Yin Yang Diviner

I slept soundly through the night. With my second grandfather's protective red envelope, I was completely free from the fear of nightmares and my overall mental state improved.

When Lao Liu saw that everything was really alright, he felt relieved and drove back home in the morning. Before leaving, he told me to call him anytime if I needed anything, and that he would be there whenever I called.

In the courtyard, the sun shone warmly, and the air was filled with the fragrance of locust trees. My second grandfather sat at the entrance of the main room, smoking a cigarette. Everything was peaceful and serene.

I stood in the courtyard, looking at the sunlight streaming in, and felt a mix of emotions.

The fear of last night is still vivid in my mind, but the peace I feel now brings me immense reassurance. Looking at my second grandfather's back and at the compasses and talismans in the main room, my heart is no longer filled with fear, but with a sense of awe and longing.

I walked up to my second grandfather, lowered my head, and said earnestly, "Second grandfather, I want to learn from you. I want to learn feng shui, how to draw talismans, and how to exorcise evil spirits. I want to protect myself and the people around me."

My great-uncle paused in his smoking, glanced at me with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, but still said calmly, "Learning this line of work is tough, dangerous, and requires risking your life. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." I nodded firmly, my eyes resolute. "I don't want to be bullied by evil spirits anymore, I don't want to drag others down with me. I'm not afraid of hardship or danger, I want to learn."

My second grandfather looked at my determined eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then softly hummed in agreement.

I felt a surge of excitement and almost jumped up.

I'm finally about to officially enter this industry, and I'm finally going to start learning how to protect myself.

"Before you learn the craft, I need to tell you something." Second Grandfather put down his pipe, his tone becoming serious. "When you were little, you were bewitched by a weasel. How much do you remember about that?"

A weasel that steals souls?

I was stunned for a moment, and a long-buried memory from my childhood was instantly awakened.

That was the summer when I was ten years old. It happened in my rural hometown, an event that I've remembered and feared for over a decade.

I thought it was just a childhood prank, a strange dream, but I never imagined it was a weasel trying to take my soul, a misfortune brought upon me by my fate.

My face paled slightly, and I nodded, my voice trembling slightly: "I remember a little bit, not very clearly, I just remember being very scared at the time, having nightmares every day, and then you saved me."

"It's not that you remember a little, it's that you were so scared that you deliberately forgot most of it." Second Grandfather's eyes darkened. "Today, I'll make you remember, I'll make you know that your fate has been targeted by evil spirits since you were a child. If it weren't for me protecting you, you would have been gone long ago."

My heart tightened, and I held my breath as I listened to my second grandfather recount that long-forgotten story.

I was ten years old that year, on summer vacation, and I went back to my rural hometown to play.

In the countryside in summer, cicadas chirp and the grass and trees are lush. Behind my old house, there is an old cemetery. It is ancient, with broken tombstones and knee-high weeds. The adults in the village don't let their children go near it, saying that the place is full of yin energy and evil spirits.

But I was young then, fearless and playful. I would run around all day with my friends in the village, Dashanzi and Gou Dan, and never listen to the adults.

That evening, as the sun set and darkness fell, we had played enough at the village entrance when Dashanzi suddenly suggested, "Let's go catch pheasants at the old graveyard on the back slope! I saw some pheasants there yesterday, and their feathers were so beautiful!"

Dog Egg immediately chimed in, "Great! Let's catch them and roast them!"

Back then, I was also greedy and competitive, and afraid they would call me a coward, so I immediately nodded: "I'll go! Who's afraid of who!"

Looking back now, I realize how ignorant and fearless I was. In a place like the old cemetery, let alone catching pheasants, even adults wouldn't dare approach it during the day. Yet we, a few teenagers, dared to venture there at dusk.

The four of us sneaked around to the back of the village and into the old cemetery.

As soon as I entered the old cemetery, I sensed something was wrong.

Outside, it was still the sweltering heat of summer, but as soon as we stepped inside, it instantly became incredibly cold and damp. A chilling wind whistled through us, sending shivers down our spines. The wild grass was knee-high, rustling underfoot. All around was quiet; there were no cicadas, no birdsong, only the sound of our footsteps and the wind whistling through the grass.

As darkness fell, the last rays of the setting sun shone through the weeds and old trees, casting a dark red hue on the broken tombstones, like congealed blood, which sent a chill down one's spine.

