With a voice like that and what she says, I don't need to look to know it's Su Qing. Although I've only met her once, her feisty impression is profound.
It's just as well, since she's a Taoist priest, perhaps she has a way to deal with the fetal ghost possession.
After Su Qing came in and saw me, she started scolding me. "Is it really necessary to complain to her sister about a debt of twenty thousand yuan?" she said. "I will pay it back."
I said to put the matter of money aside for now and pulled her over to ask if she could solve the problem with the fetal ghost possession. If possible, we could delay the payment for a few days.
I had given my account details to Su Qing; if she really had money, she would've transferred it directly to me. Since she was broke, I let her help offset the debt first to avoid the trouble of going to Zhang Qing.
"Ghost fetus? That serious? Is it you?" Su Qing frowned and looked at Xu Meng.
Xu Meng, wiping away her tears, nodded and recounted the whole ordeal to Su Qing.
Su Qing was angry, saying it was simply disregard for women. Whether to terminate the ghost fetus or let it be born, it would cause significant harm to the mother—death in severe cases or chronic illness in milder ones. It would even make it difficult for her to have children in the future.
Su Qing was furious, but at the same time, she looked at Xu Meng with extreme sympathy. Even though she didn't know Xu Meng, she was indignant on her behalf.
I said that being angry is useless; we need to solve the problem at hand. How can we deal with Xu Meng's ghost fetus? Is there a Taoist way?
After some thought, Su Qing said that the ghost fetus must be terminated and certainly not allowed to be born.
The challenge is the termination is harmful to the mother, and some ghostly energy would remain in her abdomen, inevitably leading to fragility and continual illness.
However, the Taoists have something called "Fetal Ghost Dissolving Water" that can terminate the ghost fetus with minimal harm.
Dissolving Water? That name sent a chill down my spine. That stuff is used to dispose of corpses. Just pour it on and the whole body dissolves, turning the bones to liquid, almost like sulfuric acid.
But Su Qing clarified that it wasn't that kind of Dissolving Water. It was a mixture prepared with morning dew on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar, combined with a special talisman.
The dew gathered at dawn, when the yang energy is strongest—especially on the first and fifteenth days—paired with the talisman, could dissolve the ghost fetus in Xu Meng's womb without causing severe harm, though some loss of health is inevitable. It can be restored later.
However, this dew is difficult to collect, and we need to wait for the right day. Today being the eighth, we need to wait a week, and we need to buy the talisman, costing about five thousand yuan each.
Given the situation, Xu Meng wouldn't care if it was fifty thousand yuan, as long as the ghost fetus could be terminated. But since the first has already passed, we need to wait another week for the dew of the fifteenth.
Since the fetus won't be born immediately anyway, we decided to wait. Now with hope, Xu Meng's complexion also softened.
Just then, a gust of gloomy wind blew violently, shaking the doors and windows, and a dark shadow loomed outside. Its limbs on the ground, twisted in a terrifying pose, reminiscent of the ghosts in horror films, it seemed ready to crawl towards us at any moment.
"Aiyo, damn, a ghost, boss!" Shorty Xing hid behind me, shouting in a panic.
I found it strange; didn't he seem knowledgeable before? Now he was scared enough to nearly pee his pants at the sight of a ghost.
Shorty Xing claimed he only had theoretical knowledge; he didn't know how to catch ghosts, and this one was too terrifying.
I told him not to be scared, Xu Meng had the ghost beggar's tattoo, and a Taoist priest was on watch here—the ghost wouldn't dare to enter.
My words were correct; the ghost outside posed for quite a while, certainly alarming with the creepy black night adding to the horror. But it just wouldn't dare to come in.
"Oh, are you the one who impregnated that girl with the ghost fetus? Hmph, bold enough to act, but not to enter? Such a creature would be condemned to hell in the underworld, to never find peace," Su Qing scolded angrily.
Su Qing's sharp tongue indeed provoked the ghost, who slowly began to crawl towards us, and the gloomy wind grew stronger.
It was clear the ghost was agitated by our discussion about terminating its child, wanting to scare us into refraining. But after an outburst from Su Qing, it's anger rose, ready to fight us to the death.
Su Qing, fearless, snorted and quickly prepared a yellow talisman, mumbling an incantation unintelligibly.
But before a confrontation ensued, a loud shout "Zhā!" resonated, and a dark figure appeared on the wall.
The figure held a staff, with an ugly face and long, slender fingers adorned with fangs.
Upon seeing this, the ghost trembled and reluctantly retreated after giving us one last resentful glance.
The wind died down, the ghost disappeared, and the shadow on the wall vanished.
"Heh, see? That ghost wasn't scared of you, the Taoist priest, but of my ghost tattoo. Haha, when it's crucial, you need me!" I boasted, but Su Qing, unconvinced, gave me a painful stomp on the foot, bringing tears to my eyes.
"Cut it out. You were hiding behind me just moments ago!" Su Qing crossed her arms and looked disdainful.
Never mind, I, a grown man, wouldn't quibble with a petty woman, especially one I can't defeat.
After the ghost left, calm returned outside, and I assured Xu Meng not to worry. With her ghost beggar tattoo, that ghost couldn't stir trouble, let alone get close to her. Just seven days to wait, and her ghost fetus can be terminated.
After understanding the situation and thanking us, Xu Meng drove away in her Honda.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Xu Meng's tough fate. Born into hardship, she'd encountered such a sad event.
"How is it? Feel sorry for her? Why not marry her? It's a great deal with a buy-one-get-one free bonus!" Su Qing teased.
Marry your sister. Now that half of Xu Meng's issue was dealt with, it was time to talk about money. I stretched out my hand to ask when she'll pay me.
Su Qing smacked my hand away, saying she was broke, her monthly spending money was ten thousand yuan, and she'd given me all she had this month. The remaining twenty thousand would take another two months, even if she went without eating or drinking.
I wasn't happy about it. I only agreed to a delay of a few days, not two months.
Su Qing warned me not to push it. It was good enough she agreed to pay. My ghost tattoos are costly. If it weren't for her sister Su Yu forcing her to come, she wouldn't bother with me.
I mentioned the quality—price doesn't lie. How about the results, huh?
That shut Su Qing up. Since getting the Dream Eater tattoo from me, she hadn't had that nightmare again. Finally, she could sleep soundly at night.
"So isn't it worth it?" I said. "The tattoo has the desired effect, so you have to accept the price. Since you're broke, how about paying with your services?"
Su Qing's ears perked up, and she quickly grabbed my ear, shouting, "Ah, I knew it, you lecher! Just for twenty thousand, you dare to fancy your luck with me. You're like looking for death in the toilet."
Shorty Xing, sensing trouble, hurriedly tried to calm Su Qing down, worried my ear might be twisted off, but she didn't pay him any mind and twisted even harder.
"Darn it, it hurts! Let go! I didn't mean it like that. I meant you could stay and work off the debt," I hastily explained.
Su Qing as a Taoist priest could be very helpful. If nothing else, her beauty could surely draw in a few clients.
"Should've said so from the start!" Su Qing finally let go, but my ear felt like it had fallen off.
Right then, several eerie green will-o'-the-wisps appeared outside, and under their guidance, several bizarre paper figures carrying a palanquin slowly landed at the front of the tattoo shop.
The paper figures, dressed in shrouds and painted with bizarre rouge, moved like living beings.
The palanquin was also made of paper, blending with the darkness of the night, giving off a terrifying vibe. Who was sitting inside, I didn't know, but the scene had already made my skin crawl.