"Fortune? Last name Liu? A child from the Liu family?"
Chen Shi felt the name was somewhat familiar, and suddenly his mind buzzed. He opened his eyes wide, looking at the frail boy in front of him.
He remembered now; Sanwang had mentioned that the last missing child was from the Liu family, named Fortune!
And the boy in front of him was called Liu Fortune!
Could this village have two Liu Fortunes?
Probably not!
The frail boy named Liu Fortune walked towards the village. Seeing Chen Shi not moving, he quickly waved at him and smiled, "Chen Shi, come over here. I'll introduce you to some good friends!"
Chen Shi hesitated for a moment and followed him into the village.
He originally thought he would gain a living friend, but now it seemed this friend might not be so alive.
"Master Chen!" Sanwang shouted loudly.
Chen Shi ignored him and continued following Liu Fortune. Heiguo quickly caught up with Chen Shi, feeling uneasy.
The frail boy walked quickly, and it seemed like the other villagers couldn't see him at all. He ran straight to the village center. The houses in Boxwood Village, like other villages, were built in concentric circles around the godmother, forming a series of circles.
Chen Shi looked ahead and saw a temple standing in the center of the ruins of an ancient palace.
The temple seemed to have been built later. Although it was very old, compared to the ruins, it was relatively young.
Inside the temple, there was a bronze statue sitting cross-legged. It was unclear from which era it came, but it depicted a unique deity with indigo skin and tusks, sitting over six feet tall. If it stood up, it would probably be over ten feet high.
This was the godmother of Boxwood Village.
Chen Shi followed Liu Fortune into the temple and saw that the statue was surrounded by offerings of all kinds: chicken, duck, goose, fish, shrimp, crab, and fruits, all very abundant.
Behind the offerings sat a fat man with a big head and big ears. He was holding a boiled chicken in one hand, stuffing it into his mouth with oil dripping everywhere, while the other hand gripped a melon, his small eyes darting around, afraid someone might snatch his offerings.
This round, chubby man seemed to be a spirit formed by extraordinary power.
Chen Shi looked towards the corner of the temple, where a few children were hiding, talking to Liu Fortune.
"His name is Chen Shi, nicknamed Little Shi, and he can see me!"
Liu Fortune was very excited, telling the other children, "My parents can't see me, and neither can the villagers, but he can see me! He must be able to see you too!"
The children immediately looked at Chen Shi with hopeful expressions.
"Brother Little Shi, my mom has been looking for me like crazy, crying for so long!"
One child quickly came to Chen Shi's side, tears rolling down as he spoke, "When I see my mom cry, I want to cry too. I hug her leg and tell her I'm here, but she can't hear or see me! Can you help me find my mom?"
Another child's eyes turned red, "My parents can't see me either!"
The child behind said, "My mom's eyes are almost blind from crying!"
Chen Shi's heart sank. These four children must be the missing ones.
They had already become ghosts, meaning he was too late.
All four children were dead.
"As the godmother worshipped by the villagers, shouldn't you be responsible for protecting them?" Chen Shi turned around, looking at the fat man who was eating and drinking behind the offerings.
The fat man stopped feeding himself and turned his head, his eyes fierce.
Heiguo quickly rushed in front of Chen Shi, baring its teeth and growling.
The fat man snorted, "I only drive away evil spirits. Other matters are none of my business! Little ghost, for the sake of Chen Yin, I'll spare you this time! Next time you speak rudely to me, I'll eat you, and Chen Yin won't dare say a word!"
He turned back and continued eating and drinking.
Chen Shi was slightly taken aback, "Other matters are none of your business? Does that mean... the ones who harmed these four children weren't evil spirits?"
The village's godmother was responsible for driving away evil spirits, but if the harm wasn't caused by evil spirits, then the godmother had no reason to intervene unless the villagers offered sacrifices.
Chen Shi had initially found it strange to hear about evil spirits causing trouble during the day.
His grandfather had said that evil spirits only appear at night because the moonlight has some mysterious power.
