Chapter 11: A Husband’s Duty

Following the villagers into a small grove, I saw torchlights in the distance and heard panicked cries. Xing’er and Grandma Zhao were among the crowd. I rushed forward and pulled Xing’er aside.

“What’s happening?”

Xing’er’s lips were pale with fear as she stammered, “Xiao Mu fell into a hole, but we can’t pull him out no matter how hard we try.”

Xiao Mu was my student, a mischievous but kind-hearted boy who often secretly left wild fruits from the mountains on my desk.

Pushing through the crowd in alarm, I saw people tugging on a rope whose other end disappeared into a deep, treacherous hole. The torchlight revealed the village chief desperately trying to pull Xiao Mu up, but the boy kept crying desperately without budging, as if something below was dragging him down.

Logically, with the fifty-year-old village chief’s strength and so many helpers, pulling up a teenage boy should have been easy. Why couldn’t they manage it?

I slowly approached the hole and peered down what I saw nearly stopped my heart!

Dozens of bloody, mangled hands were gripping Xiao Mu’s legs tightly. Though he kicked frantically, the hands kept crawling up his body. Soon, the torchlight illuminated the vengeful spirits themselves.

They appeared as they had at their deaths horrifying and gruesome. Some had only half their faces left, others had eyeballs dangling out… They grinned grotesquely while chanting, “Come, come… hehehe… join us.”

As the vengeful spirits began to completely engulf Xiao Mu, I panicked helplessly. Just then, Chu Pei appeared beside me, and I could only turn to him for help.

“Chu Pei, please save Xiao Mu! I know you must have a way to rescue him!”

Chu Pei’s handsome brows furrowed deeply. Chanting scriptures, he traced a complex golden talisman in the air with his right hand before commanding sharply: “Disperse!”

The golden talisman sank into the depths of the hole and gradually dissolved. Like darkness exposed to sunlight, the vicious spirits wailed in agony as they scattered with nowhere to hide.

Freed from the dragging force, the villagers quickly pulled Xiao Mu to safety. His older sister hugged him, weeping uncontrollably. I let out a long sigh of relief, wiping cold sweat from my brow.

Turning to Chu Pei, I said, “Thank you.”

Standing with hands clasped behind his back, Chu Pei nodded slightly. “There’s no need for thanks, my lady. Matters you entrust to me are but my duty as your husband.”

Hearing this, I smiled with pursed lips, feeling sweetness blossoming in my heart. Though no one else could see Chu Pei, I still felt somewhat embarrassed as I secretly took his hand. “Let’s go home.”

Chu Pei: “Very well.”

Halfway down the mountain, a cold wind blew past, raising goosebumps all over my body. I sensed movement to my left and instinctively turned to look.

There stood the little girl in red whom I’d encountered in the rain that day. She stood alone under a large tree. Though I couldn’t see clearly, I could still feel the chilling cold radiating from her eyes, which were almost completely white.

Swallowing quietly, I said tremulously, “Chu Pei, she’s back.”

Chu Pei held my hand firmly and continued walking unhurriedly, advising me: “Don’t look at her. However malicious her intentions, with your husband here, she cannot harm you in the slightest.”

His words were like a dose of reassurance, and I couldn’t help but tightly grasp his hand in return: “I feel that what happened to Xiao Mu wasn’t a coincidence. It seems… it was premeditated.”

Chu Pei sighed inwardly: “Madam, don’t overthink it. Some things, though you may have the intention, are beyond your control. What is destined to happen will happen. All living beings are as insignificant as ants between heaven and earth who can truly defy fate?”

“But you can’t say that! I believe humans can conquer heaven!”

Chu Pei suddenly turned to look at me. He usually walked with his head held high, never glancing around, so this sudden gaze made me somewhat uncomfortable.

I bit my lip and asked nervously, “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

With a serious and earnest expression, he said, “Miss Lin, you are very naive. But… I admire that.”

He called me Miss Lin! So, he didn’t see me as Ji Lianqiu after all. At this moment, even if it meant my eternal damnation, I would have no regrets.

Later, I heard from Chu Pei that the cave was a mass burial pit.

In 1931, when the Japanese invaded China, they came here and carried out a massacre. Many innocent villagers were killed, their bodies dismembered in a tragic manner. The corpses lay scattered everywhere, unclaimed, and since they couldn’t be left to rot and stink, a deep pit was dug to dispose of the wrongly dead.

The cave was filled with intense baleful energy, and even during the day, it was best for the living not to approach. Perhaps Xiao Mu had wandered there out of mischief, and with it being the Ghost Festival, it was no surprise that something had happened.

“Chu Pei, what was that talisman you drew? It’s so powerful can you teach me?”

One night, with nothing better to do, I felt inspired and set out brush and ink. After painting for a while without any inspiration, I asked him about drawing talismans.

At that moment, he was half-reclining on the bed, passing the time with a world classic I had brought. His slender fingers turned to the next page, and without looking at me, he simply said, “It’s very complicated. If Madam wishes to learn, I can teach you a simple talisman. But if you start, you must not give up halfway.”

I looked at him, his cool, aloof demeanor was something I found utterly endearing.

“I promise you, I will never give up halfway!” I eagerly replied, almost raising three fingers to swear to the heavens.

He took a bookmark, placed it on the page he was reading, set the book neatly by the pillow, and stood up to approach me. I smiled faintly, my gaze unwilling to leave him for even a moment and handed him the brush.
He adjusted the tip of the brush; his hand holding it was both elegant and perfectly positioned. His brushwork was steady, each stroke vigorous and powerful, clearly revealing his profound skill.

Finally, a seemingly simple talisman was completed. He handed the brush back to me and said, “This is an Immobilization Talisman. If Madam ever encounters danger in the future, you can use this talisman to buy some time.”

I carefully examined the ‘Immobilization Talisman’ and began to draw it following his example. Although it was called a simple talisman, for someone like me with no background in Taoist mysticism, it was easy to make the most basic mistakes.

“Not like that the order must not be mixed up…” As he spoke, he took my hand that was holding the brush and patiently guided me through drawing a complete one.

The posture was very intimate; I almost nestled in his embrace. Suddenly, I really wanted to see his expression at that moment. So, I turned my face, and my lips just brushed against his chin.

He lowered his gaze to rest on my face. Though he still wore that aloof and stern expression, I could see laughter dancing in his eyes.

“Madam, you’re not paying attention.”

I hooked an arm around his back, pressed a kiss to his perfect lips, and whispered, “Then how will you punish me?”

“How could I bear to punish you? Naturally, I must cherish you properly.”