Chapter 3: Wailing Stick

  I didn't have time to think much, so I directly kicked the groom down with one foot. The surrounding area was in an uproar. This was my first time doing such a brazen thing like snatching someone's bride. The groom's massive body fell to the ground like a ball.

  I grabbed Liu Wanwan and turned around to run, killing all the way to the south gate. At that time, they were all helping the new groom who weighed over 300 catties, and no one was paying attention to me. Liu Wanwan's footsteps were stiff, following me running for a long distance. I ran to the south gate in one breath, just about to turn around when the old steward appeared. He blocked my way, his expression also turned ruthless.

  "Master, isn't this against the rules?"

  I knew things couldn't be delayed, so I started making sword fingers and used Master's old trick "Heart Chant" to draw symbols in the air. The old steward seemed to have not expected that I would do this, his face changed immediately, and he took a step back. I took advantage of this gap, grabbed Liu Wanwan, and swiftly rushed out of the south gate.

  Just as my body was still warm, it happened to be the time when the golden rooster breaks through the dawn. I felt aching and weak all over, and obviously lacking in vital energy. Liu Wanwan hadn't woken up yet, so I sat cross-legged on the ground and recited "Qing Xin Zhou" twice, and the feeling of weakness only improved a little. It was at this time that Liu Wanwan slowly woke up.

  But in just a second, I discovered the problem. The golden rooster had already dawned, but the yin energy on Liu Wanwan's body was still... thick and couldn't be dissipated. That resentful energy seemed to be like a maggot in her bones, lingering on her body. After this incident, I felt it more clearly. What's most frightening is that her yang fire had dropped so low that it was almost invisible.

  I feel very uneasy in my heart, the person has already been rescued, how can such a thing happen? I carefully recalled again and confirmed that it should be related to last night's situation. "Zhu Long Ru Shui" is a very large Feng Shui tomb layout, there must be something else inside, and what exactly is in the middle, I need to ask Liu Wanwan.

  As I thought of this, I stood up and walked to the side of Liu Wanwan's bed. Just as I approached, that sweet and nauseating smell suddenly rushed into my brain. The smell on Liu Wanwan's body had completely changed. This sweetness was absolutely the kind that made people feel sick when they smelled it. It was like the stench of a corpse after rotting for a long time would emit a strange sweet odor.

  Liu Wanwan's eyes were dull and her face was pale, clearly she had been frightened enough the night before. As Liu Wanwan was a mortal and hadn't learned any Taoist skills like I did from Master, it was normal for ordinary people to be stiff and numb after their soul left their body. At that time in the Mingqing Mansion, she was dazed and confused, but after waking up with a clear mind, she would feel that kind of heart-piercing fear.

  I said softly: "Wanwan, is there something you can tell me now?"

  Liu Wanwan stared at me for half a day, then suddenly let out a "wa" and threw herself into my arms, bursting into tears. I was startled. To be honest, in the five years since I came to the mountain, my temperament has become relatively calm, although many times I'm secretly shocked in my heart, but on the surface I'm mostly peaceful and natural, however, when it comes to women, this strange species, I still don't know how to deal with them.

  Moreover, Liu Wanwan is usually a gentle and timid person. Suddenly crying like this, I was also flustered.

  After crying for a while, she finally calmed down, her face desperate, looking at me with the kind of eyes that grasp at a straw to save one's life, saying: "Fang Xian, please, please save me."

  I told her not to rush, saying we still had something to take care of beforehand. Because when I opened the door for Liu Wanwan, I was hit on the back of my head with a ghost-quelling stick, which is why my soul escaped. The one who hit me definitely wasn't a ghost, but a person. Who would be so kind as to give me a whack with a brand new ghost-quelling stick? Now the most important thing is to first catch this person, and then we can investigate what happened next.

  It's actually easy to find out who this person is, just ask whose family has recently had a funeral. Soon, a kind-hearted neighbor told me that the Cow family on the east side had a funeral two days ago.

  It is said that because he always carried a bottle of Erguotou liquor, this man surnamed Niu was nicknamed Niu Er. He was an idle and dissolute person who didn't work honestly, one of the "sit-on-the-ground" households in old Beijing, spending his days drinking and playing cards. His family had an elderly mother over 70 years old who passed away a few days ago. It is said that after her death, they received a small inheritance.

  As soon as I heard him say that, I basically had a number in mind. So I took Liu Wanwan to find this rascal and ask clearly what was going on.

  On the road, Liu Wanwan finally told me the truth.

  Originally, Liu Wanwan was engaged by her family before she was born because the village where her family lived was very poor and backward, so engagement at birth had to be fulfilled.

  The boy who was engaged to her since childhood is named Zhang Jian, and the two were also childhood sweethearts. They played together when they were young, and by the time they were in fourth grade, Zhang Jian had written a love letter to her. She didn't pay attention to it at the time because she was too young. Later, when they went to high school, she liked another boy in their class, but that boy was quite flirtatious, and she was also very heartbroken during that period of time, which was when Zhang Jian comforted her.

  She thought Zhang Jian was very good to her, then remembered the elementary school love letter incident, plus it was an arranged marriage by their families, stable and down-to-earth. So she ended up with Zhang Jian. But unexpectedly, after the college entrance exam, Zhang Jian started going to the county with those classmates every day, hanging out in discos, getting in touch with women from society, not returning home at night and so on.

