Volume 3: Tomb of the Fox Immortal - Chapter 28: Luring Ghosts with Paper Effigies

The old village chief’s expression froze. “What?”

Wang the Second nodded again, and the two of them hurried to Old Zhang Geng’s house.

When they arrived, they found that Old Zhang Geng’s head had indeed vanished.

That very evening, another villager was beheaded by a ghost in the dead of night. His body still lay in the courtyard, but no one knew where his head had gone. From that day onward, everyone in the village knew that a Headless Ghost had appeared among them.

If a human had done it, there was no way he could have severed someone’s head so silently.

This continued for seven full days. During that time, seven villagers died in succession. Every night after midnight, panic gripped the entire village, because each of the victims had died silently at that very hour, leaving behind nothing but a headless corpse.

But by the eighth day, the villagers truly dared not remain in the village any longer. No one was beheaded by the Headless Ghost that day, but the village chief discovered that Old Wang’s daughter, whose father served on the village committee, had met a bizarre death early the next morning.

The old village chief hurried over as soon as he received the news. When he saw the condition of Old Wang’s daughter’s body, he staggered backward in fright.

Every inch of flesh and skin had been stripped from the girl’s body. She lay on the bed, drenched in blood, while crimson liquid covered everything from the bed to the floor. The sight was so horrifying that Old Wang’s wife fainted on the spot.

Afterward, Old Wang wept and told the old village chief, “Last night, I heard a creaking sound. I thought the Headless Ghost had come, so I got up immediately to take a look. But when I saw that everyone in the family was lying in their rooms, I didn’t pay it any mind. Yet after I went back to bed, the sound continued off and on. Who could have imagined that my daughter was being skinned alive?”

With that, Old Wang dropped heavily to the floor and began sobbing.

On the night of the ninth day, another young woman was stripped of all her flesh and skin. This time, the villagers could no longer sit still. If things continued like this, the consequences would be disastrous.

They began collecting money. Although the village was small, nearly every household was fairly well-off. In less than half a day, the villagers had gathered a full two hundred thousand yuan in cash. They then began seeking out Taoist priests reputed to possess supernatural skills.

When these so-called priests arrived one after another, each confidently guaranteed that capturing the Headless Ghost would be effortless. Hearing this, the old village chief finally felt somewhat reassured.

But that very evening, one of the priests had his head brutally chopped off by the Headless Ghost, while another had the flesh stripped from his entire upper body. Their deaths were horrifying beyond description.

Once word spread that even the Taoist priests who had come to help had met with disaster, not a single charlatan dared return. Having seen what had happened to those who came before them, the frauds of the wandering martial world stayed far away.

The old village chief, however, grew increasingly desperate. The money was ready, but no one was capable of helping Gou Tou Village rid itself of the ghosts. With no other choice, the villagers began packing up their belongings and leaving one by one.

By now, hardly anyone remained in the village. Those left behind were mostly poor families who owned no houses outside the village and had no money to leave, along with a few elderly people.

The old village chief took a sip of plain water, turned toward me, and said, “Actually, no one else from our village has died in the past few days. Her husband was the only person recently killed by the Headless Ghost. But fortunately, the three of you masters have come. Our village may finally be saved.”

Behind him, the woman wiped away her tears, while the little boy sat beside the little girl on the heated brick bed, staring at us.

The woman said, “I don’t know what terrible sin our Gou Tou Village committed.”

The old village chief said to her, “Liu Fang, don’t take the children back home to sleep for the next few days. Stay in the room next door to mine. It isn’t safe right now.”

The woman nodded and thanked him. The old village chief then turned to me and asked, “Masters, what do you plan to do?”

I glanced at Xu Tian and Li Kun beside me. “We’ll discuss it shortly. When we came, we thought there was only one Headless Ghost. We never expected there to be a Skinning Ghost as well.”

The old village chief rose to his feet. “If the three of you can truly eliminate these two ghosts, Gou Tou Village is willing to pay you two hundred thousand yuan in gratitude.”

Xu Tian, who had been listening quietly, asked, “Village Chief, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

The old village chief turned toward him. “Please, Master.”

“Do you know how many people the Skinning Ghost has killed?”

The old village chief lowered his head and thought for a moment. “It seems to have killed nine people. All nine were young women. The youngest was only eleven or twelve years old.”

