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Chapter 055: Transformation into an Evil Spirit (Part Five)
At 10 PM, Chi Xinrong and Mi, under my arrangement, reluctantly agreed to squeeze together for the night in my bedroom. I warned them both that no matter what happened outside or what noises they heard, they must not show their faces; otherwise, one of them would end up looking ugly.
The two girls were half-convinced but had no choice but to follow my instructions.
Meanwhile, the anxious Fatty had no way to intervene; the girls showed no interest in him.
Now he lay in a coffin equipped with a mechanism and a secret ventilation hole to ensure he wouldn’t suffocate.
I quickly set up a temporary mourning hall and invited Uncle Zhang and the Eight Great Warriors to help.
The Eight Great Warriors looked puzzled. In our area, funerals were only held for widows who had passed away; there were no filial grandsons to send them off, and no grand ceremonies to speak of—funerals were typically held in the dead of night.
Would there really be any issues with Fatty's funeral? I provided ample explanations for their doubts. Whether it was a widow or Fatty, both were lonely souls. There was nothing grand about it.
Besides, I could calculate things and manipulate them a bit if necessary.
I pretended to be serious as I calculated, then said earnestly, “Fatty died from an acute illness at a young age. The timing of his death is unfortunate, so we must bury him before the red moon reaches its darkest and most intense light to avoid him turning into an Azure-Headed Ghost, which would be quite troublesome.”
Uncle Zhang, holding a suona under his arm, glanced at my makeshift mourning hall in shock and disbelief. “What illness did Fatty have that he died so quickly?”
“Acute illness.” I couldn’t tell Uncle Zhang and everyone else that this was a ruse to deceive the Evil Spirit; I could only patiently explain. Too many words could lead to mistakes, so I kept my responses brief and quickly got everyone moving. If Uncle Zhang asked again, I would explain: “Fatty is an adult now; although he isn’t married yet, he has been indulging himself day and night. It’s inevitable that his health would deteriorate—no one could save him, not even Hua Tuo.”
“Alas, those women on the covers are all enchantresses; they’ve turned good kids into lovesick fools.”
“Indeed, Uncle Zhang, you’re right; keep it up, Eight Great Warriors!”
Inside the coffin, Fatty seemed either lost in dreams or gripped by fear. As the coffin rose, I took my Fire Basin and stomped on the ground while shouting three times: “When a person dies, it’s like a lamp extinguished; the sooner one dies, the sooner one is reborn—coming naked and leaving naked, free from attachments.”
Tonight was truly extraordinary; the red moon hung high in the sky as the Eight Great Warriors carried the coffin while playing mournful tunes on their suonas.
Uncle Zhang puffed out his cheeks as he played a solitary tune on his suona to lead the way. I held a white spirit banner in one hand and a simple incense burner in the other as I walked behind Uncle Zhang. The Eight Great Warriors lifted the coffin and shouted as we made our way toward the Cemetery.
Due to the eerie red moon, people were fearful and anxious; no one dared to wander outside at this hour. We didn’t encounter any living souls along the way.
Arriving at the Cemetery, I cleared my throat and recited aloud, "Borrowing light, borrowing light, hello to you and me, everyone is welcome. Borrow a piece of land for peace, seek wealth, seek wealth, those who see shall share." Then I scattered Hell Money into the air, letting it flutter down like confetti; this was my form of bribery.
The Cemetery had at least a hundred graves. If Yin Yin were to come and discover that the fat man was merely pretending to be dead, with these hundred or so graves in the way, I could find a way to subdue her. Then I would think of a way to cancel the Yin Marriage, reducing her resentment and calming her anger before proceeding with the next steps of her burial plan.
Uncle Zhang and the Eight Great Warriors quickly left after receiving a free talisman from me.
I stood alone in the Cemetery, feeling the eerie and almost imperceptible strange aura that surrounded it, along with the haunting cries of crickets. There were particularly many crickets in the Cemetery; perhaps not many people knew why there were so many.
My grandfather once told me that when a person dies, their soul leaves the body without awareness. Crickets consume the leftover bones of the dead, while snakes, insects, rats, and ants ravage what remains until it eventually turns into a stinking pile of organic fertilizer that merges with the soil.
The only difference is that the decomposed parts of the dead contain something ordinary soil lacks: phosphorus, which is what people refer to as Ghost Fire. While pondering about the crickets, I suddenly spotted a figure standing not far away.
My heart skipped a beat; they arrived quickly. I hurriedly knelt before the fat man's grave. The soil covering it wasn't very deep, making it easier for me to help him climb out of his coffin. Therefore, any movement on the surface should be audible to him if he wasn't in a deep sleep.
In my time, my grandfather often had me perform during funerals when close family members couldn't cry. I would step in and pretend to weep genuinely, tears streaming down my face like a real mourner.
Perhaps my grandfather never realized that during those times, I envied children who had parents. Whenever I encountered someone needing to mourn at a funeral, I would think about this and feel an overwhelming sadness that made tears flow uncontrollably like a spring.
Now kneeling before the fat man's grave, I deliberately made noise to attract the figure's attention. I fidgeted for quite some time, but that figure remained motionless.
Desperate, I lay on the ground and cried out loud: "Fat man, you died well and peacefully; you died happily! There's nothing worth lingering for—just go on! Boo hoo... boo hoo..."
Damn it! Crying so loudly should have caught that person's attention!
Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, extinguishing my candles and plunging me into darkness along with the fat man in his grave. I quickly pulled out my lighter and flicked it repeatedly; however hard I tried, it wouldn't light up.
Then a cold hand rested on my shoulder, accompanied by an eerie voice saying, "Big Brother, I want water."
It was Yin Yin! My heart raced as I gripped the Bagua Bronze Mirror tightly in preparation. Before I could turn around, an even stronger chill enveloped me. Then came a wave of oppressive sounds as if death itself was looming over me; that icy sensation on my shoulder vanished as if it had never existed.
Look—the red moon had long since disappeared behind clouds. Underneath the dark night sky, the Cemetery transformed into a battlefield for ghosts. The sounds of conflict echoed around me as mournful cat cries rose and fell in succession. Shortly after, numerous spirits began to retreat in disarray.
Ghosts are troublesome; this has been true since ancient times.
Silence enveloped everything around me until a piercing cat cry broke through the stillness.
A black cat with a hunched back and glowing green eyes appeared not far away.
Is it scary, this cat person?
In any case, I saw the black cat's mouth moving, and then I heard a chilling voice: "Brother, you are so bad. You know I am in trouble, yet you stand by and do nothing." The voice was filled with a magical force that compelled itself into my ears. "Brother, you are so bad. You know I am in trouble, yet you stand by and do nothing."
Just as I focused on the black cat, my phone suddenly vibrated, and the ringtone changed to: "Brother, I want water. Brother, I want water."
What the meow!
It seemed I had miscalculated; Yin Yin was targeting my inaction rather than the fat one. Damn it, my brain must have short-circuited. I hid the fat one and exposed myself to Yin Yin. Not only that, but I also messed around with some fake death ritual, trying to fool Ghost Head.
And to make matters worse, that black cat did not come with good intentions.
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