Opening my eyes to see a ghost

I didn't believe in any evil and continued walking towards the village with three of my buddies. To prevent getting lost, I took off my jacket, tore it into strips, and each time we walked a distance, I tied a strip to a tree nearby as a marker. But before I could use up all the strips, I saw the cloth strips I had tied to the trees nearby fluttering in the breeze. And to the right, the old locust tree appeared again.

Xiao Huang started crying again, his mouth non-stop chanting that we must have encountered the "ghost hitting the wall". His cry didn't help, as the other two also started crying out of fear, saying they would be taken to become substitute spirits for the dead.

I was full of dark lines on my face. Was it really that horrifying? It was nothing more than what adults say to scare children. Even if it really was the "ghost hitting the wall", it must have been the same kind of fluke ghost we encountered before, one that likes to play pranks and scare people for fun.

I consoled them, saying, what's there to be afraid of, have you seen a ghost? There's nothing to be scared of when you've seen nothing.

Through my unremitting efforts, the three of them finally calmed down but still had tears in their eyes, looking around from time to time.

Wuu wuu wuu wuu wuu

Another crying sound came over, and I couldn't help getting a bit angry. I'd just comforted them for a long time, and they finally stopped crying. Why had they started crying again?

"Xiao Huang, stop crying. You're not the only one who's scared."

Xiao Huang said in a wronged tone that it wasn't him crying.

Wuu wuu wuu wuu wuu

I looked towards the direction the crying came from, and a figure dashed out from the woods and pounced towards us.

Huh, I couldn't help but widen my eyes. The person was none other than Xiao Huang.

Xiao Huang? But don't we already have a Xiao Huang with us? So who is this Xiao Huang?

The crying Xiao Huang pounced over and grabbed my arm. He said he had fallen asleep while playing hide and seek. When he woke up, it was already pitch dark. He couldn't find us and felt extremely scared, so he ran out.

At that moment, I was thoroughly confused. Which one was the real Xiao Huang?

An idea struck me, and I recited the spell.

Stepping in eight directions to summon the divine command, With the Big Dipper shining above for clarity and light, Open my Dharma Eye to see through Yin and Yang, Let the true forms of ghosts and deities be shown, Swiftly, as per the command!

I scrutinized the Xiao Huang pulling my arm, no problem, it was indeed Xiao Huang. Then who had been running with us for half the day?

When I turned around, I couldn't help but jump in fright.

A pale-faced woman with her eyes rolled up, wearing white, was sticking out her crimson long tongue to lick my face.

"Hehehehe, have you discovered me?" The ghostly woman waved her sleeve, and the other three people slumped softly to the ground.

"We bear no grudges against you, so why do you block our way? Step aside quickly, and I shall spare your life," I said, unfazed, holding my left fist with thumb and forefinger extended, while my right hand was loosely balled up with the fingertips of my index, thumb, and middle fingers lightly touching.

"I'm so cold and lonely here all by myself, won't you stay and keep me company?" she asked.

My response was very straightforward, as I kicked out at her.

Thump

The ghost slammed into the old locust tree under my foot, and my action seemed to have enraged it. Its hair stood up one strand at a time, blood slowly trickled from its eyes, its tongue became so long it almost dragged on the ground, dripping blood constantly, while its nails grew bit by bit, reaching about half a meter in length.

While it was transforming, I had already finished chanting the Six Ding Body Protection Mantra.

Benevolence Gao protects me, Ding Chou shields me, Benevolence He guides me, Ding You preserves me, Benevolence Can manages the soul, Ding Si nourishes the spirit, under Taiyin's canopy, between the Earth's portal and Heaven's gate, I walk Yu's steps, before Xuan Nu the true immortal, seated or lying at Mingtang. Hiding and camouflaging, fast as the command of law.

"Hehehehe, you called upon the Six Ding God? Too bad your cultivation isn't sufficient, you've only summoned a wisp of divine radiance," the ghost cackled and reached out to grab me.

Thankfully, being only ten years old and short in stature, I crouched down to dodge its nails but before I could feel relieved, something wet and slippery coiled around my neck, choking me until I couldn't breathe.

I struggled desperately, grabbing tightly onto whatever was around my neck. What should I do? Was I going to die here?

The ghost, seeing me immobilized, stretched out its long nails towards my heart.

I closed my eyes, waiting for death's arrival, and I seemed to see two figures, one black and one white, approaching me.

A flash of golden light, and the ghost let out a wretched scream, releasing me. It was only then that I realized the wet, slippery thing that had been around my neck was its tongue, which made me feel nauseous and almost vomit.

Only then did I remember why the ghost had screamed and let go of me. Looking down, I saw that it had grabbed onto my red belly band, the one my master had given me during the initiation ceremony.

Seeing how the ghost feared the red belly band, I gained confidence. "Come on, try grabbing the belly band, I'll stand still and let you," I taunted.

I walked towards the ghost step by step, as it retreated step by step. We played a game of tactics: when the enemy retreats, I advance; when the enemy advances, I retreat.

I thought this was no solution; were we going to keep this up all night? What if other things were attracted here? What to do?

Should I stab it with the Peach Wood Sword? But there was no Peach Wood Sword at hand. Just when I was at a loss, I remembered seeing some willow trees next to the old locust tree when I was raiding bird nests during the day. Going by memory, I found a willow tree and snapped off a large branch.

I twisted some thin twigs together into a whip, then turned and ran. The ghost, seeing me flee, swiftly followed.

Just as I felt the ghost almost upon me, I made a quick stop, turned around, and swung the willow whip down with force.

Slap

A spark flew from the ghost's body, and it fell to the ground. Seeing it fall, I didn't hold back, lashing it with the whip, sparks flying everywhere, as it screamed miserably. Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to oneself, so I paid no heed to its screams.

As the saying goes, "A willow branch smites ghosts, each strike shortening them by three inches and reducing their mana by a third."

After a while, the ghost had shrunk to about a meter tall and lay on the ground glaring fiercely at me, its bloodied face even more hideous than before.

I gave it a few more whips before discarding the whip. By then, it had lost all its mana, and I guessed it couldn't harm anyone anymore.

In the spirit of carrying kindness through to the end, I pulled out the Ancient Coin my master had given me from my pocket and stuck it on the ghost's forehead. A flash of yellow light, and the ghost began convulsing on the ground.

It seemed I had underestimated it; even devoid of mana, it could still contend with a Magic Artifact. If left unchecked, it might be able to harm people again in a few years.

I stamped my right foot down hard, bit my left index finger firmly, drawing blood, then traced the Eight Trigrams Inner Elixir on the palm of my right hand and slapped it onto the Ancient Copper Coin.

A heart-wrenching scream came from its mouth, the sound growing softer, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a puddle of dark green pus and vanished.