The Three Ghost Stories of Jinzhong

The Three Ghost Stories of Jinzhong

Lin Jiao's Demonic Illness

"The Demonic Enchantment of Linjiao" is the first part of the Jinzhong Ghost Trilogy.

Jinzhong, Shanxi, formerly known as Weiyu, has been a strategically important location since ancient times. After Jie Zitui's self-immolation at Mianshan during the Spring and Autumn Period, it was designated a sacred site by Chong'er, who believed that evil spirits and demons could not enter.

Later, Lin Xiangru served as the advisor to the State of Zhao and was given the title of "Uncle". After Lin Xiangru died, his spirit traveled to his old home and ensured that the region enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests. During the coldest days of winter, Lin County alone remained warm, yielding two harvests a year, which was known as "frost-free suburbs of Lin".

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Prime Minister Kou Zhun returned home to visit his family and built the Mojin Pagoda on the back mountain of Linjiao, inscribing an inscription on its towering height to ward off evil spirits. From then on, the three prime ministers protected the area and ensured its peace.

When Kublai Khan, the Yuan dynasty emperor, marched south, his warhorses, fearful, turned north. His soldiers spurred them on with all their might, and the horses lay prostrate in the dust as if kowtowing, allowing the army to continue. At the end of the Ming dynasty, Li Zicheng, attacking Beijing, stayed at the Mojin Pagoda. His soldiers urinated and defecated, creating a terrible commotion, which they did not clean up before continuing their journey. They walked for several hours without leaving the pagoda. Li Zicheng, greatly alarmed, personally offered sacrifices, and only then was he freed from his predicament. The Qing dynasty emperor Yongzheng, wanting to increase taxes on Wei Yu, suffered a relapse of his illness that evening. In a dream, he saw three old men in elaborate headdresses and flowing robes, appearing as if they were immortals, who advised him to exempt Wei Yu from taxes. Upon waking, Yongzheng followed their advice and recovered completely.

The people of Weiyu, grateful for the blessings the Three Ministers had bestowed upon their village during their lifetime and for their continued prosperity after their deaths, built the Three Ministers Temple. The temple is a place of great religious activity, attracting worshippers year-round, and its prayers are always answered.

During the Cultural Revolution, the destruction of the Four Olds led to the burning of the Mojin Pagoda and the looting and smashing of the Sanxiangguo Temple, leaving only ruins and overgrown weeds where rats scurried about. The land of Weiyu lost its former glory, its vitality vanished, and it declined into a state of chaos, plagued by evil spirits and strange occurrences.

In the early 1980s, with the approval of the local government, the Sanxiangguo Temple and Mojin Pagoda were rebuilt on their original site, and eminent monks and disrobed monks were invited back to the old location. However, secular beliefs had changed, and everyone was focused on wealth. No one sincerely worshipped Buddha. The newly built temple became even more desolate, with only a few old monks who were too exhausted to go out and beg for alms, staying there as lodgers. They worked from dawn till dusk, without interacting with the villagers. Before the government connected the electricity, the temple abbot specifically went to the power bureau to request that they not be given electricity. As darkness fell, the scattered lights of the village below illuminated the majestic temple on the mountain. The chanting of the old monks during their evening prayers carried further and further into the night, spreading to the surrounding villages.

In 1989, Chunyu carried her child on her back and trudged along the winding mountain road.

Every spring, her husband would go to the provincial capital, a hundred miles away, to work odd jobs, leaving her to manage all the land. Since the Cultural Revolution, the soil had become fertile, and each year the crops were barely enough to yield a harvest. The weather was also unpredictable, with either severe droughts or floods. Even on a rare good day, wild boars would come down from the mountains and wreak havoc on the land. In a fit of anger, her husband went away to work odd jobs for several years, leaving her alone at home to farm and barely make ends meet before the New Year. Only then could she earn a little money to bring home.

Yu Ru adjusted the load on her shoulders; her two children were sleeping comfortably inside. She had gotten up early that morning to take her husband to school. She had originally planned to go alone, but her husband reminded her that a group of human traffickers had been operating in the area, and several families in the village had lost their children. That's why she came up with this plan—carrying the children to take her husband. After dropping him off, the children were already asleep again. Yu Ru looked at Along in front of her, then at Hu behind, and a smile only a mother could have appeared on her face.

"Thump!"

A bell rang, shattering Yu Ru's memories.

