Chapter 22

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 22 - Ghost Hunt

“W-W-What’s going on?” Lin Yan was taken aback by Xiao Yang’s appearance. His mental state was a bit messed up by Xiao Yu recently, but this girl’s appearance was too weird. Her pyjamas hung loosely. Her hair drooped down and a pair of eyes without pupils “stared” at him. But the strange thing was that before Lin Yan could calm down, the girl turned around again as if disappointed and looked out the window blankly.

“It’s been four days, and she’s been standing by the window every day, asking someone “Are you here yet?” or “Why haven’t you come yet?” The doctor didn’t know what was going on. He said that it was a psychological problem and the family shouldn’t stress over it. What’s the psychological problem? Xiao Yang was such a lively child, and now she suddenly became like this.“ Xiao Yang’s mother sobbed.

"It-It’s a ghost.” A-Yan dragged Lin Yan back, watching the girl’s back cautiously, and said, “She’s possessed by a ghost.”

Lin Yan glanced at Xiao Yu subconsciously, and whispered, “You mean… like me?”

The little Daoist shook his head: “No, no, ghosts can be split into different categories. The one who found her seems to have just died recently. It can only attach itself to a human body to consume the spirit, but this makes it more dangerous. The girl’s yang energy is weak, and she’s still sick. I don’t think she can last any longer than a week…”

The private ward was very quiet. Although the little Daoist priest had tried his best to lower his voice, Xiao Yang’s mother heard the second half of the sentence. She was dumbfounded for a while before suddenly wailing out a sorrowful cry: “What should we do? We didn’t talk to anyone or do anything to provoke this, this just happened…”

“Auntie, don’t panic, aren’t we trying to think up a solution?” Lin Yan was distracted by the outburst. He grabbed the little Daoist priest and said to Xiao Yang’s mother: “A-Yan understands this situation, let him give it a look first.” Then he looked down at A-Yan and whispered: “That’s no problem, right?”

“I-I’ll try,” A-Yan said. He found the compass in his schoolbag and held it flat in his hand. Lin Yan leaned over and looked at it. When looking at the Feng Shui on new home furniture, he saw people using this thing. At that time, the pointer was only shifted slightly a few degrees, but now, the compass in A-Yan’s hand seemed to have a problem. The pointer spun around 360 degrees like it was being blown by the wind, and it twitched back into place from time to time. In the end, it seemed like it was pulled by an invisible force and quaveringly pointed straight at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan was startled. He pointed to himself and asked, “I’m a ghost?” Then he realized that the pointer was pointing at Xiao Yu, who was half a step behind him.

The little Daoist tapped the compass a couple times. He frowned and said, “No, no, take him out of here. His Yin is too dense and it can’t detect anything else in here.”

Lin Yan dragged Xiao Yu to wait outside the door and looked in through the glass of the ward door. This time it seemed like there was no problem. A-Yan stared at the compass and let out a sigh of relief. He took out cinnabar, yellow talisman, incense, and other props from his schoolbag. Lin Yan thought he was going to use a red string to make a formation like in the small temple, but A-Yan just dipped his fingers in water to dissolve the cinnabar, drew a symbol on the yellow talisman and clamped it between two fingers in his right hand. He walked behind Xiao Yang and slapped her left shoulder. Like last time, the girl stiffened her neck and her head turned around one hundred and eighty degrees. Once they were face-to-face, A-Yan slammed the talisman on her forehead.

“Scatter!” With an angry shout, the strange scene appeared again. The yellow talisman let out a “pop.” There was no real fire, but it burned into a cluster of bright flames that fluttered and fell to the ground. At the same time, A-Yan raised the peach wood sword over the girl’s head in the air and brought it down in a slash!

“Oh! What is that!” Xiao Yang’s mother was anxious and rushed forward as she shouted, but Yin Zhou grabbed her from behind: “It’s okay! It can’t hurt anyone!”

A-Yan used a wooden sword, but it brought a strong wind. The girl’s hair was raised and blew around. The tip of the sword was suddenly only an inch from the top of her head. There were a few weird rumbles from her throat, and the girl’s eyes rolled upwards. Then, as if the power had been shut off, she limply dropped down.

