“Boom boom boom!”
There was a knock on the bedroom door.
I suddenly woke up from my sleep. The window curtains were not drawn. I looked at the sky and saw that the sun was shining brightly. I looked at my watch and it was already past ten in the morning. I had overslept.
Because I came back very late yesterday, I slept until dawn.
I opened the bedroom door and saw Qiangzi standing at the door. He stared at me and exclaimed, "Brother Yang, did you suffer from insomnia yesterday? Why are your eyes as swollen as a panda's?"
I knew he was joking, so I simply explained, "I'm not insomniac. I just had a small problem last night and went out to do some work!"
"Doing business? What business? Could it be that there is another ghost knocking on the door and you are going to catch a ghost?"
I curled my lips and said, "It's not about catching ghosts, it's about finding cats."
Then, I briefly told Qiangzi what happened last night.
During this time, Qiangzi did not interrupt but listened very attentively.
At the last moment, he grumbled with a complaint, "Brother Yang, you are so rude. You said you would take me with you when you go ghost hunting, but you went alone! I was thinking of learning more skills from you, but you carried me behind your back. Do you not want me to learn?..."
I glared at Ma Qiang, walked to the coffee table and poured myself a glass of water.
After I gulped down the water, I said to him unhappily, "It's not that I didn't take you with me, it's that you were so busy last night, I was afraid you were tired, so I didn't call you!"
"What? Busy?"
Ma Qiang said in confusion. Then, he figured out what was going on. He knew I was talking about the "300-round battle" between him and He Man in ** last night.
"Hey, Brother Yang, the noise might have been a bit too loud, please don't be offended!"
Ma Qiang turned around and said with a grin.
At this time, He Man had already prepared breakfast.
Looking at the delicious buns and fried dough sticks, it was obvious that they were bought by He Man from outside.
I quickly finished my breakfast, packed up, and Ma Qiang drove me to the hospital again.
In the hospital ward, we met Chen Song, his wife Yu Suyun and an old lady in her sixties. Chen Song introduced that the old lady was Yu Suyun's mother.
Yu Suyun looks good and seems to have recovered well.
After chatting for a few minutes, Chen Biao left the hospital with us.
Ma Qiang drove Chen Biao and me to Chen Biao’s hometown, Jinhe Village.
Because Jinhe Village is not far from the city, after more than four hours of driving, we arrived at Jinhe Village at around two o'clock in the afternoon.
Jinhe Village is near the Heishui River. There are many trees in front of and behind the village. Many villagers have contracted the forest land in the mountains to raise animals or plant bamboo. Although the villagers are not rich, they are not poor either.
Because we suspected that the "curse" was caused by someone tampering with the bones of Chen Biao's dead mother, after we arrived near Jinhe Village, we did not stop the car, but drove directly to the Chen family cemetery on the southeast mountain.
The Chen family cemetery is located on the Southeast Mountain. This "Southeast Mountain" is not a high mountain, but just a small hill with a slope. The road is a country road, with weeds and grass, very bumpy, and not easy to walk, but at least there is such a path.
Soon our vehicle arrived at the southeast foot of the mountain.
When I got off the bus, I looked around and saw green everywhere, with large tracts of trees growing lushly.
Southeast Mountain
There are a lot of trees and no signs of much damage, so it seems that not many people come here.
Chen Biao was holding a knife for chopping wood in his hand and leading the way.
I followed him, holding the urn of Chen Biao's father, Chen Yousong. I thought to myself, if there is no problem with Chen Biao's mother's grave, I will directly bury Chen Yousong's ashes together with his wife's body. This can be regarded as fulfilling Chen Yousong's wish.
Ma Qiang followed behind me with a shovel on his shoulder.
Maybe because he doesn’t exercise often, Ma Qiang was exhausted and out of breath.
After walking for a while, I finally saw a small grave with a wooden stick stuck in it in a slightly flat and open place. There was a stone tablet in front of the grave, and the stone tablet was surrounded by tall grass, making it difficult to see.
But where the stone tablet was exposed, I saw a lot of bird droppings.
Chen Biao stopped, put down his axe, raised his finger to show me the small mound, and said, "Master Yang, the small mound in front is my mother's grave!"
This made me frown.
In theory, even if a person's body is gone and his soul has gone to the underworld, his bones can still form a certain aura. Under the influence of this aura, even birds and animals will naturally stay away from the grave.
So usually, we rarely see animals like insects, ants, and wild beasts near graves. Animals also have spirits, and their ability to sense auras far exceeds that of humans.
But there was a lot of bird droppings on the grave, which made me suspicious.
At this time, Ma Qiang came up to me and asked me, "Brother Yang, Chen Biao said that the mound over there is the mother's grave, but why is there a wooden stick standing next to the grave? Is it used to prevent lightning strikes? It acts like a lightning rod!"
