PCJ – Chapter 31 Wong Tai Sin

Zhang Jiaohua thought that after he became a master, he wouldn’t dream at night anymore. Unexpectedly, he had another dream at night. But this time, it wasn’t about being in the Daoist temple of the old Daoist. Instead, it was about going to various places to worship.

The village in the dream was called Laoteng Village, and it had been restless lately. A child from a farmer’s family had been behaving strangely, so they came to seek help from the Daoist temple.

The child had not shown any abnormalities before, but in recent days, his behavior had become particularly odd. He became very timid, hiding in the corner of his room during the day, afraid to come out. He would hide under the bed at the slightest sound. He resisted his own family fiercely, refusing to let anyone get close. He couldn’t speak normally, instead making squeaking sounds. All his reactions were unlike those of a human, more like an animal.

The villagers all thought the child was possessed by evil spirits, which explained his strange behavior. So they went to seek help from the Daoist temple.

When Zhang Jiaohua arrived in the village, he first asked if anything strange had happened in the village before the child’s condition changed.

The child’s father said, “There was nothing abnormal. Just a few days ago, my kid said he saw a group of yellow-skinned creatures playing behind the house on the mountain. A few naughty kids threw stones at them, scaring away the yellow-skinned creatures. After driving them away, they found a red cloth bag in the mountains containing thirteen big coins (copper coins). My kid found the bag and brought it home.”

The child’s father fetched the red cloth bag from home, and sure enough, it was bulging, containing thirteen big coins. Zhang Jiaohua smelled a wild animal scent on the cloth bag, a peculiar smell that he had encountered when he went out with the old Daoist in his dream. He recognized it immediately.

“This matter is your fault first, disturbing others like this. I will go and mediate for you and settle this matter.” Zhang Jiaohua said involuntarily. Every time he dreamed, it was like watching a movie, everything happening automatically, and he had no control.

To exorcise and guard the way, the Daoist Temple naturally had a set of spells to communicate with such evil spirits. Zhang Jiaohua entered the house where the child was hiding and attempted to communicate with the possessing evil spirit.

“I am the Daoist here. I have heard about your situation. These children took your betrothal gifts, which was indeed wrong of them and they have already been punished. So, I have come to mediate and ask them to return your betrothal gifts. You should also forgive this ignorant child. Let this matter end here.”

At first, the child was surprised that Zhang Jiaohua could communicate with it, then he became a bit afraid that Zhang Jiaohua might do something to him. But when it came to the betrothal gifts, the child became very excited, “This matter cannot be settled so easily. They ruined my good fortune, so I want them to suffer a bit.”

“They have suffered enough, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Let me save face for you. Take your betrothal gifts back and refrain from seeking revenge in the future.”

“No, I didn’t succeed in getting married last time. The bride won’t marry me anymore. I have to go find a new bride again, which costs a lot. They have to compensate me.” The evil spirit refused.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded and said, “I’ll go talk to them for you. Let them compensate you with some money.”

When Zhang Jiaohua talked to the child’s family, they immediately agreed. They took out three times the amount of big coins and stuffed the red cloth bag full.

Zhang Jiaohua took the bag of coins over, and the evil spirit was tempted but greedily wanted more. Zhang Jiaohua’s expression changed immediately.

“So, you’re not going to give me face?” Zhang Jiaohua took out a magical tool from his Daoist robe, ready to use it. The evil spirit, unaware of the danger, actually wanted to compete with Zhang Jiaohua.

Zhang Jiaohua directly pointed at the child’s acupoint, immobilizing him. Then he prepared five Chang water and poured it into the child’s mouth. The five Chang water was the nemesis of evil spirits. The evil spirit immediately fled from the child’s body.

Zhang Jiaohua chased after it, and a yellow-skinned creature emerged from the straw beside the house. It tried to escape but was caught by Zhang Jiaohua, who grabbed it by the neck. This was a rare kind of creature with spiritual abilities.

The yellow-skinned creature was subdued by Zhang Jiaohua and had to beg for mercy. It promised never to cause trouble again. The old Daoist had previously warned that when encountering such spiritually endowed animals, one should try not to kill them outright. It was better to acknowledge their spiritual cultivation and give them a way out. A little punishment would be sufficient.

Zhang Jiaohua handed the bag of big coins to the yellow-skinned creature and let it leave. A yellow-skinned creature with a bag of big coins in its mouth running around was quite a sight.

When the dream ended, Zhang Jiaohua opened his eyes, and it was already dawn. But it was Sunday, and Zhang Jiaohua’s task of herding cattle was also done for the day. There was nothing to do in the morning, so Liu Qiaoye let his son sleep a little longer.

When Zhang Jiaohua got up, he heard a commotion at the Zhang Benrui family’s house and went over to take a look. They had killed four yellow-skinned creatures in their yard.

Stuttering, they boasted about their heroic deeds, “Yesterday, my dad bought several mouse traps from the town and placed them all around the duck coop. These despicable yellow-skinned creatures have stolen five ducks from us recently. We were really fed up with them and intentionally bought the mouse traps to deal with them. They were so audacious that they came again last night. We caught four of them, but unfortunately, several others escaped. My dad said he would skin these yellow-skinned creatures and teach them a lesson so they dare not come again.”

“Trouble, trouble!” Grandpa Zhang Genxin rushed over in a hurry and, seeing everything in the yard, became frantic.

“Dad, don’t panic. It’s the era of reform and opening up now, and those feudal superstitions are outdated. Don’t worry, we did this. Even if the Yellow Deity comes for revenge, it will come to me, not to you, old man.” Zhang Benrui couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the old man’s frantic state.

Zhang Manyin couldn’t help but say, “Benrui, we should listen to what the old man says. We can’t afford to offend the Yellow Deity.”

“Whether we can afford it or not, we’ve already offended it. If they dare to come again, I’ll skin them and eat their meat. They’ve stolen all our ducks. This time, they came in a large group. If I hadn’t been prepared, they would’ve eaten all the stupid ducks in our house. You guys stand there talking nonsense. When your family lost so many ducks, let’s see if you still have the mood to talk to me.” Zhang Benrui was very displeased with everyone trying to stop him.