I’ve been running a tattoo shop for seven or eight years and have tattooed tens of thousands of designs, but I’ve never seen a tattoo like this.
A strange five – headed deity was to be tattooed on a girl’s lower abdomen, and the one who paid me to do it was the “prince” of the Beijing circle.
“The design and materials are all mine. You just need to show your skills.”
He placed a 50,000 – yuan check in front of me.
I couldn’t help but beam with joy and nodded hurriedly, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s perfect.”
“There’s another 50,000 after it’s done. Don’t ask too many questions. Remember, loose lips sink ships.”
His fair palm patted my hand that was clutching the check.
I was taken aback, forced a stiff smile, and when I looked up, I met the “prince’s” warm – spring – like expression, but beneath it was the killing intent of a freezing winter.
1
At this moment, the girl lifted the curtain of the back room and said coquettishly, “A Yuan, why haven’t you come out yet? I’ve already cleaned my skin.”
The girl was delicate and pure, looking no more than twenty years old, with a strong scholarly air. She was really a feast for the eyes.
The “prince” concealed the cruelty in his eyes and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
“Getting impatient? I’m coming out right away. Be good and go lie down.”
I quickly put away the check, washed my hands, disinfected them, and followed Chen Yuan, the “prince”, out.
Since I took on this job, Chen Yuan had been following me around all the time. His gaze made my scalp tingle.
2
The girl’s name was Su Qingya. Just like her name, her skin was tender, smooth, soft, and elastic, the top – grade skin for tattoos.
After preparing the skin, the skin on her lower abdomen became even fairer and more translucent, like a piece of excellent rice paper, which was really amazing.
According to the agreement, the materials and tools for the tattoo must be those prepared by Chen Yuan, but these tools and materials were not what I usually saw.
First, the tools had a strong exotic flavor, mysterious and eerie. I couldn’t tell what material they were made of, but they felt quite good.
From the transfer paste to the ink, and even the common vaseline, all the materials had an indescribable fishy – sweet smell.
This deity had five heads. Although each head looked somewhat similar, they were all different, with some old, some young, some handsome, and some plain. Their eyes were all closed.
There is a saying in the tattoo world: “Don’t tattoo a tiger going down the mountain, don’t tattoo a dragon over the shoulder. When Guanyin closes her eyes, she won’t save the world. When Guan Gong opens his eyes, he will surely kill.”
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This deity was too strange. It was better that its eyes were closed. If they were open, it would be really bad.
During the whole tattooing process, the girl couldn’t speak. She would look at Chen Yuan with resentful eyes from time to time. Chen Yuan would always touch her head affectionately and comfort her softly. The two of them looked extremely affectionate.
Although it felt strange, I thought at that time that Chen Yuan liked this girl so much that he wouldn’t harm her. So I put aside my doubts and focused on the tattoo.
Although the tattoo pattern was not large, the coloring was complex. Each head of the deity had a different color. It took me the whole afternoon until evening to finish it.
Finally, I pasted a tattoo repair film and explained the precautions and dietary taboos.
Chen Yuan looked at the result and nodded in satisfaction.
Watching their backs as they walked away, hugging each other, I let out a long sigh of relief.
I thought things would end there, but I never expected that what happened later would far exceed my imagination.
3
On the night after the tattoo, my Shishu, Lao Mo, came to me.
He used to be the personal tattoo artist of the “prince” Chen Yuan, specializing in tattooing the women around the “prince”.
There were countless women around Chen Yuan, changing like a revolving lantern. According to Lao Mo, each woman had her own exclusive tattoo.
“If I hadn’t drunk too much in the past two years and my hands were shaking, this job wouldn’t have fallen to you.”
I quickly made tea and poured it for him, nodding in agreement.
“Remember, keep your mouth shut. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to get rich in the future.”
I took the opportunity to ask Lao Mo what that tattoo was that I did this afternoon. It looked rather evil.
Lao Mo was stunned for a moment and said, “It’s for attracting wealth. Don’t ask too much. Just tattoo it. The ‘prince’ doesn’t like people with too much curiosity.”
However, what happened later told me that it was obviously not just about attracting wealth.
4
About two months later, one evening, it was drizzling. The inky sky was occasionally lit up by a few lightning bolts. The road was wet and there were few pedestrians. I was about to close the shop.
Just as I was about to close the door, I saw a pale face pressed against the glass door, which scared me so much that I let out a scream.
That face looked at me and slowly showed a sinister smile.
