"Mountain and Wilderness Tales" is not an encyclopedia. Until later, I encountered many earthbound demons and monsters that were not recorded in "Mountain and Wilderness Tales," but that was understandable. This book had always been my most prized possession because it had helped me a lot when I was young.
After encountering the pale-faced strange person, I stayed up at night reading the book and came across a passage. It didn't talk about the pale-faced strange person, but it was about a kind of earthbound animal called the "Fate Cat."
There's an old saying that cats have nine lives, and they are sensitive to ghosts and spirits. Among them, black cats are ominous and should not be approached too often.
The "Fate Cat" was originally a black cat. According to "Mountain and Wilderness Tales," if a young black cat is not raised by anyone, it will attract wandering spirits because of its special constitution. These wandering spirits will inhabit the nine lives of the black cat, and as the black cat grows, resentment will soak into it, and it will become the "Fate Cat," the most ominous of the ominous. If an ordinary person encounters it, if they are lacking in positive energy, or do not have any consecrated objects to protect them, they will easily absorb resentment into their bodies. Not only will their fortunes decrease, but their lifespan will also deteriorate as a result.
But the "Fate Cat" is very rare, and its characteristic feature is its tail. The tail of the "Fate Cat" has a particularly clear white spiral pattern, and it is not afraid of people. On the contrary, it appears aggressive in front of people.
The black cat I saw at Lijia Du Mingyuan seemed somewhat similar to the one described in the book as the "Fate Cat," but I did not get a clear look at its tail. However, the fact that it dared to attack me at that time made it much more formidable than an ordinary wild cat. If the black cat I saw at Lijia Du Mingyuan was indeed the "Fate Cat," then what kind of person could eat the "Fate Cat"?
Unfortunately, the book did not mention similar earthbound demons and monsters, which became a regret in my heart.
The next day, I went to Fatty's house early in the morning. His house was near the Shanghai urban area, but it was on the ground floor of an old building, and he had built his own courtyard in front of the door, which was considered an unauthorized construction, but no one bothered about it at that time.
When I entered the house, I happened to see Fatty's uncle. His uncle's name was Cui Yingchang, and he was quite tall, about 1.85 meters. I remembered him as being robust, usually dressed in a suit and well-groomed. But this time, he looked different. He looked haggard and thin, wearing a gray suit and smoking in the living room.
He smiled weakly when he saw me and said, "Xiaoshan, thank you for this."
I quickly waved my hand and said, "It's nothing, nothing. I'll go look for Fatty in the courtyard."
Fatty and I hadn't told him the truth; Fatty lied to him, saying that he found a buyer who liked to collect specimens and had made some money.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw a square stone cave built with bricks and iron plates. "Fangwei" was growling inside the cave, but his voice was hoarse, obviously he had been howling all night.
The chubby guy looked exhausted, obviously didn't sleep well last night, and the ground was covered with cigarette butts. I walked over, and he handed me a cigarette. I waved it away and said, "Smoke less, do you have a kitchen knife? Quickly."
In no time, the chubby guy came back holding a kitchen knife. I put on the thick gloves used for pulling wires and walked to the side of the rocky cave. Squinting through the cracks between the bricks to peer inside. "Fangwei" sensed something and seemed a little scared, his round body shrinking back, vigilantly watching me.
I grew up in the city, never even killed a chicken before, at most just killed a rat. For a moment, I didn't know how to start. Plus, "Fangwei" looked quite pitiful, and I hesitated.
"What's wrong? Can't do it?" the chubby guy asked as he walked up.
I habitually pursed my lips, shook my head, and said, "Nothing, just move the iron plate and bricks on top, I'll grab it and then do it."
The iron plate was lifted, and "Fangwei" kept howling. Squinting my eyes, I reached out and grabbed its body, but at that moment, a large amount of black gas suddenly emanated from the little creature, which frightened me and the chubby guy. This black gas seemed wrong, somewhat like the resentment exhaled by a water spirit. "Fangwei" relied on absorbing resentment for survival, and in a crisis, it might spew out the absorbed resentment to save its life.
