Chapter 1

I am a sorcerer, of course, that's a more elegant term. In today's society, people prefer to mock those in this profession as 'charlatans.'

Sometimes I feel a bit helpless. After all, the 'mystical arts' passed down by our ancestors are truly understood by very few people, and due to certain taboos, so-called masters are unlikely to serve ordinary people.

Therefore, people have seen too many fraudsters, and the term 'charlatan' has naturally become deeply ingrained.

I don't want to be hypocritical. In recent years, I've done 37 jobs, but my clients have mostly been wealthy or influential, except for two special cases.

Now, I have some free time and don't take any more jobs. Of course, I like money, but the secrets of the universe must not be revealed. You can earn money, but you must also be able to spend it, right?

However, too comfortable a life can be a bit boring. Reflecting on the past forty years of my life, my only regret is feeling guilty towards my master, because his lifelong wish was to vindicate true sorcerers and even promote the 'mystical arts.'

Is it easy? In today's society, I can say it's really not easy! In fact, the true upper echelons of the government do value the 'mystical arts' and treat those who truly understand them as treasures.

But this is a secret that can't be revealed to the public. Don't ask why; if you can believe me on this point, then believe me.

The only thing I can do is to write down my experiences over the years, so people can understand what true sorcerers are and what true mystical arts are about.

Of course, I won't write about the very specific techniques. If anyone could learn them, they wouldn't be on the verge of being lost. I don't want to mislead anyone or cause anyone to imitate out of curiosity.

As for whether the things I record are true, I just want to say one thing: compare them to your own life.

Alright, enough talk. Below is a summary of my experiences over the years. Due to some special reasons, I will make some literary adjustments to certain key points.

Main Text:

I am from Sichuan. In the winter of 1967, I was born in a poor village in southwestern Sichuan. I won't mention my exact birth time and date due to professional taboos, but since this is the starting point of everything, I must mention that I was born at exactly noon, not a second more or less.

At this point, someone might ask, "Isn't that a bit too mystical? Exactly noon, not a second more or less, who can guarantee that? Even if my father was holding a watch and watching the time, he couldn't guarantee it, right?"

Indeed, that's the case!

So, I want to tell you that this time was later calculated by my master based on my birth chart.

I never doubt anything my master says. Later events proved that he was never wrong about anything he told me.

What's special about being born at exactly noon? I'll mention this soon.

However, I should also say that people born around this time shouldn't panic. In fact, there aren't many people in China who are born exactly at this time, really.

Let's continue.

The winter I was born was very cold, so cold that my parents still remember it vividly to this day.

My father described that winter like this: "It was damn cold, so cold that even the old hen in the yard walked on tiptoe."

I can't imagine how funny it would be to see a hen walking on tiptoe, but in my hometown, where it almost never snows, such a cold winter is unforgettable. Because it doesn't snow, this kind of cold is more unbearable than the cold in the north. It's a different kind of cold, a damp and bone-chilling cold.

I was born in such a winter. When I was born, my parents almost thought I wouldn't survive, especially in such an abnormally cold season.

Why? There are three reasons.

First, I was very small and thin. My mother said that when my father first held me in his arms, he exclaimed, "This is no different from holding a kitten!"

Second, my cry was very weak, intermittent, as if something was choking me, struggling and gasping for breath. The experienced midwife thought I had inhaled amniotic fluid and even held me upside down and patted me a few times, but it didn't work.

Third, when my father and the midwife bathed me, they noticed a birthmark on the back of my head. Birthmarks aren't a big deal, but mine was the color of fresh blood and looked like an eye.

Rural people are superstitious. The midwife was a bit scared and said, "This birthmark looks like an eye, but when I look at it, it seems to be staring back at me. This child is so weak, and with this mark, you should find someone to look at him."

My parents, who were uneducated, were frightened by what the midwife said and the state of the child.

Especially my mother, who was already weak from childbirth, panicked and lay down on the bed. My father, however, still had some sense and quickly asked, "Old Lady Liu (the midwife's surname is Liu), what's wrong with this child? Who should we call? Should we call a doctor from the village clinic?"

Rural people are poor, and medical conditions were not good at that time. In my parents' eyes, the experienced Old Lady Liu was the ultimate authority and very trustworthy.

Seeing my father ask this, Old Lady Liu looked around nervously and then whispered to my father, "A weak newborn is easy for those things to take advantage of. You know, those things leave marks. For example, if they grab you, you'll have black finger marks, and if they kick you, you'll have a footprint. You've seen those who are taken by water ghosts as substitutes, right? When they are pulled out of the water, their feet often have hand marks."

Hearing this, my father shuddered and immediately understood what Old Lady Liu meant. If he had thought her talk about leaving marks was nonsense at first, the part about water ghosts finding substitutes and leaving marks was something he couldn't deny, because he had seen it with his own eyes.