I took a closer look. Wasn’t this the girl Su Qingya who had the five – headed deity tattooed in my shop last time?
Strangely, not only was her face pale and bluish, but she also had big dark circles under her eyes, looking completely different from her previous lively self.
Although I was suspicious, I thought that after all, she was the woman of the “prince” Chen Yuan, and I still had to show some respect.
I quickly opened the door and welcomed her in.
“Sorry, it’s dark and I didn’t see clearly. What brings you here? Is the tattoo fading or are you not feeling well?”
While chatting, I turned around and poured a glass of water and handed it to her.
Su Qingya didn’t take my water glass. Instead, she climbed onto my body like a water snake and whispered in my ear,
“Master Aman, what exactly did you tattoo on me?”
“The five – headed deity. The design given by the ‘prince’.”
The next second, she pushed me away and roared, “You’re lying! A Yuan won’t harm me!”
Then she “ripped” open her shirt, revealing her white belly.
In just one or two months, her abdomen had swelled up high, looking like she was four or five months pregnant.
“Tell me, what tricks did you play to make me have constant wet dreams and get pregnant so quickly? Tell me!”
Her face was distorted like a ghost. The five – headed deity on her belly, whose eyes were originally closed, seemed to have its eyes squinted because her belly was stretched. Moreover, the hands and feet of the deity stretched out like tree branches, and the feet almost reached the private parts, exuding an indescribable eeriness.
“Don’t panic. I’ll check it and tell you later.” I tried to stay calm and comforted the woman who was like a madman in front of me.
In my years of tattooing, I’ve seen many strange things, but this was the first time I saw something this strange.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you. I’ll come back in three days.”
After getting my promise, her tone softened instantly, with a hint of coquettishness that I had never seen before.
I nodded and saw her out. Watching her receding figure, I quickly closed the shutter, locked the glass door, ran upstairs in one breath, rushed into the bedroom, and took out the few talismans I had, pasting them all over the room.
5
I dialed my master’s phone number, briefly told her the situation, drew the appearance of the tattoo and sent it to her on WeChat for her to have a look.
My master is a veteran tattoo artist who has been tattooing for forty years. She has rich experience and excellent skills.
As a result, she slapped her thigh and said, “Damn it! This is the Five – Tong Evil God. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Yes, I should have thought earlier that this was a simplified version of the Five – Tong Evil God.
Although the Five – Tong Evil God consists of five people, in the portraits, they often share one body.
Moreover, it is said that this Five – Tong Evil God is extremely lascivious and can attract windfall wealth. It is called the Evil God of Wealth among the people.
A chill climbed up my back like vines from the soles of my feet.
“That girl is probably being used as a sacrificial offering by the ‘prince’. She won’t live long. Your Shishu, this old fox, is trying to harm you. Since you tattooed this, you can’t get away with it. She has already conceived a ghost fetus and will surely die. And the person whose essence and blood have been sucked dry by the Five – Tong Evil God will turn into a fierce ghost after death. And on the night she dies, she will come to seek revenge on the person who killed her. The mother – child malevolence is really deadly!”
“What should I do then?”
I was on the verge of tears. My heart felt like there were thousands of ants crawling around, and all the hairs on my body stood up.
This 100,000 yuan was really not worth earning.
“Close the shop and find a temple or a Taoist temple to hide. Hide for a year or so and come out when everything has settled down.”
I thought it made sense, so I quickly packed my luggage. Unexpectedly, as soon as I went out, I was pushed back into the shop by two men in black, with knives against my waist, one on each side.
Damn it! This Chen Yuan wants to make me a scapegoat!
I don’t know what kind of sweet talk he fed Su Qingya to make her think that everything was my fault. Judging from this, if she really dies, as my master said, she will come to me to claim her life.
6
I was lost in thought when the door “creaked” open and Lao Mo came in.
He had a livid face and without saying a word, he gave me two big slaps, which made me dizzy and my eyes filled with gold stars.
“Why are you hitting me?”
“I heard you’re trying to run away?”
“No, no. I just want to go back and see my master.” My mind was racing.
“Nonsense! Your master is already dead!”
Lao Mo was about to raise his hand to hit me again, but I grabbed his arm.
“You’re the one talking nonsense. I was just chatting with my master. She’s fine. You do evil things yourself and still curse my master?”
Lao Mo shouted, “Look for yourself. You’re in a hallucination!”
My mind was shocked. I gritted my teeth and bit the tip of my tongue. The moment the bloody taste filled my mouth, everything in front of me gradually revealed its true appearance.
