I went to the hospital for a physical examination and saw a young guy deliberately drop a kraft paper bag in front of me.
When I opened it, there were 3,000 yuan and a note inside.
“Buy three years of life, effective upon seeing this note.”
I took three steps in two and quickly caught up with the young guy.
“Brother, you’re buying life? I’m in wholesale.”
1
The young guy seemed a bit stunned by my words.
“No, buddy, buying life for just three years, how’s that enough? The illness is just cured, and then you die again. It’s meaningless.”
“You… What do you mean?”
“Look, I’ll sell you another ten years. I’m doing it wholesale, still at the original price. Just give me another 10,000 yuan.”
From his conflicted and confused expression, I could tell that he was actually reluctant inside.
But how could I let go of such a good money – making opportunity?
“Brother, look, 1,000 yuan a year, this is already a bargain price. It’s not even enough for a living person to spend in a month. With such a favorable price, what are you still hesitating about?”
“Big brother… You…”
I interrupted him: “Big brother, it’s all about showing filial piety to the elders. If you spend this money on food or fruits, it’s just temporary. Buying life directly is economical and practical.”
“No… I…”
“Don’t hesitate. I do this business, so I know. This kind of thing exists if you believe in it and doesn’t if you don’t. It’s too late for you not to believe now. I can’t return the 3,000 yuan to you, and you won’t be able to buy life either. Wouldn’t that be a big loss?”
“I… I believe.”
“See, believing is right. Is 1,000 yuan a year for life expensive? It’s like nothing.”
“Not expensive.”
“As men, isn’t it right to spend some money on our families?”
“Right.”
“Brother, then what are you still hesitating about? Really, I only have 20 years of life left. Otherwise, I’d sell it all to you. Life is in high demand now. If you don’t believe me, go and ask around. Where can you find a price like mine? If you don’t buy it, you won’t have another chance.”
“Big brother… Big brother, stop talking. I’ll buy it. I’ll pay so you can stop.”
“What you said isn’t right. You’re spending money on filial piety, on health, and on a big heartfelt wish.”
The young guy scratched his head, feeling that something was wrong with him but couldn’t tell exactly what.
But he still wrote another note.
“Buy 10 years of life, 10,000 yuan in total, effective upon seeing this note.”
I took the note and the money, looking at him.
“What’s wrong, buddy? Is there anything else?”
He waved his hand. “Shouldn’t I get something? Why do I feel so strange?”
“You’ve got the life. There’s really nothing else. I can’t issue an invoice for this business either.”
“Oh, right, I got the life. That’s right.”
Watching his departing back, I weighed the money in my hand.
May good people live in peace.
2
After that, I was seen in various hospitals.
“Brother, want to buy life?”
“Beauty, want to buy life? There’s a discount.”
I quietly asked the people around, looking exactly like those who sold discs in the 1990s, asking everyone they met while walking through the streets and alleys.
There were really people who bought it.
I was also honest with everyone, 1,000 yuan a year, signing and making a pledge.
Some people said I was cheating, but I wasn’t. I was really selling it wholeheartedly.
I didn’t persuade those who didn’t want to buy, and those who wanted to buy would find their own way. It was a willing – buyer – willing – seller thing.
I dared to do this because I was a firm materialist. I just thought I was selling others a psychological comfort. I didn’t believe that my life could really be bought by others.
Until I met an old lady. She was blind.
“Auntie, want to buy life?”
She turned her head towards me. “Really?”
I was startled. The old lady’s face was full of wrinkles, like the patterns on a withered tree. Her two eyes were sunken. If you didn’t look closely, they were just two dark holes. It was really a bit scary.
“Well… of course it’s true.”
“What’s the price?”
“1,000 yuan a year, starting from 10 years.”
The old lady smiled. “Little kid, don’t bluff me.”
“How am I bluffing you?”
The old lady bent over and coughed a few times. “Young man, do you really sell it?”
A voice in my head was frantically telling me to regret, to regret quickly.
But the atmosphere was already like this, and I didn’t believe in evil. How could I regret?
“Really sell.”
“Good. 1,000 yuan a year is too cheap. I won’t take advantage of you. 50,000 yuan a year. I’ll give you 500,000 yuan for ten years.”
Fuck!
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, I was pleasantly surprised that I could earn 500,000 yuan all at once. On the other hand, she dared to give me 500,000 yuan. Could she be serious?
“Okay… Do you write or shall I write?”
“Write?” The old lady smiled. Her voice was very hoarse, like the sound of bones rubbing. “You don’t think that writing a note is all it takes to buy life, do you?”
“Then what do you say?”
“Come with me.”
“Go… Where to…” I admit, at that moment, I was a little panicked.
“To my home, to perform a ritual.” Then she stared at me with her empty eyes. “You’re not going to regret it, are you? If you do, I’ll be angry, old woman that I am.”
“I said I’d sell it, and I won’t regret it.”
I followed the old lady to her home. Her home was in an old community, on the top floor of the sixth floor.
As soon as I entered the door, a strange smell rushed into my nose. It couldn’t be said to be fragrant or stinky. It was just a smell I had never smelled before.
The room was very dark. The windows were covered with thick black curtains.
That’s right. The old lady was blind. She didn’t need it to be bright.
After passing through the living room, we entered a bedroom on the west side.
There were things in the room that I couldn’t understand, like some kind of god statues. There were offerings in front of the god statues, and two red candles were lit. The whole room was only lit by the candles, flickering, a bit eerie.
“Young man, sit down.”
How could I dare to sit? I just found a corner and stood there.
Before long, the old lady brought a writing brush, a stack of red paper, and a small jar.
When the jar was opened, a pungent smell of blood rushed straight to the top of my head, almost choking me. I didn’t know what kind of blood it was.
The old lady spread out the red paper, dipped the writing brush in the blood, and was about to write on the red paper.
Writing in red on red paper? How could you see anything?
No! Wasn’t she blind?
3
“You… Can you see?”
“Who said I was blind?”
The old lady didn’t look up, just fiddling with her things.
“Name.”
“Zhang Chu, Chu as in the first day of the lunar month.”
