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

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the black mist in the temple was completely absorbed.

The cool feeling disappeared as well.

The yellow demon's body returned to normal, it burped, and exhaled a breath of white air.

"Keep it with me for now."

"Once your altar is established and incense is offered, I will slowly perform rituals to help them pass on. It's better for them to go to where they belong than to wander here."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I didn't expect it to go so smoothly.

Especially when this yellow demon opened its mouth to suck up those ownerless, lonely souls, I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

"What about the things buried under the temple?"

I remembered what Huang Yao had just said.

"You can't move it now. That thing has too much yin energy; moving it will cause a major disaster. Wait until your shrine is established and you have the help of other deities before dealing with it."

It shook its head, speaking solemnly, so I didn't ask any more questions.

"What do we do next?"

"Go back and tell the villagers that the dirt in the temple has been cleaned up."

"As for me, I'll stay here for now. Once you've set up the shrine and carved a memorial tablet for me, I'll move over."

I thought about it and nodded.

"By the way, what's your name?"

Each shaman has their own name.

Huang Yao tilted her head.

"The Huang family around here all call me Huang Dalang. You can call me that for now."

Huang Dalang?

This name is really interesting. After asking Huang Yao's name, I realized that I didn't even know the name of the White Snake Immortal who led me out.

When I left the dilapidated temple, the moon was already setting in the west.

The gloomy atmosphere in the temple dissipated, and even the chirping of insects began again.

I glanced back and saw Huang Dalang squatting at the temple entrance, waving his paw at me.

By the time we got back to the village, it was almost dawn.

I didn't go home; I went straight to Accountant Sun's house.

"Uncle Sun, Uncle Sun."

"I'm Thirteen, open the door."

"Knock knock knock..."

"They're here, they're here."

Accountant Sun's response came from the courtyard.

The door opened, and Accountant Sun, still half asleep, appeared, wearing a coat.

"Thirteen? How about that?"

"The matter at the temple has been resolved."

"It won't be haunted anymore."

Accountant Sun's eyes lit up.

"Really? So fast?"

"Um."

"You can take someone to take a look later."

"Okay, okay!"

"Thirteen, you're really something! I'll go talk to the Party Secretary right now!"

He took a cloth bag out of the house and stuffed it into my hand.

"Three hundred dollars, you count it."

"Thank you, Uncle Sun."

I didn't count it; I just stuffed it into my pocket.

"No need to thank me, I should be thanking you!"

Accountant Sun smiled broadly.

"If anything happens in the village in the future, we'll have to trouble you again!"

"Uncle Sun, just come to me if you need anything. If it's something I can do, I promise I won't refuse."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, I headed home.

On the way, I was still thinking about what happened tonight.

Huang Dalang, a lost soul, something beneath the temple...

What exactly is buried beneath this dilapidated temple?

As I approached my doorstep, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

I pushed open the door, and my father and mother were both up, sitting in the main room.

When my mother saw me return, she quickly came to greet me.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

"fine."

I placed the cloth bag on the table.

"The matter at the temple has been resolved; here is three hundred yuan."

My dad picked up the cloth bag, opened it, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Stacks of banknotes, all ten-yuan notes, totaling three hundred yuan.

"My God..."

My dad's hands were shaking.

"You...you really gave it to me?"

"Of course, Dad. I think that piece of land must have sold for a lot of money. Three hundred dollars is probably not even a fraction of what it was."

My mother clutched her chest, speechless for a long time.

Three hundred yuan.

My family can't even save up thirty yuan a year.

"This money...this money..."

My dad was looking at me.

"Thirteen, how do you suggest we spend it?"

"I'll save them for now. Once my shrine is set up, I'll need to buy things. The Weasel said I need to carve a memorial tablet for it, and also prepare an incense burner and an offering table."

"A weasel?"

My parents were both stunned.

I briefly recounted what happened in the dilapidated temple.

Of course, some details were omitted, only stating that Huang Dalang was willing to join my gang and help me with my affairs.

After hearing this, my father and mother looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Will this... will this work?"

My mother was a little worried.

"A weasel spirit... won't it harm people?"

"Those who become spirit mediums must accumulate merit to cultivate themselves; harming others is tantamount to destroying their own spiritual practice."

My father smoked his cigarette and remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he tapped his pipe.

"Thirteen, you're capable now. You should make the decisions about these things. Your parents don't understand, but they support you."