I was standing on the train tracks at the moment. The train in front of me sounded a shrill alarm. Lao Mo pulled me off the tracks, and the train passed by me.
“You’re possessed. You just wouldn’t get down no matter how I pulled you. I slapped you several times and it didn’t work.” Lao Mo collapsed on the ground, his chest heaving violently.
7
My brain was “buzzing”, my mind went blank, and the sound of the train’s horn was still echoing in my ears.
“What happened to you? Did you encounter something evil last night? Or were you framed by a peer?”
Lao Mo turned his face and looked at me.
I really wanted to say, wasn’t I framed by you?
But the words were swallowed back by me.
Although Lao Mo is my Shishu, he’s not much older than me. We grew up together. I always thought he wouldn’t frame me.
“Last night, Su Qingya came to see me.”
I looked at the slightly whitening sky on the horizon and said this lightly.
“Really? Really?” Lao Mo’s eyes widened bigger than copper bells, and his mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.
I nodded, “Really.”
Lao Mo slapped his thigh and said, “That bitch is already dead! She’s been dead for three days.”
A chill hit me, and all the hairs on my body stood up like a hedgehog.
No wonder. How could a living person look so bad?
“What did she come to you for?”
Lao Mo felt in his clothes pocket, took out two cigarettes with trembling hands, handed me one, and lit one for himself, taking a few big puffs.
“She asked me about the tattoo. She suspects that I harmed her.”
I hadn’t smoked for a long time. After taking a few puffs, I was choked and coughed.
But then I immediately thought of something wrong.
Lao Mo doesn’t smoke.
Many years ago, he went to Yunnan and smoked someone else’s cigarette. There was something in it. He was set up and his fiancée was killed. Since then, he has had a shadow over cigarettes and quit.
If the person in front of me isn’t Lao Mo, then who is he?
The hairs on my body that had just lain down stood up again.
8
“No, you come with me. Hide at my place for a few days. That female ghost will come back to you. If you can’t give her a satisfactory answer next time she comes, you’ll die in her hands.”
Lao Mo was pacing around anxiously.
I felt in my trouser pocket. Fortunately, there were still two talisman papers in it.
I quietly took out one and slapped it on Lao Mo’s face. He was stunned. Before I could recite the spell, he tore it off.
He looked at the talisman paper in disbelief, then at me, his eyes wide open. Right in front of me, he melted away like an ice – cream.
After the “Lao Mo” melted away, there was a note on the ground.
I picked it up and opened it. It said, “Welcome to be my sacrifice.”
A chill came from my fingertips. I was shocked and instinctively threw away the note, bit my index finger, and quickly drew a talisman in the air, pushing it out with all my strength.
This was the only talisman my master taught me when I was learning tattooing. She said that in our line of work, every master has to teach their apprentice a life – saving trick. This is the last resort. Never use it unless it’s absolutely necessary. Using it too much will cost your life.
There were three “bang bang bang” sounds. Something shattered.
All the hallucinations disappeared completely. I looked closely and found that I was still in the store lobby, not having gone anywhere.
Damn it! It’s really strange. I didn’t even know when I was tricked.
“Hehehe… XiXiXi…”
A strange laugh sounded in my ears, as if several people were laughing at the same time.
Several pale faces flashed outside the door and then disappeared.
At that very moment, a glimmer of light appeared on the horizon, and the sun was about to burst out.
I let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.
9
It seems that I can’t escape.
The best thing to do now is to find Lao Mo and ask him clearly what’s going on.
If it’s really a dead end, then fight it out. It’s better than being so passive now.
At this time, my phone rang. It was actually Lao Mo.
“Aman, from now on, don’t go anywhere and don’t trust anyone. I’m telling you, we’re in big trouble this time. The ‘prince’ is going to play a big game. Wait for me. I’m coming to find you now.”
As soon as the call ended, my phone rang again. It was my master.
“Aman, how are you now? Have you left yet? If you’re going, go to Xiangji Temple. It’s close and the Buddha statues are made of gold.”
I was silent. After holding it in for a long time, I still couldn’t help but ask the question in my heart.
“Master, I ask something I shouldn’t. Are you really dead or not?”
Originally in my memory, after my master recovered from her illness last time, her health had been poor. But she was staying in a nursing home and was still alive.
But last night in the hallucination, the “Lao Mo” told me that my master had already died.
Although what that “Lao Mo” said was not trustworthy, strangely, when I carefully sorted out my thoughts just now, I found that the memory of whether my master was alive or dead in my mind was actually blank.
