Above the Great Dao

Black Pot cautiously backed away, having guessed what he was about to do.

Chen Shi lunged forward, his hidden intentions now clear as the small knife concealed behind him came into view, and he exclaimed, "A good brother should be willing to take a knife for another... why not stab me? My blood isn't as fragrant as yours... What if I draw talismans and sell them for some money, and we split the profits, how about that?"

As he grappled with Black Pot, creating a scene chaotic enough to scatter chickens and dogs, a sudden, intense knocking sound came from the door, followed by the door being pushed open. A man covered in dust barged in, wearing coarse hemp clothes and straw sandals worn flat on the bottom. Seeing a man and a dog locked in combat, he couldn't help but freeze.

"Is this the home of the Talisman Master Chen?"

The man hesitated, then said, "Something terrible has happened in our village! There's an Evil Spirit, and several children have gone missing. We need Talisman Master Chen's help to exorcise it!"

Chen Shi released the dog, got up, and said to the man, "My grandfather has gone to the county to buy medicinal herbs, he won't be back until the afternoon."

The man's face fell with disappointment, and he lamented, "What are we to do? If we wait until the afternoon, I fear more people will have died!"

"That... about exorcising the Evil Spirit, is there a reward?"

Chen Shi's eyes sparkled as his breathing grew slightly rapid, "Is there silver?"

The man hesitated again, then took out three or four fragments of silver about the size of fingertips, roughly about five taels in total, and nervously said, "This is all we from Huangpo Village could gather..."

Chen Shi snatched the silver eagerly, clutching it in his hand, and smiled, "My grandfather is Talisman Master Chen, and so am I. I'll take on this deal! Just wait for me a moment, I'll pack my things and be right over!"

The man watched, dumbfounded, as Chen Shi cheerfully entered the house, followed by the black dog.

From inside the house, there came the sound of a dog barking and the boy's voice, as if they were having a conversation.

"Bark, bark bark!"

"I know I have no True Qi and I can't perform spells, but I can draw talismans."

"Bark bark, bark bark bark!"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda, not to mention that several children have been lost, several lives at stake."

"Bark..."

"You're saying it's abnormal for an Evil Spirit to make trouble during the daytime, right? I also think it's somewhat unusual. However, I must earn this money so that next time I find a desolate mountain and a dilapidated temple, I won't need to ask grandfather for money— I'll have my own to repair the temple."

"Bark?"

"I'm thinking, if that temple were not so dilapidated, the sunlight inside it might not catch the attention of the eyes above, and perhaps it wouldn't have been destroyed, allowing me to continue cultivating."

...

After a short while, Chen Shi was ready to go, carrying a box that was even taller than him on his back, packed full of items. It must have weighed over twenty pounds, but Chen Shi carried it as if it were weightless, seemingly oblivious to any burden.

"Black Pot, I've left a letter for grandfather, telling him where I've gone."

Chen Shi wrote the letter and handed it to the dog, saying, "When grandfather returns, give him the letter. If I encounter danger, let him hurry to Huangpo Village to save me."

Black Pot took the letter in his mouth and swiftly ran to the central hall, placed it under grandfather's memorial tablet to weigh it down, then hurried back, carrying a small knife, suggesting to Chen Shi to put the knife in the box; if he faced danger, his own dog's blood might save him from the Evil Spirit.

Chen Shi knew the dog was worried about his safety and reluctantly agreed to bring it along.

The man quickly led the way, and the two of them, along with the dog, set off toward Huangpo Village.

Huangpo Village was located at the northern foothills of Qianyang Mountain, not far in a straight line, but the mountainous road was rugged and difficult, flanked by wild forests inhabited by wild beasts.

On the way, Chen Shi briefly got the gist of the situation.

In Huangpo Village, there was a desolate house that belonged to the Tian Family. Eight members of the family, young and old alike, had suddenly dropped dead one day, even their livestock—including chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs—perished to the last!

The government did not inquire into the matter, as such tragedies were too common in rural areas for the officials to keep up with, so it remained an unresolved case.

Afterward, rumors began to circulate that the Tian house was haunted, and over time it turned into a desolate ruin, with no one daring to enter.

"A mischievous child from our village climbed over the wall into the house and was afflicted with an Evil Spirit, he would weep and laugh, and keep muttering, 'whoever wets the bed, I'll eat; whoever wets the bed, I'll eat.'"