Evil spirits appearing in broad daylight was extremely rare.
The fat man ignored him and didn't answer.
Chen Shi asked, "Fortune, how did you die?"
Liu Fortune was startled, timidly saying, "Brother Little Shi, am I dead?"
"Don't be afraid. Think carefully. How were you taken away?"
"I was peeing, and then everything spun around, and I didn't know anything. I must have fallen asleep. I don't know how long I slept before waking up. I heard my parents calling my name..."
Chen Shi's spirits lifted upon hearing this. Hearing his parents call his name indicated that the incident happened nearby!
Liu Fortune said, "I climbed over a wall and saw my parents looking for me. I told them I was here, but they couldn't hear or see me. Brother Little Shi, am I really dead?"
Chen Shi asked, puzzled, "You climbed over a wall? Whose wall did you climb over?"
"The empty house in the village."
"The Tian family's empty house?"
Liu Fortune nodded, "Yes, that family's last name is Tian. I met the others at the Tian house." He pointed to the other children.
Chen Shi looked at the other children and suddenly said, "You four come with me. Let's go to the Tian family's empty house."
He led the four children out of the temple. Outside, the villagers were gathered, staring at him without making a sound.
Chen Shi turned to look but saw only Liu Fortune following him. The other three children were stuck at the temple's threshold, unable to jump out.
Chen Shi returned to the temple and said, "Come with me. Let's go to the scene and take a look."
One child said, "I can't get out. When I reach the threshold, it gets higher and blocks us!"
The other two children nodded repeatedly.
Chen Shi looked at the fat man behind the offerings.
The fat man lazily said, "Others eat meat, I drink soup. These three little ghosts are dead, and their souls have been sacrificed to me. You can't take them away."
Chen Shi asked, puzzled, "Why can Fortune leave?"
"He's not dead yet, just his soul is out of his body."
The fat man said, "When he dies, his soul will also belong to me."
Chen Shi gave him a deep look and didn't try to take the other three children. He said to Liu Fortune, "Let's go to the Tian family's empty house!"
He walked out, and the villagers made way for him. Liu Fortune quickly followed him through.
"Can this little talisman master do it?" someone worriedly asked.
"There's nothing in the temple. He's just talking to himself. Maybe he's mentally unstable."
Chen Shi ignored them and let Liu Fortune lead the way. Soon, they arrived at the Tian family's empty house.
This empty house was also made of earth walls, without a single brick. It was built with mud and ash, simply setting up beams and thatching with straw, forming the front hall.
The front hall door was chained, and the chain was rusty.
In the yard, there was an old locust tree, extremely tall and lush, almost covering the entire yard.
Beyond that, it was hard to see clearly.
Chen Shi didn't rush in. He put down his book box, took out a small knife, and Heiguo quickly came forward, letting him make a cut to draw blood.
"Heiguo, sorry for the trouble. I don't have exotic beast meat here, but I'll make it up to you later."
Chen Shi ground the ink, mixed it with cinnabar and black dog blood, and without using talisman paper, went straight to the Tian family's empty house door to draw a talisman.
He activated the Three Lights True Qi Technique, and starlight gathered around him, forming the Big Dipper. A divine light appeared behind his head, condensing into a divine altar.
Chen Shi held his breath, focusing his intention on the tip of the brush, and with a single hand, he drew swiftly. Soon, he had drawn a Yulei diagram on one door panel. Then he exhaled, and the divine light behind his head faded, and the divine altar disappeared.
He couldn't retain True Qi yet, so he could only rely on a single breath to make his divine altar appear. Once that breath was gone, the altar would disappear too.
Chen Shi took another breath, dipped the brush in ink, and the divine altar reappeared. He drew a Shentu diagram.
These two diagrams were the door guardian talismans depicted on the Peachwood Talisman.
Once the two diagrams were formed, a faint divine light emerged from the door, gradually fading and blending into the air, becoming invisible to the naked eye.