My heart warmed.

"Um."

Because I barely slept at all last night.

When I woke up in the afternoon, the news had already spread throughout the village.

Li Shisan cleaned up the filth in the dilapidated temple overnight and received a reward of three hundred yuan.

Three hundred yuan!

Many people have never seen so much money in their entire lives.

The threshold of my house is almost worn down by people walking all over it.

Some came to watch the spectacle, some to offer congratulations, and some to test the waters.

My second aunt was carrying a basket of green vegetables, her face full of wrinkles from smiling.

"Thirteen, your aunt knew you were no ordinary person! If you ever need anything, remember to think of your aunt!"

Gou Sheng's mother was carrying half a bag of millet and spoke very cautiously.

"Thirteenth nephew, Gousheng was ignorant before, please don't take it to heart..."

Even Old Wang came again.

This time he didn't bring Xiulian with him; he was alone, carrying a bag of pastries.

"Thirteen, what happened before was my fault."

Old Wang placed the snacks on the table.

"Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

I neither accepted it nor refused it; I simply said...

"Uncle Wang, what's past is past."

"Now that we've entered a period of reform and opening up, if Xiulian and I are destined to be together, no amount of your attempts to stop us will help. If we're not, no amount of matchmaking will change that. What do you think?"

Old Wang gave an awkward laugh, nodded, sat for a while, and then left.

My parents kept smiling as they dealt with the guests.

For so many years, my family has been ashamed to hold our heads high in the village, but now we can finally stand up straight.

At night, I sat in the yard and looked at the stars in the sky.

The voice of the White Snake Fairy echoed in his mind.

"Thirteen, Huang Dalang has joined the temple, that is your ancestral spirit family."

As soon as the White Snake Fairy's voice appeared, I immediately perked up.

"I don't even know your name yet! What's your name?"

"Me? You can just call me Liu Ruoyun."

"Liu Ruoyun, just hearing that name makes you sound like a great beauty."

I was talking to myself.

"How do we set up a shrine?"

"Carve memorial tablets, set up incense tables, and establish rules."

"Don't you have it in your head?"

I nodded.

As they were talking, they suddenly felt a gust of cold wind.

It wasn't the coolness of a dilapidated temple, but a damp, chilly cold.

I looked up at the gate of the courtyard.

A figure stood in the moonlight.

The figure was blurry, as if shrouded in a layer of mist, and could not be seen clearly.

But the aura emanating from it made me tense up.

It is neither a wandering spirit nor a yellow demon.

It's something else.

Things in the water.

The figure gradually became clearer.

It looked like a woman, wearing wet clothes, her hair plastered to her face, water dripping down.

Her face was very pale, unnaturally pale, her lips were purple, and her eyes were staring straight at me.

"Li... Shi... San..."

Her voice sounded like it was coming from the water, indistinct and unclear.

I stood up, my hands clenched tightly.

"Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer; she just stared at me and walked forward step by step.

She left a trail of wet footprints where she walked.

The temperature in the courtyard suddenly dropped.

My mother came out of the house and saw this scene, and screamed in fright.

"Thirteen! What's that?!"

I didn't turn around; my eyes were fixed on the water ghost.

"Mother, go back inside, close the door, and don't come out!"

The water ghost walked to the center of the courtyard and stopped.

She raised her head, revealing a pair of empty eyes beneath her wet hair.

"Black...water...river..."

She uttered three words.

Blackwater River?

My heart skipped a beat.

Isn't that the river where my dad saved Old Wang back then?

What happened to the Blackwater River?

The water ghost opened its mouth and made a "gurgling" sound, like water being poured into its throat.

"Injustice...injustice..."

"Help...me..."

After saying those three words, her body began to fade, as if it were about to dissipate.

I quickly took out the red rope, chanted a spell, and threw it at her.

The red rope passed through her body, but touched nothing.

The water ghost has completely disappeared.

Only water stains remained, gleaming in the moonlight.

The temperature in the courtyard slowly rose.

My mother peeked out from under the door, her voice trembling.

"They...they left?"

"I'm gone."

I stared at the water stains on the ground, my brow furrowed.

Why would the water ghosts of the Blackwater River come looking for me?

And what does she mean by "wronged" and "save me"?

Liu Ruoyun's voice echoed in my mind.

"Thirteen, it seems you need to hurry up and establish your branch."

I gave a wry smile.

Mr. Ma's jobs really come one after another.

