62: The Shadow on Her Shoulder

With a swift motion, I slapped myself hard across the face. The bitterness in my heart was impossible to swallow.

The three of them—Fatty and the others—looked at me in confusion, asking if I was ill, wondering why I’d hit myself for no reason.

At this point, I had no choice but to explain. I told them I had seen Xu Buhuo leave the house and secretly meet with Old Man Qin, which was why I had sent Cao Guangshan to investigate him.

“Do you mean the time when you came in and I asked what was wrong?” Stone asked, gazing at me.

I nodded, and he replied, “Mr. Xu never left the house. After you left, he couldn’t sleep and went out to the yard to sun himself. I even chatted with him for a bit, and right after we finished, you came back.”

After learning Xu Buhuo had worked on a case with my grandmother, I realized he had never actually met with Old Man Qin. Everything I’d seen was an illusion.

The Soul-Eater Puppet hadn’t stopped showing me illusions. Instead, it subtly affected me, making me think the hallucinations had ceased, only for them to appear suddenly, indistinguishable from reality.

Clearly, Old Man Qin’s scheme had succeeded again. Using me, he managed to drive Xu Buhuo away.

Realizing Xu Buhuo was heading home, I wanted to chase after him and explain everything, but as I rushed to the door, I stopped.

Old Man Qin would come for the key at nightfall. If I left now, I wouldn’t make it back in time. If he didn’t get the key, he’d think I was playing tricks, and then he might really act against the other three. All our efforts would be in vain.

Perhaps seeing my dilemma, Cao Guangshan offered to go after Xu Buhuo, but I shook my head. I didn’t want any of them going out alone; it felt as if the moment anyone was isolated, Old Man Qin would seize his opportunity.

His abilities weren’t in doubt—if he could steal a soul once, he could do it again. Especially with the bronze key in his grasp and the suspicion that Grandmother’s death was faked, he might try to coerce the truth out of me by snatching souls once more. That would be truly disastrous.

In the end, Cao Guangshan called colleagues at the bureau to go to Xishan Village and check Xu Yong’s home. If Xu Buhuo returned, they’d call me so I could explain everything over the phone.

Without Xu Buhuo, only then did I realize what true helplessness felt like when faced with difficulties.

The mistake was already made; I didn’t know if Xu Buhuo would continue to help me after my explanation. I had to prepare for the possibility that he wouldn’t.

I had almost finished reading Grandmother’s collection of books, gaining an understanding of many so-called “superstitious” methods. The only thing I lacked was practice.

To prevent Old Man Qin from threatening me by snatching souls again, I took four soul-protecting talismans from Grandmother’s box of charms and artifacts, giving one to each of the three and my mother to wear. Then, using cinnabar, I drew the protective script on their palms as described in the books.

These measures would ward off malevolent spirits and resist soul theft.

After dinner, Cao Guangshan’s colleague called to say they’d waited at Xu Yong’s house for nearly two hours but still hadn’t seen Xu Buhuo and asked if they should continue waiting.

Enough time had passed for Xu Buhuo to return to Xishan Village, but he hadn’t, meaning he’d gone elsewhere.

I disliked troubling others. Knowing they might not find Xu Buhuo even if they waited, and that even if they did, he might not come back after I explained, I told them to stop waiting.

The mistake was made, and night was falling. Old Man Qin would soon come for the key. I had to be ready in case he tried any more tricks.

After dark, the four of us and my mother sat quietly in the main room, waiting.

The courtyard gate was closed but not locked.

Creak.

As we waited anxiously, a raspy sound came from the courtyard gate. I thought Old Man Qin had arrived, but when I looked up, I saw neither him nor any villager—just a paper figure.

Back at Xu Yong’s house, I’d heard Xu Yong describe a paper figure that came to kill Mr. Xu. I had wondered then how something so thin could walk and kill.

Now, the paper figure was stepping into the main room, about five feet tall, mimicking human movement exactly. Its face, cut from paper, bore lifelike features.

It stopped at the doorway, raised a paper hand, and stared straight at me, as if it knew I was the one to make the exchange.

An eerie atmosphere filled the room. Though we’d seen our share of strange things, this paper figure unsettled everyone.

There was no choice but to hand over the bronze key.

I stepped forward, took the key, and placed it in the paper figure’s flat hand.

With the key in its grasp, the paper figure turned and left the courtyard.

Nothing else happened. I let out a sigh of relief and returned to my seat.

“My god, that wasn’t a dream, was it? A paper figure really can walk?” Fatty’s small eyes were wide with astonishment.

He and Stone had never encountered such supernatural events before; seeing a paper figure come to collect something made them more excited than afraid.

I asked my mother about the treasure, hoping to learn more about what it was, what had kept Grandfather and Grandmother here, and what had made Old Man Qin lurk in the village all these years. But my mother said she knew nothing.

Around nine o’clock, seeing that Cao Guangshan and Fatty were exhausted, I told the three of them to sleep and sealed the windows with talismans.

