Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Possessed Woman

What seemed at first to be a simple thank you took on a different meaning once it reached my grandmother’s ears. As soon as Zhang Moyun uttered her thanks, I saw Grandma pat her hand affectionately and say, “Child, there’s no need to be so formal; we’re all family here.”

Hearing those words, I was completely bewildered. What on earth was going on? I glanced at Zhang Moyun, who looked just as lost as I was.

I took a seat and looked at Grandma, asking, “Grandma, what are you talking about? What do you mean, we’re all family?”

Grandma took a sip of hot water, then, with a puzzled look, said, “Isn’t this young lady the future daughter-in-law of our Lin family?”

I had just taken a sip of water, and at her words, I immediately spat it out. Embarrassed, I wiped my mouth and glanced at Zhang Moyun, apologizing. The girl blushed and murmured softly, “It’s all right.”

I nodded, then turned to Grandma again, “Grandma, what exactly are you saying? She’s my classmate, Zhang Moyun. It’s not what you think.”

After my explanation, Grandma was the one who looked confused. I saw her glance curiously at Master, and it was clear this misunderstanding was entirely his doing. I shot Master a look, and under our combined stares, he started to sweat and tried to change the subject. “Ah… Well, Madam, where is Old Master Lin? I haven’t seen him at home.”

“He left early this morning and didn’t say where he was going. But I heard that something happened recently in the neighboring Zhangjia Village. A few days ago, someone from the Zhang family came here to ask your grandfather to help. I didn’t get involved, so I don’t know the details,” Grandma said, glancing at the clock behind her.

After she finished, Master, Zhang Moyun, and I all stood there in a daze. Master spoke in disbelief, “Zhangjia Village next door? Could it be that Old Master Lin already knows about this?”

Master glanced at Zhang Moyun, and so did I. Zhang Moyun clasped her hands nervously, tension apparent after hearing the news. After a moment, she stood up and said, “Grandma, Uncle, Lin Xuan, I’m sorry, I won’t stay for lunch. I want to go home first—I’m a bit worried.”

With those few words, she started to leave. Master quickly stood and moved to block her path, about to speak, when suddenly someone outside called out loudly, “Hey, whose luxury car is this? Parked right in front of my house—not afraid someone will scratch it?”

We were all drawn outside by the voice. Looking out, I saw Grandfather holding his pipe, hands clasped behind his back, walking into the courtyard. On seeing us at the door, he paused, glanced back at the luxury car, and then said, “Xuan’er, you’re back! Why didn’t you let us know in advance?”

I immediately stood up and rushed to his side, saying, “I wanted to surprise you and Grandma.”

“Surprise? More like a shock! I’m not young anymore; I can’t handle surprises. Still, you’ve grown sturdier than before. Welcome home! Come, let’s talk inside.” Grandfather laughed heartily, squeezed my arm, and pulled me indoors.

At the door, Master whispered to Zhang Moyun, “Don’t worry too much, girl. We’ll help you with your family matters. Rest a while—don’t wear yourself out.”

Zhang Moyun hesitated, then nodded and returned to her seat. Grandfather called Master over, who handed him a cigarette. They both lit up, and Grandfather asked, “Boqing, why didn’t you let me know you were coming back?”

Master chuckled, “It was meant to be a surprise.”

Grandfather paused, then said, “Don’t play games with me. But you’ve come at just the right time; there’s something I need to discuss with you—it concerns you as well.”

After speaking, Grandfather glanced at Zhang Moyun. “Who’s this young lady? She looks familiar.”

I quickly replied, “Grandfather, she’s my classmate from the neighboring village, Zhang Moyun.”

“Zhang Moyun?” Grandfather repeated, frowning and stroking his chin.

I nodded, but Grandfather changed the subject after a puff of his cigarette. “You all must be tired after your journey. Old lady, is lunch ready? Come, let’s eat first.”

Grandma nodded and bustled into the kitchen. I went to help her, and after about an hour, we all ate and drank our fill. Afterwards, I took Zhang Moyun outside for a walk, while Grandfather called Master into a side room.

“Boqing, you know about what’s happening in the Underworld, don’t you?” Grandfather asked.

