Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts - Chapter 10

Shit, this is too messed up! I was so confident in my Inferno Talisman—maybe it wouldn’t outright destroy that evil spirit statue at home, but it should at least hurt it, right? But all it did was spark a little on its forehead! Where’s that promised blazing inferno?

No way I was staying inside after that! I hadn’t expected to take it out with one splash, so I turned and sprinted out of the house. It was only 3 p.m., but the sky was overcast, gloomy with thick clouds, no sign of the sun. Once I was out of the stairwell, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Surely that ghost couldn’t follow me out, right? But one glance back, and Brother Xiang—no, that haunted spirit—was actually following me! I was shocked, weren’t ghosts supposed to be stuck indoors during the day?

Only later did I find out that the person who said “ghosts can’t come out during the day” was absolutely wrong. As long as there’s no sunlight, they can come out anytime; they just don’t like daytime, the same way people don’t like going out at night. Except at noon—that’s when the yang energy is strongest. But it was the afternoon now, and with the skies looking like rain, there wasn’t much chance of sunlight. All I could do was run like mad towards the Old fortune-teller’s house. Maybe it was because of the rain, but the streets were empty except for a few aunties gathering up their laundry.

Seeing Brother Xiang and me tearing down the street, the aunties just called out, “Slow down, kiddos, slow down!” after us. They’d watched us grow up, after all.

Slow down? This was a matter of life or death! I was sprinting full speed, and Brother Xiang was right behind me, running just as fast. Halfway down the street, I suddenly collided with Han Si Fan, who was strolling around with a soda in her hand. Heaven’s on my side—looks like I’m not destined to die just yet!

She noticed us running and called out, “What are you two rushing for? Trying to reincarnate early?”

“If I don’t hurry, I might really end up reincarnated! Dear Miss Han, Brother Xiang’s possessed by a ghost! Help me take him down!” I hid behind Han Si Fan with zero shame—though to be fair, Han Si Fan’s fighting power is on a whole other level. She’s like a Saiyan or something. Sure enough, when she noticed something was off about Brother Xiang, she launched into action, kicking him in the stomach with a rapid combo. So cool, just like in the movies. But Brother Xiang didn’t even budge; he stood firm like a mountain.

Seeing him tank those kicks so easily, I had to admire…well, the ghost, not Brother Xiang. If it were me, I’d already be flat on the ground, and Brother Xiang would probably be dead. Han Si Fan turned to me after her kick combo and shouted, “I’ll restrain him; you carry him to that alley and finish him off!”

The alley she meant was the one where we ran into the Shuimang Ghost a few days ago. There weren’t many people on the street, but there were still some, and for now, they thought we were just messing around. Who knows what they’d think once we actually started fighting?

Han Si Fan rushed forward, landing a kick to Brother Xiang’s chest—not really as an attack, but to propel herself closer to him. Then she bit her right middle finger and pressed it hard onto Brother Xiang’s forehead, shouting, “Seal!”

The moment he heard it, Brother Xiang froze in place.

That’s the magic of Chinese Taoist arts. All of Han Si Fan’s ferocious attacks couldn’t move him an inch, but a single seal technique rendered him motionless. Amazing.

As I marvelled, I heard Han Si Fan yelling in my ear, “What are you staring at? Hurry up and help!”

“Oh!” Snapping back, I ran over, threw Brother Xiang over my shoulder, and carried him towards the alley. Brother Xiang was stiff as a board, and carrying him that short ten meters sounded easy, but by the time I reached the alley entrance, I was exhausted. I dropped him on the ground, and Han Si Fan’s finger lifted off his forehead.

Before Brother Xiang could sit up, Han Si Fan immediately landed a brutal knee to his neck, making my heart skip a beat. Was she going to snap his neck?

But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Han Si Fan pulled out a wooden dagger, probably peachwood, with tiny symbols carved into it. She raised it, aiming right for Brother Xiang’s right chest. I quickly shouted, “Big Sis, Jesus, no! You’re going to kill him!”

“What’s there to be scared of? It’s the right chest, no heart there! He won’t die, relax,” Han Si Fan shot me a glance. “Or do you really want to release this Shuimang Ghost? This kind of ghost should be erased, no mercy.”

I broke into a sweat. No wonder she was going all out—she thought this was a Shuimang Ghost. As much as I’d love to get rid of this Shanghun Ghost, I still had to consider Brother Xiang’s safety. To her, just one stab to his right chest would solve everything, but was it really that simple?

She probably didn’t feel any attachment to Brother Xiang, but I sure did—we grew up together! So I said, “Big Sis, maybe instead of killing him, we could just knock him out and take him to the Old fortune-teller?”

“Why? Don’t trust me?” She seemed almost offended that I’d bring up the Old fortune-teller, and raised her dagger like she was really going to stab him.

Just then, Brother Xiang shouted, “Wait, wait! Don’t stab me, Sis Han, don’t! It’s me, Brother Xiang, your buddy Brother Xiang! Calm down, girl!” His eyes were wide open, fixed on the dagger, gulping nervously.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

With a big grin, Brother Xiang replied, “In that moment of life and death, I managed to unleash my cultivated strength, suppressing the ghost within my body. It’s fine now!”

“So, the ghost’s still in your body?” Han Si Fan lifted the dagger, ready to stab again.

“No, no!” Brother Xiang shouted. “It got so terrified by your sheer presence, it ran away! Swear to the heavens!”

Han Si Fan looked at him suspiciously, then finally relaxed and muttered, “That ghost is tough to deal with, ugh!”

“Can’t you guys see ghosts? Isn’t it just ox tears or something?” I asked. Brother Xiang, rubbing his neck and sounding a bit hoarse, replied, “Ox tears? That method’s been lost for ages. A few years ago, we could use it freely, but now, it’s hard to get any. Barely a drop left. God, you’re way too rough.”

Han Si Fan snorted. “Hold on. That ghost didn’t seem like the Shuimang Ghost at all. If it possessed you, it’d drag you to a deserted place to turn you into a scapegoat. Why would it chase after Chen Hui?”

I didn’t dare tell her the truth—she’d be furious—so I just coughed and said, “Maybe it’s because I’m, you know, handsome.”

Just then, Brother Xiang’s phone rang. He rubbed his neck, answered, “Who is it? What? Alright, I’ll be there right away!” After he hung up, his face turned dark.

Brother Xiang looked at us with a grim expression and said, “There’s been a death in Tao Village! Looks like the Shuimang Ghost’s doing!”

T/L Notes:

1. Ox Tears: Traditional Chinese believe that ox/cow’s tear can be used as the material to see spirits, using it on a human’s eye can see spirits around them for some period of time.