Chapter 2: Rescue by Local Methods

  After returning to the village, Second Uncle had the big doll that seemed to have been possessed by an evil spirit examined by the village doctor. However, at that time medical care was backward, and after being treated for half a day, there was no improvement. Second Uncle was worried in his heart, as he was the one who had brought it back, and if something happened, it would be hard to explain.

  Later, I heard from Second Uncle that at the time, several elderly people in the village were shocked after hearing his description and said that the little ghost had come out and was going to cause big trouble. What kind of little ghost it was, the old people didn't dare say, fearing they would provoke evil spirits. So Second Uncle could only suppress this doubt deep within his heart.

  As for Da Wa Zi, due to being at a loss, he could only foolishly and stupidly pass by the years. During these years, Er Shu also secretly investigated that so-called little ghost, and finally got some leads. It turned out that this involved a murder case.

  Before the 1960s, Lingshui Village was originally just a closed and backward rural area. As people who rely on mountains to eat and rely on water to drink, these villagers must have had some kind of faith. Therefore, someone suggested that the Snake King Temple be renovated for worship purposes. According to research, it is unknown when this Snake King Temple was built, but it has been around for many years.

  At that time, there was a local tyrant in the village called Liu Lao San. What shocked Er Shu was that this Liu Lao San was none other than Tu Tou Zi. No wonder this old guy wasn't pleasant to get along with. Liu Lao San was quite arrogant at the time, why? Because he had made his fortune and got rich. But later, Er Shu found out that Liu Lao San's wealth came from robbing graves, specifically digging up buried treasures.

  But after this man got rich, he started to act arbitrarily and bully the villagers all day long, causing a lot of gossip. This Liu Lao San not only loves money, but also has another hobby - being a lecher. According to the system at that time, he was a typical degenerate. If any family had a beautiful daughter, they would be in trouble. Coincidentally, Liu Lao San took a fancy to the daughter of a widow in the village and frequently went to her house to harass her.

  He even went to the widow's house to propose, making the two women anxious every day, afraid that something would happen. In fact, something did happen. One summer evening, after Liu Lao San had a few drinks, he stumbled towards the widow's house, and everyone gave him a wide berth, not daring to provoke him.

  Liu Lao San first used the excuse of being drunk to knock on the widow's door, and when there was no response from inside, he started cursing loudly. He swore every foul word, and finally kicked open the door with one foot. Some villagers saw Liu Lao San enter the house and shook their heads in dismay.

  When the sky brightened, everyone dared to enter and check. As soon as they went in, everyone felt a chill rising from their feet, fear spreading out, only to see that the widow and her daughter had both hanged themselves inside. The eyes were wide open, the tongue was hanging out, and several pale blue snakes were crawling on the corpses. As for Liu Lao San, after searching around, people found him lying on the bed, staring blankly at the beam with his eyes wide open.

  The villagers, although they had some guesses in their hearts, did not dare to discuss it and could only collect the body, choose a burial site, and bury it on the mountain with a good heart. As for Liu Lao San, everyone naturally didn't dare to say much, but from then on, everyone found that Liu Lao San had changed, no longer being arrogant and overbearing, and started doing handicrafts, but his temper was still very big.

  So Second Uncle was also very puzzled after learning about these past events, and didn't know whether Liu Lao San had killed the person or not, and what exactly had happened that night, nobody knew.

  Before long, the moment of reform and opening up arrived. As a poor village, it naturally became one of the key targets for attention from above. In order to rectify the trend of reckless grave construction on the mountain, the higher-ups dispatched a production team to take up residence in the village and begin planning a vigorous movement for transformation. The leader was a man in his forties named Lao Ba Dao, whose name sounded quite impressive, but who had a gentle appearance and wore a pair of black-framed glasses.

  After entering the village, Lao Dao first found Er Shu and inquired about the land resources nearby and the general direction of the tomb construction. At that time, although Er Shu was in charge, this demolition movement would inevitably harm the interests of the villagers. The two had differing opinions for a while and parted ways unhappily.

  But Lao Da put the knife to the top of the order, citing the construction of common prosperity as a reason, and wanted to start relocating work in three days. Er Shu was anxious at that time, like an ant on a hot pot. Just as it was about to take drastic action, the appearance of one person turned the situation around and avoided a storm.

  At that time, a young man wearing a white long gown, carrying a black wooden sword on his back and holding a cloth bag in his hand came to the village. At first glance, the long gown looked a bit like a Taoist robe. The young man was born quiet and had an ordinary appearance.

