Peach Haven Village (17)

All along the way, Blind Zhao muttered to himself and ignored Ding Shi's questions. Once they reached the village chief's house, Blind Zhao dragged the chief into a room and bolted the door, leaving Ding Shi and the baffled daughter-in-law outside.

An hour later, the village chief issued a new task. Ding Shi supported the chief and Blind Zhao all the way to Third Lady Temple, completing the task. The villagers preparing for the sacrifice greeted the chief one after another, and he responded to each of them.

The village chief stopped to look at Third Lady's statue for a while, then moved aside with Ding Shi and Blind Zhao and asked in a low voice, "There are no tears. Blind Zhao, have you ever seen Third Lady cry?"

There were many people in the temple now, so Blind Zhao could not conveniently reach out and touch Third Lady's eyes. He lowered his voice as well. "Never. But White Cloud Daoist left instructions: if Third Lady is ever found shedding tears, he must be notified immediately. Otherwise, the entire village will face irreparable ruin."

The village chief asked, "Then what do we do now?"

Blind Zhao said, "We can only make a trip to White Cloud Temple."

The village chief looked at Ding Shi. Ding Shi narrowed his eyes. What was this old bastard trying to pull?

The village chief said, "Let's head back first. It's time for lunch."

Ding Shi helped the village chief back to his house. The round trip had wasted more than an hour, and he had no idea what the point had been.

After lunch, the village chief got busy. First, he sorted out twenty jin of rice. Then he contacted the county town and had several large bundles of incense candles, yellow paper, and cinnabar powder delivered. He also had his daughter-in-law prepare salt and other daily necessities.

Ding Shi watched from the side, muttering to himself, Is the old bastard planning to run?

The village chief sent Ding Shi to the supply cooperative to purchase other provisions, eventually filling two large cloth sacks.

The village chief called both Ding Shi and Blind Zhao into the room. He courteously invited Ding Shi to sit down and personally brewed him a cup of tea.

Seeing the fawning look on the village chief's face, Ding Shi knew this guy was about to screw him over.

The village chief said, "Little Ding, there's something very important we need to discuss."

Ding Shi said, "Go ahead, Village Chief."

The village chief said, "There may be a problem with Third Lady's sacrifice, but we are all mere mortals and cannot tell what it is. Back then, Third Lady turned into a jiangshi and was suppressed by a Daoist. The Daoist was greatly weakened as a result, and because he needed to watch over the village, he built White Cloud Temple on Peach Garden Mountain."

Ding Shi said, "Village Chief, don't tell me that Daoist is still alive."

The village chief said, "The Daoist has already passed on. But before his death, he took in a disciple, who should be around seventy this year and calls himself White Cloud Daoist. Third Lady's sacrifice is the day after tomorrow. We need to invite White Cloud Daoist down the mountain and find out exactly what has gone wrong with the sacrifice."

Seeing the village chief look at him expectantly, Ding Shi cautiously asked, "It's not that we're inviting White Cloud Daoist down the mountain. It's that I'm going to invite White Cloud Daoist?"

The village chief smiled approvingly. "Little Ding, you really are clever."

Ding Shi said, "Village Chief, if it's just a trip, there's no need to make me tea, right?" Anyone would think you wanted me to donate a kidney.

The village chief looked even more pleased. "White Cloud Temple is quite far from Peach Haven Village. It's all mountain paths, and it takes three hours under normal circumstances."

Ding Shi was somewhat confused. Blind Zhao, standing nearby, said, "It's five in the afternoon now. Won't it be dark in three hours? Rumor has it that there are mountain demons deep in Peach Garden Mountain. They can take human form and appear after nightfall."

Mountain demons were monkey-like fiends, with combat strength close to that of an adult. They excelled at deception and bewitchment. Though mountain demons were not particularly strong in battle, those on Peach Garden Mountain had helpers—the several areas of desolate graves within the mountain.

