City Monster Hunter

[Heathcliff692]

### Chapter 1: Strange Illness (1)

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month in 1998, it was the traditional Zhongyuan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival. That night was a full moon, and the almanac read: "Greedy Wolf enters the house, extreme yin energy, all matters are inauspicious, especially avoid breaking ground."

In a remote mountain village named "Ye Jia Village" in Y Province.

According to custom, at dusk, every household burned two thick bundles of paper money in front of their doors, one for ancestors and the other for wandering spirits.

After burning the paper money, every household shut their doors and windows tightly and went to bed early. Those who believed in Buddhism or Taoism would pray, hoping to get through the night peacefully without any disturbances.

Late at night, it started to rain, pattering on the leaves like wandering spirits, with the wind wailing mournfully, adding an eerie atmosphere to this unusual night.

On a small path at the edge of the village, a blurry figure appeared intermittently in the wind and rain, walking out of the village and straight up the back mountain, heading into a cemetery.

This cemetery was the ancestral graveyard of Ye Jia Village, where the deceased of the Ye family had been buried for hundreds of years. Under the night shadow, the tombstones stood densely, some with headstones, some without, some half-collapsed, looking like small mounds, creating a chilling scene.

The shadow finally arrived at a grave without a headstone.

A soul-summoning banner was inserted in the grave, fluttering like a ghostly hand in the wind.

The fresh soil on the grave and the standing soul-summoning banner indicated it was a new grave.

"Second Sister-in-law, today is your seventh day. It happens to be the Ghost Festival. I'm here to see you." It was a man's voice, hoarse, sounding no older than forty.

After a moment of silence in front of the grave, the man took a red silk umbrella from his back, opened it, and placed it in front of the grave to shield it from the rain. He carefully took out three incense sticks, lit them, and placed them in the soil under the umbrella. Despite the mud, he knelt and kowtowed three times, then stood up, took a folding flat spade from his back, and started digging the grave.

The soil on the grave was fresh and loosened by the rain, making it very soft. In less than twenty minutes, he had dug out a long trench, wiped away a layer of mud, and a bright red coffin board was revealed, as if dripping with fresh blood.

According to superstition, coffins are usually painted dark red. Only those who died violently are painted bright red, as their resentment is too strong. The brighter the red, the better it is at warding off evil.

Moreover, the coffin was wrapped with thirty-three thick red threads, crisscrossing like a net, tightly enveloping the coffin as if fearing the person inside might climb out.

The man bowed deeply to the coffin and said, "Second Sister-in-law, Da Bao is here to help you." He took out a dagger, cut the red threads one by one, then used the spade to pry open seven seven-inch coffin nails. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the coffin lid—

Inside lay a woman in white burial clothes, straight as a board.

In the dim incense light, the woman's face was deathly pale, her eyes wide open like a dead fish, with a ferocious expression. A chilling aura emanated from her body. It was the breath of death.

The man gasped, even though he was prepared, the sight made his legs weak. He quickly knelt down and kowtowed three more times to the woman's corpse, trembling as he said:
"Second Sister-in-law, you died in childbirth, a mother and child perishing together, but the villagers insisted on the ancestral rules, disregarding human ethics, and separated you and your child, burying you in different places. Today is your return soul night, I, Ye Da Bao, have taken the risk to dig up your poor child and return it to you..."

He took a cloth package from his bosom, unwrapped it to reveal a baby's corpse!

Placing the corpse on the woman's body, Ye Da Bao stepped back and knelt, anxiously waiting. Suddenly, a woman's wail echoed through the wind and rain.

The woman's corpse abruptly sat up in the coffin, her arms tightened, her ten dry fingers clutching the baby's back, facing Ye Da Bao with an extremely eerie smile.

Ye Da Bao knelt, bowed again, and said, "Second Sister-in-law, I have fulfilled your wish. Later, I will re-seal the coffin and cover the grave to make it look untouched. Please, Second Sister-in-law, consider my effort and grant me my wish!"

With that, he took the three incense sticks from the ground, took out three banana leaves, spread them out, and folded them into a container shape, muttering quickly in a language that didn't sound like Mandarin.

The woman's corpse extended her neck, remaining still, as if cooperating with Ye Da Bao. It seemed liquid was dripping from the flame onto the banana leaves.

After ten minutes, the woman's corpse frowned, showing a terrifying expression.

