Chapter 20: It's All Too Late

  It's already past 10 o'clock, my little sister and I are rushing home while walking and running. The sun in the sky is very hot, sweat has soaked through our clothes, my little sister and I haven't eaten anything since last night until now, I'm so hungry that my eyes are about to flower...

  I looked at the watch, it was already past 12 o'clock. We were almost at the village entrance. Coincidentally, there was a store at the village entrance that belonged to my high school classmate's family. My little sister and I went in together to buy some food and water.

  "Ahming! Get me two bottles of water and two buns, I'll pay you back later, I don't have any money on me now!" I said hastily, my whole body covered in sweat.

  "Xiao Yu, don't worry. This little money thing will be fine, just send the money over later. Oh, and hurry back home, I saw your uncle this morning, he looked flustered as if something had happened!" What could have happened to my uncle? There must be some change, my heart skipped a beat as I quickly ate two mouthfuls of bread and ran towards home.

  I had just run a few steps when I arrived at my uncle's house, but there were many people gathered at the door. Even those from across the street and the village who didn't usually get in touch came over, whispering to each other. When my little sister and I walked over, they hastily dodged to one side, as if they had seen something unclean.

  No good! I was secretly shocked, Ah Ming said it right, the behavior of these people is very unusual, something must have happened to our family. Hurriedly, I pushed open the door with my little sister, and the scene in front of me left me stunned...

  The gate of Second Uncle's house was facing the main hall, I pushed open the door and saw someone sitting at the entrance of the main hall. It was Second Uncle! He happened to be sitting at the entrance of the main hall smoking a water pipe.

  My mind went blank, thinking of my uncle's transformation into a malevolent spirit yesterday. Now he's sitting at the entrance of the main hall, did Master Xuanqing drive away the evil spirit? And then left? Dozens of possibilities were churning in my mind, but I couldn't come up with any conclusion.

  "Dad! How are you sitting here, have you eaten? Do you still remember what happened yesterday?" Little sister asked in a low voice from behind me. I took a closer look at Second Uncle and found that the wound on his shoulder was gone, and there wasn't even a single stain of blood on his clothes, as if nothing had ever happened.

  "Welcome back!" Second Uncle suddenly spoke up, and his voice was exactly the same as before without any abnormalities. My little sister and I exchanged a glance and were stunned. This second uncle is really strange, yesterday he turned into an evil spirit and today he's fine so quickly. But it seems like he still isn't himself, it's as if he's still in the state from before Master Xuancheng arrived.

  "Dad, you..." Little sister was about to say something, when the big gate opened and Big Uncle strode forward, grabbed my and little sister's hands and started walking out. My and little sister were startled by Big Uncle's actions, turned our heads back to look at Second Uncle who remained seated inside, smoking.

  My uncle dragged us all the way to his front door, looking very tense.

  "Xiao Yu, Xiao Yan, you two don't go home yet. I heard a strange noise coming from your house yesterday. Last night, just as I was about to sleep, I heard a whistling sound coming from behind, and when I rushed out to the courtyard to take a look, it turned out to be a black shadow. The black shadow flew straight into your courtyard." Uncle said, looking nervously in the direction of my house.

  "Huh? A black shadow, are you sure it's not the wind or something else?" I also suddenly remembered that yesterday when my little sister and I came out of the house, we saw a black shadow flying over our heads, but didn't think much of it.

  "What about it later, Big Brother? How's that shadow?" I asked anxiously.

  "I don't know either, I just heard that there were a few mournful cries in your house, and then a strong wind suddenly blew up, and it was quiet after about ten minutes!" My uncle's words made me stunned, I really didn't know what could create such a scene.

  "Also, yesterday I and Old Second went to my comrade's son for an exorcism. I left a tobacco pouch in your father's pocket. This morning, I thought about going back to get it, but as soon as I walked to your house door, I saw the gate open. Your father was sitting at the entrance of the main room smoking. What's strange is that no matter how many times I called him, he didn't respond. I thought there might be something on his mind, so I didn't dare ask again. But just now when I saw you two return, your father was still smoking there, and fearing it might be dangerous for the two of you, I brought you both over." Big Brother finished speaking with a fearful gaze in his eyes. Because he also believed in ghosts and spirits, and being close brothers with Second Uncle, he couldn't help but notice Second Uncle's unusual behavior.

  "No way, my second uncle is fine now and he's at home. My little sister and I just went back and he even talked to us! I believe my second uncle will not harm me, I must go back and take a look!" With that, I led my little sister straight to the door of our house.

  "Hey! This kid! Wait! What if something happens! How can you be so disobedient...! Wait...!" My uncle hurriedly chased after me, but he stopped after a few steps. He knew my stubborn temper and that once I made up my mind, no one could stop me.

  My eldest uncle's house and second uncle's house are just a few dozen meters apart, and my little sister and I arrived at the door in no time.

  I pushed open the large gate and looked towards the entrance of the main hall, but Second Uncle was nowhere to be seen. How strange! He was just here a moment ago, so where did he go?

  "Brother, won't it come into the house?" My little sister was hiding behind me with a clearly frightened look. My sister and I quickly opened the door to the main room, and the scene in front of us stunned both of us.

