Chapter 1165

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

After hanging up Wang Zhangtian's phone call, Wang Zhanggen hurried to greet Wu Banxian.

Wu Banxian had agreed before to set up an altar and perform rites, to help the Wang Family drive away the little ghost.

So Wu Banxian started bustling about, setting up a ritual altar in the Wang Family's main hall.

On the altar were placed glutinous rice, peach branches, yellow paper, copper coins, a peach wood sword, and so on.

It actually bore several points of resemblance to what's in the movies.

To the point that it made Wang Xiaohua suspect whether Wu Banxian's skill at setting up altars and performing rites was learned from watching Lin Zhengying's movies.

After the altar was set up, they did not immediately perform the rites.

Wu Banxian had said before that midnight at twelve o'clock was the optimal hour for performing rites.

So they still needed to wait for a while.

So Wu Banxian stayed for dinner, and after dinner there was still a lot of time, so they helped pick a date for the grave relocation together.

At nine-thirty, the two of them finally finished picking, both agreeing that three days later was a good day.

Because the almanac wrote that three days later this day was "suitable for grave relocation".

Wang Xiaohua found this somewhat incomprehensible; the dos and don'ts were written so clearly above, how come the two of them still needed to concentrate and look for several hours before picking a day?

Isn't it basically confirmable with just a glance?

Even factoring in zodiac clashes and such, it would just take a few more glances; why would it need half a day of pondering?

One can only say Wang Xiaohua is too clever, unable to understand the state of rural middle-aged and elderly people.

In fact, the majority of rural middle-aged and elderly people have degenerated to being even more sluggish than primary school pupils.

Never mind reading the almanac; even adjusting phone volume, those two volume keys are right on the side of the phone, yet some rural middle-aged and elderly people just can't figure it out.

After picking the grave relocation date, Wang Zhanggen called Wang Zhangtian again, hoping Wang Zhangtian's side would also confirm as soon as possible; if he disagreed with this date, they could pick again.

The call went through, but Wang Zhangtian said he was still at work, and at the earliest could only give an answer tomorrow.

Wang Zhanggen was astonished:

"Eldest Brother, it's already past nine in the evening, and you're still at work?"

Wang Zhangtian gave a dry laugh:

"No choice, eat the boss's food, listen to the boss's orders; today happens to be overtime, won't be off duty until past ten, so that's it for now, otherwise if the leader sees me, they'll probably scold me again."

"Alright alright, then you go be busy."

Wang Zhanggen hung up the phone, unable to help but sigh; his eldest brother had gotten to the county town to buy a house earlier than him, yet now at such an old age he still has to go to work, it's really quite miserable.

While he, Wang Zhanggen, doesn't know how long it's been since he properly went to work.

Relying on his three sons all being promising, his days pass in who knows how much carefree ease.

If not for suddenly getting cancer, he could have continued being carefree.

It's just a pity heaven played a joke on him; halfway through enjoying the good days, it hit him with a bolt from the blue.

But after Wu Banxian helps drive away the little ghost tonight, maybe his cancer will miraculously heal!

Although Wang Zhanggen's thought had no basis whatsoever, he believed this more than he believed medicine.

In a blink, they finally endured until midnight.

Wu Banxian put on the worn-out Taoist robe he brought, about to start the rites.

He first burned three incense sticks, bowed to the gods of the four directions, then took up the peach wood sword and waved it about, chanting under his breath as he waved.

After waving for a while, he started burning yellow paper, scattering glutinous rice, throwing copper coins.

"Haste, haste, as the law commands! Little ghost, quickly show yourself! I see you, you harm-doing ghost, looking for a beating! Hey! Still not going to transmigrate quickly, don't you dare harm people!"

Wu Banxian faced the air, his body moving clumsily in a dance.

Holding the peach wood sword, hacking here, stabbing there.

Feigning supernatural power, nothing more than this.

After fussing for a good while, Wu Banxian was panting, sweating, only then did he stop.

He came before Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan, expression grave, and said:

"That little ghost wears red clothes, is a hanged old woman, resentment very great, almost turned into a vengeful ghost; she says she came for revenge, did you provoke something you shouldn't have?"