“Birth date and time.”
“I don’t know.”
“Just say the birthday.”
“March 5, 1997, around 2 p.m.”
The old lady paused. “You’re lying to me!”
This voice was very sharp. Her voice was a bit loud, and all of a sudden, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
How did she know I was lying to her?
“Well… It was 2 a.m. I remembered wrong.”
This time she didn’t speak, and I felt a creeping sensation in my heart. It was too scary. How did she know the first birth date and time I said was false?
The writing brush was dipped in blood, and she wrote down my birth date and time.
“Press your fingerprint.”
“With what?”
She quickly grabbed my hand. I wanted to pull it back, but her hand was like a steel hoop. I couldn’t pull it back at all.
I could only watch helplessly as she pulled my hand to her mouth.
She opened her mouth, revealing her teeth. The teeth were a bit like fangs, but not as long. She took a bite, and my index finger felt like it was cut by a knife, bleeding continuously.
I was semi – forced by her to press my fingerprint. She licked her lips, looking as if she was enjoying it.
She shakily took the red paper to the candlestick and burned it.
The moment the red paper burned out, I seemed to hear someone calling my name. When I listened carefully, it wasn’t. It was the sound of a woman crying.
The woman seemed to be saying to me that she found me, she was very happy, and that in the future, she could…
“Don’t listen!”
The old lady’s words were like the tolling of a great bell, and I came to my senses all of a sudden.
“It’s done. Here’s 500,000 yuan. You can go.”
I took a black bag, opened it, and saw that it was full of red banknotes.
Seeing the banknotes, I temporarily stopped feeling scared, but I had to leave quickly. I didn’t want to stay in this damned room for a minute longer. It was too creepy.
As soon as I got up, I stumbled. It was as if all the strength in my body had been drained.
The old lady supported me. “In the next few days, try not to go out. You might be very unlucky. In the worst – case scenario, you’ll die.”
“Okay.”
The old lady helped me stand up straight, bowed deeply to me, and made way.
I stumbled out of the door and took big gulps of the air outside.
When I left the unit door, an aunt shouted at me from across the way: “Quick, hide, get out of the way.”
I didn’t hide. Instead, I looked up at the sky as if possessed.
The anti – theft window of someone’s house had fallen off and was stabbing straight towards my forehead.
4
I wanted to move, but my body didn’t seem to listen.
In a critical moment, someone pushed me. I felt like I was hit by a car and flew forward more than two meters.
I turned around. It was the old lady.
The old lady frowned, as if thinking about something.
This old woman, her mouth is really fucking poisonous. She said I’d be unlucky, and I really am. If it weren’t for her pushing me at the end, I’d have lost my life.
“You have a lot of evil karma on you.”
I didn’t quite understand.
“Come back with me.”
I was still hesitating whether to follow her back to that terrifying bedroom.
“If you don’t want to die, come upstairs with me.”
Back in the bedroom, she carefully cut a small piece of wax from the candlestick with a knife. Then she solemnly bowed to the god statue.
She crushed the wax piece and soaked it in water. “Drink this.”
“Auntie, this… Can this be drunk?”
“If you don’t drink it, you’ll die.”
With the mentality of believing it rather than not, I drank it.
I regretted it as soon as I drank it. Damn it, I thought I was a firm materialist.
But what happened in this small room today really shattered my worldview.
This time when I went out, all the way home, nothing unexpected happened. Even the traffic lights I encountered were all green. The taxi driver was muttering about having good luck today.
After stepping through the door, I began to feel dizzy once more. There always seemed to be a voice murmuring in my ear, yet I couldn’t make out exactly what it was saying.
Before long, my lower abdomen started to hurt severely. I quickly rushed to the toilet and squatted there for half an hour.
When I stood up after a good shit, I looked and exclaimed: “Fuck!”
What I shit out were all white worms, wriggling.
“Ugh.”
The worms were wriggling and exuding a strange fragrance, tempting me to eat them.
I didn’t care to study what they were. Forcing myself to endure the physical and mental discomfort, I pressed the flush button.
After doing all this, I was like a person completely exhausted and fell asleep sitting in the bathroom.
When I woke up, it was already dark.
I ate something randomly, recalling everything that happened today.
Did the old lady really buy my life? If someone said she really did, I actually didn’t believe it in my heart.
If it was said that she was superstitious, how could I explain what happened today?
How did she know my birth date and time was false? How did she know I’d be in danger when I went downstairs? Why did everything go smoothly after I ate the wax piece? And why did I shit out a whole toilet full of worms?
The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. In the end, I decided not to do this “sell life” business anymore.
Even if there was a one – in – a – billion chance that this was real, I’d still lose big time.
I looked at the black bag that I had thrown on the ground again. 500,000 yuan for ten years. Was it worth it?
Most likely, it was still a loss.
But the deed was done, and there was no use regretting.
In a daze, I fell asleep and dreamed of that woman again.
She was crying, saying she was cold and asking me to help her. Unfortunately, this time there was no old lady to wake me up from the dream.
5
It was a woman.
A very beautiful woman, naked, living in the ice.
Yes, living in the ice.
Her body was shining, as if more dazzling than ice crystals.
And I seemed to be under a spell, walking step by step towards that block of ice.
The ice was clearly solid, but she was moving freely in the ice.
She didn’t speak, but I could understand her meaning. She was begging me to let her out.
How to let her out?
Oh, right, with blood. As long as I drew a… I couldn’t say what it was, a mark like that on the ice with my blood, she could come out.
I bit my thumb hard. It hurt, but no blood came out.
I bit my index finger again. Still no blood. I bit all ten of my fingers. It clearly hurt, but there was no blood.
She walked back and forth in the ice, and I became more and more impatient.
Why? Why was there no blood?
I bit my fingers even harder. Still no blood. I started biting my palm, my hand, my arm. Still no blood.
Why, why?
I went crazy, constantly biting my hand. It hurt, it hurt a lot.
But the more it hurt, the more anxious I became. The more it hurt, the more excited I became. I had to let her out. As long as I had blood, I could let her out.
