The corpse demon staggered to its feet after being thrown out, wobbling as it made its way toward the courtyard gate.
But before it could take more than a few steps, a large smoking pipe pot suddenly smashed against the back of its head.
With a thud, the corpse demon collapsed to the ground.
Granny Liu circled to the front of the corpse demon and assumed a strange posture—her left foot firmly on the ground, her right foot crossed over the left, as if sitting on thin air. Raising the smoking pipe pot high, she struck the corpse demon's forehead again.
"One strike to sever the soul!"
"Two strikes to drive away the spirit!"
"Three strikes to end the grievance!"
With each blow, the corpse demon let out a terrible shriek, its body trembling uncontrollably like it was suffering from epilepsy. When Granny Liu landed the third strike, the corpse demon fell utterly still.
Having exhausted all her strength, Granny Liu collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Inside the house, Grandpa, who had been viciously kicked by the corpse demon, struggled to his feet with great effort.
Hearing the silence outside, he hurried out to see Granny Liu panting heavily on the ground, beside the now motionless corpse demon.
The courtyard was a chaotic mess—scattered everywhere were the bodies of yellow weasels and foxes. Even the big black dog my father had brought was lying in a pool of blood, its belly ripped open by the corpse demon, no longer breathing.
The huge yellow weasel that appeared earlier seemed injured as well, covered in bloody wounds. It glanced once at Grandpa, then limped away with a group of wounded yellow weasels and foxes.
Grandpa had lived alongside these yellow weasels and foxes for three years and had long since dropped all caution toward them.
For those three years, they had brought food and drink to our home daily—and this time, they had even come to save our lives.
Seeing the giant yellow weasel's silhouette, Grandpa called out to it: "Thank you, Great Yellow Spirit."
The Great Yellow Spirit gave no reply and soon disappeared into the night.
Grandpa went over to Granny Liu, and under the moonlight, he was shocked to see a long scar on her already plain face, stretching from her forehead down to her mouth—she had even lost one eye.
"Granny Liu, are you alright?" Grandpa asked anxiously.
Granny Liu took a deep, painful breath and said shakily, "I'm still alive."
Grandpa glanced worriedly at the corpse demon lying on the ground.
"Don't worry. That woman, Ma Laosan's wife, her soul has already been scattered by me. Without a soul, a corpse cannot become a corpse demon. Later, you can throw the body onto the back mountain, or return it to Ma Laosan's family for a proper burial. That will settle everything."
Just as she finished speaking, a head appeared at the door.
It was my father, the one who had been holding the big black dog earlier.
He had heard the noise stop outside and came to check, startled by the mess in the courtyard.
"Come in, it's all over," Grandpa called.
"Dad... Xiao Jie is not doing well, you need to come look!" my mother's crying voice came from inside.
At that, Grandpa, Dad, and the limping Granny Liu hurried inside.
"What's wrong?" Grandpa looked down at me in my mother's arms and asked anxiously.
"Just now... when the third sister-in-law came in, I saw a huge fox shadow with eight tails suddenly appear on the wall behind Xiao Jie. After the shadow appeared, she jumped out the window, and Xiao Jie fainted. No matter how much we called, he wouldn't wake up. What's wrong with him?" my mother sobbed.
Hearing this, Grandpa and Dad were terrified and crowded around me.
Granny Liu pondered for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "It's nothing serious. That was definitely the child's celestial spirit coming out to chase away the corpse demon. Otherwise, you two would be dead by now. It was the celestial spirit's intervention that severely wounded the demon, allowing me to send it away. The celestial spirit is very weak; this manifestation has weakened it further. The spirit and the child share one soul. After a few days of rest—three at the least, seven at most—he will surely wake up."
Relieved by Granny Liu's words, the family finally calmed down.
There were still many things to handle. My father found a flatbed cart to haul Ma Laosan's wife's corpse to the back mountain. At dawn, they would notify Ma Laosan to collect and rebury the body. The corpse must not remain at our home to avoid further trouble.
As for the yellow weasels and foxes' bodies scattered in the yard—over thirty in total—Grandpa gathered them all. Their fur was bright and valuable, but since they died protecting me, Grandpa would never be ungrateful. He dug a large pit in a corner of the yard and buried them all.
After everything was settled, dawn was breaking.
My mother had bandaged Granny Liu's wounds simply, and Grandpa went to the east end of the village to find a donkey cart to take Granny Liu to the town hospital for treatment.
On the way, Grandpa couldn't stop feeling guilty about Granny Liu's injuries. Pulling the cart ahead, he said, "Sister Liu, we're not family, yet you lost an eye for us. Our Wu family can't repay you—this weighs heavily on my heart."
Granny Liu replied, "Brother Wu, as I've said before, I help you without expecting anything in return. Assisting a celestial being is a blessing I've earned over several lifetimes. Your grandson being noticed by a celestial means he's destined for great things. But his fate is special—filled with hardship, trials every three years. Either he dies, or someone else does. I must warn you: when he turns nine, that will be his greatest trial. If he survives it, his fate might change drastically. If not, he won't make it. Remember, on his ninth birthday, never let him go outside."
"Why nine? Isn't there also a trial at six?" Grandpa asked puzzled.
"At six, I might still be able to help. But at nine, even I am powerless. It all depends on his destiny," Granny Liu said, taking a drag from her pipe, gazing toward Jiushan Village, lost in thought.
Three days later, I woke up…