Part 2
Jiang Laotou was full of heroism. “We just chatted for half a day, who did you say we are fighting?”
Looking at his awe-inspiring appearance in official robes, where was there any trace of an octogenarian’s frailty.
Jiang Si was thoroughly amazed. Sure enough, ninety was exactly the right age to strive and fight.
Waking up from the dream, the sky outside was glowing with a hazy morning light.
Lying in bed, Jiang Si stared at the unfamiliar environment and recovered his wits for a moment before remembering he forgot to ask: what exactly happened in the Difu that caused so many lonely ghosts and wild spirits to wander the human realm?
“Forget it, I’ll ask next time we meet.”
Thinking this, Jiang Si went to wash up and change clothes. Just as he finished, he received a message from Shen Hu.
He said: “I temporarily cannot make it to Ningshi. I have already contacted several fellow Daoists, and they are heading respectively to the shops hosting the Jubensha. My senior brother will come to your door shortly; he will go with you today to check the situation.”
Jiang Si nodded: “Okay.”
“Thank you very much for informing us of the situation, otherwise we would all still be kept in the dark.” Shen Hu spoke sincerely. “Although little friend Jiang is not an actively cultivating Tianshi, you still harbor a compassionate heart and are willing to stand up for the common people. The human realm is fortunate to have an enthusiastic person like you.”
“…”
Jiang Si touched his warm cheeks, uncharacteristically embarrassed, and offered a modest reply: “Shen Dashi overpraises me. At first, I didn’t want to intervene in this matter either. It’s just that friends around me got dragged into it, so I had no choice but to help.”
“A gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts. You doing this is already excellent.”
He dared to speak it, but Jiang Si was too embarrassed to keep listening. He hurriedly found an excuse to interrupt the unceasing flood of compliments. With his ears much quieter, he finally returned to normal.
Opening the door, Jiang Si bumped right into Lin Nan. He noticed the other party was listless, devoid of life, and the two dark circles under his eyes were exceptionally prominent.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Lin Nan forced a smile, walking past like a wandering ghost.
Jiang Si assumed he just hadn’t slept well. Unexpectedly, upon reaching the dining room downstairs, Hai Moyun wore a similarly half-dead appearance.
Baffled, he exchanged a glance with Hai Di and asked strangely, “What’s going on with you two?”
“Don’t bring it up…” Hai Moyun waved his hand, saying weakly, “I dreamed all night that I was locked inside a small box, unable to even stretch out my legs and feet. When I woke up this morning, not only did I not sleep well, but both my legs cramped up. It hurt me to death.”
Jiang Si raised an eyebrow. As Hai Moyun spoke, Jiang Si sat down beside Hai Di, then asked Lin Nan, “What about you?”
“I’m the same.” Lin Nan spoke while pulling down his turtleneck sweater and scratching his neck. “Forced to stretch my neck out the entire night. My back aches, my waist is sore, and my legs cramped. It feels awful.”
Using his fingers to scratch a couple of times didn’t feel satisfying enough, so he simply pulled it down lower and added some force to knead it.
The expressions of the others suddenly turned peculiar. Lin Nan was confused, “Why are you looking at me?”
“Brother, this of yours…” Hai Moyun gestured at his own neck, his expression full of doubt and shock.
“What is it? My sweater is just a bit prickly.”
Jiang Si quickly walked up to him, made him move his hand away, scrutinized it for a moment, then took a picture and handed it over.
“What is it?” Lin Nan’s eyes instantly widened. “Fuck, what the hell is this?”
In the photo, right there on his neck was a dense ring of red strangulation marks.
It looked as though it was squeezed by a rope, or as if pinched by human hands.
Jiang Si asked him: “Did you only dream of yourself being locked in the box, and not dream of anyone else?”
“I don’t think so?” Lin Nan’s widened eyes were covered in red blood vessels. “My dreaming was intermittent; I kept waking up for a bit and then falling back asleep. But I definitely didn’t dream of anyone else.”
Jiang Si patted his shoulder. “Then you should be fine. Don’t be afraid, you won’t die for the time being.”
“…” Lin Nan wanted to cry but had no tears.
Jiang Si perfunctorily comforted him a couple more times before returning to his seat, turning his head to ask Hai Di how his night was.
He shook his head, indicating he hadn’t dreamed of anything.
Jiang Si was just about to tell him about the information he obtained from his grandfather’s dream yesterday when the Ayi led a tall man inside.
The newcomer was dressed in black sportswear, carried a backpack, and his hair was tied up into a Daoist topknot at the back of his head.
