I was still deciding whether to follow Tào Tiểu Tinh’s mother or Tào Tiểu Thu when Tào Tiểu Tinh immediately went after Tào Tiểu Thu. Perhaps the couple were too upset to feel like strolling around, because they went straight home.
I formed a hand seal and hid the paper body, letting only my soul enter. But the moment I stepped up to the door, I was stopped. Nine consecrated coins had been placed in the gaps between the bricks of the doorframe, and a spell infused with spiritual power was affixed to the beam overhead.
Curious, I asked the ghost beside me, “This formation is meant to keep out low-level spirits like you. How did you get in?”
The next second, Tào Tiểu Tinh slammed into the door. With each impact, the coins shot out a streak of golden light, which struck her spirit and made it fade a little more.
I hurried to stop her. “Don’t keep ramming it! You only got in before by luck. Your spirit is already so weak—another hit might scatter it completely.”
I drew nine talisman seals in the air to cover the coins, temporarily opening a way in. Then I pulled Tào Tiểu Tinh into the house.
The house was spacious, with modern furnishings, but I noticed quite a few formations inside. A string of consecrated coins hung from the lucky bamboo on the windowsill; by the entryway sat a pot of pothos mixed with ash from a Taoist temple’s incense burner. The floor tiles alternated between black and white, seemingly at random, but some connected while others broke off. I guessed that more connecting tiles were hidden beneath the floor, forming a massive bagua formation.
Using a bagua formation to protect a home wasn’t unusual, but normally it had seven life gates and one death gate to balance life and death. This one had seven death gates and one life gate. Anyone who lived in this house for long would be enveloped in death energy, plagued by one disaster after another, and unable to hold on to their wealth.
I muttered, “Whoever lives in this house will never be free of disasters. I wonder if someone did this on purpose, or if they were just duped by the contractors.”
“Did you used to live here?” I tried asking, but Tào Tiểu Tinh neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she turned to look at one of the rooms.
A little girl was lying on her stomach on the floor, drawing. When she saw Tào Tiểu Thu and Vương Văn Viễn return, she merely looked up, then lowered her head and continued drawing.
Vương Văn Viễn immediately flew into a rage. Standing in the doorway, he shouted, “Are you blind or mute? We’re home—why didn’t you say hello?”
Tào Tiểu Thu tugged at his arm. “Why are you picking on her? Her mother was an idiot. It’s only natural she’d have a dumb kid.”
She stroked her belly happily. “The baby I’m carrying is sure to be as smart as we are.”
The man brightened at that. “Tiểu Thu, don’t be mad at your mother. She’s getting old; it’s only natural she can’t see reason right away.”
Tào Tiểu Thu closed the little girl’s bedroom door, then lowered her voice. “I just feel so wronged. Ever since we were little, my sister got everything she wanted, while I had to make do with her hand-me-downs. Then, after I met you, she stole you from me…”
Tào Tiểu Thu shot the man an irritated glance. “And even now, I’m still picking up her leftovers—her man, and even her child.”
Vương Văn Viễn immediately drew Tào Tiểu Thu into his arms and soothed her gently. “I don’t like hearing you say that. There’s a saying: What isn’t yours, you shouldn’t take; even if you do, you won’t get to enjoy it. Your sister took me from you back then, didn’t she end up having to give me back? And now it’s not just me—you have this house, my love, my heart. Everything belongs to you. Your sister is dead, so you’re the only daughter your parents have left. When they pass away, their house and money will be yours, too. Isn’t that your sister’s way of making it up to you?”
At that, the frown gradually eased from Tào Tiểu Thu’s face, and the corners of her mouth curled up as she giggled. “You’re absolutely right.”
Seeing Tào Tiểu Thu smile, Vương Văn Viễn finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Sweetheart, I’ll go make dinner. I’ll cook up a feast to nourish you.”
Tào Tiểu Thu affectionately stroked his back, watching him until Vương Văn Viễn went into the kitchen. The water splashed, and the knife tapped rhythmically against the cutting board. Tào Tiểu Thu kept looking toward the kitchen, her expression unreadable as she murmured, “You’re absolutely right… What isn’t yours, you shouldn’t take; even if you do, you won’t get to enjoy it.”
Only when the smell of frying oil drifted out of the kitchen did she frown, cover her nose, and return to the sofa to rest.
I sighed softly and looked at Tào Tiểu Tinh beside me, blood streaming nonstop from her eye sockets. “I’ve helped quite a few ghosts, but your situation really is tragic. From what I’ve seen, your sister had a scheming nature from childhood and resented always getting the short end of the stick. Then she met Vương Văn Viễn before you did, and you took him from her. Those two must have joined forces to kill you. Afterward, they feared your spirit would come back for revenge, so they had someone place a binding curse on you, leaving you unable to fight back. Don’t worry. If I can find where your body is buried and break the curse, you’ll have the chance to avenge yourself.”
“But remember, harming the living as a ghost goes against the laws of Heaven. The moment you strike, the underworld officers will come for you. I can only hold them off long enough for you to say one thing. Think carefully… Who do you hate most, and who do you want to deal with first?”
I searched Tào Tiểu Thu’s house for three straight days but couldn’t find a trace of Tào Tiểu Tinh. Then I cut several little figures out of yellow paper and scattered them across the cemeteries on the outskirts, checking every gravestone, but still couldn’t find her name. In the end, with no other choice, I had to take Tào Tiểu Tinh back to the shop.
“That house is full of formations. If you stay there too long, your spirit will scatter. Besides, the death energy around them is growing heavier. They’ll run into disaster before long. Even if you strike, the underworld officers will take you away, too. You might as well let them bring ruin upon themselves. In the end, these grudges are just tangled karmic ties from a past life. Once you’re reincarnated, you’ll have a fresh start. Wouldn’t that be better?”
But my words did nothing to comfort her. Instead, they only made Tào Tiểu Tinh more restless. The faint yin energy around her body was even enough to extinguish the candle on the altar.
I hurried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. I accepted the golden merit light you offered me, so I’ll definitely help you. I just feel sorry for what happened to you. If you truly want to take revenge with your own hands, I won’t stop you. I only brought you back here because I was afraid your spirit would scatter in that house. Tomorrow is Tomb-Sweeping Day. Your mother will surely visit your grave, and then we’ll find out where you rest.”
Tomb-Sweeping Day came quickly. I found Tào’s mother’s address in the household register I’d discovered at Tào Tiểu Thu’s house. Early that morning, I locked Tào Tiểu Tinh’s frail soul inside a paper figure and waited downstairs.
Just as I expected, Tào’s mother opened her small umbrella and slowly made her way downstairs to the car. A light rain was falling, growing heavier the farther we traveled toward the outskirts. As I’d guessed, Tào Tiểu Tinh’s grave wasn’t in a cemetery—it was up in the mountains.
Locked inside the paper figure, Tào Tiểu Tinh grew more and more restless. Meanwhile, with every step I took up the mountain, I felt the murderous aura growing denser. The mountain road was steep and treacherous, impassable by car, so Tào’s mother had to stop at the foot of the mountain, take her umbrella, and walk up slowly.
She looked exhausted, and I wondered whether I should transform the paper figure into a human shape to help her. But after we’d gone a little farther, the path gradually widened, and even the trees on either side changed. Wild mountains were usually covered in pines and cypresses, but this place was full of drooping willows. The stone path was clean, with hardly any weeds, and rows of graceful willows swayed in the rainy wind like melancholy beauties.
A cemetery planted with willows? I frowned and muttered, following close behind. Before long, we arrived.