Chapter Twelve: The Ghost in the Well Crawled Out

  Mr. Zhang stroked his mustache and said, "I'm telling you, Jia Shanren, this is harming me! You only gave me wine and dishes, but no wine to drink with them. Isn't that trying to take my old life?"

  Jia Renyi hastily said: "Changqing, bring a jar of that good wine I have to Daoist Master."

  When I saw Jia Renyi say this, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, and he must have been heartbroken. In just a moment, a chicken and a jar of wine were in our hands. Zhang Daoye told me to hold the chicken and hug the wine, and when I turned around to leave, Jia Mingzu said to me: "Dare to go with me to take a look."

  Jia Renyi said loudly: "Mingzu, don't play with these poor marquises, or you'll be led away by Changqing soon."

  Zhang Daoye turned his head and said to Jia Renyi, "Don't look down on this poor marquis, Dabao. In the future, he will be my apprentice, and you will still have to ask for his help."

  Jia Renyi hastily spoke up, who would have thought that Jia Renyi still had a soft side? This time we didn't spend a single penny, and from Jia Renyi's house we got two chickens and a jar of wine. I truly admire Zhang Daoye, on the way back I said to him: "Master Zhang, you really have skills, with just one glance you could see that Jia Mingzhu was going to be possessed by the water ghost."

  Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "Foolish child, you're not blind, are you? That Jia Mingzu doesn't have any evil aura, I'm just deceiving Jia Renyi. The Jia family is wealthy but unkind, it's only right that they should give up some of their wealth."

  I was even more impressed with Zhang Daoye, I didn't expect that Zhang Daoye's lies sounded more true than the truth. As we were talking, we arrived at the edge of the well. When we got there, we saw that the edge of the well was surrounded by a crowd of people. In front of the well, some kind-hearted person had brought over a table, on which was placed a pair of white candles and three incense sticks in an incense burner. Daidan and Shouhou ran over, from afar I could see that Daidan's past life was a donkey, while Shouhou's past life was a monkey. Daidan was tall and large, while Shouhou had a big head and thin neck. At this moment, I suddenly thought of a question and asked Zhang Daoye: "Master Zhang, how is it that you are your current self? I don't see any signs of your past life."

  Zhang Daoye said: "You little devil already knows too many heavenly secrets, I have to hurry up and seal your spiritual orifice, being able to see the Netherworld is enough."

  As he spoke, his hand slapped my head with a loud "pa", and my eyes dazed for a moment. When I looked again, the vague and ethereal past behind Dumb Egg and Skinny Monkey had disappeared. Dumb Egg and Skinny Monkey ran to my side and started talking to me. I handed them the wine jar and chicken, and Zhang Daoye said: "Dumb Egg, hold the wine tightly for me, don't spill it, that's my..."

  The silly egg nodded, and we walked to the edge of the well platform. I said, "Master Dao, in broad daylight like this, can ghosts come out?"

  Mr. Zhang said: "You little guy take a look at today's weather."

  I looked up to see the sky was as dark as a pot bottom, and after arriving at the well, people all gathered around, wanting to see Zhang Daoye's divine manifestation. Zhang Daoye held the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword in his hand, all of which were part of Zhang Daoye's pre-planned act, including calling out the soul. After dancing for a while, he lit the three incense sticks and took out a yellow paper talisman, saying to me: "You dare to take this ghost-summoning talisman over there, throw it into the well, then lie down at the edge of the well and observe the situation inside. When someone comes up, tell me."

  I walked forward, took the yellow paper talisman from Zhang Daoye's hand, and went to the edge of the well. Then I threw the yellow paper talisman into the well. The yellow paper talisman spun around and flew into the well. When it fell into the water, the originally calm water suddenly churned up. Due to the light at the mouth of the well, a circle of light was reflected in the well, which could be seen clearly.

  In that well, it seemed like someone was stirring something up. As the water churned, a person's head suddenly emerged from the water, with long hair hanging down wet and soggy, making it impossible to discern any features. Just then, the head in the well jerked upwards, looking straight at me, sending shivers down my spine. The female ghost had a complexion as white as paper, with scar after scar etched into her face, giving off an eerie and terrifying aura. Her black hair framed her face, making it seem even more ominous and frightening. Her eye sockets were sunken, and those eyes seemed to hold a deep-seated resentment that made one's blood run cold. Then, slowly but surely, her body began to rise up from the water, as if something beneath the surface was pushing her upwards.

