Chapter 0003: The Strange Stele

I suddenly realized, is it that Nobita, apart from my grandfather, is only visible to me?

I saw my grandfather raise an eyebrow, holding a peach wood sword and stepping in the same manner as before. He pointed the sword at the stone tablet and murmured some incantations that I could not hear clearly. Then, he raised the peach wood sword and slowly retreated step by step until he reached the front of the Great Bear, where he gently tapped on its head.

As he walked step by step towards his own body, I saw the bell on the red string also moving forward little by little with his footsteps

Keep it up! We are almost there

My heart rose to my throat as the bell ceased to ring

Hearing that it was the work of a ghost, I saw several men displaying expressions of fear.

What happened here

Grandfather reached out and took a red string and a small bell, quickly threading the bell onto the string. He then tied a peculiar knot, securing the end without the bell to Daxiong's waist, while the end with the bell was pressed down with a brick in front of the stone tablet

When he approached the stone tablet, he formed a seal with his hands at a dazzling speed. This seal was intricate, and I noticed that Uncle Gan and the others were standing nervously to the side, their eyes revealing a respectful demeanor as they fixed their gaze on my grandfather.

Grandfather, someone has arrived

Grandfather stopped his movements, glanced at the torches, and shouted loudly: "Old Gan, over here"

I looked up at Uncle Gan and the others, and found that they had not noticed Da Xiong in front of the stele at all; they were just staring blankly at my grandfather

Gan Yunshan looked up and asked my grandfather

In theory, Nobita is only seven years old, and he is about one meter tall, yet Uncle Gan clearly exerted a great deal of effort to lift him up

My grandfather selected three sticks of similar thickness, cutting them into six sections approximately the height of a person. One end of each section was sharpened to a point, while the other end was affixed with a piece of yellow paper.

The torches heard the shouts and gradually gathered towards this side, and several figures became increasingly clear, all of whom were men from our village

Gan Yunshan wiped away a tear and hurriedly helped Daxiong to his feet. As soon as he stood up, Daxiong's body went limp like a pile of mud and fell down. Gan Yunshan quickly grabbed his shoulder and used all his strength to prop him up.

Nobita's soul seemed to tremble for a moment, and then he cautiously began to take steps forward

A strange thing happened; the once slumped and lifeless body of Nobita unexpectedly stood up by itself

It is unclear whether it was due to exhaustion from the journey or some other reason, but beads of sweat the size of mung beans appeared on Uncle Gan's forehead, sliding down his cheeks.

Bamboo is abundant throughout the mountains, and the remaining few uncles quickly cut down several bamboo poles.

It turns out that even the strongest men can be afraid of ghosts

Fortunately, the bustling noise around me provided a greater sense of security, invigorating my spirit, for it was the sound of people speaking. Listening to the voices, each one was full of vitality, and more importantly, these voices were familiar to me

At last, Nobita reached the outside of the six bamboo stalks; with just one more step, he would be able to enter the circle formed by the six bamboo stalks.

The old man's thunderous shout was filled with authority, causing even the strong men like Gan Yunshan to shudder in fear, each of them staring intently at my grandfather

I have the desire to call out to him, but I am afraid that calling out suddenly will cause trouble for grandfather

My grandfather saw Nobita standing properly, nodded slightly, lifted his robe, and unexpectedly drew a peach wood sword from somewhere.

However, I saw that with my grandfather's shout, a gust of ominous wind began to swirl around the blood-red stone tablet, causing the weeds beneath the tablet to sway in all directions, and many withered leaves were lifted into the air, spinning with the wind.

As the noisy shouts and the chaotic footsteps drew closer, a tall and robust man, over 1.8 meters in height, quickly walked up to us. He immediately spotted the unconscious Da Xiong lying on the ground and, with a thud, knelt beside him, examining the comatose Da Xiong from head to toe, tears welling up in his eyes.

My heart trembled, and I hurriedly looked towards the stone tablet

At that moment, several clusters of flickering lights appeared in the distance, and I was startled, thinking that some kind of monster had suddenly emerged.

Grandfather opened his medicine box, and I discovered that it contained silver needles, incense candles, yellow paper, a brush, cinnabar, red string, small bells, and even a small incense burner

I shouted loudly

He seems to be very timid, looking around in fear, standing alone in front of the stone tablet, resembling a lost child in helplessness

My grandfather walked towards the blood-red stone tablet with steps that I could not comprehend. The steps were neither large nor small, seemingly going in circles, yet those who witnessed it would feel that between each step, there was an oddly powerful force flowing.

The bell that was pressed under the stone tablet by my grandfather began to ring intermittently, and then a child who looked exactly like Nobita emerged from the stone tablet

Over here, quickly, over here

Grandfather swung the peach wood sword, and I noticed that his entire demeanor transformed, truly exuding an aura reminiscent of an immortal or a Taoist priest

My grandfather drove these six bamboo poles into the ground around Daxiong's body, and then said to Ganyun Mountain: "I have used this Soul Locking Array to restrain the remaining soul of him, so you can let go now"

Isn't that bell tied up? How could it move by itself

After my grandfather made that mark with both hands, he thrust the sword forward and shouted: "Fierce and stubborn creature, why do you not quickly send out the soul of Gan Chengxiong? Do you want me to scatter your soul and spirit before you are willing to relent?"

Is this the soul of Nobita?

One step, two steps, three steps

My grandfather said with a stern face: "It's nothing serious, he has just been bewitched by a ghost and lost his soul. Once I summon his soul back, everything will be fine. You all came at the right time; help me hold him up. The others, go find me a few bamboo poles; I was just worried I wouldn't be able to handle this!"

Yet his head remained lowered, his small face still pale, and his hands hung down as he stood there, resembling the wandering corpses from horror films

Sweat, are these things used for treating illnesses or for catching ghosts

Nobita's soul was merely a dozen steps away from his body, yet the journey felt as if it had taken an entire hour. When he had covered half the distance, the bell on the red string suddenly trembled and came to a halt, and at that moment, Nobita's soul also stopped in its tracks

At this moment, Nobita's soul began to take steps again

This person is indeed Nobita's father, named Gan Yunshan, and I call him Uncle Gan

For some reason, I silently encouraged Nobita in my heart

At that moment, the red stone tablet suddenly emitted a soft "crack" sound

I am astonished; where has this old gentleman hidden it? How come I did not see it?

At that moment, my grandfather suddenly waved a peach wood sword and shouted, "What are you still dawdling for? Hurry back quickly!"

As I harbored doubts in my heart, I watched Nobita approach my body step by step, and I became increasingly tense. I felt that something was about to happen, yet I had no idea what it would be.