That is to say, I can’t be sure whether my master is alive or dead at the moment.
“Getting bold, Aman? Starting to curse your master? What kind of evil have you been possessed by?” My master was a little angry.
My eyes suddenly became sour. My intuition told me that my master was still alive. That thing erased part of my memory in the hallucination.
I simply packed my things, put on my backpack, closed the shop door, and was about to leave when Lao Mo arrived.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”
“That deity is really evil. Its eyes are all open now. It’s going to eat people. Su Qingya is almost dead. Two of her three souls have dissipated.”
I looked at the chattering Lao Mo twice and said, “Shishu Lao Mo, I don’t want to get involved in this mess. Let me go.”
Lao Mo sneered and said, “Do you think you’ll be okay if you leave? Aman, you’re too naive. Once you encounter it, even if you hide at the ends of the earth, it won’t be useful. Have you heard of the Bone – Attached God?”
“Wasn’t it said to be the Five – Tong God?” I was shocked.
9
“If it were the Five – Tong God, it would be better.” Lao Mo let out a long sigh.
“The ‘prince’ bought this set of tattoo patterns from some sorcerer in Thailand. I asked a senior monk in the temple through my friend in Thailand. This is the well – known Bone – Attached Evil God in Thailand.”
“Did the ink smell fishy when you were tattooing that day?” Lao Mo asked me while driving.
I nodded and said, “It had a fishy – sweet smell when I sniffed it.”
“That’s it. Tattooing this Bone – Attached God is very particular. It requires the corpse oil of five extremely yin and evil people, mixed with the yin ink that has been stored in the body of a pregnant woman who died a violent death for one year for tattooing. The tattoo tools are made from the pubic and tibial bones of sixteen – year – old girls. No wonder Chen Yuan didn’t use me this time and asked me to introduce an experienced novice. An experienced person has excellent skills, and a novice is obedient. He’s really calculating.”
I started learning tattooing from my master when I was thirteen years old. Counting this year, it’s my tenth year in the tattoo business. I’ve only been running a shop in Beijing for eight or nine months. I really can be considered an experienced novice.
“Aman, believe me. If I had known this tattoo was so dangerous, I would never have introduced it to you. We’ve known each other since we were kids. I couldn’t possibly harm you.”
I pointed ahead and said, “If you didn’t harm me, why are you taking me to Chen Yuan’s mountain villa?”
10
Not far ahead, the mist was thick. A coffin – shaped building was bathed in milky white fog. There seemed to be something stirring inside. Even with the sun overhead, one could still feel the cold and gloomy air.
“Fuck! This is seeing ghosts)” Lao Mo was greatly shocked.
He sharply turned the steering whee, trying to turn around and go back. But halfway through, the car stalled. It grunted a few times and then didn’t move at all.
Lao Mo was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He couldn’t help but get out of the car and start cursing at the villa.
He really didn’t seem to be faking it.
After cursing, he got back in the car and actually managed to start the engine, but the car still wouldn’t move. Enormous pythons emerged from nowhere, hissing and slowly crawling up the car, coiling around it tightly.
At this time, a strange laugh came from the mist, like the gnashing of countless rats’ teeth.
The sun in the sky was now covered by a thick layer of dark clouds, and the sky suddenly darkened.
A shrill and ear – piercing voice shouted, “The sacrifice has arrived!”
Surrounded by the pythons, the car moved step by step towards the villa. Lao Mo was so angry that he kept cursing.
I have to say, this “Lao Mo” seemed more real than the others, but I knew he wasn’t the real Lao Mo.
Although Lao Mo was careless and informal, he didn’t swear this much, and he never included other people’s female relatives in his curses. He had principles in both his life and his cursing.
This “Lao Mo” had obviously imitated the “form” but failed to understand the “essence”.
This person had only one purpose, which was to bring me, the sacrifice, to the mountain villa intact to complete the final sacrifice.
Su Qingya must have been successfully sacrificed by now.
Only I, the last sacrifice, was left.
“Aman, why aren’t you panicking at all? Your calmness is terrifying.”
As we were approaching the villa, the cold and gloomy air and the strange sounds came in waves. Lao Mo held a dagger in his hand, ready for anything.
“Since I can’t escape, what’s the use of panicking? Besides, I have you, don’t I?”
I touched the last talisman paper left in my trouser pocket.
