Chapter 25 Searching for People
Zhongyuansheng!
Zhongyuansheng is the reincarnation of a ghost, neither a human nor a ghost. I remember that the old master said this. I didn't expect that a Taoist priest also said this when I was born. The old master said that I should have died a long time ago. Although this makes people angry, I'm afraid he is telling the truth.
Then why am I still alive today? Could it be that the Taoist priest who held me when I was born did something?
I quickly asked, "What else did the Taoist priest say? What did he do?"
My dad looked at me strangely, and suddenly asked in surprise, "Did something happen to you?"
This time I was stunned and asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
My father said nervously, "The Taoist priest said that you have a bad fate, that you might be hard to raise, and that you might encounter unclean things. I was very angry when I heard that, but we invited the villagers to dinner that day, and everyone was happy, so I didn't bother with the Taoist priest."
I quickly asked, “What happened next?”
"later?"
Dad frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "The Taoist priest seemed to have drawn something on your hand, but I saw there was nothing in your hand. Later, the Taoist priest left without eating. Before he left, he told me that I could go to him if I encountered any problems in the future."
These things happened more than 20 years ago. I don’t think my dad or others paid much attention to them at the time, so they don’t remember them very clearly.
"Where can I find him?"
I asked again. Dad seemed even more puzzled, staring at me and asking, "Why are you asking this? Did something happen to you?"
I quickly shook my head and said, "Nothing, just curious."
Dad obviously didn't believe it and was still staring at me. Before asking him these questions, I had already thought of a solution, so I said, "Well, a while ago, I was scared. There happened to be a famous 'old immortal' near where I work, so I went to see him. He said I had seen a ghost and that I was unlucky and that I might have encountered something when I was a child."
In the mountain villages over there, there have also been cases of children encountering ghosts. We call it "being frightened" in our local language. In such cases, they usually have a high fever that won't go away, and in serious cases, they may even talk nonsense. Seeing a doctor, taking injections or taking medicine, or using IV drips are all ineffective. The only way to cure them is to go to those who specialize in solving such problems. We call these people " old gods ".
"You were frightened. Is it serious?"
Dad asked worriedly. I shook my head and said with a smile, "I'm very lucky. If the little devils want to harm me, I'm afraid they don't have the ability to do so. Hehe."
Dad glared at me and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? You should respect ghosts and gods and stop talking nonsense."
People in the countryside like us are actually quite superstitious. Even if we don't believe in ghosts and gods, we dare not say anything disrespectful. I quickly laughed and asked, "Dad, did the Taoist priest tell us where to find him?"
Dad frowned, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Do you want to go find that Taoist priest?"
I nodded and said seriously, "The old immortal said that I might have encountered something when I was a child, but I can't remember it, so I want to ask the Taoist priest who reported my birth. And didn't you also say that he seemed to have drawn something on my palm? I just want to ask him what he did to me back then."
Dad seemed a little hesitant, and after a while he said, "Wait a minute, I'll go get something."
After saying that, Dad got up and walked towards the bedroom. Mom was already asleep, so Dad walked very quietly. Not long after, he came back with a small wooden box in his hand.
"When the Taoist priest left, he gave me something and told me that if I had any problems in the future, I could take that thing and go find him."
Dad opened the wooden box, took out a small wooden sign and handed it to me. I quickly reached out to take it and looked at it carefully. It was about five or six centimeters long, three or four centimeters wide, and a few millimeters thick. It looked like a wooden sign made of ordinary wood, nothing special.
On one side of the wooden sign were two very neatly engraved characters: "Eternal Life". I couldn't help but laugh in my heart: You are not old yet, you will live forever.
"The Taoist priest said that I can take this thing and go to a small town called Anming Town in Huaiyang County to find him."
Dad said again.
I repeated the two place names several times in my mind, then put away the wooden sign and said, "It's just right. There's still quite some time before my little sister's holiday. I'll go to this place to find the Taoist priest tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
Dad was shocked. I thought about it. I just came back today and I will leave tomorrow. It was indeed a bit anxious. I was afraid that Mom would be worried. Then, I stayed at home for three days, walked around the village several times, and then found an excuse to tell Mom that my little sister still had a holiday, so I would go to play with friends for a few days before coming back. Dad naturally knew what I was doing, and secretly told me to be careful and come back quickly if I couldn't find the Taoist priest.
After arriving at the county seat, I randomly found an internet cafe and looked up the place called Huaiyang County. It was quite far from here. You have to take a bus to the city first, then take a train to the city where Huaiyang County is located, and then take a bus to Huaiyang County.
After changing several buses, I finally arrived at Huaiyang County at noon the next day. I asked someone about Anming Town, and then took another bus to Anming Town. This town is not big, and the location is quite remote. Although it is better than our mountain village, it can only be regarded as an ordinary rural village.
Because I didn't know the name of the Taoist priest, I could only ask people if there was a Taoist priest in the town. I didn't expect that I got the answer just by asking one person. It turned out that the Taoist priest was quite famous here. In addition to performing rituals for the deceased, he sometimes helped people who had encountered ghosts to exorcise them. He had never failed, and he didn't charge for exorcism every time.
Alas, there are not many people who do things for free these days .
I asked the Taoist priest where his house was, and then walked towards his house. I passed by a fruit stand and bought some fruit. It wouldn't be wrong to bring some things when visiting someone at their home.
The Taoist's house is in a remote part of the town, on the edge of the town. Behind his house is a farmland, and behind the farmland is a small forest and a hilltop. His family has only two tiled houses, surrounded by a fenced yard.
Before I reached his door, a big black dog suddenly jumped out from the yard. Its body, as big as a calf, actually jumped directly over the courtyard wall which was half a head taller than me.
“Woof woof woof!”
The big black dog rushed towards me barking wildly, and I was so scared that I almost fell to the ground. I turned around and tried to run away, but before I could turn around completely, I saw the big black dog .
Damn it, I’m done for!