Lin Yan opened the door and rushed into the room. Yin Zhou and Xiaoyang’s mother rushed over, but the little Daoist reacted quickly. Before the girl fell to the ground, he had already supported the girl’s back with one hand and wrapped around her waist with the other.

“Yangyang! Yangyang!” Xiaoyang’s mother was terrified by the strange sight: “What’s the matter with her? What’s wrong with her?”

The little Daoist’s eyebrows furrowed. He moved his finger under the girl’s nose and checked. He raised his head and said bewilderedly: “She-she’s okay, she’s asleep.”

“Huh? It’s over?” Lin Yan asked.

“No, that thing is still there, it’s just… hiding.” A-Yan shook his head. He looked around the room, and then returned his gaze to the girl: “This one is so strange. It doesn’t resist but it doesn’t run. Any interaction and it hides.” A-Yan said, stepping back a few steps to make room. Xiaoyang’s mother was almost crushed by the battle, and she laid the girl back on the bed. After crying out her name and confirming that she really was asleep, she turned back with tears and begged the little Daoist priest: “I believe you. She hasn’t moved from in front of the window in four days. If you let her sleep, can you get that thing out of her quickly?”

A-Yan had always been nervous when talking to strangers, not to mention being asked to do something by one. His face suddenly flushed. He tugged on the corner of Lin Yan’s clothes and whispered, “I-I have to draw things out of her to do it. But this method might not look very nice… Brother Lin Yan, you can help…” He pointed at Xiao Yang’s mother discreetly.

Lin Yan nodded reluctantly. He and Yin Zhou each took a side and comforted Xiao Yang’s mother, sitting her back on the chair. A-Yan, on the side, didn’t know what he was doing. He took out a bunch of bottles from his bag and opened and poured each of them on the little girl. Some were powder, some were slimy, unknown liquids. There was a fishy smell that spilled out when the cap was unscrewed. It wasn’t long before everyone in the ward started to get nauseous from it. Not to mention that Xiao Yang’s mother’s expression was getting more and more screwed up. Even Lin Yan and Yin Zhou couldn’t help but exchange glances and each had a cold sweat on their foreheads.

After seven or eight different things were spilled on her, the girl still didn’t respond, and she stayed fast asleep on the bed.

“This-This definitely has to work.” A-Yan stammered. He wiped his forehead a couple times, unscrewed the last jar, and the maroon viscous liquid mixed with black lumps splashed all over Xiao Yang. With the addition of the various powders on the face, the girl’s face was as lively as a colour palette.

Lin Yan looked at the girl’s wet hair soaked in gunk. He turned his head away in disgust and asked A-Yan: “What is that? Why does it look like blood?”

“It-It is blood, dog blood.” The little Daoist pointed at the girl on the bed with the peachwood sword: “Dog-Dog blood is the most effective in driving away ghosts.”

The girl fell into a deeper sleep, and there was even a slight snoring sound in the room.

Lin Yan was at a loss. Looking back, Xiao Yu was sitting in a chair, looking bored and rolled his eyelids when he heard the words “dog blood”. It was clear he was just watching someone put on a show. He wouldn’t be able to hold back a scream if he tried to pull anything right now. Lin Yan angrily pushed down the urge to strangle him. He gritted his teeth and said to the little Daoist: “How about I try and help you with all that? Not all ghosts are the same. If it works, then you can change it up.”

Yin Zhou couldn’t hold back either, rubbing his knuckles and complaining, “Dude, can you do it or not?”

The little Daoist blush was so red, it looked like his face was about to start bleeding. His nervous hands began to tremble, and he said, “This-This ghost is probably afraid of life…”

Xiao Yang’s mother looked at her daughter’s body in horror. Her face was even scarier than the evil spirit’s. If it hadn’t been for the little Daoist priest offering his help when he showed up, she was afraid that she would be going crazy right now. Lin Yan tugged at A-Yan’s clothes fearfully and whispered in his ear: “Auntie is about to storm out. Think of a way to fix this or us three will be the ones held accountable for all this…”

A-Yan hesitated for a while. He lowered his head and trembled: “There’s only one way. Master isn’t here, I… I’ll do it!” Then he slapped the empty bottle on the table: “First, everyone needs to get out!”

