Chapter 037 Exorcism
Li Daming and I waited for another two days, but Wang Yue was still in the same state, with no signs of returning to life, and not even a message for help. The space in the bardo realm is strange and unpredictable, and it is hard to imagine what state she is in now.
I was sleeping this morning when Li Daming came over after taking a shower and patted me with a towel. We have been living in Wang Yue's house for a while, and it has become a single dormitory for the two of us. But Wang Yue really took advantage of the family property. The big house has everything you need. When we have nothing to do, Li Daming and I take turns cooking, and our life is quite enjoyable.
Li Daming said, Lin Cong, our vacation is over today, it’s time to go to work.
Then I remembered, oh damn, I still have to go to work. I have been busy in the bardo realm all this time. Time has passed so quickly. I didn’t expect that I still have to go to work.
"What about Wang Yue?" I asked.
"You can only come over after get off work and talk about it." Li Daming said.
We smoked a cigarette in silence, and Li Daming suddenly asked, "Do you think work is interesting?"
"Don't even think about it." I immediately understood what he meant. "Even though work is hard labor, it pays. I work in an office and I only get a small salary. But you're in sales and you can earn a lot of money every month and still be considered middle class. Don't give up your current job."
Li Daming collapsed on the sofa, blowing smoke rings into the air, and sighed: "What is the purpose of life?"
I stood up and patted his shoulder: "Let's go, there's no point in thinking so much. You still have to pay the mortgage, and you have to find a wife and have a son in the future. There are many places to spend money."
Li Daming looked at me and nodded after a long time.
We both lazily left Wang Yue's house and arrived at work on time. I hadn't been to work for more than a week, so it felt quite familiar.
The company I work for is a large logistics unit. The workload is very tight and almost every position is assigned to one person. Li Daming and I have taken these vacations, and if we don't come back, our positions will definitely be replaced.
As soon as we arrived, we were immediately overwhelmed with work and were busy all day. By the time we finished overtime, it was already nine o'clock in the evening. Li Daming was sitting in the coffee shop below the company, drinking coffee while waiting for me.
"I thought about it carefully," said Li Daming.
I was exhausted after a day's work, so I asked for a cup of coffee and said listlessly: "What are you thinking about now?"
"I think we should go find Uncle Zhong again," Li Daming said, "maybe he can give us some advice."
There is a rift between Uncle Zhong and I, and I am not very willing to do this, but this matter is quite serious now, involving Wang Yue and even more so whether my mother can be rescued. I cannot bring in personal grudges to affect my judgment.
I nodded and said okay.
We agreed to go see Uncle Zhong together this weekend.
The next working hours were hard and fast. Four days passed in a flash. Li Daming and I are now living in Wang Yue's house. Li Daming simply went home to get his daily toiletries and clothes, ready for a long battle.
I have had the urge to use the bracelet to enter the bardo realm several times, but I didn't know how to enter. It's like having a key without a password, which is useless.
These days, there is still no sign of Wang Yue coming back, and we have completely given up hope.
I finally made it to the weekend and had a rare vacation. Early in the morning, Li Daming and I went to Jingming Building, where Uncle Zhong's office was.
Li Daming had been here once before and found Room 506, familiar with the place. After knocking on the door, it opened soon after.
It was not Uncle Zhong who opened the door, but a stranger. He looked at us in astonishment. Li Daming whispered, "We are here to see Uncle Zhong. We have already made an appointment."
The stranger hesitated and said, "Uncle Zhong is busy now, please come back later."
At this time, someone in the room heard the sound and asked loudly, "Who's here?"
Li Daming quickly called out, "Uncle Zhong, it's me, Xiao Li and Xiao Lin!"
"Come in." Someone inside called out.
The stranger had no choice but to make way. Li Daming and I walked through the door. Inside was a partitioned space with posters on the wall, all promoting a certain brand of facial mask. The most eye-catching one was a huge group photo, probably with hundreds of people, with a title underneath: Group photo of the National Elite Conference of a certain facial mask in Bali.
I find it interesting. The decoration here doesn't match Uncle Zhong's aura at all.
Going around the partition, there is an office area inside, the decoration style has completely changed, it is antique and sinister. The most eye-catching thing is a statue placed by the window sill, which looks like a furious King Kong, with three eyeballs, like Erlang Shen, staring wide and with a ferocious expression. The most strange thing is that there is a pair of wings on its back.
A man was kneeling in the middle of the ground, tied with ropes, with his head down and trembling. Several men beside him were staring at him with worried faces.