She also looked at me with seductive eyes, staring straight at me, as if if I let her out, I could get all the beautiful things in the world.
I don’t know how long I bit. My two palms were left with only bones, but still no blood.
I looked around, wanting to find a piece of hard ice to cut my throat. There, there was an ice spike. Piercing my throat with it would surely get blood.
I used my bony palms to hold the ice spike tightly with difficulty. It was very cold and painful, but I was very happy. She could come out soon.
Just as I was about to pierce the ice spike into my throat, a worm appeared in front of me, white and chubby, exuding a seductive fragrance.
This fragrance suddenly pulled me out of the dream.
I woke up with a start, in a cold sweat. In my hand was a fruit knife, all covered in blood, and the tip of the knife was pointing at my throat.
I quickly threw the knife away and gasped for breath.
Only then did I see that there was one of the meat worms that I shit out that day crawling down from my shoulder.
It should be that I didn’t flush it clean after shitting that day, and one was left.
This worm crawled from my shoulder to the bedding, wriggled a few times, and died.
Only then did I see that my bedding was all covered in blood. Looking at my hand, it had been bitten by myself until the bones were exposed.
A sharp pain rushed to my brain nerves, almost knocking me out from the pain.
At the hospital, the doctor asked me how I got it.
I could only say that I was bitten by a dog. I had no choice. I couldn’t say that I bit myself, or he’d send me to the mental hospital.
The doctor’s eyes were full of disbelief. Human bite marks and dog bite marks are different.
Besides, unless I was tied to a tree, how could a person’s two hands be bitten like this by a dog without running away?
Fortunately, my hands were already bitten beyond recognition, and it was not easy to tell the bite marks either. After the doctor bandaged me up, he prescribed a rabies vaccine for me.
I looked at the rabies vaccine on the bill and my temple twitched.
“Doctor, please cancel this rabies vaccine.”
“Ah? You won’t take it?”
“Not taking it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Then you have to sign here to confirm that you voluntarily give up the vaccine.”
I looked at my two hands wrapped like a mummy and fell into deep thought.
“Well… that, I can also use my mouth.”
“Fuck!”
I signed the form with the pen in my mouth and prepared to leave the hospital.
When I was about to leave the hospital entrance, I bumped into a middle – aged man.
“You… Aren’t you the one who sold me life last time? Great, I finally found you.”
6
I thought he was going to pick a fight with me, but unexpectedly, he was here to introduce me to a client.
He pulled me to a corner: “I have a relative at home who wants to buy life. Are you still selling?”
I looked at my bitten hands and started to hesitate.
“Brother, he’s buying in bulk. He wants to buy 30 years at once. Such big clients are rare.”
“How does it work?”
“Same old way, sign, give money, and leave.”
I nodded. Alright, as long as there’s no need for that terrifying ritual.
“The price has gone up.”
“Price increase? How much?”
“10,000 yuan a year.”
“So much of an increase?”
“Come on, look at how many years I have left. Besides, selling life isn’t without its price.”
He looked at my hands and became even more convinced that I was a reliable person.
“Okay, 10,000 it is. His family isn’t short of money.”
I wrote the IOU, and the man hung the money on my arm. Then I walked out of the hospital gate with 300,000 yuan in cash hanging on my arm.
Just as I went out, a gust of wind blew, and I blacked out and fell down at the hospital entrance.
When I woke up, the first person I saw was the big brother who bought life.
“Brother, are you reliable or not? I thought you miscalculated the years and sold yourself to death.”
I smiled, opened my mouth to speak, but found that my throat seemed to be blocked by a stone, and I couldn’t make a single sound.
“Brother, I’ve put the money here. We’re even now. Whatever happens to you in the future has nothing to do with me.” After saying that, he stuffed the money bag into my bedding and left the ward as if fleeing.
It wasn’t that this guy was particularly generous. He was just afraid that if I didn’t receive the money, the deal wouldn’t take effect.
But what on earth was wrong with me?
The doctor came in: “What’s uncomfortable?”
I wanted to speak but couldn’t, so I could only point to my throat.
The doctor asked me to open my mouth wide, was stunned for a moment, and then rushed out. Soon he came back with two nurses.
With the three of them working together, they finally took out a large piece of ice from my throat.
“Why did you put ice in your mouth?” the doctor asked me.
I lowered my head, not knowing how to explain. How could I know why there was ice in my throat?
And who was that woman in my dream?
“Do you have any other discomfort?”
I waved my hand.
“What happened to your hands?”
“Bitten by a dog.”
“Bitten by a dog?”
I didn’t continue to argue with the doctor because I knew that he couldn’t save my life now. The only one who could save me was that old lady.
I got out of bed. When I was lowering my head to put on my shoes, the patients and doctors around me all let out a gasp at the same time.
I looked at them and then at the ground.
I put on my shoes in a hurry and walked to the mirror. All my black hair had fallen out, and the wrinkles on my face were incredibly deep. In the creases of the wrinkles, there was black oil.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I seemed to have aged a hundred years in an instant.
7
Gasping for breath, I climbed to the 6th floor. I had to rest 5 times while climbing these 6 floors. Then I knocked on the old lady’s door.
The old lady was much stronger than before. Her back wasn’t as hunched. She looked at me in surprise.
“Are you courting death?”
She helped me into the room. Instead of going into that bedroom, she let me sit in the living room.
“Grandma, what’s wrong with me?”
“What’s wrong? You sold life again. How many years did you sell?”
I gasped for breath: “That can’t be. I was just cheating. I just signed a note. Without the ritual, does it still count?”
“How can life – selling be used for cheating? You signed the paper for life – selling. They already have your birth date and time over there. Selling life again naturally counts.”
“So, I really sold 30 years of my life?”
The old lady nodded.
“Can this thing be refunded within seven days without reason?”
“You’d better use the time you spend joking to think about any unfulfilled wishes. Hurry up and spend the money in your hand. Don’t sell your life in vain.”
“Is there really no other way?”
The old lady shook her head, pinching her thumb between her index and middle fingers: “You only have a few years left. Do what you want to do.”
