Chapter 179: Returned

Colorful ribbons on her leather drum swayed gently with Bai Lingmiao's steps as she walked alone through the somewhat dilapidated alleys of Qianjia Village. Every now and then, barefoot farmers leading oxen and women holding children cast surprised glances her way. No one in the village had ever seen a girl dressed like her; it was a truly rare sight. Bai Lingmiao, looking a little nervous, walked with her head down, continuing towards the location the Second Deity had told her about.

After walking for a short while, Bai Lingmiao spotted two low-lying houses, one large and one small, standing side by side. She took a deep breath and entered the courtyard. "Woof! Woof woof!!" The large spotted watchdog startled Bai Lingmiao considerably, but its barks also saved her the awkwardness of announcing her arrival.

With a creak, the door opened, and a simple, honest farmer emerged, asking with a hint of fear in his eyes, "Who are you looking for?" Bai Lingmiao opened her mouth, unsure what to say for a moment; after all, she hadn't done this kind of thing many times. After a long hesitation, Bai Lingmiao cautiously asked, "Um... that... has someone in your family been possessed?"

"Bang!" The door, just opened, slammed shut. "Ah..." Bai Lingmiao stood awkwardly rooted to the spot. She turned her head to look at the Second Deity beside her, speaking to her in her mind: "See... they closed it. Maybe everything's fine." Then, as if hearing something, Bai Lingmiao softly offered a difficult explanation, her face troubled: "I know the Immortals are pressing us hard now; if we don't get to work, they'll cause us trouble. But maybe this family doesn't... Oh, alright, I understand. I'll try again."

She walked back to the door and knocked with her pale, delicate hands. "Please, trouble yourselves to open the door! I, a humble maiden, have learned the methods of expelling evil and capturing ghosts. If you truly have trouble of that kind, I can help!"

She knocked a few more times. Just as Bai Lingmiao thought they wouldn't open the door, a crack appeared in the wooden door, and an old, waxy-yellow eye suddenly peered out, startling her. Upon hearing a voice, Bai Lingmiao realized that the waxy-yellow eye belonged to a person.

"How do you know we've encountered an evil visitor?" the voice asked. "Uh..." Bai Lingmiao couldn't find a good reason for a moment. "Old man, don't worry about how I know," she quickly replied. "I truly can help you with this. Evil spirits cannot stay on a person for too long, or there will be trouble."

"How much do you charge?" he asked. "Fifty copper coins. No matter how powerful the evil spirit, it's fifty copper coins," Bai Lingmiao quoted the standard price for her exorcism services. No sooner had she spoken than a young man's voice came from behind the door: "Dad, choose her! Her exorcism services are much cheaper than Grandma Cui's!"

The door suddenly slammed shut again. The father and son inside seemed to be discussing something, and just as Bai Lingmiao was feeling a little anxious waiting, a creak sounded, and the door opened. An old, stocky farmer of short stature walked out, looking troubled and carrying a carrying pole. After sizing up Bai Lingmiao again for a moment, he said, "Fifty copper coins, you said it, right? We're a poor family; don't you dare take advantage of us." Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao immediately let out a sigh of relief, stepped over the threshold, and walked inside.

As soon as she entered, Bai Lingmiao was startled by the expanse of white facing her. The entire interior was arranged like a mourning hall. No, it *was* a mourning hall, just without a coffin.

"Old man," Bai Lingmiao asked, "why are the ancestral tablets here at home and not in the ancestral hall?" The old man sighed deeply. "If we could have put them there, we would have already," he said. "Come, I'll take you inside, and I'll tell you everything in detail."

Beyond the house was a bright small courtyard with a few chickens. The somewhat nervous father and son led Bai Lingmiao into the courtyard, pulled a bamboo stool in front of her, then habitually squatted down and began to pour out their troubles.

"My old woman passed away five days ago..." the old man began. "She was seventy-one and didn't suffer before she died, so it was almost a 'happy funeral'—a death at an old age without suffering. But something happened before the seventh day: my nephew, who was keeping vigil, heard someone knocking on the coffin lid." Bai Lingmiao's heart tightened instantly at this description. She cautiously glanced around, finding nothing unusual in her surroundings.

"We were scared, so we hastily buried her. But on the second night after we buried her, she actually jumped back out herself..." Though the farmer's words were blunt, they sent shivers down Bai Lingmiao's spine and made her hands and feet grow cold. This seemed different from what she had encountered before.

"As soon as the old woman pushed open the door, she demanded meat," the old man continued. "My son and I were terrified then. She looked as if she'd eat us if we didn't give her meat. So, we took down the half-side of smoked pork leg that was hanging from the beam, saved for the New Year. That was smoked meat, mind you! But she just gnawed on it raw. After she completely gnawed through the whole leg, she left. And she even said she'd come back tomorrow."

As the old man spoke, the bitter expression on his face deepened. "It's not that I'm stingy and wouldn't feed my old woman," he said, "but that clearly wasn't our old woman. The way she gnawed on the meat was like an animal; her mouth was bloody and messy, it was terrifying! This evil visitor is truly malevolent... To bury my old woman, we sold both pigs we had. If she comes again and there's no meat, I'm afraid she'll gnaw on my son and me. If you can help my old woman reincarnate peacefully, then you'll be the female Bodhisattva of our family." After finishing his tale, the old man slumped his head, looking dejected, and said no more.

"Rising from the dead? Has something possessed her?" Bai Lingmiao thought to herself, beginning to assess the danger of the situation. After discussing it with the Second Deity in her mind and confirming the danger was indeed not great, she looked up at the time. "Old man," Bai Lingmiao said, "the sun is about to set. Since I'm here, how about I stay tonight?"

"What? You really have a way?" The old man immediately grew excited. He had just seen this young girl and thought she wouldn't have much skill. Having experienced so many things with Senior Brother Li, Bai Lingmiao found herself quite confident about this small matter. When he saw Bai Lingmiao nod in confirmation, the old man immediately stood up and rushed towards the chickens in the courtyard. "Alright!" he exclaimed. "Have dinner at our place! Don't be shy!"

That evening, a whole chicken was placed before Bai Lingmiao, but she had little appetite, nervously awaiting the arrival of night. As soon as night fell, the father and son retreated to the back room to sleep, leaving Bai Lingmiao alone in the main hall, which resembled a mourning hall. The family appeared very poor; the only light in the house was an oil lamp, casting flickering shadows all around and making the already eerie environment even more sinister.