Ye Da Bao hurriedly removed the incense, folded the banana leaves into a zongzi shape, carefully stored it, and watched as the woman's corpse slowly lay back into the coffin, holding the baby, with a satisfied look on her face. He breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Second Sister-in-law, you have your baby. In forty-nine days, you will become a mother-child zombie. Seek your revenge. Da Bao will now re-seal the coffin for you to rest and cultivate..."

Ten minutes later, Ye Da Bao looked at the newly buried grave, which showed no signs of disturbance. He bowed, then hurriedly left the mountain.

……

A month later, at Ye Da Gong's house, the head of the Ye family clan in Ye Jia Village.

In late August, the hottest time of the year, everyone else kept their doors open and fans running, but the back room of Ye Da Gong's house was tightly shut, with three coal stoves burning inside.

On the bed, a five or six-year-old child was wrapped in thick quilts, his lips purple with cold, shivering all over, constantly crying out for warmth.

Ye Da Gong stood in the room for a moment, sweating profusely, sighed, and stepped outside, wiping away sweat and tears from his face.

"Father, Shao Yang, he..." A woman in her twenties came forward, her eyes swollen from crying, looking at Ye Da Gong. She was Ye Da Gong's daughter-in-law, the mother of the child inside, named Qiao Yun.

"Let's wait for Xiao Bing to come back."

Ye Da Gong shook his head helplessly. Despite being a barefoot doctor for decades, he had no solution for his grandson's illness. For half a month, he had carried his grandson to hospitals in the county and city, even the provincial hospital, but no diagnosis was found. Ye Da Gong began to suspect that his grandson was not ill but had encountered some evil. They had tried exorcism methods with no effect, so early that morning, he sent his son to the city to find an expert.

As they spoke, his son Ye Bing returned, followed by an old man.

"This is..."

"I invited him from the city. He heard about Shao Yang's condition and is willing to take a look."

"Thank you." Ye Da Gong greeted the old man courteously, scrutinizing him.

The old man appeared to be in his sixties, very thin, with a pointed face, triangular eyes, wearing an extremely old Taoist robe, carrying a canvas bag. As soon as he entered, his eyes darted around, looking shifty, lacking any aura of a sage.

Ye Da Gong frowned. There were too many swindlers these days, fake Taoists and monks. He doubted this man had any real ability, but with his grandson's condition, he had to try. He politely invited the old man to the back room to see his grandson.

(End of this chapter)

Do you think this story is good? If yes, I will continue it. If not, I will create another story.

 

[Heathcliff692]

### Chapter 2: The Strange Illness (Part 2)

Hearing Ye Da Gong's words, the old Taoist waved his hand, pulled a long bench to sit in the courtyard, and said, "Blessings from the boundless heavens, I haven't had dinner yet. Let's get some food first."

Ye Da Gong was taken aback and instructed his daughter-in-law to prepare a meal. Using the pretext of helping out, he called his son into the kitchen to inquire about the old Taoist's background.

"I originally planned to find Master Zhang in the county town, as you instructed. While eating buns there, I happened to share a table with this old Taoist. He immediately noticed the corpse aura on me. After I explained the situation, he offered to help, so I brought him back," Ye Bing explained in a lowered voice. "Dad, do you think this old Taoist... could be a fraud?"

Ye Da Gong didn't answer and instead asked, "Did he ask for money?"

"Of course, he did. He said that after the matter is resolved, we should pay him five thousand yuan. I figured saving a life is more important, so I agreed."

Five thousand... In those days, especially for a rural family, it was a considerable amount. However, if it could save his grandson, Ye Da Gong wouldn't hesitate to pay even if it cost his life. The key concern was that if the Taoist turned out to be a fraud, not only would they lose money, but they would also waste precious time as the boy's condition worsened by the day.

With mixed feelings, Ye Da Gong returned to the courtyard, made two cups of tea, and sat opposite the old Taoist to chat, attempting to gauge his abilities. However, the Taoist seemed disinterested in conversing, only mentioning that his name was Qing Yun Zi from Xuan Qing Mountain, and refused to divulge any further details.

Ye Da Gong grew more suspicious but felt they had no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive.