"Red clothes? Old woman?"

Wang Zhanggen was baffled; he had thought the little ghost harming him was Liu Xiaoli.

Now based on Wu Banxian's description, it was clearly not Liu Xiaoli.

First, Liu Xiaoli wasn't hanged to death; second, Liu Xiaoli at most counts as a middle-aged woman, not some old woman.

Li Xiulan's face changed in shock, and she blurted out:

"Could it be Xinghua's mother?"

Wang Zhanggen heard this, and only then was stunned, feeling it was very possible!

Liang Xinghua's mother Zhou Aidi, initially because of jealousy toward the Wang Family, secretly went and dug up the Wang Family Ancestral Grave; later when the matter came to light, Wang Family's Eldest Brother and Second Brother held their wedding ceremonies together, Wang Zhanggen bore a grudge, so when the whole village was invited, only Zhou Aidi wasn't invited, and Zhou Aidi couldn't figure it out all at once, and hanged herself in the Wang Family's newly built raw house, wearing red clothes when she committed suicide, this matches!

But Wang Zhanggen then raised a doubt:

"That's not right, Zhou Aidi hanged herself in that house we built before, that house has already been sold to Liang Xinghua, so how would Zhou Aidi's ghost run over here?"

Wu Banxian explained:

"That red-clothed ghost's resentment is very great, so she could break free from her place of death and find her way here; it's fortunate your current house is comparatively far from that previous house, causing her evil qi to already be quite weak by the time she got here; if this place were the haunted house, I might not even be able to contend with that red-clothed evil ghost!"

Wu Banxian said this with a serious air, logical and well-founded.

It left both Wang Zhanggen and Li Xiulan stunned.

Even Wang Erhai began to waver between belief and doubt.

Wang Xiaohua also secretly admired Wu Banxian in his heart; setting aside his other abilities, his skill at spinning stories was indeed impressive.

Most importantly, Zhou Aidi had been dead for so long, yet he could still drag her out to talk about it; for a rural person as old as him to have such a memory was indeed remarkable.

No wonder he could make a living from this bowl of rice.

Wu Banxian then said again:

"Rest assured, that evil ghost has already been driven away by me. Tomorrow go pick some peach branches and lemongrass, hang them on the room doors and windows, and additionally above the courtyard gate, hang a Bagua Mirror and suspend a section of cactus. That way, I guarantee that evil ghost will never be able to enter here again!"

Wang Zhanggen nodded hurriedly:

"Okay, okay, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll do exactly as Wu Banxian says!"

He then immediately turned back to urge Li Xiulan:

"Hurry up and write it down in the notebook: peach branches, lemongrass, hang them on doors and windows, hang the Bagua Mirror and cactus above the courtyard gate!"

Li Xiulan rolled her eyes:

"I can remember it in my head, no need for a notebook!"

But Wang Zhanggen got anxious:

"Aren't you afraid you'll forget by tomorrow morning? Hurry up and bring out a notebook! If you won't write it down, I will!"

Li Xiulan didn't want to quarrel with him, so she went to the bedroom and brought back a notebook and a pen.

Wang Zhanggen wrote it down carefully in the notebook, then asked Wu Banxian:

"Wu Banxian, besides these, is there anything else that needs to be done?"

His earnestness made him look like a humble and eager straight-A student.

Seeing how humbly he sought instruction, Wu Banxian didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he added another sentence:

"Pick a date later, and I'll help you go to the haunted house side to perform transcendence on that evil ghost. Hanging peach branches and such at your home treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Only by transcending that evil ghost and letting it be reborn can you treat both the symptoms and the root cause. However, this transcendence fee will be calculated separately."

Wang Zhanggen answered without hesitation:

"No problem, it's normal for the transcendence fee to be calculated separately. How much transcendence fee do you want on your end?"

Wu Banxian was about to speak when Wang Xiaohua suddenly coughed twice.

Wu Banxian glanced at Wang Xiaohua, reined in his greed somewhat, and said:

"Normally when I help others transcend evil ghosts, I charge starting at three thousand, but since we're old acquaintances, I'll charge you the same as tonight's altar ritual fee—fifteen hundred will do."