Ghost Pot

Chapter 120

At this moment, Xiong Dahai, concerned for his young master's safety, stepped forward and tried to carry Shen Caihua back to the car, as he did not want to see him get hurt again.

"So you're here for a magic duel?" The bearded sorcerer Kongsa looked down at the burly man opposite him and said, "I am Kongsa from Chiang Mai Province in Northern Thailand. Who are you? State your name..."

Xiong Dahai was stunned for a moment. His stubbornness as a man from Northeast China kicked in, and a surge of blood rushed to his head. So he said loudly, "So what if I am? I am Xiong Dahai, the successor of Tongbei Quan from Huanglongfu in Northeast China."

"Tongbei Quan?" Kong Sa said dismissively, "Chinese Kung Fu is nothing but fancy moves, it has no practical combat function at all." After saying that, he took out a small redwood coffin about three inches long from his bosom, gently opened the coffin lid, and inside lay a little ghost, completely naked, with a small penis growing between his legs, it was a male ghost.

Kongsa was a renowned Thai sorcerer who kept ghost children, with a prestigious reputation. He commanded more than twenty ghost children, the most powerful of which, named "Surat Choon," was found in the coffin. The practice of keeping ghost children was prevalent in Siam. The specific method involved first finding out where a boy or girl had died, and obtaining their birth dates and times. After the body was buried, the sorcerer would sneak to the grave at night, burn incense, offer prayers, and perform a soul-summoning ritual. A section of vine, cut from a tree beforehand, would be placed on the grave and allowed to grow naturally. When the vine had grown lush, the sorcerer would again perform the soul-summoning ritual, causing the child's spirit to attach itself to the vine. Then, the sorcerer would chant incantations, burn talismans, and cut a small section of vine from the grave, carving it into a small wooden puppet about an inch and a half tall. The puppet's features would be painted with ink and cinnabar, and it would then be stored in a glass or porcelain bottle. Typically, a sorcerer will collect the souls of a boy and a girl, storing them in the same bottle. This is to prevent the playful spirits from escaping due to loneliness. Of course, most of the time, the spirits sleep day and night. When the master commands them, he will first blow on the bottle and chant an incantation to wake them, then instruct them to perform their duties. The spirits are usually completely obedient, never bargaining, and can complete their master's instructions instantly.

Kongsa blew a breath onto the sleeping little ghost inside the coffin, and "Sura Zun" slowly opened his eyes...

(A slight modification to the previous paragraph: There are two little ghosts lying in the coffin, a male ghost named "Suratshun" and a female ghost named "Pajani"~~~~~~~)

Xiong Dahai, tall and strong, faced the slender Kong Sa and intended to take him down in a few punches and kicks. So he started with the move "Immortal Points the Way," followed by a drunken stagger and a leftward sway. With a sway of his shoulder, he unleashed the fierce "Drunken Strike at the Three Gates" of Tongbei Fist. His punches moved erratically, sometimes forward, sometimes backward, sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, sometimes diagonal, sometimes straight. His footwork was like a madman, and in a drunken state, he swaggered around and broke through the opponent's hands, elbows, and shoulders, directly attacking his chest and abdomen. This was called "Drunken Strike at the Three Gates," also known as "Drunken Strike at the Mountain Gate."

Unexpectedly, two tiny figures, each an inch and a half long, suddenly sprang out of the small coffin in Kongsa's hand. They were naked, one with dark skin, blood-red eyes, and a wide grin revealing two rows of large yellow teeth, while the other had delicate skin, red lips, white teeth, and a graceful figure.

The little ghost's daily food is blood. When it's small, it's full after just one or two drops a day, but its appetite increases as it gets older. "Surat Zun" and "Pojani" are almost ten years old, and they need to consume at least tens of milliliters of fresh blood every day, otherwise they will be dissatisfied. Once they get angry, they will not recognize their own family members, so raising a little ghost is a very hard job.

Kongsa then began chanting incantations, urging "Sura Zun" and "Pojani" to attack Xiong Dahai together.

The two little devils stood hand in hand on Kong Sa's palm, watching Xiong Dahai rush forward. One had a fierce, violent, and cruel look in his eyes, while the other had smiling almond-shaped eyes that were full of charm...

Xiong Dahai was stunned. Where did these little figures come from? They looked like the spirit embryos of their young master. And looking at their eyes, the pupils of the two little figures actually displayed colors, one as bright as blood, the other as orange as flames... Xiong Dahai felt his mind become somewhat dazed, his eyelids tightened, and a sense of weariness and drowsiness overwhelmed him. So he stopped attacking, his arms fell limp, and he stood blankly in front of Kong Sa...

