The Unruly Immortals

The colorful ribbons on the leather drum gently swayed with Bai Lingmiao's steps,

as she walked alone through the somewhat dilapidated alleys of Qian's Village.

From time to time, barefoot farmers leading oxen and women holding children cast surprised glances her way.

A girl dressed like her had never been seen in the village before; she was quite the novelty.

Bai Lingmiao, looking somewhat tense, kept her head down and continued towards the location described by Second God.

She hadn't walked long before Bai Lingmiao saw two low houses, one large and one small, side by side; she took a deep breath and stepped into the courtyard.

"Woof! Woof woof!!" The vigilant house dog gave Bai Lingmiao quite a start.

However, the dog's barking also saved Bai Lingmiao the embarrassment of having to announce her presence.

With a creak, the door opened, and an honest-looking farmer came out, a trace of fear in his eyes as he asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Bai Lingmiao opened her mouth but didn't know what to say at first, as this was not a situation she had often faced.

After a long hesitation, Bai Lingmiao tentatively asked, "Um... that... has someone in your family been possessed?"

"Bang!" The door that had just been opened was suddenly slammed shut.

"Ah..." Bai Lingmiao stood there awkwardly. She turned her head to look at Second God beside her and thought to herself, "See... they've closed the door; maybe there's no problem."

Bai Lingmiao then seemed to hear something and began to explain in a strained whisper,

"I know the Immortal Sects are pressing us for action now, and they'll trouble us if we don't work, but maybe this family hasn't... Ah... Alright, I understand. I'll try again."

She walked over again, knocking on the door with her pale hand.

"Could you please open the door again? I've learned the art of exorcism, and if there is indeed trouble of that nature, I can be of assistance!"

After a few more knocks, just when Bai Lingmiao thought they wouldn't open the door, the wood cracked slightly open, and out peeked an old yellow-waxen eye that gave her a fright.

"How did you know we had an unwelcome visitor?"

Hearing the voice, Bai Lingmiao realized that this yellow-waxen eye belonged to a person.

"Uh..." For a moment, Bai Lingmiao couldn't find a good reason.

"Old man, never mind how I know. I can truly help with this matter. An Evil Spirit can't stay in a person's body for too long, or it will cause trouble," she pleaded.

"How many Patterned Money do you want?"

"Fifty copper coins, no matter how fierce the Evil Spirit, the price is fifty copper coins." Bai Lingmiao quoted the standard rate for spirit channeling.

As soon as she had spoken, Bai Lingmiao heard a young man's voice from behind the door. "Dad, let's go with her, she charges less than Lady Cui, the rice vendor."

The door slammed shut once more, and the two, father and son, seemed to be discussing something. While Bai Lingmiao waited with growing anxiety, the door finally creaked open.

A short, stocky and muscular old farmer, heavy with worry, came out of the door with a carrying pole.

Having taken another look at Bai Lingmiao, he said, "Fifty copper coins, you said. We're poor folk, so don't you take advantage of us."

Upon hearing this, Bai Lingmiao let out a sigh and stepped over the threshold, into the house.

Just as she entered, Bai Lingmiao was startled by the white color that met her face.

The entire room was arranged like a mourning hall; no, this was a mourning hall, lacking only a coffin.

"Old man, why keep the spirit tablet here instead of in the ancestral temple?"

Upon hearing this, the old man sighed deeply, "If it could be placed there, I would have done so long ago. Come, there are some things I need to tell you about in detail inside."

Behind the house was a brightly lit small courtyard, where a few chickens were kept.

The two nervous father and son led Bai Lingmiao into the courtyard, pulled up a bamboo stool for her to sit on, and squatted down in front of her, habitually commencing their tale of woe.

"My old lady passed away five days ago... She was seventy-one, and she didn't suffer too much before dying—a rather fortunate death, you could say. But before the seventh day after her death could pass, something happened. My nephew on night watch heard someone knocking on the coffin lid."

As Bai Lingmiao listened to this description, her heart clenched, and she looked around cautiously but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"We were scared, so we hurriedly buried her. But on the evening of the day right after we buried her, she actually jumped back home by herself..."

The peasant's dry words still managed to make Bai Lingmiao feel a chill in her heart and a coldness in her hands and feet as this seemed a bit different from what she had encountered before.

"The moment my wife pushed open the door, she demanded meat, scaring both my son and me out of our wits. She looked as if she would eat us if we didn't give her meat."

"After that, we took down the half-leg of a pig that had been hung up on a beam for the New Year. That was smoked meat, but she just gnawed on it raw,"

"After she completely devoured the whole leg of the pig, she left, saying that she would return the following day."

At this point, an even deeper bitterness appeared on the old man's face.

"It's not that I'm stingy and won't feed my old lady, but that clearly wasn't our wife. The way she chewed on the meat was like an animal, bloodied and terrifying… This possession is indeed very malignant..."

"To afford her burial, we sold our two pigs. If she comes back and there's no meat, I fear she'll start gnawing on the two of us."

"If you can let my old lady rest peacefully and reincarnate, then you'll be our family's bodhisattva."

After pouring out his heart, the old man let his head hang down listlessly and fell silent.

"Rising from the dead after death? Has something possessed her?" Bai Lingmiao thought to herself, beginning to gauge the danger of the situation.

After conferring with Second God in her mind and deciding the danger was not too great, she looked up at the time and said, "Old man, the sun is about to set. Since I'm here, I might as well stay tonight. How does that sound to you?"

Having come, she certainly intended to resolve the issue. Having experienced so many things at Brother Li's side, Bai Lingmiao found herself quite confident in handling this minor matter.

"What? You really have a way?" The old man suddenly perked up with excitement.

He had initially thought the young woman was incapable because of her age.

But when he saw Bai Lingmiao nod in confirmation, the old man immediately got to his feet and lunged for the chickens in the yard.

"Good! You'll eat dinner at our house then! Don't be shy!"

That evening, a whole chicken was placed in front of Bai Lingmiao, but she had no appetite, anxiously waiting for the night to come.

As night fell, the father and son hid in a back room to sleep, leaving Bai Lingmiao alone in the large hall that resembled a mourning hall.

The family seemed very poor, with only an oil lamp illuminating the room, casting shadows that flickered between brightness and darkness, making the already frightening environment even more sinister.