Forbidden Land – CH 109

After watching the madwoman leave, Chen Rong stood there stunned for a long time before remembering Zhang Chao’s condition. She quickly ran back into the house.

But Zhang Chao remained the same as before. Although his eyes were open, his breathing and heartbeat were normal, and he would turn his head to look at you when called, his eyes were lifeless and his face expressionless, seemingly even more foolish than a complete idiot.

Could he really have been that terrified? Based on Chen Rong’s professional knowledge, that was the only conclusion she could draw.

Could it be…could it be like what her grandfather had said before, that his soul had been frightened away?

Thinking this, Chen Rong’s heart pounded with panic, and she felt completely lost.

After a while, she quickly took out her phone and called her uncle, briefly explaining what had happened. Her uncle immediately said he would come over right away.

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Chen Rong quickly helped Zhang Chao get dressed.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door downstairs. Chen Rong quickly opened the door. Her uncle, holding a flashlight, ran upstairs breathlessly. He carefully examined Zhang Chao, and after Chen Rong recounted the events in detail, her uncle angrily cursed, “That madwoman! I’ll teach her a lesson sooner or later. Looks like your friend really had his soul scared away.”

Chen Rong asked anxiously, “Really had his soul scared away?”

Her uncle nodded, saying, “Otherwise, after such a fright, he would be almost recovered by now. I’ve seen it before; that’s what having one’s soul scared away does.”

Chen Rong said, “What? How can someone really have his soul scared away? I thought Grandpa was just joking.”

Her uncle shook his head, saying, “Generally, it’s more common for children to have their soul scared away. Adults’ souls are more stable; they aren’t easily frightened away. Like your friend, he must have almost lost his mind just now to have his soul run away.”

Chen Rong said anxiously, “Uncle, what should we do? If he’s scared silly, it’ll be terrible!”

Her uncle said, “I don’t know how to summon a soul; only Father does. This needs to be done quickly; otherwise, the adults’ souls will be scared away, and they won’t be able to be called back. You wait here; I’ll go down to the other village and call Father back.”

Chen Rong could only nod. Her uncle quickly went downstairs and ran out.

Two hours later, her phone showed it was 3 AM. She heard the sound of a motorcycle downstairs. Chen Rong quickly ran downstairs. Outside, her uncle and an elderly man with thin white hair got off the motorcycle—it was Chen Rong’s grandfather.

Chen Rong rushed up to him, grabbed his hand, and said, “Grandpa, come on up quickly; my friend is dying.”

Grandpa quickly went upstairs, with her uncle and Chen Rong following behind.

Grandpa walked to the bedside, sat down, and asked, “What’s your friend’s name?”

Chen Rong replied, “Zhang Chao.”

Grandpa called out, “Zhang Chao, Zhang Chao!”

Zhang Chao opened his eyes, slowly turned his head, and stared blankly at them, expressionless.

Grandpa lightly slapped him a few times and called again, “Zhang Chao, Zhang Chao.”

Zhang Chao still didn’t respond.

Grandpa frowned, pried open his eyelids, looked at both eyes, and then his old face tightened.

Chen Rong asked anxiously, “Grandpa, how is he?”

Grandpa said, “The little hún has run away; we need to summon it back. It’s very dangerous for an adult to have their hún frightened away like this. If we can’t call it back before dawn, he will… he’ll be a fool!”

Chen Rong cried out in distress, “Grandpa, what can we do? You must call it back!”

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Grandpa thought for a moment and said, “Ah Rong, don’t worry; let’s hurry. Ah Guo, carry the young man down and set up the altar. Ah Rong, come with me to the mountain to call back his hún. I don’t know him; he will only answer to your call. Your friend is here for the first time and doesn’t know the way up the mountain. If he gets lost, it’ll be troublesome. Hurry!”

“Okay,” Chen Rong replied, knowing this wasn’t the time to cry. She quickly helped her uncle get Zhang Chao downstairs and lay him on a small recliner.

Zhang Chao stared blankly at their busy expressions, showing no reaction.

Chen Rong and the others quickly set up a table, incense, and an altar, preparing for the rural soul-summoning ceremony.

T/N: I used “hún” when the Grandpa was speaking instead of soul. Some believe that a person has the three hún and seven pò. The Chinese text used hún throughout, but soul seems an okay translation for Chen Rong and her uncle. I wanted her Grandpa to sound more like a shaman, so I kept hún for him.