Chapter Thirty-Two: Turning Truth Upside Down

Zhang Qi glanced sideways, his expression filled with arrogance. “If you’re so capable, turn into a ghost for me to see.” In his eyes, Wang Ying, who had possessed the corpse, was just an ordinary woman.

“Alright, since you insist, I’ll show you.”

I was about to intervene when a girl burst in, crying and sobbing. “Dad, something terrible has happened—Mom jumped into the river.”

The commotion ceased instantly. Everyone turned to the girl; she looked seventeen or eighteen, and I recognized her as the village chief’s daughter. Yesterday, when Wei Qi and I visited their home to distribute talismans, I had seen her.

Upon hearing his daughter, the village chief’s eyes widened in shock. “What? What happened to your mother?”

The girl’s eyes were red, tears streaming down her face. “Ever since you left, Mom’s been acting strange, constantly running towards the east side of the village. She jumped into the river and nearly drowned. Thankfully, Wei Liang pulled her out. Now she’s at the village entrance, cursing everyone.”

This was serious. The village chief immediately bolted out, followed by the villagers, leaving Zhang Qi and the few policemen who were holding me behind.

“Director Zhang, do you still not believe it? It’s definitely his brother’s ghost possessing her,” Wei Qi said helplessly. I was stunned—what kind of ghost was this? To dare possess someone in broad daylight, the resentment must be immense.

“Let’s go! Take the two of them to the town, I’ll go check over there.” Zhang Qi, who had a good relationship with the village chief, hurried off, his wife’s crisis taking precedence over us.

Wang Ying tried to stop him, but I pulled her close, whispering in her ear, “Darling, if you love me, don’t move. Don’t let your soul and body separate. Wait for my return. I must have you by my side.”

I knew Wang Ying’s temperament—she couldn’t be forced, only coaxed.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you. At least I have a body now. If they don’t bring you back tonight, I’ll come for you and rescue you both.” She clutched my hand, visibly anxious, her chest heaving, eyes rimmed red.

I nodded reassuringly. “It’s alright, we’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

“Wait! Stop!” Just as we were about to get into the police car, Wang Ying ran over, pointing at the officers. “Listen up, these are my husband and my uncle. If you harm them in the slightest, I’ll bite you to death.”

The policemen regarded her words as madness, but to me, it was no idle threat.

As we drove towards the eastern road, we saw a crowd of villagers. In the midst of them, someone was yelling and cursing—it was the village chief’s wife. Wei Qi glanced at me and shook his head, chuckling, “Ah! Why are they so stubborn?”

“What do we do?” I was worried about Wang Ying back home, afraid we’d be locked up for a long time, and that the village chief’s brother’s ghost might hurt the villagers. My mind was a mess.

“Don’t speak. If you do, your crimes will multiply,” said a young policeman in the front seat.

“What crime have we committed?” Wei Qi was angered by this, truly angry.

“Spreading superstitious ideas, misleading the masses, embezzling villagers’ property, causing the death of livestock.” The young man, who had studied for a couple of years, spoke in a practiced manner. Wei Qi forced a bitter smile. “Distorting truth, you people! You won’t cry until you see the coffin!”

“Forget about whether you’re resigned or not, all your old and new debts will be settled together. Last time, your fake death scam cost ten thousand—now that was a serious crime.” The young policeman sneered, his arrogance rivaling Zhang Qi.

“Buddy, let me ask, do you believe in ghosts?” Wei Qi suddenly smiled, his voice amiable, questioning the young policeman.

“No. There are no ghosts in this society,” he replied smugly.

“Don’t be so quick to judge—the village chief’s wife is possessed by a ghost,” Wei Qi pressed further.

“You two deserve to be arrested. Even now you’re spreading superstitious nonsense.” The young policeman looked at him with contempt. “I only believe in science.”

“Science, let me tell you, is built upon the foundations of theology. Newton, Da Vinci, they all ended up studying theology.” Wei Qi was quite the debater, launching into an endless discussion with the policeman. I had no desire to join; just days ago, I didn’t believe in ghosts either, but now I did. My only concern was Wang Ying at home—hopefully no one would disturb her.

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When we arrived at the town, Wei Qi and I were locked in a small dark room for the entire afternoon. It wasn’t until nearly three o’clock that someone came to check on us—the same young policeman who’d argued with Wei Qi about ghosts and science. I had no fondness for the guy.

He brought two dry buns and a few slices of salty vegetables. Wei Qi grinned, “Hey, where’s Director Zhang? If there’s nothing else, shouldn’t you send us back?”

The young man sneered, “Stay put. The village chief’s wife has gone mad. Zhang is arranging for her to be taken to a city hospital. He won’t be back until late tonight—maybe not at all.”

I grew anxious. If we didn’t return tonight, things would escalate. Wang Ying would definitely come looking. The village chief’s brother’s ghost had slaughtered nearly all the village livestock last night; tonight he might target people.

“Let us go,” Wei Qi pleaded, equally worried.

The policeman shook his head. “Reflect on your actions. I don’t have the authority to release you. Wait for Director Zhang.” With that, he slammed the door shut.

“Let’s eat first, then figure things out,” Wei Qi said, handing me a bun.

