FEG | Chapter 11

Chapter 11, The Tianshi’s Story

“You guess what happened? I ran out and took a look, those few people were still on the playground kicking a ball! I thought to myself, we only brought one ball, so what was this? I lowered my head and looked carefully...”

Pangye Zuiheng suddenly shouted, “It turned out to be a human head!”

“Ah——” Ning Xiaomeng screamed with her eyes closed.

“It scared me so much, I quickly kicked it far, far away.” Pangye Zuiheng said, “How about that, scary or not?”

The people around all looked unpleasant.

“I have a question...” Sun Fangchi said, “Just now you said ‘when I got anxious, I pulled up my pants and stood up’, then, did you wipe your butt?”

Everyone: “...”

The corner of Pangye Zuiheng’s mouth twitched. “...Of course I wiped.” Before Sun Fangchi could speak, he blew out his own candle in one breath, “Next, next.”

Ling Young Master suddenly said, “Your story is fake.”

Pangye Zuiheng froze, then asked in surprise, “How do you know? The human head part was made up by me, the toilet part was real, damn it, I still remember my elementary school toilet to this day.”

No wonder he could tell it without being afraid at all, Ning Xiaomeng relaxed a little. Knowing the story was fake, she felt not as scared.

Ling Young Master did not answer Pangye’s question, and went on his own, “It’s my turn.”

Without the candle in Pangye’s hand, one part of the seven-person circle dimmed, giving people a bad feeling. Pangye Zuiheng unconsciously moved closer to Ning Xiaomeng.

“There are not only ghosts in this world, there are also Tianshi.” Ling Young Master’s voice was slightly cool, with an ethereal feeling detached from the mundane world.

Li Tianshi mocked, “Of course there are Tianshi, I’m one.”

Ling Young Master lifted his eyelids, “You don’t count.”

“You!” Li Tianshi grew angry.

“What I’m going to tell is a story about a Tianshi exorcising a ghost.”

“Two years ago, a man found the Tianshi I mentioned, and said that the ghost of his ex-girlfriend was going to kill him.”

“The Tianshi asked him what was going on. I was beside him at the time and heard what he said. He and his girlfriend met online, dated for about a year, and his girlfriend was cheating on him when he found out.”

Bald Guy sneered, “He got himself a green hat?”

“He got very angry, so he laid everything out with his girlfriend and demanded a breakup. His girlfriend did not agree, cried and made a scene, but he was determined and still broke up with her.”

“No balls!” Bald Guy said.

“He ignored his girlfriend’s crying and fussing, dragged his suitcase out of the house they were living in together, and found another place to stay. A week later, someone told him that his girlfriend had hanged herself. He felt guilty in his heart, so he went to attend his girlfriend’s funeral.”

“His girlfriend’s hometown was very remote, very backward, and they valued burial in the ground for peace. Her family took her body back and planned to bury her.”

“After keeping vigil over the coffin, her relatives carried her coffin out. When they reached him, the coffin suddenly dropped and hit the ground, and no matter what they did, they could not lift it up. He was very scared, so he fled the scene and returned to his own city.”

“From then on, as long as he got a little closer to any woman, that woman would encounter an accident.”

“Until he met the one he truly loved, and decided to build a family with that person, and thought about resolving the curse on him. He brought paper money and offerings to his ex-girlfriend’s grave, sincerely apologized to his ex-girlfriend, and hoped she would let him go. That same night, his lover died.”

“And he himself began to see his ex-girlfriend’s terrifying figure, appearing around him from time to time. He was very scared, so he found the Tianshi and begged the Tianshi to save him.”

“Damn, that woman was truly vicious. What happened after? Did the Tianshi get rid of the ghost?” Bald Guy listened entranced and asked.

Ling Young Master shook his head. “After that, the Tianshi died.”

“The Tianshi died?”

Li Tianshi was the first to reveal an expression that did not fit his own immortal, otherworldly persona. He sneered, “Little girl, you don’t understand anything and you dare to spout nonsense in front of everyone. A Tianshi can’t possibly be killed by a mere vicious ghost!”

Bald Guy also said, “From the way you’re talking, the Tianshi sounds so powerful and amazing, how did he die as soon as he met it?”

Ling Young Master said lightly, “I didn’t say the Tianshi was killed by the vicious ghost. He died from an ambush, human hearts are scarier than vicious ghosts. That man seeking help was nothing more than bait left out.”

Anisocoria asked, “Everything that man said was false?”

“It was true. Later I had him make a long chain as thick as a wrist, soak it in black dog blood for a day and a night, then bury it around his ex-girlfriend’s grave, sealing the vicious ghost inside.”

“You? You know how to do that?” Li Tianshi did not believe it.

“Why did you help him?” Sun Fangchi asked.

Ling Young Master blew out the candle in his hand. “Because I was the one who threw out the bait.”

The answer was beyond everyone’s expectations. For a moment, no one said anything.

Ning Xiaomeng forced out a smile and said, “Ling Young Master’s story is a little strange...”

The game continued, and next it was Li Tianshi’s turn.

Li Tianshi said in a show of force, “I’ll tell a story about a Tianshi too, my own story.”

Ling Young Master was unmoved.

