Forbidden Land – CH 112

When Zhang Chao woke up, he found himself lying on a chair outside, covered with a blanket, asleep.

The midday sun was shining on him, making him feel warm and comfortable.

Zhang Chao stretched, then suddenly wondered, “Who moved me outside to sleep? I didn’t even feel it!”

Just then, hearing a noise from the house behind him, Zhang Chao stood up and went inside. Her grandfather was tending the fire, and Chen Rong was helping. Upon seeing Zhang Chao, Chen Rong put down what she was doing and ran over to him, excitedly asking, “How are you feeling?”

Zhang Chao scratched his head and said, “How am I feeling? Grandpa, when did you get back? I didn’t even know!”

Chen Rong turned to look at her grandfather and said, “Grandpa, doesn’t he remember?”

~

See less ads by logging in.

~

Grandpa laughed, “It’s good he doesn’t remember; it’s good he doesn’t remember.”

Zhang Chao looked at them both strangely, frowned, and thought for a moment before saying, “It seems…it seems I’ve seen Grandpa before. Grandpa, did you give me some kind of water to drink?”

Grandpa laughed, “He remembers now, haha.”

Zhang Chao said, “Chen Rong, what exactly happened? I felt very sleepy then, and I drank some kind of water; it was all ash. How did I end up sleeping outside?”

Chen Rong laughed. “Do you know how long you’ve been sleeping?”

Zhang Chao said, “From last night until now, about 10 hours.”

Chen Rong shook her head. “It’s been over 30 hours since the night before last.”

“Ah! Over 30 hours!” Zhang Chao exclaimed in surprise. His memory was still stuck at the time he went to sleep with Chen Rong; he only remembered drinking some water, and everything else was completely gone.

Grandpa said, “Chen Rong, why don’t you tell your friend?”

Chen Rong hesitated. “Tell him? Won’t that scare him?”

Grandpa said, “It’s alright; it’s all in the past. He won’t be so easily frightened.”

Chen Rong pulled Zhang Chao aside and told him everything that had happened from the night before last until yesterday morning.

Zhang Chao listened to her words, dumbfounded. At first, he didn’t believe her, but after checking the date on his phone and seeing that he had indeed slept for more than a day, he gradually began to believe her. However, no matter how hard he tried to recall, he had no memory of that night.

If a person remembered experiencing something terrifying, they would naturally be very afraid. But if they had completely forgotten their memories, even if someone told them something terrifying, they wouldn’t feel that fear.

Finally, Zhang Chao could only ask her grandfather, “Grandpa, is what Chen Rong said true? Then why can’t I remember anything?”

Grandpa said, “Your little hún was scared away; of course, you can’t remember.”

Zhang Chao was puzzled. “Your soul can really be scared away? How can that be?”

Grandpa said, “Your hún lives in your body, and when you encounter danger, you want to run away. Your body can’t fly or run fast, but your hún can. So your hún just ran outside your body and escaped.”

Zhang Chao said, “So, the consciousness wants to run away, but the body cannot, so the consciousness leaves the body and runs away?”

Chen Rong laughed. “What are you talking about consciousness with Grandpa for? Grandpa isn’t a scholar; he doesn’t understand. I don’t understand these things either, but according to Grandpa, that’s roughly what you’re saying.”

Zhang Chao pondered for a moment, still finding the rural practice of scaring away the soul and then calling it back incomprehensible. How could such a thing really exist? After thinking for a while, he asked again, “By the way, Chen Rong, did the chopsticks in the water bowl really stand up?”

Chen Rong nodded. “I saw it with my own eyes. Oh, I was so nervous at the time, I forgot to take a picture!”

~

See less ads by logging in.

~

Zhang Chao turned to his grandfather and asked, “Grandpa, why did the chopsticks in the water bowl stand up?”

Grandpa chuckled, “This is hard to explain. According to the old folks, once the hún arrives, the chopsticks naturally stand up. As for why, you scholars’ll have to use science, haha.”

Zhang Chao understood. So Grandpa was good at “technical work,” but his “theoretical knowledge seemed superficial,” which left him somewhat disappointed.

Afterwards, they chatted about other things. Some time later, lunch was ready, and the three of them sat down to eat. Afterwards, Grandpa said, “Zhang Chao, I heard from Ah Rong that you’ve encountered some problems. Tell me about them this afternoon; maybe I can give you some advice.”

Zhang Chao was overjoyed. This trip was precisely to have Grandpa Chen answer his questions. He quickly replied, “Okay, Grandpa, I’ll tell you now.”

Grandpa said, “Let’s talk as we walk. First, let’s go deal with the madwoman’s ghost son on the mountain.”

“The madwoman’s ghost son?” Zhang Chao asked, puzzled.

Chen Rong frowned and nodded. “I told Grandpa. That night, the madwoman called her child’s name several times, and one end of her cane stood upright in the air, as if someone was pulling it. Grandpa said her son was causing trouble, refusing to reincarnate, and scaring you like this. This time, he directly dealt with the little ghost.”

Zhang Chao was speechless with astonishment. “Dealt with the ghost? How?”

Chen Rong shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve only heard Grandpa talk about these things before; I’ve never experienced it myself. Anyway, now that I’m older, I want to know if such things really exist and see for myself. Grandpa said it’s safe, and we can go together.”

Zhang Chao was also very excited. Hearing Chen Rong and Grandpa’s words, he realized that there really was such a thing as a spirit being scared away. It almost completely overturned his understanding.

Now, he could witness a rural sorcerer exorcising a ghost with his own eyes and without any danger. Seeing that it was broad daylight, and the sun was even stronger on the mountain, his courage naturally grew. Zhang Chao was obviously very happy.