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The reason Granny Liu wanted to help our family was that she believed the powerful immortal soul inside my body would awaken sooner or later. When that happened, there would come a time when it could help her in return.
As it turned out, Granny Liu truly had the foresight. Later on, I really did save her life. But that was all in the future.
After Granny Liu decided to stay and help me, she first asked about the connection between me and Ma Laosan's wife.
It was because Ma Laosan's wife had hit me that day and then stood outside our house, loudly cursing and insulting us. The next morning, someone discovered her corpse in the back mountains.
Those weasels and foxes all knew that the powerful immortal soul was inside me. Bullying me was the same as bullying that immortal. That was why the weasels and foxes had taken revenge on Ma Laosan's wife.
Afterward, my father asked why Ma Laosan's wife had come to our house in the middle of the night to knock on the window, only saying one sentence before leaving every time, while constantly letting out those cold, sinister laughs.
Granny Liu explained, "That's because Ma Laosan's wife is a newly dead ghost. Her cultivation isn't strong enough yet. She won't become truly powerful until after the seventh day following her death. By then, she'll have the ability to kill every single person in your family."
"Besides, Ma Laosan's wife is filled with an enormous amount of resentment. A mouthful of resentment is lodged in her chest, and she was bitten to death by the Yellow Immortal and Fox Immortal. Corpses like this are the most likely to undergo a corpse transformation and become something extremely terrifying called a Corpse Ghost. Such an evil creature is half corpse and half ghost, and it's extremely frightening."
Ma Laosan's wife's corpse hadn't been stolen by someone. Instead, it had broken out of its coffin by itself. At this moment, no one knew which dark corner it was hiding in.
After the seventh day following her death, Ma Laosan's wife's soul would merge with her corpse, transforming into a Corpse Ghost and coming back for revenge.
Hearing Granny Liu say this, everyone in the family was terrified and asked her what they should do next.
Granny Liu said, "The simplest way to deal with this is to destroy Ma Laosan's wife before the seventh day arrives. Whether we find her corpse or disperse her soul, as long as we destroy one of the two, she won't be able to transform into a Corpse Ghost."
Grandpa said, "That's not difficult. Ma Laosan's wife comes every night to knock on the window. Granny Liu, you can stay here with us for now. When she comes tonight, we'll deal with her directly and eliminate the threat once and for all."
Granny Liu had been thinking the same thing.
Before dealing with Ma Laosan's wife, Granny Liu also had my father find several things.
The first was a grown black dog. Its body couldn't have even a single strand of differently colored fur.
The second was three adult roosters that had been raised for at least three years. Their feathers had to be bright and glossy.
The third was a shroud for me. If Ma Laosan's wife appeared, I would put it on, and it could save my life.
The first two things were easy enough to obtain. Almost every household in the village raised dogs and chickens. But as soon as they heard that a shroud was needed for a three-year-old child like me, things became difficult.
Where would they find a shroud made for a three-year-old child? They would obviously have to have one specially made.
There was no other choice. Dad had to make a trip to a funeral-clothing shop and specifically order a shroud for me. Even at the fastest speed, it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow.
However, Granny Liu said that it didn't matter.
The shroud was only meant to save my life if things became absolutely unavoidable. If it was merely Ma Laosan's wife's ghost that appeared, Granny Liu believed she could handle it herself.
With everything prepared, all they had to do was wait for Ma Laosan's wife to come looking for us in the middle of the night.
But what surprised everyone was that the entire family, along with Granny Liu, waited the whole night. They stayed awake until they all had dark circles under their eyes, yet Ma Laosan's wife never appeared.
The entire night had been wasted.
The rooster crowed several times, and dawn arrived. The big black dog Dad had found had also curled up and fallen asleep.
Grandpa, his eyes surrounded by dark circles, asked Granny Liu, "I say, why didn't Ma Laosan's wife come?"
Granny Liu was also puzzled. After thinking it over carefully, she said, "Perhaps Ma Laosan's wife's ghost sensed something. She knows that I'm a disciple of the Horseback Immortal, so she didn't dare come. Or perhaps she simply had no intention of coming last night. It seems we'll have to wait until the day after tomorrow, when she transforms into a Corpse Ghost, before we'll be able to see her."
"Ma Laosan's wife will be that powerful after becoming a Corpse Ghost? Will we be able to deal with her?" Dad asked.
"We have no other choice. But don't worry. Even if this old woman has to risk her life, I will definitely protect the child's safety.” Granny Liu sighed as she spoke.
Granny Liu stayed at our house from then on, waiting for Ma Laosan's wife to appear.
Another entire night passed, yet Ma Laosan's wife still didn't show up.
Tomorrow would be the seventh day after Ma Laosan's wife's death.
Once the seventh day arrived, Ma Laosan's wife would transform into a Corpse Ghost. No one knew what would happen after that.
Granny Liu looked restless throughout the entire day, clearly nervous.
It wasn't only her. Dad, Mom, and Grandpa were all extremely tense as well.
Grandpa even took out the large machete he had used back when he fought the Japanese invaders. He sharpened it with a whetstone until the blade gleamed brightly.
Without realizing it, night fell.
The entire family gathered together and had a meal.
It might very well have been everyone's last dinner.
After nightfall, Granny Liu first instructed Dad to take the big black dog outside. He was not to bring it back to the entrance of the house until after midnight.
Although Dad didn't know why she wanted him to do this, he did as she said.
People in the countryside went to bed early. In those days, there wasn't even electricity in the village, let alone things like mobile phones or televisions, so people went to sleep even earlier. By around nine o'clock, there was basically no movement anywhere in the village. The silence was almost frightening.
Time passed minute by minute.
Before long, it was eleven o'clock at night.
Although Mom was frightened, she had already gone to bed holding me in her arms. There was nothing she could do to help with this matter anyway.
Grandpa moved a long bench into the middle of the courtyard and sat there, holding the large machete in his hand. A strip of red cloth was tied around the blade, its color as red as blood.
Granny Liu had said that Grandpa's blade could deal with a Corpse Ghost because it was a blade that had taken human lives. It had even killed quite a few Japanese soldiers. It was a life-taking blade, and demons, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures were all afraid of weapons like this.
Grandpa had long since put life and death out of his mind. No matter what happened tonight, he was determined to protect his grandson.
Granny Liu stood in the middle of the courtyard, holding a long tobacco pipe and smoking continuously, puff after puff. Smoke swirled throughout the courtyard, while her eyes remained fixed intently on the direction of the entrance.
After eleven o'clock, some more time passed.
Then something strange happened.
First, a wind began to blow through the courtyard.
It was a black whirlwind that spun continuously around the yard.
At the same time, the entire village seemed to erupt. Every dog began barking wildly.
But it lasted only a few minutes.
Soon, everything became quiet again.
Not a single sound could be heard.
The surroundings suddenly became unbearably cold.
Grandpa, sitting in the middle of the courtyard, immediately felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
Just then, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
Thud... thud... thud...
Each step sounded extraordinarily heavy.
At the same time, a thick, rotten stench began to drift toward them.
The moment Granny Liu heard the sound, she immediately became tense.
"She's here!"