Although a middle-aged man nearing forty, owing to his tall and slender stature, he didn’t give off any greasy, out-of-shape feeling; instead, he possessed a bit more of an immortal, transcendent aura.
“Is this… Shen Hu’s senior brother?” This was Jiang Si’s first time seeing this legendary figure, and he wasn’t quite sure.
Looking at his aloof and unapproachable appearance, he was worlds apart from Shen Hu.
Hai Di took the initiative to introduce him: “This is Daozhang Xiang Guyun, Shen Hu’s senior brother.”
Xiang Guyun gave a light nod, which counted as his greeting.
Not a single extra word was spoken. Jiang Si said inwardly, indeed aloof.
After a brief introduction, Xiang Guyun impatiently proposed heading over. Hai Di said, “Wait a moment, I am waiting for someone’s message.”
Jiang Si looked at him curiously.
“People from the Market Supervision Bureau,” Hai Di explained. “To prevent too many people from making the inspection inconvenient, we’re simply sealing the shop first. I am coordinating the Ningshi side. In other areas, the Tianshi Association should have already contacted people to do the same.”
Xiang Guyun nodded, giving tacit consent to this arrangement.
After waiting a bit longer and receiving the message from that end, the group finally stood up.
Hai Di drove a car himself, carrying only Jiang Si. The other three were chauffeured by a driver. On the way, watching the street scenery outside the window, especially when crossing the bridge, Hai Moyun’s PTSD almost flared up. He kept muttering softly, “Don’t have an accident, absolutely do not have an accident.”
Xiang Guyun couldn’t help but hand him a talisman paper.
Hai Moyun was overjoyed. He took it immediately, holding it in his hands like a precious treasure, and asked, “What talisman is this?”
Lin Nan looked on with envy, staring at the two of them.
He only heard Xiang Guyun say indifferently: “Jingxin Fu (Mind-Calming Talisman). You are too noisy.”
“…”
Lin Nan instantly withdrew his gaze, staring straight ahead without squinting.
Hai Moyun’s face immediately fell, and he stuffed it carelessly into his pocket.
The two cars arrived one after another. When they reached the location, a low-profile staff member from the Market Supervision Bureau was already waiting by the roadside. He had been instructed by his superiors not to rush in and startle the situation, so he had been waiting all along.
After greeting each other, they walked inside together. At the front desk, there was still only one young employee on duty in the shop.
Except it wasn’t the one from yesterday.
Jiang Si: “Is yesterday’s DM not here?”
Hearing Jiang Si ask about his situation right off the bat, the new face looked a bit displeased. He scanned the group warily and said in a muffled, nasal voice: “You won’t find him coming here, he’s already dead.”
Translator’s Note
- Jieming: Borrowing Life / Borrowing Destiny. A folk curse where one transfers their bad luck or impending death onto someone else, often by dropping money for an unsuspecting victim to pick up.
- Ge / Gege: Older brother.
- Mingbi: Hell money / Joss paper. Paper money burned as offerings to the dead.
- Ayi: Aunt/Auntie.
- Jubensha: Script murder game / Murder mystery game.
- Zhizha: Traditional Chinese paper funeral offerings (e.g., paper houses, clothes, animals) burned for the deceased.
- Yinchai: Underworld Emissary / Ghost Messenger. Officials of the underworld tasked with escorting souls.
- Difu: The Underworld / Hell in Chinese mythology.
- Dongying: Eastern Ocean. An ancient Chinese name for Japan.
- Fusang Guo: Fusang State. Another ancient Chinese name for Japan.
- Taishan Shi: Mount Tai Stone. Used in Fengshui to ward off evil.
- Caisheng Zhege: An ancient, brutal dark art/crime involving the mutilation of people (often children) to create “freaks” for begging or occult purposes.
- Xiaoniaoxiang: Little Bird Box. A translation of Kotoribako, a cursed puzzle box from Japanese internet folklore/urban legend created by torturing children.
- Lihunzheng: Soul separation syndrome / astral projection.
- A’ye: Grandpa.
- Jiang Laotou: Old Man Jiang.
- Chenghuang: City God. A tutelary deity in Chinese folk religion responsible for protecting the people and affairs of a specific city/region, and acting as the local judge of the underworld.
- Wuchang: Impermanence. A type of underworld deity/messenger in charge of escorting spirits.
- Tianshi: Heavenly Master. An honorific title for a highly skilled Daoist priest.
- Shen Dashi: Master Shen.
- Daozhang: Daoist Priest.
- Jingxin Fu: Mind-Calming Talisman. Used to suppress fear, anxiety, or chaotic energies.
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