Chapter Ninety-Three: Draining Vitality and Cutting Short One’s Lifespan

After hearing that story from the village witch, Ren Qiyun’s husband believed her infertility was caused by their firstborn child having drawn away the life essence in her womb. If she wanted to conceive again, she could trade the child to an old ghost in exchange for a little spirit to be reborn, choosing a son or a daughter as she pleased.

To bear another child, she had to use the first one as payment. What sort of twisted logic was that?

Tears streaming down her face, Ren Qiyun said, “I never wanted to harm Xiaoxiao either, but I really need a child. I had no choice. And the witch said Xiaoxiao would be fine—just lose a little vital yang, a little lifespan, and go keep company with her ghost husband...”

“Lose a little vital yang! Lose a little lifespan! Ever since Xiaoxiao came back, she’s been bedridden, crying that she’s cold. Is that what you call ‘a little’?” Zheng Lanxuan roared in fury.

Ren Qiyun shook her head in tears. “I didn’t know she would turn out like this. I thought Xiaoxiao would be all right.”

I said, “Putting that aside, if Xiaoxiao weren’t like she is now, but instead merely lost a little vital yang, a little lifespan, and then went to keep company with her ghost husband, would you truly be at ease?”

Ren Qiyun said nothing, only sobbing.

I asked, “How exactly was this ghost marriage and child-begging arranged? Where did it take place?”

“At... at my husband’s hometown,” Ren Qiyun said, recounting the details.

In broad terms, Xiaoxiao was called over, and the witch presided over the ceremony: she dressed her in a red bridal gown, gave her blood wine mixed with chicken blood and a few drops of Xiaoxiao’s own blood, then led her around a mound with a red thread in hand, calling out the old ghost’s name. That night, she was left alone in an empty room to signify the bridal chamber.

During all this, Ren Qiyun, the one “begging for a child,” knelt before the altar set up by the witch and prayed to the old ghost. After Xiaoxiao completed the “marriage” and departed, the altar remained in place for nine more days, and Ren Qiyun continued praying before it for nine days to show her sincerity. After nine days, the bargain was complete, and everything ended.

Now the reason was known, but how was Xiaoxiao to be saved? They could only go find that witch. Since she knew how the rite worked, she ought to know how to undo it as well.

I said, “I need you to take me to that witch and ask her how to break it.”

Ren Qiyun hesitated for a while. “I want to go see how Xiaoxiao is first.”

Back at Zheng Lanxuan’s house, in Xiaoxiao’s room, Ren Qiyun burst into tears at the sight of her.

“Mom... Mom...” Xiaoxiao said weakly, surprised by Ren Qiyun’s arrival, though her frailty left her with little expression to show.

“Xiaoxiao, Mom is sorry...” Ren Qiyun choked out.

I touched Zhu Tianjiang and motioned for us to go outside, leaving this family of three that was not quite a family of three to themselves.

Once we were in the living room, I said, “I’ll head out with Ren Qiyun in a bit to find that witch. Tonight, this place is in your hands.”

Zhu Tianjiang had been frightened out of his wits the past two nights. Hearing that it was up to him, he looked miserable. “I can’t do it. How am I supposed to fight those ghosts? No, no, absolutely not.”

“You have to do it even if you can’t. You know a little about this place. Besides, don’t you want to avenge your son?” I said.

Zhu Tianjiang froze.

I went on, “Your son was scattered by that old ghost, and you, as his father, are going to back down?”

Zhu Tianjiang looked torn. “But I really don’t have much skill! At best I can deal with those little ghosts with barely any power. If that old ghost comes again like the other night, what am I supposed to do? How about this—we just take Zheng Xiao with us to find the witch.”

I shook my head. “No. Zheng Xiao’s condition means she can’t go outside, and it would be inconvenient to have too many people. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you talismans. The ones you posted last night should still have some effect, but before I leave I’ll put up a fresh set. You just stay in the house like you did last night.”

Zhu Tianjiang hesitated. “All right, then.”

I hadn’t had much time yesterday, so I hadn’t written many talismans. Aside from the ones I was about to post, I gave him the rest. “The ones with black script are protective charms; they keep ghosts and evil influences away. This one is a ghost-suppressing talisman; it can subdue demons, suppress ghosts, and banish evil. And this well-character talisman—you saw what it did when we dealt with that ghost the other night. But...”

“But what?”

To be honest, I said, “The last one was written by my master. There was only one. These were written by me, and this is my first time writing them. I’ve never tested whether they work.”

“What? What if they don’t work?” Zhu Tianjiang asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry. If it’s those ghosts from last night, they aren’t very capable. These ghost-suppressing talismans will handle them just fine.”

“What about that ghost from the night before?”

“That’s harder to say.”

Zhu Tianjiang was full of unease.

I pasted fresh talismans on every window and vent. After Zheng Lanxuan and the others came out of the rooms, I gave Zheng Lanxuan the ghost-suppressing talisman Master Ma had given me, so he would at least have some means of self-protection. I then went back into the room and pressed the protective charm Master Ma had given me into Xiaoxiao’s hands. At that point my own talismans were completely used up... no, not quite. There was still one left—the one Wang Yue had written.

There was no time to write new ones, so she and I set out at once for her husband’s hometown. At that hour, the only thing available was a bus ticket, but it was still better than waiting until the next day to leave.

I had not slept for a full day and night, and the moment things quieted down, drowsiness came flooding in. I slept in fits on the bus.

When the bus arrived, we got off and took another ride into the village. The journey was long; by the time we reached the outskirts, evening had already fallen.

Ren Qiyun’s husband was named Wen Yong. She led me along side paths, trying to avoid people as much as possible. If we did meet anyone and they asked who I was, she would say I was her cousin from her maternal side, here to visit her. No one was to learn where I came from, and above all, her husband must not find out.

“We came back to the old home just to wait for the little spirit to be reborn and conceive a child,” Ren Qiyun said. “If we back out now, I’m afraid he won’t agree.”

Following her into the village, we wound our way along narrow lanes and did not meet a single soul. At last we came to an old red-brick house on the edge of the village.

She knocked four times on the gate and called out, “Fourth Aunt, I’ve come with a matter to discuss!”

There was no sound inside at all.

We waited a long while, yet nothing happened. I noticed the gate was only ajar and not locked. “She should be inside. Why don’t we just go in?”

Ren Qiyun waved her hands quickly. “No. Those are Fourth Aunt’s rules. She’s very capable, and whoever it is has to follow her rules.”

The person who could preside over the marriage that sent Zheng Xiao to that old ghost and left her in her present state was indeed quite capable.

A bell rang from within.

“Fourth Aunt has agreed,” Ren Qiyun said, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

I followed behind her. The instant I crossed the threshold, a heavy scent of incense and candles hit me, mixed with a strange, complex odor.