Chapter Thirty-Four: Turning Coats

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I asked Mr. Wang what he needed.

He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he told Aunt Wang and Granny Li to leave first, saying that after they were gone, he would let us know what to look for.

Aunt Wang bit her lip, lowered her head, and said nothing more.

She helped Granny Li along the village road.

Mr. Wang suddenly opened his eyes a little—just a slit.

For a person, opening your eyes just that much is enough to see, enough to walk around, though things would still be blurry.

Then, Mr. Wang suddenly said, “You should know what Wang Erjun liked most, don’t you?”

I blurted out, “His slingshot. His father found a special piece of golden wood in the mountains and made him a slingshot that was deadly accurate for shooting birds. Wang Erjun treated it like a treasure, always afraid someone would steal it.”

Mr. Wang nodded. “Go to his room and find the slingshot.”

I hesitated, a sense of unease gnawing at me.

If we were just looking for someone, we should simply go wherever Wang Erjun had gone.

But why did Mr. Wang want the thing Wang Erjun cherished most?

Growing up in the countryside, I’d witnessed many things.

The elders often said: if someone dies an unnatural or unexplained death, simply holding a funeral isn’t enough—their spirit won’t return and will wander as a restless ghost.

You need to set up a spirit tablet, light incense, and use the deceased’s most beloved possession to call the soul back. That way, you can summon their spirit.

“Mr. Wang... do you think something’s happened to Wang Erjun?” I couldn’t hold back my unease and asked.

Mr. Wang’s face was serene, as if he hadn’t just ordered us to leave in a panic moments before.

“We’ll try to call his soul. If he’s dead, there’s no point searching. If he’s alive, I have a way to bring him back.”

“Hurry, there’s not much time.”

I didn’t dare delay and went into Wang Erjun’s house.

The courtyard was still full of lumber—remnants of what Carpenter Wang had brought home when he was alive.

I’d been to their house often enough to always see piles of wood like this.

In a corner of the yard was Wang Erjun’s room.

Beside his room stood a glossy black coffin, its lid not yet nailed shut. Offerings were laid in front, incense half-burned, thin wisps of smoke still curling upwards.

This was Carpenter Wang’s coffin. In the countryside, the body is kept for three days before burial. Carpenter Wang hadn’t been buried yet—most likely because so many things had happened recently.

I pushed open the door to Wang Erjun’s room.

The place was a mess, clothes strewn everywhere, and a foul odor hung in the air.

I quickly found the slingshot—a yellowish-brown wooden one—under his pillow.

I took the slingshot to the courtyard gate. Mr. Wang was already arranging a few copper coins and some sticks of incense on the ground.

He took the slingshot from me, placed it among the coins, then suddenly grabbed my hand and squeezed my palm hard.

Pain shot through me, cold sweat beading on my forehead. My palm, already wounded, started bleeding, the warm blood dripping onto the yellow-brown wood.

Blood seeped into the slingshot, and then, to my shock, the copper coins suddenly stood upright.

A faint buzzing sound accompanied them, and my heart sank like a stone.

Mr. Wang took a deep breath and lit the incense. The sticks caught, but burned with agonizing slowness, the thin smoke rising as if ready to go out at any moment.

Anxiety gnawed at me. I asked Mr. Wang in a whisper, “Is Wang Erjun all right?”

Mr. Wang was silent for a moment. “If you’re summoning the soul of the living, incense won’t burn—because the living don’t feed on incense, only ghosts do. But since the incense is burning, it doesn’t mean he’s dead. It means he’s still possessed by a ghost. His soul can’t control his body—he’s in a state of false death. Try calling his soul, see if it responds.”

“How do I do it?” I asked, clenching my fists.

“Take the slingshot. Call his name. That’s all.”

Following his instructions, I gripped the slingshot, walked to the center of the courtyard, and shouted, “Wang Erjun!”

The gloomy sky seemed to swallow my voice before it could travel far.

I shouted again, and again.

I had no idea what would happen if his soul came—or if it didn’t.

On my fifth call, my shoulder suddenly felt heavy, as if something had climbed onto my back.

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It felt as if something was crouched on my back.

My ears tingled with an itchy numbness. I heard panting, and then Wang Erjun’s terrified voice: “Xie... Xie Yuan?”

I whipped around, my heart thudding in my chest.

Wang Erjun was clinging to my back, his face deathly pale, dark rings hollowing his eyes.

“Why am I on your back? Wasn’t I...?”

Suddenly, his expression changed. He clutched his throat, eyes bulging in panic, as if suffocating.

“Wang Erjun! Where are you?” Mr. Wang’s voice thundered in my ear.

Wang Erjun struggled desperately, trembling as he gasped, “Xie Yuan! Run... run...!”

“Liu from the funeral clan... he’s... terrifying... He’s letting a ghost possess a newborn...”

“Where are you? Tell us!” I shouted, panic rising.

“Don’t you dare tell me to run! I came back here to save you! I promised your mother I’d get you out! Don’t give me that tough guy act!”