  Yesterday, the paper coffin made by Master Xuanqing was crushed into powder, and yellow paper was scattered all over the house. The chanting platform was also reduced to powder, incense burners and candles were scattered on the ground, broken beyond recognition, as if they had been violently smashed. I hastily picked up a piece of yellow paper, which happened to be the location where Master Xuanqing made the paper coffin yesterday. In front of me, there was nothing visible, only a pool of bright red blood slowly flowing from under the yellow paper, not yet congealed, emitting a strong stench!

  "Ah......!" The little sister let out a cry of surprise.

  "This is terrible! Something big has happened, this blood doesn't look like the chicken and dog blood we played with yesterday, it's definitely human blood." I said to my little sister, and she quickly ran out of the main room.

  "Where's my sister? Was she killed by a ghost?" Little sister anxiously looked at me.

  "No, let's go inside and look for her, she might be in the house." said Xiao Mei.

  My little sister and I hastily entered the room, but there was no second uncle in the room. There was only a quilt on the bed in Second Aunt's room, which was bulging up. I quickly lifted up the quilt. Second Aunt's body was curled up into a ball, wearing shoes with her eyes closed, looking as if she were asleep, yet also seeming to be talking to someone, her mouth moving slightly.

  "Ah! Don't come over! Don't come over!" Erniang's voice was hoarse as she grabbed the quilt and covered her own head.

  "Second sister, I'm Xiao Yu, don't be afraid, it's me, Xiao Yu! Look!" As I said this, I went to grab the quilt from Second Sister's hands. At this time, Second Sister slowly opened her eyes and seemed to let out a sigh of relief when she saw me and Little Sister in front of her.

  "Xiao Yu, you two girls have finally returned, why did it take you so long to come back? Everything is too late...too late..." Erniang started beating her head like a madwoman, grabbing her own hair and tearing at it.

  "Second Aunt, what's wrong with you? What did you see? You'd better tell me! Where has Second Uncle gone? Where is Master Xuanqing? Has he cured Second Uncle?" I anxiously looked at Second Aunt.

  "Mother! Look at me and speak slowly, don't be in a hurry! Has Father been cured or not? You're the one who should say!" Little sister grasped Second Mother's hand tightly, afraid she would hurt herself.

  "Oh! Good heavens! What's happened to us? Please help us!" Second Aunt began wailing loudly, and my sister and I were shocked, realizing that something big must have happened!

  "Xiao Yu, yesterday Xuan Qing came to Zhang Zhi's residence and stayed with your father. He set up a formation here waiting for your return, I was watching from the side. But just as you left less than half an hour ago, strong winds suddenly swept across the sky. The wind seemed to be accompanied by black smoke, and it blew open the doors of this hall in an instant. I rushed to close the doors but didn't make it in time. Just then, a dark shadow darted inside and landed right on Xuan Qing's altar. Xuan Qing's altar was shattered in an instant, and I was blown against the door pillar by the strong wind, then fainted." Erniang said this while looking at the hall with fear.

  "What about Second Aunt and Father then? Did you see how they got on in Changsha?" my sister and I asked anxiously together.

  "After I woke up, I saw myself lying on the floor of the main room. The place where Xuan Qing was sitting was empty, but there was a puddle of blood left behind. He must be dead for sure. Then I got extremely scared and rushed out of the main room. Just as I reached the door, I saw your father smoking at the entrance. When I saw your father, I got another fright and fainted again. I don't know how I ended up on this bed." Erniang finished speaking and secretly shed tears.

  "Did you see Father's face when he was like that? Has he recovered?" I asked anxiously.

  "It seems to have returned to normal, but I didn't dare speak to him. Who knows when he'll turn into a ghost again!" Erniang said, bursting into tears once more.

  "Daughter, don't cry anymore. Brother and I have brought back the Town Soul Nail. You're scared, mom..." Little sister hugged Erniang to comfort her.

  "Yes, Second Aunt, we got the Town Soul Nail back. It was that old man Hu who helped me get it back last time. When we went to the Mountain God Temple, a village chief with the surname Wang wouldn't let us leave. We spent all our money to get it back, maybe it's still useful!" I looked into Second Aunt's eyes, feeling a pang of sadness in my heart, and couldn't help but think of Master Xuanqing's kind face. If Master Xuanqing really died, I would truly owe him an apology. He didn't want anything in return, just to help our family get rid of the ghost. If he died, I must avenge him!

  "Just before you came back, I had a terrible dream that scared me to death!" Erniang said tearfully to me and my little sister.

  "Second sister, quickly tell me, maybe there's some clue. What have you dreamed of? Did you dream of Second Uncle and Xuán Qīng Dao? When I was driving out the evil with Second Uncle, we indeed learned some things. Some people can dream about future or past events, it's not a strange thing."

  "Quickly, Second Sister, tell us what you dreamed about?" My sister and I asked anxiously.

  I dreamed that I was walking in a strange forest. The trees were very tall and big, and there was a huge cave in the center of the forest. I felt my way into the cave, and inside, it was dimly lit. I continued to walk deeper, but suddenly the path behind me was blocked by a pile of soil that had fallen down. With no other choice, I steeled myself and kept moving forward. As I walked, I saw a figure in front of me, so I sneaked up quietly and crouched down to take a look. What I saw shocked me - the person's body was pitch black, like dry, hard flesh. His hair hung down over his face, scattered all over. He was gnawing on a round object that seemed to be bleeding profusely. When he flipped it over, I got a clear look at it, and to my horror, the person's face was that of Master Xuan Qing Dao...