Yin Yang Diviner

I stood at the door of the main room, crying and calling for my second grandfather. My voice was trembling uncontrollably, and my face was covered in tears and snot. I was in a terrible state.

After a night of tossing and turning, from nightmares to the real water stains, and then to boundless fear, I had already snapped my last nerve. Seeing my second grandfather's main room at this moment was like seeing a lifeline. All my strength collapsed instantly, leaving only helplessness and panic.

The door to the main room was ajar, and from inside came the slow, leisurely voice of the second grandfather: "Come in."

I pushed open the door and rushed in, grabbing my second grandfather's arm, my voice trembling and incoherent: "Second grandfather! There's a ghost! There really is a ghost! I dreamt that a woman turned into a skeleton, and then a trail of water appeared in my room, from the doorway to the bedside. It came in! It really came in!"

I rambled on, recounting the scenes from my dream, the water stains in the room, and the chilly atmosphere all at once, my hand gripping his arm trembling uncontrollably.

My second grandfather showed no surprise or panic. He remained seated in the old elmwood chair, pipe in hand, calmly watching me. After I finished speaking, he gently patted my hand, his tone still slow and reassuring: "What's the panic? It's just a nightmare, nothing serious."

Little things?

My eyes widened; I could hardly believe my ears.

I was terrified. I didn't sleep all night. I was completely scared. And he actually said it was a small matter?

"Second Grandpa, this is no small matter!" I shouted anxiously, "It really came! There's water in my house! It almost caught me! I want to go home, I don't want to stay here, I want to go home!"

All I want right now is to leave this hellhole and never come back. I don't care about rules or this slacking off anymore. I want to go home, back to my parents, back to the normal world.

Seeing my panicked state, my second grandfather's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness. He put down his pipe, got up and walked to the incense table. He picked up a piece of yellow paper, then picked up a vermilion brush, dipped it in vermilion, and began to draw quickly on the yellow paper with his fingertips.

His movements were swift and fluid, his brushstrokes sharp and decisive; in just a few seconds, he had drawn a talisman. The runes on the talisman were twisted and strange, beyond my comprehension, yet I could sense a chilling aura of righteousness emanating from it.

"You were born on the 15th of the seventh month of the yin year, at midnight. Your soul is inherently unstable, with weak yang energy and strong yin energy, making you most susceptible to being targeted by wandering ghosts." Second Grandfather said calmly while folding talismans. "This old house is old, and some people have been buried underground, so there is some residual yin energy. Usually, nothing happens, but last night, the spring rain was continuous, and the yin energy increased greatly. That evil ghost took the opportunity to enter your dream, trying to take your soul."

Soul-stealing?

I was so scared that I trembled all over.

It turns out it wasn't just trying to scare me; it wanted to kill me and steal my soul!

I finally understand why I always had strange dreams and was always haunted by unclean things when I was a child. It wasn't because I was timid, but because my destiny made me the target of these things.

"Then...what should we do?" I looked at my second grandfather, my voice trembling with tears. "Will it come back? Second grandfather, I don't want to be taken away. I want to go home."

"Go home?" My second grandfather folded the talisman and handed it to me. "Even if you go home now, it will still follow you. Your fate is special. It has its eye on you and won't give up until it captures your soul."

I took the talisman. It was still warm from the cinnabar. It felt warm to the touch, and a warm feeling spread from my fingertips throughout my body. The chilling aura from before dissipated considerably in an instant.

I clutched the talisman like it was a lifeline, and felt a little more at ease.

"What should I do?" I looked up at my second grandfather, my eyes full of pleading.

I finally understand now that I can't live without my second grandfather. Only he can protect me and deal with these unclean things.

My second grandfather pointed to my pillow: "Fold this talisman neatly and put it under your pillow. Sleep with it on, and you will be protected from all evil spirits. No evil ghosts can get close to you anymore."

I nodded quickly, clutching the talisman, and headed back to the side room.

"Wait," my second grandfather called after me. "What happened last night isn't over yet. Were you experiencing sleep paralysis in your dream?"

I froze for a moment, instantly recalling the scene at the end of my dream where I was grabbed by a skeleton, unable to move or make a sound. Wasn't that sleep paralysis?

