At that time, almost every rural production team had a pig killer, so it was not difficult to find three pig killers. My grandfather went out and called back three pig killers in no time, each carrying a sharp knife for killing pigs.

  The uncle simply told the three butchers about the matter, and they each had a rough and coarse appearance, with a fierce look on their faces. They took over the cigarette handed by the uncle and drank a few more mouthfuls of wine. At midnight, they set off from the aunts house to send Cha Wenbin home.

  Later, I also went to verify with those few pig butchers. Two of them are still alive. They said that although it was summer that night, they felt a cold wind blowing all the time. When walking on the road, they always felt like someone was following behind, but Zhang Wenbin didnt allow them to turn their heads or speak, and let them hold sharp knives to surround him in the middle and keep rushing forward.

  Wen Bin returned home and gave each person a pack of cigarettes, took a bottle of wine and a talisman for the three people to return home, and locked himself in the house, not leaving the door for seven days.

  The next day, his maternal grandparents and aunt went to see him with gifts, but he refused to see them.

  During Zhang Wenbins closed-door period, his grandmother took his younger aunt to the hospital for a check-up, and everything was normal. Even the doctor who had announced that his grandmother should prepare for the worst felt it was unbelievable.

  For seven days in a row, the grandmother went to Qias house. On the eighth day, Cha Wenbin opened the door early in the morning. The grandmother walked in and had Xiaoyi kowtow three times to thank him for saving her life. Cha Wenbin was also a straightforward person and repeatedly declined the grandmothers money. The grandmother insisted on leaving the money behind, so Cha Wenbin could only say: "Sister, if you really want to thank me, can you give me that little black dog from your house?"

  Its not just a dog, its even a fat pig, as long as he opens his mouth, grandma will send it over without hesitation, nodding her head in agreement and saying that grandpa will deliver it later.

  Cha Wenbin said, "Its not that I want to take advantage of your family, but this dog has opened its yin-yang eyes and is a pure black dog, it can recognize ghosts and monsters. If you keep it at home, it will eventually cause trouble. Keeping it here, it might still be useful. Dont blame me, sister."

  Later, I heard my aunt say that at the time, my little uncle had made a fuss and cried over that little black dog in the house, but that dog really became Cha Wenbins companion and appeared again in another story.

  After a few days, Cha Wenbin came to visit and went to his grandmothers house for lunch. He then separately visited the parents of the two children who had fallen into the water, inquired about the burial place after the children were salvaged, and then took the parents to the tomb mountain together.

  At that time, when a child died, they would just wrap the body in a torn mat, find a small hill, dig a hole and bury it. There was no tombstone or anything like that left behind.

  On the way, Cha Wenbin asked the childs family if they had gone to the grave after the child died. The childs father said that he was afraid of being heartbroken and had not gone again since his death. It was others who helped bury him, and they only knew which mountain it was buried in, but nothing else. Cha Wenbin held a compass, walking and calculating along the way, and the group walked all the way to Ma Tou Mountain.

  When it comes to Ma Tou Shan, I also know that it is located right in front of my grandmothers house, a very high mountain with a shape like a horse, named Ma Tou Shan. It is a big mountain that protrudes from the flat ground, feeling a bit strange.

  By the time they climbed to the top of the mountain, the sun was already setting. They finally found the small mound where the two children were buried, which had become overgrown with weeds. If not for the freshly turned earth, it would have been impossible to tell that this was a grave.

  The people of the two families saw their children lying here suffering, and their sorrowful thoughts suddenly surged up, kneeling on the ground and crying loudly. Cha Wenbin didnt care, but paced around the grave, measuring it with his feet. After a cigarettes time, Wenbin had some idea in his heart and called the two families to stand together, saying that he wanted to dig open this earth mound.

  The two families naturally disagreed. The father of one of the children even wanted to hit him, and cursed: "You fake Taoist priest, youre going to dig up my childs grave!"

  Cha Wenbin didnt get angry either, and asked them: "Do you know what mountain this is?"

  Of course everyone knows this is Ma Tau Shan!

