Chapter 1 A Strange Business Deal

  My name is Nie Yu, and I grew up in a remote and impoverished small mountain village in northern Guizhou.

  Our home is located under a big locust tree on the dam, and there are four people in our family: me, my younger sister, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt.

  To be exact, Little Sister, Second Uncle and Second Aunt are a family, while I am actually an outsider, an adopted orphan.

  My birthplace is unknown, and I have grown up without knowing who my parents are. The only thing related to my identity is a jade calabaza pendant that has been hanging around my neck since childhood.

  This gourd is about the size of a thumb, with a glossy black body that shines like jade, and has some dark red strange symbols carved on it, twisted and curved, no one knows what they mean.

  Although I am not the biological child of my uncle and aunt, they treat me as if I were their own, sometimes even better than my younger sister. Later on, I gradually felt that their attitude towards me seemed to be tinged with a certain politeness. I don't know if it's because of my uncertain origins that they have some thoughts in the back of their minds.

  I have always thought that the calabaza that has been with me for twenty years was the last thing left by my biological parents when they abandoned me, but now I realize that I was completely wrong.

  This summer, I received an admission notice from a key university, and my whole family was happy for me. Especially my little sister, who was over the moon with joy, her face beaming with pride whenever we went out. Whenever she saw relatives and friends, she would lavish praise on me, saying how great I would become in the future, making me feel embarrassed when I saw those relatives.

  However, getting into college is a happy event, but after the joy, we have to face a realistic problem, that is my university tuition fees, a total of nearly 10,000 yuan in expenses, for our rural families, it's not a small amount.

  So, taking advantage of this summer's farming break, Second Uncle began actively preparing for my university tuition.

  My second uncle is a somewhat famous Taoist priest here, and whenever someone dies in the nearby villages, they often come to ask for his help with the funeral rites. After doing the rituals for several days, he can usually earn over a thousand yuan. However, these kinds of funerals don't happen very often, so in order to make more money, my second uncle will also help people catch ghosts and drive out evil spirits.

  That day, my second uncle received a call from a fellow monk to go to a distant village for a Buddhist ceremony. I stayed at home with nothing to do, so I accompanied him and helped out with some chores. When we arrived at the mountain village, the ceremony went smoothly according to plan. On the afternoon of the third day, the ceremony came to an end, and my second uncle and several fellow monks distributed their wages before saying goodbye to each other.

  My second uncle took me rushing down the mountain, we calculated that we could catch the last bus. As long as we get on the bus, by nightfall we can arrive home and make it in time for dinner made by my aunt and little sister. My second uncle and I haven't seen my aunt and little sister for three days already, so we miss them very much, walking quickly, expecting to arrive at the mountain highway ahead of schedule.

  However, something unexpected still happened.

  As my second uncle and I left the village, we had just crossed the mountain pass in front of us when an old man with a dark complexion suddenly appeared before us. He looked anxious, as if he had something on his mind. After my second uncle asked him, it turned out that this old man's daughter-in-law was possessed by evil spirits and urgently needed a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil. The old man said that he knew there was a Taoist priest doing rituals in the village ahead, and originally planned to go to that village to invite the Taoist priest, but unexpectedly met me and my second uncle, and found that my second uncle was dressed as a Taoist priest, so he came to intercept us.

  What he said is the way of doing things, it's actually us.

  Saving people is like fighting a fire, driving out evil spirits and capturing ghosts are also the duty of a Taoist priest. Although I and my second brother are eager to go home, but facing such a pleading old man, what can we do?

  The second uncle agreed to go to the old man's home to drive out the evil spirit.

  Under the lead of the old man, we arrived at the old man's house on the left side of the mountain pass. There was only one household here, with a house surrounded by a group of chestnut trees, and in the afternoon, it showed a few shades of gloominess. I secretly thought that this place would be eerie if it weren't for anything else. My second uncle also seemed to sense something was off, furrowing his brow.

  As we entered the old man's house, we saw his daughter-in-law. Her eyes were dull and her face was pale with saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth. She indeed looked like she had been possessed by an evil spirit. Although Second Uncle was only a half-baked Taoist master, he should still be more than capable of exorcising this kind of possession.

  At this time, Second Uncle followed the usual procedure and began to perform an exorcism ritual for that young woman.

