Three Tails

My heart suffered a violent jolt, and I became a lot more clear-headed.

Old Bai Gan, who had turned into a fierce ghost, took a few steps back and fled outside.

The white-tailed figure quickly chased after him.

Thud! Thud! My father and mother also fell from the roof beams onto the floor. Their eyes rolled white, and they could not speak, looking completely dazed.

Worrying that something had happened to them, I crawled forward on my knees and shook them with all my might. Seeing no response, I shrieked helplessly: “Dad! Mom!”

The young girl with the red snake’s tail looked back at me and comforted me: “Gousheng, don’t worry and sleep. The two of them just inhaled yin energy and are temporarily confused, but their lives are not in danger. I will go drive the fierce ghost away, and you won’t be harmed either.”

I nodded in a daze.

She showed me a smile and chased out as well. The light was dim, but her appearance was as beautiful as a celestial fairy.

At this moment, shouting rang out from outside the courtyard; the fierce ghost still hadn’t left.

Once I confirmed my parents were fine, I stood up stumblingly, walked out of the bedroom, and leaned half-way against the living room door. From there, I saw the scene in the courtyard.

The fierce ghost’s eyes seeped with black blood, bearing absolutely no resemblance to how Old Bai Gan looked when he was alive. Standing in the middle of the yard, he howled wildly, looking as if he wanted to swallow the sky whole. When a fierce ghost returns to the human realm, its obsession is at its strongest, and it will never stop until its goal is met. Therefore, even though he had suffered heavy blows, he had no intention of giving up.

Seeing me standing at the doorway, he howled even more like a ghost. Countless floating, lonely souls and wild ghosts circled all around him.

I stared blankly ahead, too terrified to speak. I never expected a fierce ghost to be this horrific.

The red and white girls stood in front of me, sizing up the fierce ghost.

Cackle, cackle! Old Bai Gan glared viciously at the red and white girls. Opening his mouth to reveal a row of ghostly teeth, he still screeched: “Flick the crotch! Wipe out the entire family! I want Chen Gousheng’s worthless life.”

The girl with the white fox’s tail flew into a great rage and barked: “I am supposed to protect Chen Jianfan for eighteen years, yet you f*cking want to kill him! You completely look down on me, Hu Lingsu. How can the Hu family allow a mere fierce ghost to trample over us?”

The name Hu Lingsu sounded familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before. I smacked my head hard, but it was still spinning, and I couldn’t recall it at the moment.

Hu Lingsu threw her head back and let out a strange cry. One tail instantly multiplied into three tails. Following her cry, the walls around our courtyard were packed with foxes of all different colors, all letting out sharp, eerie screeching noises together.

Seeing the white-tailed queen suddenly grow two more tails, I was too stunned to speak.

The girl with the red snake’s tail seemed a bit more timid and offered kind words instead: “An injustice is better dissolved than tied tighter. If you kill someone now, the underworld will record it. When the time comes, you will never be reborn. Gousheng never offended you. It was your own greed, so you can blame no one else. The Liu family has lived on Qinglong Mountain for generations, and I advise you not to act wildly. My grandma is very fierce. If she comes, you will end up very miserably.”

The fierce ghost’s face kept twisting as he strained his head around: “Kill people and drink blood! Kill gods if gods block me! Kill demons if demons block me!”

He let out a loud shout, and the ghostly energy around him swirled into a vortex. He instantly charged forward, grabbed two chairs with both hands, and threw them straight at the red and white girls.

Hu Lingsu whipped one of her massive tails, blasting away the dense yin energy and smashing the chairs to pieces. Right after, she dashed right up to the fierce ghost and brought her hand down heavily.

She shouted: “This lady will shatter your three souls and seven po-spirits! Let’s see how you cause trouble then. Gai Jiuyou could suppress me, but what kind of thing do you think you are?”

The power of her strike was incredibly shocking.