“Before, when Lao Mo and I were apprentices in Wuhan, there was a prevalence of counterfeit one – yuan coins. Lao Mo bought a lot of them and always took the bus for free with the fake coins when there were many people. Once, when there were very few people, he was so used to using fake coins that he put three in a row, but the machine didn’t make a sound. The driver couldn’t stand it and shouted at him. Guess what the driver said?”
I stared at Lao Mo’s face with a cold smile and said,
“The driver said, ‘Buddy, just put in a real one!’
“So, stop acting, ‘prince’. Aren’t you tired of using so many fake Lao Mos to deceive me?
“Tell me, where is the real Lao Mo?”
The “Lao Mo” was stunned for a moment, then smiled. As he tore off the skin on his face and threw it on the car, he said, “You knew it was fake and still followed?
“I just don’t understand. I’ve been imitating Lao Mo for three whole years. I didn’t dare to invite you to open a shop in Beijing in his name until no one who knew him could recognize the difference. Why do you see through me every time?”
Fake is always fake. Others couldn’t recognize it because they weren’t familiar enough. I could recognize it because no one in the world knew Lao Mo better than me.
“Didn’t you notice? You and the real Lao Mo have never appeared at the same time.”
Ever since I came to Beijing, he had regarded me as his prey.
But for me, this game had started a long time ago.
Chen Yuan smiled helplessly and said, “I thought this wasn’t a flaw.”
“For me, it is.”
The real Lao Mo wouldn’t trust me to deal with someone like Chen Yuan alone.
11
At this moment, the car was completely carried into the villa by the snake group. The car door opened automatically, and I walked out, trying to stay calm.
A fierce aura rushed towards me like a gust of strong wind .
“Ah -” Countless shrill cries and sobs pierced my eardrums like steel needles, making my ears ache.
Chen Yuan smiled triumphantly and snapped his fingers. The lights in the villa lit up instantly.
The lights in the villa were all in the shape of yellow – white lanterns, hazy and desolate.
“I’m telling you, you won’t find a second place in the whole of Beijing with so many human – skin lanterns.”
Chen Yuan pointed a gun at me and walked step by step into the first – floor hall of the villa.
As soon as we entered the hall, the whole villa seemed to come alive. Countless human faces emerged on the walls, pillars, ceiling, and even the handrails of the stairs, making faint sighs and swimming like fish inside the walls.
This was a villa shaped by the resentful spirits of flesh and blood. It was both dead and alive.
It was said to be dead because the building materials of this villa were all items from dead people.
It was said to be alive because it sealed countless resentful spirits inside, which could trap people, swallow people, and suck human essence and blood.
“This is a feng shui layout that our Chen family has spent three generations building. It’s your fortune to see it before you die.
“Except for the descendants of our Chen family, everyone who enters here is a dead person.”
Chen Yuan pointed at the floor tiles under our feet and said, “You see these floor tiles? Each one is made from the ashes of extremely famous feng shui masters. They have great energy, which can support the extremely yin evil energy on the second floor.”
Chen Yuan’s tone was extremely calm, as if he was introducing a dish like a gentleman.
Just now, I was attracted by the walls with human – face – like flesh and blood and temporarily ignored the floor tiles under my feet. No wonder when I stepped on them, I heard countless moans and cries. These feng shui masters should have some skills. How could they fall into the hands of the Chen family?
After Chen Yuan’s explanation, I couldn’t help but scan these floor tiles of different ages. The old ones were black, and the new ones were white, all faintly revealing some black qi.
If Lao Mo had been here, he would definitely have left a mark. This was his habit and also the tacit understanding between us.
I tried to calm my slightly rapid breathing and searched eagerly. Finally, I saw the unique marks made by Lao Mo on the floor tiles in the left – hand corner. There were exactly five.
Lao Mo had indeed been here.
I stepped on this elastic ground, and with every step, I was terrified. Cold sweat dripped down my back and into my trouser waist.
12
bones made. Look at the texture, it’s not bad, right?”
Chen Yuan jerked his chin and complained, “This Lao Mo really deserves to die. The birth date and eight characters he reported were clearly of a pure-yang life pattern. I drank his blood for cultivation, but it had no effect at all. Damn it, his birth date and eight characters were actually fake. He made me happy for nothing.”
It was a chair made from a whole human skeleton. The knees were bent, the arms were stretched out, and the spine was flattened and curved upwards at an incredible angle, forming a blood – stained chair.
I only took one look and couldn’t help but feel a tightness in my throat. My hands were trembling uncontrollably, whether from fear or anger.
