The Five Ghosts

Inside the village chief's house, a faint light always flickered, but there wasn't a soul around.

On the altar, there were a total of five statues. Looking closely, they turned out to be the Five Ghosts of the Demonic Cult.

Fourth Uncle pointed at the altar and said:
"Look what this old man is worshipping here? It's the Five Ghosts."

Grandfather also approached to examine them, then couldn't help but sigh:
"This custom is still passed down to this day?"

I was a little suspicious, feeling that this matter was very dubious:
"What is the meaning of the Five Ghosts, Grandfather?"

Grandfather adopted a serious tone, looking at us and saying:
"The custom of worshipping the Five Ghosts is to seek their power to protect the family head."

I looked up, directing my gaze towards the altar, and quietly asked again:
"So, they are that powerful."

Grandfather sighed, shaking his head in exasperation:
"Legend has it that a Demonic Cult in the Lian Xi region rose with the custom of worshipping the Five Ghosts, comprising five ghosts: the Ghost King symbolizes calamities in work and economy; the Guardian Ghost mainly revolves around family and health; the Famine Ghost represents the calamity of poverty; the Lawsuit Ghost is the calamity of legal issues; and the Plague Ghost is natural disasters and epidemics. And when worshipping the Five Ghosts, Yang Qi must be offered daily. I'm afraid... the statue at Zhai Shen Temple is the source of all this."

Fourth Uncle clicked his tongue, stomping his foot and saying:
"To be the village chief, yet commit so many acts of harm against the people."

I thought, does he not feel any guilt for doing these things? After all, the villagers had implicitly trusted him and worshipped the ghosts on his behalf, yet he had no shred of kindness. At this point, this evil-doer absolutely could not be forgiven.

A Liu also came to observe. Seeing the statues of the Five Ghosts, he was a little frightened, muttering:
"He... wants to kill the entire village?"

I asked A Liu:
"Do you know about this?"

A Liu trembled and nodded:
"Initially, the village chief brought the statues back to worship and recruited followers, but I never expected him to be offering to the Five Ghosts."

Grandfather then added:
"We'll talk about this later; first, let's find the village chief."

A Liu seemed to remember something, then exclaimed, pointing towards the painting behind the altar:
"There's a secret chamber inside."

The three of us quickly followed A Liu's direction and entered, but he hesitated and didn't follow. Seeing this, I turned and quietly said:
"You can wait here if you want."

A Liu looked around, a little scared, but still nodded in agreement.

We followed the stairs down into the secret chamber. It was pitch black here; even holding out both hands, we couldn't see anything. Fortunately, Fourth Uncle had brought candles to light the way.

As soon as my front foot stepped, my back foot trembled because I felt a soft object underfoot.

Su Er behind me also screamed loudly, quickly covering her nose with both hands:
"It stinks so much, why does it smell so bad?"

I quickly pulled my foot back, retreated, and directly shined the candle light at my feet. It was vaguely unclear.

"This is..."

Grandfather and Fourth Uncle also turned to look, and were instantly shocked, exclaiming in unison:
"A... a corpse..."

Fourth Uncle said in a panic:
"Why is there a corpse here? Don't tell me that lunatic killed someone."

Su Er, seeing a decomposing corpse at her feet, couldn't help but feel chills and dry heave a few times. Under my feet, it felt as if a strong electric current shot straight to the top of my head, making my body feel a little unsteady.

Grandfather and Fourth Uncle covered their noses and went to observe:
"This rate of decomposition suggests he's been dead for three to five days."

Su Er continuously wanted to vomit but couldn't.

Grandfather gestured forward with his chin:
"We'll investigate this later; first, let's find him."

Su Er and I nodded, a vague sense of fear enveloping our bodies.

We hadn't gone far when suddenly, a series of strange laughter and screams echoed. We couldn't help but shiver, but still maintained our courage and walked towards the light.

At this moment, before us was an old man in his fifties, continuously bowing to the statue above. Looking closely, it greatly resembled the statue at Zhai Shen Temple that we had encountered before.

As soon as he heard a sound, he glanced towards us. Under the dim light, the village chief's face looked even more eerie:
"You all, how could you find your way here?"

Fourth Uncle, arrogant and fearless, took a step forward and said:
"Your grandfather He Tian Ya here, even if you hide to the ends of the earth, I can find you. Do you think a few small formations can hide you from me?"

He glanced at Fourth Uncle, then curled his lip in a sneer:
"Just you alone, and you dare to speak so loudly?"

I looked at the village chief, intending to retort, but seeing his eerie smile, I could only shut my mouth and retreat behind Su Er.

Fourth Uncle chuckled:
"Are you blinded by evil, to the point of thinking you can cover the sky with one hand?"

He casually picked up the statue, admired it for a while, then fiercely looked at us:
"I have the power of demons; what can you all do?"

Seeing his smug expression, I couldn't help but feel a little angry, and loudly retorted, no longer showing the timidity and fear from just now:
"You, as the village chief, not only failed to protect the villagers but also invited ghosts into the village to harm everyone."

He continuously caressed the ghost statue, saying:
"I am merely helping them live a carefree life. Giving a little Yang Qi in exchange for this peace and joy—what's wrong with that?"

I truly never expected that at this point, he still showed no remorse, even naively thinking he was doing a good deed for the villagers. He truly was blinded by evil.

Before I could react to his words, Fourth Uncle immediately said:
"With so many things you could do, you insisted on worshipping the Five Ghosts, inviting ghost souls into the village, and call that helping the people? If I don't beat you to death today, you won't realize your mistakes, will you?"

He grew furious, his eyes gradually reddening, and his teeth lengthening:
"Great Ghost Lord, I will lend you my body to quell these small fries!"

After saying that, he seemed to have been possessed, directly throwing Fourth Uncle aside. Behind his back, five flags appeared, red, green, yellow, purple, and black, respectively.

Fourth Uncle was thrown flying, almost hitting the wall, but he calmly used the force of his legs to somersault back. He took a handful of beans from his bag, muttering an incantation:
"Ten Thousand Spirit Soldiers, Scatter Beans to Form Soldiers!"

As soon as the incantation finished, the small beans transformed into earthen figures, directly battling the ghost before us.

But he was also very powerful; in just a few moves, he defeated those soldiers. The fallen soldiers turned into mud, as if they had never appeared.

Grandfather drew his Dragon Subduing Sword, his face resolute as he said:
"This is bad; he's even stronger than before."

Fourth Uncle looked towards the ghost, a sneer on his lips:
"He won't shed tears until he sees the coffin."

At this moment, I bravely stepped in front of Su Er. After all, as a man, I couldn't stand by and watch Su Er protect me time and again.

The ghost was like a madman now, continuously attacking us, almost clawing out Grandfather's internal organs with one swipe. Grandfather, while dodging its claws, smeared blood on his Dragon Subduing Sword.

The Dragon Subduing Sword glowed upon seeing the blood, blinding the ghost.

But he remained arrogant, drawing out the five flags from his back. Each flag transformed into a ferocious-looking lesser ghost, advancing towards us.