For thirty years, he has roamed the Northeast, his divine might overwhelming all immortals under hea

When my parents heard Suozhu crying, they rushed to my room.

"Thirteen, what happened?!"

My mother looked worried.

"Mother, it's nothing. You and Father keep an eye on Suozhu. I'm going out for a bit and will be back soon."

"What?"

My mother was about to say something when my father stopped her.

My mother didn't say anything more.

I felt a surge of anger rising to my head, so I grabbed my coat from the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on my shoes, and rushed into the inky black night.

The cold wind of late autumn, almost turning into winter, cut like a knife against my face, and the little warmth I had just felt inside vanished instantly.

The sight of Suozhu's terrified face, the alluring ghostly voice outside the window, and the face on the road with its pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, and twisted neck staring at people all mixed together, making my lungs ache.

"Big Wave Bro!"

I yelled in my head.

"What do we do? Where did it go?"

I stood at my doorstep, my gaze wandering, trying to find traces of the passerby.

Huang Dalang's voice carried a hint of weariness, but was mostly cold and stern.

"Go west along the main road at the village entrance! The smell still lingers. That scourge seems to have its eye on this child's soul. If we don't subdue it today, the village won't have peace from now on!"

I gritted my teeth and ran as fast as I could towards the west end of the village.

These passersby are incredibly annoying; they run away as soon as they finish their drugs, making them very difficult to find.

It's like fighting a guerrilla war.

Fire one shot and move on to another.

The dogs in the village barely barked; only my own footsteps and heavy breathing echoed on the empty dirt road.

Every household had its windows dark; everyone was sound asleep at this hour.

I ran all the way to the village entrance, where the old, crooked tree was swaying wildly in the wind.

I leaned against the tree trunk, catching my breath, and shone my flashlight beam across the dirt road to the west.

She was there.

About twenty or thirty paces away, still wearing the same drab gray clothes, he stood motionless with his back to me, facing the dark wilderness to the west.

The wind ruffled her withered hair and thin clothes, yet she stood like a nail wedged in the middle of the road, exuding a strange steadiness.

My scalp tingled again, but I didn't stop, clenching my fists.

"Hello!"

I let out a shout to bolster my courage, but my voice carried far across the wilderness, sounding a little weak.

The figure slowly, very slowly turned around.

It was still the same face: a pointed mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and high cheekbones.

The flashlight beam shone directly on her face, revealing an unnatural bluish-gray skin. In her narrow eyes, two small, phosphorescent lights shone exceptionally clearly under the beam of light.

She looked at me, and her lips slowly parted to reveal an empty, devoid of any genuine smile.

"Young man..."

She spoke, her voice dry and hoarse, drifting over in a daze.

"Why are you chasing me?..."

"What do you mean, 'what'?"

I moved forward step by step, my heart pounding like a drum.

"You're trying to scare Suozhu, and even think you can steal his soul! What kind of creature are you? What kind of skill is it to harm a child!"

"hey-hey……"

She let out a few strange laughs and her neck tilted unnaturally.

"That child... smells sweet... and you... smell sweet too..."

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly raised her withered hand and beckoned to me.

A chilly gust of air suddenly rushed towards me, carrying a strong earthy smell and an indescribable sweet, rotten odor.

My mind went blank for a moment, my vision blurred, my limbs went weak, and a thought inexplicably popped into my head.

Walk over there... it's no big deal to walk over there...

"Stay calm! Hold your breath!"

Huang Dalang's stern shout exploded in my mind like a thunderclap.

At the same time, a familiar sensation surged from the Tanzhong acupoint on my chest to the top of my head.

I shivered and instantly snapped back to reality.

Then look at that woman.

Her waving gesture stopped, a hint of surprise flashing in her narrow eyes, which quickly turned into deeper greed and resentment.

"Oh... you even have 'home fragrance' on you..."

She licked her dry, cracked, and grayish lips, a gesture that made me feel nauseous.

"Better...more nourishing..."

"Thirteen, this guy's aura is somewhat familiar, it seems... it seems to be someone from my own clan..."

"What?"

I was taken aback. According to Huang Dalang's explanation, this woman was a weasel in disguise.

If that's the case, then it's really going to be difficult.

Weasels hold grudges; offending one is like offending the whole horde.

Although he had Huang Dalang, a member of the same clan, as a powerful backer, he still offended the Huang family.

"Kid, what are you thinking? Stop with your nonsense. Our Huang family follows the right path. Although some of our clansmen take crooked paths, we don't tolerate it."

Huang Dalang's voice kept echoing in my head.