When the meal was ready, Qing Yun Zi unceremoniously asked Ye Bing to buy a bottle of good wine from the village store—the best available, two yuan per bottle of Yuzhou Daqu. He leisurely ate and drank alone for almost an hour, then wiped his mouth, stretched, and walked unsteadily towards the back room with a hint of drunkenness.

Seeing his unsteady steps, Ye Da Gong sighed inwardly, his hopes dimming further.

Entering the back room, Qing Yun Zi glanced at the child on the bed, noting his bloodshot eyes and dark complexion. Combined with Ye Bing's earlier description, he made an almost certain diagnosis.

He walked over and placed a large hand on the child's head, using his internal energy to examine the boy's organs. Suddenly, he shuddered. This child was a rare innate spiritual body!

Looking closer, the boy's full forehead, square jaw, well-defined features, and strong destiny lines made him an excellent candidate for cultivation. Qing Yun Zi was ecstatic, realizing his serendipitous journey down the mountain and coincidental meeting with Ye Bing were all fated to find this child.

"Praise the heavens, thank you for this blessing. The Maoshan lineage has found a successor. Wonderful!"

Qing Yun Zi laughed foolishly for a while, then calmed down and continued examining the boy. His limbs were icy cold, but his torso was scorching hot, an odd combination. When he opened the boy's hands, he saw blackened palms with rough, calloused skin and a spreading darkness towards his wrists.

"What a formidable poison!"

Qing Yun Zi sighed and took a handful of glutinous rice from his bag, pressing it onto the boy's hand. A hiss sounded as green smoke rose, turning the rice black.

"Master, what is this?" Ye Da Gong and his son were stunned, their doubts easing slightly as they saw the Taoist's apparent abilities.

Qing Yun Zi didn't answer, instead asking Ye Bing for a large bowl. He took out his homemade talisman water and fed it to the child.

The previously unconscious boy groaned, woke up, and cried out coldly. Qing Yun Zi had Ye Bing fetch another quilt to cover the child and lull him back to sleep. He then took out a compass, chanting a spell:

"Seven points on the life path, eight gates to set direction, Old Lord reveal your spirit, help me dispel this evil! By the order of the law!"

He made a strange hand gesture and pointed his index finger at the compass, causing the needle to spin rapidly before settling in the direction of the bed's headboard.

Qing Yun Zi quickly walked over, feeling around under the bedding but finding nothing. Undeterred, he crawled under the bed, rummaging around until he pried something off the bed frame. Smelling it, he confirmed his suspicion.

Emerging from under the bed, Qing Yun Zi looked grave. He held the object, then took out a red pill from his bag and handed it to Ye Bing. "This is a Chilian Pill. Dissolve it in two pounds of warm water and give the child two ounces every half hour. It will expel the poison."

Ye Bing thanked him and hurried to prepare the remedy.

Qing Yun Zi returned to the courtyard, sat on the bench, and slowly sipped the remaining wine, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Ye Da Gong approached, bowing deeply to Qing Yun Zi—his earlier doubts fully dispelled by the Taoist's actions in the house.

"Master, can you save my grandson?"

Qing Yun Zi put down the wine cup, squinting at him. "Do you have any enemies?"

"Enemies?" Ye Da Gong was startled, shaking his head. "As the village chief of Ye Jia Village for decades, I've had conflicts, but true enemies... I can't think of any."

"Think carefully. This is no ordinary grudge but a deep-seated enmity aimed at destroying your entire family!"

Ye Da Gong was shocked, rapidly recalling and discarding a long list of names. "Truly, there are none. Please, Master, shed light on this."

"Is Ye Fa Shan your ancestor?" Qing Yun Zi was stunned. Ye Fa Shan had been the first national master of the Tang Dynasty, the head of the Daoist world at the time, and the leader of the Xuan Qing sect, a super-strong figure in Daoist history.

Suddenly realizing something, Qing Yun Zi thought that if Ye Fa Shan was this old man's ancestor, then he was also the child's ancestor.

No wonder the child had an innate spiritual body. There was more to this than met the eye.

Qing Yun Zi nodded slightly. "I see a righteous aura around you." He then showed his left hand, revealing a ping-pong-ball-sized, blood-red, moist object.

"This is what I pried off the bed frame. It has been harming your grandson."

