Chapter 81: The Soul-Locking Nail

Carrying a corpse, it was inappropriate to enter a stranger’s home, so instead of going to Duan Tianqi’s house, we returned to Old Ding’s. The dead are gone; Old Ding’s son’s body could only rest for now in the living room. We turned our attention to the young man’s condition.

“Soul-locking nails—they bind the soul, leaving one neither dead nor alive. Judging by the look of it, the nail wasn’t driven in long ago. The boy is lucky we found him,” said Old Ma.

He looked at me and instructed, “Go fetch some incense and candles, and prepare a bowl of clear water.”

I walked to the ancestral tablets, gathered the spare incense and candles, and found a bowl, which I filled with water.

Old Ma took a talisman from his pack. “It’s already dark, too late to fetch proper exorcising materials, so for now a talisman will have to do. Luozi, remember this: whenever you need to ward off evil, your first choice should be natural items like thatch or pomelo leaves. Only if you have none should you resort to spells and talismans. Natural things carry their own spiritual energy, far better than anything conjured by man.”

I nodded. In a village, such things were easy to find, but in the city, thatch would be next to impossible.

“Watch how I do it. Learn well,” Old Ma said.

He lit two red candles and placed them on either side of the boy’s head. Then he set three sticks of incense each at the crown of the head and at the feet. He began to chant, the words ancient Yue incantations. I did my best to memorize the chant. With my earlier experience, I focused on the melody, not the meaning, and managed to commit it to memory.

After reciting a long passage, Old Ma asked, seemingly offhand, “Did you remember what I just chanted?”

“I did,” I replied.

Old Ma turned his head, surprised, but said nothing more. He picked up the talisman, gave it a flick, and it caught fire instantly. Once it had burned to ash, he dropped the ashes into the bowl of water.

He took up the bowl, took a mouthful of the talisman water, and sprayed it over the boy from head to toe. Then another mouthful, and another—three in all. Then Old Ma motioned for me to help turn the boy over, face down.

I did as instructed, and only then noticed a tiny nail at the base of the boy’s skull, about where the Fengchi point would be.

Old Ma sprayed the talisman water three more times across the boy’s back. By then, the bowl was nearly empty. But instead of removing the nail outright, he pressed upward along the boy’s spine. When his hand reached the neck, he slapped it sharply. The nail quivered. He slapped again, harder, and the nail shook visibly. With one last slap, the nail popped free from the base of the skull.

It was thin and small, not even a centimeter long. Fortunately, it wasn’t any bigger—had it struck a tendon or bone, things could have been much worse.

Old Ma examined the boy, then said, “The soul-locking nail is gone. There are no other traces of sorcery on him. Once he wakes, he’ll be fine.”

It was already four in the morning. We stayed at Old Ding’s for a while, catching a little sleep where we could.

At dawn, Old Ma sent me to find Duan Tianqi’s parents before they left for work. With Old Ding arrested and us knowing none of his relatives, we had no choice but to ask Duan Tianqi’s parents to help deal with the aftermath, at least to contact Old Ding’s family.

It was ironic: Old Ding had tried to kill Duan Tianqi to silence him, yet now, his own son’s funeral had to rely on Duan Tianqi’s parents.

Neighbors for years, the couple were deeply moved when they heard of Old Ding’s son’s death. They called Old Ding’s relatives and friends, took the day off, and came to handle the arrangements.

Back at Old Ding’s, I called the police officer to inform him of the situation so he could pass word to Old Ding.

With all this done, our part was over. Old Ma and Gu Yangyu caught up on sleep inside, while I watched over the boy, waiting for him to wake.

Bored, I recited the incantation Old Ma had used to remove the nail, over and over, then repeated the ghost-warding chant several times.

It was close to noon when the boy stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He looked around in confusion, then his gaze fixed on me. He sat up on the bed.

“Who… are you?” he asked.

“I’m the one who saved you. Who are you? How did you end up buried by that old woman in the grave mound?” I asked.

He looked at me, utterly bewildered. “Grave mound… old woman… me?”

Something didn’t feel right. “What’s your name?”

He held his head, as if struggling to remember. “My name… what’s my name… I don’t remember…”

No way! Amnesia?

“What else can you recall?” I asked.

He tried hard to think, then shook his head. “I can’t remember anything. Strange…”

Damn! He really lost his memory!

“You wait here, I’ll go get someone,” I said, heading out.

I fetched Old Ma and Gu Yangyu, asking them to take a look. The boy’s confused gaze darted between us.

Old Ma placed a hand on the boy’s forehead, muttered a few words, then withdrew his hand. “It’s a side effect of the soul-locking nail.”

“So he’s really lost his memory?” I asked.

Old Ma nodded. “It won’t last long. Ten days at the quickest, a month at most, and it will return.”

Ten days! That’s not long? “So what do we do with him? Hand him over to the police?”

“No! Don’t call the police! Don’t call the police!” the boy burst out, grabbing my clothes in panic. “I’m scared of them! Please, don’t let the police catch me!”

Such a strong reaction—could he have committed some crime?

Old Ma said, “His origins are unknown, and I have questions for him myself. Turning him over to the police wouldn’t be right.”

“So what do we do?” I asked.

Old Ma squinted slyly. Who knew what scheme he was plotting? Whenever he wore that look, nothing good ever followed.

After a while, Old Ma said, “I have some personal matters to handle. I can’t trust anyone else to look after the boy. Luozi, why don’t you watch over him for a while? When his memory returns, ask him what I need to know.”

“No way!” I refused at once.

You must be joking! I can barely take care of myself, let alone look after some kid with a mysterious past! Old Ma knows plenty of people—Meng Chengde is right here in the city, with a big family and resources. Why not hire a nanny? Why stick me with this?

“That settles it! You’re my apprentice; you do as I say. I have things to take care of. You take the boy home for now. If I need anything, I’ll contact you,” Old Ma declared, brooking no argument.