Chapter 71
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Chapter 71 Master Huang Performed Religious Rites
The man that walked into our house that afternoon was not Master Liu, though they had a boringly similar sense of fashion. I suppose all masters must dress the same. The man that entered my house at the invitation of Zhao Laohei introduced himself with a bow as Huang Zheng. “Pleasure to meet you both.” He told my father and Zhao Laohei with a small voice. The men moved into the kitchen without noticing me in the doorway and I listened to the beginning of their discussion before my mother started clanging pots and pans in a frenzy to prepare dinner.
Master Huang couldn’t have been older than thirty. He stood the same height as my father, but looked less burdened by the weight of time. He wore the familiar Taoist yellow frock, though his still shone bright and eager. The peach wood sword that swung on his hip was longer than I was tall and bore grooved red characters up and down the blade. Gawking at him from my hiding spot in the adjacent doorway I thought, “You’re no Master Liu, but woof, you sure look capable!” The thought of Master Liu brought a bite of disappointment that nestled in my spine and shot waves of bitterness through me.
I moved closer to the kitchen doorway. My father and Zhao Laohei were regaling Master Huang with tales of what their naughty children had been up to. I bit my tongue to keep from chiming in. After a moment my father finished, poured a glass of something amber colored and slid it to the strange man, "So Master Huang, what do you think?"
Master Huang didn't touch the glass, but waved his hands in the air before him. It looked absurdly like he was washing an invisible window.
Zhao Laohei and my father exchanged an incredulous look. Master Huang coughed and waved his palm again, clearing his throat as he did so. "It is… difficult to deal with this… little ghost.” He said in his small voice. I could barely hear him, and didn’t believe what I did catch. “…Give me five hundred yuan.” I heard. “…Not that expensive… Use my Taoism to … The villagers.” A long bit was lost to the sounds of a busy kitchen, and then finally, “I only ask five hundred for this deed.”
My jaw slackened. “Master Liu never asked for money!” I thought. “He even refused it sometimes!” The disappointment in my spine was now a cold shock tinged with distrust. I felt hot and angry with an all too real urge to rush into the room and hit the fellow.
Zhao Laohei and my father looked exactly how I felt. The young master seemed to sense the tension and gave a melodramatic sigh. “Fine. Wang Chunmei and your children are the only ones involved. How about you two provide three hundred, and we’ll say the Wangs owe two. Is that fair?”
Dad opened his mouth, but it was my mom that spoke. "Master Huang, We’ll pay you anything as long as you save our children."
Master Huang smiled, showing perfect rows of small Chiclet teeth, and then he picked up the glass of liquor and drank it down. "Then there’s nothing to worry over. Every ghost I come across must die.”
I felt my face turn downwards into a frown. Master Liu may handle ghosts violently, but he’d send them away with leniency more often than not. And he would never insist on killing them!
Zhao Laohei was way ahead of me. He leaned on the table and seemed to glower at the man. “I’m something of a Taoist myself Master Huang, tell me, do you always kill the spirits when you cross them? Surely some of the things you’ve seen could’ve been…well saved?”
The small gleaming teeth flashed again. "I’m a worldly man. Don't worry yourself on it. I’ve seen some very…troubled spirits. They got what was coming.”
Zhao Laohei gave a hesitant nod, but still picked up a glass of his own and thanked the man asking for his money.
The evening progressed to meal and then to drinks. Master Huang finished glass after glass of my father’s liquor. I watched his face redden and his words loosen, though he wasn’t muddled enough to forget his money when it came time to leave.
When the new master stumbled out of our front door with Zhao Laohei, I went to my dad, "I don’t trust him. Master Liu never asks for money."
He looked through his glasses at me. He was wearing them more and more often now. "Not all people are like Master Liu. Maybe this Master Huang is powerful. He said he’d take care of the ritual tomorrow. If he can take care of our new ghost problem, we’ll give him the money. If he lies, then we won’t. We should let him try though."
Zhao Laohei returned from driving Master Huang to Shuang Lin’s house. He walked in the door and let out a sigh. “Some guy huh?” He said to my father, sitting at the table once more. “Wang Chunmei was ranting and raving when we showed up at the house, but she quieted almost immediately when Master Huang started praying over her.”
Dad looked at me, “Well, he must be very good then.” He said simply, but the look on his face didn’t change. Neither did the feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I saw the baby corpse again that night. It crawled around my room just beyond my field of vision, wailing like a wounded animal. Again, I stood up and made efforts to practice Da Hong fist and tire my body out enough to quiet my mind. I lay down sweating and exhausted after almost two hours and sleep finally came.
