After that, there was no more "after." After the five children jumped into the water, Uncle Er tied his wrist with a cloth strip, then quickly grabbed my hand and ran madly toward the outskirts of the village, muttering all along the way, saying, "There will be no more living people in Duanjia Village."
I asked Uncle Er why, but he shook his head, unwilling to answer. It was strange that after the five children disappeared, those strange people who had suddenly appeared did not chase after us, but slowly dispersed in all directions, quickly occupying the entire area. I knew in my heart that this was probably why Uncle Er said there would be no more living people in Duanjia Village.
During the mad rush, Uncle Er and I stumbled and almost got washed away by the flood countless times. Because he had just cut his wrist, Uncle Er's body had become so weak that he could barely walk, let alone carry me, especially during the rainy season when his whole body would ache as if being sliced by a knife.
Eventually, the two of us staggered out of Duanjia Village and arrived at a small town called Laowa. When we reached here, Uncle Er finally collapsed on the ground. That's where he lay for ten years.
Even though it wasn't literally ten years, it was close. Because the injuries Uncle Er suffered in Duanjia Village had left him almost devoid of adult labor, and even walking was extremely difficult for him. Moreover, every time it rained, Uncle Er's whole body would ache as if being sliced by a knife.
In this small town, our lives finally calmed down. It was just a pity that my heart could never be at peace again. After Uncle Er fell, he once patted my head and said, "Xiao Mu, this matter is far from over. But all Uncle Er can do is this, you'll have to rely on yourself from now on."
I looked at Uncle Er in great pain, "No, it's not possible."
Uncle Er shook his head, "The yin soldiers have sealed off Duanjia Village, and now it's full of evil spirits, so even those five little spirits will be sealed by the yin soldiers. However, this is not a permanent solution. One day, the five spirits will break free from the yin soldiers' grip and escape. So..."
As he spoke, Uncle Er coughed violently, and what he spit out of his mouth was black phlegm. After coughing, Uncle Er continued, "So, if you want to survive, you must become strong on your own."
As he spoke, my uncle unexpectedly handed me the backpack on his back and closed his eyes, saying nothing more. After taking the backpack, I opened it and began to look through its contents one by one. Inside the backpack were many strange items, as well as several tattered, yellowed books on Taoism.
I silently looked at these items and fell into a moment of silence.
So, in the next ten years, I embarked on studying Taoism, studying in the small town, and earning a living to take care of my uncle.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and now I am a full seventeen years old, studying in the second year of high school in the town of Laowei.
Unconsciously, today is Qingming Festival again. In my mind, memories of the events that happened in Duanjia Village involuntarily flashed. After arriving at Laowei Town, as I could not find the bodies of my parents, I could only erect an unclaimed grave for them, in which I placed their names and dates of birth, considering it as the remains of my parents.
Every Qingming Festival, I always come to kneel before my parents' grave. Sometimes when I think of my parents leaving Laowei Town to save me, I can't help but shed tears. So, every time Qingming comes around, I always appear unusually disheveled.
"Look, look, it's that weirdo. Damn, is he crying?"
"Oh, this guy seems to be a student at Laowei Town Middle School, right? It's probably best not to provoke him. I heard that no matter if it's a villain or a hoodlum nearby, none of them dare to mess with him."
At that moment, two distinct voices broke into my ears, abruptly interrupting my reminiscence and pulling me back to reality. I turned to see two people who looked like a dog standing not far from me, actually talking to me.
Perhaps feeling bad, my gaze became more menacing. When I turned around, the two were startled, then turned and quickly ran away.
I sighed and couldn't be bothered with them, instead turning my gaze back to my parents' grave. I burned some paper money and calmly said, "Mom and Dad, it's been ten years since you left. Today is Qingming Festival, your tenth death anniversary is coming up, so I've come to offer you some paper money."
After saying this, I knelt heavily, placed two pieces of fruit in front of the grave, and got ready to leave. As I turned around, I saw many people from Laowei Town in the cemetery, all mourning their loved ones. Some even smiled at me and greeted me, and finally my mood began to ease a bit.
Those two people who looked like dogs were actually right. Many people in Laowei Town knew me, and any small-time hooligans or gangsters in the town dared not provoke me.
Because in these ten years, I have made many of them suffer.
However, this is limited to those who I have disciplined or helped. In Laowei Town, I am not a big shot, but an unknown junior figure, and no one can pick me out in a crowd. In school, I also do not reveal my abilities, so I remain anonymous.
