I only felt a chill slowly creeping over my body, this cold was different from the low temperature, it was the kind of cold that came from the heart, the skin on my head began to numb gradually, the sweat hairs on my back slowly stood up, this involuntary muscle tension made me dare not even breathe loudly. Looking at Cao Wenbin again, he was waving various paper money in his hand and scattering them, his mouth chanting ghostly incantations one after another, as if he wanted to summon all the lonely souls and wild ghosts around him.

  Something like a ghost can be sensed when it is invisible to the naked eye, especially when all the ashes of burnt paper money fly in one direction.

  That night, it was a northwest wind, and the Dragon Head Mountain was indeed to the north. However, these paper money were blown against the wind, all of them drifting towards the foot of the mountain like a swarm of bees. I knew I wasn't hallucinating, but I really could hear the distant valley emitting mournful sighs and wails, perhaps it was the wind, or perhaps it was the howling of restless spirits. For many years, countless white bones had been buried here, for many years they were no longer inquired about by people.

  Zha Wenbin took out three pieces of cloth, each about three feet long: a blue one, a black one, and a floral one. He gave one to each of us, saying: "These are for the things that cling to you. If they refuse to leave, tell them these are new clothes prepared especially for them, and you're going to send them to the tailor."

  "Really?" Zhu Zihao asked.

  I said to him: "Fake, this is called cheating ghosts, the ingots hanging on your waist are not worthless paper, this is your toll."

  "How did you know so much? Aren't you and Shi Ge collecting scraps?"

  "That was in the past, now your Xia Ye has also changed professions to become a Taoist priest!"

  Following Zhang Wenbin for so long, to be honest, apart from those spells and talismans that are difficult to do, I can basically handle everything else by following his example. So I once thought that if there was a point where I couldn't make ends meet, going out and pretending to be a Jianghu master might also allow me to scrape together a living.

  "In a little while, you two walk ahead of me. Pay attention to the shadows under your feet. If there's an extra shadow beside you, that means something is attached to you. Scatter some paper money and tell it to leave; if the shadow doesn't leave, then do what I just taught you, say you're going to find a tailor."

  "What if he still doesn't leave?" Zhu Zihao asked: "Shouldn't Master Da take action then?"

  Zha Wenbin pointed to the stick in his hand and said, "Then use that stick in your hand to heavily strike the shadow on the ground. Just be careful not to hurt any of these lonely ghosts and wild devils if you can help it."

  He turned around, holding the bell in one hand and walking away, shaking it every three steps. He muttered to himself: "The heavenly order returns to my heart, the nine heavens chase the soul of man; the palm wheel turns three springs, the evil spirits follow me." This curse is a soul-calling spell from the Mao Shan sect. I and Zhu Zihao followed behind him, feeling quite like we were in a Hong Kong movie where a Taoist priest leads a zombie.

  I didn't dare to lift my head, carefully paying attention to the ground beneath my feet, afraid that a little companion would appear next to my long and thin shadow. The distance from the altar to Longshou Mountain was only about 40 or 50 meters, but Zhang Wenbin walked slowly, stopping frequently, making this journey seem especially slow. I had forgotten how many steps it took before shadows began to appear beside me; all I knew was that at that moment, I grabbed a handful of paper money and scattered it wildly, shouting with all my might: "Go!"

  It was from this point on that almost every three steps required throwing paper money, and my friend Zhu Zihao and I were initially shouting at the top of our lungs. The chill in the air was unbearable, and all around us were those things. I'd rather not see them now, but those shadows treated us like ATMs, one finishing and another immediately taking over. Later on, we didn't even have the energy to shout anymore. Fortunately, these were greedy ones, and after throwing money, they would disappear immediately. Occasionally, we'd encounter one or two that wouldn't leave, so we'd shout: "This is for you to go buy new clothes from a tailor!" After shouting, those shadows would also quickly disappear.

  At about 7 or 8 meters from the foot of Longshou Mountain, the shadow that appeared beside Zhu Zihao for the first time couldn't be driven away. He shouted "Leave!" three times, but the shadow didn't move at all. He waved his hand with a cloth and spoke nonsense, but the shadow still didn't budge. That person, if you say he's timid, it's not quite right, if you say he's brave, I think it can only be said that he's brainless. He picked up the mourning stick in his hand and heavily smashed it towards the shadow on the ground, but used too much force, and the stick "cracked" into two pieces.

  Here is the translation:

  "This was good, that grandson took a look, good guy, his shadow was still there, he was completely at a loss. He turned around and ran towards me, I couldn't dodge or hide, so I had to take it head-on. He shouted: "Master Xia, help me!" I saw him speaking with a crying tone, so I took the opportunity to swing my stick at his butt with all my might. That grandson pretended to jump up, still shouting: "Ah!" And then when he landed, he muttered again: "Why doesn't it hurt?"

