Returning home, I saw my second uncle sitting in front of the door in a daze. Compared to ten years ago, my second uncle looked extremely haggard, and his hair had turned a bit white. Seeing my second uncle like this, honestly, I felt a bit distressed.
"Second uncle, I'm back," I greeted him proactively.
My second uncle turned his head, looked at me, and simply nodded in silence. Over the years, my second uncle had always been like this, I didn't know whether it was because he hadn't resolved something in his heart or because of his physical condition, which caused him some pain.
"Today is Qingming, right?" my second uncle asked.
I nodded, "Yes, second uncle, today is Qingming, and soon it will be the tenth anniversary of our parents' death."
My second uncle sighed deeply, "Time flies without our knowledge, another ten-year calamity is about to begin."
"Ten-year calamity?" I asked in confusion, "Are you talking about the ten-year calamity left behind by grandfather's practice of the Art of the Five Ghosts? Grandfather is already dead, hasn't the ten-year calamity ended?"
My second uncle shook his head again, "Ended? Far from it, haven't you already escaped from the Duan family village? I'm still alive, as long as the Duan family village doesn't die out, the ten-year calamity will never end."
As he spoke, my second uncle suddenly took out a package from his chest. I was very surprised, I had never seen this package before. After taking out the package, my second uncle said, "Xiao Mu, it's time for me to tell you something. Actually, ten years ago, when your grandfather sent me a letter, he also sent this package. He probably anticipated his own limited lifespan and entrusted everything to this package."
I looked at my second uncle in puzzlement, filled with questions. Over the years, I had been living with my second uncle, and I knew everything about him. How come there was something my second uncle hadn't told me?
I immediately asked what it was. Uncle didn't answer, but handed me the package and said, "You'll understand when you open it yourself."
To be honest, I was a bit uncomfortable with Uncle's mysterious behavior. But I still opened the package honestly. And after seeing what was inside, I was completely shocked.
The package was not big, just like a lunchbox. It was wrapped in black plastic. After tearing off the plastic, I found a wooden box inside. What shocked me were the large characters written on the wooden box.
The Art of the Five Ghosts.
On the wooden box were the characters for the Art of the Five Ghosts. I looked at these characters in amazement and couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
Uncle turned to me and said, "Practicing the Art of the Five Ghosts, there will be one tribulation every ten years. The ability to control the Five Ghosts will become stronger after successfully overcoming a tribulation. But as the number of tribulations increases, they will also become increasingly powerful. Now, the ten-year tribulation has arrived, and both you and I will suffer tribulations. To resolve the tribulations, we can only use this Art of the Five Ghosts."
"A tribulation every ten years? Resolving tribulations?" I couldn't help but reach out to open the wooden box.
But at that moment, Uncle suddenly shouted, "Don't open it."
I was startled by Uncle's voice and quickly turned around, asking, "Why?"
Uncle sighed and said, "Don't rush to open it now. Wait until the tribulation comes or you encounter danger. Because once you enter the path of the Five Ghosts, there will be no turning back."
I was actually very puzzled. I had been hearing Uncle talk about the Five Ghosts for many years, but I never understood what the Five Ghosts meant. None of the techniques Uncle taught me mentioned the Five Ghosts. So I asked, "What are the Five Ghosts?"
Uncle closed his eyes and replied softly, "The Five Ghosts, also known as the Five Plagues, the Messengers of the Five Plagues, or the Plague Gods. You should understand what Plague Gods are, right? Now, you should understand why I said the Art of the Five Ghosts is evil, and why Duanjia Village has encountered such a great disaster, right?"
"Plague Gods?" When I heard these words, my heart tightened. Plague Gods were well known. But I really didn't expect that someone would worship the Plague Gods to practice evil arts.
Uncle refused to say more. I stared at the wooden box in my hand and silently put it back into my bag, while pondering over it.
Unknowingly, it was already evening. After the festival, people's lives returned to normal. Although the events of the day had left me a bit agitated, the tranquil environment of the campus instantly calmed me. At dusk, bidding farewell to Uncle, I returned to the campus with the wooden box he had given me.
The town where I lived was not very big, so there were not many students at the school. However, the school's area was quite large due to the sparse population. As a result, the school appeared very spacious and quiet.
But this was good for me. My greatest joy at school was finding a quiet corner to study metaphysics, or simply sit and ponder. Otherwise, I wouldn't be considered a weirdo.
But sometimes I was out of luck. Although there were few people on the campus, there were times when I couldn't find a quiet spot anywhere. Just as I returned to the school, I started strolling around the campus as usual.
But as soon as I reached a place where I had been before, I found that it had already been occupied. And the ones occupying the place were familiar faces, it was none other than Wang Ying, whom I had encountered in the cemetery during the day, along with several other girls.
At that moment, I simply turned around and walked away.
But would they be pleased if I just left?
As soon as I turned around, I was surprised to hear Wang Ying sarcastically call out, "Hey, isn't this Duan Mu? How come, this school is not that big, and yet I seem to run into you wherever I go? Are you intentionally looking for me? But let me tell you, a toad like you should not set your sights on me."
Upon hearing this, my feet involuntarily stopped, and I couldn't help but look at Wang Ying.
With just one glance, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. Wang Ying's face was as pale as a sheet of paper, but her forehead was dark, a clear sign of being afflicted. It was obvious that my guess was correct; the trouble Wang Ying had caused with Chen Ermei during the day was now coming back to haunt her.
Sadly, this bloke is already at death's door, but he's oblivious to it.
However, just by looking at Wang Ying's expression, nothing can be seen.
Thinking of this, I quickly took out two copper coins from my pocket to cover my eyes, silently reciting the supreme mantra of opening the divine eye, clearing the darkness between the yin and yang realms. Nowhere for ghosts and demons to hide, all revealed.
This is the eye-opening spell specifically used to open the divine eye. The eyes of ordinary people are called flesh eyes, and there are a few people who are naturally able to see ghosts and demons. These eyes are called the yin-yang eyes. The divine eye and the dharma eye are even higher levels of existence, able to see ghosts and discern the yin and yang.
However, the time when the divine eye is opened with the eye-opening spell is not long, just a few minutes.
At this moment, when I finished reciting the eye-opening spell, the world seen by my two eyes had already changed. The world is still the same world, but it has become a bit yellowish, just like autumn, with a yellowish hue everywhere.
And when I looked at Wang Ying, I couldn't help but be stunned because the scene on Wang Ying's body was too astonishing. I saw a dead, pale baby in Wang Ying's arms, and there was also a woman with disheveled hair and a wet body stuck to Wang Ying's back.