Our retreat gave "Fangwei" a chance to escape. It suddenly jumped out from the gap above the cave, and agilely climbed up the wall along the water pipe.
"If this thing runs, stop it!" I shouted, and the chubby guy picked up a stone from the ground and threw it, but unfortunately, he missed. "Fangwei" climbed to the edge of the wall, and if it went over the wall and outside, it would be difficult to catch, again!
In a moment of urgency, I had no choice but to throw the kitchen knife in my hand. Don't know if it was a stroke of luck or a fluke, the knife struck "Fangwei" at the connection between its buttocks and tail. "Fangwei" let out a miserable cry, blood flowed down the wall, and the pain-ridden "Fangwei" fell from the wall, twitched a few times, and soon became still.
"How is it? Is it dead?" the chubby guy asked nervously.
I pulled out Daba's amulet, walked over, and saw that the body of "Fangwei" lying on the ground was as if it had been burned. I kicked its body with my foot, but there was no movement. Then, I looked at the severed tail on the ground. At this sight, my heart trembled and I exclaimed, "How could this happen!"
"What's going on?" the chubby guy walked over, also looked down at the severed tail, and then realized that the tail, just like "Fangwei's" body, appeared to have been burned. I hurriedly picked up the tail and rinsed it with water. I needed that section of bone from "Fangwei's" tail. If the bone was damaged by burning, all our efforts would be in vain!
However, this time, luck didn't favor us. The bone wrapped in charred flesh had turned black and cracked at my slight pinch.
"Oh my, is this still usable?" The chubby guy became anxious when he saw it, but I couldn't come up with any explanation and quickly borrowed his phone to call Li Dunzhu. It took five or six long-distance calls to get through, and after explaining the situation, Li Dunzhu's response was as follows.
"Do you think this is hunting? If it was so easy to deal with earthbound creatures, wouldn't the people who make a fortune be everywhere? The classification of underworld ghosts and earthly monsters is diverse, and each category has different ways of dealing with them. It's already lucky for you to encounter an earthbound creature. At the very least, you have to invite a master to expel the yin energy from the earthbound creature before you can kill it. What's the rush! The burnt bone is useless to me, just throw it away."
I relayed the words to the chubby guy, and he sighed and squatted in the yard, smoking. Neither of us spoke for a while, feeling somewhat disheartened. After a good while, I finally said, "Chubby, we can't do this. Brother Zhu said to invite a master to expel the evil. Do you think Master Han is suitable?"
"He's an old man, who would pay attention to us little kids!" The chubby guy shook his head in response.
Now both of us were at a loss. Just then, the chubby guy's uncle walked in, took a look at the situation, and understood some of it. Smiling, he said, "Kid, don't worry about me, I won't die. At most, I'll hide for a few years. When I rise again someday, a hundred thousand won't mean a thing to me."
It's easy to say that in those days, tens of thousands were astronomical figures. Since he was young, Uncle Fat has been fond of him, taking him to famous restaurants in Shanghai to eat. Crystal shrimp at the Peace Hotel, pine nut sea bass on the Huangpu River cruise, and crab meat xiaolongbao made by the chef at Nanxiang Guyi Garden. Fat has tried them all, and because of that, he has a close relationship with his uncle.
"Uncle, it's okay! We still have ways to make money, don't worry, haha."
Fat forced a smile, but then saw his uncle smile and handed him a savings passbook.
"Uncle, what are you doing!"
Fat asked in surprise.
"I don't have children or a wife, and I've always treated you like a son since you were young. Maybe I'll be on the run in a while. There are a few thousand yuan in this passbook. You can use it when you get married in a few years; it's my last savings. Take it, huh..."
Regardless of whether Fat wanted it or not, his uncle left the passbook behind and walked away. Looking at the thin passbook in his hand, both Fat and I fell silent.
"Xiaoshan, let's go to Xuanming Temple again..."
After a while, Fat looked up at me and said seriously.