This is the little devil's "soul-capturing technique," similar to "hypnosis." Although it cannot truly capture the target's soul, it can temporarily plunge them into a daze, causing them to have delusions and lose the ability to resist, leaving them at the little devil's mercy.

The eyes of the two little devils were a dazzling mix of red and yellow, like blood splattering on a guillotine, or the burning desire of lovers. This kind of "soul-capturing technique" could make one feel as if they had seen through the illusions of the world, lamenting the brevity of life and the need to seize the day, to share a passionate encounter with their dream lover... Xiong Dahai thought of his hometown, Huanglongfu. In the neighboring village, there was a girl named Xiaofang. Every time he defeated his opponent in the martial arts arena with his Tongbei Fist, she would give him a fiery look, making him restless and distracted. Unfortunately, on the night before he was to propose marriage, Li Dihu broke into his house, killed him, and planted the Wriggling Barbarian...

"Xiao Fang..." Xiong Dahai murmured.

Seeing that their target was already dazed, "Surat" and "Pojani" seized the opportunity, lunging forward and grabbing the flesh on either side of Xiong Dahai's neck, biting down hard on his throbbing carotid artery with their sharp teeth...

With a series of crisp "cluck cluck cluck..." sounds, Xiong Dahai's neck suddenly stretched out, startling the two little devils, who froze in a daze.

Although Xiong Dahai was bewitched by the "soul-capturing technique," the wriggling beast within him remained perfectly conscious. Upon seeing the approaching danger, it automatically revealed its true form to deal with it. In the midst of the crisis, it turned its head and opened its blood-red maw, its two-meter-long neck bending down at an incredible angle, spitting out two small bubbles that enveloped the two little devils.

The mountain people who were watching were all horrified when they saw this. "It's a monster..." they cried out in fear.

Han Sheng looked up and was also extremely surprised.

The Hakka woman smiled calmly and explained, "There's a worm-like creature inside Xiong Dahai's body. I was just about to tell you about it. Is there any way to get that thing out and cure him?"

"A worm-like creature?" Han Sheng thought for a moment and said, "The Corpse Clothes Scripture mentions a strange worm in ancient times that could burrow into a human body to become its host, taking over the human's lifespan. This worm is both righteous and evil, depending entirely on the host's character. However, the scripture only records how to ward off evil, but never mentions how to expel it from the human body..."

The Hakka woman was somewhat disappointed after hearing this.

"Let me think about it. There is a cure for every difficult and complicated disease in the world," Han Sheng said thoughtfully.

Shen Caihua had stopped crying by this time. Han Sheng's blood contained white stamens, which could cure all poisons. His swollen lips had mostly subsided and were basically fine.

"Hansheng's father, I found this..." Shen Caihua proudly took out the "Heartbreak Poison Mother" from his pocket and said, "It's for you."

Han Sheng took the egg-sized, shiny black "Heartbreak Poison Mother" with surprise and asked, "Caihua, where did you get this?"

"It was found in a cave on Xieshan Mountain in Poyang Lake, and there was a huge python watching it... It was originally as big as a duck egg, but unfortunately, a layer was eaten away by three-eyed beetles below the navel of Guanzhong, so only this much is left," Shen Caihua replied with regret.

"Hmm, not bad, this is exactly the 'Heart-Severing Poison Mother' recorded in medical books. This thing is extremely rare and was called the 'King of Chinese Medicine' by Li Shizhen. It is highly poisonous itself, but it can also be used to cure highly poisonous things. It is truly a good thing." Han Sheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Great!" Shen Caihua exclaimed as he caught sight of Xiong Dahai stretching his neck and fighting with two tiny figures, one black and one white. "Dahai is blowing bubbles..."

Upon hearing this, Han Sheng opened his fly-like eyes to take a closer look. Inside the translucent bubble that Xiong Dahai had spat out, there were more than ten flesh-colored worms, each with a small tail like a tadpole, huddled together, staring intently at the two little devils outside the bubble... "These are probably the larvae of the Wormhead Barbarians," Han Sheng thought.

With two "pops," "Suratsun" and "Pojani" popped the bubbles, and the wriggling larvae scattered onto the two little devils' naked bodies, then eagerly tried to burrow into their flesh. However, the little devils were made of vines, not ordinary human flesh, so after struggling for a while, not a single one could get in. Just then, the two little devils stretched out their tiny hands and slapped wildly, flattening and killing all the larvae without leaving a single one.