Although I had long known that Lao Mo was likely to be in danger, when I actually saw the furniture made from his bones and heard the news of his tragic death, it was like being struck by lightning.
“Chen Yuan, your Chen family has done so many evil deeds. Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”
I glared at Chen Yuan, wishing I could snatch the pistol and shoot him.
Chen Yuan burst out laughing.
“Look for yourself. Relying on this feng shui layout, our Chen family has dominated Beijing for more than half a century, being extremely wealthy and still standing strong. Where is the retribution? Where are the conscience and the gods and Buddhas you mentioned?
“So, what’s the use of kindness and conscience? The gods we worship are real gods. Sacrificing a few offerings can bring power, fortune, and prosperity to our Chen family, ensuring our endless wealth and eternal prosperity!”
13
“Ah, ah -” Several shrill screams and creepy chewing sounds came from Su Qingya’s room.
“Big brother, help me!”
A naked man crawled out, rolling and crawling. The moment he reached out to Chen Yuan, he was wrapped up by a pile of white things behind him and instantly turned into a pile of bones.
“It’s born! It’s born!” Chen Yuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
I followed Chen Yuan’s gaze and saw those white things scatter. Baby-like crawling creatures, with their big mouths wide open and revealing a row of fine, sharp teeth, were tearing and devouring the bodies of those strong young men. They were crawling towards us while crying.
The cries of babies rang out, followed by the cries of countless babies, snaking towards us like a stream along the blood flowing on the ground, getting closer and closer.
It seemed that these men were also sacrifices, unaware that they were sacrifices. How pitiful.
“Come on, babies, come on. The most nutritious one is here. This is a tattoo artist with a pure-yin life pattern, whose hands are stained with countless essences. He’s a great tonic.” Chen Yuan pointed at me.
“Eat gently and leave the whole skeleton. Daddy still wants to make furniture with it.”
These multi – legged babies, like spiders, sniffed hard. The saliva in their mouths dripped onto the floor, and the amniotic fluid on their bodies and the blood and minced meat in their mouths flowed all over the floor, making it sticky.
The blood in my whole body seemed to flow backwards. I grabbed a bone chair and threw it at the wrist of Chen Yuan’s gun – holding hand. At the moment the gun went off, I ran in a curved line towards the room where Su Qingya was.
Because here, I still had a chance to turn the situation around.
Although I was mentally prepared, I was still stunned for a moment when I saw Su Qingya.
Because she could no longer be considered a human.
Almost all the flesh and blood on her body was gone. She was like a skeleton. Her belly was like it had been blown open, and her internal organs such as the heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys were hanging out limply. Her eyes were wide open, empty, with only a faint breath left, on the verge of death.
I quickly locked the door. Chen Yuan, with those monsters, rushed over and smashed the door.
I didn’t have time to think much. I rushed to Su Qingya, tremblingly tried to gather her empty belly together and flatten it, took out a portable tattoo needle, and used my own blood as ink to stab at the wide – open eyes of the five deities on her belly.
Now, I was betting my life that my guess about the Chen family’s secret was correct.
When the tattoo needle stabbed into the eyes of the five – headed deity, the deity grimaced and let out screams. Some even stuck out their tongues and rolled around my arm.
This deity was indeed alive.
When I stabbed the last needle into the deity’s eyeball and blood splashed out, the door was blasted open by Chen Yuan’s gun and crashed down.
At the same time, Chen Yuan let out a scream. Blood and tears flowed from his eyes.
14
“I can’t see! What on earth did you do?”
The intense pain made Chen Yuan furious. He randomly fired the gun in his hand, killing several of the monsters closest to him. Light – pink flesh and blood splattered all over the floor, scaring those monsters into screaming and scattering in all directions.
Su Qingya took her last breath, her eyes wide open.
I sighed and reached out to close her eyes.
“When you came to me for a tattoo, I was wondering why the five – headed deity had five different looks and ages but still resembled each other. Just now, I figured it out. This is neither the Five – Tong God nor the Bone – Attached God. It’s the five – generation heads of your Chen family. You use the flesh and blood of young girls to nourish the souls and sacrifice the flesh and blood of young men, ultimately forming the Chen family god to ensure the prosperity of the Chen family forever.
“And you, Chen Yuan, are the fifth head. If I’m not mistaken, the Chen family’s ancestral precept should be that only after each generation of the head of the family passes away can the descendants add their own heads to the deity and tattoo it on the selected girl to absorb energy and nourish the family’s fortune. But you’re too impatient and greedy. You don’t care about the Chen family’s fortune at all. You don’t want to die. You want to live forever!”