The fierce ghost’s head was knocked straight to the right side, looking both comical and horrific. Yet, he still screamed out with unwilling malice, screeching sharply: “I want his life! I want his life!”

“What immense audacity. Go die!” Hu Lingsu grew even more domineering, her tail slamming heavily against the fierce ghost’s body.

The ghostly energy on the fierce ghost weakened, and as he rolled on the ground, he happened to crash into the rooster blood prepared in the yard. His entire body emitted waves of faint smoke, and he shrieked in constant agony.

The foxes on the courtyard walls all leaped down, lunging at the fierce ghost and biting him frantically. It was said that to make up for animals being unable to speak, their eyes were capable of seeing ghosts. In the eyes of the foxes, the fierce ghost was their food for tonight.

Cold sweat poured all over my body; this scene completely shattered my view of the world.

The red-tailed girl seemed unable to bear it: “Little White, isn’t this bad? There’s no need to make him vanish soul and spirit, right?”

Hu Lingsu smiled coldly: “Liu Hongdou, you have the heart of a Bodhisattva, why don’t you just go sit inside a temple instead? You pity a fierce ghost now, but if Chen Jianfan dies tomorrow, your efforts and mine will both go to waste.”

The fierce ghost rolled among the foxes, screeching viciously. His ghostly energy surged wildly, allowing him to kill several foxes.

Twisting his body a few times, he actually broke free from the pack of foxes, rushed out of the courtyard, and bolted straight toward Chen Village.

“If you don’t cut the grass by its roots, the spring breeze will bring it back to life.” Hu Lingsu retracted her two tails, and with a swift sweep, she gave chase.

The girl with the red snake’s tail followed closely behind.

A chilly wind swept through. The entire Chen Village was dead silent, and not even a dog could be heard barking. I struggled through the doorway, crossed the yard, and stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Staring toward Chen Village, my heart couldn’t help but pound violently.

Having suffered heavy damage, the fierce ghost sprinted wildly into the village. He first returned to his own house, and after circling around, he headed straight for Bai Dabiao’s residence.

Bai Dabiao had kept his wits about him and sent his wife and children away in advance, leaving only himself and Old Madam Ma. He even wore the peace talisman given by Old Madam Ma, and the inside and outside of the house were packed with evil-warding talismans she provided.

Earlier, when the pack of foxes surrounded my courtyard and screeched wildly, Old Madam Ma had told Bai Dabiao that his uncle had returned, instructing him to burn the paper figures and the wooden ladder immediately.

Although Bai Dabiao was terrified, he managed the tasks right away. He had bought the highest-quality paper figures, and the wooden ladder was painted with red lacquer. Once the fire caught, Bai Dabiao knelt on the ground and prayed continuously: “Uncle, my dear uncle! Every debt has its debtor. Go look for Chen Gousheng, but please don’t ever come for me. These paper figures will accompany you in the future, so you’ll have some company. Follow the ladder and ascend to the Western Paradise early.”

The firelight painted Bai Dabiao’s face bright red.

At this moment, the fierce ghost Old Bai Gan returned to Bai Dabiao’s residence and cried out pleadingly: “Nephew, save me. If you don’t save me, I’ll take you away with me.”

Bai Dabiao faintly heard this voice. The back of his shirt was instantly soaked with sweat, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowing non-stop: “Uncle! If I go with you, no one will burn paper for you during the Hanshi and Qingming festivals or the holidays. Please spare me.”

Just then, Bai Dabiao felt something climb onto his back. His entire body felt incredibly heavy, as if a mountain were crushing down on him.

He was driven nearly insane with fear, crying and shouting out: “Uncle! Hurry up and get off me! Get off… you old widower, you usually ate my food and used my things, and now you want to drag me to die with you… Old Madam Ma, save me quickly! I’ll give you money, I’ll give you lots and lots of money…”

Old Madam Ma did possess some skills after all. Smeared with cow tears on her eyelids, she could see the mangled form of Old Bai Gan crouching on Bai Dabiao’s back, his face filled with terror.