Master Zhong

"Li Liang, this is Zhong Fa, Master Zhong."

Li Liang's father introduced the man to him.

Li Liang frowned. He had no idea why his father had brought this so-called Master Zhong here.

Before he could ask, a raspy voice spoke.

"Mr. Li, your children harbor resentment after death. It must be dispelled!"

Those words alone stirred up the agitation Chen Miao had only just soothed.

Li Liang looked not at Zhong Fa, but at his father.

"Dad?"

Li Weiguo patted Li Liang's shoulder and gently urged him, "Liang, Master Zhong is very capable. Let him perform rites for Xiao Lei and Xiao Rui, so they... so they can pass on more peacefully."

His father's words only made Li Liang more agitated, but he held himself back.

He turned to Zhong Fa.

"How much?"

Zhong Fa smiled.

"Two hundred yuan. Just enough to buy some incense, candles, and spirit money."

Li Liang froze. He had assumed the man was some con artist, but what was there to swindle out of a mere two hundred yuan?

He glanced at his father.

He knew the old man was actually grieving even more deeply than he was. Both granddaughters had been very close to their grandfather.

If this was what the old man wanted, so be it. Giving him something else to focus on might help.

Just as Li Liang took two hundred yuan from his wallet and set it on the table, Zhong Fa spoke again.

"Mr. Li, your children were twins. After drowning, their resentments became intertwined. To perform the rites, we must separate them and deliver their souls individually. Only then can their resentment be dispelled. Otherwise, I fear you and your wife will know no peace."

Li Liang, who had been holding himself back all this time, finally snapped. Pointing at Zhong Fa, he shouted, "What the hell do you mean? Are you saying my children will turn into vengeful ghosts and come after us?!"

"Get out! Get the hell out!"

Li Liang stepped forward to grab Zhong Fa, but Li Weiguo stopped him.

"Liang, calm down."

Seeing his son's contorted expression, Li Weiguo held him back and told Zhong Fa, "Master Zhong, please head back for now. I'll talk things over with my son."

Zhong Fa smiled, then turned and left Li Liang's home.

Only after Zhong Fa was gone did Li Liang calm down.

"Liang, Master Zhong is a capable man. Settle down first. Tomorrow, we can talk to him again..."

"Talk, my ass! If he dares come back, I'll beat him to death!"

With that, Li Liang snatched the two hundred yuan off the table and went back to his room.

Li Weiguo started to speak, then stopped. He slumped onto the sofa and wept alone.

Night fell over the old district in northern Tianmen County.

Deep in an alley off the pedestrian street, a shop bearing a small wooden sign that read "Sever Yin and Yang" still had its lights on.

Inside, Zhong Fa held three sticks of incense at brow level. He bowed three times toward a shrine above the altar that housed a spirit tablet, then placed the incense in the burner.

Looking at the words "Spirit tablet of my master, Zhong Wuyou," Zhong Fa murmured, "Master, everything I'm doing is because of you."

Then Zhong Fa went through a door beside the altar.

Entering the bedroom, he lifted the bed platform and opened the entrance to a secret underground chamber.

He climbed down the ladder and closed the hatch behind him.

The lifting mechanism beneath the bed platform was triggered, slowly lowering the bed back into place.

Click!

The secret chamber lit up.

The underground chamber was small, only about ten square meters. It also contained an altar, but instead of offerings, a jar half a meter tall stood on it. In front of the jar sat an incense burner, half a bundle of incense sticks, and a small knife.

Opposite the altar stood a shelving unit.

Several wooden boxes and small white porcelain jars the size of an adult's fist sat on the shelves. A few bundles of tobacco leaves hung on the wall beside them.

After coming down, Zhong Fa went not to the altar, but to the shelves, where he opened a small white porcelain jar and a wooden box.

He tore a piece from a tobacco leaf hanging on the wall, then pinched some shredded tobacco from one of the boxes and sprinkled it along the edge of the leaf.

Next, he took a small spoon from the box, scooped a spoonful of white powder from the open porcelain jar, and sprinkled it into the tobacco.