Qing Yun Zi shook his head. "This is a Shadu Pill, cursed with secret arts. Within five feet of a person, it releases a poisonous energy. Within a month, this person would become a zombie, lose their mind, and attack others. Anyone bitten or scratched would also turn into a zombie. Your grandson's heart has already been poisoned, and it's spreading. You've seen his hands—they're becoming calloused. That's a sign of the transformation."

Ye Da Gong collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face as he pleaded, "Master, please save my grandson. He's our family's only heir..."

"Stand up. This is tricky, but since I've encountered it, I won't ignore it."

Once Ye Da Gong stood, Qing Yun Zi continued, "Heart poisoning is usually fatal, but your grandson's special constitution—" He paused, thinking it best to keep certain details secret. "—has kept him alive by activating his inner energy, causing the strange temperature fluctuations in his body."

Qing Yun Zi frowned at the Shadu Pill. "This poison comes from a wrongful death, carrying deep resentment, making it particularly deadly."

(End of Chapter)
Do you think this story is good? If yes, I will continue it. If not, I will create another story.

 

[Heathcliff692]

Chapter 3 Strange Illness 3
Speaking of this, Qing Yun Zi changed his serious expression and grinned at Ye Da Gong: "Old man, let me tell you, there are no more than five people in this world who can save your grandson's life. Fortunately, you met me, which is also the fate between your grandson and me. Hehe, fate."

Ye Da Gong didn't understand, he was guessing, and Qing Yun Zi's tone changed: "Your grandson's evil poison is temporarily restrained. Now the most important thing is to find out the owner of the evil poison pill. With such deep resentment, its owner must be a vengeful corpse, which cannot be left alone. Think carefully, has there been anyone who died unnaturally in this area in the past six months?"

There were only a few dozen households in Ye Jia Village, but for major events, the village chief couldn't possibly not know. Ye Da Gong immediately said, "Yes, a month ago, there was a woman in our village who died in childbirth, one corpse and two lives, can that be considered an unnatural death?"

"Nonsense, when did she die?"

Ye Da Gong thought for a moment, "I don't remember too well, it seems... Oh yes, I remember, she died on the day of her memorial service, just on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar!"

Qing Yun Zi's heart trembled, and he said urgently, "Take me to the grave quickly!"

Ye Da Gong didn't dare to delay, leading Qing Yun Zi up the mountain, and after a quarter of an hour, they arrived at Widow Zhang's grave. Qing Yun Zi used his own spiritual energy to sense it and muttered, "This grave is not right, why are there two strands of evil aura inside, and one of them is a child! Oh no! Hurry, dig up the grave and open the coffin, I need to see what's going on!"

Ye Da Gong looked hesitant, "This... Widow Zhang's husband died half a year ago, she gave birth to a posthumous child, there are no relatives in the family anymore, and no one has come to make trouble. But to open the grave... If this matter is known to the villagers, it won't be easy to explain."

Qing Yun Zi angrily said, "If you don't open the coffin, when this evil aura takes shape, everyone in your village will die!"

Ye Da Gong was taken aback, realizing the seriousness of the matter, he asked Qing Yun Zi to wait for a moment, and rushed down the mountain by himself, calling a few young men, each carrying a shovel, and together they came to the grave. Along the way, several young men had already learned about the situation from Ye Da Gong. Plus the benefits promised by Ye Da Gong and the guarantee of bearing the responsibility alone, they immediately started digging without hesitation.

During this time, Qing Yun Zi took out five small flags, each of a different color - gold, green, brown, white, and red, corresponding to the five elements, and inserted them in a circle around Widow Zhang's grave. He also lit a stick of incense at the Qian position and the Kun position, and by now, the grave had been dug up. Several young men saw the bright red coffin board and hesitated.

"Get out of the way, retreat outside the circle of flags, and remember not to come in." Qing Yun Zi walked to the grave, feeling waves of yin energy coming towards him, and his heart was also greatly surprised: even with the coffin board in between, there was still such a strong evil aura permeating out, the person in the coffin must be very unusual.

Qing Yun Zi saw at a glance that there were no nails on the coffin board. He shook his spirits, drew a "command" character in the palm of his right hand with cinnabar, silently recited the spell, slapped the coffin board with his right palm, and shouted, "Rise!"

The coffin board, weighing dozens of kilograms, was lifted by him with one hand and thrown aside.

Ye Da Gong and several young men looked curiously, but after just one glance, they were petrified, stunned for more than ten seconds, until one of the young men exclaimed in shock, "My god, the dead person actually has teeth!"

