Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 16 The World is Vast, but Human Hearts are Like Water

The scene was one of utter chaos.

The ground was uneven and filled with murky sewage. Several bamboo poles used for drying clothes lay askew on the ground, with tattered rags of indistinguishable color draped over them.

In the corner were piles of rotten wood, broken tiles, and a heap of garbage that smelled sour and rotten.

The only main room was also dilapidated, with the paper used to cover the windows long since rotted away.

Pushing open the creaking door, a strong smell of mildew, sweat, and a certain indescribable, faintly sweet, metallic rust wafted out.

The room was almost devoid of decent furniture. A crooked, broken table leaned against the corner of the wall, on which sat several chipped, rough earthenware bowls containing some dark, dried, and hardened paste that reeked of rancidity.

The tattered mat on the earthen bed was mostly rotten, revealing the blackened adobe bricks underneath.

The only conspicuous thing was the broken earthenware pot on the ground, with fragments mixed with dried porridge stains.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but emptiness; the madwoman was nowhere to be seen.

Xuanji Zi, however, looked solemn. His sharp gaze swept across the room and finally settled on a pile of miscellaneous items stacked high in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed).

There were some tattered straw mats, a few pieces of worn-out cotton wadding whose original color was indistinguishable, and several empty burlap sacks piled up haphazardly, almost covering the wall behind them.

The old Taoist priest slowly stepped forward, stretched out his withered hand, grabbed the top half-rotten straw mat of the pile of debris, and gently lifted it.

"what--!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream, so piercing it was almost inhuman, suddenly rang out!
Like the dying cry of a night owl, it sent chills down everyone's spine!

The pile of debris suddenly shook violently!
A figure leaped out of the shadows behind the pile of debris like a startled wild beast, curling up in a deeper corner, its back pressed tightly against the cold earthen wall!
It's that woman!
Her straw-like hair, covered in dirt and bits of grass, was disheveled and obscured most of her face.

On his exposed cheeks, several bluish-purple bruises and abrasions that had not yet fully healed were a shocking sight.

His face was so thin it was almost unrecognizable, his cheekbones were high and prominent, and his complexion was a lifeless, bluish-gray. Around his sunken eyes were thick, indistinct black halos, as if they had been soaked in ink.

Her eyes were wide open, her pupils contracting violently in the dim light, filled with extreme fear and ferocious madness.

Her tattered single garment barely covered her body, revealing her bony collarbones and withered arms.

What's most unsettling is that her withered arms are tightly wrapped around the baby in a dirty rag, with an almost spasmodic strength!
She pressed the tattered cloth tightly against her chest, her body trembling violently, her withered fingers sinking deep into the fabric.

"Get out! Get away!!" she screamed hoarsely, her voice cracking and filled with phlegm and piercing hatred, saliva dripping uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth. "Don't come any closer! You evil spirits! Don't even think about taking my child away! Get out of my way!"

She screamed and wildly waved one arm, her withered fingers curled like claws, making tearing and clawing motions, her target being Xuanji Zi, who was closest to her!
"My child, don't be afraid... don't be afraid... Mother is here... Mother is here to protect you... No one can take you away... no one can take you away..."

She lowered her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the tattered bundle in her arms, and her voice suddenly became unusually soft and distorted, as if she were coaxing a real baby. The contrast was chilling.

"My God! This is insane! Utterly insane!"

The women at the door were terrified by the sudden scream and the woman's horrifying appearance. They screamed and retreated in unison, huddling together, their faces pale and their eyes filled with fear and disgust.

Just a moment ago, they were pitying this woman!

Xuanji Zi did not retreat. He stood still, his gaze sweeping over the woman's ashen face and dark circles under her eyes, then over the ominous "swaddling clothes" in her arms. His brows furrowed even deeper, and he softly uttered two words: "Covered in ghostly energy, tainted by yin blood... it has become a nest."

Several women with a bit more courage were terrified when they heard the words "ghostly aura" and "nest," and they dared not let this "source of trouble" remain in the alley.