A flicker of misery crossed Wang Erjun’s face.

“Wang Erjun! Tell us where you are—if you keep talking, we might still be able to stop them. Otherwise, the whole village will be doomed, and you’ll never avenge your father!”

As Mr. Wang finished, Wang Erjun’s soul suddenly vanished.

“I... I don’t deserve it...” Those were his last words.

The suffocating pressure vanished—I screamed in anguish, “Wang Erjun! You damn fat fool!”

Mr. Wang’s face was grim. “There’s nothing more we can do. You can only summon a soul once. The ghost possessing him must have realized he was being called and dragged him back.”

I shook uncontrollably. Wang Erjun’s consciousness was intact, but he wouldn’t reveal his location—he was afraid we’d be in danger. Was he so desperate he’d rather die?

Frustration churned inside me.

Just then, a mournful wind suddenly swept the courtyard behind us.

It came out of nowhere.

The village road was still and calm, as if the wind blew only within the yard.

A wisp of white smoke floated out from the courtyard, circled the slingshot, and drifted ahead into the distance.

“Come...” A voice startled me—a cold shiver ran down my spine.

It was Carpenter Wang’s voice!

Mr. Wang’s pupils contracted. “A ghost leading the way—that’s Erjun’s father! He heard our words. Follow quickly—he’ll find Erjun!”

I didn’t dare hesitate. I grabbed Mr. Wang and ran.

His sight hadn’t fully recovered; without my help, he could never have managed.

The ghostly smoke dwindled as it floated, leading us to the trash dump at the edge of the village.

Mr. Wang stopped and whispered, “Don’t rush. They’re at the earth god’s shrine, where you went before. I should have known—evil spirits choose the places with the heaviest yin energy to reincarnate. Liu from the funeral clan isn’t hiding anymore—he’s not afraid of us.”

Around us, faint cries reached our ears.

I shivered, asking Mr. Wang if he truly had a way to deal with them.

Otherwise, with Erjun possessed and Liu nearby, how could we possibly save him?

Mr. Wang was silent for a moment, then produced a bottle identical to the one Granny Li had given me.

It held the same cloudy liquid.

“Chances are slim. Splash this on the evil spirit. It might not destroy him anymore, but it will delay him from possessing the infant. That gives us a chance. But if you miss—run. Understood?”

I bit my lip until it bled and nodded.

Mr. Wang couldn’t see far, so I took the bottle.

We crouched low, creeping through the bushes near the earth god’s shrine.

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Through the brush, we saw Liu from the funeral clan.

He was holding a calico cat, snapping its neck and spilling blood everywhere.

A dozen stray cats’ corpses were strewn on the ground.

A chilling, uncanny aura swept around us, making me feel as if I were sitting atop a pile of ice, shivering uncontrollably.

“Cat yin, cat blood is even more potent. An evil spirit’s rebirth is a crime against heaven. By killing all these cats, Liu keeps the underworld messengers away—they fear blood, especially from dead cats, which may even rise and attack them.”

Goosebumps prickled my skin.

Beside Liu, Wang Erjun staggered back and forth, his eyes filled with hatred—but it wasn’t his own gaze.

Old Man Zhou floated nearby with the village chief and the souls of his family.

Any movement from us, and they’d spot us instantly.

In front of the shrine lay the infant destined for possession.

It was now the size of a one-year-old child, wailing with piercing cries that chilled the blood.

Beside the infant sat an urn.

A child’s head, half grown, emerged from it.

Its eyes were dark and fearful, as if afraid to come out.

My skin crawled, but I knew we couldn’t get any closer without being discovered.

Just one step more would give us away.

“Don’t be afraid, my child. Daddy’s chased all the bad people away. Climb in, and you can live again.”

Liu’s voice was trembling as he reached out with shaking hands, speaking to the floating head.

My heart twisted with horror and disgust, burning with hatred.

For the sake of this unborn child, Liu had murdered his own daughter, killed my father, and who knew how many others.

The head seemed to gain a little courage.

It edged forward, inch by inch.

When it finally emerged completely from the urn, Liu’s expression became feverish with excitement.

“Yes... don’t be afraid. Daddy’s cleaned everything up. Get into this body I’ve prepared for you, and we can be together again.”

The head drifted closer to the infant.

The infant’s cries became even more piercing.

I was drenched in sweat.

Mr. Wang’s face was ashen, his hand gripping my arm, clearly restraining me from moving.

“No chance left...?” I bit down so hard on my lip I tasted blood.

“Wait just a bit longer...”

In that moment, a horrific, piercing cat’s wail split the air.

A black shadow shot out from the earth god’s shrine, seized the head in its jaws, and bolted toward us!

My face went pale. Wasn’t this the cat that had stolen the infant before? It had helped Liu then—why turn on the evil spirit now?

The head’s face was contorted in terror, letting out shrill screams.

Liu’s expression changed drastically as he roared, “Beast, how dare you!”