Chapter 1 – Prologue (Part 1)

The sky gradually darkened, and a crescent moon rose above the treetops. Tonight’s moon was different from usual, its color a dark red, its halo hazy, as if obscured by frosted glass, giving off an eerie vibe in the silence. Under the faint red moonlight, the village in the countryside appeared unusually quiet. Most households had already closed their doors, and only a few still had lights on. However, these scattered lights didn’t seem to bring any warmth; instead, they added to the strange silence.

A round-headed, yellow-spotted tabby cat leaped down from the courtyard wall, its paws landing lightly on the stone path as it ran along its daily patrol route toward the outskirts of the village. This was its usual path, one it knew well, without a hint of hesitation. However, as it passed the small, isolated courtyard in the west of the village, its steps suddenly faltered. Its fur stood on end as if electrified, its back arched, and it let out a piercing, shrill cry.

The cat’s cry cut through the silence. Normally, it would have elicited a chorus of barking dogs, but the village remained deathly quiet. The night was like a heavy curtain, shrouding the entire town. The chilling cry continued, sending a deep shiver through the heart. Then, a voice suddenly rang out in the distance.

“We’re too late.”

At the end of the path, two figures hurried over. The one in front was a man in his early thirties, with a scholarly face and a strong, agile build. The large travel bag on his shoulder didn’t hinder his swift steps. Behind him was a child, about seven or eight years old, still small in stature but keeping pace with the man, following closely.

Hearing the voices, the cat turned its head, its vertical pupils narrowing into thin slits, emitting a green, menacing glow. With a sudden arch of its back, it pounced. The man frowned slightly, quickly forming a hand seal with his fingers and flicking something toward the cat’s forehead. The yellow cat fell from mid-air like a puppet with its strings cut, rolled on the ground, and then seemed to regain its senses. It let out a whimper and fled toward the outskirts of the village, disappearing in an instant. The man paid no attention to the stray cat’s escape. He handed the travel bag to the child behind him and said in a low voice, “Xiao Qi, wait outside the gate. Don’t wander off. I’ll go inside and check the situation.”

The boy was slightly out of breath from running but still took the bag steadily. His serious little face was full of determination as he nodded solemnly. The man smiled faintly, patting the boy’s head in reassurance, then turned and entered the courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, a light was still on in the central room. The bulb wasn’t very bright, flickering as if the voltage was unstable. By the dim light, the man quickly scanned the courtyard. The yard was about twenty square meters, not very large. Several half-person-tall water jars were clustered together, many of them covered, with a faint, pungent smell of chemicals wafting out. Near the corner of the wall, a pile of bronze vessels was stacked like a small mountain. A few round tripods had rolled to the ground, their surfaces covered in thick, mottled rust, as if they had just been unearthed from an archaeological site. However, unlike genuine antiques, the bronze vessels in the yard were clearly mass-produced fakes, their designs too similar to be authentic. After a quick glance, the man pulled two talismans from his sleeve, held his breath, and pushed open the door in front of him.

The wooden door creaked softly, and a foul, fishy wind rushed toward him, too fast to see what was coming. Without hesitation, the man flicked his wrist, and the two talismans flew out. With a muffled bang, the thing was flung back. The talismans burst into flames without any fire, emitting a red light. The man’s body shifted, and a peach wood short sword appeared in his hand out of nowhere. He took two quick steps forward, dropped to one knee, and thrust the wooden sword into the floor. Even though this was a rural area, the floor was solid concrete. Yet the wooden sword pierced through it as easily as if it were tofu, sinking about seven inches deep. With this action, a louder explosion rang out, like a thunderclap in the air. The light bulb hanging from the ceiling let out a sharp crack and shattered.