In the mouth of the female corpse, two rows of canine teeth were intertwined—not just two, but two rows! Glinting with a cold light in the sunlight.

Qing Yun Zi glanced over the female corpse, and his gaze fell on her bulging belly, his expression changed drastically, he turned to glare at Ye Da Gong, "Is this really a difficult birth?"

"It really is..." Ye Da Gong was surprised, "Because she died violently, we asked the Daoist, and the Daoist said that the mother and child must be buried separately, otherwise there will be ghosts, so we buried the child in the chaotic grave of Shanxi."

Qing Yun Zi nodded, sighed, and said, "That person didn't say wrong, died in childbirth, mother and child cannot reunite to avoid mutual attachment, the souls of the ghosts cannot disperse, sealed in the corpse, over time, they absorb yin energy to become a mother-child evil aura, plus this mother and child's memorial service coincided with the Ghost Festival, the evil aura is even stronger."

Ye Da Gong looked at the terrifying rows of teeth in the female corpse's mouth and trembled, "Then this corpse..."

"Forty-nine days have passed since the seventh day, and the mother-child evil spirit has formed, it's not an ordinary evil creature." Qing Yun Zi pointed at the woman's belly, "Infant evil, it's inside her belly!"

"Ah!" Ye Da Gong and others exclaimed together. "How is this possible?"

Qing Yun Zi sighed, "Obviously someone took the baby, buried the mother and child together, and only this way can the corpse oil be successfully obtained from the woman, this is originally a witchcraft evil method of the Miao clan, but unexpectedly someone is using it today. Old man, the person who offended your family is not simple!"

Suddenly looking up at the sky, it was already five or six o'clock, the sun was setting, and the day was about to end.
"Today's disturbance of the grave has alarmed the corpse evil. It must be dealt with before nightfall, or the consequences will be endless. Hurry, prepare some gasoline, firewood, and cinnabar as soon as possible!" Under Ye Da Gong's orders, several young men rushed down the mountain to prepare the items. Ye Da Gong, still trembling, asked Qing Yun Zi, "Master, why is this mother and child evil spirit... not moving?"

"Even the strongest corpse evil fears sunlight. But at night, it will be formidable. Although I can subdue it, I fear the corpse evil will go berserk, harming the innocent." Qing Yun Zi drove Ye Da Gong to the side and unpacked his backpack, taking out various tools for exorcism.

As soon as he finished arranging the spiritual altar, several young men returned, carrying a large basket of firewood and several buckets of gasoline, followed by a large crowd of villagers who came to watch the excitement. Mr. and Mrs. Ye also joined them. As soon as they met, Mr. Ye reported to his father, "Young Yang has improved a lot after taking the medicine prescribed by the Taoist, my mother is back to take care of him, and we came to see if there's anything we can help with."

Hearing that Young Yang was doing better, Ye Da Gong felt slightly relieved. He scolded the young men for making a big fuss and calling everyone here.

"It doesn't matter, the more people, the better." There was a hint of cunning in Qing Yun Zi's eyes as he glanced at the crowd.
There was no time to lose. Qing Yun Zi ordered a few brave souls to stack the firewood around the coffin, pour two buckets of gasoline on top, then sprinkle cinnabar, light a talisman, silently recite a spell, and throw it on.
A large fire blazed up.

Qing Yun Zi sat cross-legged in front of the spiritual altar, loudly chanting, "Qing Yun Zi, the thirty-eighth generation descendant of Xuanqing Mountain, obeys the decree of my ancestor, prays to the Three Pure Ones, informs the underworld, the jade river and yellow springs, verifies my Dao heart, eradicates demons and evil spirits, clears the heavens and the earth, commands the six ding and six jia, obeying orders in front of the formation, the black tiger of the mysterious altar, the celestial master invites you, today's opening of the altar, the exorcism is complete!"
While performing the ritual, he infused the fire with a pure yang aura from the Daoist tradition, assisting in refining the corpse evil.

Ten minutes passed, and the coffin had turned into a pile of charcoal, yet the female corpse inside remained unchanged, not even her clothes were burned, and strands of white cold air continuously emanated from her body, isolating the flames.
(End of this chapter)

Do you think this story is good? If yes, I will continue it. If not, I will create another story.