Master nodded, leaning against the wall. “The Underworld is in chaos. The Ghost King Qingchen is running rampant. His ambitions go far beyond the Underworld—I’m afraid if we don’t take action, the world of the living will suffer as well.”

Grandfather nodded solemnly. “Yes, I’ve heard the news myself. What do you plan to do?”

Master walked to the window and sat down, silent for a long while before responding, “I’ve contacted some old friends. When the time is right, I’ll declare war on that old devil Qingchen. If my power wasn’t sealed away, I’d have destroyed him by now. How can I not avenge the massacre of my sect?”

His fists clenched in anger. Grandfather sighed, walked over, and patted him on the shoulder. “Have you thought of any way to lift the seal? Has Demon Star’s power grown strong enough to suppress even a Guardian?”

Master shook his head. “I’m still working on it. Demon Star is nothing but a lackey for someone else. Even with only thirty percent of my power, I could still destroy him. My concern is with whoever is behind him.”

“Behind him? Do you know who that is?” Grandfather pressed.

Master shook his head again. “Not yet. But the truth will come out eventually—I’ll find out.”

At that moment, Zhang Moyun and I returned from our walk. I called out, “Master, Master, let’s go—time to get down to business.”

A moment later, Master emerged from the side room. I said a few words to my grandparents, then got into Master’s car with Zhang Moyun, and we headed for Zhangjia Village.

After a while, the car stopped in a spacious square. As soon as I got out, I heard the mournful sound of funeral music drifting over. Led by Zhang Moyun, we went to her house. Before we even reached the door, she called out, “Brother! Brother! I’m back!”

A sturdy man emerged from the house. Seeing Zhang Moyun, he came over quickly. “Sister, why didn’t you let me know you were coming home early? I could have picked you up.”

Zhang Moyun shook her head. “No need, I’m here now. Let me introduce you: this is my brother Zhang Wen. This is my classmate Lin Xuan, and this is his Master.”

After the introductions, I nodded at Zhang Wen, who politely greeted me. “Come in and sit.”

He led us inside, wiped down the table, and tidied up a bit. “Sorry the house is messy—I didn’t have time to clean up. Please excuse us.”

Master and I assured him it was fine. Zhang Wen said, “Please sit, I’ll pour some water.”

Just as he stood, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. A woman in her forties, with darkened skin, entered. As soon as Zhang Moyun saw her, she hid behind her brother. The woman, clearly hot-tempered, shouted, “You worthless girl, why are you back? I slave to send you to school in the city, and you come home to play? Just wait—I’ll teach you a lesson today!”

She looked at the broom nearby, grabbed it, and marched toward Zhang Moyun. Zhang Wen stopped her, grabbing the broom. “Mom, what are you doing? Moyun rarely comes home.”

“Out of my way! Did I ask her to come back? Isn’t she always running to that good-for-nothing uncle of hers? What’s she doing back here?” the woman scolded.

Hiding behind her brother, Zhang Moyun’s face crumpled, and she began to cry. The woman, brandishing the broom, yelled, “Crying? Cry all you want! The more I think about it, the angrier I get—I ought to beat you!”

She raised the broom again, but this time, it wasn’t Zhang Wen who intervened. My Master leapt forward, snatched the broom, and smashed it to the ground. The woman was stunned, turning to Master. “Who are you? Mind your own business! Zhang Wen, throw these strangers out—never let outsiders in again!”

Zhang Wen looked awkwardly at Master and me. “You two, I…”

Before he could finish, Master cut him off. He pulled a spirit-expelling talisman from his pocket and slapped it onto the woman’s shoulder. Instantly, the talisman burst into golden light. The woman screamed and collapsed, writhing on the floor. Master didn’t stop, throwing two more talismans onto her other shoulder and brow.

Her screams grew even more piercing as she rolled on the ground. Both siblings were terrified. Zhang Wen lunged at Master, grabbing his collar and cursing, “What the hell are you doing to my mother? Talking about foxes—what grudge do you have against us? Let her go or I’ll fight you!”

Master frowned and pushed Zhang Wen back several steps. I was stunned by his actions and quickly went to his side. “Master, what are you doing? They’re just ordinary people—you always said not to use Daoist arts on regular folk.”