Three minutes later, Lin Yan and Yin Zhou dragged Xiao Yang’s mother out into the corridor. The ward was dark and dreary. The young Daoist priest pulled the curtains shut and sprinkled incense ash on the door and windows. Using the ink pen in his hand, he began drawing on the talismans. Afterwards, he stuck them on the walls, chairs, tables, and windows until every corner was covered. The little Daoist priest then dipped the pen into the cinnabar and simply began drawing straight on the wall. There was even bright red and huge writing on the windowpane: “Promptly and in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.*” He wrote quickly, but for a while, the big red symbols made the room look like a mess, looking unspeakably grotesque.

*(T/N: [急急如律令] - A Daoist incantation used to ward off evil spirits.)

Exorcising ghosts and removing demons was too rare for the average person. Yin Zhou and Xiao Yang’s mother were gripping the door frame and looking inside. Lin Yan had seen similar situations when he asked the temple master to exorcise Xiao Yu, so he wasn’t really interested and leaned patiently on the wall. When he raised his head again, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Lin Yan looked around. Where was Xiao Yu?

He anxiously rushed to the door, and saw Xiao Yu sitting on the girl’s bedside. Seeing Lin Yan pop up in the doorway, he only raised his head and glanced coldly, then turned his head nonchalantly.

The dim room was filled with strange imagery. The little Daoist stroked the sword with his fingers. He put the wooden sword on his chest, muttering something. As he chanted, the bright red symbols on the four walls of the room glowed like they were neon signs. The girl on the bed suddenly jerked. First, her hands began to tremble, then her arms and legs, and then her whole body twitched like she was having a violent seizure.

Lin Yan anxiously wanted to rush in and drag Xiao Yu out. He kept silently cursing this ghost’s stubborn attitude. It was useless to try and coax him this morning and he was scaring him with this situation. After looking intently at Xiao Yu’s face, there was no painful expression on his face, as if he still had some contempt for the little Daoist priest’s magic. With his whole heart, he angrily let it go; he deserved anything that might happen.

The glow of the symbols became brighter and brighter. The girl abruptly opened her eyes and sat up straight. She climbed out of the bed and moved her body towards the little Taoist closer and closer. Her head hung limply over her chest, her hair hanging down and covering her face.

The tip of the sword pointed directly at the girl’s chest, but she stiffened and moved forward nonetheless…

This scene stunned the three people in the doorframe. Yin Zhou squeezed the door frame. Lin Yan put his fist into his mouth and tried to suppress the impulse to yell. Next to him, Xiao Yang’s mother took a sudden cold gasp. Her eyes closed and she faintly collapsed.

“Auntie, wake up!”

“Auntie!”

“My daughter…” Xiao Yang’s mother sat on the ground, clutching her chest and wailing as she tried to rush into the room. Lin Yan and Yin Zhou hurriedly dragged her down, saying that it was too late. Suddenly, there was a muffled noise that sounded like an explosion in the room. The two windows blew open, the incense was scattered, the wooden sword in A-Yan’s hand fell to the ground, and the girl collapsed.

Several people at the door stumbled over each other and rushed into the room. Yin Zhou helped the little Daoist priest, Xiao Yang’s mother hugged the girl and Lin Yan dragged Xiao Yu away. He didn’t know what was going on, his mind was spinning, and he rushed towards Xiao Yu first. With a dark expression, he grabbed his wrists, his shaking voice yelling: “Do you want to die? What if you got hurt?!”

The little Taoist coughed and picked up the peach wood sword. He pointed at the girl and stammered: “It’s no… no good. That thing is holding onto the body… To kill it, I’d have to kill them both… I can only… break the formation myself to save her life for now…”

Lin Yan’s heart dropped and he asked, “Is it that powerful?”

The little Daoist paled and shook his head: “It’s very weak, but the woman is also weak, so it took advantage of her weakness and merged them together. If you want to remove it, you’ll hurt her first.”