The tombstones were leaning precariously, some broken, some with illegible inscriptions, all covered in moss and vines, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Occasionally, one could see a few pits, as if they had been dug, revealing black soil inside and emitting a putrid smell.

I started to panic, a little scared, and instinctively shrank back: "Maybe... let's go back, this place is too scary."

"Tch, Qin Yiheng, you're such a coward!" Dashanzi glanced at me disdainfully. "The pheasant is just ahead, we'll catch it soon, what's there to be afraid of!"

Dog Egg chimed in, "Yeah, you're not afraid of ghosts, are you? There aren't any ghosts around here, it's just adults making things up for kids!"

Provoked by their antics, my competitive spirit flared up. I gritted my teeth and followed them, shouting, "Who's afraid! Let's go!"

We continued deeper into the old cemetery. The further we went, the heavier the yin energy became, the darker the sky grew, and the more eerie the surrounding scenery became.

The weeds grew taller and taller, obscuring our view. All we could see were the dilapidated tombstones and the twisted shadows of old trees, like menacing ghosts lurking in the darkness, watching us.

The panic in my heart grew stronger and stronger. I felt like there was something following us closely, never leaving our side.

I looked back every now and then, but there was nothing there, only desolate weeds and the dim night.

"Do you feel... someone following us?" I asked in a low voice, my voice trembling.

"No, don't scare yourself!" Dashanzi said without turning his head.

But I could clearly feel that faint gaze was constantly on my back, cold and piercing, making me feel uncomfortable all over.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a yellow shadow flashing behind a broken tombstone.

It was very fast, disappearing in a flash.

"What's that?" I stopped abruptly, pointing behind the tombstone, my voice trembling.

Dashanzi and Gou Dan looked in the direction I pointed, but saw nothing.

"What's there? Qin Yiheng, are you seeing things?" Dashanzi said impatiently. "Stop dawdling and hurry up and catch the pheasant!"

I rubbed my eyes. There was nothing behind the tombstone except for weeds swaying in the wind.

Am I seeing things?

But I clearly saw that it was a yellow, furry shadow, like a weasel, but much bigger than an ordinary weasel.

In the countryside, the old folks often say that you shouldn't mess with the weasels in the old cemetery; they're like weasel spirits, having cultivated themselves into demons, capable of stealing souls and harming people.

My heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

I don't want to stay here any longer; I want to leave this awful place immediately.

"I'm not going to arrest anyone anymore, I want to go home!" I turned to leave.

"Hey, what's wrong with you!" Dashanzi grabbed me. "We're already here, and you're just going to leave? Are you even a man?!"

I forcefully shook off his hand, my heart pounding with panic: "I don't care, I want to go home! This place is terrifying!"

Just as I was arguing, I saw that yellow shadow again, flashing by once more. This time, it wasn't hiding behind the tombstone, but standing quietly in the weeds not far away, watching us.

That was a weasel.

It was twice the size of a regular weasel, its golden fur gleaming eerily in the dim light. It stood upright, its front paws folded across its chest, its dark eyes fixed on me, devoid of any animalistic gentleness, only filled with cold malice and greed.

It's watching me.

It's been watching me!

I was so scared that I trembled all over and almost collapsed to the ground.

"A...a weasel!" I pointed at the weasel, my voice trembling. "Look! There's a big weasel over there!"

Dashanzi and Gou Dan immediately turned to look, but at that moment, the weasel flashed and disappeared into the depths of the weeds, vanishing without a trace.

"Where? I don't see it!" Gou Dan looked around but saw nothing.

"I really saw it! A huge weasel!" I shouted anxiously, my panic reaching its peak.

"Alright, alright, stop pretending. You're just a coward trying to run away!" Dashanzi said disdainfully. "I don't care about you. I'm going to catch pheasants. If you want to leave, then leave!"

After saying that, Dashanzi and Gou Dan continued walking deeper into the old cemetery, leaving me alone, standing there, trembling all over.

As I watched their departing figures, and then looked at the eerie old cemetery around me, and the boundless darkness, I felt both afraid and panicked.

I didn't dare walk back alone, nor did I dare follow them any further in.

I stood there, caught in a dilemma.

Little did I know that from the moment I saw that weasel, it had already set its sights on me.

A deadly conspiracy targeting me has quietly begun.