"Quick! Get this crazy woman out of here! Don't let her wreak havoc on the whole alley!"

The gaunt woman screamed and beckoned to the other two, who then mustered their courage and tried to rush inside.

Their plan was simple: drag this madwoman out of the house and throw her far away, at least their front door would be clean. "Don't touch me! Get away! You evil spirits! You're all evil spirits!" As people approached, the woman let out an even more shrill scream, struggling frantically like a mother wolf protecting her cubs.

She held the "swaddling clothes" tightly in one hand, while her other withered claws scratched and clawed wildly at the face and body of the approaching woman. Her emaciated body burst forth with astonishing strength, and her fingernails instantly drew several bloody marks on the thin woman's arm.

"Ouch! This crazy woman is biting people!" the captured woman cried out in pain.

"This is outrageous! Hold her down!" The other women shouted, trying to twist her arms in a chaotic manner.

The cramped, dilapidated house was instantly thrown into chaos.

The women's curses, the madwoman's screams, and the sounds of tearing and wrestling mingled together. The dust and musty smell were stirred up even more intensely.

Xuanji Zi frowned and shouted, "May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings! Stop!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it had a strange penetrating power that brought the chaotic scene to a standstill.

He stepped forward, and with a seemingly casual flick of his withered hand, he skillfully separated the entangled women and protected the madwoman.

"Taoist Master! You can't be soft-hearted!" The gaunt woman covered the bloodstains on her arm, both anxious and frightened. "If this crazy woman stays in the house, that ghost child... that evil thing must be there too! How are we, the neighbors, supposed to live?"

"Please, have mercy and quickly rid this scourge of evil!"

The other women echoed her, pleading with tearful voices, looking at the madwoman in the corner as if she were a pile of filth in need of being cleaned up.

Xuanjizi's gaze swept over the woman in the corner who was still tightly clutching the tattered swaddling clothes, huddled up and trembling, her eyes unfocused and confused. Then he looked at the group of neighbors in front of him, their faces filled with panic, only seeking to protect themselves.

A deep sense of pity flashed in his cloudy eyes, eventually turning into a barely audible sigh.

He turned around and said to the crowd in a deep voice, "Rest assured, everyone. Since this is the work of evil spirits, I have no reason to stand idly by.

However, during the daytime, the yang energy is strong, and evil spirits hide very deeply, making them difficult to find.

It will appear and attach itself to its host when the yin energy is at its peak at midnight, drawing upon yin blood and resentment.

"At that time, I will personally take action to completely eradicate it and prevent future troubles!"

Upon hearing that the old Taoist priest was willing to help, and spoke with such certainty, the women felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and thanked him profusely: "Thank you, Taoist priest! Thank you, living immortal!"

"Master, please have mercy! You must get rid of that scourge!"

They thanked her and hurriedly left the house, as if staying even a moment longer would taint them with the invisible ghostly aura.

The dilapidated house fell silent again, with only the madwoman's suppressed and neurotic whispers and heavy breathing coming from the corner.

Xuanjizi took one last deep look at the "swaddling clothes" that the woman had warmed with the last bit of her life's warmth.

With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and stepped out of that filthy and disgusting place.

Qi Yun followed closely behind, and as he walked out of the house, he couldn't help but look back one last time.

In the dim light, the woman's ashen, withered face and deep-set eyes looked like two black holes that swallowed all light.

She seemed to sense Qi Yun's gaze, and suddenly raised her head. Her empty, unfocused eyes, burning with a mad obsession, pierced through the dimness of the dilapidated house, and for a moment, her gaze collided silently with Qi Yun's in the polluted air.

Qi Yun's heart skipped a beat, and a chill crept up his spine.

He quickly averted his gaze, hurried to catch up with the old Taoist priest, and gently closed the creaking, dilapidated door behind him, temporarily shutting out the despairing darkness and the silent screams.

(End of this chapter)