Wormhead was terrified and tried to command Xiong Dahai to reach for the two little devils on his shoulders, but he was still in a daze, his arms hanging limply at his sides, completely unresponsive. At that moment, the little devils regained their senses and pounced again, their sharp teeth snapping down on the blue veins hidden beneath their paper-thin skin…

Just then, a white figure leaped out of Shen Caihua's pocket and headed straight for Xiong Dahai. It turned out that the spiritual embryo had been activated.

The spirit embryo "whooshed" through the air over the burning bonfire and landed on Xiong Dahai's shoulder, standing majestically in front of the two little devils.

"Surat Zun" and "Pajani" looked at each other in bewilderment. How come there's another little devil here?

The chubby, fair body and handsome face of the spirit fetus stirred the heart of "Pojani." Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly intoxicated, and she smiled sweetly, her burning gaze fixed on the spirit fetus. Her small hands even instinctively covered her private parts...

Chapter 183

The spirit fetus was formed from the essence of the two ghosts, Zhang and Liu. Although it was knowledgeable in astronomy and geography and could predict some future events, it did not know how to fight. In the poppy fields of Kokang West Mountain, it had once spied on the "Zhu You Lightness Skill" of a Hakka grandmother, so its movements were extremely agile. It nimbly lunged forward and slapped "Sule Zun" several times with lightning speed...

"Surabun" was furious, but did not retaliate. Instead, he stared directly at the spirit fetus with his blood-red eyes and used the "Soul-Capturing Technique". The little female ghost "Pajani" was connected to it, and they activated the technique together, also staring straight at it with their fiery gaze.

Little did they know that the spirit fetus was not human and was not bewitched by the "soul-capturing spell." Suddenly, its eyelids rolled back, its pupils were covered with a layer of white film, and its mouth stretched crookedly, with a trickle of bright saliva dripping down its lips. It looked completely dazed and even used its little hands to catch the sticky saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth.

"Surabun" and "Pajani" were dumbfounded. How could this little man have turned into a blind man and an idiot in an instant? His handsome, creamy-faced appearance just now was so ugly and unbearable... Just as they were thinking, the spirit suddenly made a move and smeared the saliva in his hand into the two little devils' surprised mouths with lightning speed.

The corpse dust after the wind was an ancient sacred medicine of incantation. In the secret chamber of the navel of Guanzhong, the spirit fetus once secretly took a handful of corpse dust, hid it in Shen Caihua's pocket, and swallowed it. Therefore, not only its vomit, but even its saliva had magical medicinal properties.

The bright eyes of the two little ghosts, "Suratsun" and "Pojani," gradually dimmed, their arms drooped, and their bodies slowly stiffened, losing their life force, and finally reverting to their original forms—two vines. With a "thud," they fell to the ground from Xiong Dahai's shoulder. The dark, skinned vine was the male ghost "Suratsun," while the clean, white one was "Pojani."

Kongsa was shocked to see this. The two little ghosts he had raised for years had been defeated and returned to their original forms. The "little ghost curse" had been broken, and the souls of the two children who had been attached to the vine for ten years had vanished into thin air. With a sweet taste in his throat, he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Elder Song, Kongsa has lost..." he said, sitting on the ground, tugging at his beard, in great pain.

With a crisp "cluck cluck cluck...", Xiong Dahai's neck retracted back to its original position. As the "Soul-Capturing Technique" disappeared, he returned to normal and looked around in surprise, asking, "Huh, where are those two little people?"

At this moment, the spirit embryo had already returned to Shen Caihua's pocket, and then closed the door and did not come out again.

Elder Song looked up at the sky and sighed, saying, "It seems that only I, the elder, can take action myself..."

This thrilling battle left the mountain people both terrified and excited. The man on the other side was dumbfounded, rubbing his hands together incessantly and swallowing hard.

At this moment, Han Sheng had seen everything and thought to himself, "The Siamese sorcerers have already used the 'Five Poison Gu Insects' and the 'Little Ghost Sorcery.' Elder Song is the leader of the sorcerers, so he must have extraordinary abilities. He should not be underestimated."

Elder Song slowly stepped down the pole, walked around the campfire, and stood in front of the ancestor. He said loudly, "'Old Demon of Savage Mountain,' my subordinates and I have finished our duel. Now it is our turn to fight."