Left alone with my mother in the main room, I hesitated, then told her everything that had happened recently. She listened quietly. When I mentioned Grandmother, I was about to reveal that she’d faked her death when the birthmark Jiang Yan left on my face suddenly began to sting.

The pain was sharp and sudden, as if needles were stabbing my cheek. I couldn’t help but groan, startling my mother, who hurried over to help.

It was odd—the pain lasted only a moment before fading.

That put an abrupt end to our conversation. Seeing it was late, my mother went to wash her face and told me to get some rest as well.

I sat there, touching the birthmark Jiang Yan had left on my face.

Now I could be certain—Jiang Yan truly was protecting me from the shadows. Just like last night, if she hadn’t warned me, I would have blurted out the secret of Grandmother’s faked death.

That secret was crucial, and Jiang Yan clearly didn’t want me to reveal it. Thinking back, I realized the pain had struck just as I was about to speak—just in time to interrupt me.

“Could this birthmark actually know what I’m about to say? Does it warn me in advance?” The thought surfaced suddenly. It seemed absurd, but deep down, I believed it was possible.

Having wronged Xu Buhuo, I reflected on my own actions. I couldn’t afford to be suspicious without cause anymore, since it was my baseless doubts that had caused so much trouble.

I shook my head, convincing myself the stinging was just a coincidence, not a deliberate attempt to stop me from telling my mother about Grandmother’s faked death.

As I waited, my mother returned from washing her face.

Unable to suppress my curiosity, I decided to test it. “Mom, I want to tell you something,” I said.

As soon as I thought of telling her about Grandmother’s faked death, the birthmark stung again, suddenly and intensely. Even though I was prepared, the pain made me tremble all over, and then it quickly faded.

“What is it? What did you want to say?” my mother asked, turning to me. She’d been busy and hadn’t noticed my reaction.

Looking at her, my whole body shuddered. I clenched my fingers tightly, forcing myself to stay calm and said, “No, it’s nothing. You should sleep early. I’m going to sleep too.”

She gave me a skeptical look, then went to bed. Throughout, I kept my eyes fixed on her, my jaw clenched so hard my cheeks ached, my body trembling.

The birthmark Jiang Yan had left on my face was truly stopping me from revealing Grandmother’s fake death. This time, it even let me see things I ordinarily couldn’t.

I understood now why Jiang Yan had to stop me.

What I’d seen chilled me to the bone. If not for the birthmark’s intervention, if I had revealed Grandmother’s secret, the consequences would have been dire.

The night my mother’s soul was stolen, even though Xu Buhuo had set up protections, Old Man Qin still managed to control her while she spoke to me. I couldn’t understand it then, thinking Xu Buhuo’s safeguards couldn’t have failed.

Now, the sudden revelation made sense. Old Man Qin’s methods were so refined that even with Xu Buhuo so close by, he had failed to notice anything amiss with my mother.

After the second pain from the birthmark, my eyes grew hot, and I saw a black shadow clinging to my mother’s back, shaped like a person.

I realized that, unless it was another illusion, this was the image Jiang Yan wanted me to see: Old Man Qin had left something on my mother to monitor my every move. That was why Jiang Yan had warned me twice.

While my eyes were still sensitive, I went to check on Cao Guangshan and the others, wanting to see if they had anything on them.

What I saw made me grit my teeth in fury.

Both Fatty and Cao Guangshan, whose souls had been stolen, bore the same black shadow on their bodies as my mother. Only Stone, who hadn’t lost his soul, had nothing on his shoulder.

Calming myself, my eyes gradually returned to normal. When I looked again, the shadows were gone from Fatty and Cao Guangshan.

This confirmed that what I’d seen wasn’t an illusion. Jiang Yan must have opened my “celestial eye,” allowing me to see what was usually hidden, helping me distinguish whom I could trust.

The only trustworthy one left was Stone. Fatty, Cao Guangshan, and my mother could no longer be trusted, which would make things very difficult.

A sense of unease filled my heart. Everything strange that had happened lately seemed about to be resolved now that Old Man Qin had the bronze key.

With Xu Buhuo gone, I needed allies.

Thinking of the black shadows on their shoulders, I worried even more about what Fatty, Cao Guangshan, or my mother might do at a critical moment.

Using evil things to watch me, Old Man Qin could turn them into puppets at a crucial time. That was his plan.

It wasn’t my way to pretend nothing was wrong. I didn’t want them to become ticking time bombs who might suddenly harm me or themselves.

It had to be dealt with.

Relying on my memory, I found one of Grandmother’s books, which contained instructions for opening the “celestial eye” and dispelling evil.

There were many ways to open the celestial eye—some permanent, some temporary, each with its own complexity.

It was dark, and conditions were limited, so I chose the simplest and fastest method.

I collected yellow talismans, cinnabar, incense, and an oil lamp.

Lighting the incense, I began the ritual.

Step one: purification by incense smoke.