Chen Yuan laughed maniacally. “So what? Facts have proven that I’m right. Look at me. I’m over forty years old, but I look like I’m in my early twenties. Who can compare with me?
“Aman, you’re very smart, but so what? After my babies eat you, and then I eat them, my eyes will still be able to see again.”
Chen Yuan turned to the little monsters and waved his hand, saying, “What can be better for nourishing these tattoo babies than a tattoo artist who has tattooed countless times? Go and eat, babies. It’s a great tonic. Daddy managed to find it for you with great difficulty. Go and eat!”
Tattoo artists, who are exposed to the energy of blood all year round due to tattooing, have a strong yin energy and abundant blood energy. They are indeed the best food for evil things in their initial state.
The little monsters drooled and crawled towards me step by step.
I smiled and slit my arm. Blood gushed out like a spring. The little monsters went crazy, catching the blood and drinking it. Visibly, they wilted and gradually turned into a puddle of blood.
Chen Yuan heard the strange sound and looked panicked. He squatted down, tremblingly touched the dead monsters, and desperately sniffed the smell of my blood.
“No, your blood is wrong. Who on earth are you?”
He half – bent over, pointing at me like a madman and shouting, “You’re not Aman! You’re not Aman! Who are you?”
I endured the dizziness, tore my loose T – shirt to bandage the wound, and coldly smiled, saying, “Chen Yuan, don’t you think you’re very smart? Guess.”
15
He was stunned for two seconds, as if he couldn’t figure it out at all. Then he roared at me,
“Ten years! I prepared for ten years to eat a tattoo baby once. No matter who you are, you have to die today. You killed my babies. I’m going to kill you!”
He opened his blood – red eyes wide and blew the whistle on his chest. Countless hissing sounds came from far and near, spreading from the first floor to the second floor.
Huge pythons stuck their heads out from all around and slowly climbed up the stairs along the walls.
I took off my coat and tore off the pigment bag sewn inside. The wind blew, and the pigment powder containing realgar powder scattered everywhere. The big snakes fled at the smell.
“Before, the snake – catchers in our place would come to us to get five – poison tattoos. The pigments used for five – poison tattoos are made from various powders that repel snakes, insects, rats, and ants. My master told me since I was a child to always keep this powder with me. It might save my life at a critical moment.
“I’m very curious. How could someone as capable as her be schemed by a villain like you?”
I walked towards Chen Yuan step by step. He fired several shots at me, but unfortunately, there were no bullets left in the gun.
When he threw the gun at me, I kicked the gun out of his hand, leaned close to him, and whispered, “Chen Yuan, Lao Mo says hello. And I’m the one with the pure-yang life pattern.”
His face showed fear, and his whole body trembled. “How could this be? How could this be?”
“Didn’t you ever play the identity – swapping game when you were a kid? I’m the real Lao Mo. You killed Aman, you fool!”
I patted him, stuck the last talisman paper on his back, and pushed him out the door.
“Enjoy your ‘good fortune’.”
This was a talisman to attract evil spirits, and also a guiding talisman for the wronged souls to seek revenge.
Moments later, a gust of gloomy wind blew in the villa, mixed with countless cries and laughter, surging towards Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan’s flesh and blood flew everywhere, and his shrill screams filled the air.
In the room, Su Qingya also slowly got up, stretched out her arms, and walked step by step towards him, then grabbed Chen Yuan’s neck.
16
I took off my wig, threw it on the ground, and carefully disassembled the fifth white – bone chair, putting it into a black bag.
“Aman, it’s time to go home.”
I then went to the first floor, pried up the five bone bricks in the left – hand corner, and put them into another bag.
“Master, it’s time to go home.”
In the sky – filling sunset glow, I lit a big fire, got in the car, and drove away.
Behind me, the villa twisted its body, spitting out tongues of fire, and let out painful and shrill roars. The stench, mixed with the smell of roasted meat, melted into the floating mountain mist.
I took out my phone, dialed a number, put it on the phone holder, and choked back tears as I said, “Master, I’m out. Aman and I want to eat roasted sweet potatoes tonight.”
In the rear – view mirror of the car, my long hair, blown loose by the wind, and the phone screen that kept showing the call – in – progress were reflected.
### Epilogue
1
Eight years ago, my master received a big business deal. The Chen family in Beijing wanted to have their feng shui checked, and the reward was very generous.
