Chapter 1, Qin Xiaomei

Aunt Qiu returned home trembling. That night, Qin Cai dreamed that she was standing on Chai Mountain. A new grave had just been dug, and Uncle Qiu was sitting in front of the grave. The scene was not much different from during the day. Fortunately, she had been accustomed to all sorts of strange things since childhood, so she was not afraid. She approached to help him up and suddenly remembered Aunt Qin's words, and couldn't help but ask: "Uncle Qiu, how should you be buried so that no one else dies?"

"Fourth sister, how do you solve this problem?" Fifth brother Qin Xiaogui asked her during the summer vacation. Qin Xiaomei seemed a bit distracted, went back to teach him how to look it up in the dictionary, and then kept glancing around at the door.

Qin Xiaomei was very alert and immediately touched her face: "I have already been beaten, what else do you want to do?"

Not long after the seventh day of Mr. Qiu's passing, someone came to visit.

The Qiu family exchanged glances; while some rushed to send the injured to the hospital, others took up shovels and hoes, hurrying towards Old Man Qiu's grave.

Old Qin Er still felt a bit afraid, after all, human life is of utmost importance: "How can we trust the words of a little child? It is more urgent to send them to the hospital!"

Bai He looked her up and down, and suddenly smiled at Mama Qin: "This child has a unique bone structure and good qualities. Since Qin Lao Er won't let her study anyway, she might as well follow me as an apprentice."

Logically, she should not have heard it from such a distance, especially with the crowd speaking loudly; there was no way Bai He could have heard that murmur. However, Qin Cai distinctly saw him turn his head and give her a sinister smile, revealing a row of white teeth

It is quite strange that this time the grave was formed into a circular mound, yet the person was healed. Although Aunt Qiu's family did not speak of it openly, they secretly sent over quite a few fruits, eggs, and white sugar. Old Qin, unable to refuse, ultimately accepted them.

Old Qin Er was determined to be unyielding, finding Qin Mama's crying bothersome, and he beat his wife again: "Don't I know how to worry about my own daughter? Shut your mouth, you foul woman!"

Bai He, with his hands behind his back, scrutinized Qin Cai thoroughly, then smiled and turned to leave

Oh, so that's how it is. Hehehe... um..." The person suddenly stopped laughing, "Then this..."

When the winter melon dish was ready, Qin Laoer and his son returned outside. Qin Cai served the dishes and placed them on the table, and the seven members of the Qin family sat around it. "That old Qiu, too careless, a perfectly fine person just disappeared without a trace." After all, they were neighbors, seeing each other often, and Qin's mother felt a mix of sympathy and fear. "Should we fill in the pond from now on?"

In summary, this person can be described with these few words: indulging in food, drink, and vice, engaging in deception, trickery, and theft

The Yin-Yang master observed the back hill for a long time and finally designated a piece of land. After contemplating for most of the day, Qin Xiaomei saw that everyone was about to leave and finally ran up the mountain: "Grandpa Qiu cannot be buried here"

His face was tense. Qin Cai, a country girl, had never seen much of the world and immediately hid behind Qin Mama. Qin Mama quickly stepped in front: "Old Bai, what's wrong with you? Scaring a child to death!"

Aunt Qiu was so shocked that her soul seemed to leave her body: "Five? Two have already been lost, two!" She hurriedly asked again, "Which five are going to die?"

The next day, Old Qin Er, not knowing what Bai He had said, unexpectedly sent Qin Cai to learn as an apprentice under him. Qin Mama cried and fussed at him, saying: "Old Bai is a single man; how can you let our daughter learn as an apprentice with him, living and eating together? Aren't you afraid of what others might say?"

"Qin Xiaomei, are you sick today? On what basis do you not allow me to gather pigweed here?" On the stone steps by the pond, an old man and a young person were tugging at each other. The elderly man, over sixty years old, was no taller than 1.6 meters and had a slight hunch in his back. Now, he was pulling a bamboo basket used for gathering pigweed, and his voice was growing louder.

"It's too expensive, but it's negotiable," Bai He said slowly as he took another talisman from his bag. "This one only costs one piece."

Qin Xiaomei looked into the kitchen, and seeing that Qin Laoer was not there, she added a handful of firewood to the stove: "I told you not to hit me." Aunt Qiu naturally kept assuring her, and only then did Qin Xiaomei speak: "Buried there, your family will lose five people."

The old man refused to continue, his voice growing louder: "You must provide a reason today! I have been gathering pigweed here for decades, so why can’t I do it today?"

Early the next morning, Qin Lao Er went to the Qiu family to help out, while Qin Xiao Mei finished her household chores and was accompanying her younger brother with his summer homework. Hearing noises outside, she ran out and discovered that the Qiu family had invited a geomancer to assess the land.