The next day Zhao Jie and I were brought to Shuang Lin’s house to witness the ritual. Wang Chunmei’s aunt and uncle eyed us with contempt when we entered, muttering between themselves. “They did this.” Her aunt whispered fiercely, jutting her chin towards us from the corner of the room. Wang Chunmei stood in the center of the gated yard beside the house. Her hair hung in greasy black ropes over her face and shoulders. Clutched in her hands was the fabled doll that she dared not part with. I could almost smell the insanity waving off of her. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she would have lunged at and attacked each of us if Master Huang weren’t here.
An altar had been assembled before her. Candles and incense littered both it and the surrounding yard. Master Huang held eight paper amulets in his hand. I bared a grin when a thought struck me. “Master Liu only ever needed to use one.” The paper shapes looked like makeshift toys in the young master’s hands. He slowly waved the handful of amulets over a bowl of water on the table. Looking around and counting heads, Master Huang finally spoke, “Everyone is here. Tie the girl with the ropes, and keep her still.” He nodded to a bundle of rope behind Wang Chunmei. Her uncle did as he was bid. “Everyone else, keep quiet.” He drew the long peach wood sword with his free hand and held is horizontally over the altar.
Then he began to murmur. His voice rose louder and quicker than Master Liu’s ever had. A weird excitement bubbled in my chest and I waited for the sword to catch fire like Master Liu’s had once before. I squeezed my eyes shut and thought, “Right…about….now!” Then I lifted my lids, expecting the brilliance of Taoist rituals. The sword was dark, maybe even darker than before. The amulets were ordinary. I watched his waving hands, but there was no magical power.
I squinted, frowned and thought, “Why can't my supernatural eyes see it?” I looked at Master Huang’s concentrated expression.
“Is it me, or is he pretending?” The words almost made themselves known.
My mouth did open, but nothing came out. I gaped at the so-called master when I noticed his feet weren’t moving. There was no conjuring footwork, no Taoist steps. He was walking casually in a semi-circle back and forth over and over again! I watched him dumbfounded as he delicately lit a paper amulet on one of the candles and averted his eyes from the fire.
He held the burning yellow paper amulet at arms length and quenched it in the clean water, being sure not to wet his fingers. He stirred the water with the wooden end of an incense stick, with unnecessarily caution.
The bowl filled with paper ashes and rapidly dampening amulets.
Unable to restrain myself, I sidled to Zhao Laohei and asked, “Why is he doing it so weirdly?”
Zhao Laohei looked down at me with eyes that said both, “Respect your elders,” and “I know, right?”
“Master Liu does it differently.” I said, positive now that something was wrong.
Zhao Laohei shook his head and whispered, "I don't know to be honest. Master Liu’s taught me of many sects within Taoism, perhaps this master comes from one that we’re not familiar with. Hush now, let’s see what happens.”
We both watched on patiently.
Master Huang raised the blade of his peach wood sword and pasted an amulet at the point of the blade. He lit it on a candle and then began to dance around the yard, making uneven circles around the tied up girl.
He landed suddenly, burying both feet into the rocky sand and slashed wildly with the sword. He dashed forwards and jabbed as if he was fighting something that even I couldn’t see. I squinted, daring anything to appear, but nothing was there, absolutely nothing.
“You bastard!” Master Huang shouted, "Leave Miss Wang’s body! It is not yours to inhabit! Go now from this place or I’ll damn you to the eighteenth hell!"
“The eighteenth hell?” I thought, now holding back a tickle of laughter threatening me.
Master Huang turned and darted the sword at the table, masterfully picking up another burning amulet with his blade. He turned around murmuring, "You’ve chosen your fate, you bastard!"
With a brilliant flourish, he threw the sword into the air. It spun twice and came down to the ground point down. The peach wood sword buried itself in the yard right in front of Master Huang. My eyes followed the blade up and then down. When they came back to Master Huang, he was holding a beautifully decorated glass egg. Its jewels gleamed in the midday sun.
He raised the jeweled egg, turning the top of it enough that the seam showed on the sides. Unscrewing it, he snapped it open and then immediately closed at the air before him. He raised the egg high, holding it delicately as if it might explode. Then he lowered it, cranked it shut once more, and marched inside the house. Our little party watched in silence, half of our mouths open and or awestruck.
Zhao Laohei and I turned towards the door where Master Huang had gone and listened. He was just inside the house, muttering to himself in words I couldn’t make out. After a moment he came outside with a box. He opened it just enough to reveal the jeweled egg and then snapped it shut.
“It’s safe now.” He said finally. “The girl is free. I’ve captured the spirit.”
No one said a thing.
