Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 180
>Chapter Title: Back
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The colorful ribbons on the leather drum swayed lightly with Bai Lingmiao's footsteps.
She walked alone through the somewhat dilapidated alleys of Qianjia Village.
From time to time, barefoot farmers leading oxen and women cradling children cast puzzled glances her way.
They had never seen a girl dressed like this in the village before—it was quite the rarity.
Bai Lingmiao, her expression somewhat tense, kept her head down and pressed on toward the spot the Second God had described.
It wasn't long before Bai Lingmiao spotted two squat houses side by side, one large and one small. She took a deep breath and stepped into the courtyard.
"Woof! Woof woof!!" The big spotted guard dog gave her quite a scare.
But the barking spared her the awkwardness of announcing herself.
With a "creak," the door swung open, and a honest-looking farmhand stepped out, a hint of fear in his eyes as he asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Bai Lingmiao opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say—after all, she hadn't done this sort of thing many times before.
After hesitating for a good long while, Bai Lingmiao finally asked cautiously, "Um... has anyone in your family been possessed?"
"Thud!" The door that had just opened slammed shut again.
"Ah..." Bai Lingmiao stood there awkwardly. She turned her head toward the Second God beside her and said in her mind, "See? They closed the door. Maybe there's nothing wrong."
Then Bai Lingmiao seemed to hear something and softly defended herself with a troubled look on her face.
"I know the immortal families are pushing hard now—if we don't get to work, they'll come after us. But this house might not have... Sigh. Alright, I understand. I'll give it another try."
She walked back over and knocked on the door with her pale, slender hand.
"Please open the door! This young lady has learned the arts of exorcism and ghost-catching. If you're truly troubled by such things, I can help!"
After knocking a few more times, just as Bai Lingmiao thought they wouldn't answer, a crack opened in the wooden door, and a single withered yellow eye suddenly peered out, startling her.
"How did you know we've been hit by a crashing guest?"
Only after hearing the voice did Bai Lingmiao realize that the sallow yellow eye belonged to a person.
"Er..." For a moment, Bai Lingmiao couldn't come up with a good excuse.
"Old man, never mind how I know. I really can help you with this sort of thing. Evil spirits can't stay on a person too long, or there'll be trouble."
"How many coppers do you want?"
"Fifty wen, no matter how fierce the spirit—it's always fifty wen." Bai Lingmiao quoted the standard rate for jumping the great god.
No sooner had she spoken than a young man's voice came from behind the door. "Dad, pick her! This jumping great god is way cheaper than Cui Mi Granny!"
The door slammed shut again. The father and son muttered about something inside. Just as Bai Lingmiao was starting to feel anxious, there was a "creak," and the door opened.
A short, stocky old farmhand emerged from inside, carrying a shoulder pole and looking deeply troubled.
He sized Bai Lingmiao up again and said, "Fifty coppers, that's what you said. We're poor folk—you better not cheat us."
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao let out a breath in relief and stepped over the threshold.
The moment she entered, she was startled by a wall of white right in her face.
The entire room was set up like a mourning hall—no, it was a mourning hall, just without a coffin.
"Old man, why isn't the spirit tablet in the ancestral hall? What’s it doing in the house?"
At these words, the old man let out a deep sigh. "If I could put it there, I would have ages ago. Come on in. There's some things I need to explain to you in detail."
Past the main room was a bright little courtyard, where a few chickens scratched around.
The tense father and son led Bai Lingmiao to the yard, pulled up a bamboo stool for her, then instinctively squatted down and began spilling their woes.
"My old lady passed five days ago. She lived to seventy-one, didn't suffer much at the end—barely counts as a joyous funeral. But before the seventh day vigil was even up, trouble hit. My nephew, keeping watch, heard someone knocking on the coffin lid."
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao's heart clenched. She scanned the surroundings warily but found nothing unusual.
"We got scared and buried her in a rush. But the second night after, she hopped right back home."
Though the farmhand's words were blunt and dry, they still sent chills racing through Bai Lingmiao, her hands and feet turning ice-cold. This seemed different from what she'd encountered before.
"The old lady shoved the door open and demanded meat. Me and my boy were terrified. Looked like if we didn't give her meat, she'd eat us instead."
"So we took down the half hog leg hanging from the beam—saved for the New Year, smoked meat—and she tore into it raw."
"She devoured the whole leg and left, saying she'd be back tomorrow for more."
The old man's face grew even more bitter as he spoke.
"It's not that I'm stingy about feeding my old lady, but that wasn't her. The way she gnawed that meat was like a beast, blood and shreds flying everywhere—chilling to the bone. This crashing guest is pure evil."
"To bury her proper, we sold both our pigs. If she comes back and there's no meat, I'm afraid she'll chew on me and my boy next."
"If you can send my old lady off to reincarnation safe and sound, you'll be our family's living bodhisattva."
With that outpouring done, the old man hung his head and went quiet.
"Corpse coming back to life after death? Possessed by something?" Bai Lingmiao wondered to herself, weighing the danger of the situation.
After debating it over in her mind with the Second God and deciding it wasn't too risky, she glanced at the time and said, "Old man, the sun's about to set. Since I'm here, I'll stay tonight. What do you think?"
Now that she was here, she had to see it through. After all she'd been through with Senior Brother Li, Bai Lingmiao felt confident she could handle this little matter.
"What? You really have a way?" The old man perked up excitedly.
He'd figured this young girl was too green to be of much use.
Seeing Bai Lingmiao nod in confirmation, the old man jumped to his feet and lunged at the chickens in the yard.
"Good! Dinner's on us! Make yourself at home!"
That evening, a whole chicken was set before Bai Lingmiao, but she had no appetite for it. She sat tense, waiting for nightfall.
As soon as darkness fell, the father and son retreated to the back room to sleep, leaving Bai Lingmiao alone in the hall that resembled a mourning parlor.
The family was dirt poor. The room held just one oil lamp, casting flickering shadows that made the already eerie atmosphere even more sinister.
(End of chapter)