I lowered my head, not knowing what to say. I didn’t want to leave either. I only felt safe in this room now. I was afraid that if I went out, something unexpected would happen and I’d die.
Seeing that I didn’t want to leave, the old lady went back to her room. She didn’t let me in, and I didn’t dare to follow.
After more than 10 minutes, the old lady came out.
She poured a stack of paper ashes into a large bucket of water and shook it well: “Drink this.”
I looked at the nearly 20 – liter bucket of water and was completely stunned. “Grandma… Are you serious? If I drink it all, I’ll explode.”
“Who told you to drink it all at once? One bowl a day.”
“This water?”
“This magic water can’t save your life, but at least it won’t make you look so miserable.”
I drank a bowl of water at the old lady’s place. When I looked in the mirror again, my complexion had improved a lot, and the wrinkles had become much shallower.
“Grandma, there’s another thing. I’ve been having dreams about a woman recently. What’s going on?” I said, waving my hand. “My hands were hurt by her. If it weren’t for your worm, I’m afraid I would have…”
The old lady was a bit surprised: “That shouldn’t be. With that worm protecting you, how could evil spirits enter your dreams?”
“That worm was protecting me?”
“Yes. Don’t let it die. Put the worm in a shady place. You don’t need to feed it, but the worm can’t touch water.”
“Grandma, I have to tell you something. Don’t be angry.”
“Go ahead.”
“I flushed that worm down the toilet.”
“Get out!”
The old lady’s angry shout almost deafened my ears.
The old lady then explained to me that the worm was very precious. The fragrance it emitted could increase yang energy. Keeping it in the house could keep away all ghosts and evil spirits.
I asked her why it had to come out from such a dirty place.
The old lady told me that normally, it would crawl out of the ears or nose. Maybe because I had too much evil karma on me, the worm came out from the filthy place.
As she explained, she sighed, looking very distressed.
“Well… Grandma, what should I do now? Do you still have that kind of worm? Give me some more. I promise I’ll take care of it like an ancestor.”
“Give you more? What do you think that worm eats? It eats people’s life – span.”
“Shit—” I gasped.
After chatting with this old lady for a long time, I subconsciously thought she was a good person.
She worshiped an unknown evil god in the house and raised worms that ate people’s life – span. She might not be a kind – hearted person.
“I originally thought that since you sold me 10 years of life, I should protect you for a while. Although that worm eats life – span, its benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Now, with your little remaining life – span, the worm could eat it all up.”
“What if that female ghost comes to me again?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m not a Taoist priest. How would I know?”
Well, it seems this old lady only knows evil magic and can’t exorcise ghosts.
“Grandma, do you know why I’m being haunted by this female ghost?”
“You sold your yang life – span, so your yin life – span naturally increased. And selling it in 10 – year increments like you did, the increase in yin life – span is even more significant. It’s normal for something to haunt you.”
I thought for a while: “It’s like I often transfer large amounts of money, so bad guys notice me.”
“You can think of it that way.”
Damn, it turns out that you should never show off your wealth at any time.
Now the primary problem isn’t how to survive, but how to deal with this ghost. Otherwise, I won’t be able to enjoy the few years of life I have left.
8
“Why did you suddenly resign?”
“Ah, I’m tired. I want to go on a trip and have a look around.”
My best buddy in the company was helping me pack my things while chatting with me.
“Not just that. Why did you shave your head after resigning?”
“Going to become a monk.”
“Going to become a monk?”
“Yeah. I’ve run into some evil things recently, so I’m going to a temple to avoid them.”
Wang Gang looked around, then leaned close to my ear like a thief: “To be honest, I’ve long noticed that your forehead is dark. What happened to you?”
“A naked female ghost has been haunting me.” I replied, half – joking and half – serious.
“Hey, I know a female Taoist master. She’s really amazing. I’ll take you to see her.”
“What big mushroom? Is it for external use or internal use?”
“What big mushroom?”
“Didn’t you just say big mushroom?”
Wang Gang led me through the alleys, turning around here and there, and finally we came to an old attic.
He nodded towards a woman around 50 years old: “She’s the female Taoist master. She’s a divine person. She can definitely solve your problem.”
I was skeptical.
If it were before, I wouldn’t have believed this kind of female Taoist master at all.
But after experiencing so many things, I had to believe.
However, I always felt that the really capable people should be like that old lady. Usually, they don’t show it at all and live in seclusion in an inconspicuous place.
This woman blatantly printed things like reading eight – characters, reading palms, and fortune – telling on a small flag. She didn’t look reliable at all.
I sat in front of the female Taoist master.
She looked at me, and I looked at her, just like the male and female protagonists on a blind date meeting for the first time.
“Female… Female Taoist master, hello.”
“What do you want to calculate?”
I want to calculate your father.
Of course, I didn’t have the nerve to say this.
“How do you charge?”
“Let’s not talk about money first. You coming here is a kind of fate.”
“I’ve been haunted by something evil recently.”
“Birth date and time.”
I had experience this time and directly told her the Gregorian calendar date.
After hearing the birth date and time, she stared at my face. The longer she stared, the redder my face became. Then she held my hand and touched it for a long time. It made me feel very uncomfortable.
I felt like she was taking advantage of me.
She first looked at Wang Gang: “You step aside.” After Wang Gang left, she looked at me again. “You… Sold life?”
Fuck? Could she really tell?
“Yes.”
“I can’t handle this.”
“Why?”
“This is a matter of your own free will. How can I interfere?”
“I don’t want to be haunted by that female ghost.”
“She’s haunting you for a reason.”
“What reason?”
“It can’t be said.”
Fuck you. The little bit of trust I had just now disappeared completely.
It was still the same old set of ambiguous tricks to deceive people on the street.
I stood up and was about to leave.
“Hey, you haven’t paid yet.”
“Let’s not talk about money first. Me coming here is a fate. Now the fate is over. Fuck off.”
I pulled Wang Gang and left. Looking back, I saw her looking at me with a venomous look in her eyes, burning something.
At that moment, my heart seemed to twitch, and my body couldn’t help shaking.
