Volume 1 Chapter 25: Inviting Evil
Gu Sihan has always admired his master, and thought that since even his master praised him, his medical skills must be impeccable, so he strongly suggested to his father to go to southern Xinjiang to find the master's friend. Gu's father was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for several days and nights. Seeing that there was really no other way, he listened to his son.
However, the journey to southern Xinjiang was long, and he was afraid that his daughter could not wait, so he simply took two of his best doctors and a few capable mages with him, and flew with his daughter directly to southern Xinjiang.
After asking around in the local area, he only got a very depressing news. It was said that the miracle doctor had left home half a year ago, and no one knew where he went. This was like a bolt from the blue for the Gu family. Especially for Gu Sihan, it was even more unacceptable. It was because of his advice that the family took his sister to this wild mountain. If his sister eventually died because of him, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
At this time, they heard from the locals that there was a place called Maobizi Village deep in the mountains, where a woman named Bai lived, who was said to have magical powers. The Gu family was desperate and went straight to the mountains with the mentality of giving it a try.
After arriving in the village, they learned that the woman surnamed Bai, who was passed down by word of mouth among the mountain people, had died decades ago, and her only granddaughter had also left the village with a man more than ten years ago and has disappeared.
I was surprised when I heard this and asked, "Is the granddaughter of the Bai family called Bai Mei?"
Gu Sihan was stunned for a moment and said, "It seems to be Baimei, do you know her?" Then he suddenly grabbed my arm in ecstasy, "Do you know where she is? Tell me quickly!"
I gasped in pain and asked him to let go immediately. I shook my head and said, "She's been dead for a long time."
Gu Sihan let go of his hand and remained silent. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Seeing his lost look, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him and said, "Can I go see your sister?" I was thinking that the girl from the Gu family had a strange illness, and it happened that my Third Uncle and that Dead Face were here. These two old foxes were well hidden and might have some unconventional ways to deal with her.
Gu Sihan's eyes turned red, and he nodded and said of course he could, but he hesitated before leaving and said, "My sister looks a little scary now, you..."
I assured him that he would be fine. We set off as soon as we said we would, and climbed down the rocky slope. Judging from Gu Sihan's climbing movements, he was indeed very flexible and skilled after long-term training.
Soon we reached the canyon, and the few people who were on guard at various places immediately stood up alertly. After seeing that it was Gu Sihan, they smiled and nodded, then looked at me in confusion.
Gu Sihan waved his hand and said, "This is my friend." He told them not to worry about it. Everyone returned to their positions and guarded their own positions.
Soon we arrived at the tent. Gu Sihan nodded at me and led me inside through the curtain. As soon as I reached the door, I smelled a pungent odor. I could easily tell that it was the odor of a corpse.
After looking around, I saw a lot of people standing inside. From their attire, I could tell that two of them were probably doctors. There was also a man wearing a Taoist robe, a man wearing a melon-shaped hat, and a man wearing a linen shirt. When these three people stood there, I could sense an aura that was very different from that of ordinary people. They were probably the first-class magicians hired by the Gu family.
In addition to these five people, there were three more people in the room. One of them was a tall middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and a broad nose. He stood there with his hands behind his back, frowning and thinking, looking intimidating without being angry. The other man wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, had a delicate appearance, was slightly shorter than the previous man, and was probably a few years younger. He was whispering to a dignified and beautiful woman next to him.
Gu Sihan introduced them to me in a low voice. It turned out that the man with great courage was Gu Sihan's father, the one wearing glasses was his second uncle, and the other beautiful woman was his aunt.
I grew up in a small mountain village. Although I usually hang out with my third uncle in a wild way, Teacher Tian has also taught us some etiquette since I went to school. After thinking about it, I stepped forward and respectfully called out, "Hello, uncles and aunts!"
Father Gu was lost in thought, and was awakened by me. He raised his eyebrows and looked at me, seeming a little surprised. Gu Sihan immediately introduced me, saying that I was a friend he had just met and wanted to visit his sister.
Father Gu nodded at me and smiled, "My son has high standards. It's rare for him to bring back friends." His voice was thick and hoarse, obviously he was too tired these days, "But my daughter's illness... is indeed... a little scary."
I immediately understood that Uncle Gu was afraid that I would be frightened, so I quickly said it was okay, and that I had seen many strange diseases in the countryside, and I wanted to come and see if I could help.
As soon as I finished speaking, someone interrupted and said, "That's not right! This kid says he's not afraid now, but don't let him get scared and scream when he goes in, or else he'll scare the lady!"
I turned my head and saw that the person who was talking was the one wearing the melon-shaped hat. He was a skinny old man with two goatees on his mouth. He looked very smart. Before I could say anything, Gu Sihan was already unhappy: "Master Wang, how do you know that my friend is exaggerating?"