It happened in the summer of over a decade ago, when my father was just a teenager. Country children had few ways to play, and in the summer, who wouldn't go to the river to swim?

On the day the incident happened, it was just like any other day. After finishing his work, my father gathered 5 or 6 of his childhood friends to go swimming. Among them were twin brothers, simply called Big Twin and Little Twin, and the incident happened to them.

My father didn't see the details, but he remembered that he was playing mud fights with another child by the river when he heard Little Twin shouting, "My brother is sinking! Hurry up, help me..."

Hearing this, my father turned around in shock and saw Big Twin sinking straight into the middle of the river, only his head visible, without much struggle.

Little Twin was already swimming quickly toward his brother, and two others followed closely behind...

At that moment, my father couldn't stand by and do nothing. They were childhood friends, and he couldn't let one of them drown. He swam toward Big Twin, and after a few strokes, he saw Little Twin grab Big Twin's hair. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Little Twin shout, "Damn, he's so heavy! Wang Dog, come help me..."

Wang Dog, who was closest to Little Twin, heard the shout and, without hesitation, swam two more strokes and barely caught Little Twin's struggling hand.

"Go get my brother, I can't hold on much longer..." Little Twin shouted, using all his strength.

There was a flurry of activity. With 5 or 6 people, and the help of a few adults nearby, the twin brothers were finally rescued.

After being rescued, Big Twin was unconscious, his stomach swollen from the water he had swallowed, and Little Twin was pale and shivering, even in the hot weather, but everyone thought it was from shock.

At that time, no one asked questions; they were busy saving Big Twin. In this village by the river, everyone knew a bit about how to handle drowning. After about fifteen minutes, Big Twin finally woke up.

When he woke up, Big Twin's eyes were vacant, as if he didn't believe he was still alive. Before he could say anything, Uncle Li slapped him on the head and scolded, "Damn naughty child, why did you swim to the middle of the river? Don't you know better?"

This was a genuine scolding out of concern. People in the village were simple and kind, and everyone knew each other well. No one wanted to see a child from any family get hurt, so a few scoldings were inevitable.

Big Twin didn't respond. My father, who was watching from the side, understood that the boy was still in shock. But Little Twin, who had been shivering, couldn't help but say, "Uncle Li, I don't think my brother was swimming to the middle of the river. I think he was being dragged there, really."

Little Twin's voice was low, but as soon as he said this, everyone fell silent, even Uncle Li was stunned.

In the countryside, who hasn't heard of some strange stories? Little Twin's words clearly suggested that a water ghost was looking for a substitute. People had heard and talked about such things a lot, but when they actually saw it, they were hesitant to believe it.

"Little brat, don't talk nonsense. Are you afraid your father will beat you? Don't say such things to scare people," Uncle Li's face was serious. Rural people respected ghosts and gods and thought that talking about such things to shift blame would bring bad luck.

"I'm not talking nonsense!" Little Twin became agitated and jumped up, shouting, "I saw my brother swimming, and suddenly he couldn't move. He sank into the middle of the river as if something was dragging him. And, and..."

"And what?" Uncle Li's face turned grim, knowing the child wasn't lying and that something strange was happening.

"And when I tried to save my brother, he felt so heavy, as if someone was fighting me for him. It was cold, and as soon as I grabbed him, I felt cold all over..." Little Twin shivered as he spoke, and everyone believed him.

My father, who had helped pull Big Twin out of the water, knew that Big Twin was as cold as ice. However, my father and the others were unaffected. Looking back, it might have been because the boys were young and had strong yang energy, which repelled the entity. Otherwise, it would have been hard to save the person it had缠上的人，哪儿那么容易能救上来？

也就在这时，大双终于说话了：“我看见河里有鱼，我去抓，一下去就有人在抓我脚脖子，一抓...一抓我就动不了了，全身都动不了，冷的动不了...”

大双说这话的时候，眼神还是有些呆滞，只是脸上浮现出了明显害怕的神情，也就在这时我爸看见了他终生难忘的一幕，他顺着大双的话，下意识的去看大双的脚脖子，那脚脖子上很明显的3个拇指印，青黑青黑的，看着都透着一股诡异。

“狗日的娃儿，算你命大......”大家都看见了，李四叔显然也看见了，他憋了半天，也只说了那么一句话，就再也说不出什么。

我爸的回忆就到这里了，想着这些，他的心里更着急，因为我们家当时已经有2个闺女了，我爸对儿子是非常渴望的，眼看着好不容易有了个儿子，他不能眼睁睁的看着保不住啊。

“刘婆婆，那你说我这娃儿他是咋了啊？你看我这...”我爸已经着急的手足无措。

“这个印子像个眼睛，恐怕这是被盯上的原因吧？”刘稳婆压低声音，不确定的说到。

“那咋整嘛？”我爸对这个不确定的说法，显然深信不疑，病急乱投医就是我爸当时的心态。

“咋整？你怕是要去请...”说到这里，刘稳婆盯着四周看了看，才小心的伏在我爸耳边说：“请周家寡妇来看一下。”