  I felt bored, so I walked out of the house. Standing on a large rock to the left of the house, you can see the highway at the foot of the mountain. Seeing that there are cars passing by below the mountain, and the bus we need to take is coming soon, I am anxious in my heart, praying that Second Uncle will finish driving out the evil spirits as soon as possible, so as not to delay the bus.

  This time, the exorcism was much later than expected.

  After the ritual, Second Uncle directly refused the hospitality of the old man's family and took me running down the mountain. However, we had delayed for too long, and when we just ran to the middle of the mountain, that familiar bus drove past on the highway below. My second uncle and I were running wildly, shouting loudly...

  By the time I and Second Uncle arrived at the foot of the mountain by the roadside, that bus had long since vanished without a trace.

  This is the only bus, now it's missed, I looked at Second Uncle with a disappointed face: "Second Uncle, what to do now?"

  "Second Uncle sighed and shook his head helplessly: 'What else can we do? Let's go back.'"

  Originally we could arrive home before dark by taking a bus, but now if we walk back, it will be at least 9 pm when we get there.

  I sighed inwardly and followed Second Uncle forward.

  We walked along a small path beside the highway. Compared to the highway, this path is a shortcut, and as long as we pass through the village in front of us, we can return to our Yunlongba. My second uncle and I walked quickly, and at dusk, we arrived at a village called Shiyaba, where we heard that a family at the entrance of the village was making a lot of noise, like they were holding a wedding or funeral.

  I subconsciously took a glance and found that the house was a newly built two-story building with pink walls, purple railings, and a typical new rural construction style, which looked very beautiful. However, I saw some white canopies standing in front of the house, fluttering in the wind under the dusk sky, looking desolate.

  "Someone else is dead." Second Uncle sighed and shook his head.

  It seems that the household in front is indeed holding a funeral.

  We missed the bus earlier and were already feeling down, now seeing someone holding a funeral added to our inexplicable depression. My second uncle and I just wanted to hurry through this village, leave this place behind, the sooner the better.

  As we passed by that house, a young man's voice suddenly came from the side and said: "Master Fa, please stay!"

  This voice carried a few points of anxiety, and seemed to reveal a few points of inexplicable dark joy.

  I felt a sense of inexplicable unease in my heart, and when I looked up, I saw a young man wearing a striped shirt, with a look of surprise on his face, walking towards Second Uncle.

  "What's up?" Second Uncle looked at him directly and asked, obviously without much patience.

  No way, I and Second Uncle are in a hurry to rush on the road, now suddenly someone comes to find us again, I secretly scolded him in my heart, just hoping that this young man would fart quickly and finish speaking, and then roll away.

  "Master, I see you're a Taoist priest. It just so happens that we need your help with something here..." The young man in the striped shirt said with a smile all over his face.

  Before he finished speaking, I impatiently interrupted him and said: "Sorry, my second uncle and I are in a hurry to go home now, we don't have time to bother with your affairs, please ask someone else."

  The young man in the shirt was slightly startled, looked at me, and quickly smiled again, asking: "Brother, what should I call you?"

  "There's no need to ask so many questions." I said coldly, turning my head to look at Second Uncle and urging him, "Second Uncle, never mind, let's go. Little sister and Second Aunt are still waiting for us at home."

  My second uncle nodded at me and was about to leave with me when that young man in the shirt suddenly grabbed his hand.

  "What are you doing?" I blurted out in anger, a surge of irritation rising up inside me.

  The young man in the shirt looked at me with some disdain, and then smiled again, looking at my uncle and said: "Uncle, we really are in trouble and need your help. Don't worry, this matter won't delay you for too long. As long as you agree to help us, the reward will definitely not be small..."

  I stood by and listened to him affectionately call Ershu "uncle", feeling only disgusted in my heart, urging Ershu: "Ershu, don't listen to what he says anymore, let's hurry back."

  At this time, the young man in the shirt suddenly put his mouth close to Second Uncle's ear and said something with a smile.

  I vaguely heard something about eight thousand, and my heart skipped a beat. I secretly thought to myself: Could it be that this young man's compensation from Second Uncle is eight thousand? Eight thousand yuan - even if Second Uncle doesn't rest for a day, he would still need to do more than half a month of Taoist rituals to earn that much.

  Such a generous reward clearly moved Second Uncle. I saw that after listening to the young man in the shirt, his face changed and he quickly nodded.