Xu Tian nodded. Then he turned to me and said, “Fortunately, it hasn’t killed ten people yet. Otherwise, we would be dealing with another Evil Ghost.”

I said to the old village chief, “First, find us a room. We’ll stay here tonight. Also, find us the blood of a black dog that has lived for more than ten years, and the blood of a rooster that has been raised for more than two years. Put them in separate basins and bring them to us later.”

The old village chief nodded. “That will be easy. Many families in the village raise dogs and chickens.”

With that, he stood up and called toward the doorway. Three young men of about eighteen or nineteen soon came running over.

After the old village chief instructed them to find a black dog and a rooster from different households, the three young men hurried away.

Once everything had been arranged, the old village chief returned and said to me, “Master, there are plenty of empty houses in the village now. If you don’t mind, you can stay at my house. The front courtyard is empty at present. If the three of you have no objections, you can stay there.”

Li Kun, Xu Tian, and I rose to our feet. I nodded to the old village chief, and he led us toward the front courtyard.

The two courtyards were not far apart, separated only by a narrow path. The old village chief opened the gate, revealing the entire courtyard. It was completely different from the one we had just left. There was a room on the left and another directly ahead. The room in front was larger, while the one on the left was a side room.

The old village chief led us straight to the main room. The moment we entered, we saw a large cooking pot. A heated brick bed stretched all the way across the room, and the furniture was complete, though there were no electrical appliances.

“You three can stay here tonight,” the old village chief told us. “If you aren’t used to sleeping on a heated brick bed, you can use the side room instead. There’s a large bed in there.”

I nodded, and the old village chief left.

Xu Tian, Li Kun, and I looked around the room before going into the side room to inspect it. Though it was somewhat smaller, it contained all the basic furniture. Just as he had said, there was a bed more than two meters wide inside.

The three of us dropped onto the bed. Li Kun stretched out and said, “I’m exhausted. I hate riding in cars. Today has been one long ordeal.”

Xu Tian rolled his eyes at him. “You weren’t even driving. What are you tired from?”

Li Kun gave a sheepish laugh, sat up, and looked at me. “Old Liu, what are you planning to do?”

I glanced outside through the window. “Naturally, we’ll find a way to deal with the Skinning Ghost first. We have to destroy it before it transforms into an Evil Ghost. If it kills even one more person, things will become much more difficult. I’m not confident we could handle two Evil Ghosts.”

Li Kun asked, “Then how are we supposed to lure the Skinning Ghost out? Old Liu, do you have any ideas?”

I shook my head. “I’m not omnipotent. I’m still trying to think of a way.”

Xu Tian spoke up. “Old Liu, I have an idea, though I don’t know whether it will work.”

Li Kun and I turned toward him.

“A few years ago, my grandfather was drinking tea at our house with an old Taoist priest. I happened to come home that day, and the two of them were discussing matters like this.”

“There was one thing that old Taoist said that I still remember clearly. After death, ghosts cannot distinguish between a paper effigy and a living person. If what he said was true, we could use that method to lure the ghost out by making a paper effigy.”

When Xu Tian finished speaking, Li Kun and I both froze.

“Is that really true?” Li Kun asked.

Xu Tian spread his hands. “I don’t know. Do either of you have a better idea? Besides, as far as I know, that old Taoist priest came from Mount Mao.”

At that, I immediately stood up. “If that old Taoist truly came from Mount Mao, then his words must be reliable. Besides, it’s difficult to find almost anyone in this village now, but finding someone who makes paper effigies should be easy.”

The two of them nodded.

“That’s right,” Xu Tian said. “With so many things happening in the village, I imagine the paper effigy maker can barely keep up with the demand.”

Xu Tian then turned to me. “Old Liu, we don’t have any magical instruments for chasing ghosts, and we can’t even see them. You can open your Third Eye and see ghosts, but Li Kun and I would be helpless.”

Li Kun nodded. “Exactly. I hate things I can’t see. If I can see it, then why should Master Li fear it? Just give me a weapon I can use, and I’ll beat it until its face blooms like a peach blossom.”

“I can let you see ghosts,” I said. “That’s easy. Don’t forget, I have the Soul-Calming Bell. It doesn’t just open the Third Eye for me; it can open yours as well. But remember this: once your Third Eyes are opened, they will remain active for only two hours. Keep track of the time. When the two hours are up, you’ll have to open them again. We must deal with the Skinning Ghost within those two hours. Once the time runs out, we’ll be in danger.”