"This guy can still transform into a human, so he's clearly quite skilled. Use the method I taught you! Bite your tongue! It will spit blood!"

My scalp tingled, but I didn't dare stop. I bit my tongue hard, and the excruciating pain almost brought tears to my eyes. My mouth was filled with a metallic taste.

I spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with saliva from the tip of my tongue towards the gray shadow that was so close to me.

The blood mist mingled with the gray shadows, like cold water poured into a hot oil pan!

"Sizzle!"

A piercing, inhuman scream suddenly rang out! The woman's blurry figure twisted violently, and for the first time, her face showed an expression of pain and rage, with wisps of black smoke rising from her bluish-gray skin.

"You...you dare to hurt me!"

Her voice became harsh and shrill, her narrow eyes widened, and the two points of phosphorescence within them suddenly flared up.

"I'll make you pay with your life!"

She suddenly opened her mouth wide, and the gaping hole sent a chilling, foul-smelling black wind rushing toward my face!

I was so frightened that I quickly backed away.

Just as the black wind was about to engulf me, the cool energy in my chest acupoint suddenly surged and burst forth! In my limited perception, I seemed to see a slightly blurry yellow phantom darting out from in front of me like lightning, heading towards the black wind.

There was no earth-shattering sound.

There was only a soft "hiss" sound, like a red-hot iron being pressed into a snowdrift.

The black wind dissipated almost entirely in an instant, and the remaining portion shrunk back weakly.

The woman let out an even more miserable wail, and her entire figure became much fainter, as if she were about to dissipate at any moment.

"You actually... you actually have a Yellow Immortal on you!"

The woman looked somewhat surprised, but I didn't intend to pay her any attention.

Demons don't necessarily have to kill every one they see.

Humans can be good or bad, and demons can be virtuous or evil.

Ultimately, it's all part of the cycle of cause and effect in this world.

Huang Dalang's voice echoed in my mind.

"Quick! I've broken its Yin energy, it's at its weakest now! Dip the stick in the remaining blood from your tongue and whip it! Whip it to death! Don't let it recover!"

I didn't dare hesitate. I grabbed a tree branch from the roadside, quickly wiped the blood still seeping from the wound at the tip of the branch, and, ignoring the pain, swung the branch around and began to beat the twisting and trembling gray shadow indiscriminately!

"I'll teach you a lesson for harming people! For scaring children! For blocking the road!"

With each slap, the bloodstains on the stick left a hissing red mark on the gray shadow, the woman's screams weakened, and her figure faded further.

She seemed to want to escape, but she was badly injured by Huang Dalang's attack, and her movements were so slow that it was as if she were stuck in a quagmire.

"We are of the same race, yet you're helping outsiders."

The woman was still struggling.

However, Huang Dalang did not respond.

Perhaps in Huang Dalang's heart, women were not considered as members of his tribe.

After all, we're on different paths.

I slapped it countless times until my arm ached. Finally, the gray shadow let out an extremely faint, unwilling whimper, then suddenly contracted into a fist-sized, thick, impenetrable cloud of black smoke. With a "whoosh," it darted into the roadside field, instantly disappearing into the frozen ground.

The only thing left behind was a nauseating, fading smell of earth and decay.

I leaned on my cane, panting heavily. My undershirt was already soaked with cold sweat, and the wind made it feel icy cold.

My tongue and arm hurt terribly.

"They...they ran away?"

"Um."

Huang Dalang's voice was filled with deep weariness.

"It's basically destroyed most of its power; it won't be able to cause trouble again for at least thirty to fifty years. The remaining remnant of its soul has escaped into the earth's veins; we can't catch it, and there's no need to. Let's hurry back."

I then felt a chill of fear; my legs started to cramp. I forced myself to stay awake and shone my flashlight around again, but there was nothing there except for weeds swaying in the wind.

Not daring to linger any longer, I dragged my weak legs and hurried back into the village.

As soon as I turned around to walk back, I saw several flashlight beams flailing about, accompanied by my dad's anxious shouts.

"Thirteen! Thirteen! Where are you?"

"Father! Mother! I'm here!"

I quickly responded.

My parents ran over, stumbling along the muddy ground. My mother grabbed me, looked me up and down, and said in a tearful voice.

"You brat! Are you crazy?! Why were you chasing me?! Are you alright?"

"It's alright, Mother."

My voice is a little hoarse.

"That thing... I chased it away."

"You old woman, why are you crying?"

"Thirteen is a shaman, protected by deities, so why are you crying?"

"What you're saying is nonsense. Who doesn't love their own son?"

