Zhao Laohei sighed heavily and ushered me out of the room. Then he told my father about what'd been happening since the day before. "She found their rooster in the middle of the night. The family woke up to the sounds of what she was doing, but were too late to stop her madness. She killed it." He said. "Took a knife from the kitchen and slashed the poor thing's head off."
"Was the bird acting strangely? What prompted her?" My father asked.
"Not at all, none of the family reported hearing anything except the mutilation. She lopped its head off and tossed it at the chicken coop." Zhao Laohei said. I imaged the headless bird in her hands and cringed from my hiding place. I'm sure Zhao Laohei didn't want me to listen in.
"She was just standing there covered in blood," He continued. "Weirdest thing though, that doll she's been obsessed with was by the coop too. She," He paused and covered his mouth as if the words tasted foul. "She dumped the bird's blood all over it. Like, drained it onto the damn thing."
I pictured the girl pouring a chicken onto her doll like a water bottle and murmuring, "Drink up, the cock won't bother you any more." I shuddered at my own imagination.
"The Wangs found her and managed to get her back to the bed. Though, I guess they were too freaked to get rid of the doll. It was still in the house the last time I went over there."
"So they're just going to let her keep it?" My dad asked.
I peeked around the doorway and saw Zhao Laohei shrug. "I guess so. Their neighbors have caught wind of it though. I saw them locking their own coop when I left the neighborhood."
A few days passed without word from Zhao Laohei or Wang Chunmei's antics. Out of nowhere it was the day before school again. I woke up that morning to voices coming from the kitchen.
"That is unbelievable!" A familiar voice exclaimed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and walked to the doorway. Zhao Laohei, Shang Haoming, his father, and my dad were sitting at the kitchen table. Zhao Laohei was nodding.
"Believe it. Ask around if you have to, half the village is talking about it. The girl's housing some kind of spirit and my money is on the corpse that followed our boys."
"Will it be dangerous?" Shang Haoming's father asked. "My boy's already been having nightmares about that damned baby."
Shang Haoming smiled besides his father and shook his head. "It was just a dream! I'm not scared. I think the baby is. He wants to play with me, but runs away whenever I get close." The room fell silent and everyone looked at the boy.
"Shang Haoming, you were born with heavy Yang air." Zhao Laohei said to him, "Ordinary ghosts aren't able to interact with your body. I think you're dreaming about it because it wants to use you. For communication most likely, but…" He trailed off. "Either way. I don't think it can hurt you."
Zhao Laohei made eye contact with the other men in the room. "Shang Haoming might be the best one to perform the rites. The ghost can't get close to him. So, it won't be able to stop us. Well…" He hesitated. "It won't be able to stop him at least."
My dad cut in, "We can keep everyone else out of this, can't we?"
Zhao Laohei shook his head and said, "No, I don't think so. There are too many people involved already. Xiao Yong, Xiao Jie, Shang Haoming, Wang Chunmei, they're all targets. If any one of them isn't there, the spirit probably won't show. And if the ghost isn't there, we might as well be flapping our arms in the wind." He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. "When did Taoism get so complicated?"
The room adopted an uncomfortable silence. I bit my tongue, but finally gave in. "I have three charms. That'll keep at least three of us safe."
"But there are four of you." Zhao Laohei said.
Shang Haoming brightened. "But you said it yourself! I have heavy Yang air! I don't need any protection!"
Zhao Laohei smiled. "I may have another charm myself." He said. "That might tip the scales in our favor. So a charm for Xiao Jie, Wang Chunmei, Xiao Yong…" He was counting us on his fingers. "One for you Xiao Haoming, and I'll protect myself. The rest of the adults will stay out of the mountains." He looked to Shang Haoming's dad and mine. "You'll be fine as long as you stay far enough back."
The mood in the room seemed to lighten. "Then it's settled." My father said, his face resolute.
At noon the following day, Zhao Jie, Shang Haoming, and I were excused from school early. Shang Haoming's father walked with us to meet Zhao Laohei and my father at the edge of town. The Locust Tree Mountains loomed in the distance, looking ominous with rolling mist obscuring their peaks. Standing in the dusty road, my dad turned and gawked at the crowd of people that had assembled nearby.