Setting down the spoon, Zhong Fa carefully rolled up the leaf.

As he finished rolling it, he ran his tongue twice along the edge, moistening it with saliva.

Just like that, a hand-rolled cigarette appeared in Zhong Fa's hand.

He put it between his lips, then took a box of matches from his pocket.

Scratch!

The match flared, and he lit one end of the cigarette.

Hiss!

After one drag, Zhong Fa closed his eyes and tipped his head back slightly, his expression relaxing.

Thick smoke spilled from his half-open mouth, but rather than rising, it trailed down from the corners of his lips toward the floor.

The smoke vanished just before reaching the ground.

Two minutes later, the cigarette in Zhong Fa's hand had burned down to its end.

He pinched the butt between his thumb and forefinger, rubbed out the ember, and casually tossed what remained into the trash can in the corner.

The can was already half full of densely packed cigarette butts.

As he turned, Zhong Fa's half-lidded eyes opened fully, and a rosy flush had appeared on his face!

Striding to the altar, Zhong Fa took four incense sticks, lit them, and placed them in the burner without bowing.

His gaze shifted. He picked up the knife by its handle with his right hand and gripped the blade with his left.

After slowly drawing the knife free, Zhong Fa reached out and peeled the two crossed yellow sheets of talisman paper off the jar.

Then he held his clenched left hand above the jar.

Drop after drop of blood dripped from the bottom of his fist into the jar.

Only after more than ten seconds did Zhong Fa withdraw his left hand, grab a handful of incense ash, and smear it over the cut in his palm.

"Go."

After Zhong Fa spoke, the smoke above the incense sticks was briefly disturbed, as though something had passed through it on its way out.

But it soon returned to normal.

In the early hours of the morning.

Li Liang suddenly woke with a start.

This had become a regular part of his sleep over the past few days.

After staring blankly at the faint light outside the window for a long while, he got out of bed and went to the living room to pour himself a glass of water.

Sitting on the sofa, Li Liang tilted his head back to drink, but two trails of tears slipped down his face.

His stifled sobs filled the living room for several minutes before subsiding.

Wiping away his tears and snot, Li Liang stood and headed for the bedroom.

A second before stepping inside, he stopped.

He looked down. A plush rabbit lay at his feet.

Picking it up, Li Liang looked toward his daughters' room and walked over with heavy steps.

He stood outside the door for a long time, unable to bring himself to turn the handle.

After bending down to leave the rabbit outside their door, Li Liang returned to his room.

Lying on the bed, he curled up and closed his eyes.

But less than half a minute later, his eyes flew open!

He shot upright in bed and looked toward the bedroom door.

Why had that rabbit been outside the door?

Since his daughters' deaths, he had never entered their room, let alone carelessly tossed his daughter's favorite rabbit onto the floor.

Was it Dad?

Li Liang frowned. Remembering Master Zhong's visit that day, he could not help feeling irritated.

No longer sleepy, he got out of bed.

He intended to wait in the living room until his father woke up, then have a proper talk with him!

But the moment his foot touched the floor, he felt himself step on something.

He looked down and lifted his foot.

A plush rabbit lay faceup beside his feet, smiling at him!

Li Liang froze.

This rabbit belonged to his younger daughter. Her older sister's toy was a kitten.

There could not possibly be two identical plush rabbits in the house.

Then how had this one ended up beside his bed?

For some reason, Li Liang thought of Master Zhong.

A chill ran through his heart, only to be followed by a surge of anger.

So what if she was a ghost!

She was my daughter!

Li Liang bent down and grabbed the rabbit. He was going to take it to his daughters' room.

He had to see his daughter!

He refused to believe she would hurt him!

Smack!

A small, bruised-blue hand reached out from under the bed and seized Li Liang's right hand before he could withdraw it with the rabbit.

A bone-piercing chill swept through his entire body in an instant.

Li Liang collapsed helplessly to the floor.

In the final second before he lost consciousness, he saw a pair of eerie green eyes beneath the bed.