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After the Corpse Ghost was sent flying, it staggered to its feet from the ground and stumbled toward the entrance of the courtyard.
However, it had barely taken a few steps when a large tobacco-pipe bowl suddenly smashed into the back of its head.
With a thud, the Corpse Ghost collapsed onto the ground.
Granny Liu circled around to the front of the Corpse Ghost and assumed a strange posture. Her left foot was planted firmly on the ground, while her right foot rested on top of her left, as though she were sitting in midair. She raised the tobacco-pipe bowl in her hand high above her head and struck the Corpse Ghost on the forehead once again.
“One strike to separate the soul!”
“A second strike to drive away the spirit!”
“A third strike to end the grievances and evil!”
With every strike, the Corpse Ghost let out a miserable shriek. Its body trembled violently, as though it were suffering from a seizure. When Granny Liu brought down the third strike, the Corpse Ghost finally went completely still.
After delivering those three blows, Granny Liu seemed to have exhausted every ounce of strength in her body. She collapsed onto the ground and sat there, gasping for breath.
Inside the house, Grandpa had been kicked hard by the Corpse Ghost and had struggled to get back on his feet.
When he heard that the commotion outside had stopped, he hurried out to take a look. He saw Granny Liu sitting on the ground, breathing heavily, while the Corpse Ghost lay beside her, completely motionless.
The courtyard was a complete mess. Corpses of yellow weasels and foxes were scattered everywhere. Even the big black dog that my father had brought over had been ripped open by the Corpse Ghost and was lying in a pool of blood, already dead.
The enormous yellow weasel that had appeared earlier seemed to have been injured as well. Its body was covered in bloody wounds. It first glanced in my grandfather's direction, then limped away with a group of injured yellow weasels and foxes.
After spending three years living alongside these yellow weasels and foxes, Grandpa no longer had any wariness toward them.
For the past three years, these yellow weasels and foxes had brought food and drink to my family every day. This time, they had even come running over to save the lives of everyone in our family.
Watching the enormous yellow weasel disappear into the distance, Grandpa even called out to it, “Thank you, Great Immortal Huang.”
Naturally, Great Immortal Huang did not respond. It quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Grandpa walked over to Granny Liu. When he looked at her under the moonlight, he was immediately startled.
Granny Liu's face had never been particularly attractive to begin with, but now there was an additional scar across it, stretching all the way from her forehead to the corner of her mouth. It was an extremely long gash, and it looked as though she had also lost the sight in one eye.
“Granny Liu, you... are you all right?” Grandpa asked anxiously.
Granny Liu sucked in a sharp breath from the pain and said in a trembling voice, “I'm fine. I'm still alive.”
“What about the Corpse Ghost...” Grandpa glanced worriedly at the Corpse Ghost lying on the ground.
“Don't worry. It's all right now. I have already scattered the soul of Ma Laosan's wife. Without a soul, this corpse can no longer become a Corpse Ghost. In a while, you can take the body and throw it into the back mountain, or return it to Ma Laosan's family and have them bury it again. Once that's done, this matter will be considered settled.”
Just as they were talking, a head suddenly appeared at the doorway.
It was my father, the one who had brought the big black dog over earlier.
After hearing that the commotion in the courtyard had died down, he had come over to take a look. When he saw the terrible mess in the courtyard, he was startled as well.
“Come in. It's all right now,” Grandpa called out.
“Dad... Xiao Jie isn't going to make it. Hurry and come inside and take a look at him!”
My mother's crying voice came from inside the house.
As soon as they heard this, Grandpa and Father, along with Granny Liu, who was limping badly, hurried into the house.
“What happened?” Grandpa looked at me, whom Mother was holding in her arms, and immediately asked.
“Just now... just now, when Third Sister-in-law came in, I saw a huge fox shadow suddenly appear on the wall behind Xiao Jie. It even had eight tails. After that shadow appeared, Third Sister-in-law jumped out through the window, and then Xiao Jie fainted. No matter how much I called him, he wouldn't wake up. What's wrong with him?” Mother spoke through her tears.
When Grandpa and Father heard this, they were instantly terrified. They hurriedly moved closer to me.
Granny Liu fell silent for a moment after hearing this. Then she waved her hand and said, “It's nothing to worry about. What happened just now was definitely because the Immortal's primordial spirit inside the child came out and drove away that Corpse Ghost. Otherwise, you and the child would have lost your lives long ago. It was precisely because that Immortal intervened and severely wounded the Corpse Ghost that this old woman had the opportunity to send it away.”
“That Immortal's soul was already extremely weak to begin with. This time, the manifestation of its primordial spirit has made the Immortal even weaker. She and the child share one body but have two souls. After resting for a few days, she will be fine. At most, seven days, at least, three. The child will definitely wake up.”
Hearing Granny Liu say this, the whole family finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There were still many things that needed to be taken care of.
First, my father found a flatbed cart and used it to transport Ma Laosan's wife's corpse to the back mountain. They planned to notify Ma Laosan at daybreak so that he could come and collect the body and bury her again. In any case, the corpse could not be left at my house, or it would cause all sorts of unnecessary trouble.
As for the corpses of the yellow weasels and foxes scattered throughout the courtyard, Grandpa gathered them all together as well. There were more than thirty of them in total.
The fur of these yellow weasels and foxes was exceptionally glossy and beautiful. They could definitely have been sold for a good price. However, they had given their lives to save mine. Grandpa absolutely could not do something so ungrateful.
Therefore, he dug a large pit in one corner of the courtyard and buried all of their bodies there.
By the time everything had been properly dealt with, dawn had already broken.
Mother had helped Granny Liu simply bandage her wounds. Grandpa went to the eastern end of the village and found a donkey cart, then immediately took Granny Liu to the hospital in town to have her wounds treated.
On the way, Grandpa remained deeply troubled by Granny Liu's injuries. As he pulled the donkey cart from the front, he said to her, “Little Sister, you and our family aren't even related, yet you lost an eye for our sake. Our Wu Family has no way to repay you. It really weighs heavily on my heart.”
Granny Liu, however, said, “Brother Wu, I already told you before that I help your family without asking for anything in return. Being able to help an Immortal is a blessing that this old woman has earned through several lifetimes of good deeds.”
“Your grandson being chosen by an Immortal means that he possesses a great destiny. His future is bound to be extraordinary. However, your grandson's fate is unusual. He will suffer many twists and turns throughout his life and endure countless hardships. Every three years, he will face a calamity. Either he will die, or someone else will die.”
“I'll give you one warning. The calamity he encounters at the age of nine will be the greatest one. If he can survive it, his fate may undergo a tremendous change. But if he cannot overcome it, then his little life will be lost.”
“Remember this, on the day of his ninth birthday, whatever you do, do not let him leave the house.”
“Why nine years old? Doesn't he have another calamity when he's six?” Grandpa asked in confusion.
“As for the calamity at six, this old woman may be able to help him. But when it comes to the calamity at nine, there is nothing I can do. It will all depend on his own fate.”
Granny Liu took out her large tobacco pipe and took a puff. She gazed toward the direction of Jiushan Village, seemingly lost in thought.
Three days later, I woke up...