Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Fifteen Graveyard Ghost Stories (3)
The group walked towards the backyard and discovered an outdoor toilet, which was foul-smelling. Zhang Jun couldn't stand it and wanted to leave, but Gao Xuanhu stopped him, saying: "There's something wrong with this yard. Let's look around; this toilet is just a distraction. I can smell the scent of decay."
The group carefully examined the area and found that the soil against the wall on the west side of the yard was still fresh. Gao Xuanhu said to the two of them: "Clear it away and take a look." Dog Sheng and Zhang Jun kicked at the dirt, quickly uncovering a Board. They exchanged glances and lifted the Board. A small hole appeared, just big enough for one person to enter, and the smell was emanating from it.
After thinking for a moment, Gao Xuanhu said: "You two stay outside while I go in to take a look." With that, he bent down and crawled into the hole.
At first, it was difficult to move, but after crawling a few steps, he suddenly found himself in a dimly lit room with a yellow light bulb. Gao Xuanhu drew his iron sword, held a handful of Copper Coins, and jumped down into the Room.
Once inside the Room, he looked around and gasped in shock. The Room contained two coffins with their lids wide open, revealing two Corpses inside, both nailed shut with willow wood nails. Unlike before, these two Corpses had completely rotted away, leaving no possibility for Corpse Transformation. Above the two coffins hung two Cinnabar jars. Gao Xuanhu took one down and found a Baby's Corpse inside, swollen all over, with its eyes gouged out and tongue cut off, also nailed shut with willow wood nails. The baby's eyes were wide open; what should have been innocent eyes were filled with Resentment, blood-red. The other jar had the same situation. There was a tube inserted at the top of the jar. Looking around, there was nothing else. High Xuan thought he had enough information and decided it was best not to linger there any longer, so he crawled back out.
Once outside, the group discussed that in this day and age, fighting against someone's Spell would be considered superstitious nonsense related to cow ghosts; they might end up in a cattle shed for it. It would be better to report it to the police.
The process of capturing Old Shen was strange; when the police entered the shop, Old Shen seemed to know their intention. He took a deep breath and relaxed completely, saying: "I've been waiting for this day for a long time!" He offered no resistance as he allowed the police to take him away, leaving Gao Xuanhu astonished.
The interrogation went smoothly; before the police could use any torture methods, Old Shen had already fully confessed about the source of the Corpses in the house and the unusual circumstances surrounding Chen Liuqing Corpse. Although it was during the Cultural Revolution, these policemen were older and found it hard to explain such bizarre occurrences using common sense; they still called for Gao Xuanhu to come to the interrogation room.
When he arrived at the interrogation room and saw Gao Xuanhu, Old Shen suddenly knelt down on both knees and knocked his head three times on the ground, saying: "Thank you for finally helping me find peace!" The others were puzzled and hurriedly asked why. To their surprise, they heard a tragic love story.
Many years ago in Suzhou, there was a girl named Chen Liuqing, who came to Huayin County as part of a work team and was assigned to live in Nandong Village, staying at a man named Shen Dong's home. This Chen Liuqing was exceptionally beautiful—bright-eyed and fair-skinned, standing tall at 1.7 meters with long hair down to her waist. At nineteen years old, she had developed well with a full figure that radiated youthfulness.
Like other sent-down youth, this Chen Liuqing worked during the day to earn work points and spent her nights spinning thread or making handmade clothes while secretly trading for food to improve her living conditions.
Shen Dong's grandfather was an artisan who specialized in making Wreaths, Paper Figurines, and Paper Horses. In their local dialect, they referred to it as making circles for eating. He also knew some Taoist techniques passed down through generations. Later on, when land was redistributed, they were categorized as cow tongue ghosts; to avoid implicating his descendants, he passed those techniques onto Shen Dong before moving out to live underground by a large locust tree at the east end of the village. Twenty-year-old Shen Dong lived with his mother in their old home; they didn't eat much anyway, so adding one more person like Chen Liuqing made life quite bearable.
This Shen Dong was also handsome; he learned paper-cutting skills from his grandfather but used red paper instead of white or yellow wreaths. During festivals or weddings, he would cut red flowers and characters from red paper in exchange for lard dough while secretly improving life for Chen Liuqing, carrying it back without his mother noticing.