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Chapter 71 Master Huang Performed Religious Rites
The man that walked into our house that afternoon was not Master Liu, though they had a boringly similar sense of fashion. I suppose all masters must dress the same. The man that entered my house at the invitation of Zhao Laohei introduced himself with a bow as Huang Zheng. “Pleasure to meet you both.” He told my father and Zhao Laohei with a small voice. The men moved into the kitchen without noticing me in the doorway and I listened to the beginning of their discussion before my mother started clanging pots and pans in a frenzy to prepare dinner.
Master Huang couldn’t have been older than thirty. He stood the same height as my father, but looked less burdened by the weight of time. He wore the familiar Taoist yellow frock, though his still shone bright and eager. The peach wood sword that swung on his hip was longer than I was tall and bore grooved red characters up and down the blade. Gawking at him from my hiding spot in the adjacent doorway I thought, “You’re no Master Liu, but woof, you sure look capable!” The thought of Master Liu brought a bite of disappointment that nestled in my spine and shot waves of bitterness through me.
I moved closer to the kitchen doorway. My father and Zhao Laohei were regaling Master Huang with tales of what their naughty children had been up to. I bit my tongue to keep from chiming in. After a moment my father finished, poured a glass of something amber colored and slid it to the strange man, "So Master Huang, what do you think?"
Master Huang didn't touch the glass, but waved his hands in the air before him. It looked absurdly like he was washing an invisible window.
Zhao Laohei and my father exchanged an incredulous look. Master Huang coughed and waved his palm again, clearing his throat as he did so. "It is… difficult to deal with this… little ghost.” He said in his small voice. I could barely hear him, and didn’t believe what I did catch. “…Give me five hundred yuan.” I heard. “…Not that expensive… Use my Taoism to … The villagers.” A long bit was lost to the sounds of a busy kitchen, and then finally, “I only ask five hundred for this deed.”
My jaw slackened. “Master Liu never asked for money!” I thought. “He even refused it sometimes!” The disappointment in my spine was now a cold shock tinged with distrust. I felt hot and angry with an all too real urge to rush into the room and hit the fellow.
Zhao Laohei and my father looked exactly how I felt. The young master seemed to sense the tension and gave a melodramatic sigh. “Fine. Wang Chunmei and your children are the only ones involved. How about you two provide three hundred, and we’ll say the Wangs owe two. Is that fair?”
Dad opened his mouth, but it was my mom that spoke. "Master Huang, We’ll pay you anything as long as you save our children."
Master Huang smiled, showing perfect rows of small Chiclet teeth, and then he picked up the glass of liquor and drank it down. "Then there’s nothing to worry over. Every ghost I come across must die.”
I felt my face turn downwards into a frown. Master Liu may handle ghosts violently, but he’d send them away with leniency more often than not. And he would never insist on killing them!
Zhao Laohei was way ahead of me. He leaned on the table and seemed to glower at the man. “I’m something of a Taoist myself Master Huang, tell me, do you always kill the spirits when you cross them? Surely some of the things you’ve seen could’ve been…well saved?”
The small gleaming teeth flashed again. "I’m a worldly man. Don't worry yourself on it. I’ve seen some very…troubled spirits. They got what was coming.”
Zhao Laohei gave a hesitant nod, but still picked up a glass of his own and thanked the man asking for his money.
The evening progressed to meal and then to drinks. Master Huang finished glass after glass of my father’s liquor. I watched his face redden and his words loosen, though he wasn’t muddled enough to forget his money when it came time to leave.
When the new master stumbled out of our front door with Zhao Laohei, I went to my dad, "I don’t trust him. Master Liu never asks for money."
He looked through his glasses at me. He was wearing them more and more often now. "Not all people are like Master Liu. Maybe this Master Huang is powerful. He said he’d take care of the ritual tomorrow. If he can take care of our new ghost problem, we’ll give him the money. If he lies, then we won’t. We should let him try though."
Zhao Laohei returned from driving Master Huang to Shuang Lin’s house. He walked in the door and let out a sigh. “Some guy huh?” He said to my father, sitting at the table once more. “Wang Chunmei was ranting and raving when we showed up at the house, but she quieted almost immediately when Master Huang started praying over her.”
Dad looked at me, “Well, he must be very good then.” He said simply, but the look on his face didn’t change. Neither did the feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I saw the baby corpse again that night. It crawled around my room just beyond my field of vision, wailing like a wounded animal. Again, I stood up and made efforts to practice Da Hong fist and tire my body out enough to quiet my mind. I lay down sweating and exhausted after almost two hours and sleep finally came.
The next day Zhao Jie and I were brought to Shuang Lin’s house to witness the ritual. Wang Chunmei’s aunt and uncle eyed us with contempt when we entered, muttering between themselves. “They did this.” Her aunt whispered fiercely, jutting her chin towards us from the corner of the room. Wang Chunmei stood in the center of the gated yard beside the house. Her hair hung in greasy black ropes over her face and shoulders. Clutched in her hands was the fabled doll that she dared not part with. I could almost smell the insanity waving off of her. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she would have lunged at and attacked each of us if Master Huang weren’t here.