  She said Zhang Jian didn't like to listen either, and was fed up with him. The two of them were quite awkward together, although they hadn't explicitly mentioned breaking up. However, she had given up on Zhang Jian in her heart, thinking that all men were the same. At first, he would talk big, but once they started talking about love, he would start looking at his bowl and thinking about his pot.

  Just at this time, she wanted to break up with Zhang Jian, and had just made up her mind when she received news that Zhang Jian had died unexpectedly.

  Zhang Jianjia is the "landlord" of the village! In short, he has money and power in the village. He said that the engagement cannot be broken off, although Zhang Jian is dead, a ghost wedding must still be held to settle the matter between the two families.

  Liu Wanwan has a younger brother at home. In rural areas, boys are generally more valued than girls. Raising daughters is almost like selling them off, and the dowry demanded is not small, all for the purpose of marrying off their sons, because sons can carry on the family line, while married-off daughters are like spilled water. Generally, when marrying off a daughter, the dowry will be around 100,000 yuan.

  Zhang Jianjia was very generous, saying that he would give 200,000 yuan. This number moved Liu Wanwan's family. Usually arrogant Zhang family, this time also don't know if it is because of the son's death, restrained a lot, and moved with emotion, saying that his son had not married before, and it can be considered as fulfilling a wish. The ghost marriage is just a formality, letting the child close their eyes in peace. It can also be considered as fulfilling a promise of engagement made when they were young.

  Liu Wanwan's father originally disagreed, but later Liu Wanwan's mother persuaded him that the Zhang family was wealthy and influential, so what could they do if they didn't agree? Besides, it was just a formality, their daughter had already gone to study in another city and would settle down and get married in Beijing. No one could control her. She wouldn't even come back more than a few times a year. At worst, they wouldn't hold the wedding ceremony in the village and that's it.

  Liu Wanwan herself was a timid and shy girl, kind by nature. At that time, although she was unwilling in her heart, Zhang Jianhua's heart had already returned to the flowers, and his body had returned to the earth. What's the point of being calculating? It was just a dying wish after all.

  So, the kind-hearted Liu Wanwan agreed to this spirit marriage. Since they had never held a spirit marriage before, all the procedures and everything else were arranged by the Zhang family, including what was called "pointing finger blood" to comfort the deceased and seal their vows with blood.

  The more I listen, the more it doesn't sound right. If ghost marriage is just a formality, why do you need to shed blood? The tip of the finger is connected to the heart, and what comes out is actually heart's blood. This is also why many Taoist practitioners bite their middle finger to draw talismans when driving out evil spirits. There must be another huge conspiracy behind this. Zhang family... I don't know what they're trying to do after all.

  As we walked and chatted, we soon arrived near the Niu family's place. The houses in this area were still flat-roofed. Just as we were about to ask where the Niu family was, a dark-skinned man with a low haircut suddenly appeared from in front of us, shaking his head and swinging his tail. He was not very tall, wearing a large pair of pants and a straw hat on his back, looking very tanned, with a grass leaf still stuck between his teeth.

  I was going to go over and ask, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I shouted: "Hey——"

  I didn't expect this kid to see me and run away like he saw a ghost. I immediately realized that this guy was probably the Cow Second. Liu Wanwan and I quickly chased after him, and this Cow Second had probably been emptied of his body by drinking every day, trying to climb over the wall but failing, falling down, and being caught red-handed by me.

  Niu Er looked at me and ran away, so he sat on the ground and asked me: "What do you want to do here? Why are you chasing me from such a long distance?"

  I saw his rogue attitude and almost laughed: "Niu Er, why did you run, and I'll chase after you."

  The cow stood up, patted the dirt off its body and said with a "I don't care" attitude: "You can do whatever you want, anyway I'm penniless and have nothing to lose!"

  Liu Wanwan anxiously said in a soft and gentle voice, "Brother, please help us out, this is a matter of life and death."

  Niu Er burst out laughing after hearing that: "Whoever's life is whoever's business, what does it have to do with me? Anyway, I'm living a great life."

  I furrowed my brow and suddenly remembered what my master had told me before - different people need to be treated in different ways, as long as the goal is achieved.

  I stopped Liu Wanwan and said with a smile, "I'm not here to rob you of your money. I just want to ask why you were hitting me with a funeral stick in the middle of the night? We didn't have any grudges or grievances between us before."

  Niu Er's face turned slightly pale after listening, and he shouted while pulling his neck: "I'm fine, I've eaten my fill, why would I hit you?"

  I immediately determined that the one who hit me was Niu Er, and I wasn't panicked anymore. I smiled and said: "Have you ever thought about why someone would want to hit me? Have you ever thought about why I came straight to you? It's only been a few hours, how did I know who hit me?"

  The cow listened to my words and asked tentatively: "What do you mean by this?"

  I'm not in a hurry either, I directly took out a "clear heart and remove filth symbol" from my pocket and intimidated him saying: "I am a Taoist priest, this symbol is a soul-calling symbol, I don't know who told you to hit me, so I can only take it out on you. I will make your soul leave your body at night, or drive away the evil spirits that disturb you every night, and even make you lose every time you gamble."

  This old Beijing native believed what I said and looked a bit scared after hearing me out.

  "What have I done to harm you? It's not like I've harmed you. If you really have the ability, go harm that guy instead."