtaining a human body is a hundred times better than drifting about as a wandering ghost with nowhere to belong!” My Master explained all the problems in just a few sentences.

“Then Master Jiang, you said you can save my son. Save him now!” My father was extremely anxious.

“No rush. Your son’s condition requires a ritual to resolve. The ritual can drive away ghosts and spirits, but I’ve consumed meat and alcohol today, so it isn’t suitable for performing rites. I’ll stay at your house tonight. Tomorrow morning I’ll go into the mountains to fetch a few things, and then I’ll conduct the ritual. Take this and let your son wear it first. It should ease the situation somewhat.” As he spoke, my Master pulled an object from his robe and handed it to my father.

My father accepted it and looked it over. The thing was about ten centimeters long, with an oily yellow color and a smooth, warm luster. Its tip was extremely sharp. The other end was wrapped in yellow metal engraved with patterns. There was a small hole in the metal, through which a red cord had been threaded.

“Master Jiang, what is this?” My father truly could not identify it.

“A tiger claw. One from a tiger over fifty years old, an old tiger that had practically become a spirit. Just put it on your son.” Old Man Jiang spoke casually, as though the item were nothing special.

My parents were farmers and had no understanding of just how precious a tiger claw was, especially one like this.

Only my mother had sharp eyes. She immediately noticed the yellow metal and hesitantly asked, “Master Jiang, is that gold wrapped around it?”

Heh heh. Old Man Jiang did not wish to elaborate. After laughing, he merely said, “This is the effort I ought to make. The bond between your son and me will last a long time yet. Put it on him first.”

His words left my parents completely baffled, but they did not feel comfortable asking further questions.

Among the common folk, people only knew that dogs could ward off evil, and that evil things feared dog teeth most because dog teeth were said to be able to bite spirits. In truth, compared to dogs, cats were even better at warding off evil. It was only because cats were lazy by nature and indifferent in temperament that they could not be bothered to involve themselves.

Generally speaking, evil entities merely feared dogs, but they truly dreaded cats, especially their claws.

And tigers are giant cats. They correspond to the White Tiger among the Four Symbols. Their claws are among the finest objects for warding off evil.

Tigers do not have particularly long lifespans. A tiger over fifty years old, one that had practically become a spirit, was extraordinarily rare. Only my Master could produce such an item. Where would an ordinary Daoist priest ever find something like this?

My father immediately put the tiger claw around my neck. Strangely enough, my breathing instantly became steady. The little grunts and wheezes I usually made, the sensation as though someone were squeezing my throat, vanished at once. It truly had miraculous effects.

My parents became even more convinced of Old Man Jiang’s abilities. They served him with utmost respect. This time, however, Old Man Jiang would not accept such treatment. He merely said, “Just treat me the way you normally do. From now on, we’re people connected by fate. This attitude isn’t appropriate. Otherwise, I’ll leave.”

Old Man Jiang’s words grew increasingly strange, and he never explained himself. My parents were utterly confused, yet did not dare ask too many questions. Still, they were genuinely afraid he might turn around and leave, so they could only force themselves to act naturally.

Old Man Jiang stayed at our house, but he showed no interest in anything else. For dinner he only ate a few vegetarian dishes, nothing like the glutton he usually was. The rest of the time, he liked holding me in his arms and examining me carefully. Every now and then he would let out a foolish little heh heh laugh, leaving my parents frightened and uneasy.

It was not until bedtime that Old Man Jiang finally snorted coldly and said, “Still gathered together without dispersing. Truly refusing kindness when it’s offered. Tomorrow I’ll suppress every last one of them.”

Early the next morning, my parents woke up. As soon as they did, they discovered that Old Man Jiang was gone.

He had said the previous day that he needed to fetch some things from the mountains, so he had likely gone there. No one knew how early he had left. What they did notice was that I, who had slept restlessly ever since birth, had not fussed at all throughout the night. Even when they woke up, I was still sleeping soundly.

My parents were delighted. They certainly did not believe Old Man Jiang had run away. My mother had carefully examined the tiger claw pendant the previous day and was convinced that the metal wrapped around it was gold. The most valuable item in her dowry had been a gold ring given to her by my grandmother, so she knew what gold looked like.

If he could casually give me something as valuable as gold, and if that item was so effective, why would he run away?

Sure enough, just after dawn broke, Old Man Jiang arrived at our house. This time he looked different from usual. He carried a cloth bundle on his back and a bucket in his hand. The bucket was actually filled with water.

After setting his things down, Old Man Jiang said to my mother, “Boil water. I’m going to bathe and change clothes.”

“Bathe and change clothes?” My mother did not immediately understand.

“It means taking a bath and putting on clean clothes,” Old Man Jiang replied casually.

At Old Man Jiang’s request, my mother spent nearly an entire hour boiling water. He required three separate containers of water. One basin would be used for washing his body, another was for bathing me, and finally there was the large wooden tub our family used for bathing, which Old Man Jiang would use himself.

It was all incredibly complicated. My mother could hardly imagine that taking a bath involved so many rules. Moreover, while she was boiling the water, Old Man Jiang had been mysteriously brewing something.

The water he used for brewing was the water he had brought himself. My father asked him, “Master Jiang, what kind of water is that? Can’t you use ours?”

“No. This is rootless water. It carries no earthly qi. The water used to brew scented ritual baths must be special water.”

Old Man Jiang remained true to his usual style. No explanation, just a direct answer.

He brewed two small pots of liquid. During the process, he added numerous miscellaneous ingredients and never left the stove. He constantly adjusted the heat.

Once my mother had prepared all the water according to his requirements, Old Man Jiang pointed at one of the bowls of brewed liquid and said, “The main ingredient in this one is angelica dahurica. Mix it into the basin. This is for Third Son.”

“The main ingredient in this one is peach bark. It’s for me. Pour it into the large wooden tub.”

My mother followed his instructions and then asked doubtfully, “Master Jiang, is it appropriate for such a small baby to soak in water like that?”

“You’ll hold him while every part of his body is soaked in this water. He can soak for a while, rest for a while, and then soak again. Just add some hot water as needed. When it comes to your Third Son, I will never fail to do my utmost. I rarely prepare this scented bath because it requires too much effort. But a scented bath made with angelica dahurica wards off evil and removes the Three Corpses. There is nothing better. Just do as I say.” Whenever the subject turned to me, Old Man Jiang always became more willing to explain.

As for the peach bark scented bath he used himself, its main ingredient was bark taken from a peach tree after the outer layer had been removed. It was especially effective for clearing the mind and sharpening the senses. It was preparation for what he intended to do later.

Scented baths were not easy to prepare. Every ingredient and every level of heat had strict requirements. The water had to be a specially matched type as well. In addition, special cleansing beans and a corresponding honey infusion were needed. Old Man Jiang had truly gone to tremendous lengths for my sake.