  "Still there!" I saw that the shadow was still by Zhu Zihao's side, at this moment he was one person with two shadows, the other shadow and his own shadow seemed to overlap a bit, looking more like someone was leaning on his back with their shoulders forward, just exposing one neck.

  I fixed my eyes on the two heads on the ground and said to Zhu Zihao, "Stand still, don't move around, watch me!"

  I took a deep breath and raised the mourning stick in my hand high, this thing has always been said to be used by Heibai Wuchang, specializing in suppressing ghosts, made of willow branches wrapped with hemp cloth. Willow trees suppress evil spirits, and hemp is said to be able to bind dirty things. I aimed at the head of the shadow on the ground very accurately, I can distinguish which head is Zhu Zihao's, because the other head seems to have a bun on top, this is a clear distinguishing mark.

  "Ding" sounded a crisp, I was stunned, Zhu Zihao was also stunned, he lowered his head to look at his waist, it was that little bell, the Longing Bell, it actually rang!

  Cha Wenbin immediately stopped and turned around, blocking me with one hand: "Halt!" He looked at the shadow on the ground, raised his head to Zhu Zihao and said: "Don't move, close your eyes, just stand there."

  He hastily circled around Zhu Zihao, with a handful of lime powder in his hand, and sprinkled a white circle around Zhu Zihao. He was right at the center of that circle.

  "Bite your middle finger and let the blood drip onto the bell."

  "Can I open my eyes then?" "No!"

  Zhu Zihao: "...... How is that possible?"

  "Feel it with your heart."

  That young master was spoiled, where would he dare to bite his own middle finger? He just used a little force and "ouch" started. Cha Wenbin shook his head and handed over his own treasured sword: "Make a cut on it." Only then did the kid make a small cut and shakily applied some blood to it.

  "Pull out a strand of hair and burn it!" Cha Wenbin continued to direct while crossing his legs and circling around Zhu Zihao, afraid that the extra shadow would disappear. He used a lighter to ignite the small bunch of Zhu Zihao's hair, quickly stuffed it into a small bottle, shook it back and forth, then handed the bottle to Zhu Zihao and said: "Use this water to wipe your eyelids, then open your eyes, and use your left hand to gently pat your right shoulder."

  Then he said to me: "Turn around and don't look, or you won't be able to sleep tonight again."

  I subconsciously knew what would happen next, and the skin and hair inherited from parents were meant to let them recognize their relatives!

  The people of the Jiang family and their descendants, although separated by a hundred years, still remember their ancestors. Even if I had beaten it with a stick, it would still be carried on, because they share the same blood.

  Zhu Zihao opened his eyes, but they were lifeless, just like he was stunned. I turned my back and could only hear his even breathing. Cha Wenbin stood by his side like a wooden statue, and the few of us just stood there foolishly in the darkness until the incense stick in my hand had completely burned out.

  "Alright!" I turned around, and Cha Wenbin just lightly patted Zhu Zihao's forehead. He suddenly seemed to wake up, rubbed his eyes and said: "What's going on? Ah, where's Shadow?"

  "I've been there, I met your great-grandfather, that is, your grandmother's grandfather." Cha Wenbin said this without sounding like a lie. He continued: "He told me that in the old house of the Jiang family, there is a well with something inside that he wants you to go and retrieve."

  "How was I supposed to know where the Jiang family's old house is?"

  "Hu Genglin knows." Cha Wenbin continued, "He also said that the sins your grandmother committed need you to make amends for her, he has not been able to clear them. The Jiang family is having a very hard time down there, many people are looking for them to settle accounts, so you should often worship gods and burn incense."

  "Tell him not to bother me if there's nothing important, I don't know him. What 'ancestral grandfather' are you talking about? My surname is Zhu, I'm a member of the Zhu family, and we have no relation with the Jiang family." He paused for a moment before continuing: "Also, Master Cha, please tell him that I've never even seen what my grandmother looks like, so why should I be the one to repay the debt? Even if someone did something wrong, there's a head to every grievance and a master to every debt - it doesn't fall on me to repay."

  Cha Wenbin patted Zhu Zihao's shoulder and said: "You are the only bloodline of both the Jiang and Zhu families, so it's up to you to avenge them."

  As soon as I thought of Zhu Zihao's inexplicable back, this time I was a little happy to see the disaster. Just thinking of laughing, I lowered my head and found, "Hey, great guy, I have one too!" Sure enough, by my side, an extra shadow appeared, looking like that thing standing next to me!

  "Scram!" I didn't think much of it, having seen many such things tonight. I casually scattered some paper money and looked again, only to see him still there. I thought to myself, you're quite greedy! I shook the blue cloth in my hand and said, "Get a tailor to make you a new outfit, don't block the road or obstruct the way, scram!"

  I looked again, and it was still there! I suddenly got a bit angry, I picked up the mourning stick in my hand and slapped it down with a "pa" sound. Several stones were slapped flying far away. I looked again, that shadow was still there, only moved from my right side to my left side...