Possessed by Second Master Yellow

After Grandpa left, the other Zhang brothers gathered in the fifth brother's room to discuss his funeral arrangements.

Besides the four Zhang brothers, their wives were there too. The room was full of bickering, with no one willing to pay more toward the funeral.

Just as the argument reached a fever pitch, a strange burst of laughter suddenly came from where the fifth Zhang brother lay.

At first, no one paid it any mind. They thought it was a stray cat outside.

But when the second brother's wife happened to glance toward the fifth brother's corpse, she let out a hysterical scream, stumbled backward several steps, and fell onto her backside.

"What's wrong with you?" the second Zhang brother asked, looking startled.

His wife pointed at the bed holding the fifth brother's body and said in a trembling voice, "F-Fifth Brother... he's alive!"

Everyone looked where she was pointing and saw a sight that made their blood run cold.

Someone was sitting on the bed where the corpse had been laid out. It was the fifth Zhang brother. They had been arguing so fiercely that none of them had noticed when he sat up.

The fifth Zhang brother sat cross-legged on the bed, his face a bluish black and his lips purple. His slightly clouded eyes stared fixedly at his older brothers and their wives in the main room. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he let out another eerie burst of laughter, like the cry of an owl.

Everyone in the room was terrified. They screamed in panic and scrambled toward the door, stumbling and crawling over one another.

The women in particular were so frightened they nearly wet themselves.

Only then did they remember Grandpa and Granny Liu, who had come to the fifth brother's home earlier that day.

With no time to worry about the bad blood from that afternoon, the eldest Zhang brother ran straight to our house.

"Uncle... please come and take a look! Our fifth brother's come back to life..." His voice verged on tears, and he trembled all over. He was only a step away from dropping to his knees and kowtowing to Grandpa.

Grandpa found his words hard to believe. "He'd been hanging from that beam for hours. His body was already stiff when I took him down. How could he have come back to life?"

"I don't know either, Uncle. Since Granny Liu happens to be here, please come over and take a look," the eldest Zhang brother pleaded.

Grandpa turned to Granny Liu and said politely, "Sister, you were right after all. Something really has happened again."

Granny Liu's expression darkened. "Come on. Let's go and see."

The eldest Zhang brother thanked them repeatedly and led them toward his fifth brother's ramshackle house.

When they reached the courtyard entrance, they found the other Zhang brothers waiting there. Their wives crouched by the wall, sobbing, clearly terrified by what they had just seen.

At the doorway, the eldest Zhang brother said fearfully, "Uncle, you and Granny Liu go inside and have a look. Fifth Brother's sitting on the bed..."

No sooner had he finished than another burst of owl-like laughter came from inside. Even Grandpa, brave as he was, broke out in goose bumps at the sound.

"That laughter..." Grandpa looked at the eldest Zhang brother.

"That's Fifth Brother laughing... I don't dare go in now. You two go and look. It's enough to scare a man to death..." He backed away as he spoke, as though afraid Grandpa would drag him inside.

"He's your own brother. What's he going to do, hurt you? Look at you, scared of your own shadow," Grandpa said irritably.

"Uncle, please let me off. I really don't dare..." The eldest Zhang brother kept waving his hands.

Left with no choice, Grandpa followed Granny Liu into the house.

As soon as they entered, they saw the fifth Zhang brother sitting cross-legged on the bed, perfectly still. An eerie smile lingered at the corners of his mouth, and his slightly clouded eyes stared fixedly at Grandpa and Granny Liu as they came in.

When the eldest Zhang brother first said his fifth brother had come back to life, Grandpa had barely believed him. Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he had no choice but to believe.

Panic surged through Grandpa too. "Sister, you're the expert in these matters. Please see what we should do."

Granny Liu narrowed her eyes at the fifth Zhang brother's bluish-black face and said gravely, "He hasn't really come back to life. The Yellow Immortal has possessed him."

As they spoke, the fifth Zhang brother suddenly gave another strange laugh, his body swaying slightly.

Granny Liu immediately approached him and said with great courtesy, "I am Liu, an old Spirit-Calling Disciple from Thirty-Li Hamlet. Second Master Yellow, since you've already killed the fifth Zhang brother, surely there's no need to keep stirring up trouble?"

Second Master Yellow was an honorific for a weasel that had attained supernatural powers. Among the five great spirits called upon by Spirit-Calling Disciples-fox, weasel, hedgehog, snake, and rat-the weasel ranked second, hence the common title Second Master Yellow.

At Granny Liu's words, the fifth Zhang brother suddenly spoke, though his voice sounded bizarre, as if forced out through his throat. "Granny Liu, I know you have some ability, but I advise you to keep your nose out of this. The Zhang Family showed grave disrespect to our ancestor. Killing the fifth Zhang brother alone isn't enough. I'll torment the entire Zhang Family until they never know a moment's peace. If you dare interfere, you'll suffer the consequences."

Seeing this, Grandpa understood what was happening. He walked up to the fifth Zhang brother and tried earnestly to reason with him. "Second Master Yellow, I know you did this for our Little Jie's sake, and our Wu family is grateful for your kindness. But although the Zhang Family was in the wrong, they don't deserve to die. Please show mercy and spare them."

The fifth Zhang brother turned his clouded eyes toward Grandpa and said viciously, "Old Wu, our ancestor has some ties to you. I don't want to hurt you, but that doesn't mean I, Second Master Yellow, am afraid of you. Leave. This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it!"

Grandpa sighed helplessly. He was about to say more when Granny Liu hurriedly pulled him aside. "Brother Wu, step back for now. Leave this to me."

Granny Liu was genuinely afraid Grandpa would offend Second Master Yellow. It was true that the Immortal resided within me, but that had little to do with Grandpa. If he angered that weasel, it might actually kill him.

Grandpa could only retreat to one side. Granny Liu spoke respectfully once more. "Second Master Yellow, I know the Zhang Family was in the wrong and offended you. If you'll stop tormenting them, name your terms. As long as it's something we can do, I'll do my best to satisfy you."

The fifth Zhang brother gave an eerie smile and suddenly said, "Bring me a few chickens to taste first."

The strange demand left Grandpa stunned.