Although Gu Sihan was young, the man in the melon-shaped hat didn't dare to confront him in front of Gu's father, and smiled awkwardly. Gu's father said in a deep voice: "Xiaohan, don't be rude to Master Wang, apologize quickly."
Although Gu Sihan was somewhat unconvinced, it was obvious that he was under the heavy influence of his father. He lowered his head and said to the man in the melon-shaped hat, "I'm sorry, Master Wang." The man in the melon-shaped hat smiled awkwardly and said that he did not deserve it.
The remaining few people, the one wearing a Taoist robe was a middle-aged man in his thirties with a big beard, he kept his head held high, only glanced at me when I came in, and then ignored me again. The other one wearing a linen shirt, at first glance, looked like an old farmer, wearing a pair of cloth shoes, always keeping his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart, and remained silent.
As for the two doctors, they both suggested that I should not go because the young lady's current condition was not something that a child could treat. However, the second uncle smiled and said, "Since Xiaohan said it's okay, it should be okay."
Seeing that Father Gu also nodded, the beautiful woman lifted the gauze curtain. I walked a few steps closer, and the stench of corpses became stronger. I saw that the two doctors, the man in the melon-shaped hat, and the Taoist priest all frowned, probably unable to bear the stench. However, the old farmer in hemp clothes remained expressionless.
Gu Sihan pulled me worriedly and asked me in a low voice if I was okay. I said I was fine and walked to the bedside. There was a little girl in a pink and white dress lying on the bed. She had short hair cut to her ears. Her original appearance was no longer recognizable. Her face was ashen and her lips were black. Her exposed cheeks, neck, arms and legs were covered with black spots and dark purple cloud-like spots. Many parts of her body had begun to rot and gave off a strong corpse odor.
If Gu Sihan hadn't said in advance that his sister was still alive, this would simply be a corpse that had begun to decay. In comparison, Lin Wenjing and Liu Nan at the time were more like living people than her.
Faced with such a nauseating corpse odor and extremely horrible corpse spots, ordinary people probably wouldn't be able to hold out for half a minute, either vomiting or running away. But for me, who has been dealing with corpses since childhood, this is nothing. I have seen so many corpses, some more tragic and more disgusting.
I turned to Father Gu and said, "Uncle, I want to check my sister, is that okay?"
At this moment, everyone in the room focused their attention on me, with astonishment on their faces, especially the man in the melon-shaped hat and the two doctors, who looked incredibly surprised, probably because they had never seen a freak like me who could remain calm in such a strong corpse stench. Even the old farmer in sackcloth who had remained calm turned his head to look at me.
Father Gu was stunned for a moment and said, "Sure."
I took out a pair of thin gloves from my pocket, put them on, and pressed them on the little girl's neck to feel the pulse. Indeed, it was very weak, so weak that it would not even be noticeable if you didn't pay special attention.
I opened the little girl's eyelids and got closer to observe. Her pupils had shrunk to the size of a needle tip, and her entire eyeballs were grayish white. Generally speaking, the eyeballs of a corpse will not change much after death, and the pupils cannot shrink to the size of a needle tip.
I couldn't take off her skirt in front of her family, so I could only check her exposed parts. Those dark purple cloud-like spots were definitely livor mortis. This was really strange, and it was the first time I saw livor mortis on a living person.
I stood up and took off my gloves. Gu Sihan came up to me and asked, "Have you ever seen a similar disease?"
I looked around the room, hesitated for a moment, and said, "It looks a bit like an evil spirit, but... not quite..."
I was really confused. What I meant by "attracting evil spirits" is what people commonly call "being possessed by ghosts". This is especially common in the countryside. Some people with weak yang energy should not appear at funerals because they can easily be possessed by the spirits of the recently deceased. My family has been in this business for so long, so we have naturally encountered many cases of being possessed by ghosts.
Some mild cases will cause them to talk nonsense and become unconscious, which is medically called hysteria, or mental illness. Those with severe cases may even fall into a coma, refuse to eat or drink, and their pupils may shrink strangely to the size of a pinpoint.
"Inviting evil? How dare you say anything like that!" As soon as I finished speaking, the Taoist priest who had been holding his head high sneered and said, " Do you think we are just here to eat? Who in the world has ever seen such an evil being invited?"
The man in the melon-shaped hat also chuckled and said, "Little friend, don't pretend to know something when you don't. The people here are all experts. Who can't tell that a person is possessed by a ghost?"
I really don't know what happened to the little girl from the Gu family, and I can't refute it. Father Gu said, "Xiao Jing, you and Xiao Han should go out and have a rest first. It's enough to show your appreciation."
Gu Sihan was also dejected, he pulled me and led me out of the tent. I walked a few steps with my head down, and said to him, "Wait here, I'll go find someone." Then I ran straight to the rocky slope. Gu Sihan called out a few times from behind, but I didn't even turn my head, just told him to wait for me here.