When someone greeted me, I also responded. Most of those who greeted me had been helped by me before. Since learning Taoism from my uncle, I have used these teachings to help many people in the town escape from suffering, and my Taoist skills have also improved to the point that I am now at the highest level.
Of course, I can reach the level I am at today mainly thanks to my uncle. My uncle not only saved my life in Duanjia Village but also selflessly passed his abilities on to me without reservation. Moreover, he implemented a special training method for me, or rather, gave me a mission.
To protect the peace of the town.
Because my uncle also said that the more peaceful the town, the safer I would be.
Leaving my parents' grave, my thoughts turned to my uncle. Today is Qingming Festival, and I wonder if I should go home and bring my uncle to the cemetery.
Just as I was considering this, my thoughts were interrupted again by the sharp voice of a woman. I looked up and saw seven or eight people gathered not far ahead, with a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl excitedly shouting, "Wow, is this the legendary ghost possession?"
Looking into the crowd, I saw a man kneeling in front of a grave, trembling all over, foaming at the mouth, looking unwell, and the people around were already impatiently and helplessly making emergency calls. After a brief look, I walked over to the grave.
At this moment, the girl who had just shouted pulled out her phone and enthusiastically took pictures, saying, "It's so cool, I'll post it on social media."
Seeing this scene, I was not very pleased. I silently walked behind the girl and intentionally or unintentionally bumped into her.
The girl immediately felt my impact and turned around. I recognized her, Wang Ying, a classmate of mine. She's a bit attractive and comes from a well-off family, always arrogant and domineering, and I didn't expect to meet her by such a coincidence.
The girl saw me and her expression became strange as well, but she spoke with a peculiar tone, "Oh, who do we have here, it's the weirdo Duan Mu from our class. What, can't stand the sight of me?"
I glanced at her lightly and couldn't be bothered to respond, only gently pushing her away, saying, "Everyone else is like this, and you're still taking photos, do you have no sense of public decency?"
"You." Pushed aside by me, Wang Ying's face was angry and annoyed, "You want to be a hero, huh? Fine, why don't you save the day? I want to see how you're going to save him."
I silently watched Wang Ying, not really wanting to get involved, but seeing her so aggressive, I had to nod, "Alright, I'll save him."
Saying that, I squatted down. After taking a look, I confirmed the situation. This man had indeed been possessed by a ghost, but it wasn't serious, and it simply required a very simple method to fix.
With that in mind, I boarded up the man's middle finger, took out two copper coins from his waist, clamped his middle finger, and then with a twist of my hand, the man returned to normal. Turning around, Wang Ying's face was full of surprise. Ignoring her, I silently left the graveyard.
However, as I was leaving, my gaze suddenly noticed the gravestone in front of the man who was possessed. My heart couldn't help but skip a beat. I actually recognized the name on this gravestone, it was called Chen Ermei. Chen Ermei was actually quite young, probably only in her twenties.
Moreover, Chen Ermei was quite attractive, an object of desire for many men in the small town, but unfortunately, she didn't live long. Just a while ago, twenty-year-old Chen Ermei was about to give birth after being pregnant for ten months, but her husband was carousing outside, her mother-in-law was also unkind to her, and finally, on the day before the due date, Chen Ermei actually committed suicide by jumping into the river, leaving behind a body and two lives.
Actually, I didn't know much about Chen Ermei before, it was just because her suicide had such a big impact, and her death was so tragic, and she had a heavy grievance, so I deliberately learned a little more.
No wonder, no wonder people were getting possessed in broad daylight, it turned out to be Chen Ermei's grave. But it's a pity, this Wang Ying, who doesn't know the depths of the sky and earth, actually dared to provoke Chen Ermei, I'm afraid she has gotten into big trouble.
After all, the paths of people and ghosts are different, Chen Ermei is already dead, and Wang Ying is a living person. Thinking of this, I said softly to Wang Ying, "Forget it, I'll be a good person again and give you a friendly reminder, be careful of retribution when disrespecting the dead, take care of yourself."
I naturally knew Wang Ying's character, usually arrogant and bossy, thinking she was above others. I just gave a friendly reminder from a humane perspective. It's not my concern whether she accepts it or not.
Sure enough, after I turned and left, Wang Ying shouted loudly behind me, "Duan Mu, don't think you can scare me just because you can pretend to be supernatural? How dare you threaten me?"
I shook my head, muttering to myself: You can't persuade a damned ghost with good words, ordinary women will soon understand the meaning of my words.