Several hundred years ago, two armies fought on Peach Garden Mountain for three days and three nights. The corpses of the fallen soldiers were buried where they lay, forming four areas of desolate graves. Anyone who accidentally entered one would become trapped there until they starved or died of thirst. There was only one mountain path leading to White Cloud Temple, and in theory, it did not pass through the grave areas. But that did not account for mountain demons causing trouble.

For a time, hunters and herb gatherers from the village had gone missing in the mountains. At first, people suspected they had encountered tigers or fallen off cliffs. It was not until White Cloud Temple was built that the Daoist explained the situation with the mountain demons and desolate graves to the villagers, telling them to leave Peach Garden Mountain before nightfall and never enter it at night without permission.

After hearing this, Ding Shi fell into thought. Then he looked seriously at the village chief and asked, "Can I not go?"

The village chief said, "No."

Blind Zhao added, "Little Ding, if there truly is a problem with the sacrifice, everyone in the village will be doomed beyond redemption."

Ding Shi said, "But there are so many people in the village. Why pick me?"

The village chief explained, "We cannot tell the villagers about this, lest it cause unnecessary panic. As long as White Cloud Daoist comes down the mountain and resolves the problem, it will not delay the sacrifice the day after tomorrow."

Ding Shi said sincerely, "Village Chief, I have to confess. I lied. I never saw Third Lady's tears."

The village chief looked at Ding Shi just as sincerely. "No, I believe you. You're a good child, and good children don't lie."

Ding Shi felt like crying. "Please find someone more capable, Village Chief. Otherwise, I'll resign voluntarily, and I won't take part in the sacrifice either." Whoever wants this damn task can take it.

Hm? A damn task? That sounded a little similar to Ghost Granny's situation. Could it be players messing around again?

The village chief looked awkwardly at Blind Zhao, who gestured for him to relax.

Blind Zhao said to Ding Shi, "Little Ding, the talisman paper Uncle Zhao gave you yesterday actually comes with a hand seal. Even if you can draw the talisman, you cannot use its effects without knowing the hand seal."

Ding Shi stared at Blind Zhao in disbelief. "Uncle Zhao, what else have you been hiding from me?" Was there any sincerity left? Any trust? We were comrades who fought ghosts together.

Blind Zhao apologized, "There's nothing else."

Ding Shi asked, "The hand seal?"

Blind Zhao said, "I don't know it, but White Cloud Daoist does. Show him the talisman paper, and he'll naturally teach you the hand seal."

Ding Shi looked at Blind Zhao, then at the village chief. "Not enough. You need to teach me how to draw the talisman."

Blind Zhao smiled bitterly. "I've studied it for more than twenty years and only found a few clues. I truly cannot complete a talisman in a single stroke."

Ding Shi took out the talisman card, used his body to shield it as it reverted to talisman paper, and looked at Blind Zhao.

Helpless, Blind Zhao reached for the paper and brush beside him and began drawing circles and lines on a sheet of white paper. His brush did not move quickly. As it traveled up, down, left, and right, half a talisman appeared before Ding Shi. After comparing it with his talisman paper, Ding Shi confirmed that they were identical. Blind Zhao had clearly been studying this talisman all along.

Unfortunately, he could only draw half of it. That made sense. If he could draw the complete talisman, he would not have given the talisman paper to Ding Shi.

Ding Shi put away the half-drawn talisman and his own talisman paper. "Fine, I'll take the job. But I have one more condition. Have someone send the supplies outside to the mountain entrance. I need to conserve my strength. After all, I still have a long night journey ahead."

This matter was no small thing to Peach Haven Village, so the village chief immediately had someone deliver the supplies to the southern mountain entrance. Ding Shi ate dinner early, brought several sweet potatoes, a bottle of spring water, and tucked a claw hammer into his clothes before heading to the mountain entrance.

Hoisting the thirty-five-jin load onto his shoulders, Ding Shi entered Peach Garden Mountain in the fading glow of the sunset.