  "Ma Tou Shan? Niu Tou Ma Mian! Yes, this mountain is a relay station in the Niu Tou Ma Mian. The burial site of your two families children happens to be on the horses back. Leave behind a pair of evil spirits in the village to haunt the Niu Tou Ma Mian, never to be reincarnated! Dig it up, Ill redo the ritual and move it to another place. You dont want your kids to continue creating karma underground, do you?"

  The villagers also knew about Xiaoyis affair a few days ago, and after being told this, they were also a little scared. Thinking that if their own children really became like what he said, they would suffer greatly even after death, and wouldnt be able to rest in peace. After discussing for a moment, the two men agreed, and the people on the side began to dig with hoes.

  These two children were not buried deep, and soon they dug up two grass mats. The moment the grass mats were opened, everyone was stunned. These two children had been dead for more than two years, but not only did they not rot, they even looked a bit lifelike, as if they were just sleeping. The two families were so scared that they didnt dare move. Its worth noting that this was in June, and there wasnt even any smell!

  "Alas!" sighed Za Wenbin, "I didnt expect it to turn out like this. The bodies of these two children can no longer be brought into the village, or else a plague will break out sooner or later. Now we can only burn them and rebury their ashes elsewhere." Everyone knew that dead people would rot, but what about the appearance of these two children?... Was it not a ghostly affair? At this point, they could only let the Taoist priest take charge, and no one dared to utter another word.

  He ordered the crowd to use dry firewood to build a frame on the spot. After the frame was built, Cha Wenbin ordered the two corpses to be placed on it, and three incense sticks were inserted in front of them. He took a look, lit the fire, and began to recite the sutra for the dead, sending the two little ghosts to report to the underworld.

  After the cremation, they collected the ashes, led the crowd down the mountain, and buried the ashes of the two children by the reservoir, also erecting a monument. By this time it was already dark, then went to grandmas house for dinner, and bid farewell to return home.

  That night, the little aunt had a dream that two children came to bid her farewell and gave her a bow, asking her to thank a Taoist priest. The next day, Grandma asked Cha Wenbin to interpret the dream again. Cha Wenbin nodded and said that the two little ghosts should have left, and also told Grandma to pass on a message warning the villagers not to bury the dead in Ma Tou Mountain from now on.

  Although my aunt was fine, after that incident, she often didnt feel well physically and was prone to catching colds. It wasnt until she grew up that her health started to improve.

  After that incident, Cha Wenbin gradually gained some fame, and many families invited him to perform rituals for the deceased. However, he never accepted any payment. When children from his village, around my age, were frightened or fell ill, they would go to Cha Wenbin, who would usually give them a talisman to burn and drink the ashes with water to cure their ailments. He also had some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, and if someone was not possessed by evil spirits but rather ill, he would prescribe herbal remedies. In severe cases, he would recommend going to the hospital for treatment.

  At that time, many people went to worship him as a master, wanting to learn this skill from him. However, Cha Wenbin never accepted any apprentices and worked in the fields and mountains just like ordinary people, chopping firewood. If it werent for the incident with his sister-in-law, everyone would have thought he was just an ordinary person.

  It wasnt until I saw him again that it had been many years later

  That year, when I was six years old, something happened...

  Our village is also in the mountains, our village has a very large temple, its still that kind of grey brick one. I heard from my dad that the temple doesnt know which dynasty or generation it belongs to. When our great-grandfather fled here from elsewhere, there was already that temple, but at that time, no one managed it anymore. After 100 years have passed, it looks even more dilapidated.

  During the Cultural Revolution, a large part of the temple was set on fire by the Red Guards, burning the entire wall bricks to a deep red color. Only the main hall remained intact. Later, when people built houses and other structures, they would go there to pick up bricks, but somehow, the houses built with these temple bricks were prone to collapse, even killing one family. Gradually, people began using those bricks to build pigpens instead.

  Our family also has a brick from that place, which was broken off when I was young. The brick is very heavy and has a carving of a qilin on one side, while the other side is blank. According to current thinking, it should be a relief brick, which was picked up by my father when he was young and brought back home. This matter is related to the temple...

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