Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts - Chapter 4

I did as the old fortune-teller instructed, put Mom to bed, brewed some ginger soup for her, and fixed myself a quick meal. Once I’d eaten, I headed over to the old fortune-teller’s place.

This old fortune-teller has always been big on promoting all sorts of superstitions, but no one in town really dislikes him. Sure, he might sneak a peek at some widows bathing now and then, I remember back when I was a kid, I’d tag along with Brother Xiang, my childhood friend, and we’d follow him around. This old fortune-teller would sneak over to a bathroom, make a little peephole, and Brother Xiang and I would keep watch for him.

Of course, he’s never been caught, and while folks in town know about it, no one really cares. He’s got a lot of friends around here. People might joke and call him an “old fortune-teller,” but whenever someone has a problem, they go to him for advice. The truth is, he’s good at what he does.

There was one time on East Street where this family, with the last name Hao, had a son, Hao Zejiang, who was about sixteen. Out of nowhere, he developed this weird condition, a big lump of flesh grew on his back, the size of a fist. They went to the clinic, and the doctor said it was a tumor and needed to be surgically removed. But the old fortune-teller was there and said it was caused by a spirit pulling a prank.

At first, no one believed him. Hao Zejiang’s parents went through with the surgery, and it was successful, the lump was cut out. But the day after he got out of the hospital, another lump appeared, even bigger and scarier than before. The Hao family was stumped, so they called in the old fortune-teller. He didn’t hesitate; he pulled out some cinnabar and yellow paper, drew a talisman, burned it, and mixed the ashes in a bowl of water. He made Hao Zejiang drink it, and the next morning, the lump was gone.

Someone later asked the old fortune-teller what happened, and he explained that it was the spirit of Wang Daye, an elder who had recently passed away in East Village. During Wang Daye’s funeral, Hao Zejiang had walked by and, for whatever reason, laughed. That’s how he got haunted. Luckily, Wang Daye had been a good-natured man in life, so he was just playing tricks. If it had been an evil spirit, Hao Zejiang would’ve lost his life.

Stories like this are common. Even though science is supposed to debunk superstition and build a more rational world, old fortune-teller Li Laotou has cured plenty of strange ailments that modern medicine couldn’t solve.

I was thinking about all this as I reached Li Laotou’s door. He used to live in the city with his wife, but after she passed, he moved here to our town.

“Old fortune-teller, open up!” I shouted at the door. I’ve known him since I was about eleven, seven years ago, so he’s practically watched me grow up, and I don’t stand on ceremony with him.

The old fortune-teller opened the door, looking as spry as ever. He was dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, with white hair and plenty of wrinkles, but his face was still rosy. Just then, a man in his thirties stepped out of his house, wearing a sharp black suit. He was handsome, with piercing eyes and an air of authority.

“Lao Li, I’ve had my fill of hanging around with you these past few days. I’m heading to Chengdu to see Congzi and Pengguang, then back to Wujiang Town,” the man said, nodding to the old fortune-teller as he bid farewell. He glanced at me, then added with a chuckle, “Interesting kid you’ve got here, carrying a curse and a fierce spirit. Fun stuff.” With that, he strode over to a BMW parked by the road, got in, and drove off.

“Wow, old fortune-teller, you know people who drive BMWs?” I remarked. I didn’t know much about car brands, but BMWs seemed pretty cool and definitely out of reach for ordinary folks.

The old fortune-teller gave me a smack on the head. “Brat, you finally showed up, huh? Get in,” he said, turning and heading inside.

The old fortune-teller’s place was on the ground floor of an apartment building, about seventy square meters. It was simply furnished: a living room at the entrance, with a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, a basic setup.

As I walked in, the old fortune-teller pointed to the sofa. “Sit down. I’ll get you the talisman.”

I nodded and took a seat on the sofa while he went to his bedroom. Even though I usually joke around with him, I was too anxious to mess around. I was just trying to figure out how to get him to tell me what that statue in our house was all about.

Soon, the old fortune-teller came back with a talisman and handed it to me. I examined it closely, it looked a lot like the ones in the movies. The symbols were messy and hard to read, and there was a square red seal in the middle, like those stamps calligraphers use to mark their work.

“Once you’re home, stick this on the statue’s head and sprinkle some glutinous rice on it. Give it a bit of suffering, teach it a lesson. If I hadn’t arrived in time, things could’ve turned ugly. Your family owes it nothing, if your mom hadn’t been stopping me, I would’ve dealt with it long ago,” the old fortune-teller instructed.

“Old fortune-teller, I want to know what that thing really is. And… do ghosts actually exist?” I finally asked the question that had been on my mind, even though I thought I already knew the answer.

The old fortune-teller grinned and looked at me. “What’s this? Our fearless little Hui is scared of ghosts now?”

Who isn’t scared of ghosts, seriously? Back when I didn’t believe in ghosts, I used to comfort myself thinking, “Ghosts are friendly. Most ghosts won’t harm you.” But that was way off! Trust me, based on what happens a year from now, I’m here to tell you all, don’t believe in good ghosts!

A quick side note: When people die, they have souls. Generally, people reincarnate about seven days after death. But those who stay in the world are usually those with unresolved grievances or unfinished business. Good folks and those without lingering desires will move on. Take Hao Zejiang and the whole funeral incident, just him laughing at the wrong time ended up bringing on a curse. That lump was a perfect example. While it didn’t kill him, the spirit still caused him harm.

Anyway, that’s a story for another time. Back to the main point.

The old fortune-teller didn’t seem like he was trying to hide anything from me. He immediately started talking. “This all goes back over twenty years, to someone I respect deeply, an Yinyang Master, Mr. Chen, your father.”

T/L Notes:

1.) Daoist believe that everything are surrounding with yin (negative) and yang (positive) energy, which combination of yin and yang it creates basically everything in the universe.

2.) Glutinous rice: Daoist believe that glutinous rice contain powerful yang power, it can be used for exorcist, same thing goes to black dog blood and virgin boy’s pee. The effect will be like throwing onion onto a vampire.