I nodded, my face pale: "Yes, I couldn't move or make a sound, and I was almost grabbed by it."

"That's because your soul is unstable, and it has captured your spirit." Second Grandfather's eyes darkened. "If it hadn't been for the sudden thunder last night that startled it away, you would already be an idiot."

spring thunder?

I suddenly remembered that in the last part of my dream, just as I was about to be grabbed by the withered hand, a deafening clap of thunder came from outside, and then I woke up with a start.

It wasn't a coincidence after all; the thunder saved me!

A chill ran down my spine; I was filled with lingering fear.

If it weren't for that clap of thunder in spring, I would have already had my soul stolen and become a mindless fool.

"Thank you... thank you Leisheng, thank you Second Grandfather." My voice choked, and tears welled up in my eyes again from the lingering fear.

Second Grandfather waved his hand, his tone calm: "It wasn't the thunder that saved you, it's that your life wasn't meant to end. Your fate is special; although you attract yin energy, you are also protected by the heavens, so you won't die so easily."

He paused, then added, "Remember, from now on, when you sleep at night, put the talisman under your pillow. No matter what you hear or see, don't open your eyes, don't make a sound, and definitely don't get out of bed. With the talisman protecting you, you'll be fine."

I nodded vigorously, remembering every word my second grandfather said.

I will never dare to be careless again, and I will never dare to disbelieve in these matters of yin and yang.

I took the talisman and returned to the side room. By then it was already bright daylight, and sunlight shone into the room through the window paper. The chill in the side room had dissipated considerably, and the water stains on the ground had long since disappeared, as if everything last night was just an illusion.

But I know it wasn't an illusion.

That was a real, terrifying moment where life and death hung in the balance.

I carefully folded the talisman into a small square, tucked it under my pillow, and then pressed the pillow down to make sure the talisman was firmly underneath. Only after doing all this did I breathe a long sigh of relief; the panic in my heart had finally dissipated considerably.

I sat on the bed, watching the sunlight stream into the room, illuminating the dust, and everything seemed peaceful and warm.

I touched the talisman under my pillow; its warm touch made me feel incredibly at ease.

I finally understand why my dad sent me to my second grandfather's house.

It's not to make me drift through life, nor to reform me, but because of my destiny, only my second grandfather can protect me. Only by staying by my second grandfather's side can I survive and avoid being lured away by those wandering ghosts.

My previous willfulness, my disdain, and my ignorance almost killed me.

I sat on the bed and it took me a long time to calm down completely.

I hadn't slept all night, and my eyelids were drooping with exhaustion, but I dared not fall asleep easily, for fear of having nightmares again, for fear that the evil spirit would reappear.

I got up, walked out of the side room, and went into the courtyard.

The sun shone brightly, and raindrops still clung to the locust leaves, glistening and translucent. A gentle breeze blew, and the raindrops fell, shattering on the ground. The air in the courtyard was fresh, filled with the fragrance of grass and trees, and the chill and eeriness of last night were gone.

My second grandfather sat at the entrance of the main room, smoking a cigarette, looking at me with a calm expression.

I walked up to him, lowered my head, and whispered, "Second Grandfather, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have distrusted you before, and I shouldn't have been so willful."

My second grandfather glanced at me, didn't say anything, just gave a soft "hmm" and continued smoking.

I know he has forgiven me.

I stood beside him, looking at the sunlight in the courtyard, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

I thought that coming to this old house would be the start of a period of leisurely living, but I never expected that it would be the start of a life where I would face the living and the dead.

I thought I was an atheist who didn't believe in ghosts or gods, but I never imagined that there really were so many strange and terrifying things in this world.

I thought I was fearless, but I never imagined that I would be so vulnerable in the face of real fear.

And all of this is just the beginning.

My second grandfather said that I have a special destiny and am destined to enter the field of Yin and Yang.

I don't want to, I'm scared, I want to escape.

But I know I can't escape.

From the moment I was haunted by evil spirits last night, and from the talisman under my pillow, I embarked on a path of no return.

A path belonging to the geomancer.