The old ancestor remained seated in his chair, his eyes tightly closed, saying nothing.

Jia Shiming coldly asked, "How do you intend to fight?"

Amin translated the words to Elder Song.

Upon hearing this, Elder Song chuckled, extended his hand, and said with unusual magnanimity, "There is an old Chinese saying, 'A smile can dispel all enmity.' I am a complete stranger to you. Although Tongtaya died due to a misunderstanding between us, I have no intention of making enemies with you, old demon. How about we shake hands and part ways here?"

Elder Song's words surprised everyone. Could it be that the old sorcerer had given up in the face of difficulties?

"Be careful, this old man might have something strange about him," the Hakka nanny warned.

Elder Song noticed the suspicious look in their eyes, so he spread his hands and said solemnly, "I am the royal sorcerer in Siam, with a very noble status. How could I possibly plot against someone when we have turned enemies into friends? You are underestimating me."

After listening to Amin's translation, Han Sheng approached and said loudly, "In the Central Plains, the martial arts world has always valued harmony above all else. Since Elder Song is willing to reconcile, we will certainly not turn him away. However, you must first clarify to the mountain people whether those baby girls were indeed cursed with 'yin infant curse' by the so-called 'old demon,' and whether they will become mentally impaired within forty-nine days. Please tell us the truth."

“Hehehe… It should be clarified, it should be clarified,” Elder Song burst into hearty laughter, then turned around and faced the chieftain and the mountain people, saying, “Listen to me, this elder, when I came to Ganbaidi, I initially only suspected that the ‘Old Demon of the Savage Mountain’ might not have been able to remove the curse from the baby girls. Now, it seems the curse has been removed. I can tell you all with certainty that the baby girls are no longer cursed…”

The news caused quite a stir among the mountain people.

"Elder Song, are you saying that the baby girls won't become mentally disabled within forty-nine days?" the chieftain asked doubtfully.

“Absolutely not! I, the elder, guarantee with my own integrity that you should believe in this barefoot doctor from China. He is a good doctor,” Elder Song said loudly.

The mountain people were overjoyed and began to whisper among themselves. Amin happily repeated Elder Song's words.

Everyone present finally breathed a sigh of relief, and their expressions softened.

Elder Song slowly extended his hand to the ancestor... Master Jia hesitated before lifting the ancestor's arm. Elder Song gently shook it, then said with satisfaction, "The misunderstanding has been cleared up. This elder will take his leave." After saying this, he called Kong Sa and the other two sorcerers, and they carried Tong Ta Ya's corpse away on a sedan chair.

Led by their chieftain, the mountain people gradually dispersed.

Jia Shiming carefully stroked and observed the ancestor's hand, but found nothing amiss. "Strange, why is Elder Song willing to give up so easily?" he said, frowning.

Han Sheng also carefully examined the ancestor's palm, and was equally puzzled: "The ancestor is not abnormal. Perhaps Elder Song has really had a change of heart."

"Hmph, in my opinion, he knew he was no match for them, so he just used this as a way to save face," the Hakka old woman said disdainfully from the side.

That night, A-Ming hosted a banquet at his home to entertain Han Sheng and his group. Xiao Qin's father also arrived. After a long separation, everyone was filled with emotion upon their reunion. After a hearty meal, they rested in A-Ming's bamboo house. Ni Zi and Shen Caihua slept beside the old ancestor, while Jia Shiming sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, slowly cultivating his internal energy.

As night deepened, dark clouds gradually obscured the moonlight, and everyone had drifted off to sleep. The entire village was quiet, save for the gentle rustling of the bamboo shoots in the mountain breeze.

Two young men carrying carbines patrolled aimlessly through the mountain village at night, occasionally flashing a light as they smoked.

At midnight, a light-colored spherical object silently floated down from the pitch-black sky, slowly flying to the window of Amin's stilted bamboo house. When it got closer, it turned out to be a human head, thin and dark-skinned, with two eyes shooting out an evil light and a mouthful of bright yellow gold teeth. It was Elder Song's head...

After Elder Song and the others left the mountain village, they arrived at a secluded bay on the Nmai River, where a motorboat was hidden. They had sailed up the Irrawaddy River there.

Once aboard the ship, the sorcerers placed Tongtaya's corpse in the cabin.

