The Exorcist

Chapter 1 Funeral

The night is so quiet.

But in spring, this silence also has a hint of restlessness hidden in it. The growth of plants and the buzzing of insects in the soil, especially in the mountains and forests, under the bright moonlight, there is this wonderful feeling of vitality.

It's all so peaceful and sweet!

However, at this time, a gunshot sounded, tearing the peach-like tranquility from mid-air, and everything in the night was awakened.

In the dense forest, frightened birds screamed in panic and rushed into the night sky. Large black shadows blocked the moonlight, making a small village on the edge of the river valley appear heavily shadowed, looking like a shadow with teeth and claws.

Following the ominous gunshot, the lights of each house lit up one after another. Those lights were like malicious eyes, staring gloomily into the dark forest.

"Has Awang's father passed away?" When the village chief's wife saw the village chief getting up and dressing, she also got up.

The village chief sighed and said nothing.

Here, when the old man is dying, his children are waiting beside him. When the old man is angry, he fires a gun to announce his death, so now the whole village will know that someone has died.

After the village elder's wife got dressed, she ran down from the wooden building, hurriedly shoveled out a handful of ashes from the fire pit in the back hall, turned on the light and door of the front hall, and sprinkled a line in front of the door, "O new ghost, Don't let the new ghosts come in!" She sang in a low tone, which looked very eerie under the moonlight, just like the call to spirits coming from that world.

Inexplicably, a gust of wind blew up, blowing away the ashes that had just been scattered on the ground.

The village elder's wife was so frightened that she threw the shovel in her hand on the ground. She didn't dare to scream. She just stood there and looked at the open space outside the door.

Under the bright moonlight, something seemed to be shaking in the woods opposite, and then there was a vague sound that sounded like crying or praying. The livestock kept under the wooden building seemed to be stimulated by something, and they neighed uneasily and bumped against the fence several times. The village elder's wife felt something flash among the trees, and then suddenly disappeared.

"Frog Cub's father!" She shouted without looking back, but her body didn't move.

"Why are you yelling?" The village chief came down from the wooden building and cursed in a low voice, "Go and call the frog cubs and come with me to visit Awang's house."

At this time, every family in the village would send someone to help. As the village chief, of course he would have to help more.

"Yu Xin Gui—" she trembled and recited another sentence.

"Take the ashes!" the village chief said impatiently, but when he got closer, he saw an unconnected mark beside the door, twisting like a snake.

"what happened?"

"The wind - the dark wind has blown away!" The village elder's wife still looked outside the door, "There is something strange in the woods outside!"

The village chief thought for a moment, but he still cursed, "What a sinister wind? It's a night wind. You're talking nonsense. Be careful of the Ox God punishing you. Go and spray it again!"

After hearing this, the village elder's wife finally moved her body and ran back to the fire pit in the back hall.

The village chief looked outside. The woods had calmed down, and there was only the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves.

"Don't come back again, the village has nothing to do with you!" He murmured to himself, "It's useless no matter how unwilling you are, who told you to be blind in the first place!"

There was no answer outside the door, but the sound of "dong dong dong" footsteps came from behind. The village elder's wife ran over and sprinkled a line again. The fire ash was twice as thick as before. I also recited the tune twice.

She watched nervously for a while, and then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the live line was fine and there were no accidents.

"Hurry up and call the frog cubs. You are so sleepy at this young age, and you won't wake up even if you make such a fuss!" the village chief scolded him.

"Why are you helping Awang, that person who was condemned by God?" The village elder's wife became bolder when she saw her man beside her.

"I'm not helping that bastard, I'm helping - well," the village chief sighed again, "It's good to go, the gods will bless him for reincarnation. Such a good person, I hope he won't be burdened with such debts to his children in the next life! "

"It would be better if Ngawang, his brothers, and their wives get retribution!" The village elder's wife cursed bitterly and ran to the upstairs wing to call her son.

The village chief’s house is closest to Ngawang’s family. When he and his son arrived, there was no one in Ngawang’s family to help. Not even Ngawang’s brothers were there. There was only a bright light to guide the village chief. In the small shed next to the pig pen.

There was nothing in the small wooden shed, only the skinny and haggard body of an old man resting quietly on a broken wooden board made of bricks, and a bundle of rotten grass piled on the ground.

According to their rules, people should cover their faces with white paper immediately after they leave, but now there is no such thing. There are only quarrels coming from the wooden building, about the expenses of the funeral and so on. It can be seen that as soon as the old man closed his eyes, they didn't even care about customs and were discussing who would suffer.

But the old man did not close his eyes. On his gray-black face, a pair of dull eyes were wide open, and his mouth was slightly opened, revealing a rose coin and a few grains of rice inside.

The village chief stepped forward and said, "Go! It's better to go, so as not to suffer in the world! Go away, brother, I am incompetent and can't control those rebellious sons of yours. Close your eyes!" He shed a few tears, He stroked the old man's eyelids, and when he raised his hand again, the old man's eyes were closed, but his mouth was still open.

The village chief felt sad again, took off a straw hat hanging on the rotten wooden door and covered the deceased's face.

At this time, helpers came one after another, and the three brothers Awang, Amu, and Ashui also came down from upstairs, pretending to be sad, but everyone in the village knew their faces, but for the sake of the old man I came to help for my own sake.

Their mother died when the three of them were still young. It was their father who worked hard to bring them up, married them wives, and drained himself of his own bones for the happiness of the three of them. But when they grew up and their father was too old to work, there was no one to support them. They live in a new wooden building, but the old man has no roof over his head to protect him from the wind and rain!

The people in the village didn't care, and the village chief tried to persuade them many times, but these three brothers either had a bad temper and no one dared to offend them. They just promised well on the surface, but secretly treated the old man even more harshly, making the old man's life even more difficult.