Ma Qiang’s words almost made me laugh.
But I couldn't laugh in front of Chen Biao. After all, I am now a proper Taoist priest, so I have to behave like one.
When Chen Biao heard Ma Qiang ask this, he was about to explain.
At this time, I waved my hand at him and said, "Let me say it. Do you think I'm right?"
Chen Biao nodded.
Then I pretended to be deep and looked at the wooden stick standing over there in a very pretentious manner.
The stick was as thick as a wrist, very long, and stuck straight into the ground. There were some white strips hanging from the stick, which were not paper strips but pieces of cloth that had been weathered by long periods of rain.
This gave me an idea in my mind.
“Ahem!”
After clearing my throat, I explained, "If I'm not mistaken, the wooden stick standing next to the small grave is used to hang the soul flag."
After hearing what I said, Chen Biao immediately gave me a thumbs up.
He said hurriedly, "Yes, yes... That's what's used to hold up the soul flag. When the wooden stick was placed next to my mother's grave, there was a small white flag hanging on it, but after so many years, the flag has been broken into pieces. I don't know where it was blown away by the wind!"
"Master Yang, you have great insight. As soon as you saw that straight wooden stick, you knew it was used to hang the soul flag. It's really amazing!"
Ma Qiang next to him also echoed, "Brother Yang, you are really amazing, you know so much!"
They both praised me so much that I felt a little embarrassed.
It’s not that I’m knowledgeable or that I know a lot, it’s just that it’s introduced in the Yin-Yang Soul Crossing Notes.
The notes say,
This folk practice of hanging white banners is not only a form of sacrifice, but also a kind of guidance.
After a person dies, his soul will leave the world of the living as quickly as possible through the white flag pole. Why? Because the wooden stick with the white flag hanging on it is no longer a thing of the world of the living, but a Yin object, and Yin objects are the most effective in attracting souls.
"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense, both of you. Let's go and take a look!"
I waved to Chen Biao and Ma Qiang and walked over there.
But just after I took a few steps out, a few black birds flew out from the wormwood with a few "flutter" sounds and "cackle" sounds.
When I looked up at those black birds, I couldn't help but frown. They turned out to be crows!
Crows are ominous creatures. Their appearance at the Chen family cemetery is not a good sign.
Suddenly, a crow flew out and scared Chen Biao and Ma Qiang to death.
"Ghost! Ghost..."
They turned around and ran downstairs. The two of them were in sync and shouted in unison.
I stood there, stunned.
After a while, I hurriedly shouted, "Don't run... Stop, you two, it's a crow, not a ghost."
It seems that the little ghost that appeared in the operating room yesterday may have scared Ma Qiang and Chen Biao.
After hearing what I said, Chen Biao was the first to stop, and then Qiangzi stopped.
Looking at how miserable they both looked, I wanted to laugh.
Chen Biao was still a little better off, but Ma Qiang even threw his shoes away.
“Ga ga ga ga——”
The crow circled in the sky, making strange noises, and soon landed on a nearby tree.
After landing on the big tree, the crow did not stop and continued to call.
Only after seeing the crows clearly did Ma Qiang and Chen Biao breathe a sigh of relief.
When he came to me, Ma Qiang was still complaining about Chen Biao, saying that it was Chen Biao who first shouted "there's a ghost". Chen Biao did not give in either, saying that it was Ma Qiang who first shouted "there's a ghost".
The two men, one weighed half a catty and the other weighed eight ounces, and they stood there arguing endlessly.
"Stop! Don't say that. This is a cemetery. If you continue to use foul language, you will attract dirty things!" I was trying to scare them.
After I said this, Qiangzi and Chen Biao both shut their mouths.
However, the two of them were still glaring at each other because of what had just happened.
I said unhappily, "Let's go. We're already here, so we should take a look. Let's see if my guess is right or not. Let's see if someone is using the Chen family's bones to make a fuss!"
Soon, we arrived in front of the small grave mound.
After Chen Biao cleared the weeds in front of the tombstone, he paid homage to his mother's grave.
When he was paying respects, I asked Chen Biao how long it had been since he last visited the grave. Chen Biao replied very embarrassedly that it had been several years.
But he later added that although he didn't come here every year, he would still burn paper for his mother at the intersection.
I nodded and said nothing. As for whether what he said was true or false, probably only he knew it.
Chen Biao finished the worship quickly.
I waved to Ma Qiang and asked him to pass the shovel to Chen Biao.
Then, I pointed at the small grave and said to Chen Biao in a deep voice, "Brother Chen, your father asked me to bury his ashes with your mother's body. No matter if there is any problem in this grave, it still needs to be opened. So, I will trouble you from now on!"
Chen Biao nodded. He understood what I meant, which was to ask him to dig up the grave.
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)