I had no appetite, my anxiety mounting, fearful for Wang Ying’s safety. Wei Qi, meanwhile, said nothing and ate. After finishing, he shakily pulled a small bottle from his pocket, with hands still cuffed.

“Uncle Qi, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see. Today I’ll show you something.” Wei Qi opened the bottle with his teeth. “A-Ling, A-Li. See if you can open these handcuffs.”

As he finished speaking, two ugly creatures crawled out from the bottle, thin as dried monkeys. On closer inspection, they were two little ghosts, much like those in the movies. Watching this, my respect for Wei Qi deepened—he was full of surprises, always keeping his true abilities hidden.

The two ghosts peeked about, growing larger with the breeze, soon as tall as five- or six-year-old children. Their features were clear now: two little girl ghosts, not truly young but severely malnourished and ugly.

They stared blankly for a moment, then started gnawing at our handcuffs. Within seconds, the cuffs snapped. One ghost returned to the bottle, while the other crawled to the door and bit through the iron lock with ease.

Wei Qi capped the bottle, looking smug before slipping it back into his pocket.

I was in awe—so Wei Qi kept two little ghosts himself! He was truly a hidden master.

“Uncle Qi, you’re incredible! Raising two little ghosts!” Actually, this was expected—yin-yang practitioners often kept little ghosts as servants, who could do anything in exchange for their master’s blood.

“You’re even more talented. My blood isn’t pure enough, so these two girl ghosts turned out like this.” Wei Qi smiled helplessly.

“Uncle Qi, I could use my blood…” I stopped, realizing it wasn’t appropriate.

Wei Qi shook his head. “Impossible. These ghosts are loyal; once they start with a master, they only drink his blood.”

I didn’t argue; I had no experience in such matters. But now wasn’t the time for discussion—we had to hurry home. It was late, and any further delay would cause more trouble.

We slipped out quietly, finding no one outside, and ran all the way to the village bridge, gasping for breath.

Wei Qi pointed to the village chief’s ancestral graves. “Let’s check it out.”

Though I was worried about Wang Ying, I followed. When we reached the graveyard, I was stunned—all the lush willow trees from that morning were now wilted and yellow, as if scorched by something.

“Uncle Qi, what’s happening?”

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“It’s evil energy. That creature has lain dormant for too long. Once awakened, it becomes ferocious. Last night it absorbed the village livestock’s yin energy, all gathered in the woods here. Luckily we returned; otherwise, tonight that evil ghost would’ve slaughtered the villagers.”

“Why is this happening?” I couldn’t understand why the ghost suddenly revived—why hadn’t it acted before, only after we arrived?

Wei Qi didn’t explain, instead saying, “Da Chuan, hurry home. That evil ghost was a lecher in life, never found a wife or had a ghost marriage after death. Tonight, he’s likely to kill someone to make her his bride.”

“Uncle Qi, should we destroy him now, before night falls?” I pointed to the graves. If we used talisman water and spirit talismans on the coffin, the ghost would be extinguished.

Wei Qi shook his head, saying the ghost was cunning, not here but possessing his sister-in-law. That explained the village chief’s wife’s madness—the ghost used her body for cover, unafraid of yang energy, and no one dared harm him unless they killed her.

Wei Qi’s words weighed heavily on me—this was no small problem.

We hurried home. Thankfully, Wang Ying was still there, sitting at the dressing table, applying makeup. Seeing me, she rushed to embrace me. “Darling, I was just preparing to come rescue you after I finished getting ready,” she said affectionately.

“Little sister-in-law, tonight you must stay in your room, behave. Da Chuan and I have to catch the evil ghost. We’re making talisman water now—it’s pure yang, not good for you. Don’t come out,” Wei Qi said seriously.

Wang Ying hugged me, kissed me. “Alright, but you two must take care. No injuries, nothing bad.” She kissed my cheek and went to the inner room.

Wei Qi took a metal basin, poured in cinnabar, then bit his finger and dripped blood into it. Watching him use his own blood to prepare talisman water, I felt a surge of respect—this outcast, shunned by the village, was willing to shed his blood for their safety. It was a noble act.

I bit my finger, adding my blood as well.

Just as the talisman water was prepared, Ying Zi burst in, breathless. “Something terrible has happened!”

“What’s the panic?” Wei Qi glanced at the sky—not yet fully dark, so the evil ghost wouldn’t come out. He wasn’t too worried.

“It’s serious! The village chief’s wife bit off the doctor’s finger in town. Four or five men couldn’t restrain her, and she ran barefoot from the city back here—over fifty miles!” Ying Zi was panting, as if she’d run the whole way herself.

“She’s home?”

“Yes, just arrived. The village chief and his daughter followed her by car.”

“This is bad. I doubt the evil ghost will harm his own family. We need to quickly draw talismans on the villagers’ doors. They still don’t believe me, so we have to protect them this way,” Wei Qi said resolutely.

I nodded and was about to pick up the basin when the door burst open again. Zhang Qi entered with several policemen, a pistol in hand.

“Hands up! Don’t move! Escapees—how did you break the handcuffs and escape?” Zhang Qi brandished his gun as if we were murderers.

Damn! Is this a detention center? We haven’t even been sent to prison yet!

“Director Zhang, we’re not going with you. If we leave tonight, people in the village will die. Do you believe me?” Wei Qi was truly fearless, standing calmly before the dark muzzle of the gun.