I didn't look inside the bamboo basket, but I sensed something was wrong. Red cloth holds special significance in Northeast China; it can be used to ward off disasters, pray for blessings, repel evil, and counter malevolent forces. In Northeast mountain households, every family must prepare some red cloth, but they won't easily take it out unless something happens. Moreover, Old Zhao's family lives at the village entrance, and I live at the village end. We barely exchange a few words when we meet. Would his wife kindly send me steamed buns? I lifted the red cloth and looked inside, and my face immediately darkened—there were five steamed buns, a piece of half-cooked meat, and a few fish wrapped in flour. In the past, people in the countryside would always give buns and steamed buns in pairs, never in singles. Only when visiting the graves of the deceased would they use odd numbers of buns. I gently touched my fingertip to my eye, and the yin-yang eye opened. Sure enough, I saw a layer of yin energy rising from the steamed bun. Old Zhao's family probably had someone get possessed, and they plan to use the method of "sending the evil" to bring the evil energy here to me. In Northeast China, the older generation may not be able to perform calculations or predictions, but they understand some folk customs and have emergency measures for strange occurrences.Although these things cannot cure the root cause, they can save lives."Sending away evil" is one of them. If I didn't know any spells and carelessly collected the items, the evil spirit would have left the old Zhao family and come to bother me. I casually threw the bamboo basket outside and closed the door. Before I could even turn around, I heard someone knocking on the door outside. As I turned my head, I gathered my energy and let out an angry shout, "Get lost—" If there were any martial artists present, they would definitely recognize that shout as the "Tongue Arrow" commonly used by martial artists. The iron gate two feet away vibrated under the impact of the "tongue arrow," as if it had been slapped hard, buzzing loudly, followed by a scream from outside the door. The ghost outside, caught completely off guard, should have been seriously injured by me. It didn't dare come after me and had to go back to take its anger out on the Zhao family. This time, the old Zhao family is really in for it. When I put down the bucket and walked back into the house, I saw Zimu and Han Zong sitting side by side inside waiting for me. Han Zong gave me a grin and said, "Not bad.""Well done."
Zimu, however, said, "We all saw what happened just now."This matter is just right to test your skills. This time, none of us will help you; let's see how you handle it."The master teaches the apprentice, and after a certain period, he must test the apprentice's abilities." It is only natural that Han Zong and Zi Mu want to test me. I nodded in agreement, prepared breakfast, and ate while waiting for people to arrive.It wasn't even noon yet when Aunt Zhao came over. She hadn't even entered the yard but was already blocking the doorway, wailing, "Everyone, come and judge for me!"Out of kindness, I brought some food to the child from the Chen family who lost his mother, and he just threw me out like this."I'm already this old, and they treat me like this, where do I put my face?Am I still alive?At this time, the villagers hadn't gone out to work yet, and soon they had surrounded my house. I walked out with my hands behind my back, unhurriedly, and said, "What did you put in the steamed buns you gave me? Are you brave enough to say?"Aunt Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then immediately pointed at me and scolded, "Well!You heartless thing, I could even poison the steamed buns I gave you!"The crowd says, I have no past grievances with the kid, no recent enmity, how could I poison him?""I didn't wait for those onlookers to speak up; I jumped in first and said, 'If you don't admit it, then I'll show everyone what you put in.'"I used my toes to pick up a steamed bun, caught it in mid-air, broke it in half, and held it up: "The hair in here, you added it on purpose, didn't you?"Nearby people leaned in and indeed saw a clump of hair sticking out of the bun. Those who knew what was going on quickly closed their mouths and pulled their family members back a couple of steps. I threw the steamed bun on the ground and said to Aunt Zhao, who was red-faced, "Someone in your family has had their life force taken, and you want to save them. I can understand that."But you think you can drag me into this, that's enough."You throwing a fit at our doorstep was just a ploy to use the villagers' words to make me take back the stuff and help your family avoid disaster, wasn't it?"I tell you, the villagers are not fools.Aunt Zhao argued, "I... I don't know, what are you talking about?"That hair..." Before Aunt Zhao could finish, I turned around and spoke to the old elm tree in the distance, "You kill the Zhao family, I won't care.When you're done, go back to where you came from. If you dare to touch anyone again, don't blame me for being rude."Others can't see what's on the tree?"But I clearly saw a shadow, as tall as a person, squatting on the tree like a raccoon. My words were a warning to the other party. As soon as I spoke, I immediately scared the villagers so much that their hair stood on end.
I didn't even look at the Zhao family and just closed the door. The people outside seemed to have reacted: "Who is Chen Jiu talking to?"He can't be a fairy, can he?"Who knows!"His grandfather was someone who fought against the fox spirit back in the day. Even when his family made such a big commotion, he didn't die. Who knows, he might have already become an immortal."Do you think the name Chen Jiu was just randomly given by his grandfather?"Nine is the highest number; ordinary people don't dare to include the character for nine in their names.That must be someone with a celestial fate to dare to include the number nine in their name."The old woman from the Zhao family has really messed with the wrong person. Even if the soul-absorbing ghost doesn't kill her, Chen Jiu will."I stood at the door and listened for a while, then gave a cold smile and walked straight back inside. Before noon, the entire Zhao family, from the eldest to the youngest, were all kneeling at my doorstep, and they even brought the village chief to mediate. If you were to say who I get along with well in the village, it would only be the village head.After my grandfather passed away, the village chief thought I had become an orphan with no one to take care of me, so he looked after me quite a bit.This kindness, I must remember. The village chief entered and carefully placed the gift from the Zhao family on the kang, then cautiously asked, "Jiu'er, are you really a fairy?"Are you really a fairy?I turned my head to look at the gift, and suddenly a flame over a foot high shot up from it. Actually, what I used was just a sleight of hand, something that can scare people but won't harm them. The village chief didn't understand this and was so frightened that he knelt down directly, saying, "I pay my respects to the great immortal, I pay my respects to the great immortal.""I didn't mean to scare the village chief; I was just using a common tactic of sorcerers. In this line of work, you have to make people believe in you first before you can do business with them." I helped the village chief up and said, "Uncle, what are you doing?"I'm still Chen Jiu, not some immortal.The village chief stared at my face for a long time before wiping his cold sweat and saying, "Jiu'er!"Today, I, your old uncle, came to you with my old face in hand, just to ask you to give us a break and lend a hand to save the old Zhao family."The old Zhao family woman is not worth anything, but your Uncle Zhao and your Grandpa Zhao are good people!"Back then, when your grandpa passed away, if it weren't for your grandpa organizing people, who would have dared to come over and carry the coffin for your family?Just for this reason, we should at least show some face, right?I said, "Uncle, I understand what you're saying."But, sir has his own rules, and those rules cannot be broken.If the old Zhao family doesn't give me an explanation, even if their family is wiped out, I won't lift a finger."Alright!"Just wait, I'll go talk!"The village chief gritted his teeth, walked outside, and said a few words to Old Zhao."Old Zhao stood up, took a shovel from my yard, and struck his wife's leg twice, breaking it forcefully. The village chief had just returned: "Jiu'er, can you show your face now?"The village chief just came back: "Jiu'er, can we finally show our faces this time?"