9
That night, I dreamed of the female ghost again.
This time, she wasn’t in the ice. She was out.
I was sitting in an ancient courtyard. There were many white lanterns lit around the courtyard. The lanterns were white, and I was wearing a red dress.
It was an ancient groom’s outfit.
I was shocked and got up to run, but found that I couldn’t move at all.
The female ghost was also wearing a red dress. She pulled me into the room.
“Sir, you saved me. I have nothing to repay you with but myself.”
What the fuck? A ghost marriage?
“I… I didn’t save you.” I squeezed these words out through my teeth.
“Last time I was frozen in ice. Without your blood, I couldn’t get out.”
“I didn’t bleed.”
“You did. You bled a lot.” Her voice was gentle, with an indescribable evil charm, captivating my heart.
“It’s getting late, sir. Let’s go to the bridal chamber.”
She waved her hand, and the lanterns went out. Only two white candles were left burning, their flames flickering with a strange green light, eerie and terrifying.
I struggled hard, but it was useless. I still couldn’t move.
She lifted her veil herself, slowly took off her clothes, leaving only a red bellyband.
She was so beautiful. Once I saw her face, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
A voice in my heart kept telling me to be with her. It would be nice to be with her.
After being with her, I would have everything, and I wouldn’t have to worry about my life – span anymore.
I held her in my arms, and she kissed my face. I was completely relaxed and comfortable, about to fall asleep holding her.
I slowly opened my eyes. The person in front of me was no longer a beauty but a rotting corpse. Her face was shriveled, yellow, and her teeth were pitch – black.
But I didn’t think she was disgusting. Instead, I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Knock, knock, knock.” Someone was knocking on the door.
“Stop… Someone is knocking on the door.”
“Sir, don’t mind her. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold.”
“Okay.”
“Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.” The knocking became more and more urgent.
“My lady, someone is knocking on the door.”
“Don’t worry. No one is knocking.” She waved her arm, and indeed, the knocking stopped. The sound disappeared.
“Bang!” The wooden door was kicked open. My eyes were blurred as I looked towards the door. It was the old lady.
The old lady?
No, where was I?
I was shocked and sat up, gasping for breath: “Huff—Huff—”
“Knock, knock, knock.” There really was someone knocking on the door.
I stumbled to open the door. The old lady was standing outside. Her eyes were no longer black holes but wide open. There were no pupils, only the whites of her eyes.
Then they gradually returned to normal, revealing the pupils, and then slowly closed.
“Grandma, you, you saved me?”
The old lady didn’t answer my question. Instead, she asked me in a sinister tone: “What did you do? Your life is dirty. It can’t be used.”
10
Life? It can be dirty?
I invited the old lady into the house.
“How did you find me?”
“By smell.”
It should be the smell of the worm.
“Sorry, Grandma, I don’t understand what you mean by my life being dirty.”
“You’ve been forced into a ghost marriage. The person is very vicious. Knowing that you’re haunted by a female ghost, they still gave your birth date and time to it.”
Damn it. It must be that female Taoist master.
“Let’s not talk about this for now. A living person having a ghost marriage makes your life unusable.”
“How could that be? I already sold my life to you.”
“You did sell it to me, but selling life doesn’t mean that your life – span decreases and the other person’s increases. The person who buys your life shares your life – span with you. Your life is dirty, so naturally I can’t use it.”
I slumped down on the sofa, scratching my head with both hands.
I’m damned! I really am damned!
Why did I have to seek death? Why did I sell my life for that little money?
Now I’ve brought a whole bunch of disasters upon myself. I’m about to die, and there’s a female ghost haunting me. Now this old lady, who knows what kind of immortal she is, has come to my door.
What on earth should I do?
“Grandma, I haven’t spent the money yet. Can I return it to you?”
“If it were that simple, would I come to you?”
“Then what do you say? I’ll give you all my remaining life. I don’t want to live anymore. Come on, kill me. And that female ghost, come too, kill me. Isn’t it a ghost marriage? I’ll marry you.”
I broke down, shouting loudly, as if this could make me feel a little better.
The old lady didn’t say anything. After I calmed down, she slowly said, “Your yang life – span can’t be used, but your yin life – span can. Give me your yin life – span.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yang life – span is the life – span when you’re alive, and yin life – span is the life – span after you die and become a ghost.”
“What are the consequences of giving you my yin life – span?”
“After you die, your soul will be scattered, not enter the cycle of reincarnation, and you can’t be reborn.”
I laughed, a bitter laugh. What else could I do now?
Did I have the right to refuse? If I refused, would this old lady, who was talking to me nicely now, directly kill me?
“All right, do as you say.”
The old lady sighed, “I, this old woman, am the most fair. I’m not bullying you, little fellow. Yin life – span isn’t worth much. Even if you give me all your yin life – span, I’m still at a loss.”
Before I could respond, she continued, “It’s not without benefits for you either. That female ghost has her eyes on your yin life – span. Now that you give your yin life – span to me to pay off the debt, I naturally have to help you get rid of her.”
I looked up at the old lady’s wrinkled face, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t exorcise ghosts?”
“I don’t exorcise them. I just eat them.”
11
The old lady took me back to her small room again.
She asked me to take off all my clothes and smeared a thick layer of sticky black grease all over my face and body.
I didn’t know what that thing was. It had a scent of pagoda tree flowers.
“What a nice smell. What is this?”
“Nice smell? It’s not nice.”
The old lady stared into my eyes and warned me, “It’ll hurt a bit. Don’t move.”
I nodded.
The old lady used her long and narrow fingernails to make a cut on each of my eyelids. Her fingernails were very sharp. Two streams of blood flowed down from above my eyes like tears.
Then the old lady pinched two white worms, the kind I had pooped out last time. The worms slowly crawled into my eyes along the two blood lines.
“Endure it. Don’t move. Moving randomly will make you blind.” The old lady warned me again.
I didn’t dare to move at all. The two worms wriggled and burrowed into my eyes.
“Ah!” It really hurt, but I could bear it.
When the worms completely crawled into my eyes, they seemed to have found a comfortable nest and stopped moving.
