Witchcraft

  In the eyes of mainstream historians, my father Fan Jiyun was absolutely an outlier. Many of his later views and theories were rejected and criticized by other historians. However, despite this, my father's position and reputation in the academic community remained unshakeable, mainly due to his profound historical knowledge and his persistent spirit of on-site investigation.

  In fact, when my father was young, he was highly regarded by many senior historians who believed that he would become a great historian in the future. However, an incident thirty years ago determined the direction of his academic research for life.

  Thirty years ago, my father was in his prime. Many major archaeological activities at home had the shadow of my father, among which some were tasks assigned by superiors, and some were conducted by him as an individual. At that time, my father's academic research direction had not yet taken shape, and he was enthusiastic about any archaeological and field investigation activities, because he always adhered to the idea of "hearing is false, seeing is true".

  That year, my father and several good friends made an appointment to go to Yunnan Jinning Shizhai Mountain as scholars to conduct field investigations on the site of the slave empire established by the ancient ethnic minorities in Yunnan - Dian Kingdom.

  After returning to my hometown in Liaoning, I heard from my mother's recollection that my father seemed to have contracted a serious illness and looked very haggard. For a whole year, my father stayed at home, rarely going out, as if he had suffered some kind of huge mental blow. When he finally emerged from this state, he unexpectedly began to delve deeply into the study of shamanism. This left many colleagues perplexed, because my father's research seemed not to be just a simple study of folklore or sacrificial rituals, but rather a genuine attempt to treat shamanism as a science. Some outsiders even directly said that my father's research had shifted to the realm of mysticism.

  However, I heard from my father himself that his research was exploring the relationship between the origin of Chinese civilization and the rise and fall of shamanic culture. After more than a decade of in-depth study, my father began to publicly express his views and opinions. Apparently, many of his views contained too much mysticism, which led to him being attacked by many scholars. But what really surprised my father was that at a time when the country was vigorously promoting so-called academic freedom of speech, he almost suffered a blackout in the academic community because of those views.

  After that, my father chose to be silent and never participated in any academic seminars or wrote articles for any academic journals. Fortunately, my father was a free-spirited person who didn't take it seriously, but secretly continued his research. However, the family's livelihood had to be maintained, so after several years of silence, my father became a professor at a university in Shenyang through a friend's introduction, and our whole family settled here. Although he later participated in several archaeological activities outside the province, most of them were done with an attitude of going through the motions, and it seemed that after returning from a trip to Yunnan, he lost interest in many archaeological activities.

  Although my father is in his sixties this year, I am still young because I am the eldest son of my father. Before that, I had an elder brother, but he mysteriously disappeared more than a decade ago. As for how he disappeared, I was too young to understand at that time and naturally didn't know anything about it. What puzzles me is that my father has always been tight-lipped about this matter. I thought he didn't want to recall the painful memories, so I didn't ask much about it.

  I learned from my mother that my father was very fond of my brother because he was smart, and by comparison, I didn't inherit the excellent genes from my father. From a young age to adulthood, my studies were always poor, and in the end, I only got into an ordinary university.

  It's also because I didn't study well, so after graduating, I couldn't find a job. Helplessly, I had to borrow some money from my father and open a bookstore with one of my good friends. To be honest, books aren't exactly a lucrative business, but that friend is a rare business genius, plus he's been a bookworm since childhood and has done extensive research on the market for rare books. So even though our store isn't big, business has always been great. As a result, I was able to put my mind at ease and let him manage everything. Before long, we'd made back the initial investment and I was able to return the money to my father. The day he got his money back, he smiled and said to me: "You're just lucky to have a good friend helping you out - it looks like you won't be starving anytime soon."

  This is my father's temperament, maybe because he was young and often worked hard outside for many years, which made him not have a bit of gentlemanly air, and he would often talk to me like this. However, my mother was very worried about me. According to her old-fashioned idea, I must have a stable job to make her feel at ease. To put it bluntly, she hoped that I would take the civil service exam. Of course, I also tried, but unfortunately, after taking the joint examination for two years, I still didn't succeed, and in the end, my father told me to focus on doing business and be at ease.

  Originally, the days were spent in a dull and slightly warm manner. But one day, Father received a letter. At that time, I was at home having lunch with him, and after reading the letter, his face showed an unusual expression, looking worried and excited at the same time. Seeing that something was wrong, Father's blood pressure suddenly rose, and he almost fainted.

  Afterwards, when asked what was written in the letter, he didn't respond, and looked worried.

  A few days later, he suddenly called me home and said to me very seriously: "Pei Xi, you have to go to Yunnan."

