The child stared at me intently, his round eyes flashing red. After a moment, he asked me dryly, "Master, I would like to ask you for help?"
Hearing the little devil in front of me call me master, I suddenly felt like I was floating in the air, high above everyone else. I raised my neck slightly, my eyes stayed on the child's face, and put my hands behind my back, pretending to be mysterious.
I asked him, "What do you want from me?"
The child didn't answer me immediately, but instead stared into my apartment with his eyes half closed.
I understand. It seems that the little devil in front of me is not comfortable speaking.
"Come in first."
I made room for him.
But the child still stood there without moving. He raised his head slightly and looked at me, and said timidly: "Master, I can't go in."
Can't get in? Oh, I suddenly remembered that my apartment has actually been covered with a magic array by Jiang Jiuzhen, and ordinary ghosts can't get in at all.
I nodded and said, "It seems that you are not that capable... Well, you wait here first!"
After that, I turned around and went into the apartment. I pulled out a Kun Talisman from the paper package under the coffee table. This "Kun Talisman" is a set with the "Qian Talisman". The Kun Talisman is used to avoid the formation, and the Qian Talisman is used to break the formation.
In fact, I didn’t know that those yellow papers were talismans before, but I found out after reading the notes.
When we got to the door, I handed the Kun Talisman to the child, "Take it. With it, as long as you don't act rashly, the talisman array in the house won't hurt you."
The child smiled shyly, but it was a little ugly. He took the talisman. When he stretched out his hands, I found that many parts of his hands had turned black.
This surprised me a little at the time.
It is mentioned in the Yin-Yang Soul Crossing Notes that if the ghost's body appears black, it proves that the ghost has already shown the signs of turning into an evil ghost. I was a little nervous. For a half-baked person like me, it's okay to deal with a small ghost, but if I deal with an evil ghost, I will definitely suffer, not to mention trading with an evil ghost.
But the Kun Talisman has already been handed over, and I can’t take it back immediately.
The child follows me
After entering the apartment, he looked around and seemed very curious. Maybe the child is a ghost but still retains the nature of a child.
I sat on the sofa and poured myself a cup of hot tea. Although I knew that the child was very resentful, I could only pretend to be calm at this time.
I crossed my legs, took a sip of tea, and asked him directly, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"
The child raised his head, looked at me, and said in a dry voice: "Master, I want you to help me find my mom and dad."
"Yes!" I nodded, and according to the procedure set by Jiang Jiuzhen, I continued to ask, "Then tell me about your story first."
The child was probably a little nervous, his hands hanging down on both sides of his body, his right hand tightly grasping the Kun Talisman. The Kun Talisman and the Qian Talisman are specifically used to avoid and break formations, and they are harmless to ghosts.
The child told me about what happened to him a year ago. It turned out that a year ago, the child was taken away by a stranger in the hospital not long after he was born. It was winter, and the child was wrapped in a quilt and taken away. He did not receive proper care from the stranger. He stayed in the stranger's home for more than a day and died of respiratory failure... ...
It sounds like the child's life story is quite pitiful. But there is a phrase called "ghost talk". Jiang Jiuzhen mentioned it more than once in the stories he recorded, saying that as a ghost catcher, you must never believe in ghost talk. Because ghosts, like humans, can deceive people.
I squinted my eyes and looked at the little kid in front of me with a serious look.
Although his hands turned black, he didn't look fierce, so I thought I could handle him. Besides, even if he wanted to turn into a demon, it would take some time.
As for what he said, I can believe it, but I won’t believe it all.
"Humans and ghosts have different paths. You should have been reincarnated, but you stayed. I want to know, what do you want to do with them?" I asked coldly.
When the child heard what I said, the shadow he created shook a little.
He said, "Master, I have no ill intentions, really... I just want to meet my mom and dad, I want to know what they look like.
I have been wandering around as a ghost for more than a year. I have met many ghosts, but they all have families and homes, but I don’t. I miss home and I want to see my mom and dad.
"Don't worry, as long as you take me to see them, I can give you a ghost pill. And I won't disturb them. After seeing them, I will leave immediately... You have to believe me."
When the child spoke, his dry voice had a crying tone, which sounded pitiful.
"Um!"
I nodded, thinking, "Is that so..."
After thinking for a while, I agreed to the little ghost in front of me, "Okay, I promise, I will help you find your mom and dad."
I thought that since the child had become a wandering ghost in this city, his home should also be in this city and should not be difficult to find.
After hearing that I agreed to his request, the child smiled, but his smile was still so ugly.
The child thanked me and said, "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master... You are truly a living Bodhisattva!" Ghosts can also praise people, that's right.