  I saw the female ghost coming out of the well, and I was so scared that I quickly crawled back two steps, turned around and ran to Zhang Daoye's side, saying "The female ghost is coming up, the female ghost is coming up."

  Mr. Zhang said: "Don't be afraid, you must take responsibility for this matter since it's because of you that it happened. You have to hold onto this big rooster to resolve her resentment."

  I said: "Master Dao is actually me..."

  Mr. Zhang said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. In this world, there is no cause and effect without reason. When the female ghost comes up, you hold the big rooster. As long as she approaches you, you pinch the rooster, and she will naturally be frightened."

  I hastily took the big rooster from Zhang Daoye's hands and held it tightly in my arms, staring at the well opening without blinking. At this time, a pair of hands emerged from the well opening first, those hands were bloodless and had been soaked in water to the point of being unrecognizable. The hands grasped the edge of the well, and slowly a head of hair appeared, the wet hair looked especially terrifying. Then that frightening face appeared, with wound after wound on it, deep down to the bone.

  The female ghost emerged, and my heart was already in my throat. I was extremely frightened, my body couldn't help but tremble, feeling wave after wave of urination. The female ghost suddenly stared at me with her eyes, cursing: "You little beast, I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my doorstep. I want you dead, and I want you to be trapped in this well forever."

  As she spoke, she suddenly crawled out of the well and stretched out her hands to grab my neck. The female ghost's body seemed to be floating in mid-air. I saw her pounce towards me, and quickly retreated backwards. Just as she was about to grab my neck, my hand subconsciously pinched the rooster, which let out a loud crow. The female ghost seemed to have been startled by the rooster's cry, and stopped dead in her tracks, standing there staring at me with an extremely venomous gaze.

  At this time, Zhang Daoye said: "There is no cause and effect in the world without reason. This child is not your substitute at all. It's called different roads for yin and yang. If you insist on pulling him into the water to drown him, not only can't he be reincarnated, but also will be punished by the underworld, it's not worth it!"

  The female ghost was gnashing her teeth and saying: "I want him dead, I want him dead. He's the one who made me suffer so much."

  I quickly said: "How can one child harm you? Besides, I don't even know you."

  The female ghost let out a cold, mirthless laugh and said, "Don't you recognize me? Weren't you the one who urinated on that mound yesterday?"

  I nodded and said: "Yes."

  The female ghost said: "It's your urine that made me look like this now, my face is all covered with your urine."

  Zhang Daoye said, "This big sister, Dabao is a mortal with a bold heart, originally on a different path from you. This was an unintentional mistake. Considering the face of this old Taoist, how about letting him off?"

  At this time, the female ghost turned her head and said sorrowfully: "Miscellaneous Mao Lao Dao, you should not interfere with this matter, it is my feud with him."

  Zhang Daoye said: "How bold! If you don't drink when offered a toast, you'll be punished with a penalty drink."

  As he spoke, his mouth was reciting incantations, and with a flick of his hand, I saw a stream of golden light emerge from Zhang Daoye's hand, flying straight towards the female ghost. At that moment, it hit the female ghost's body, causing her to let out an "ah" and fall to the ground, her face contorted in extreme pain. Just then, Zhang Daoye walked over slowly, holding the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword. The female ghost saw Zhang Daoye approaching and tried to crawl up from the ground to escape, but after struggling for a few moments, she fell back down, trembling with fear.

  Before Zhang Daoye approached the female ghost, she quickly covered her face with her clothes and didn't dare to look directly at Zhang Daoye's clothes. She made a hurried voice in her mouth and shouted: "Master Dao spare my life, Master Dao spare my life, I won't dare again."

  Zhang Daoye said slowly: "You're just a wrongly killed female ghost, with no magical powers, not even a ghost fairy, yet you dare to be so arrogant and disregard the laws of the underworld."

  The female ghost was just there, bitterly begging, when Zhang Daoye said: "Actually, I only need to walk over, no need for the Seven-Star Demon-Subduing Sword. As long as you touch my Hundred-Fold Demon-Subduing Robes, you will dissipate into nothingness and won't even be able to become a vengeful spirit."