Tales of Folk Feng Shui Mysteries

What frustrated me was that the pond was locked tight—I couldn't open it at all! Looking around, it was pitch black with not even a ghostly shadow in sight. Now I certainly couldn't just call the pond's owner to say, "Hey, there's a ghost in your wishing pond, can I borrow it for a while?"

After checking, I found the protective net was made of iron wire. I tugged at it for a long time but got nowhere. I could only plan to come back the next morning and talk to the owner. Just as I was about to give up, Zhou Han called me.

He asked where I was, sounding quite anxious. I told him I was "catching fish" at Ci'en Temple.

"Catching fish? Dude, are you kidding me? What time is it? Someone at the hotel called me saying you nearly set fire to your room, the carpet got burnt, and the manager suspects you're on drugs and wants to call the cops." Zhou Han said helplessly.

Good thing I left early. He continued, "I've sorted out the hotel issue for you. Also, Dabao, my grandpa's health is getting worse. How about tomorrow we go to my hometown? Let's fulfill his last wish, so you'll have done your filial duty."

He's helped me a lot; it's about time I returned the favor. But I still had to deal with the carp, so I told him tomorrow was probably impossible. Hearing that, Zhou Han got excited: "Where exactly are you? I'll come get you now."

I gave him the precise coordinates and hung up. I stared at the black carp below. Most likely this fish was caught from the river; it ate the corpse of a water ghost and fused with it, becoming the water ghost's true form.

Why was it harming filial children? Surely related to what it experienced before death. Usually, when people pray for elders or make wishes, they toss coins into the pond. The water ghost absorbs the "wish energy" and chooses suitable filial children nearby to possess.

But nowadays most wishing ponds are scams. A real wishing pond is located at a "qi eye" spot where life energy constantly flows into the water. The bottom algae are smooth and the water crystal clear. Fish there flip around at nine a.m. every day. Most importantly, a Taoist or shaman performs ritual blessings to gather people's willpower, achieving the praying effect.

The pond before me was haphazardly constructed, just a money-making scam. By chance, people still prayed there daily, so the water ghost picked nearby filial children to possess.

Zhou Han arrived in a big Mercedes-Benz. As soon as he got out, he was holding a huge bolt cutter and waved it at me:

"Which iron net? This thing can cut through rebar. Iron net is nothing."

I pointed at the ground. Zhou Han quickly tore the wire net apart and whispered, "Dabao, which one's the ghost?"

I made a shushing gesture to him, then placed a Five-Emperor Coin at each corner of the pond. With one coin left, I threw it into the water. The black carp thrashed wildly then stopped moving.

Then I brought Zhou Han back to the location of the Bagua Formation. Upon arrival, aside from the cat cub, the two mice had disappeared. The cat was anxiously running in circles inside the formation.

I patted Zhou Han's shoulder and asked, "Wanna try what it feels like to be possessed by a ghost?"

"No way, really? How does it feel?" Zhou Han looked shocked. I handed him a Jiao Talisman and said, "It's really comfortable. Try holding it and let the ghost possess you. I'll see if I can talk to it, if not, I'll destroy it."

When we were at the funeral home, he had shown he was daring and curious about spirits. Plus the talisman protects the body, so I dared borrow his body.

After confirming a few times that he was okay, Zhou Han agreed. Then I told him to hold the copper coin under his tongue. Next, I removed a coin from the Bagua Formation's "earth" position. The cat immediately lay down like sleeping when it got near that coin.

Less than a minute later, Zhou Han's body began shaking rapidly. When he opened his eyes, I knew he was no longer in control.

"Wanna talk?" I pointed to the pond.

"Why catch me? I didn't kill anyone." Zhou Han's voice was hoarse.

"You didn't kill Bo Ren, but he died because of you. Possessing someone and changing their nature is a great sin. I'm giving you a chance to repent: enter this Jiao talisman's embrace, or I'll scatter your soul." I said coldly.

But Zhou Han choked up. His voice turned like that of a 70- or 80-year-old woman:

"I didn't harm or kill anyone. I just couldn't bear it, so I possessed them to see if they were sincere. But you saw, the first man—though obedient and devoted to his parents—complained about spending too much money on his mother, secretly wishing she'd die soon. So I could possess him."