When I opened my eyes again, the female ghost in red was standing right in front of me, her face almost touching mine.
“Damn it!” I was startled and tried to get up and run, but was held down by the old lady.
“Can you see her?”
“Y… Yes, I can see her.”
“At your door that day, when I saw you being forced into a ghost marriage by her, I opened your yin eyes to save you. Opening yin eyes consumes a lot of yang life – span. Since I had already opened them, I thought it would be convenient to keep her by your side for future handling.”
“Is she… alive or dead now?” I was so scared that I started to stutter.
“Alive.” The old lady clapped her hands, and the figure in front of me, no, the ghost in front of me moved. Her dark – green fingernails and half – foot – long fangs lunged straight at the old lady.
The god statue in the room shook. The female ghost let out a shrill scream, her whole body smoking black, and she hid behind me.
“Sir, save me.”
Save you? Are you kidding me?
I twisted about in the room, attempting to make the god statue scare her to death. But she was like a bone – clinging leech, sticking to me and no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake her off
“Sir, you?”
“Fuck you. You want to harm me and still expect me to save you?”
“I harm you?”
“You want to have a ghost marriage with me. Isn’t that harming me?”
The old lady didn’t give the female ghost a chance to speak.
Countless white worms crawled out from the corners of the room, approaching the female ghost. The female ghost seemed very afraid of the worms. Although the worms wriggled slowly, the female ghost’s range of movement became smaller and smaller.
The worms kept gnawing at the female ghost’s body. Just as the old lady said, she didn’t exorcise the ghost; she just ate it.
The female ghost also got desperate, releasing a strong yin energy, trying to shake off the worms and the god statue.
Some of the worms were shaken to death, but there were so many of them. The surviving ones crawled back, and the god statue didn’t budge.
“Sir, you’ve finally forgotten me.”
This sentence came out of nowhere, and before I could react, she self – destructed.
The explosion sent the old lady flying into the wall and made the god statue fall to the ground.
A faint sentence floated into my ears.
“Sir, run. She’s not a good person. She wants to use your body to sacrifice to the evil god. If she succeeds, you’ll be worse than dead.”
12
The old lady struggled to get up.
The first thing she did wasn’t to help the god statue up but to look at me.
“What did she say to you in the end?”
My head was about to explode.
Who should I believe? Who was telling the truth, the old lady or the female ghost?
An idea burst in my mind. I quickly picked up the god statue on the ground, held it high, and made a gesture to smash it, “You want to harm me?”
“What nonsense are you talking? Didn’t you see that I helped you destroy the female ghost?”
“How did you find my home?”
“What?”
“I asked you how you found my home!”
“By smelling the scent of the worms.”
“The worms were washed away by me long ago. What the hell can you smell?”
“The smell sticks to clothes and won’t disperse for ten years.”
“Fine, then tell me, what does this black mud on my face smell like?”
She didn’t answer.
I scraped off a piece of the black mud and threw it to her, “Smell it! Tell me what it smells like.”
She still didn’t say anything.
“You can’t smell anything, right? Your nose doesn’t work, right? If your nose doesn’t work, you still say you found my home by smell. Are you a dog?”
She lowered her head and giggled, “Just one step away. Just one step away. What’s your relationship with that female ghost? Why would she save you again and again?”
I smashed the god statue hard at the wall. She flew to catch it, and I took this opportunity to push the door and run.
She didn’t chase me. She just said viciously, “You can’t escape. I’ll know where you are even at the ends of the earth.”
13
I didn’t dare to go home. I went to my mother’s house instead.
At the door.
“Son, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing… I’m fine. I just missed you.”
“I’m not asking about that. Why do you look so bad?”
“I’ve been too busy with work recently and didn’t rest well.”
“What about your hands?”
“Minor injuries. They’re almost healed.”
“Come on, come in and eat.”
Looking at the white hairs on my mother’s temples and thinking about the old lady’s last words, saying that she could find me anywhere in the world, I wondered if coming back to my mother’s house would bring danger to her.
“No… No, Mom. I still have things to do. I just passed by and came to see you.”
“No matter how busy you are, you have to eat. It’s all ready. Eat before you leave.”
I was pulled into the house by my mother.
The food was already on the table. My father was having a drink with an elderly middle – aged man.
“Mom, there’s a guest at home?”
“He’s an old classmate of your father’s. They haven’t seen each other for many years.”
My mother introduced me, “You should call this uncle Hu.”
“Uncle Hu, hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
“This is my son, Zhang Chu. He just passed by and came home to have a look.”
“Come, sit, sit.” Uncle Hu stood up to shake hands with me. His excessive politeness made me a little at a loss.
My father and Uncle Hu were chatting. My mind wasn’t on it. I was thinking about leaving quickly and didn’t pay attention to what they were talking about.
After dinner, my mother was cleaning up the dishes, and my father went to make tea for the guest.
“Zhang Chu, what do you do for a living?”
“Ah, nothing special. I’m in finance.”
“Oh, in finance. Have you sold life?”
I was like being electrocuted and stood up abruptly.
14
My father came back with the tea.
“Old Hu, are you going back to Tianjin tonight?”
“No, I’ll stay for a few more days.”
As Uncle Hu said this, he looked at me.
“That’s good. Then stay at my place. It’s been so many years since you last met. Stay for a few more days.”
“Okay.”
I stood there, not knowing what to do.
“Zhang Chu, you’re not in a hurry to leave, are you? I just have some financial questions I want to ask you. Is it convenient?”
“Con… Convenient.”
“Well, I need to ask Zhang Chu some financial questions. It involves a confidentiality agreement. I’ll talk to him in the room.”
Upon entering my bedroom, Uncle Hu’s face took on a gloomy expression.
“I could tell something was wrong with you as soon as you entered the door. I touched your hand and confirmed there was a problem. Tell me everything you’ve encountered these days, not leaving out a single word.”
I was like a drowning man grabbing at a straw. I repeated to Uncle Hu my devil – like experiences of these days. He frowned as he listened.
“That ghost… is actually trying to save you.”