  After entering the village, he first went to the ruins of Liu Lao San's house. At that time, it was just a day's journey, and Second Uncle thought this young man might be crazy, so he stepped forward to ask if there was anything wrong. But the person didn't speak, didn't make a sound, only furrowed his brow, with a thoughtful expression.

  Second Uncle saw that it was pointless to continue, and just as he was about to turn around and leave, the young Taoist priest turned around and said: "Brother Li, wait a minute, I have something to ask you. Has anything strange happened in this place?"

  Upon hearing this, Second Uncle's expression changed to one of great surprise. How did this young Daoist guess his surname and know that something strange had happened? He must have some abilities. At once, he didn't dare to be slow and told the whole story from start to finish.

  The young Taoist nodded thoughtfully after listening, then smiled and said: "Brother Li can call me Nan San, if you don't mind, can you take me to see Big Wa Zi?"

  Second Uncle saw that the young Taoist had a lot of confidence in his words and deeds, and he didn't dare not agree. Coincidentally, at this time, Old Ba Dao was just about to discuss with Second Uncle the matter of flattening the grave mound, and after hearing about this, he was also greatly surprised, so he followed San Nan to Da Wa Zi's home.

  It's really a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for this big guy. He's been acting crazy all day, and now he's become like this. After Second Uncle led Nan San to find Big Guy, he shook his head and sighed: "It's all my fault. If we hadn't gone to that Snake King Temple, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

  Lao Da Dao was extremely disdainful, as an atheist, how could he possibly believe in such absurd things, and couldn't help but mock and ridicule. Nan San turned his head to stare at Lao Da Dao, who had clearly been targeting him with his words, but instead of showing displeasure, he smiled and said: "Don't worry, this kid isn't seriously ill, there's a way to cure him."

  Second Uncle heard Nan San say this, his face couldn't help but pause for a moment, then he was overjoyed. These past few years, he had always felt guilty. If they really solved the problem of this big kid, it would be perfect, but he also had some doubts: "Nan San, does this kid really have a way?"

  Nan San nodded three times, then ordered Second Uncle to fetch three things: male yellow hornet, child's urine, and a type of mouse. He placed the big doll in a wooden bucket, with burning firewood underneath. Lao Dao didn't know what this was for, so he just stood aside watching. After Second Uncle brought back the three items, Nan San said, "Keep away from the wooden bucket, or you'll be affected by evil spirits."

  He then ordered Lao to put the knife and Ershu into a wooden bucket, poured in hot water, and applied realgar and child's urine to Dawazi's body. A foul odor wafted out, after doing all this, Nan San retreated to one side, about a few minutes later, Dawazi's whole body suddenly turned bright red, with a layer of small red spots on his skin. Ershu was shocked and was about to speak when he was silenced by Nan San's gaze.

  The next scene was even more astonishing to Er Ye and Lao Da, the hot water in the wooden barrel gradually boiling under the fire. Nan San looked at the time and felt it was almost right, took out a talisman to suppress evil spirits and stuck it on the big doll's forehead, shouting loudly: "You evil spirits, do not harm innocent lives."

  As soon as the voice fell, Zhang Jie's ghost symbol quickly burned into ashes. Suddenly, a black turbid substance flowed out of Dawazi's five senses. From a distance, it looked like seven orifices bleeding, which was terrifying to see. Nan San pointed at Dawazi's brow, and sweat seeped from his forehead. After a while, Dawazi suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood clots, inside which something seemed to be wriggling. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small white snake.

  Nan San saw a white snake coming out of the ground and shouted to Er Shu: "Release the ferret."

  The second uncle hastily opened a sack, and the mongoose inside let out a startled cry. It then pounced on the snake on the ground. The two animals were natural enemies and got into a fierce fight. However, the mongoose seemed to have the upper hand, biting the white snake in half before picking it up and running out of the house.

  The old man beside him was already speechless, who knew there would be such a strange thing, and couldn't help but feel reverence for Nan San. As for Nan San, he hadn't rested yet, took out the ink-colored wooden sword from behind his back, bit his finger tip, and slapped it heavily on Da Wa's forehead, letting out a mournful cry.

  Er Shu and Lao Da were about to collapse on the ground when they heard this voice, not because they were scared, but because it wasn't Da Wa Zi's voice, it was a woman's. Nan San's face turned serious as he waited for the person to approach, and when she did, Da Wa Zi's body shook, opened his eyes, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief and put away his wooden sword.