Without the light, the man wasn’t panicked. He simply took a light breath, stood up, and surveyed the room by the dim moonlight. He quickly walked over to the desk and flipped the switch. A bright white light spilled out from the desk lamp, finally illuminating the room. In the living room, two bodies lay on the floor—a man and a woman. The woman was covered in bloody marks, her pale neck bearing two dark blue handprints. Her head hung at an unnatural angle, clearly broken by the force of the strangulation. The man was curled up in the corner, his limbs twisted, his facial features distorted. His eyes were open so wide that they had split at the corners, and dark blood dripped from his ears onto the floor. The residual energy of the spell still rippled through his body, causing the corpse to twitch slightly.

After just one glance, the man understood that this was a deadly situation caused by a malevolent spirit. He shook his head slightly, walked over to the peach wood sword, and slapped a yellow talisman on the floor. After a moment, twisted marks appeared on the blank, beige talisman paper, as if something had scribbled on it. Seeing the talisman take shape, the man pulled out the wooden sword and drew a line across the talisman. The paper burst into flames without any fire, quickly turning into a pile of fine ash. Along with this small flame, something in the room also began to burn. The foul, fishy air was completely incinerated, and the twitching male corpse finally lay still, leaving only the heavy smell of blood.

After handling everything, the man stood up and was about to search for the source of this disaster when a cry suddenly came from the courtyard. His heart skipped a beat, and he rushed outside. The boy who had been waiting outside the courtyard had now entered the yard and was squatting in front of an overturned water jar, staring at something. A wave of anxiety washed over the man: “Xiao Qi, didn’t I tell you to wait outside… Huh? Where did this child come from?”

Inside the small water jar was a child, probably only three or four years old, with an adorable face. However, at this moment, the child was curled up at the bottom of the jar, hugging his knees tightly. His eyes were wide open, dark and lifeless, staring blankly at the two people outside the jar, as if he had either been scared out of his wits or had lost his soul.

The boy quickly replied, “I just cast a divination and sensed life here. He hasn’t been possessed!”

“How could you perform divination in such a malevolent place? Aren’t you afraid of attracting evil spirits?” The man couldn’t help but scold him, then frowned. “He’s probably the couple’s son. I wonder how much he saw.”

After all, it was a tragic scene of parents being possessed and killing each other. Seeing the child’s frightened demeanor, the man felt a pang of pity. He reached out to pull the child out of the jar, but the little boy instinctively shrank back, avoiding his hand. Though the movement was slight, the man’s furrowed brows relaxed a bit. “He hasn’t lost his soul. He’s just too scared. Xiao Qi, why don’t you try?”

The boy didn’t hesitate. He reached out his hand and said softly to the child, “Don’t be afraid. We’re here to save you! You can come out now…”

This time, the child didn’t retreat, but just stared blankly back. The man was about to say something else when he suddenly stood up. “Someone’s coming this way. Stay here and watch the child. Don’t wander off this time.”

Without waiting for the boy’s response, he walked out of the courtyard. The commotion from dealing with the evil spirit earlier had been loud, but no one in the village had come out to investigate. Instead, a group of people was approaching from the country road, as if they had come from a neighboring village. Strangely, they weren’t using flashlights or emergency lights for illumination but were holding torches, giving the impression that they were on a serious mission. The leader was an elderly man, neatly dressed with a white beard. He should have had an air of authority, but he was running so fast that he was already drenched in sweat. When he saw the man standing outside the courtyard, he seemed startled, but after a quick glance, he stopped the group behind him and called out, “My surname is Wei, from Wei Family Village next door. May I ask which path you’re from, and why you’ve come on this ghostly night?”

Today was the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—the Ghost Festival. To city dwellers, this day might not mean much, but in the countryside, there were still many taboos. Even on ordinary nights, let alone a night with a crescent moon, a blood moon, and a hazy moon, no one would venture out late. Yet this group had come, carrying torches to ward off evil and leading black dogs to guard against malevolent spirits. Clearly, they had come specifically for the evil spirit in the courtyard. The fact that the old man could immediately tell that he wasn’t an ordinary person suggested that the elder had some knowledge of the occult. The man looked him over and said, “I’m from the Zhang family of Longhu Mountain. I happened to pass by and noticed a malevolent spirit here, so I came to deal with it.”