  "Ah?" This is a normal reaction, and not to mention that Liaoning is thousands of miles away from Yunnan. Even if the two provinces are adjacent, this sentence from my father is still quite abrupt. I asked: "Go to Yunnan? Why?"

  His father closed his eyes, thought for a moment, took a sip of the tea I had poured for him, and said faintly: "Go pick someone up."

  "Who is it? Which person?"

  "The descendant of the lifesaver."

  This made me even more confused. Savior? Could it be that my father had encountered some kind of mortal danger when he was young? Even if he did, how did this mortal danger end up in Yunnan? Under my repeated questioning, my father finally told me. He said that when he was young, he once went to Yunnan for an inspection and was hijacked by a group of bandits, but fortunately, he was rescued by someone named Ajuna and managed to return to the Northeast alive. Now, this lifesaver is old and has little time left, and with no one to rely on, after some thought, she can only entrust her own descendants to my father.

  I thought, Ashuna? This is obviously a woman's name, how was she kidnapped by a bandit gang and rescued by a woman? But when I asked my father again, he said to me: "You little boy, why are you so nosy, what's the point of asking so much? Are you not listening to your dad's words?"

  I smiled and said: "Alright alright alright, I'll go, after all you're my old man."

  My mom said unhappily beside me: "How can you talk to your father like that!"

  "It's nothing, it's nothing." My father said with a wave of his hand. Since I was young, I have inherited my father's genes of talking big and boasting. Usually, I also talk big like my father. My mother always worries that if I keep acting like this, I won't respect the elderly and won't follow the filial piety. But actually, she is worrying too much.

  I said to my father: "Going to Yunnan is no problem, but how can I find that Ah Nu Na when I get there?"

  "They have made arrangements, when you arrive in Kunming, someone will naturally come to meet you," said Father.

  "Let Pei Xi go so far away by herself, and it's a place she's never been to before, can she handle it?" my mom worriedly asked.

  My father made a face at my mother and said, "When I was in my twenties, I had traveled all over the country."

  So I set out from Shenyang and headed for Kunming in Yunnan.

  Originally, I also planned to come here and have some fun, but before leaving, my father seemed to see through my thoughts, telling me to set off lightly, go early and return early, and not to linger for too long. So, I didn't bring any luggage, just a backpack with a change of clothes, of course, I brought a lot of money, thinking that when I returned, I could bring some local specialties back to my dad.

  At this time, it was during the summer vacation, and many people came to Yunnan, but most of them were here for tourism, with many children following their parents.

  After dozens of hours of train ride, the train finally arrived at the station. I followed the crowd to get off the train, still a bit worried that the person who was supposed to pick me up might not be able to find me. My worries were not unfounded, first, this was my first time in Yunnan, secondly, I had never met the person who was picking me up before, how could he recognize me?

  I originally thought it would be like meeting online friends, with a bouquet of flowers or a pen tucked behind my ear as a secret signal, but my father told me not to prepare anything and that someone would naturally find me at the train station.

  My father usually looks like he doesn't care about details, but in fact, his mind is very meticulous. I didn't have too much worry. But this time, I really misjudged the old man.

  I wandered around Kunming Railway Station for nearly half an hour, but I didn't see the person who was supposed to pick me up. The station was crowded with people pushing and shoving each other, which really annoyed me, so I walked out of the station. As soon as I stepped out of the station, a little boy came walking towards me, begging for money. Not that I don't have a compassionate heart, but anyone with some common sense knows that most child beggars at train stations are fake. Just as I was about to shoo him away, I was surprised to find that he wasn't there to beg, but instead handed me a small piece of paper. I took the paper and opened it, and on it were written three words: "Go to Wenshan."

  I asked the little boy: "Who gave you the note?"

  The little boy turned his head and pointed, but no matter how long he pointed, he couldn't point out who it was. He said in puzzlement: "Huh? It's strange, just now they were still there."

  I turned around and saw that the train station was bustling with people, but I couldn't make out anyone suspicious. I thought to myself, "Hmm, it's quite mysterious after all."

  I've never been to Yunnan, and I didn't know where Wenshan was. I hailed several taxis, but no one was willing to take me. Later, I checked the map on my phone and found out that Wenshan is a Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which is at least four hours away from Kunming by car. No wonder nobody wanted to take me there.

  When I was at a loss, a black car driver in his late 40s suddenly came and asked if I wanted to take a ride. I said I wanted to go to Wenshan, and he didn't object. When I asked about the price, it was also very reasonable, so I happily got on his old Santana.