After dinner, it was nearly midnight. Elder Song instructed everyone to wait on the boat while he used his "Flying Head Spell," detaching his head from his body and soaring into the vast night sky towards the village. When he shook hands with the "Wild Man Mountain Demon," he had already confirmed that this "Yin-faced Person" had almost no weight, and his "Flying Head" could definitely lift her up.

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the hazy night perfectly concealed the eerie shadow of the "flying head." When it flew to Amin's tall bamboo house, it did not disturb anyone in the village.

"Flying Head" stealthily approached the bamboo house, peeking cautiously through each window. Several people were asleep in the main room, snoring loudly, and a faint scent of wine filled the air. He recognized the barefoot doctor and a few others, as well as an old man meditating alone, but he didn't see the "Wild Man Mountain Demon." In one room, the strangely dressed old woman and a young woman were asleep, with a baby nestled in her arms—it was Ah Ming's wife, Xiao Qin. He flew to the window of the innermost room and finally saw his target: the "Yin-face Man" was sleeping alone on the floor with two children…

In Southeast Asia, stilted bamboo houses are used to raise livestock such as cattle and pigs on the first floor, while people live on the second floor. The windows are all empty, without window panes or glass. This is related to the humid and hot climate of the tropical rainforest, which makes it easier to ventilate.

The "flying head" quietly slipped through the window and saw that the two children were fast asleep. Seizing the opportunity, it opened its big mouth, grabbed the "wild mountain demon's" long hair, and pulled her up. Sure enough, she was as light as paper and it did so effortlessly. Then it dragged her out of the window and quietly flew away...

While sleeping, Momo held "Little Cui'er" in her arms. She dreamed that her mother was holding her in her arms, telling her beautiful stories. Then, somehow, her mother's body slowly floated up and drifted out of the window...

"Mother...where are you going?" Mo Mo called out to her mother in her dream, but her mother ignored her and drifted further and further away. She cried anxiously.

"Meow..." Suddenly, the big black cat meowed alertly in her ear, and Momo woke up with a start. She turned her head and looked around, and her mother was really gone! She looked towards the window and just in time to see her mother floating in mid-air, flying away into the distance...

"Mother, wait for me..." Mo Mo cried out anxiously in her heart. Holding the big black cat "Xiao Cui'er" in her arms, she leaped out of the window and her whole body floated out sideways. In her daze, she unconsciously used "Crossing the River on a Reed".

The first move of the "Five Forms of Bodhidharma," "Crossing the River on a Reed," is an unparalleled lightness skill, no less than Shen Caihua's "Lard Skill." But no matter what kind of lightness skill it is, it is still impossible to fly. Mo Mo rushed out of the window and fell down not far. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she leaped up again and chased after her mother along the dirt road outside the village in the direction she had flown...

At this moment, Shen Caihua was still fast asleep, exhausted from days of running around. The big parrot Dudu was snoring loudly, its cheeks even flushed, because it had secretly drunk some wine from Jia Shiming's big bowl.

Mo Mo was as light as a swallow, her toes skimming the water like a dragonfly, her movements incredibly graceful, and she chased after her all the way to the banks of the Enmai River. Then she heard the clatter of a motor, and a motorboat had just sailed away from the shore. She saw it clearly as her mother gracefully landed on the boat.

"Mother, wait for me..." Mo Mo leaped with all her might, her body as swift as a swallow soaring through the clouds, and landed on the bow of the boat.

But what Momo saw shocked her: a head was pulling her mother's hair into the cabin with all its might...

Chapter 184

At dawn, a ray of sunlight shone into the bamboo house, and the people who had been drinking woke up one by one.

Jia Shiming meditated and regulated his breathing until dawn, but since he lost his true energy, he was just like an ordinary person. If it were before, the events of last night would never have escaped his keen ears.

He stood up, walked to the inner room, and gently pushed open the door. To his surprise, he found only Shen Caihua and the large parrot fast asleep on the floor, while Mo Mo and the ancestor were nowhere to be seen...

Jia Shiming shook Shen Caihua awake and asked urgently where Momo and the ancestor had gone. Little Caihua shook his head sleepily, indicating that he did not know.

"Oh no, we've been tricked!" Jia Shiming exclaimed in realization.

"What happened?" Han Sheng and the others rushed in and asked upon hearing this.

"The Ancestor and Momo are missing..." Jia Shiming said dejectedly. "I wondered how Elder Song could be so magnanimous. It turns out that he took advantage of our unpreparedness, attacked in the middle of the night, and kidnapped the Ancestor and Momo."

Han Sheng looked at Chen Caihua.