Uncle Zhong sat on a chair at the side, slowly peeling the apple with a knife.
At first glance, this scene looks like some kind of family discipline in the guild. Uncle Zhong is the boss, and the man being tied up has violated the rules of the guild, so he should be punished with three cuts and six punctures.
Li Daming and I were a little shocked, not knowing whether to go in or back out. Uncle Zhong looked up at us, pointed at the chairs next to us, and asked us to sit down first.
The two of us sat there quietly and watched, not daring to breathe.
Uncle Zhong had already peeled the apple. He was very skilled. The peeled apple skin was not broken, but a complete long strip. He stood up and walked into the office. Not long after, he came out with a dark wooden tray. On the tray was a bowl of water and a small shallow dish with a dark red substance. Li Daming whispered to me that it seemed to be cinnabar.
There is also a piece of rice paper and a brush.
Uncle Zhong pulled off a small piece of apple peel and threw it into clean water. Then he soaked a brush in the water, dipped it in cinnabar, and drew a puzzling pattern on the rice paper. The pattern was extremely strange, like a combination of "corpse" and "ghost".
After writing, Uncle Zhong told the men to burn the paper, then mix it with water and let the tied man drink it, without wasting a single drop.
A big man held the man and pulled him hard to raise his head. When he raised his head, Li Daming and I looked carefully and gasped. The man's face was extremely hideous, with dislocated features, like a mad dog wanting to bite people.
Another man came to help, and finally subdued him, then found chopsticks and forcibly pried open the man's teeth, which was very difficult. Someone had burned the talisman into ashes, poured clean water into it, and poured it down the man's throat.
It's amazing to say, after drinking the water, the man became so limp that he could slide to the ground without anyone's help. He was like two completely different people compared to the one who was biting and jumping just now.
Uncle Zhong was a little disgusted and ordered, "Throw him into the bathroom with his head facing the toilet."
The men looked at each other in bewilderment. Uncle Zhong was unhappy: "Are you all deaf? Go quickly. He's going to vomit soon. Don't vomit here. I still have to clean up. I'll ask you for more money then."
The men had no choice but to carry the man to the bathroom.
After those people left, I asked softly, Uncle Zhong, what's going on?
Uncle Zhong said, "That man deserved it. He likes to eat meat but doesn't want to spend money. He rides his bike around the neighborhood or the park every day, catching stray dogs and cats to eat. A few nights ago, he was walking on the road at night and encountered a ghost. He was unlucky enough to run into a dog that was more than ten years old. Cats and dogs are bound to become spirits. The old dog was spiritual, and after he killed it, it became like a mad dog because of its resentment. Later, they found out that I could perform rituals, so they sent me here. I just exorcised the evil spirit for him."
Li Daming was fascinated by what he heard: "Uncle Zhong, what does that symbol you just drew mean?"
"That's an exorcism spell taken from 'All Laws Return to the Origin'. It may not work against evil spirits, but it's more than enough to deal with a few dog spirits. But this kid can only eat vegetarian food from now on, and he will vomit if he touches meat. It can be considered cause and effect." Uncle Zhong said.
"Uncle Zhong, don't you sell facial masks?" I joked.
Uncle Zhong smiled and said, "I'm not selling facial masks. I'm just keeping stock for my daughter. My job is to help people with things. Since I have this little ability, it would be a shame if I didn't use it to make some money."
As we were talking, the man was dragged out of the toilet like a dead dog.
Uncle Zhong told them that the evil had been driven away and that everything should be fine, but they could only eat vegetarian food and not eat meat or drink alcohol from now on.
The men looked at each other in bewilderment. In this situation, they were lucky enough to be able to save their lives. If they didn't want to eat the meat, then they shouldn't eat it.
Uncle Zhong was dealing with the payment with them. I watched from the side. He charged 3,000 yuan for exorcism. It was not too much, but it was not too little either. If he didn't have to do anything else this month and took on three or four jobs like this, his income would be comparable to that of a white-collar worker.
After seeing them off, Uncle Zhong asked us what we wanted.
I briefly told him what happened after he left, including how Wang Yue came back to life, and then took me into the bardo to find my mother, how she broke through the first level, and how she started her journey alone, and I came back alone. I told him everything.
Uncle Zhong looked at me and sighed: "You are so brave."
"What's wrong?" My heart skipped a beat.
Uncle Zhong said, "Everyone has a limited number of experiences in the Bardo realm, and one cannot enter it casually. Yue is an exception, and that's fine, but you are an ordinary person, and you entered the Bardo realm early and started the seven tests. Do you know what will happen?"