He also knew some simple Taoist techniques that often surprised Chen Liuqing. She admired his paper-cutting skills and appreciated how well he cared for her despite his young age. They both worked in one production team from sunrise to sunset along that country road filled with laughter. In that blood-stained romantic era, two naive youths sat atop Mount Huashan watching the sun slowly set while quietly discussing life and future aspirations—living simply yet contentedly together. In that monotonous time devoid of hope, they decided to stay together for life.
Not long after, Chen Liuqing discovered she was pregnant, so she told Shen Dong. Shen Dong was overjoyed and informed his mother, expressing his desire to bring Chen Liuqing into their home. His mother was also quite happy. At this point, the story seemed to have a perfect ending. However, a letter from Suzhou shattered their peaceful life. The letter was sent by Chen Liuqing's mother, stating that a boy who liked Chen had a father in the government with some influence, who could arrange for Chen Liuqing to return to Suzhou and work as a state-owned enterprise employee. Moreover, the boy had already made arrangements for their wedding and was waiting for her return to marry her. Staying in Huayin, such a poor place, had no future; it would be better to find a wealthy family and live well in the city.
Initially, Chen Liuqing was unwilling to go back, but she couldn't withstand her mother's crying and pleas, so she agreed.
When Shen Dong learned this news, he was heartbroken and even threatened to commit suicide to make Chen Liuqing stay. However, for a young girl at her prime, the world outside in the city seemed like paradise, enticing her to come. She did not want to spend her life in this small mountain village, facing the dirt and working hard every day.
Seeing that he could not persuade her to stay, Shen Dong knelt down and insisted that Chen Liuqing keep the child and return later. If he couldn't keep her love, having a child would at least compensate for the regrets in his life! But Chen Liuqing rejected this request, declaring that she would terminate the pregnancy and return home immediately.
Shen Dong could not accept this reality; he did not understand why Chen Liuqing wanted to leave Huayin for that distant southern place. Now he remained here while soon Chen Liuqing would be out of reach. In Huashan, in his hometown, where he once walked through mountains and rivers, with the evening breeze caressing him and the sunset accompanying him at Wulong Bridge and Yuqing Temple, their carved initials on that tree remained clear yet hauntingly unforgettable; only the beloved had departed, leaving him alone in despair!
The moment Shen Dong heard that Chen Liuqing was going to marry that boy, he knew everything had changed.
Yet he could not forget his first love because it was filled with passion in its innocence, hiding childhood naivety amidst carefree moments and revealing purity within care. He could not forget his first love because the laughter they shared still echoed in his ears; the fleeting images of her smile remained vivid before him; the bond they once shared had not faded.
Although Chen Liuqing said they could still be friends, she did not realize that someone who truly loves you cannot simply treat you as a friend!
On one hand, Shen Dong had always liked children since he was young; on the other hand, love turned into resentment as it deepened within him. He thought: since I cannot keep you by my side, I will keep your body!
Thus, he learned from his grandfather's secret manual a potion called "Yang Jinshui," which could induce hallucinations and compel obedience. From today's scientific perspective, this potion mainly derived from Jimson weed contains Atropine and Scopolamine, both of which have anesthetic and hallucinogenic effects clinically. It can block a person's parasympathetic nervous system and make them execute commands without mental scrutiny. Combined with an incantation, it could ensure compliance.
After deceiving Chen Liuqing into drinking the potion, Shen Dong issued commands for her to water the fields and walk into a dry well. Consequently, under everyone's gaze, she fell into that dry well and died inside. However, those watering around thought it was merely an accident.
After killing Chen Liuqing, Shen Dong pretended to be heartbroken and buried her in Chaos Grave while weeping day and night in mourning. When Chen Liuqing's mother learned of this news, she was devastated; however, since her daughter was already buried and Shen Dong remained infatuated with her daughter, there were no thoughts of relocating the grave back to Suzhou. She only cried for a while before returning home desolate.