Chen Shi exhaled a turbid breath and said, "The Peachwood Talisman didn't react, so it seems there's no evil spirit in this empty house."
If there were an evil spirit, the Peachwood Talisman would be triggered, and the two door guardians on the talisman would leap out to drive away the evil spirit!
Since the Peachwood Talisman wasn't activated, it meant there was no evil spirit in the empty house.
"So, who took the bedwetting child?"
Chen Shi held the brush and ink in one hand, and with a light squeeze of the other hand, he broke the chain on the door and pushed it open, entering the yard. Although he had no magical power, his strength was increasing.
Heiguo and Liu Fortune quickly followed.
The villagers stopped outside the door, not daring to enter.
The yard was overgrown with weeds and trees, the largest being the locust tree.
Chen Shi approached the locust tree, focused his mind, and used the remaining True Qi to draw a Five Mountains House-Sealing Talisman on the tree.
He noticed a dry well in the yard and drew a well talisman on its edge.
With the Peachwood Talisman to ward off evil at the front, the Five Mountains House-Sealing Talisman in the center, and the well sealed by the well talisman, the Tian family's empty house was as solid as a fortress, impervious to outside evil. If there was evil in the yard, it would feel suppressed by the Five Mountains and unable to move.
Chen Shi put down the brush and asked, "Fortune, where did you wake up?"
"In the main hall!"
Liu Fortune quickly entered the main hall, saying, "It's right here!"
Chen Shi followed but didn't see Liu Fortune's figure.
The main hall was empty, with only an offering table. On the table were eight black spirit tablets, the chairs and tables were covered in dust, and the corners were full of cobwebs.
"Fortune, Fortune!"
Chen Shi called loudly, but the Fortune who had just rushed into the main hall was nowhere to be seen.
Chen Shi went to the left side room and suddenly felt a chill. He saw four black coffins placed on benches, neatly arranged.
He bravely approached and saw that the nails on the coffins were still there, indicating they had been here for a long time.
Chen Shi thought for a moment and didn't open the coffins.
He then went to the right side room, where there were also four black coffins on benches, not touching the ground.
Chen Shi frowned slightly. These eight black coffins should belong to the Tian family, but for some reason, they were only laid out and not buried.
There were no signs of the coffin nails being removed.
"Fortune clearly came in just now, so why did he suddenly disappear? Unless..."
Chen Shi's gaze fell on the coffins and hesitated for a moment, about to open them when barking came from outside. Chen Shi returned to the main hall and saw Heiguo standing outside, not coming in, but looking up and barking continuously.
Chen Shi looked up and was stunned.
The roof above the main hall's beam seemed to have been renovated. It wasn't thatched with straw but replaced with smooth wooden planks, forming a triangular shape. The planks were thick and polished to a shine, painted with complex talismans in bright red!
The talismans were huge, each over ten feet in diameter, with five talismans in total.
The structure of the talismans was strange. Squinting at them, the lines became blurry, as if seeing five ferocious heads with gaping mouths and tongues over ten feet long, like ghosts!
From the mouths of the talisman ghost heads hung five chains, each with a child bound hand and foot, hanging upside down from the roof.
The children's eyes had their eyelids hooked with fishhooks, pulling them open, and their noses were hooked and pulled upward.
Their mouths were hooked at the corners with four fishhooks, pulling in different directions, making their mouths appear large.
They were hanging head down, their bodies slanted, with their tongues pierced by an iron hook and pulled downward.
The iron hook was connected to a thin chain, ending in a small cauldron the size of a palm.
Their tongues were stretched long.
Blood dripped from their tongues, following the hooks and chains into the small cauldron.
"Fortune!"
Chen Shi saw one child's face, the same frail boy who wanted to be friends with him earlier, and shouted, "Liu Fortune! Wake up! Wake up!"
The child seemed to hear his call, his eyes slowly moving.
A surge of joy filled Chen Shi's heart.
"Alive!"
"You're still alive!"
"Don't move, Fortune! I'll save you right now!"