  I didn't say a word all the way, I slept for a while, and when we arrived at Wenshan it was already 6 o'clock in the evening. I was starving and had been holding back my urine for a long time, so I urgently wanted to find a place to relieve myself. But as soon as the taxi stopped, something happened that surprised me greatly. The driver, Mr. Duan, suddenly took out a wallet from his pocket and handed it to me, saying: "You stay at the Wuzhan Hotel tonight, and I'll come pick you up early tomorrow morning."

  I was confused by this sentence, but after taking a closer look at the wallet in Master Duan's hand, I found that it looked exactly like mine. When I touched my pocket again, my wallet had disappeared.

  Duan Shifu saw the puzzled look on my face and said, "This is your wallet. I took it when you were asleep. Although this behavior is somewhat impolite, I had to confirm that you are indeed Fan Peixi."

  "How did you know my name?" I asked in surprise.

  "I'm the one who picked you up, I stole your wallet to check your ID to make sure you're Fan Pei Xi."

  "Do you know me?"

  "I had already gotten your photo before you left Northeast."

  A photo? I thought to myself, could it be that my father sent him a picture of me so he can recognize me when we meet? So I asked: "So you know my father?"

  Duan Shifu shook his head and said, "I'm just a receptionist, I received the photo, confirmed that you are Fan Peixi, brought you to Wenshan, this is my task, as for the rest, I don't know."

  Wow, it's getting more and more mysterious. Although I'm a bit puzzled, thinking about it, this is also in line with my father's personality. When I was young, my father always liked to tell me all sorts of strange and bizarre stories, but every time he got to the most exciting part, he would suddenly stop and refuse to continue. The next day, he would tell me another completely unrelated story, which would also be cut off at the most thrilling moment. This style of storytelling made my childhood often accompanied by insomnia. Sometimes I would complain to my father, but every time he would say to me: "The charm of a good story lies in its open-ended ending, you can use the clues in the story to create countless possible endings, and stories with definitive conclusions are very boring."

  Many of my father's good friends also had the same hobby as him, and whenever they came to our house, they would occasionally give me a riddle or something for me to ponder. I don't know if their riddles were too profound or if my intelligence was just not up to par from childhood, but I never managed to solve any of the riddles they gave me. Over time, I got tired of guessing those riddles and just went through the motions, pretending to think deeply, as a matter of courtesy.

  When I was young, I saw many people pretending to be mysterious, so I wasn't surprised. Following the master's instructions, I got off the car and walked a few steps before arriving at the Wuzhan Inn. After entering the inn, I reported my name and, as expected, Master Duan had already arranged a room for me. However, upon entering the inn, I still felt somewhat dissatisfied because it was too small and shabby. The three-story building looked old, and as soon as I entered the room, a musty smell filled my nostrils, accompanied by the stench of dirty socks on the messy bedspread. I thought this was too petty, so I considered changing inns, but it was already late. After a night of physical and mental exhaustion from traveling, I lit two cigarettes to get rid of the musty smell, bought two boxes of instant noodles from the landlady, hastily ate them, and went to bed.

  This sleep was sweeter than I imagined, probably because I was really tired. At around 2 o'clock in the evening, I got up to go to the bathroom, although it's convenient that the toilet is inside the house, but the stench from the toilet bowl makes you hesitant. I covered my nose and finished urinating, just thinking of going back to bed to continue sleeping, when suddenly I heard someone talking outside the door. At first, I didn't pay attention, but then I suddenly heard the sentence "Fan Peixiang is right inside". My curiosity was immediately piqued, and I quickly went to the door, putting my ear against it. To my surprise, I first heard Master Duan's voice saying: "He was followed at the train station, but now he should have shaken them off."

  Next was a man's voice with a heavy nasal tone, saying: "In short, not a moment can be delayed, Ah-chuna the Great Witch has little time left."

  The next voice was very small and I couldn't hear it clearly. However, these two sentences of dialogue still revealed very important information.

  Is it Ah Xiang Na? If I didn't mishear, it should be Ah Xiang Na. So, the lifesaver that Father mentioned, Ah Xiang Na, is a witch? However, compared to Ah Xiang Na, I am more concerned about what Duan Shifu said. Being followed? From the tone of his words, it seems like he was referring to me being followed at the train station. Who would want to follow me?

  I was leaning against the door, thinking, and at the same time I heard a faint sound of footsteps gradually moving away. It seemed that those two people had already left. I turned around in doubt, but this turn made me jump with fright, my scalp numb. Suddenly, I saw a strange face appear on the glass window inside the house, its complexion deathly pale, staring straight at me. I was so scared that I almost shouted out loud. When I calmed down afterwards, I found that the shadow on the window had disappeared.