“When I was young, I traveled everywhere for cultivation, tempering myself. Once, I had to cross a mountain. Halfway through, it got dark. I saw a village nearby and thought of going into the village to stay the night. That village looked close, but I walked for two hours. By the time I got there, the sky was completely dark...”

“That day was like today, there was a hazy moon in the sky, everything looked gray, the weather was a little cold too, so I knocked on the door of the first house on the outer edge. Their window was lit. As soon as I knocked, the light inside went out!”

“So I shouted, ‘Is anyone there? I’m a passerby, and I want to stay the night, could you please help me...”

“But no one answered me, their courtyard was quiet, just like no one was there. But I clearly saw their light go out just now, so I thought, they probably didn’t want to take in outsiders, forget it, I’ll knock on another door. I knocked on several houses in a row, and all their reactions were exactly the same as that one, hearing me knock and pretending no one was home...”

Pangye Zuiheng said carelessly, “Normal. A grown man knocking on someone’s door in the middle of the night, who’d want to let you in? What if you’re a bad guy? Besides, maybe there’s no man at home, only women and children. Being careful is only right.”

Li Tianshi nodded, “That’s what I thought too. It’s just that I couldn’t possibly sleep on the village entrance, could I? A mountain village at night is pretty scary, and that village was especially quiet, just like this uninhabited Shijing Village, not a sound outside at all. I had skills on me, I wasn’t afraid of those things, but I was afraid of the cold. I had to think of a way to find a place to stay, so I knocked on doors again.”

“This time, I specifically found a house with its window facing outward. I knocked on their window and asked the person inside, ‘Fellow villager, I’m just a passerby, I mean no harm, I just want to find a place to stay, please give me some guidance?’ There was a rustling sound from inside. After quite a while, someone inside the window said softly, ‘There’s an empty house at the very south end, go find it yourself. If you find it, you can stay the night. Remember, if someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night, you must not open it!’ I was very happy, not having to sleep outside and freeze, how great. I said to the window, ‘Thank you, fellow villager.’ No one answered from inside.”

“So I walked toward the south end of the village. Sure enough, there was an empty house with the door open. It was already very broken, the thatch on the roof was leaking, but the four walls were still intact. What else could I be picky about? I went in, thought about the fellow villager’s warning, bolted the door from inside, and only then lay down to sleep.”

“Someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night?” Pangye Zuiheng guessed.

“No.” Li Tianshi shook his head, “I slept all the way until broad daylight, and did not hear any knocking. After dawn, I came out of the empty house and saw the people in the village. They were pretty decent, and treated me to breakfast. While eating, I asked them, ‘Fellow villagers, your faces don’t look too good. Is there something troubling you?’ The villagers did not tell me either, only urging me to leave quickly. So I stated my identity, ‘Fellow villagers, I am a cultivator. If there are ghosts or evil spirits harming the village, I can still help.’ Hearing me say that, the villagers were overjoyed, and sent me to the village chief’s house.”

“The village chief was an old man in his seventies. He told me that there was a vicious ghost in the village, roaming around every night, knocking on villagers’ doors. If any family opened the door, the whole family would be killed by the vicious ghost.”

“When I heard that, I knew the vicious ghost was not simple, so I asked the village chief, ‘Has anyone seen what it looks like?’ The village chief said, ‘Everyone who saw it clearly is dead. There were also some who peeked through windows, but who knows if it’s true or not. They said the vicious ghost looked exactly like Old Stack’s wife.’ I thought the village chief was hinting that it was Old Stack’s wife who died and became a ghost. I asked the village chief how she died...”

“The village chief was unwilling to tell me, only saying that she was buried in the woods halfway up the mountain. So I said, ‘If I don’t know the vicious ghost’s cause of death, I can’t deal with her.’ Only then did the village chief say very awkwardly, ‘She was strangled to death by Old Stack. Stack’s wife didn’t want to live with Old Stack anymore, and wanted to sneak away. Old Stack got angry and strangled her to death.’ I thought to myself, it was understandable for that person to turn into a vicious ghost and come back for revenge...”

Pangye Zuiheng deeply agreed, “Right, you killed their family and they kill you, fair!”

“I asked the village chief what happened to Old Stack. The village chief said he was the first to die. I felt very strange. Since Old Stack was already dead, why did the vicious ghost still not let it go? Could it be she wanted to massacre the village? That would be too much. I decided to help the villagers subdue the vicious ghost. I had the village chief prepare two big roosters and a bowl of glutinous rice. I took the things and hid in the empty house waiting.”

“When night came, as soon as it got dark, the villagers all went back to their own homes, every house door tightly shut. Only I kept the door open and waited. By midnight, I finally heard footsteps. That sound was like two sacks being dragged forward alternately across the ground. I hid at the doorway and looked out. One look, and I knew the village chief had lied to me.”

“What happened?” Bald Guy asked quickly.

“That female ghost was too beautiful, slender and tall, her hair was permed in curls. If it weren’t for that deathly aura on her face, she would have been so beautiful...”

Pangye Zuiheng shot him a disdainful glance, “She’s already a ghost and you still won’t let her go, beast!”

Li Tianshi said, “That’s not what I meant...”

“I’m afraid, this so-called Old Stack’s wife was actually a woman who had been trafficked.” Anisocoria said.

Li Tianshi nodded, “Brother Anisocoria still understands. That female ghost looked like a woman from a big city, completely different from the women in the mountain village...”