“She’s not trying to harm me?”
“She’s not.”
Uncle Hu continued to talk, and I didn’t dare to interrupt. I just sat up straight and listened.
Uncle Hu said that when he was young, he went into the mountains to practice with a master, learning the ways of Taoism.
That blind old lady believed in an evil god. He knew that she was feeding the evil god with people’s yang and yin life – spans. As long as the evil god wasn’t destroyed, she wouldn’t die.
He needed to see the god statue to know exactly what kind of evil god it was.
It should be when I gave her my birth date and time that she took a fancy to my yang and yin life – spans and set up a trap to refine me.
Just as the female ghost said, if she really succeeded, I would have to endure the pain of being cut by knives and burned by fire day and night. Even after death, I would be tortured for thousands and thousands of years.
Those worms were called corpse worms. After multiplying in my body, they would use their fragrance to confuse my mind. It was the female ghost who used her yin energy to force the worms out of my body, so I had diarrhea.
And because the female ghost used too much yin energy, she was sealed in the ice. This ice was condensed from yin energy and needed blood to melt it.
The dream that night was her helping me clean the remaining worms in my body and also using blood to melt the ice. This female ghost was very smart.
So she bewitched me to bite my fingers and then use a fruit knife to cut my neck, not to kill me, but to get the worms out.
“How did the female ghost find me?”
“You sold your life, and they have your birth date and time over there. It’s not difficult for her to find you.”
As he spoke, Uncle Hu put my hand to his nose and smelled it. He said there was one worm in the flesh of my hand before. He then touched along my hand and stopped at my neck.
He said there was still one here that hadn’t been taken out.
“Can this worm be taken out?” I subconsciously touched my neck.
“Yes, and it has to be done as soon as possible. Otherwise, the evil god will find you through the worm.”
“What about the dream of having a ghost marriage with the female ghost? What’s that about?”
“When a living person has a ghost marriage with a dead person, either the yang life – span nourishes the female ghost, or the yin life – span nourishes the living person. With so little yang life – span left for you, it’s most likely the second case. But no matter what, it’s an act against the heavens. If discovered, she will be severely punished.”
I was silent, not knowing what to say.
“Why is she helping me like this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there was some entanglement between you two in a previous life.” Uncle Hu shook his head. “Now isn’t the time to talk about this. First, take out the worms. Go get a bottle of water and a fruit knife.”
I went into the room with the fruit knife and mineral water.
Uncle Hu took out a piece of talisman paper, held it between his index finger and middle finger, and gave it a gentle flick. Instantly, the talisman paper caught fire. He then used the burning talisman paper to burn the fruit knife. I had no idea whether it was for disinfection or for some other intent.
When it burned halfway, he put the talisman paper into the mineral water and shook it evenly.
“Drink this.”
“Drink again?”
I cursed in my heart. Big brother, doesn’t your sect have any other tricks?
Although I was muttering in my heart, I didn’t dare to be negligent. I drank it all in one gulp.
After the talisman water entered my stomach, I clearly felt a hard lump bulging in my neck.
Uncle Hu held the knife with his fingers and made a quick movement. I didn’t even see it clearly. I just felt a chill on my neck, and a stream of blood flowed into my collar.
“It’s okay. It’s just a scratch. Take a tissue and wipe it.”
I didn’t pay much attention to my neck, “Uncle, I still have two worms in my eyes.”
Uncle Hu burned a few more talisman papers. This time, instead of using a knife, he smoked the worms out with the smoke.
I endured the pain and didn’t make a sound, afraid my parents would hear.
After a while, my eyes returned to normal. I looked at the white flesh – colored worms in Uncle Hu’s hand.
He directly crushed the worms. At that moment, I seemed to hear the howl of a fierce ghost.
Then he smelled them again, and his eyebrows almost knitted into a knot.
“Bad. Her cultivation is too deep. I can’t handle this.”
15
“Didn’t we take out all the worms?”
“The corpse worms were taken out, but that old witch put a lot of effort into you. How could she let you go so easily?”
“What should we do then?”
“I’ll take you to find someone to help.”
Uncle Hu casually made up a reason, saying that he had something to do at my company.
He took me out to find someone.
“This is my senior sister. She should have a way.”
Looking at the smiling female Taoist master, I couldn’t help but sigh at the irony of fate.
“Female Taoist master, hello.”
“Yo, what a coincidence.”
“Female Taoist master, I was wrong last time. I’m here to apologize.” I bent down and bowed so deeply that my head almost touched my toes.
Uncle Hu was a bit confused, “What’s going on? You two know each other?”
“Yes, this little guy came to see me. There was a female ghost helping him, but he wanted to get rid of the ghost. I didn’t help.”
“Senior sister, you should be able to tell that he’s encountered an evil god.”
“I could tell. I originally wanted him to spend some money so that I could save him, but he didn’t agree and even scolded me. So I had to taint his yang life – span to make the evil god stop eyeing him.”
Uncle Hu was furious. He pointed at my nose and scolded, “You! You! Do you know that my senior sister has rules here? If you don’t give her money, she can’t form a karmic connection with you, and she can’t help you. Even if you gave her one yuan, it would be fine.”
I felt wronged in my heart. Last time, this person was so mysterious. How could I know she was so powerful?
“Senior sister, don’t be angry with the kid. Please take a look and see if he can still be saved.”
“Give money first.”
“How much?”
Uncle Hu slapped the back of my head, “Just give some. It doesn’t matter how much. Hurry up and give it.”
The female Taoist master took me into the attic and asked me to lie down.
She put her hand on my wrist, a bit like a traditional Chinese medicine doctor taking the pulse.
“You signed the paper for selling life, ate the corpse wax, had corpse worms planted in you, and drank the water for dissolving the god. You’re really obedient. You do whatever others tell you.”
I knew she was right, and I couldn’t refute.
“Can he still be saved? This is the child of my old friend. His family only has this one son. Please help.”
The female Taoist master frowned but didn’t say whether he could be saved, “Call the child’s parents over. This can’t be hidden.”