Qin Lao Er immediately went up and slapped her, he was not soft-hearted when it came to hitting his children, and this slap was incredibly loud. Qin Xiaomei covered her face, still very stubborn: "Don't listen to that white liar! Don't be buried here! Change to another place."

Mama Qin was anxious: "Old Bai, what nonsense are you talking? How can a young girl learn such things from you?"

Qin Cai was engrossed in his meal when Qin Lao Er suddenly spoke again: "Lao Si, you have graduated from junior high school as well. A few days ago, Liu Matchmaker mentioned a young man to you. When you have time, let your mother take you to meet him. You should stop studying from now on. Your third brother is in high school, and your younger brother is in elementary school; the family burden is too great. Besides, what good does it do for a girl to have excellent grades? A junior high education is quite sufficient. Your eldest sister and third sister only have an elementary school education."

Aunt Qiu comforted her again: "Old Qin's temper is so irritable, none of us said anything, yet he hit the child. Little sister, tell Aunt why it cannot be buried there"

At first, she asked some casual questions, but later she finally began to indirectly probe: "Little sister, about our old man's grave last time... why did you say not to bury him there?"

Old Mr. Qiu still looked as he did in life, holding her hand as he spoke: "Make the grave mound round, just round will do."

Mr. Bai, you are actually selling a talisman for one hundred yuan! This is too much, can you lower the price a bit? Hehe, you see, we are neighbors and see each other often, right?

A few days later, during the seventh day of mourning for Old Man Qiu, the Qiu family still felt uneasy and invited Mr. Bai He over once more. Mr. Bai He walked around the house in a seemingly proper manner, scattered some rice, and recited a passage that he claimed was a scripture. However, it was not quite accurate, as hardly anyone could clearly hear what he recited, or perhaps he was just performing a rap... Who knows.

After a few ghost stories were told, even Qin Cai, who was standing at the door, felt as if someone was behind him, his neck prickled, and his whole body turned cold. At that moment, Bai He took out a few sheets of yellow paper from his bag printed with a bagua pattern—oh my, he actually began to sell the so-called talismans for warding off evil spirits with a mysteriously profound expression on his face.

"Farting, who would fill the pond just because someone died?" - The old man Qin Er has a bad temper; at home, when he speaks, others dare not interrupt. "Hurry up and eat, tomorrow we might have to help their family carry stones to repair the grave. I'll go over and take a look later"

The young girl who snatched the pig feed basket from him was only about fifteen or sixteen years old. She often basked in the sun and did farm work, her face somewhat tanned, but her body was quite sturdy. At this moment, she was pulling the old man up the steps with her right hand while grabbing the pig feed basket with her left hand, saying, "Grandpa Qiu, you shouldn't be here sifting through the pig feed today."

Can you betray the master...

He was climbing up while carrying a basket of pigweed, when suddenly his rubber shoes slipped, causing him to fall heavily on the steps. To make matters worse, he was still gripping the basket with his right hand, which crashed down with a loud splash, and he ended up tumbling into the pond.

Later, Qin Cai finally understood that what Bai He said was quite simple: "Let your Qin Xiaomei become my apprentice, and I will pay 1,200 yuan a month."

Before dawn, in the Qiu family courtyard, there were people vomiting and defecating again. Aunt Qiu's family came over, showering Qin Xiaomei with endless compliments, almost ready to kneel down.

The bamboo splints protruding from the pigweed basket snagged his clothes, and he struggled desperately in the water, suddenly recalling the words spoken by the youngest daughter of Qin Lao Er just moments ago—"You will drown"

The little girl, anxious and wringing her hands, saw him walking down the steps again and couldn't help but lower her voice to say, "You will drown"

Although there are inevitable suspicions of trickery, apart from that, he has not committed any acts of treachery or plunder, which is why his reputation in the town is relatively good

Upon dreaming of this place, Qin Cai awakened

Qin Cai could no longer hold back and muttered, "Quack!"

... ...

The Yin-Yang Master, known as Master Baihe, is famous in the vicinity and often provides geomantic consultations. With his presence, how could anyone pay heed to the words of a child? However, such ominous remarks are most feared in both ancestral and residential homes. The Qiu family, considering they are from the same village, did not want to make a fuss, yet they felt quite displeased in their hearts

The girl received a slap, tears swirling in her eyes, and she did not dare to say more. She picked up her pig feed basket and walked home.

Qin Cai was indeed somewhat afraid, while Bai He’s face was as tense as a coffin lid, looking as if he was about to hit someone. She thought it was about the incident at Old Man Qiu's grave last time, so she mustered her courage: "That grave was never buried properly anyway, what does it have to do with me and the library!"

Qin Xiaomei had no choice but to brace herself: "He said to make the grave mound circular, but let me clarify first, he only suggested it, and I don't know if it will work. If it doesn't, don't blame me!"

