Raising Ghosts Records

Chapter 3 Dead Baby
Goddess Zhang just lay motionless on the table, I just thought she kowtowed hard and passed out.Just as I was wondering, Goddess Zhang, who had not been moving for four or five minutes, began to tremble all over, and finally trembled so much that even a lot of rice in the bowl on the table fell on the table.

The adults in the room and I were all very nervous, but we didn't dare to speak.

Suddenly Goddess Zhang stood up abruptly, grabbed the night water on the table and took a big sip, then walked into the room with the bowl in front of Concubine Xue's bed, sprayed water on Concubine Xue's face, and then took another sip Spray again, repeat three times.

After Goddess Zhang sprayed it for the third time, Concubine Xue burst into tears, and the third aunt immediately rushed into the room to pick up Concubine Xue's sister, coaxing Concubine Xue not to cry like a three-year-old child, not to be afraid, not to be afraid.

Goddess Zhang walked out of the room with a tired look on her face. Uncle Concubine Xue quickly moved a stool for Goddess Zhang to sit on. Damei's father stepped forward and asked Goddess Zhang if the child was okay.

Goddess Zhang waved her hand, then called Sangu out of the room, and told her to prepare a big rooster, paper figurines, incense candles and other items, and she would come back tonight.

After hearing what Goddess Zhang said, the third aunt knew that Concubine Xue's sister was only temporarily awake, so she couldn't help feeling worried, and hesitated to speak to Goddess Zhang.

Goddess Zhang saw it, but she didn't give any explanation, she just said that the third aunt must prepare according to what she said, and went home after speaking.

After Goddess Zhang left, the adults in the house also dispersed, leaving only Concubine Xue's younger sister, uncle, and Damei's father.The uncle complained to Damei's father, "That place is too dirty, you shouldn't have taken these children there." Damei's father was speechless, and only said that he was coming tonight and called Sangu Call him if you need anything.

Sangu asked my uncle to go to the town to buy what the sorceress ordered, and asked me to go to the kitchen to cook a bowl of ginger soup for Concubine Xue's sister.

Everything was ready, and Goddess Zhang came just after nine o'clock in the evening. She was different from the daytime and brought a whole set of outfits, but I couldn't tell the names of the things she brought, only that they were used by her to invite immortals to practice.

In the end, I only saw Goddess Zhang change into a floral robe that was the same as the quilt, and then she was driven into the room.At the same time, there were uncle, third aunt, and sister Xuefei. When the door of the room was closed, Goddess Zhang told us not to come out without her calling.

There was no electricity in the village, so we lit a kerosene lamp in the room, and in the hall, Goddess Zhang asked the immortals to light a lot of candles.We only heard Goddess Zhang singing and talking in the room, and we couldn't see anything when the door was closed.It was around eleven o'clock before Goddess Zhang opened the door and let everyone out, but I was the only one left behind.

I am very puzzled, I must be afraid but I dare not say that I don’t want to.

The third aunt gave me one yuan and told me to obey the orders of Goddess Zhang. She and my uncle stayed in the lobby all the time, so I wasn't afraid.Hearing Sangu say this, I can only agree to listen to Goddess Zhang's arrangements.

A dollar was a lot of change back then, and popsicles cost only two or three cents a piece, which is equivalent to at least 10 to 15 yuan today. For a rural child, he dare not think about it except for New Year’s pocket money.

But I can't be happy because I'm really scared.

Goddess Zhang told me to lie down on the bed and not move, no matter what I saw, don't be afraid, everything will be fine.I heard what Goddess Zhang said, so I did what she said. After Goddess Zhang told me repeatedly, she closed the door and retreated to the hall.

I was the only one left in the room. I lay on the bed and started to think wildly. The more I thought about it, the more afraid I became, and then I wondered why Goddess Zhang kept me in the room. Could it be related to my birth on Qingming Festival?I couldn't figure it out, and I was so dazed that I fell asleep.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, I vaguely heard someone calling me in the distance outside the window.I woke up immediately but couldn't move my whole body, only opened my eyes, listened carefully but couldn't hear it, and felt someone calling me again if I didn't pay attention.

I was so scared that I didn't even dare to breathe loudly, and I was eagerly hoping that Goddess Zhang and Sangu would push the door in at this moment, but the hall seemed to be completely quiet, as if no one was there.

He yelled again, and this time I really heard it, it was called Amei, not me.That voice was like a eunuch, Amei, Amei called repeatedly.

The sound was getting closer and closer, and when it reached the bottom of the window, it seemed to be in the ears.Every call seems to have magic power, just like when I got lost when I was a child and heard my mother calling myself.I almost couldn't resist answering it, even though it wasn't calling me.

That thing kept calling Amei under the window, but stopped when no one answered.

Just when I thought it was gone and was breathing a sigh of relief, I saw a long, thin green hand squeeze in through the window.The windows of mud brick houses in the countryside are very small, at most half a square meter.Such a small window was separated by many vertical wooden strips, leaving a gap of no more than five centimeters wide.