I stood up without saying anything and led the child to the door again. I told him, "Stand here first, I'll get ready, we'll set out tonight to help you find your family." There was no other way, this kind of thing had to be done at night, it was too blatant during the day, and ghosts were afraid of sunlight.
"Okay." The child said happily.
I suddenly remembered something, so I asked again, "By the way, kid, do you always like to act like a ghost and howl in the corridor at night?"
The child lowered his head, smiled shyly and said, "Master, it seems that you know everything. But I have no ill intentions. I came here several times, but you just didn't open the door, so I did that. I wanted you to help me... Now that you agree to help, I am very happy."
Sure enough, I nodded and said, "Okay, I got it, you can get out!" It turned out that it was the little devil in front of me who was causing trouble.
However, when I closed the door of the apartment, I still took back the Kun Talisman that I had given to the child.
You can go into the house and see the Kun symbol.
After seeing the runes turn black, I couldn't help but feel uneasy again.
Thinking about the child's behavior just now, he does look like a little ghost, but his expression is so deliberate. And his blackened palms, and the Kun talisman that was polluted by the thick resentment... ...
I suddenly felt that I shouldn't have agreed to help the little ghost find his family. Maybe it wasn't like what he said, he was looking for his family because he wanted to see them and go home, or maybe it had some unknown purpose.
But now that I have agreed, I have no choice but to shoot. The Yin-Yang Soul Crossing Notes said that once you agree to help a ghost, a contractual relationship has been formed between the ghost and the Taoist priest. If you unilaterally violate the contract, you will be in trouble.
I shook my head and thought that it might be because it was my first time helping a ghost, and I felt a little uneasy and thought too much. Maybe I just need to get used to this kind of thing.
But I knew I couldn't let my guard down. What if the kid outside the door was lying to me and had some hidden secret? So after wandering around the apartment for a long time, I decided to think of a way to prepare more things.
So for my own safety, I followed suit and used the blood from my bitten finger to draw a "talisman" on my chest, imitating the powerful talisman in the Yin-Yang Soul-Ferrying Notes.
This kind of talisman is much more powerful than the "amulet" drawn on yellow paper. And it is drawn with my own blood, so it is naturally extraordinary.
It took me nearly two hours to draw this amulet. It was really a huge effort and I was sweating on my forehead.
I opened the door to my apartment only after I had packed everything I needed into my backpack.
The little ghost was standing outside the apartment door, looking a little impatient. When he saw me come out, he called out, "Master!"
I said "hmm" and walked out of the apartment.
But after I closed the door, I was dumbfounded. Why? Because I found that after I left the apartment, I couldn't see the ghost of the child. Damn it, I cursed in my heart, how could I forget this
If I had known, I would have postponed it for a day. Now, the little ghost is standing in front of me, but I can't see him.
I pretended to be calm and said nothing, then turned around and walked downstairs. But I knew there was a little ghost following me, maybe he followed me down the stairs, or maybe he floated down the stairs...
It was already past three in the morning, the sky was dark, and there was no moonlight.
Walking out of Xiyuan Community and standing under an ornamental tree, I called out, "Little ghost, come here."
The child must have come closer to me, and I could feel the eerie atmosphere. That atmosphere was like the coldest weather in the coldest days of winter, making me feel cold and uncomfortable.
I took out a compass from my backpack and said, "Little boy, if you want to find your parents, you have to give me something, either your natal hair or your parents' hair."
What I didn’t expect was that the child actually asked me, “Master, can’t you see me? I’m not standing right in front of you. I’m standing on your right side.”
I was embarrassed! Really embarrassed! A dignified "ghost-catching Taoist priest" could not see ghosts. I really wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Even though I was a novice. However, after coughing twice, I still showed my shameless spirit, glanced to my right, and said, "Little ghost, it doesn't matter whether I can see you or not. What's important is that I will help you find your parents."
The child's dry voice came, "Master, I understand! Then I will give you my fetal blood, okay?"
Fetal blood? This thing is mentioned in the Yin Yang Soul Crossing Notes. It says that fetal blood can be used to find the mother, that is, to find the child's mother.
I said in a deep voice: "Okay. Then you can bring it."
Then I saw a black and red blood ball the size of a fingernail flying towards me and landing on my hand. The black blood had solidified into a blood ball. I placed the blood ball on the compass, and it was as if it had encountered high temperature, and it slowly began to vaporize.
Then I saw the needle on the compass emitting a faint light, and after trembling a few times, it pointed directly in a direction.
After finding the right direction, I said to the kid next to me who I couldn't see, "Okay, we know which direction it is. Let's go!"
(to be continued)
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)