Chapter 24: Summoning the Soul

  Mr. Zhang Shan said that everyone must find Zhang Xiaolan's body before 12 o'clock at night, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable. Zhang Xiaolan's body was carried away by Zhang San, so only by letting Zhang San lead the way can we ensure to find Zhang Xiaolan's body before 12 o'clock. However, Zhang San is now dead, and it is impossible for a dead person to lead the way.

  Fortunately, Zhang San's death time has not exceeded twenty-four hours, his soul has not gone far, and the memories of his past life have not been completely lost. Therefore, as long as Zhang San's soul can be summoned back, it is possible to use Taoist methods to control his soul and let him lead the way in front, making it easy to find Zhang Xiaolan's body.

  At eight o'clock in the evening, Zhangshan Old Dao set up a ritual platform at Zhang San's home. Zhangshan Old Dao said that when he summons souls, no one can disturb him, so everyone had to leave Zhang San's house, and only I was allowed to stay behind.

  After Zhangshan Old Road said that, my mother naturally wouldn't let it go. "No way, if Xiaofei stays, I'll stay too!" My mother said to Zhangshan Old Road.

  "If you stay, it's not just you who will be in danger, but also Xiaofei. If you insist on staying and something happens to Xiaofei, don't blame me!" Zhushan Lao Dao said with a scowl.

  "Don't dare to be so rude to my mom, otherwise I won't recognize you as my master anymore! You can go find Zhang Xiaolan yourself!" I shouted at Zhu Shan Lao Dao. Although I was still a little kid, I knew that my mom loved me the most, so I wouldn't allow anyone to bully her.

  As soon as I shouted, the old Taoist Bamboo Mountain might have felt that he had lost his composure earlier, so he immediately apologized to my mother: "Sorry, Lu Dajie. Earlier, I was in a hurry and said something too heavy. To save Stone Horse Village, we must find Zhang Xiaolan's body, and to find Zhang Xiaolan's body, we must summon back Zhang San's soul. When I'm summoning the soul, I need Xiao Fei's assistance. Xiao Fei's life is hard, and all ghosts can't get close to him. If it were someone else, I'm afraid there would be a problem."

  My mother is a reasonable person, and after Zhangshan Lao Dao explained it to her in such detail, if she still doesn't agree, that would be somewhat unreasonable.

  My mother dared to leave me with Old Master Zhushan because, in this area of ten miles around, although Old Master Zhushan is greedy for wealth, his other reputation is still very good. At least, Old Master Zhushan has never harmed anyone.

  "Xiao Fei, be careful!" After my mom repeatedly reminded me and instructed me, she finally left me with a reluctant goodbye.

  After my mother left, the whole house seemed especially gloomy.

  A corpse, two candles, an old Taoist, and me.

  Zhu Shan Lao Dao first lit three incense sticks, then burned some paper money. After burning the paper money, Zhu Shan Lao Dao began to recite his incomprehensible scriptures. Zhu Shan Lao Dao also somehow got a broken wooden sword, and while reciting the scriptures, he danced with the sword, just like those who jump into a trance.

  The old man was jumping on the bamboo mountain, and suddenly I heard the cry of a baby in my ear. After this cry, I vaguely heard the sound of a woman sobbing. At this time, the pair of burning candles suddenly went out, and the whole room immediately became pitch black.

  These sounds seemed to come from under the ground, and also seemed to come from within the walls. The voice was deep and gloomy, the more I listened, the more frightened I became, and as soon as I got scared, I couldn't help but burst into tears.

  As soon as I cried, I felt someone gently patting my shoulder. Her hand was soft and gentle. "Don't cry, don't be afraid. It's okay, I'll protect you." A woman's warm voice whispered in my ear.

  After she finished speaking, I felt like I was being tightly hugged by a pair of hands. These hands were holding me so tightly that I almost couldn't breathe.

  Just as I felt myself suffocating, a match was struck and the burning match lit the kerosene lamp on the table. Zhangshan Lao Dao picked up the kerosene lamp and slowly walked towards me.

  "Are you scared? Be brave, don't cry. As long as you don't cry and aren't afraid, those things won't get close to your body." Zhushan Lao Dao said with a kind face towards me.

