Chapter 19: The Temple of the Mountain God

  "Uncle, what's going on? Tell me quickly!" I couldn't wait any longer and almost jumped up from the ground.

  "Yes, uncle, hurry up and say it. Are we going back to save my dad? If anything happens to him, I'll have no father!" The little sister burst into tears.

  "Dolly, don't cry first! This thing happened just a few days before your second uncle and you came..." Old Man Hu began to tell me things that I didn't know about before.

  Before you and your second uncle came to drive out the evil spirits, Mr. Hong's house had a newly built wing with an excavation for its foundation. The foundation hadn't been fully dug when a coffin was unexpectedly exposed - a large, red-lacquered wooden coffin with a somewhat blurry talisman painted on top. Old Man Hu's eyes narrowed, seemingly weighed down by worries.

  "What then, the coffin was dug out, what's inside?" I suddenly remembered that last time my second uncle came out from behind the black curtain, there was indeed a large red coffin inside.

  "There's something inside, I don't know what it is, but the workers who were moving it said that the coffin lid kept shaking and it seemed like there was something trying to get out. Nobody dared to open it! Then Boss Hong got scared that there might be something unclean inside, so he invited several high-ranking Taoist priests. One of them told Boss Hong that this talisman is an evil-warding charm, and there must be a malevolent spirit inside. So Boss Hong gave each of them 3,000 yuan to exorcise the evil spirit." Old Man Hu finished speaking with his eyes fixed on me, looking like he was afraid of something.

  "Didn't those Taoist priests manage to drive away that evil spirit?" I recalled that when Second Uncle and I entered the courtyard of Old Man Hong's house, we indeed saw several Taoist priests, as well as a high-ranking monk. Their attire was not ordinary, they didn't seem like country folk, but rather looked like wealthy people from the city.

  Then there was a Taoist priest, I don't know what kind of Taoist he was, he set up a spell array and surrounded the red coffin with a talisman array. He bit his middle finger, took out a peach wood sword, applied the blood from his middle finger to the peach wood sword, and inserted it into the coffin. However, the coffin couldn't be inserted no matter how hard he tried. The wooden sword bounced back and shocked the Taoist priest until he fainted. When he woke up, he was crazy and unable to speak! Old Hu said this with a terrified look in his eyes.

  Then a big monk stood up and told us that this evil spirit has strong magical powers, must be an evil spirit with many years of resentment, especially when he was buried in red paint, used such a large coffin, and before his death, he was also rich. He must have had great resentment towards death. The power of our few people is definitely not enough to control him, rather than getting rid of him, it's better to let him possess someone else and leave. From then on, Master Hong won't have to worry about it anymore. So they sent someone to find your second uncle... My head was buzzing with anger when Old Man Hu stopped talking.

  "Uncle, these people are too shameless! They can't solve their own problems so they use my dad as a scapegoat. I'm going to fight them!" Little sister's face also turned red with anger, and she pulled Hu Lao Han up to go find them for a showdown.

  "It's outrageous, those scoundrels! My Second Uncle may not be a god, but he's a renowned master of the mystic arts in these parts. How can they be so shameless?! I'll definitely kill them all off and avenge my Second Uncle!" I was so angry I almost jumped up.

  "Alas! Baby, what's the use of getting angry now that things have come to this? You said your second uncle was being controlled by someone named Xuán Qīng Dào Cháng, didn't you? Now we should find that Town Soul Nail and drive that evil spirit out of your second uncle's body. That way, your second uncle will be saved! You can't go kill them either, killing people is against the law!" What Old Man Hu said was right too, now it's all too late to say anything, time can't flow backwards. First find the Town Soul Nail and then talk."

  "Where is Uncle's Town Soul Nail? Take me there quickly, I'm afraid it'll be too late if we don't hurry!" I anxiously looked at Old Man Hu.

  "Hong Laoban was afraid that others would know about this matter, so he secretly moved the coffin away. The Town Soul Nail seems to have been placed in the Mountain God Temple at the village entrance as well. I'll take you there now." Old Man Hu led the way in front, and my little sister and I hurriedly followed closely behind him.

  "How far is the mountain temple from here? How long will it take to get there? We can't be late! Master Xuancheng told us to hurry back as soon as possible!" I've lost my patience.

  "Let's walk for half an hour ahead, don't worry I'll take you through the shortcut and we'll arrive soon." Old Hu quickened his pace.

  The mountain god temple, although I have never been there, but I remember that in my second uncle's book "Nine Royal God Strategy" clearly records the relevant things: mountains and forests, rivers and valleys, can produce clouds, for wind and rain, see strange things, all said gods. In the time of Yu Shun, there was a sacrificial system of "looking at mountains and rivers, and offering sacrifices to all gods". It is said that Shun had toured and offered sacrifices to Mount Tai, Mount Heng, Mount Hua and Mount Song. The emperors of past dynasties also held grand ceremonies for the mountain god when they worshipped heaven and earth. Although the mountain god is not a great god, it is still a local deity, and putting the soul nail in the mountain god temple may be to use the divine power of the mountain god to suppress evil spirits.

  The town soul nail is the nail on the coffin, generally square head nails. When the dead are buried, before nailing the coffin, they must soak the town soul nail in water. It is said that ghosts are afraid of nails soaked in water, so they are nailed more firmly. But I still don't understand why they put the town soul nail alone in the mountain god temple, where did the big red coffin go?