Hearing this, the old man’s expression changed drastically. He took a step forward and asked urgently, “What about the people in the courtyard? How are they?”

“The evil spirit was too fierce. I was too late.”

This caused a stir among the group. While the name Longhu Mountain was well-known, this was a modern age, and not many people believed that Taoist priests could exorcise ghosts. What’s more, this man wasn’t dressed like a Taoist priest but more like a young professor with an air of authority. The group immediately erupted into chaos, with some stepping forward to say something, but the old man roared, “All of you, shut up!”

This shout was far more effective than anything else. The crowd fell silent at once. The old man, surnamed Wei, took a deep breath. “May I ask, sir, can we enter the courtyard now? The people living here are my son and daughter-in-law…”

His voice trembled with grief, but he struggled to maintain his composure. Seeing this scene of a white-haired man mourning his black-haired descendants, the man sighed softly. “The evil spirit has been dealt with. Follow me.”

&&&

“Come out, there’s no use staying in there! My father is really strong, and I can do divination too. I won’t hurt you!” After squatting in front of the water jar and trying to coax the child for a while with no success, the boy frowned. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a half-wrapped piece of nougat from his travel bag and held it out to the little boy. “Do you want some? It’s peanut milk flavor.”

Even his treasured candy didn’t seem to interest the little one. The boy’s serious face showed a hint of frustration. He rarely interacted with such young children and had no idea how to comfort them. But since he was the one who had found this little guy, he felt responsible. After squatting on the ground and staring at the porcelain-like child for a long time, he sighed in distress and was about to stand up and rummage through his travel bag for something else when a small force tugged at him. The boy was startled and looked down to see that the child had grabbed his pant leg, as if not wanting him to leave.

A smile broke out on the boy’s face, and he immediately squatted back down, extending his small hand. “I’m not leaving. Will you come out? Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you…”

This time, it didn’t take much effort. The child finally took his hand and slowly climbed out of the water jar. Only then did the boy notice that the little one’s clothes were stained with blood. His hands were tiny, with soft, dimpled fingers, trembling like a little puppy. His big eyes were misty, as if holding back tears.

Feeling the soft, small hand gripping his, the boy’s heart softened. He led the child over to the light and sat down together by the travel bag. The rural night was a bit chilly, so he wrapped an arm around the little boy, trying to warm him with his own body heat. He racked his brain for something to say. “Don’t be afraid. My father is a true disciple of Longhu Mountain. He’s not afraid of any monsters or ghosts! When I go back to the mountain, I’ll learn Taoist magic too. I’m going to be a real Celestial Master… Do you know what a Celestial Master is?”

The little boy didn’t answer, just clenched his small fist and whispered, “Mommy… Mommy was hit by Daddy…”

The boy fell silent. He didn’t know what had happened in the room, but the divination didn’t lie. The people who had been possessed were probably already dead. After a moment of silence, he said softly, “That wasn’t your daddy. It was a monster. Don’t be afraid. The monster has already been captured by my father…”

Feeling that his words weren’t very convincing, he thought for a moment, then pulled a red cord from his collar. Hanging from it was a white jade pendant. Unlike the usual zodiac signs or Buddha statues people wore, the pendant was carved with a strange pattern that looked like a yang talisman. After a moment of hesitation, he took off the pendant and hung it around the child’s neck.

“This is a protective jade talisman my father gave me. It will keep you safe. No monsters can take you now.” After a pause, he added, “It’s okay. My father can carve another one for me. You can keep this one.”

Sitting in the corner of the courtyard, the boy rambled on in a rare display of childish earnestness, his voice tinged with a forced maturity. A faint light enveloped the two of them, separating them from the shadows behind.