In a cement double-story building in the village, a young man dressed in black lay on the bed, his eyes tightly shut.
His teeth were clenched, and his facial features wrinkled, covered with wrinkles, making his expression appear distorted and grim.
"No, don't!"
The young man muttered painfully, his fists clenched tightly by his sides, revealing bulging veins all over his skin, indicating how hard he was struggling.
However, strangely enough, his body remained straight and his legs were together as he lay on the bed, besides the constant shaking of his head, there were no other violent movements.
The entire behavior exuded an indescribable eerie feeling.
"What should we do?"
Beside the bed, an old grandpa paced around anxiously, not knowing what to do with his hands.
His family lineage had always been single-threaded and now he only had this one descendant; should anything happen to him, no one in the family could bear it.
"Don't worry, Grandpa, Chairman Zhou is already on his way."
Beside the grandpa, a middle-aged man wearing wooden Buddha Beads around his neck comforted him.
He was Chen Dong, the caretaker of the temple in Chen Family Village.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside, bringing joy to Chen Dong as he said, "It must be Chairman Zhou arriving. Don't worry, Jiahao will be fine."
Soon, under the guidance of the villagers, Sun Yan and two others walked into the room.
Upon seeing the young man lying on the bed, Sun Yan quietly used the Celestial Eye on him.
He immediately noticed that there was an overwhelming amount of evil presence lingering on this person—a clear sign of being possessed.
"Chairman Zhou." Chen Dong quickly approached Zhou Haidong, warmly greeting him: "We don't know what happened to this child after dinner tonight. He just said he was sleepy and laid on the bed. Since then, he's been muttering to himself, unable to open his eyes, shivering constantly. Please take a look."
Zhou Haidong and Zhao Chuan Yi walked to the bedside, observing the young man's condition with grave expressions.
Although they didn't have Sun Yan's Celestial Eye, as seasoned exorcists, they had their own methods.
Zhou Haidong placed a small piece of Bluestone on the youth's forehead, bent down to watch him, and slowly recited a spell.
Zhao Chuan Yi took out a peace talisman, placing it on the youth's hands, feet, and chest.
Sun Yan stood quietly on the side, watching without getting involved. If Zhou Haidong and the other could manage, there was no need for him to intervene.
It wasn't too late for Sun Yan to help if they also failed to resolve the issue.
As the spell began to echo through the room, the young man's struggles on the bed became increasingly violent.
His head and feet pressed tightly against the bed while his waist kept arching upwards repeatedly, causing a chill in the viewer's heart.
"No, no, I don't want …"
The young man screamed in anguish, and from his tightly shut eyes, black blood began to trickle down his cheeks.
The Bluestone on his forehead also began to blacken, wisps of black smoke emerging from it.
"䇣槑咄愙匴斝盦叾䯢鼁…"
Zhou Haidong quickly retrieved a Peach Wood Branch from his backpack, gently striking the young man's cheeks on both sides, causing him to sit up with a forceful effort and eject a massive jet of black clotted blood several meters across the room.
As soon as the clotted blood hit the wall, it formed a mark resembling the outline of a woman's figure, leaving Chen Dong in shock and speechless for a moment.
The young man, having spewed the clotted blood, immediately calmed down, staring vacantly at the people around him: "I'm not going, don't come for me, I'm not going."
After uttering these words, he collapsed back into a coma.
"Your child's case is not simple."
Zhou Haidong said seriously: "There's an extremely malevolent force within him, and I'm unable to fully exorcise it."
Zhao Chuan Yi curiously asked Chen Dong: "What's the background of the person who committed suicide this time in your village? How did she become so fierce after death?"
Chen Dong couldn't help but sigh: "It's such a sin; the young people nowadays cannot comprehend. Nobody knows why Chen Laosan's daughter, after so many years, finally came back to the village and caused such an unfortunate incident."
"Please elaborate further; the current situation doesn't look good. We need to know more in order to help solve the problem for Chen Family Village."
Faced with Zhao Chuan Yi's proposal, Chen Dong could only recount everything he knew.
"Back in the century, Chen Family Village was just a wasteland where many Chinese who came to San Francisco for opportunities lived together. Over time, it gradually formed a village. Most residents here are Chinese. Around the 1990s, a severe illness suddenly erupted in the village, killing many, medicine was ineffective; those who weren't sick worried about their children's safety, prompting many to move away from Chen Family Village.
Some moved to San Francisco, others to different cities. It was during this time that Chen Laosan's family used some connections to return to the Mainland. After that, our village lost contact with him until last week when he suddenly came back with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter for a tour in San Francisco, staying in our village for a few days.
Who would have thought something would go wrong during their stay? Who could have guessed his daughter, seemingly fine, would end up hanging herself from a tree in the village, sigh."
Sun Yan finally spoke up: "Why did the Send-Off Glutinous Rice Ritual held by the temple fail? What went wrong?"
According to folklore, if conducted properly, temple staff should pack the hanging victim's personal items and the noose with a talisman and escort them to the seaside, where they would burn them, discarding the ashes into the sea to soothe the spirit of the victim.
Yet now the folkloric association member who hosted the ritual has mysteriously died, and accompanying temple staff have since encountered a series of strange events, strongly indicating that something unexpected happened during that night's ritual.
"I'm really not sure. The Send-Off Glutinous Rice Ritual went off smoothly that night, and nobody mentioned any problems, which is why I sought Chairman Zhou's help, concerned that more incidents might happen in the village." Chen Dong sighed helplessly.
"Leave this matter to us. For now, please find a temple staff member who participated in the ritual that night to guide us through the entire process again so I can check for any hidden problems along the route." Zhou Haidong nodded and said.
It seems the spirit of the woman who hanged herself hadn't been pacified by the Send-Off Glutinous Rice Ritual, likely becoming an Evil Spirit due to accumulated resentment.
If left unchecked, the haunting presence in this village will only breed more issues in the future, potentially claiming more lives.
"Gentlemen, is my grandson safe now?" The grandpa quickly asked Zhou Haidong.
Zhao Chuan Yi smiled and handed him five peace talismans: "The possession issue is resolved, but a ghost attaching itself can drain an ordinary person's strength. Once he wakes up, he'll be weak for a while. Burn this talisman paper to ash, mix it with clean water, and have him drink it; he'll recover quickly."
"Thank you, sir." The grandpa said gratefully.
Hands in his pockets, Sun Yan was the first to leave the room. Teaming up with exorcists was easy; he didn't even have to do the exorcising.
If luck was on his side, he could loaf about until the end and then collect his share of the reward.
Comfortable~