Inside the house, all sorts of clutter stood piled against the walls. Smoke from the cooking fire and steam had blackened the ceiling, where a few small white spiderwebs clung.
Black Snake reined in his aura and followed the young man into the inner room.
A lamp sat on a battered wooden cabinet. Its bean-sized flame could not pierce the darkness, and the room reeked of smoke mingled with a foul stench.
Black Snake thought this house was worse than a cave. At least a cave was sturdy enough.
An old woman and a younger woman stood beside the heated brick bed, wiping away tears.
Two figures entered through the lifted door curtain. The little figure behind carried a cloth bag over his shoulder. The old woman froze for a moment. Wasn't this the rat-catching boy? The young man explained helplessly.
"They close the gates on the mountain at night. I happened to run into this little master outside town. He knows how to drive out evil spirits too..."
The old woman opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
Could a six- or seven-year-old child really drive out evil spirits?
Even someone who had started learning in the womb ought to be a half-grown lad before daring to enter a haunted household. At his age, he probably couldn't even recite a complete scripture. Black Snake ignored the looks from the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, tilting his head slightly to study the old man lying on the bed.
Covered by a ragged quilt, the old man's head lolled to one side, his eyes were askew, and his blackened lips twitched incessantly.
He had vomited a puddle of filth beside his pillow. Thin liquid and thick sludge had run onto the bedding, their sour, rotten smell overpowering the oil lamp's smoke.
Black Snake