But that's alright.

Do more good deeds, accumulate more merits, and gather more offerings.

Only then can my temple stand firm.

I crouched down and touched the water stains on the ground.

It was icy cold.

"Blackwater River..."

My voice wasn't loud, but for some reason my mother heard it.

"Thirteen, are you going to the Blackwater River?"

"You mustn't go to that place."

"Those who have gone there have never returned; it's very strange."

"Too many people have died in that river; there are water ghosts!"

My mother's face was deathly pale; clearly, the words "Blackwater River" had left a deep shadow in her heart.

"Blackwater River? Thirteen, that's a place you absolutely mustn't go."

"Xiulian's father, if I hadn't saved him back then, he would have died in the Blackwater River too."

My father came out of the house, smoking his pipe.

I turned to look at my father and suddenly remembered that he had gone down to save Xiulian's father.

"Dad, tell me what happened back then."

My father didn't say anything, but walked directly to my side and sat down on the ground.

He was smoking his pipe, his eyes darting around, seemingly unwilling to talk about what happened back then.

"Since you want to hear it, then I'll tell you."

As my father spoke, his eyes widened in terror.

Judging from that time he went down the Blackwater River, he must have been seriously injured.

"Back then, the commune organized people to go up the mountain to reclaim wasteland. Everyone was poor at that time, and we thought about reclaiming more wasteland and planting crops."

"It was during that time of clearing the wasteland that I met Xiulian's father, who is also your Uncle Wang."

"Back then, he was a very capable worker, and his wife was newly pregnant."

"When we were finishing clearing the mountain, we were walking back when it started raining heavily."

"The rain was heavy, and the raindrops, as big as beans, hit my skin and it hurt."

"Everyone was stunned by the heavy rain, running around with their heads in their hands, looking for a place to be sheltered from the rain."

"I didn't pay attention to you, Uncle Wang, at the time. After all, the rain was too heavy. I put the shovel on my head and squatted under a big tree. The raindrops hit the shovel and made a loud 'patter' sound."

"I heard someone shouting for help, but it was faint."

"I didn't think much about it and just went to follow the sound."

"When I finally found the source of the sound, I discovered that it was your Uncle Wang who had fallen into the water."

"Because of the heavy rain, the water from the mountains has also come down, and the river has risen quite a bit."

"Your Uncle Wang is struggling in the river. There are many people gathered on the bank, but no one is going down to save him."

"I didn't think much and just jumped into the river. I knew that people were hesitant to go into the river because there were already many people who had drowned there, let alone now that it was raining heavily."

"But I didn't think much about it. I was just thinking, if your Uncle Wang is gone, how will his family survive, especially his wife, who is heavily pregnant? Life will be even harder for her."

"I jumped into the river. The water was so cold that it felt like all the warmth in my body was instantly drained away."

"I grabbed your Uncle Wang's arm and swam towards the shore when I suddenly felt something grab my foot."

"I had a bad feeling at the time. Everyone says there are water ghosts in this Blackwater River that lure people into the water."

"I was terrified at the time. I swam desperately towards the shore, but even though the shore was right in front of me, I just couldn't reach it no matter how hard I swam."

"The rain is getting heavier and heavier, and your Uncle Wang is no longer responding. I know it's because he drank too much water. If we don't rescue him in time, he might really die in this river."

"I shouted towards the shore, and in the end, it was your Uncle Sun who found a wooden stick and handed it to me."

"The moment I grabbed the stick, I felt a sense of relief, but just then, my legs stopped obeying my commands, as if they were locked in place by something."

"My body sank down, and I choked on several mouthfuls of water."

"If I hadn't been swimming in the river since I was a child, I probably would have died in the river along with your Uncle Wang."

"To be honest, it was Accountant Sun who, along with a few villagers, pulled me and your Uncle Wang up here."

"He was also the first to notice the two dark handprints on my ankle."

"Everyone present was terrified. They said there really was a water ghost in the river. I believed it too, because there were two very clear black handprints on my ankle."

"Those two black handprints didn't completely disappear for half a year."

"It was because of this that the arranged marriage between our children came about later."

After my father finished speaking, he tapped the pipe bowl on the ground.

Then the tobacco pipe was filled up again.

"Dad, when did that river get called the Blackwater River?"

"I don't remember the exact time, but the villagers called it that from the left and right. Plus, people kept dying in the river, so the name spread."