  I saw Lao Dao from the Bamboo Mountain coming over, and my tense heart relaxed a bit. It was then that I realized my hands were tightly wrapped around my body. Apparently, those hands that had been holding onto me so tightly just now were my own.

  The old man in Bamboo Mountain seemed to have seen through my mind, for I had not yet opened my mouth to ask, and he took the initiative to explain to me.

  "Just now, there were indeed some souls coming over. One was an infant and the other was a mother. These two are kind souls and won't harm people, so I didn't bother with them earlier. The one who patted you and comforted you just now is that mother, she took you as her own child." said Zhangshan Lao Dao.

  Zhu Shan Old Road said that, thinking back, when the female ghost patted my back just now, it indeed had some of the feeling of my mother patting my back. However, I still feel that my mother's pat is much better than that female ghost's pat. When my mother pats my back, I feel warmth and peace; when that female ghost pats my back, I only have one feeling, which is fear!

  "This time, no matter what, you are not allowed to cry," said Zhangshan Lao Dao.

  Without waiting for me to respond, Zhangshan Laodao blew out the kerosene lamp in his hand. After blowing it out, the whole room was pitch black again.

  At this time, Zhangshan Old Dao was reciting scriptures again, and his great spirit jumped up.

  Hopping and jumping, the old Taoist priest from Bamboo Mountain pulled me over. Because the gate was closed, moonlight couldn't shine in, so there wasn't a single ray of light in front of my eyes, and I couldn't see any path, so I followed behind the old Taoist priest, wherever he led me, I went along with him.

  In a place surrounded by cold air, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao stopped. After stopping, Bamboo Mountain Old Dao handed over one of his cold hands to me and told me to hold on to it, saying that without his order, I couldn't let go.

  The hand that Zhang Shan Lao handed over to me should be a man's hand. The skin of this hand is very rough and has calluses, which should have been formed by long-term farming work.

  Just as I was lost in thought, that hand suddenly moved, and at the same time, a terrifying voice echoed in my ear.

  "Let me go! Let me go!"

  This is Zhang San's voice. Although I was only seven years old, I was still very familiar with the voices of all the people in the village. Therefore, as soon as this voice entered my ears, I knew it was Zhang San's voice.

  Zhang San is already dead, so could this voice be his soul speaking out? Also, he told me to let him go, so was the hand I was holding Zhang San's?

  The more I think about it, the scarier it gets, so I immediately let go of his hand and turned around to run away.

  Just as I was about to let go, the voice of Bamboo Mountain's Old Dao came. "Don't let go, or else the lives of everyone in the village won't be spared."

  As soon as I heard what the old Taoist priest said, I didn't dare let go. In Shima Village, there were not only my parents, but also my grandparents and those kind uncles and aunts. If I had let go at that moment, they would have lost their lives because of me, and I would have no relatives left.

  The fear this ghost brought me was nothing compared to the fear of losing a loved one, so I gritted my teeth and gripped Zhang San's hand tightly.

  The tighter I pinched, the more violently Zhang San's hand moved. Just as I was about to lose my grip on Zhang San's hand, his hand suddenly stopped moving.

  Just as I let my guard down for a moment, the voice of Bamboo Mountain's Old Daoist came.

  "Get a grip!"

  As soon as Zhang San finished saying this, he suddenly pulled his hand out of my palm. At this time, I tried to grab it again, but it was too late.

  "Quickly, chase!" Bamboo Mountain Old Dao shouted at me, then grabbed my hand and rushed out of the house.

  As I was driven out of the gate, I vaguely saw a black shadow heading east. Bamboo Mountain Taoist seemed to have seen the black shadow too, and immediately took off in pursuit towards the east. Bamboo Mountain Taoist chased after it while shouting at me to hurry up and follow him.

  At this time, I was so scared that I couldn't even stand still, let alone run! Zhushan Laodao ran a few steps and saw me standing in place without moving, then turned back.

  "What's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to keep up?" Bamboo Mountain Taoist scolded me.

  "I'm scared." As soon as I said it, I burst into tears.