She stared at the small tattoo shop we opened on the street corner and said ambitiously, “When I come back, we’ll rent a bigger shop. I’ll check feng shui, and you two can do tattoos.
“One of you has a pure-yin life pattern, and the other has a pure-yang life pattern. Neither of you is suitable to be a feng shui master. Remember, keep it a secret, or you’ll be in danger of losing your life.”
She left and was gone for three years without any news.
At that time, I often sat on the street corner, looking at the intersection. After a long time, I had an illusion.
I imagined that my master would come back, tired but happy, pulling us and saying that we were going to get rich and rent a new shop.
Finally, one day, my junior brother Aman and I missed our master so much that we couldn’t wait any longer.
When my junior brother was nineteen years old, he asked me to watch the shop while he bought a ticket to go to Beijing to find our master.
Before leaving, my junior brother said, “As long as this shop is here, our home is here. When I find master, no matter if she’s alive or dead, I’ll bring her back at all costs. If we both die, that’s when you should take action.
“Just in case, let’s swap identities as we did before.”
My junior brother said this because I was two years younger than him, but because I entered the master’s school earlier, I was his senior sister.
My junior brother was always not convinced about this. Plus, I was tall and always dressed like a boy, so he never called me senior sister. He called me “Lao Mo”.
My junior brother was delicate – looking, and I playfully called him a girl’s name, “Aman”.
Later, for the fun of teasing customers, we often pretended to be each other until the customers couldn’t tell us apart.
I ruffled my short hair, thought for a moment, and said, “Okay, but we should do it more skillfully. When introducing in Beijing, ‘Lao Mo’ will be the Shishu (uncle – master), and ‘Aman’ will be the Shizhi (nephew – disciple).”
This was a further encryption of our identities.
Aman saw through my thoughts at a glance and smiled, saying, ” ‘Aman’ will keep the shop well and wait for ‘Shishu Lao Mo’ to come back.”
I pretended to be mature and cupped my hands, saying, ” ‘Shishu Lao Mo’, have a safe journey.”
Before “Shishu Lao Mo” left, he walked a few steps and then turned back to me, saying, ” ‘Aman’, grow your hair long. You should look very good with long hair.”
My eyes warmed up. I punched him and said, “Smoke less. Send me a message when you have news. We’ll do it together. Don’t act on your own, you brat.”
2
Three years after “Lao Mo” left, he sent me a message saying that he had some clues, but it wasn’t the right time for me to show up yet. He asked me to wait for his news.
Later, he told me that he had a fiancée, but she had died, and he would never smoke again.
The last message from “Lao Mo” was sent to me on a talisman paper.
The ashes of the talisman showed: Chen’s villa, left wall, five.
Although I didn’t know what it meant, I knew that “Lao Mo” was in trouble.
If he was gone, what was the use of the shop?
I decided not to keep this shabby shop anymore.
On the day I decided to go to Beijing, I called my master and told her to rest well. I said I was going to Beijing to make a living with “Shishu Lao Mo”.
After my master disappeared, I always paid the phone bill for her phone. Even if no one answered when I called, and finally the robot said “The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable”, it didn’t matter.
At least when I was in trouble, I still had a phone to call.
When I arrived in Beijing, I pretended to be weak and stupid, in order to finally be taken to the mountain villa as a “sacrifice”.
Every time the fake “Lao Mo” appeared, I felt more desperate because it meant that the chance of “Lao Mo” surviving was getting smaller and smaller.
It wasn’t until I entered the Chen family’s mountain villa that day and saw the floor tiles made of ashes that I understood the meaning of the six words left by “Lao Mo”.
My master’s ashes were in the Chen family’s mountain villa, in the first – floor left – hand corner. The five bricks with his marks were the ones.
At that moment, I also understood that my junior brother Aman was no longer alive.
My master said that my eight characters were an extremely rare pure-yang life pattern, and my blood was the best food for cultivators, but it was poison to evil things.
Footnotes:
So, I was the one who showed up at the end.
Aman and I had been planning for many years. By swapping identities and eight characters, we avenged ourselves and retrieved my master’s bones.
But I didn’t feel any joy, only infinite sadness.
It was strange. Even though I was extremely sad in my heart, I couldn’t shed a single tear.
It wasn’t until I drove out of the villa that was ablaze with fire and saw the two bags containing the bones on the passenger seat that I burst into tears.
“Master, Aman, Lao Mo is taking you home.”
The three of us were finally reunited again.
(The End)