“啊，周寡妇？”我爸一听这个名字，就忍不住低呼了一声，皱起了眉头，显然他拿不定主意。

“周寡妇？”原本我妈是摊在床上的，一听这名字，忍不住挣扎着坐了起来，一叠声的说着不行：“不行的，不行，他爸，前天村里开会才说了，毛主席说要横扫一切牛鬼蛇神，要破四旧，不能搞封建迷信那一套的。”

刘稳婆一听我妈这样说，立刻起身说到：“老陈，我这可是为了你们家，好歹盼来个儿子不容易。至于我说的，你们自己决定吧，我这就走了。”

我爸瞪了我妈一眼，赶紧起来去送刘稳婆，快到门口时，我爸随手就抓了一只子鸡，坚持的塞给了刘稳婆：“刘婆婆，我陈大是懂得起的人，乡里乡亲的，我不得干那没屁眼的事儿，你放心好了。等哪天我家幺儿长好了，我还要提起老腊肉来感谢你。”

“是啊，乡里乡亲的，反倒是现在弄得大家都不亲了。说起来，谁家是真心盼谁家不好啊？这世道...”我爸的话说的隐晦，刘稳婆还是听懂了，念叨了一句，走了。

当然这些事情也怪不得我妈，她妇人家，胆子小。肯定也怪不得我爸和刘稳婆那么小心翼翼，说话都得拐着弯说。67年，是个啥样的年代，大家心里都有数。

我爸只是跟刘稳婆说了句他念她的好，不会去做揭发别人这种缺德事儿，而刘稳婆也只是感叹了一句如今这世道，弄得人和人之间都不再亲密，更不敢交心了。

可是对比起外面世界的疯狂，这个贫穷的小村子已经算得上一个世外桃源般的存在了，至少这个村子里的人们还有些人味儿，大家还是讲感情的，没被外面的那种疯狂侵入的太深。

送走了稳婆，我爸脸色沉重的进了屋，而这个时候，我那两个原本在柴房回避的姐姐也在屋子里了。

妇人生孩子的时候，小孩子要回避，这是我们那里流传已久的风俗，我家自然也不能免俗。

刚踏进房门，爸就看见两个姐姐趴在床前，非常好奇的看着小小的我，一副小心翼翼的样子，特别是当时才5岁的大姐还小声的提醒着我那才3岁的二姐：“二妹子，你不要碰弟弟，也不要摸弟弟，你看他那样子好小哦。”

这句话勾起了我爸的心事，他走过去一把抱起了2姐，又摸着大姐的头，再望着小小的我，眉头紧紧皱起。

“老陈，你真要去请周...”妈妈还记挂着那事儿，见爸一进屋就赶紧的问到。

我爸咳嗽了一声，打断了我妈的话，然后把二姐放下，对两个姐姐说到：“大妹，你带二妹去厨房守着鸡汤，熬干了你们两个晚上就没鸡肉吃了。”

那时因为我爸能干，我妈勤劳，家里的条件在村子里还不错的，至少我妈每次生孩子，都能有一锅老母鸡炖的鸡汤补身子，我妈吃不完的肉，自然是给两个姐姐吃的。

听到吃鸡肉，我的2个姐姐可积极了，答应了我爸一声，就去了厨房，巴巴的守着了。

“这些话可不能在孩子面前说，万一孩子不懂事儿，说漏了，不仅我们家，说不得还要牵连别人。”我爸轻声对我妈说到。

“我这不是担心吗？你看老幺这个样子，又瘦又小，我又没奶奶他，再加上今年冬天冷成这样，我....”我妈说不下去了，拿手抱已经睡着的我搂怀里，仿佛我下一刻就要离她而去似的。

“周寡妇现在是牛鬼蛇神，名声不好，虽然村长加上村子里的人念着情分，保了她，可上面来的干部谁不是盯着她啊，就盼出点啥事儿，他们好挣功劳。”我爸就是扫盲的时候认了点儿字，可是在人情世故方面我爸却是个人精。

“那可咋办啊？”我妈顿时没了主意，接着又嘀咕了一句：“毛主席说不要做的事情，我们真要做吗？”

我爸又好气又好笑，我妈就是一个平常妇人，除了我爸，她最信服的就是毛主席了。

“这是毛主席不知道我们家老幺的情况，如果知道了，你想他老家人那么伟大，会不同意救我们家幺儿？你就别想这个了，我看这样吧，我明天先带老幺去乡卫生所看一下，如果医生没用的话，我再想办法让周寡妇帮忙吧。”我爸安抚了我妈几句，接着就叹息了一声，他那个时候担心的是周寡妇不肯帮忙看啊。