"Let's go, Mother."

I pulled my mother along and walked back.

"By the way, Mother, now that you and Father are here, where's the lock-pillar?"

"He's asleep. Can we come out otherwise?"

"Oh, asleep!"

"Asleep?"

My heart suddenly tightened, and I ran home quickly.

My parents didn't understand what was wrong with me either, and they just followed me around.

I was the first one home and rushed inside.

Suozhu, that kid, was sleeping soundly on the kang (heated brick bed).

I also breathed a sigh of relief.

Suozhu is, after all, someone else's child.

If something happens in my house, how am I supposed to explain it to the Sun family?

My mother followed me in and said in a low voice.

"She slept soundly after you left and didn't make a fuss anymore."

My father squatted outside the doorway, puffing on his pipe, the embers flickering in the darkness.

"Thirteen, are you really alright?"

He asked, his voice muffled.

"Everything's alright for now."

I responded and reached out to touch Suozhu's forehead. It was a little sweaty, but not icy.

"That thing has been watching this child for more than just a day or two. It's probably left a 'tether' on him. It's not obvious, but if it's not removed sooner or later, it will drain his life force. At best, he'll become sickly and weak; at worst... he'll become mentally impaired."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What should we do then?"

"Wait until dawn. When the sun rises and the yang energy is at its peak, I'll borrow your hand to singe his soul. It won't work now; the child's soul is unstable and can't withstand such treatment."

My parents naturally couldn't hear Huang Dalang's words; they only saw me staring blankly at the lock pillar.

My mother couldn't help but ask again.

"Thirteen, is Suozhu really alright?"

I licked my still slightly aching tongue and tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"It was a 'passerby,' an evil spirit that preyed on the souls of children. It had its eye on Lock Pillar. But it has already been driven away, and most of its power has been destroyed."

My father knocked on his pipe, stood up, walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), looked at the sleeping Suozhu, and then looked at me.

"Is the spirit attached to you alright?"

His question was somewhat abrupt, but his eyes showed concern.

"fine."

My dad nodded, didn't say anything more, but just reached out and patted my shoulder.

In the latter half of the night, no one could sleep soundly anymore.

I lay down next to the lock pillar, while my father and mother tossed and turned on the kang (heated brick bed) in the outer room.

When the bluish-gray light peeked through the window paper, the roosters in the village began to crow one after another.

The lock moved, opened its eyes groggily, saw me, paused for a moment, and then burst into tears again, burrowing into my arms.

"Thirteenth Brother... there's a ghost... a ghost is grabbing me..."

I hugged him and patted his back.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Suozhu is the bravest. Thirteenth Brother chased the ghost away. Look, it's already dawn."

As dawn broke, the light peeked in through the window, gradually brightening the room.

The ordinary lighting felt exceptionally comforting at this moment.

When the sun fully emerged, its golden rays covered half of the kang (a heated brick bed), and the room became warmer.

I asked my mother to cook a bowl of millet porridge, specifically the thick layer of "rice oil" on top.

Then I asked my father to go to the southeast corner of the yard, to a sunny spot, and to pluck three newly sprouted blades of grass, still covered in dew.

With everything prepared, I carried the lock to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and sat down, facing the window.

The sunlight shone brightly on his tiny body.

"Suozhu, close your eyes. Thirteenth Brother will drive away your bad luck. You'll be fine in a bit."

Suozhu obediently closed his eyes, his long eyelashes still damp.

I took a deep breath and silently recited the mantra.

"Brother Dalang, it's up to you now."

The cool sensation in my chest began to flow again, calmer than last night, but more concentrated.

It slowly flowed down my arm and gathered at my right index finger.

I can feel a slight warmth and a bit of numbness in my fingertips.

I dipped a little warm rice oil in my hand and gently dabbed it on the center of Suozhu's forehead, then down the bridge of his nose to his philtrum and then to his chin.

With each tap, my lips moved.

Suozhu's body trembled slightly, but he didn't move.

After I finished lighting them, I picked up the three blades of grass and waved them in the sunlight. The dew on the blades reflected a shimmering light.

Then, I used the tip of a blade of grass to gently sweep along the spot where the rice oil had just passed.

When the brush touched his chin, Suozhu suddenly shivered slightly, as if he had been startled in his sleep.

Then, I leaned close to his forehead, puffed out my cheeks, and slowly and steadily blew three breaths into his face.

With the first breath, Suozhu's brows relaxed.

With his second breath, his taut shoulders slumped.

After blowing out the third breath, he slightly opened his mouth and exhaled a long, cool breath.