Ma's wife had haunted us for two consecutive nights, each visitation leaving behind a cryptic message and a growing sense of dread.
This couldn't continue. We'd be scared to death long before she laid a finger on us.
Sleep was impossible for my family. I, however, blissfully unaware of the looming threat, slept soundly throughout the ordeal.
By morning, my grandfather, a pillar of resolve, had made a decision.
We needed professional help.
He sent my father to the neighboring town of Sanshili, to consult with a renowned spirit medium, Liu.
There was a catch, of course.
Liu was notoriously expensive.
Her fees were steep—a hundred yuan for a consultation, plus gifts of fine liquor and cigarettes — a small fortune in those days. Back then, a worker earned a little over a yuan a day!
But what was money, compared to the safety of his grandson, his family?
Besides, Ma's vengeful spirit threatened us all.
And so, at the crack of dawn, my father, despite his sleepless night, set off on foot to Sanshili, carrying our meager savings and gifts.
Liu's reputation preceded her.
She wasn't easily persuaded to help. It took quite a bit of pleading before she grudgingly agreed.
And even then, she refused to walk. A donkey cart was procured at further expense to transport her to our humble village.
Liu arrived, every bit the eccentric mystic. Over sixty, with bound feet, she puffed on a long tobacco pipe, her chin held high, regarding us with an air of haughty disdain.
Even my grandfather was deferential. This woman, it was said, had never failed.
Liu took a long drag from her pipe, smoke curling from her nostrils as she spoke. "Where is the child? Bring him out."
My mother carried me out, my innocent curiosity piqued by this newcomer.
Liu finally lowered her gaze, taking in my unremarkable three-year-old self. And then, something shifted.
Her eyes widened, her face paling as if she had glimpsed something terrifying.
She dropped to her knees, her whole body trembling.
"I, Liu Shi!" she stammered, "A humble spirit medium of Sanshili, forty years I have served the celestial beings... I have … I have disturbed a sacred presence! I beg forgiveness!"
She bowed repeatedly before me.
The courtyard, moments before brimming with trepidation, was now a stage for utter bewilderment.
We had, at great cost and effort, summoned this renowned spirit medium... only to watch her prostrate herself before a toddler.
And I, the source of this bizarre display, simply giggled. It was a most amusing game.
Liu showed no signs of rising.
My grandfather, flustered, hurried to help her up. "Granny Liu, you are too kind! There's no need for such formalities! This is just a child! Please!"
"I cannot," she said, her voice hushed, her eyes still lowered, "not until the celestial being speaks. "
My grandfather looked at me, at a loss. "Xiao Jie…" he urged gently, "please…ask Granny Liu to get up."
"Get up," I chirped.
Relief flooded Liu's face as she rose, unsteadily, to her feet.
My mother, more confused than ever, carried me back inside.
Only then did Liu exhale, glancing at my grandfather and father with a hint of reproach.
"Why?!" she exclaimed, "Such power residing under your roof… and you call upon a feeble old woman? You ask me to flaunt my paltry skills before a master?"
"Power? What power?" my grandfather asked, perplexed. "We've no connection to the spirit world. This is my grandson… What are you talking about, Granny Liu?"
"Your grandson," she said, her voice low and urgent, "He harbors a celestial being within him – a force beyond measure. A hundred times more potent than any I have ever encountered. My abilities are nothing compared to his! I should take my leave before I embarrass myself further. "
"But he's just a child," my father interjected, his anxiety rising again. "He understands nothing. That's why…"
Liu hesitated. "May I...may I see him again?" she asked cautiously.
"Of course, I'll…"
"No!" she interrupted, her voice hushed. "Let *me* approach. Do not disturb...the celestial being."
And so, the elderly spirit medium, with her bound feet, carefully entered the house.
She stood before me, her face a mask of reverence. "Celestial being," she said softly, "Please forgive my intrusion. I mean no disrespect."
She reached out a hand, placing it gently on my head.
Her eyes closed. Her lips moved in silent prayer. Her body began to tremble again.
And then, abruptly, her eyes sprang open. She stumbled back, falling to her knees, bowing three times.
"Your Excellency," she whispered, profoundly apologetic, "I implore you, forgive my ignorance. I meant no offense."
She scrambled out of the house.
My father and grandfather followed, utterly baffled.
They found her in the courtyard, retrieving the hundred yuan my father had given her.
She added another hundred to it, pressing the money into his hands.
"Here, Eldest Brother."
"Granny Liu, what's this?" my grandfather sputtered, assuming she had decided against helping us. "You won't…"
She shook her head vehemently. "No! I can't! It's not that I *won't* help… it's that I *cannot* accept your money! To serve a celestial being such as this…. It is a blessing I have sought in countless lifetimes. How can I take your money? Keep it!"
Then, with another deep bow. "Consider it a small token from this old woman."
My grandfather pressed her for an explanation.
She finally relented. "From the moment I laid eyes on your grandson," she said, her voice trembling with awe, " I sensed a power…an aura. I assumed… I thought your family practiced the mystical arts. But upon closer inspection, I realized… a soul, ancient… powerful…resides within him. A celestial being! Millennial, at the very least. But weakened, injured, its consciousness dormant…"
She looked from me to my grandfather, fear and excitement in her eyes. "Do you understand what this means?"
We were only just beginning to.
Liu, her arrogance replaced by a newfound humility, refused our payment. But she vowed to protect our family.
"From now on," she declared, "Anything you need, you have only to ask. I may be old, but consider this a debt I will repay with my life! No harm will come to this child, not while I draw breath!"
Her revelation cast a new light on the strange events of my birth.
The weasels, the foxes…
they, too, had sensed it. The power. The presence they couldn't comprehend.