The Mystical Feng Shui Files - Chapter 8 - The Bloody Clothes

“Huff… huff…” I gasped for air, drenched as if I’d just been pulled out of a river.

When I looked up, I realized I was still at the village head’s house, sitting on the bamboo bed where I’d slept. Outside, the sky was already faintly lit with the first signs of dawn.

“Master…” I swallowed my parched throat and took the water my master handed me, gulping down several big mouthfuls. “I think… I think I experienced soul separation just now!”

“I know,” my master said, patting my shoulder. “What did you see?”

Gripping my master’s arm tightly, I tried to spill out everything I’d witnessed. “Master, I saw the villagers tying up a woman, and they-”

“Has the master woken up?” The village head’s voice came from outside, cutting me off.

“Yes, he’s up!” my master responded, motioning for me to get up quickly as he turned to open the door.

“Did you sleep well last night?” The village head asked with a smile, glancing at me.

There was something off about his smile-unnerving, fake.

Recalling the events of the night, I avoided his gaze, shifting my eyes elsewhere.

“Not bad,” my master replied casually and stepped outside.

I hurriedly got off the bed and changed into clean clothes, as the ones I had on were soaked with sweat.

After leaving the room, I washed my face and brushed my teeth in the courtyard, listening to the village head and my master talking.

“Master, the rain last night was heavy. The weather today looks promising. About the matter in our village…” the village head began.

“It will be resolved today,” my master interrupted, offering no further explanation. The village head asked several more times, but seeing my master remain tight-lipped, he eventually stopped probing.

He was testing us.

That was my gut feeling.

After what happened last night, I couldn’t help but find everything the village head did suspicious.

“Ziwu! Are you done? Come and have breakfast!” my master called out.

“Coming!” I quickly rinsed my toothbrush under the faucet, cleaned my cup, and wiped my mouth with a towel as I walked over.

“Try some of our countryside breakfast!” The village head enthusiastically served me a bowl of porridge. I quickly stood up and accepted it with both hands.

“Thank you, village head. I can serve myself.”

We ate breakfast quietly, and soon the village began to stir with activity.

I noticed Shi Dan peeking through the fence, his head bobbing up and down as he tried to look inside.

“Go ahead,” my master said, prompting me to get up and run to the gate.

“Shi Dan, are you looking for me or my master?” I asked, gripping the fence gate.

Shi Dan glanced inside again, then beckoned me over, whispering, “Brother, come here!”

I turned to look back. My master hadn’t moved from his spot, and the village head was leading him to a nearby table for tea. The village head’s wife had come out to clear the table.

I froze for a moment. The village head’s wife looked eerily familiar-she seemed to be the same woman who had been burning paper offerings last night.

I hadn’t yet finished telling my master about the whole incident, having been interrupted by the village head.

I felt I should still inform my master, so I started to head back.

“Brother!” Shi Dan called out to me again.

“Shi Dan, I have something to take care of. What do you want?” I asked hurriedly.

“Brother! Just come here first. I have something to show you!” Shi Dan whispered urgently.

I hesitated for a moment before replying, “Wait for me. I’ll go tell my master first.”

“Alright, but hurry!”

I returned to the house and stood before my master, asking respectfully, “Master, I’d like to go out for a walk.”

The village head glanced at my master. “Should we go take a look as well?”

“No rush. The matter in Stone Village will have to wait until nightfall,” my master replied, then nodded at me. “Go ahead, but don’t wander too far.”

“Got it!” I answered quickly, turning to run outside. I found Shi Dan hiding behind the fence. “Shi Dan, what do you want to show me?”

“Come on, I’ll take you there!” Shi Dan grabbed my arm and started running toward the back of the village.

As I followed him, I asked, “Where exactly are you taking me?”

“Just wait and see! You’ll know when we get there!” Shi Dan replied, quickening his pace.

My curiosity was piqued, so I kept up with him. We ran through the village and headed toward the mountain. But instead of climbing all the way up, Shi Dan veered off halfway and entered a bamboo forest, disappearing into its depths.

I glanced around at the surroundings. The morning mist hadn’t fully lifted yet, and the bamboo forest felt eerily quiet.

“Hurry up, big bro!” Shi Dan called out from inside.

I followed him into the forest, walking along a barely visible path. Deeper in, we came upon a small clearing. Shi Dan pulled out a hoe from who-knows-where.

“Shi Dan, what exactly are you trying to show me?” I couldn’t hold back anymore and grabbed the hoe from him.

Shi Dan looked a bit annoyed. “Big bro, you’re a good person! I know your master is a good person too. I’ve seen what the villagers have been doing. Uncle Shi Zhu and the others buried something here!”

Hearing this, I quickly asked, “Shi Zhu buried something?”

“Yeah! They found a wife for Uncle Shi Suo, but she wouldn’t behave. That night, there was a big commotion. My mom went over to help but came home early and locked the door, not letting me out! I snuck out through the window to see what was going on. That’s when I saw them put Uncle Shi Suo in a coffin-and they put his wife in there too, but she wasn’t dead yet! I was so scared that I ran back home, afraid they’d see me.”

Shi Dan spoke quickly, his words tumbling out in a rush. By the end, his eyes were red, and tears were welling up.

“I’m really scared. I’m afraid they’ll find out I saw everything and bury me too!”

I grabbed his shoulders with both hands, bending down to look him in the eye. “Shi Dan, you did the right thing! I know the village’s possession problem is connected to this incident!”

“But I’m still scared! My mom woke up, but she’s terrified too. She’s been hiding in the house and won’t come out!” Shi Dan’s voice broke as he started crying. “I’m too young. I don’t dare to tell anyone or run away. If I leave, what will happen to my mom? Waaaah…”

“Don’t be afraid! My master and I came here specifically to deal with this!” I panicked at his tears, unsure how to comfort him, so I quickly changed the subject. “You said they buried something? What did they bury?”

Shi Dan wiped his tears, still sniffling, and said, “It’s Uncle Shi Suo’s wife’s belongings.”

I looked down at the ground. The soil had clearly been disturbed. Even though it had been over two weeks, the grass here looked different from the surrounding area.

“I’ll do it!” I took the hoe from him. “Is this the spot?”

Shi Dan nodded. I raised the hoe and started digging.

It seemed that when Shi Zhu and the others buried the items, they hadn’t expected anyone to come digging. The burial wasn’t deep. After just a few strikes, something began to surface.

I tossed the hoe aside and crouched down to dig with my hands.

What I unearthed were women’s clothes, including undergarments, stained with dark, dried blood. The strong resentful aura and malevolent aura emanating from them made my skin prickle with pain.

“Big bro, is this useful?” Shi Dan asked, looking at me.

I nodded and began reburying the items.

“Big bro, why are you putting them back?”

“Shi Dan, don’t tell anyone about this. I need to go back and inform my master first.”

“Alright.”

What I didn’t tell Shi Dan was that blood-stained personal belongings of the deceased are considered haunted objects. Especially items from someone who died violently-they often carry the lingering spirit of the deceased. That’s why, in most households, when someone passes away and is cremated, their belongings are burned as well, to prevent the attraction of malevolent spirits.

After restoring the ground to its original state, Shi Dan and I left the bamboo forest. As we walked and chatted, we unexpectedly ran into someone.

“Shi Dan, you took the master’s disciple up the mountain?” It was a man in his thirties, his shifty eyes fixed on me.