After its green hand squeezed in, it squeezed its head in again. The huge head squeezed through the small gap, and the whole face was squeezed and twisted.It squeezed its head and hands in, leaving only its neck outside the window.In the end, it squeezed its whole body in, and I finally saw what it looked like, which looked similar to Uncle McDonald's.

This thing squeezed in just now and still had a face and hands, but now it has turned into a cloud of green mist floating in front of the window. Even if there is no kerosene lamp to illuminate it, this green cloud of smoke still emits a faint green light.

This ball of green smoke floated from the window to the bed, and it kept making sister-in-law and sister-in-law calls. Seeing it floated to the top of my head, I was so anxious that I almost peed my pants.At this moment, the door was kicked open, and Goddess Zhang rushed in with a bronze sword.

This copper sword was only forty centimeters long, and the hilt in his hand was strung with a few copper coins and tied with a small piece of red cloth. The blade was as bright as red-hot iron.After Goddess Zhang came in, she couldn't help saying that she took her sword and slashed at the cloud of green smoke, and the green smoke immediately flew out of the window like a balloon blowing from the tail.Only then did I see clearly that Goddess Zhang's sword was covered with rooster blood.

After the green monster flew out of the window, Mistress Zhang put away her sword and called the uncle and third aunt in.The third aunt helped me up and asked me if I was okay, I shook my head pale.The uncle asked Goddess Zhang, what was the thick green fog just now.

Goddess Zhang said: "This thing is called banana ghost. It likes children the most. If a child whistles at home alone in the middle of the night, it is most likely to attract this banana ghost. It will call the soul away, and the body will be stolen by it after death. Go and bury it under the banana tree as fertilizer."

The uncle was stunned and asked Goddess Zhang: "Why isn't it Guo Xin's dead son?"

Goddess Zhang shook her head and said, "I don't know, the matter is not over yet! You call some youngsters, come with me later, and ask Sangu to borrow some flashlights."

The uncle listened to Goddess Zhang's order, and immediately called four 20-year-old youngsters from the village to the third aunt's house, and two of them were the uncle's sons.

Not long after, Sangu also came back with three flashlights.

It was already past twelve o'clock at this time, Goddess Zhang took the four young children and I went out, and within 10 minutes of walking on the road, I asked Goddess Zhang where I was going.

Goddess Zhang said that children should not ask random questions, and follow them so that they don't get lost.In fact, I want to go back to her. I am not young anymore, I am already 14 years old, but because of my height of 1.4 meters, I still didn’t open my mouth, so I just shut up and followed behind.When I walked into the bamboo forest, I knew it without asking. Even though I followed Goddess Zhang, I was still scared.

Before entering the bamboo forest, Goddess Zhang took out a piece of talisman paper from the cloth bag she carried with her and burned it, saying that it was to greet the great immortals (mountain spirits and ghosts) here, and let us not trouble us along the way.He also told us to walk as long as we walked, and not to talk nonsense. We all promised not to talk, and followed Goddess Zhang into the bamboo forest.All the way, I dragged the tail of the sorceress Zhang's clothes and walked in the middle, but after being frightened by the plantain ghost tonight, I no longer dare to look around here.

When we reached the depths of the bamboo forest, but before we reached the stream, Mistress Zhang stopped, and we also stopped.Just when I wanted to ask Goddess Zhang why she stopped and didn't leave, there was a faint cry of a baby under the dark bamboo roots in front of me.Although the cry was very low, it was clearly heard, like a crying baby being covered under the quilt.

Goddess Zhang whispered to the youngsters to turn off the flashlights, but the youngsters were also afraid, so they could only turn it off reluctantly after hearing Goddess Zhang's orders.I seem to be able to hear them swallowing in their throats because of fear.

Thinking back to how I broke into this bamboo forest alone on the night of NO. It's scary enough to think about.I suddenly remembered the three will-o'-the-wisps, but I felt less fear and more gratitude.

After turning off the flashlight, we all stood still and did not speak.The baby's crying gradually became quieter, and finally it could no longer be heard.Goddess Zhang asked the youngsters to turn on the flashlights, and we continued to walk deep into the bamboo forest.

After a while, I came to the creek, and after crossing the creek, I arrived at the place where I picked bamboo leaves during the day. Mistress Zhang asked me where the upside-down dustpan I saw during the day was, and I pointed it out to her.I saw Goddess Zhang took a flashlight, got into the bamboo bushes by herself, and walked to the place I pointed.

Goddess Zhang asked us to come in too, and we also got into the bamboo bushes and came behind Goddess Zhang. I saw that the dustpan was opened by Goddess Zhang, and there was nothing there.Tomorrow, I saw a calf exposed. Could it be that the dead child came back to life and ran away? That's too scary.

Goddess Zhang grabbed the bamboo and told us not to lose track of her. She walked another hundred meters and came to a tall plantain tree.This banana tree is unusually tall, as high as a three-story building, and it has a strong vitality at first glance.

Goddess Zhang walked around the banana tree several times, looked at it again and again, and then said to herself, "That's it."

(End of this chapter)