The Unremarkable Little Taoist Master

The child was born a year ago, and just a few days after the New Year, the child’s mother returned to her job. Every day, she used a breast pump to express milk, storing it in the refrigerator to feed the baby the next day, which allowed her to continue working without interruption.

Unexpectedly, just a few days after she returned to work, a tragedy struck at home.

The old lady was cooking with gas at home and, after finishing the meal, she failed to turn off the gas properly, causing it to leak slowly.

The old man, with his diminished sense of smell, didn’t realize there was a problem until it was too late.

Though the child survived after emergency care, the elderly couple could never wake up again. This incident ignited a firestorm of gossip in the town, with tales about the house being haunted circulating widely.

Due to the accident that befell the elderly couple, the young couple no longer wanted to live there, and it was also inconvenient for them to take care of the child. So, they returned to their hometown and let the child’s grandparents take care of the baby, allowing the couple to work and earn money.

After they left, the haunted house fell into disrepair once again. Not only did people avoid moving in, but even thieves were too scared to steal from the haunted place.

It wasn’t until last winter, when the city cracked down on illegal gambling, that many people chose to move their gambling activities to the countryside.

This abandoned haunted house caught the eye of these gamblers since it had been on the market for nearly two years. When someone showed interest in renting it, the young couple was more than happy to comply.

Furthermore, the couple also believed in the rumors surrounding the house’s haunted reputation. Ultimately, with the couple’s determined efforts, the gamblers managed to buy the house because the price was just too cheap. The couple only collected a year’s rent before transferring ownership to them.

These gamblers thought they had found a real bargain, grinning from ear to ear every day as the price was practically a giveaway.

A few days ago, the group gathered again to play cards, and taking advantage of the New Year festivities, they came to the house.

A few people were playing cards and drinking here, and after two days and one night of gambling, they finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep. Unexpectedly, in the early morning hours, a fire broke out. By the time the villagers discovered the fire and rushed to extinguish it, the flames had already spread significantly.

With the villagers’ efforts, the blaze was put out, but the people inside the house could not be rescued. In the ashes, five corpses were found, all reduced to charred remains. After conducting tests to identify the bodies, it was confirmed that four of them belonged to specific individuals whose families came to claim them.

However, one charred body remained unclaimed. It was eventually determined to be female, but no one came forward to identify her, and the families of the other deceased had no idea who this woman was. Consequently, her body could only be stored at the funeral home in the city.

Now, we also planned to leave this town.

After the old man spoke, he trembled slightly. I could imagine the terrifying scene he had witnessed, and I shook my head, feeling utterly lost.

I turned to the old daoist priest and asked, “How did you suddenly end up here? Is this part of your task too?”

The old daoist priest absentmindedly nodded and said to me, “Kid, I’m afraid this haunted house is not as simple as it seems.”

“Is there something special going on here?”

The old daoist priest nodded but remained silent.

According to his plan, he intended to visit the haunted house tonight.

The small mountain village at night appeared particularly quiet and serene, but the mountain path at the back seemed desolate, overgrown with weeds. The occasional hooting of an owl added an inexplicable sense of terror to the atmosphere.

Yang Da was one of the older villagers. He had just returned from drinking in the city and, fueled by the alcohol, chose this small path outside the village. At first, he felt nothing out of the ordinary, but suddenly he had the eerie sensation that something was following him from behind. This made him recall the haunted house in the village.

Legend had it that the fierce ghost in the haunted house came out every night to seek life, looking for a substitute.

Yang Da suddenly felt a chilling shiver run down his spine as he recalled the haunted house. His legs froze in place, and a look of terror filled his face as he gazed at a massive ancient tree ahead. Dangling from the tree was the corpse of a young woman, dressed in a blood-red outfit that appeared even more horrifying in the pitch-black night.

The woman had her tongue stuck out, and what was even more unsettling was the eerie smile on her face. Suddenly, Yang Da felt as if her eyes were filled with laughter, completely shattering his already frayed nerves.

“AH!” Yang Da screamed, his wail echoing through the path.

“Alas, looking at Yang Da’s corpse, I can only sigh. That’s the third one this month,” said the village chief.

Upon hearing the chief’s words, my expression turned cold.

“Didn’t you try finding a few exorcists?”

The village chief shook his head, revealing a bitter smile.

“We have, but the next day we found the exorcist’s corpse hanging from the haunted house.”

The old daoist priest frowned tightly upon hearing this. It seemed that even he was worried about this haunted house.

This was already the third incident this month. The police treated it merely as a formality and hastily left. Only the old daoist priest spoke with anger, saying, “Evil creature, since you’ve harmed people and I’ve discovered you, you cannot be spared.”

“Take my ritual implements. Tonight, I will confront this female ghost.”

With that, the old daoist priest turned angrily and left, while I quietly gathered some things.

I hurried back to the old daoist priest’s small hut to retrieve my grandfather’s daoist robe and some ritual implements.

I couldn’t help but worry about the battle that awaited tonight.

At night, on the mountain path at the back, the old daoist priest held a compass in his left hand and a peach wood sword in his right hand. He closed his eyes, trying to calculate the position of the female ghost while I stood beside him, bored and yawning.

Suddenly, a chilling Yin wind rushed down the mountain path. Dust and debris flew everywhere, startling the birds into the air. The compass in the old daoist priest’s hand radiated a bright light. He shouted at me, “You little rascal, hurry, throw the talisman to me!”

I quickly pulled a talisman from my bag, bit my finger to draw blood, and smeared it on the talisman as I shouted, “Break!”

The talisman emitted a blinding red light. Amidst a horrific scream, a female ghost dressed in blood-red clothing appeared before us, her face twisted in fury as she said to the old daoist priest, “You foul priest, if you dare to ruin my plans again, I will take your life!”

“Humph, evil creature, today I will ensure your soul is scattered to the winds,” the old daoist priest retorted.

The female ghost laughed as if hearing the funniest joke in the world, her laughter echoing through the night.

However, the sound of her laughter sent chills down my spine.