  After walking for about twenty minutes, I finally saw a temple-like building in the distance. The pointed roof was covered with glazed tiles, shining brightly. On the temple hall, there was a mud statue of a mountain god sitting with his eyes closed, and on either side stood a powerful heavenly soldier holding a large knife and gazing forward, looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

  "Brother! What's that thing up there?" Following little sister's pointing, I saw a long red thing with a square head and pointed tail.

  "Nailing the soul!" At this time, a three-foot-long wooden stake-like nail for nailing the soul was painted with red paint, possibly to prevent rust. The square head was exactly as Master Xuanclear had said, and according to my memory, the color of the coffin in Old Hong's house was exactly the same as that on the nail for nailing the soul.

  My little sister and I were overjoyed, looking around to make sure no one was watching, we quickly ran over there...

  "Doll, there's nothing else to do, I'll leave first, you two hurry back home, hope your second uncle can be safe and sound." With that, Old Man Hu left.

  "Thank you, Uncle!" As I watched the receding figure, I couldn't help but think that Old Man Hu was a good person. When my second uncle and I went to Old Hong's house that day, only Old Man Hu spoke up to tell me the truth, probably because he was from the same village as Old Hong's family, and was afraid of Old Hong's power and that fat woman, so he didn't dare continue speaking.

  "Halt! You two brats are so naughty, daring to take things from the Mountain God Temple!" My little sister and I were just about to grab that Soul-Pinning Nail when a loud shout nearly scared me stiff. At this moment, five or six people walked over, with five of them looking like rough laborers, but the leader was dressed very neatly, although not in any brand-name clothes, his black leather shoes shone brightly.

  "Hello, we are from the neighboring village. I'm Nie Yu and this is my little sister Nie Yan. We two have come under the guidance of Feng Xuan Qing Dao Zhang to retrieve the Town Soul Nail to save people." As I spoke, my little sister tightly grasped my hand with anxiety.

  "Huh? Using a soul nail to save someone? Save who? Where is the person? I only see a little boy holding hands with a little girl, what are you two doing here all alone?" The person in charge asked with a sarcastic tone, causing Little Sister's face to turn bright red.

  "Old Hu, don't go! Hey!" The man shouted at Old Hu who was originally walking away.

  "Oh, it's Director Wang. What brings you here today? These two kids aren't lying, I brought them here myself. Just let them take that broken stick away, it's for the coffin lid, so inauspicious!" Old Man Hu smiled at Director Wang.

  "Old Wang, I am the village chief of this village. Are you the village chief? Just because something belongs to this village, can it be taken away just like that?" Director Wang glared at me and with so many people around, I didn't dare say anything.

  "Hey, Director Wang, what are you doing with so many people? Whose house is being built?" Old Man Hu asked, causing Village Chief Wang to stutter and be unable to speak.

  "Oh, it's just that one of my relatives has some farm work to do, so I found a few young men to help me out. It's nothing much. How did you bring these two little devils here? Are they acquaintances or something? I don't recall you having any relatives like this usually!" Village Chief Wang chuckled and sized up Little Sister from head to toe.

  "Village chief, just let them take the Town Soul Nail away. Their second uncle is possessed by a ghost and needs to use this nail to drive out the evil spirit. If not, someone will die!" Old Man Hu has been helping us speak up, I'm really grateful in my heart.

  "Oh? If you don't take it away, someone will die. Is it that serious? What era are we in now to still believe in feudal superstitions? I, the village chief, was elected by the common people. According to what you said, from now on, let's not have elections and just see whose eight characters are good and they can be the chief, right? Old Hu, it seems like you should come and be the chief, you're so knowledgeable!" Old Hu was left speechless by Village Chief Wang's words.

  "Village chief, please just let us take it away, we really need this Town Soul Nail, or else my dad will be killed by the evil spirit." The little sister was so anxious that her tears were about to fall.

  "It's not possible, Mr. Hong's things are very important and have been placed here, even the mountain temple was built by him, how can I just give it to you? Even if I gave it to you, when Mr. Hong finds out, what would I say to him?" Village Chief Wang said with a serious expression.

  "So how can we take it away? We'll give you money, that's all right?" I was also angry and had no choice but to say these words, but when I touched my pocket, I didn't have a single penny on me. I turned back to look at Little Sister.

  "Uncle, just give us this Town Soul Nail," said the little sister, taking out 200 yuan from her pocket and handing it over.

  "Ah! This little money is enough for what, you little devil? Our dozen or so people don't even have enough to drink tea, let alone pay for food?" Village Chief Wang's eyes were lecherously gazing at Little Sister, who had a tall and slender figure, indeed a beauty. This man was really lustful, she really wanted to go up and slap him."

  "Please, village chief, we're really in a hurry. Why don't I just give you all the money I have? That's all there is!" As she spoke, Little Sister turned her pockets inside out and handed over five 100-yuan bills. The village chief took the money and smiled at me.

  "Look, look at you, a boy who can't even compare to a girl in terms of being sensible. If it weren't for this little girl's face today, I wouldn't have given you this broken nail. You guys hurry up and take it away, don't let me see you again!" Village Chief Wang glared at me fiercely, perhaps because I had been glaring at him fiercely just now and provoked his anger.

  No matter what, I got the Town Soul Nail and immediately set off with Little Sister to run to Second Uncle's house.