Master sneered, glancing at the woman and Zhang Wen. “Boy, I didn’t use any Daoist arts on him. Look more closely at the woman on the floor.”

He pointed to Zhang Wen, then to the woman. Following his gesture, I looked—and was shocked to see a tail sprouting from the woman’s back.

“Master, a tail! Why does she have a tail?”

“That’s a fox’s tail. She’s long since ceased to be human—a little fox spirit took over her body. Now her tail can’t be hidden anymore,” Master said coldly.

Zhang Wen stared at Master as if he were mad, then tried to help the woman, but was repelled by the golden light. Frustrated, he shouted, “Who are you people? I welcomed you into my house, and this is how you repay us? Let my mother go! If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”

He grabbed an axe and swung it at Master, who didn’t dodge. Master raised one hand and struck his elbow, sending the axe clattering to the floor. He slapped Zhang Wen across the face and dampened his yang energy, then said, “Zhang Wen, look carefully.”

Clutching his elbow, Zhang Wen looked at his mother and staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief. “No… Impossible! How could this be? Mom, how did you become like this? It must be you—you did this to her! I’ll kill you!”

He was nearly incoherent with rage, yelling at the top of his lungs. Master shook his head. “Enough, Zhang Wen. Don’t deceive yourself. She’s not your mother—your real mother may have passed away long ago. What’s here now is just a body possessed by a fox spirit. Take a good look.”

Hearing it again, Zhang Wen collapsed to the ground. Zhang Moyun burst into tears, clutching her brother. “Brother, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me! Lin Xuan, what’s happened to my brother? What’s happened to my mother?”

“It’s better if you don’t know. Your brother will be all right—give him some time,” I replied with a sigh, turning away and not meeting her gaze.

After a while, Master waved his hand and drew out a red fox’s soul, gripping it tightly. The fox spirit could speak, and it spat venomously at Master, “You damned Daoist, how dare you ruin my plans! The Red Fox Clan won’t let you get away with this!”

“Red Fox Clan? If you dare come, I’ll wipe you all out and save the world from your evil. I advise you to speak honestly, or I won’t just destroy you—I’ll send you to taste the horrors of the River of the Dead.” Master’s tone was cold and dismissive.

But the red fox spirit was stubborn, cursing relentlessly. Master stomped his foot, and a black Nether Gate appeared out of thin air. He formed a hand seal, and from within came shrill, hair-raising screams. After a moment, a watery ripple shot out, striking the fox’s soul. At this, the fox was terrified, its very soul trembling and shrieking in fear.

“Will you talk now?” Master demanded.

Under increasing pressure, the fox finally broke down, wailing, “Great Immortal, spare me! I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”

As soon as it begged for mercy, Master withdrew the watery ripple and dropped the fox soul to the ground. The fox gasped for breath, its soul flickering unsteadily. After a moment, it began, “Great Immortal, if I tell you, will you let me go? I’ve cultivated for centuries—it’s not easy. I don’t want it all to end here.”

Master did not reply but raised his hand, summoning the ripple again. The fox shrank back in terror, raising its hands in surrender. “I’ll talk! Don’t hurt me, Great Immortal. The woman isn’t dead—her soul has just left her body. It’s still in our Red Fox Den.”

Master stepped closer, voice cold. “Her soul has left her body? How long have you been in her? And why do you need her soul? Tell me everything.”

The fox cowered. “I… I’ve been in her for more than ten years. As for why we took her soul, I really don’t know. The Red Fox King ordered us to keep her body and soul intact. He sent me to possess her. But I did overhear something once—the Red Fox King has been having secret meetings with some underworld emissaries. That’s all I know. Please, Great Immortal, spare me! I’ll never do it again!”

The fox spirit dropped to its knees, kowtowing frantically. Master ignored it. “Where is the Red Fox Den?”

The fox stopped, trembling even more. “Not far from here—in the Three-legged Ravine.”

With that, the fox lowered its head. Master considered for a moment, then tossed the fox’s soul into the Nether Gate. With a final, piercing scream, the fox vanished from the world forever.