At that moment, even I, foolish as I might be, knew I must have encountered something unclean!
My family has been in the antique business for generations. A common trait among us in this trade is a firm belief in the supernatural.
Influenced by my family, I've developed a bit of a psychological shadow towards these matters. Suddenly, I remembered a story my father once told me about the son of a friend of his, who was also in the antique business. That kid, a few years older than me, never went to college; instead, he started picking up "rustic goods" from villages and countryside after finishing vocational school. However, it wasn't long before he got into trouble after acquiring a pair of Qing Dynasty jade bracelets. He changed drastically, bursting into Huangmei opera songs every night, and bizarrely, in a woman's voice!
My father's friend, a well-travelled and experienced antique dealer, knew at once that something malevolent had befallen his son. Later on, someone able was brought in to resolve the issue, but by then the boy had already lost so much Yang energy that he became very weak.
Subconsciously, I couldn't help but glance at the Bai Pi Dao on the sofa.
Could it be that the weird events I'm experiencing are related to this sword?
I had just acquired it that day, and strange things started happening that night, leaving me suspicious.
Moreover, the sword was freshly plundered from a grave by the tomb robbers, making it a brand new piece of "ghostly goods." My father once said that fresh "ghostly goods" are the most sinister; one careless move, and you collide with malevolent energy, attracting strange incidents!
Picking up the phone hastily, I dialed Uncle Li's number. After what had happened, I dared not sleep, always feeling as if a pair of eyes were watching me from the unseen darkness.
Before long, the call connected, and Uncle Li's sleepy voice came through, obviously woken by my call: "Tianzhong, what's the matter?"
I recounted the night's events in detail to Uncle Li. Uncle Li has a wider network than I do and knows some relevant people. I hinted at my hope that he could help me find someone to take a look at this situation tomorrow.
Uncle Li fell into a long silence, and after more than ten minutes, he sighed heavily: "Tianzhong, even though the sword is rare, you really shouldn't have taken it. The items from the Qinling tombs should not be acquired. I suspect the strangeness you're encountering has a high probability of being related to the sword you picked up this afternoon!"
I paused, vaguely recalling Uncle Li's strange behavior when I had collected the Bai Pi Dao during the day. I had been blinded by greed at the time and didn't pay attention. Now frightened, I quickly asked, "Could there be some taboo concerning the items unearthed from the Qinling tombs?"
"Ah... I'll explain that to you in detail later," Uncle Li sighed, clearly no longer sleepy after hearing my story. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Go to the shop now, I'm worried something else might happen if you stay at home."
Uncle Li's words sent a chill down my spine, and I hastily asked, "You mean that thing might not let me be, even tonight?"
"Hard to say."
Uncle Li thought for a moment, then slowly continued, "It's unclear what is currently attached to you, but it's definitely something not to be trifled with. As the saying goes, it's easy to attract unclean entities, but hard to dispel them. I'm afraid it'll go back to torment you tonight."
I was truly scared, a cold shiver running straight to my head, no time for hesitation: "Alright, I'm leaving home."
"Good, go straight to the shop. Don't look back no matter what you encounter on the road. Just get out the door and take a taxi to the shop. At the very least, we have objects in the shop that can ward off such things; they shouldn't cause trouble there."
Uncle Li said firmly, "Remember, once you get to the shop, just wait for me. No matter who knocks, even if the sky is falling, do not open the door!!"
"..."
After hanging up the phone, I definitely didn't dare to stay in this house any longer. I put on my jacket and hesitated for a moment before ultimately deciding to wrap the Bai Pi Dao in a coarse cloth bag and leave, locking the door behind me.
It was about half past three in the morning. The alley outside my home was pitch-black, impossible to see one's hand in front of their face, the ground enveloped by a white mist that had crept in at some point, chilling the air, devoid of any human shadow.
Heeding Uncle Li's advice, I didn't dare look back and groped my way forward in the dark. But it wasn't long before I heard someone calling my name from behind, and I involuntarily stopped in my tracks.
"Ge Tianzhong!"
The voice rang out again, ethereal, indiscernible whether male or female.
I shuddered as if struck by lightning, almost trembling involuntarily. I definitely heard someone calling out my name, and I was genuinely spooked. But one thing was crystal clear to me—I absolutely couldn't respond!!
It's common sense, as I heard from my father, that most of these incidents are caused by mischievous spirits.
Spirits can't differentiate the strength of a person's Yang energy. If they encounter someone with strong Yang energy, they generally don't dare to cause harm, so they employ the method of "calling names" to probe. Those who can hear the whispers of spirits are usually those with weaker birth signs and deficient Yang energy. Responding exposes one's vulnerability, and immediately one's soul could be taken as a substitute, leading to an unjust death!
In such situations, there's only one thing to do—act as if you didn't hear anything, keep walking, and never look back.
I clenched my teeth, telling myself not to panic, and forced myself to keep moving forward. That thing behind me called out my name a few more times but then fell silent. It wasn't long before I heard a series of rustling footsteps from behind, and suddenly, something like a hand slapped my shoulder.
It's summer, and I was wearing thin clothes. When that "hand"' touched me, I shuddered all over, my neck covered in goosebumps from the bone-chilling sensation.
Damn, that's no hand—it's like a block of ice!
I panicked, my soul nearly escaping, and in my haste, I could no longer maintain any semblance of composure. I shook off the "hand" and bolted forward without looking back, not once!
I must not look back!!
I repeated this mantra, comforting myself, knowing that if I did, I'd likely be doomed. My father had told me that a normal person is protected by three fires of Yang energy—one on top of the head and two on the shoulders. At night, these three fires ignite to prevent unclean entities from causing harm.
But if you turn back, one of the Yang fires will be extinguished. If all three were to go out, a person's Yang energy would drop to a critical low, making one extremely vulnerable.
I knew my own body's condition; I had a weak birth sign and deficient innate Yang energy. If I turned back and extinguished the Yang fires, it was uncertain whether I'd live to see tomorrow's sun.
But for some unexplained reason, no matter how hard I tried to run, I couldn't go fast, and my body felt increasingly heavy.
It was as if... I was carrying a heavy object.
By then, I didn't bother to ponder my body's strange condition. Even if I couldn't run fast, I struggled with all my might. Normally, it would take a few minutes to traverse the 200-plus-meter alley, but it took me over ten minutes this time. I was drenched in sweat by then, as if I'd exerted myself in a vigorous workout, feeling my body becoming heavier and my legs starting to shake slightly, and I involuntarily bent forward a little to make the heavy burden slightly more bearable.
Perhaps it wasn't my time to die yet, as at that moment, a taxi with its light on happened to pass by, and I quickly hailed it and jumped in.
The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties. Seeing me board the taxi, he immediately smiled and asked, "Young man, what happened to you? Why are you so out of breath?"
"Drive... hurry, go to Antique Street!"
With the heavy sensation bearing down, I immediately gasped for air upon sitting down, turned to look at the dark alley behind me, and seeing that the thing that patted my shoulder hadn't followed, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright."
The driver didn't press for an answer seeing my reluctance to talk, stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward. He probably thought I had an emergency since the car sped away swiftly.
Watching the distance increase from my home, I finally felt a slight sense of safety. I checked the time on my phone, and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.
Exhausted, I closed my eyes and silently prayed for dawn to come quickly.
I knew that only when daylight arrived would I be relatively safe...
...