It must be said that Shen Dong was truly intelligent; having grown up with his grandfather from a young age gave him profound understanding of Taoist arts. Eager to keep his child with Chen Liuqing alive before murdering her, he self-taught a method from his grandfather's manual on cultivating Ghost Infants by nailing pregnant women through seven gates to create an illusion that the mother was still alive so that the baby would continue developing until it became a Ghost Infant. The specific method is too gruesome to describe further. This Ghost Infant would only listen to Shen Dong's commands and possessed high aggression. Shen Dong often brought Chen Liuqing and their child home at night to lie together on the bed while crying and kissing that Ghost Infant.
Not long after killing Chen Liuqing, Shen Dong recalled all her good qualities and fell into deep self-reproach and guilt; this feeling gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake day and night. To relieve his inner torment, he learned an Evil Technique that allowed him to absorb death energy for nourishment. Due to the deep shadow left by Chen's incident on him, he specifically targeted pregnant women; after killing them, he nailed them through seven gates while cutting out their tongues and gouging out their eyes from their bodies to increase the baby's resentment. He then sealed them in jars along with mulberries, longan fruit, soft-shelled turtle meat, black fungus, and tomb mound mugwort for soaking. The jar left an opening for sucking in death energy. This death energy was akin to heroin for those practicing this Evil Technique.
Thus unfolded the scene beneath Shen Dong's coffin shop cellar.
Upon hearing this account, the police officers present sighed deeply at how fate played tricks on people!!!
The story concludes with Shen being sentenced to death by the court for immediate execution. Before his execution, he requested one last visit to Chen Liuqing's grave; the police agreed. Gao Xuanhu also promised to perform a reincarnation ritual for Chen Liuqing to alleviate Niu San's misfortunes along with theirs.
At the grave of Chen Liuqing, Shen Dong knelt down, unable to rise, like a child, recounting the stories he shared with Chen Liuqing from that era over and over again. When he spoke of emotional moments, a shine reminiscent of youthful love appeared on his wrinkled face. Finally, Shen Dong said: The reason I harmed you is because I loved you too much. Love arises from feelings, and hatred is born from the heart. Ever since losing you, my heart has been shattered; countless nights, I have been terrified and unable to sleep. At this point, it is entirely my own fault; I will pay for my life with my life. I hope you do not hate me and that in the next life, you can find someone who loves you and whom you love, to live happily for a lifetime!
After saying this, he touched his head to the ground and remained kneeling.
Gao Xuanhu observed that the time was right and instructed someone to bring out a pair of candles, a stick of incense, three wine cups, three pairs of chopsticks, a bowl of rice, a large amount of "spirit money," and a portrait of Chen. He then commanded Niu San and others to pierce their middle fingers and let their blood drip into the bowl of rice.
He also wrote on the portrait: "In memory of the late Mrs. Shen, whose given name was OO."
Then he slightly closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, feeling himself enter a state of emptiness, and began to chant. After reciting scriptures for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he stood up and bowed once more to the portrait. Subsequently, everyone present knelt three times and knocked their heads nine times, placing the plain offerings and incense into a vessel along with Joss Paper for burning. They chanted "May you ascend to the heavens" three times before burying it at the clean Tomb Mound.
Gao Xuanhu lit an incense stick, formed a hand gesture, and addressed the portrait: Love and hate are predestined in the dark. The cause and effect of good and evil in this world are all due to the cycles of past lives and this life; Shen will be executed tomorrow. Chen, if you are willing to forgive Shen and guide him on his path to reincarnation, please enjoy this incense!
After saying this, the smoke from the incense swayed in the air for a moment before slowly drifting toward the portrait. Suddenly, Niu San and others felt lighter all over as if something had left their bodies. Shen Dong smiled faintly, tilted his head, and died at the grave.
From that day on, Niu San and others turned over a new leaf and decided to follow Gao Xuanhu in their cultivation.
Uncle Niu reached this point in his story, looked at his watch—it was already one o'clock in the afternoon—and said: It's getting late; why don't you join us for lunch? The brother replied: No need; we will come again next time!
But I still wanted to see Gao Xuanhu once more; however, there was no way.
Later on, I heard that Gao Xuanhu had been in seclusion while I was eager to rush back to Singapore and never got to see him. However, this incident left a deep impression on me; one should not take extremes nor do evil deeds or harbor ill intentions toward others. There is a Heaven's Will guiding us; good deeds are rewarded with good outcomes while evil deeds bring about retribution. Friends, what do you think?
Comment 0 Comment Count