The Mystical Feng Shui Files - Chapter 3 - Possessed

Master nodded thoughtfully. “His face doesn’t show signs of great evil. Poor child… The sins of the adults have fallen upon him.”

“Should we help him?” I asked, feeling a pang of sympathy.

“Go ahead.”

I approached the boy cautiously. To my surprise, he didn’t flinch or try to run away. Instead, he grinned foolishly at me, revealing half-chewed bits of a bug spilling from his mouth.

Suppressing my disgust, I quickly formed a finger seal and extended my hand, pressing my finger against his forehead.

A burst of black aura erupted violently, dissipating into the air. The boy froze for a moment, his eyes gradually regaining clarity. He looked down at the mess he had spat out and the bug still clutched in his hand, then turned to the side and began retching uncontrollably.

The stench was overwhelming-putrid and nauseating. It hit me so hard I couldn’t help gagging a few times myself before hastily retreating to Master’s side.

After a while, the boy seemed to recover. His eyes were red and watery from crying, and he wiped them with his sleeve before asking, “Who are you? What happened to me?”

“You were possessed,” Master replied bluntly.

“Possessed?” Fear flickered in the boy’s eyes, and he suddenly burst into loud sobs.

Feeling sorry for him, I asked gently, “Are you from Stone Village? Do you know how you got possessed?”

Between sniffles, the boy answered, “My name is Shi Dan. I live in Stone Village. A lot of people in the village are possessed. I tried to run away, but… but I got possessed too. Ah…”

His words dissolved into more crying.

I glanced at Master, who was silently calculating something with his fingers. Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, child. The village head invited me here to investigate the possessions in your village. Can you take us there?”

Shi Dan, despite his young age, seemed very polite. He bowed deeply to both of us and said, “Thank you, Master, for saving my life. I’ll take you to the village.”

Curious, I asked, “Aren’t you scared?”

Shi Dan shook his head. “Many people in the village are possessed. They don’t recognize anyone, don’t speak, just laugh foolishly… and eat…” His voice trailed off as he remembered the bug he had eaten earlier, and he gagged again, visibly nauseated.

“Who was the first to get sick?” Master asked.

“It was Aunt Liu, who lives next door to me.”

“And the others?” Master continued. “Are only women and children affected? No men?”

“Yes,” Shi Dan confirmed.

I furrowed my brow in confusion and remarked, “Master, it seems this malevolent spirit is targeting the weakest ones.”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Master replied.

Shi Dan led us along the narrow paths between the fields and into the village. He stopped in front of a large courtyard and pointed to a two-story building inside. “This is the village head’s house.”

“Aren’t you coming in with us?” I asked.

“I need to go home and check on my mom,” Shi Dan said. He bowed to us again before turning and running off.

The layout of the village struck me as peculiar. There were no brick houses-every structure was made of stone, with walls coated in rough, patchy mud.

Even the ground was paved with stones. Each household had a small yard where vegetables were grown and chickens and ducks were kept.

But what puzzled me even more was the absence of dogs. Not a single one. Even roosters were nowhere to be seen.

A man in his fifties stepped out of the house, sizing us up before asking, “Who are you looking for?”

“My surname is Wu. You sent someone to invite me here,” my master replied.

“Ah? You’re the renowned Master Wu from Jiang City? Please, come in! Come in!” The village head’s face lit up with excitement as he hurried over to greet us.

I followed them into the house. The furniture inside was made of bamboo, its dark, aged hue a testament to many years of use.

The village head poured tea and sat down nearby, his face full of an ingratiating smile. “Master, something strange has been happening in our village. I had no other choice but to send for help. But don’t worry, as long as you can solve this issue, the reward will be generous!”

“No need to worry about that,” my master said. “It’s still early. Let’s go take a look at the possessed villagers first.”

“Of course! I’ll take you there. You can stay and eat at my house tonight,” the village head said warmly, his hospitality making a good impression on me.

He seemed like a decent person, someone who genuinely cared about solving the village’s problems. But his face told a different story. Beneath his seemingly honest demeanor, there was a hint of cunning. The horizontal lines at the corners of his eyes and his heavy eye bags suggested a more deceitful nature.

Following the village head, we headed deeper into the village, climbing a slope to reach the second house.

The neighboring house had a wall outside, its mud plaster peeling off in many places. Through the gaps, I caught sight of Shi Dan pouring a basin of water over his head.

“This is the place! Poor souls,” the village head sighed before shouting, “Shi Zhu, the master I invited is here!” He pushed open the courtyard gate and added, “Master, please come in!”

The houses in this area were packed tightly together, unlike the village head’s home, which had its own yard and vegetable garden. Here, the houses were almost touching, each surrounded by crumbling walls.

We entered through a gate made of wooden planks and descended two steps into a small courtyard that was lower than the road outside. A man in his thirties emerged from the house. Judging by his appearance, the floor inside was even lower than the courtyard.

Since entering the village, I had been observing the surroundings, and something felt off. The village’s feng shui seemed fine, but the houses themselves were problematic.

In feng shui, a yang house¹ should gather yang energy, meaning the interior should be slightly higher than the exterior to attract wealth. However, these houses were the opposite, lower than the outside ground, which gathered yin energy. Only graves should be lower than ground level.

This was a classic case of low ground energy imbalance, or “foot sha.” It invited misfortune, disharmony, and financial ruin, creating a home plagued by trouble.

“Village head!” Shi Zhu looked at my master and me, his hands fidgeting nervously, his face simple and honest.

My master glanced around the courtyard and the house’s layout before asking, “Where is the person?”

The village head turned to Shi Zhu. “Where’s your wife? Take the master to see her!”

“Right, right! She’s in the west wing!” Shi Zhu quickly replied, leading the way.

I frowned. The west wing was shrouded in heavy yin energy, a faint gray mist hovering ominously.

Stopping by a window that was slightly ajar, Shi Zhu said, “I don’t dare let her out. I had to lock her in.”

Peering through the window, I saw a woman inside, barely clothed and filthy. She was scratching at the walls, stuffing the crumbling plaster into her mouth while letting out eerie “hee-hee-hee” laughter.

Suddenly, the woman whipped her head around, her gaze locking onto mine. My heart skipped a beat.

Her eyes were completely white, her fingernails worn down to bloody stubs. Yet she seemed utterly oblivious to the pain.

“Ahhh…” The woman lunged at the window, startling Shi Zhu and the village head so much that they stumbled back, nearly falling to the ground.

“Master…” the village head stammered, his voice trembling.

My master turned to me. “Ziwu, this time, it’s your turn.”

I felt a wave of nervousness. This was the first time my master had asked me to handle something on my own.

“Don’t be nervous. Just use the exorcism method I taught you,” he reassured me.

I nodded, forming a finger seal and directing it at the woman. But it had no effect. Realizing my spiritual power might not be strong enough, I bit the tip of my tongue and spat out a mist of blood before trying again.

The woman froze, her body stiff. Her white eyes began to shift, as if struggling to reveal the black pupils beneath.

“Master!” The village head scrambled to his feet, his voice shaking. “Is… is it over?”

“Give me back my life…” A hoarse, grating voice suddenly came from the woman’s mouth.

Seeing this, I immediately understood. This wasn’t just a case of a malevolent spirit possessing her.

She was being haunted by a ghost.

Footnote:

1. Yang House(阳宅): In Chinese feng shui, a “yang house” refers to a residence or structure for the living. It is designed to gather positive, active energy (yang) to promote prosperity, health, and harmony for its occupants.