"Then there's Han Xiaolan. She and her mother depend on each other and everyone praises her as a filial daughter. But that day I heard her calling her mother useless, blaming her for her breakup and family troubles, hoping her mother would get liver cancer and die soon for the insurance payout."

Zhou Han's body bent like an old lady's, crying and insisting she was wronged. The black carp—the water ghost's true body—was tightly suppressed by my Five-Emperor Coins. If I burned a single command talisman, the water ghost's soul would surely be scattered.

To maintain my authority, I remained cold:

"Confusing others' minds is a grave crime. Regardless of filial or not, there is moral order. You, a water ghost, dare to disrupt the heavenly order—this is great sin. You already caused a death; do you want to cause another?"

Zhou Han lowered his head, sobbing:

"My children lied to me, ungrateful wolves. I was driven to drown myself. I regret not seeing their true hearts. So I wanted others to see these evil hearts too. Was I wrong?"

He slowly knelt down.

I sighed. Killing ghosts won't add to my virtue. I put hands together and used a Taoist incantation to persuade him:

"Heaven has its way, people have theirs. Disobedience and unfilial conduct are judged by Heaven. Grudges breed grudges, difficult to resolve. A grudge of one life results in three lifetimes of retribution. You harmed lives and chaos in morality. I, taking pity on Heaven's love for life, spare you from soul scattering. One last chance: enter the Jiao talisman, help one hundred families, then you may reincarnate."

Zhou Han stopped crying and knelt in the same posture as me:

"Thank you, Master, for your mercy. I acknowledge my guilt."

After he said this, Zhou Han shivered, surprised:

"What just happened? Was I possessed? You said it's comfortable, but I felt nothing."

I pointed to his chest, asking him to take out the talisman. A faint red mark showed he was possessed. I took it and threaded it with red string, then placed it in my Qing Bag.

"What's this?" he asked curiously.

Seeing his good spirit and health—and that he hadn't been with women recently—I told him:

"This is a protective talisman, to help children with unfilial behavior."

This water ghost's core resentment came from unfilial children leading to his suicide by drowning. He wanted others to suffer as he did, to balance his heart. But once made into a talisman and empowered by the Taoist priests at Sanqing Temple, it converts energy to positive. Where once the water ghost amplified unfilial thoughts, now it amplifies goodwill, improving family relations.

Helping one hundred families allows him to reincarnate.

Zhou Han smiled and joked if I had a talisman for making money. I knew he was joking and ignored it.

He drove me back to the pond, where I collected the Five-Emperor Coins and wrapped the black carp in cloth.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"To save people," I replied.

Then we went to Han Xiaolan's Buddhist supplies shop. As I entered, the golden retriever wagged its tail at me. Her daughter had awakened, tears streaming down from worry.

I sighed softly, recalling the old saying:

"A mother can raise a hundred children, but a hundred children cannot raise one mother."

Indeed, flies don't bother seamless eggs. If she had goodwill, the water ghost couldn't invade. Sometimes, bad thoughts emerge, unknowingly providing opportunity for evil spirits.

Remember:"Birth owes much to the mother's kindness, repay lightly through three lives. With a kind mother present, the prodigal son won't feel cold."

I handed the black carp to Han Xiaolan's mother with liver cancer, telling her to stew it and give her daughter a dose. Soon she would recover.

The old lady was moved and tried to kneel, but I pulled her up—no need to shorten my lifespan.

Then Zhou Han and I rushed out like running for our lives.

"Drive fast, go!" I gasped, uneasy about being thanked with tears.

As we left the alley, I saw a familiar figure—Monk Yicheng in casual clothes, with Jiang Shiyu following him. They were clearly headed to where I had just left.

I sighed. Looks like Shiyu couldn't find me and sent Yicheng to catch me.

"Where to, brother?" Zhou Han asked.

"Somewhere to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll go to my hometown."

I gathered myself. Before dealing with the six ghosts, I really needed to leave Shenyang and hide. Otherwise, I wondered if I should find a way to tell Shiyu the truth—how to do so without drawing karmic consequences?

I pounded my head hard, then suddenly... an idea came to me.