Mr. Baihe, age unknown, family background unknown. A few years ago, he moved to the town and rented two rooms, specializing in land surveying, fortune-telling, and divination. Occasionally, he would also perform makeup on corpses. Whenever a family encountered some difficult problems, they would seek him out. In any case, when he is short on money, he is capable of anything under the heavens, but when he has money, he is as elusive as air. You wouldn't even find him with a lantern. In any case, when he is short on money, he is capable of anything under the heavens, but when he has money, he is as elusive as air. You wouldn't even find him with a lantern.

A tall and slender figure approached, dressed in an old blue long gown with rolled-up snow-white sleeves—none other than Bai He. He looked Qin Cai up and down and asked, "Are you Qin Xiaomei?"

Qiu San Ge, Qiu Da Ge's youngest son, Qiu San Sao, Qiu He ... and you. Qin Cai thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head: "But it has already been buried, and I don't know what to do. You should find a master to take another look."

Qin Cai had to admit that this fellow told ghost stories exceptionally well. The tone of his voice, his expressions and gestures, and the tightly woven plot—if accompanied by music, he could definitely apply to host a radio program like Midnight Heartbeat

Qin Cai suppressed the impulse to hit him with a shoulder pole, as there were indeed many fools over there willing to open their wallets

A person drowned in the pond by the rice field, and all the villagers rushed over. The deceased was Elder Qiu from the large courtyard in the east; his children only realized he had not returned from gathering pigweed by the time dinner was served. When they arrived at the pond, they saw pigweed scattered everywhere in the water, and by the time they pulled him out, he had already lost his breath.

Hahaha, this is good, this is quite nice! You should have said so earlier, hahaha. The person handed over a one yuan note, beaming with joy, "Mr. Bai, there is no difference between the two, right?"

As she wiped away her tears, she secretly resented—never to speak of it again, humph!

After such a commotion, the elderly man remained quite attentive, carefully finishing gathering the pig feed. Seeing that everything was safe and sound, he couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing—children speak without restraint; not to mention claiming to know how to swim, the deepest part of this pond is only a little over 2 meters deep, could it really have frightened him

The legendary "White Liar" stood in place with hands behind her back, completely unashamed alongside Si and Tu. However, Mama Qin came over and pulled her back, scolding her as they walked. Qin Xiaomei was dragged away in tears, still feeling angry inside—if she had known that no one would believe her even if she spoke up, why did she bother to say anything? It was always like this!

Bai He pointed to the symbol on the left and said: "This one is worth one hundred yuan and can block one hundred percent of ghosts"

Three days after the funeral of Elder Qiu, his third son fell from a motorcycle and died on the spot. The Qiu family recalled what Qin Xiaomei had said at the time of the viewing, that seeing Qin Laoer was like seeing an enemy. Unable to contain his anger, Qin Laoer went home and beat Qin Xiaomei.

The Qin family has many children, with three daughters and two sons. Qin Cai is the fourth child and is affectionately referred to as Qin Xiaomei by the villagers. Qin Laoer is the head of the family and, influenced by ancestral traditions, holds a rather serious bias towards sons over daughters. Qin Cai does not dare to speak much, merely responding with an acknowledgment before continuing to eat.

An elderly person over sixty years old would be sensitive to such words; he immediately raised his hand and slapped the girl, exclaiming: "You little brat, born of a mother but raised without one!"

In the afternoon, after Qin Xiaomei returned from cutting pigweed, she saw Aunt Qiu drinking tea at home. Qin Xiaomei was still angry about the two meals and ignored her. As soon as she got back, she went to the stove to start a fire. Aunt Qiu rubbed her hands and complained to Qin's mother for a while, but she couldn't help it and finally walked over to the kitchen stove to talk to Qin Xiaomei

Qin Cai did not go out to see the commotion; she stayed at home to cook. A pot of fatty meat stir-fried with winter melon was their dinner for the night. The village is relatively poor, and her father, Qin Lao Er, is a butcher who sells meat during market days. Compared to other families, they live a relatively affluent life.

Three days later, Mr. Qiu's four-year-old grandson suddenly developed a high fever. The family had not even reached the clinic before he lost consciousness. Six days after the funeral, two people in the family had passed away in quick succession, causing the Qiu family to become somewhat anxious, and they began to subtly believe that there was an issue with the old man's grave.

No one spoke, and the person waited for a long time, finally unable to hold back a mournful howl: "Damn, could it be that this thing can only block one percent of the ghosts?"

However, when Qin Cai truly succumbed to his lantern pants, Qin Cai broke down

In any case, he performed a ritual in a seemingly proper manner, then sat down in the Qiu family's hall and began to speak extensively about the dangers of evil spirits to humanity...! ... Uh, no, it should be said that he started to tell ghost stories in great detail! !