16
The female Taoist master inserted a lot of silver needles into me. After inserting them, I couldn’t hear anything and couldn’t speak either.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when my mother came. She held my hand and kept crying.
My father just stood at the door, smoking one cigarette after another.
They were called out by Uncle Hu, and then the female Taoist master came in. She pulled out the silver needles beside my ear, and I could hear and speak again, but I still couldn’t move.
“Do you want to live or die?”
“I want to live.”
“Okay, I have a way. It can make you free from the influence of that evil god and also solve the sequelae of your selling life.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me in a hurry. There’s a price to pay.”
“What is it?”
“The price is that your parents won’t be able to see you for the rest of their lives.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Your parents and you can’t meet each other for the rest of their lives.”
“Are you using their lives…”
“Don’t think nonsense. They’ll live well. It’s just that you two can’t meet.”
I’m the only son in my family. If my parents can’t see me for the rest of their lives, how sad they’ll be. And how will they take care of themselves when they get old?
“No, I don’t agree…”
The female Taoist master inserted the needles again, and I couldn’t speak anymore.
“Your parents have agreed. I’m just informing you, not asking for your opinion.” She thought for a while and then added, “You really know how to get yourself into trouble!”
She inserted a few more needles into me. I couldn’t see anymore, and gradually, my sense of touch disappeared.
I fell into a drowsy sleep.
17
I woke up. There was no sign of the female Taoist master or Uncle Hu.
Presumably, after saving me, they went to look for that evil god.
I quickly ran back home and found that my parents had moved away. There was a “House for Sale” sign hanging at the door.
There were many talisman papers scattered around the house. Presumably, Uncle Hu was afraid that the evil god would come and affect the next owner of the house.
I called my parents, but the number was no longer in service.
They even changed their phone numbers.
Now I had several million yuan in my hand. And from what the female Taoist master said, the life I sold didn’t count anymore, which meant I didn’t have to die.
But I felt like I had lost something precious.
I lived alone and lonely in this cold city.
For some reason, no one was willing to talk to me. Everyone was avoiding me.
They looked at me like I was a plague god.
I didn’t know what I should do, so I just wandered around aimlessly.
When I was tired, I would go home, eat, sleep, and then go out for a walk the next day.
I wanted to walk all over the city, thinking that maybe one day I would see my parents in a small supermarket or a small restaurant.
Maybe.
“Hey, you, come here. What’s your relationship with Yushui?”
I turned around. A boy wearing a baseball cap was sitting on the curb by the road, waving at me.
“Yushui? “
“You don’t know Yushui?”
“I don’t.”
He slapped my shoulder hard, and half a jade pendant fell out of my clothes. “If you don’t know Yushui, how do you have this?”
“This… I don’t know…”
He played with the half – jade pendant, looking at me curiously. “How could this be? How did it become a gold – inlaid jade?”
“Who… who are you?”
The boy didn’t answer my question. “I see. You’re the man Yushui sister talked about.”
“Yushui? Who is she?”
“Oh, so you’ve forgotten everything.”
“What have I forgotten?”
“You’ve forgotten Yushui sister!!”
This shrill ghost – like scream made my head buzz. But I didn’t feel scared. It was as if a bubble in my head had burst, and many things came back to my mind.
18
I was a general going on an expedition.
Before leaving, I promised a woman that I would come back and marry her if I won the battle.
I gave her half of the jade pendant and kept the other half for myself. When I came back, we would get married when the two halves of the jade pendant fit together.
The battle was won, but it was a tragic victory.
When I went back to find the woman, I learned that she had died of illness in the second year after I left.
I was able to come back alive from the battlefield because her spirit had been protecting me.
After that, she didn’t go to reincarnate. She protected me for one life, ten lives, a hundred lives, and this life…
Her name was Yushui.
“Whoosh—” I remembered everything. I knew why the female ghost had saved me.
“Who… who are you?”
“I’m Yushui’s friend.”
“Why do you talk to me when they all ignore me?” I pointed at the passers – by who were in a hurry.
“Because they can’t see you.”
“Can’t see me? Am I dead?”
“No. Yushui sister is protecting you. You won’t die.” The boy threw the jade pendant back to me and walked away without looking back.
“Then what’s wrong with me now?” I shouted at his back.
“Go home. You’ll understand when you get home.”
19
I rushed back home immediately.
“Is… is this my home?”
I don’t know if that boy had helped me awaken something, but the home I saw now was completely different from before.
My home was a small temple, and inside was a golden statue of me.
This was a private temple!
My parents had built a private temple for me. How much money must that have cost? Just the golden statue alone must have cost a fortune.
No wonder my parents sold the house.
I walked to the back of the temple. There stood my tombstone.
So I was already dead. That’s why the female Taoist master said my parents could no longer see me.
My physical body was gone, buried, and all my life – spans naturally didn’t count anymore. Now my body was this golden statue.
No, the boy had said I wasn’t dead.
So what was I? Half – alive and half – dead, not entering the cycle of reincarnation?
I took out the jade pendant. Now I could see it clearly. The jade pendant was Yushui’s remaining soul, and the layer of gold outside the jade pendant was my private temple.
I was living by relying on Yushui and the incense of the private temple.
Was this the method the female Taoist master mentioned? Had she discovered that Yushui would rather die than stop protecting me?
20
I wandered around between heaven and earth like this. People couldn’t see me, but ghosts could. And yet, I wasn’t dead.
The good news was that I found my parents.
The female Taoist master said they couldn’t see me, but she didn’t say I couldn’t see them for the rest of my life. This woman was really precise in her words.
My parents’ hair had turned white. They lived in a small house of less than 40 square meters.
Their health wasn’t good either. They often got sick.
I kowtowed to them, but they didn’t react.
“I’m sorry, Dad and Mom. Your son is unfilial. I’m sorry.” I cried, wailing loudly.
In my current state, I couldn’t have any impact on the people or things in the mortal world.
Fortunately, I discovered a loophole. I could have a weak connection with the mortal world through the Internet.
That is, the words I typed on the Internet could be seen by people in the mortal world.
Just like this now.
(The end)
