Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts - Chapter 14

But the Old fortune-teller continued, saying to Zhao Chen Yang, “Let’s settle this by a soul-grabbing contest. You release the three souls and seven spirits of Old Wang. If you manage to capture him, you can do whatever you want. If I capture him, then Old Wang has already passed, and your revenge should be considered settled—no more troubling his descendants. How about it?”

Zhao Chen Yang’s face flashed with shock as he replied, “How did you know Old Wang’s soul is with me?” Li Shi Gao laughed and said, “You set up this feng shui trap, even summoned a corpse to kill Old Wang. Logically, you should’ve left by now, but you’ve lingered, practicing spells in the back to take his spirit. The dead should be respected; I hope you’ll show some decency.”

“Fine, let’s have a soul-grab!” Zhao Chen Yang didn’t hesitate. He pulled out a tiny glass vial, similar to those used for penicillin, sealed with a small yellow charm, and took two steps back.

Li Shi Gao also took two steps back, while Brother Xiang and Han Si Fan pulled me toward the edge of the room, leaving it open for the duel.

Li Shi Gao placed a small table nearby, spread a yellow cloth over it, and set out his tools. In the center, he placed an incense burner, two small flags on either side, and a small bowl. He poured in black dog’s blood and cinnabar, seemingly ready, while Zhao Chen Yang laid a yellow cloth directly on the floor.

Seizing the moment, I whispered to Brother Xiang, asking what exactly this “duel” was about, and he explained it to me.

Originally, I thought a “duel” was just a fight where two people summoned some ghosts to go at it. But that’s “fighting,” not “duelling.” Duelling started as a way for Daoist practitioners to test their skills, like sparring in martial arts without getting too heated. Soul-grabbing is a common type of duel where they release a ghost and then use spells to pull it over. No brute force allowed; whoever ends up with the ghost wins.

When Brother Xiang finished explaining, Zhao Chen Yang had already peeled off the charm from his vial and tossed it between them. Surprisingly, the vial floated in mid-air.

Li Shi Gao made the first move, forming a hand seal and pointing at the floating vial. He chanted, “Power of the six directions, come to my aid! Spirits heed my call! Obey!”

With that, the vial drifted toward Li Shi Gao. Zhao Chen Yang quickly formed his own hand seal, reciting, “Spirit talisman arises! By this command, gods and Buddhas, make yourselves known!”

The vial hovered in mid-air, swaying between them, inching toward Li Shi Gao, then Zhao Chen Yang, locked in a tug-of-war.

Seeing Zhao Chen Yang alone, I got an idea. “Brother Xiang, why don’t we grab a brick and give this guy a good whack on the head? We’d win for sure then.”

Han Si Fan shot me a glare and said, “You think Old Li is only capable of this? He’s trying to untangle this guy’s inner resentment. Zhao Chen Yang still wants to harm Old Wang’s children. Taking revenge on Old Wang could be justified, but if he keeps on after him even in death, he’s just asking for karma to bite back.”

“Ugh, what’s the point of reasoning with him?” I watched sweat bead on Zhao Chen Yang’s forehead while Li Shi Gao remained calm. Relieved, I relaxed a bit.

Unexpectedly, the room’s temperature suddenly dropped. Behind Li Shi Gao, a female ghost in her thirties appeared. She was dressed in white, her face pale, with five-centimeter long, pitch-black nails.

I saw her, but it seemed Brother Xiang and Han Si Fan didn’t. I yelled out, “Look out behind you!”

But it was too late. The ghost swiped at Li Shi Gao’s back, making him grunt. The vial lurched significantly toward Zhao Chen Yang.

Li Shi Gao shouted angrily, “Stubborn fool!”

Without thinking, I rushed to Li Shi Gao’s side, checking his back. Surprisingly, there was no injury, or maybe the ghost couldn’t physically harm him.

Standing behind him, I asked, “What should I do?”

Li Shi Gao said, “No choice. Xiao Xiang and Han Si Fan can’t see the ghost behind me; it’s probably the Shuimang ghost. You’re a Si Chen person with low fortune right now, so you can see it. Just hold it off with a drop of your tongue’s blood for a bit!”

Then he called to Brother Xiang, “Xiao Xiang, Xiao Fan, beat him up for me! I tried reasoning, but he’s asking for it—nothing’s going to sink in until he’s been thrashed.”

“Got it!” Brother Xiang and Han Si Fan, who’d been watching, rushed at Zhao Chen Yang. Brother Xiang was no match, sent flying by a single kick. As Zhao Chen Yang kicked Brother Xiang, Han Si Fan managed to land a kick on Zhao Chen Yang in return.

Zhao Chen Yang, a tall and burly guy, began to brawl with Han Si Fan. Meanwhile, Li Shi Gao took off his shirt and smeared his back with black dog’s blood and cinnabar from the bowl.

To my surprise, the marks from the ghost’s claw appeared as five black lines on his back. The blood sizzled, producing white bubbles, and Li Shi Gao broke into a sweat from the pain. It seemed this stuff was highly toxic.

Realizing it was just me and this Shuimang ghost now, I picked up the bowl of black dog’s blood and splashed it on the ghost.

The ghost, about to attack, shrieked as if doused with acid. Her skin started to decay, looking horribly disgusting.

Black dog’s blood, a strong yang element, really is a ghost’s ultimate nemesis.

But unlike ghosts in movies that flee after getting hurt. The real ghosts were born of resentment, they don’t run. If they want revenge, they’re not going anywhere. Hurting them just enrages them more.

This was exactly the situation. The Shuimang ghost let out a furious scream and lunged at my throat. I panicked, realizing it only got fiercer, and smacked it with the peachwood sword as hard as I could.

With a resounding slap, the sword connected, sending the ghost slamming into the wall. Ironically, a portrait of the Three Pure Ones hung there, painted to look a bit like Einstein. The Shuimang ghost crashed right into it, letting out a pained shriek, left dazed and twitching on the floor.

Ghosts aren’t as invincible as people think; they vary in strength. This Shuimang ghost wasn’t particularly tough; otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken it down so easily. Though maybe it was because of the Three Pure Ones portrait on the wall. Whatever the reason, I was feeling pretty proud.

I strutted over, cleared my throat, and, imitating a master from the movies, said, “You stubborn spirit, today I’ll execute heavenly justice…”

Before I could finish, Li Shi Gao yelled, “Watch out!”

The ghost, who had been lying on the floor, suddenly flashed red eyes and lunged for my heart with her claws.

T/L Notes：

1. Three souls and seven spirits: In Chinese tradition, it refers to three spiritual and seven physical souls within a person, representing the dual aspects of mind and body that shape human existence.
2. Three Pure One: The first Pure One is universal or heavenly chi. The second Pure One is human plane chi, and the third Pure One is earth chi. Heavenly chi includes the chi or energy of all the planets, stars and constellations as well as the energy of God (the force of creation and universal love).