They were a village in a remote mountainous area, and they didn't know how to protect their rights with the law. After the villagers complained to the county, and the county sent someone to say a few words, the boss, Awangliu, stayed there, and the other two brothers Give me something to eat.

The houses in their village are all two-story wooden buildings with stilts built near mountains and rivers. People live in the wooden buildings above and livestock are enclosed below. As a result, Awang built a simple wooden shed for the old man next to the livestock pen and did not let the old man go upstairs at all. Amu and Ah Shui went too far. The daily food was always not delivered on time. It was the people in the village who secretly helped them so that the old people did not starve to death.

They are a village in the mountains. They are still poor, and electricity has only been available for a long time. No one has a lot of money, so when the old man is seriously ill, he can only do this and wait for death.

Death, for the elderly, may be a relief!

Under the command of the village chief, the villagers boiled water with grapefruit leaves to wash and disinfect the body of the deceased, comb their hair and change their clothes. The three disobedient sons were busy taking out the coins and rice grains from the old man's mouth, putting them into earthen jars and putting them away carefully.

This is also their custom here. When the deceased goes away, they put these things in their mouths, and then take them out and hide them, which is meant to leave a gold warehouse and silver treasury for their descendants.

They don't care for the elderly, but they still expect the elderly to leave them a good future!

After a night of tossing, I finally felt a little more settled, and the next step was to handle the posthumous affairs according to the rules.

Under the strong request of the villagers and generous gifts, Awang finally agreed to move the old man's body to the main hall. According to the custom, the old man is placed on the straw mat with his head facing the shrine, his hands and feet are tightly tied with cloth, and he is covered with a white cloth. An incense table is set up at the head and foot, and a cooked chicken, a bowl of glutinous rice and a pair of chopsticks are offered as sacrifices.

Awang's family had few relatives, and the three brothers were very impatient, so in just half a day, the village chief ordered everyone to carry the body into the coffin. In the coffin, the old man's relics and shoes should be placed, but everyone found that the old man's clothes were just the tattered clothes and hats in front of the hall, so the village chief had to take his own set of brand-new clothes and put them inside.

"Remember to keep the incense lamp and burn incense on. You must stay by the corpse, eat vegetarian food, and don't wear shoes, sit on stools, or touch the water. Don't let cats or dogs pass by the corpse, as it will alarm dad." The village chief said. Tell me with confidence.

"I know." Awang responded and said as if he was remembering something, "The matter of saving the dead - the three of us are in financial difficulties, so why not bury it first and discuss it slowly later?"

"If you can't afford to hire a shaman or a Taoist priest, it's better to hire a shaman." The village chief tried to coordinate.

"It's the same thing if we wait until tomorrow after the burial for salvation." Awang replied without sincerity, "I'll ask the village chief for more help tomorrow!"

The village chief had no choice but to agree, thinking that these three brothers were not human beings, and they were not willing to stay for more than one day. There was no hope of salvation at all. But even if Awang regrets it later, it will be the same if he asks the villagers to raise some money to pay for a banquet.

During the night vigil, the three brothers had no choice but to accompany them because people from the same village came to help. Because they had a very bad reputation in the village, the people watching the night did not talk to them and just sat quietly on the ground. At midnight, Awang, who was on guard duty, suddenly heard a shrill meow.

He stood up suddenly, startling several villagers who had been silent.

"What's wrong with you?" one person asked.

"If there's a cat meowing, get away quickly!" Awang's face turned pale. I heard that if a cat or dog passes under the coffin, it will kill the body. He knows very well whether he is good to his father or not, and people who feel bad will always be frightened.

"Where's the cat?" said another. "You must have fallen asleep sitting up! Did any of you hear that?"

Seeing everyone else shaking their heads, Awang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe he was too nervous. But before his butt hit the ground, another cat meow startled him to his feet.

"There's really a cat meowing! Didn't you hear it?" he said, running over in a panic and closing the door.

"We really didn't hear it!" One person became a little impatient when he saw Ngawang's strange behavior.

Seeing that others ignored him, Awang didn't say anything. Anyway, the door was closed and he felt safe, so he sat down quietly. But it had only been quiet for a minute when the cat meowed again. This time it felt like it was in his own ears, which made him jump in fright!

"What are you doing, Nga Wang? Do you want to learn the ghost-faced shell dance from Dao Gong?"

"There is a cat! There is a cat!" Awang was frightened, "The cat has come in!" He was running around like a headless fly, eager to find the cat, and other people were forced to hide. But he stumbled and fell next to the coffin, and his father's face was all he could see.

The old man slowly opened his eyes and smiled at him, but that smile was not affectionate or sad, but an indescribable eeriness!

"You also come to accompany daddy!" The old man moved his lips and said to Awang.

"He's dead! He's dead!" He fell backwards in horror and was caught by someone.

The man usually looked down on him, but now he was holding on to him and came to the coffin. Awang struggled, but his whole body was weak from fear. He couldn't break free, but was pulled to the coffin again.

"See for yourself, a gentle man like dad will only be bullied by heartless people, how can he harm his children!"

Forced, Awang looked inside. I saw the old man still lying quietly, there was no movement at all!

"So, don't do anything that violates your conscience, otherwise you won't be so afraid." The man snorted coldly.

Awang didn't say anything because he had nothing to say. He just decided that there must be a funeral the next day, so that he would be safe!

Note: "Ya Jin" is commonly known as Jin Po, that is, witch. They claim to be stand-ins for gods and ghosts, who can communicate between the yin and yang realms, predict good and bad luck, ask questions about ghosts, and dance to drive away ghosts and cure diseases.