"That's a lot of onlookers, Zhao Laohei. What should we do?"
Zhao Laohei smiled lightly. "It's no problem. A crowd that size has to be bursting with Yang air." He raised a hand to block out the sun. "We can't let them into the mountains though. Their presence might be enough to distract the spirit."
Zhao Laohei approached the gathering audience, "My friends!" He called. "You're welcome to walk with us, but you must stay back when we enter the mountains. We're about to entertain something beyond our realm and I can't be responsible for your safety!" The crowed murmured in disapproval. Then they began to part with loud exclamations.
Wang Chunmei, being carried on a stretcher by her aunt and uncle, moved through the crowd in a jouncing parade. She was tearing between a hearty laugh and woeful cry with each rise and fall of the stretcher. Atop her chest and just in reach of her ragged hands, was a very bloody cloth doll. The crowd parted and seemed to draw away from the girl. Several onlookers split off of the main group and retreated towards town. Most did not.
We set off. Our small party now including the crazed woman on the stretcher led the way into the Locust Tree Mountains. As the road climbed in elevation, Zhao Laohei began to shoo away the onlookers. When we finally reached the peak of the mountain where the boys and I had first seen the red ghost, we stopped.
Though panting as hard as the rest of us, Zhao Laohei and Zhao Jie began to prepare an altar in the center of the dusty road. Wang Chunmei's stretcher was placed next to it.
The girl quieted almost at once. Her eyes were shining with tears that rolled in fat globes down the sides of her face. Her hands squeezed the doll again and again until the blood that'd soaked into it was pulsing from the innards and oozing onto her skin.
"It's time." Zhao Laohei said to the other adults. My father and Shang Haomings turned to leave. Wang Chunmei's aunt and uncle did the same.
"Hey…" Shang Haoming said to me hesitantly, "Watch my back, yeah? I don't have any of those special treasures we hid behind last time. Keep an eye out, okay?"
Zhao Jie leaned in and said, "Don't worry you big galoot. I'll be sure to smack you one with the copper if anything gets anywhere near ya!"
Shang Haoming grinned and gave a confident, "Nice bro."
I nodded and handed Zhao Jie the copper. The compass went to Wang Chunmei. Not trusting her hands, I laid it on her chest. Wang Chunmei's face smoothed as I placed it down on her.
Zhao Laohei walked to Shang Haoming and handed him a small purple stone. "This is the last treasure my master gave me when I left him. It'll protect you. Keep it close. Do you remember everything we practiced?"
Shang Haoming nodded. "Don't worry, Uncle Zhao. I'll listen to your every word."
Zhao Laohei smiled slightly and adjusted his frock. He picked up his peach wood sword, and gestured for us to move aside. Shang Haoming stood nervously in front of him.
Zhao Jie and I stepped back. Beside the altar, Wang Chunmei was shedding silent tears, her eyes darted back and forth at nothing.
Far below us, the crowd of adults seemed to flock bto and fro as if to get the best view from afar.
Zhao Laohei looked up to the sky and then kindled the candles and incense. He arranged a few items on the altar and said, "It's time. We should begin."
Shang Haoming lit a paper amulet with shaking hands and began to move it in the air before him. After only a slight movement, something appeared in front of us. A vague red blur began to take shape in between the edge of the road and the start of trees.
"Can you see it?" I whispered to Zhao Jie. He nodded, his eyes wide.
"What if it's stronger than Xiao Chun's mother?" My mind chimed. "What if it gets mad and we can't stop it?" My heart began galloping in my chest.
Zhao Laohei starting moving his feet in the familiar conjuration shapes. He took out a yellow paper amulet and started to murmur. He finished the incantation, but nothing happened. The reddish blob before us remained a vague misshapen cloud.
Zhao Laohei frowned at the shape, "What are my materials not up to your standard? In the name of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, I command you! Appear!"
He repeated the footwork and finished it with a very aggressive stomp into the dusty road. Shang Haoming was now shaking from head to toe. He looked to Zhao Laohei and asked, "Is it…"
Zhao Laohei looked around at us as color filled his cheeks, "It's not working. I can't… I can't do it."
I looked at my friend's father, who was now blushing a deep scarlet. "Uncle Zhao," I said, "Let me try."