The man said, "Posting Peach Talismans did no good, and even offerings made to the wet nurse did nothing. That very night, something happened."

Chen Shi listened intently and asked, "What happened?"

"There was a child in the village who wet the bed and was snatched away,"

The man had a strange look on his face as he said, "The child's father saw a huge shadow on the wall of his house in the middle of the night, half awake. It opened its large mouth and stuck out a long tongue. It swiftly slurped up his child and rolled him away."

Chen Shi felt a thump in his heart, a demon that specifically feeds on children who wet the bed?

That was too bizarre.

"Yesterday, two more kids disappeared, frightening other families into not letting their children drink too much water for fear of being eaten for wetting the bed at night. Some families would wake their children up in the middle of the night to go pee, but accidents still happened. Today, during the day, a child from the Liu family named Fugui, while urinating, was coiled by a long tongue that descended from the sky and was also slurped up in an instant and disappeared."

"During the day?"

Chen Shi couldn't help but frown, could there be demons active during the day?

"Then what?"

"Then he was probably eaten."

"Your village's protective deity, didn't she look into this matter? Would she allow a demon to enter the village?"

The man shook his head and said, "Not all protective deities protect the villagers; some protective deities who find the offerings insufficient will cause trouble. Some say that the eight members of the Tian family were killed by our village's protective deity. They say that night, our village's protective deity didn't drive the demon away but instead let a demon into the village to kill the Tian family of eight. It seemed to be because the Tian family's daughter-in-law was disrespectful towards the protective deity, cursed her, so the protective deity held a grudge and had them killed. After the Tian family of eight died, the protective deity visited us in dreams, instructing us to offer more incense and tribute, or we would share the same fate as the Tians."

Chen Shi furrowed his brows, weren't protective deities supposed to be benevolent?

How did they turn evil?

They arrived at Huangpo Village, only to see the village in disrepair. The dwellings were old, mostly thatched cottages, and the villagers, both children and adults, were all dressed in tattered clothes, looking like refugees. They all appeared pale and feeble.

There were still a few children in the village, some scared and hiding behind their parents, others bolder, clamoring for water, likely having not drunk for quite some time.

"A demon that eats children who wet the bed? Such a demon must be attracted by the child's urine. In other words, the reason the children are being snatched away isn't bed-wetting, but the child's urine. I'm still a child... Hold on, before I was cut for the Divine Embryo, did I break my body? I was only nine years old then, so it should remain intact..."

Just as Chen Shi thought this, he was suddenly bumped into, and saw a boy about his age running past him.

The boy who had bumped into him quickly stopped, turned, and apologized to Chen Shi with a bashful look. He was a skinny boy with half a snot hanging from his nose, dripping slowly.

"It's okay, no problem,"

Chen Shi generously waved his hand and smiled, "You're not afraid of me?"

If it had been a child from Huangpo Village who had bumped into him, right now they'd probably be kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy from Big Brother Chen.

The slender boy asked curiously, "Why should I be afraid of you?"

Chen Shi recalled those children from his own village who knelt and cried for mercy in front of him and said with understanding, "All the children in our village are afraid of me. They don't dare to play with me."

The skinny boy scratched his head, "Then aren't you without a single friend?"

"I have my protective deity, Black Pot, and Scholar. They are all my friends," Chen Shi said with a smile.

The slender boy also smiled, "Then would you be happy to have one more friend?"

Chen Shi's eyes suddenly lit up. This was the first human friend he had made since he woke up!

And an important one at that, alive!

The village elders surrounded the man who was guiding Chen Shi, and an old crone with a shaky voice said, "San Wang, you were sent to invite the Talisman Master Chen. Where is he?"

"Talisman Master Chen isn't home, only his grandson is, and although young, he is a Talisman Master, too."

The man San Wang glanced at Chen Shi and spoke softly, "And our village doesn't have much money to offer. I'm afraid we couldn't invite any other Talisman Masters, so we could only invite this young one. Which Talisman Master would come for five silver?"

Everyone looked at Chen Shi to see him talking and laughing with the air, making them exchange puzzled looks.

San Wang mustered his courage and asked, "Talisman Master Chen, who are you talking to?"

"My new friend!"

Chen Shi said with a smile, "Right, my name is Chen Shi, my nickname is Little Ten. What's your name?"

"My surname is Liu, and I am called Fugui," said the skinny boy.