With practiced ease, Granny Liu traced a cryptic symbol on Zhang's fifth son's forehead using ash from her pipe, then swiftly struck the crown of his head.
The young man's body shuddered, then fell still, returning to the peaceful repose of death.
Granny Liu's eyes regained their normal hue as she released her hold on the body and stepped back.
"Sister Liu," Grandpa cautiously approached the bed, his voice hushed with concern, "Is the creature gone?"
"I've sent it away," Granny Liu confirmed with a deep breath. "Lao Wu, call in the Zhang family."
Grandpa hurried out, ushering the Zhang brothers into the room. They'd been paralyzed with fear, terrified by the unsettling resurrection of their brother.
The sight of his still form brought a wave of relief over them.
"It's best to bury him come morning," Granny Liu advised, her gaze sweeping over the brothers. "The weasel won't torment this body any further, but be on your guard. It might seek retribution on you, especially you, Second Brother."
Her gaze settled on the brother who had struck the weasel earlier that day.
"They are vengeful creatures. You desecrated its physical form; it might not take that lightly."
Zhang's second son shuddered.
"The beast killed our brother! I couldn't even vent my anger on its corpse?"
"Their ways are not our ways," Granny Liu reminded him, her tone laced with warning. "A grudge held by a yellow weasel can bring ruin upon a family. I'll stay with Lao Wu for a few days. If anything happens, anything at all, come find me. But my services aren't free."
The unspoken rule hung heavy in the air.
Shamanic assistance came at a price, a price the brothers reluctantly paid, scraping together a hundred yuan for Granny Liu.
As they left the Zhang residence, Granny Liu, sensing a lingering darkness, advised the second brother to bring fierce guard dogs into his home and to keep protective white geese in his yard.
He agreed, a nervous tremor in his voice.
True to her premonition, the night was shattered by a bloodcurdling scream that echoed throughout the village.
It was a sound that jolted everyone in Grandpa's household from their slumber.
Moments later, frantic knocking pounded at their door.
Grandpa flung the door open to find Zhang's second son's wife, her face ashen, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Uncle!" she cried, "Something's wrong with my husband! Please, you must come quickly, I think a weasel has possessed him!"
Her words sent a chill down Grandpa's spine.
He hurried to fetch Granny Liu, who, already awoken by the commotion, joined them without a word.
As a precaution, Grandpa grabbed his trusty cleaver.
The scene that greeted them at the second brother's house sent a wave of shock through them.
It was a chaotic tableau of blood and feathers.
Chicken blood stained the walls and splattered the yard, while the few remaining birds squawked and thrashed on the ground, their wings clipped.
In the center stood the second brother, his torso bare, his face twisted with a terrifying intensity, his teeth sunk into the neck of a live hen.
He gnawed at its flesh, drawing blood, his eyes glazed over, his humanity seemingly lost.
At his feet lay the mangled corpse of a yellow weasel, its head crushed beyond recognition.
The second brother, upon seeing them, didn't cower or retreat.
Instead, his eyes narrowed with a strange resentment.
Blood dribbled down his chin, staining his skin, giving him a grotesque appearance.
With a guttural cry that morphed into a growl, he dropped the half-eaten hen and, mimicking the movements of a weasel, crawled towards them, his gait unsettling, his intentions unclear.
"Don't come any closer!" Grandpa roared, brandishing his cleaver. "One more step and I'll chop you down!"
Whether it was the sight of the blade or a flicker of awareness within him, the second brother paused his advance, keeping a wary distance, all the while emitting low growls and unsettling whimpers.
His wife sobbed uncontrollably.
"What happened?" Grandpa demanded, his voice a strained whisper.
"We were sleeping," she stammered, "And then the chickens started making such a racket. My husband went outside to see what was going on, and all the chickens in the coop were dead! And this, this huge yellow weasel was just standing there, staring at my husband! He must've lost his mind when he saw all the dead chickens because he grabbed a hoe and... and..." She covered her face with her hands, unable to continue.
"The creature is trying to claim him," Granny Liu stated grimly. "It's using his anger, his grief to possess him."
Her words were like a punch to the gut.
Grandpa's rage surged.
He slammed the cleaver into the ground and lunged toward the possessed man.
The second brother didn't even flinch.
He merely stared back with a chilling, vacant smile.
Grandpa grabbed him by the hair, delivering a series of resounding slaps, his voice thick with fury.
"Get out! Get out of him, you vile beast! Leave this family in peace!"
The force of the blows snapped the possessed man's head back, but the strange smile never left his face.
And then a sound, a high-pitched, unnatural shriek, escaped his throat.
His body went rigid, his eyes rolled back in his head, and blood trickled from his nostrils.
Grandpa struggled to restrain him as he thrashed and bucked.
"Sister Liu, help me!" he called out, his own strength failing.
The possessed man's body contorted unnaturally.
He gasped for air, choked, and foamed at the mouth as though an unseen force tightened its grip around his throat.
Granny Liu assessed the situation with a practiced eye.
"Hold him steady!" she commanded.
With the help of the second brother's wife, they managed to pin their writhing, struggling captive to the ground.
With a swift movement, Granny Liu drew a handful of silver needles from her robe.
She located specific pressure points on the possessed man's trembling body and, with a murmured prayer, plunged them into his flesh.