Yu Ru unloaded the load from her shoulder and gently placed it on the ground. Looking up at the Sanxiangguo Temple, its shadow loomed faintly in the morning mist. She could faintly hear the sounds of wooden fish and chimes, ethereal and swirling around her. She could also intermittently hear the chanting of monks.

A figure slowly emerged from the mist and walked gently towards Yu Ru.

Who is he? Judging from his gait, he should be a man; his clothes are gray. How strange, who would wear gray clothes on this chilly spring morning? Ah, it's just a straight robe. So he's a monk? That shouldn't be the case; it's morning prayer time, no monk should be leaving the temple without permission. But he is definitely a monk. He's getting closer; I can already see his bald head gleaming with a bluish light, the black alms bowl in his right hand, and his left hand held upright in front of his chest. His hemp shoes move silently on the ground. The monk's face is becoming clearer: tightly pursed lips, a straight nose, and a pair of drooping eyelids.

The monk stopped in front of Yu Ru, stepped aside to make way for her, and said in a low voice, "Please go first, female benefactor."

Yu Ruwei bowed slightly in return, squatted down and put the carrying pole back on her shoulder. As she stood up, a small pebble rolled under her feet, and she almost lost her balance. With a sway, the two children were awakened at the same time, and their cries rose and fell in the quiet morning.

If none of this had happened, perhaps, just perhaps, there wouldn't have been so much trouble later. More than a decade later, Yu Ru—my cousin's sister-in-law—is still regretting that foggy morning.

As soon as the crying began, the monk's body suddenly trembled, and he raised his head and opened his eyes.

His piercing eyes stared intently at the two children in the carrying pole for a long, long time.

What a thick fog!

The monk turned his gaze to Yu Ru, his body trembling slightly. He murmured:

"Dark clouds and smoke rise, the form is emaciated and the bones are not prominent; the eyes are slanted and the spirit is even more confused, the forty-nine will surely return to emptiness."

Yu Ru looked at the monk strangely. She hadn't read many books and couldn't understand what he was chanting. Looking at his odd expression, something suddenly occurred to her—Sanxiangguo Temple had never had such a young monk before!

Could he be—?

---janeadam

Reply [3]: Quickly, Yu Ru carried the load and walked away. She ignored the monk behind her.

After walking for a long time, she dared to slow down a little and consider the monk.

Yes, that monk must be a human trafficker from out of town. Legend has it they have a kind of "flower-slapping cake"—if you slap someone on the head, they'll be under their control. What a close call today!

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but stop and look back.

The monk stood behind her like a ghost, a strange and inexplicable smile on his face.

Their souls were scattered and their spirits were destroyed!

Yu Ru turned and ran, stumbling along the long mountain path. The carrying pole swayed back and forth, and the two children's cries grew louder. Eventually, it was no longer crying, but just howls of "Ah—" coming from their weak chests. Besides these howls, Yu Ru could always hear the "tap tap" of footsteps behind her.

what to do?

There were still several miles of mountain road to walk back to the village, and we had to pass through a dense, impenetrable forest. If the peddler made his move in the forest, I would be no match for him. The only plan now was to find a place with people. If there were people there, I thought the peddler wouldn't dare to make a move. Yes.

Thinking of this, Yu Ru immediately changed direction and ran desperately towards the temple on the mountain. Having grown up in a mountain village, climbing mountains was like walking on flat ground for her. In no time, she had reached the temple gate.

The dilapidated mountain gate stood wide open, the dust in front of it unswept for days, kicking up a trail of grime as she rushed past. The courtyard was just as filthy and messy as the outside, with layers of fallen leaves from last winter still piled up on the ground.

Yu Ru put down the carrying pole, turned around, grabbed the door latch, and slammed the door shut. In just a short while, her back was completely soaked. She pressed herself against the door, breathing heavily.

---janeadam

Reply [4]: After her mood had calmed down a bit, Yu Ru peeked out through the crack in the door. The peddler was still standing motionless in the place where she had first met him. A mountain breeze blew by, and another thick fog swallowed his figure. Just then, she heard the rustling sound of leaves being trampled behind her, and she immediately turned around.

The monk was very old, wearing a stained brown robe, and had a large belly like that of Maitreya Buddha. He stood in the courtyard, staring blankly at her.

"Where do you come from, benefactor?"

“Master, I’m from Linjiao at the foot of the mountain. I just took my husband out of the mountains, and on my way back, I encountered a human trafficker. I was terrified, so I came here to

……