An altar had been assembled before her. Candles and incense littered both it and the surrounding yard. Master Huang held eight paper amulets in his hand. I bared a grin when a thought struck me. “Master Liu only ever needed to use one.” The paper shapes looked like makeshift toys in the young master’s hands. He slowly waved the handful of amulets over a bowl of water on the table. Looking around and counting heads, Master Huang finally spoke, “Everyone is here. Tie the girl with the ropes, and keep her still.” He nodded to a bundle of rope behind Wang Chunmei. Her uncle did as he was bid. “Everyone else, keep quiet.” He drew the long peach wood sword with his free hand and held is horizontally over the altar.
Then he began to murmur. His voice rose louder and quicker than Master Liu’s ever had. A weird excitement bubbled in my chest and I waited for the sword to catch fire like Master Liu’s had once before. I squeezed my eyes shut and thought, “Right…about….now!” Then I lifted my lids, expecting the brilliance of Taoist rituals. The sword was dark, maybe even darker than before. The amulets were ordinary. I watched his waving hands, but there was no magical power.
I squinted, frowned and thought, “Why can't my supernatural eyes see it?” I looked at Master Huang’s concentrated expression.
“Is it me, or is he pretending?” The words almost made themselves known.
My mouth did open, but nothing came out. I gaped at the so-called master when I noticed his feet weren’t moving. There was no conjuring footwork, no Taoist steps. He was walking casually in a semi-circle back and forth over and over again! I watched him dumbfounded as he delicately lit a paper amulet on one of the candles and averted his eyes from the fire.
He held the burning yellow paper amulet at arms length and quenched it in the clean water, being sure not to wet his fingers. He stirred the water with the wooden end of an incense stick, with unnecessarily caution.
The bowl filled with paper ashes and rapidly dampening amulets.
Unable to restrain myself, I sidled to Zhao Laohei and asked, “Why is he doing it so weirdly?”
Zhao Laohei looked down at me with eyes that said both, “Respect your elders,” and “I know, right?”
“Master Liu does it differently.” I said, positive now that something was wrong.
Zhao Laohei shook his head and whispered, "I don't know to be honest. Master Liu’s taught me of many sects within Taoism, perhaps this master comes from one that we’re not familiar with. Hush now, let’s see what happens.”
We both watched on patiently.
Master Huang raised the blade of his peach wood sword and pasted an amulet at the point of the blade. He lit it on a candle and then began to dance around the yard, making uneven circles around the tied up girl.
He landed suddenly, burying both feet into the rocky sand and slashed wildly with the sword. He dashed forwards and jabbed as if he was fighting something that even I couldn’t see. I squinted, daring anything to appear, but nothing was there, absolutely nothing.
“You bastard!” Master Huang shouted, "Leave Miss Wang’s body! It is not yours to inhabit! Go now from this place or I’ll damn you to the eighteenth hell!"
“The eighteenth hell?” I thought, now holding back a tickle of laughter threatening me.
Master Huang turned and darted the sword at the table, masterfully picking up another burning amulet with his blade. He turned around murmuring, "You’ve chosen your fate, you bastard!"
With a brilliant flourish, he threw the sword into the air. It spun twice and came down to the ground point down. The peach wood sword buried itself in the yard right in front of Master Huang. My eyes followed the blade up and then down. When they came back to Master Huang, he was holding a beautifully decorated glass egg. Its jewels gleamed in the midday sun.
He raised the jeweled egg, turning the top of it enough that the seam showed on the sides. Unscrewing it, he snapped it open and then immediately closed at the air before him. He raised the egg high, holding it delicately as if it might explode. Then he lowered it, cranked it shut once more, and marched inside the house. Our little party watched in silence, half of our mouths open and or awestruck.
Zhao Laohei and I turned towards the door where Master Huang had gone and listened. He was just inside the house, muttering to himself in words I couldn’t make out. After a moment he came outside with a box. He opened it just enough to reveal the jeweled egg and then snapped it shut.
“It’s safe now.” He said finally. “The girl is free. I’ve captured the spirit.”
No one said a thing.
Chapter 71 Master Huang Performed Religious RitesThe man that walked into our house that afternoon was not Master Liu, though they had a boringly similar sense of fashion. I suppose all masters must dress the same. The man that entered my house at the invitation of Zhao Laohei introduced himself with a bow as Huang Zheng. Pleasure to meet you both. He told my father and Zhao Laohei with a small voice. The men moved into the kitchen without noticing me in the doorway and I listened to the beginning of their discussion before my mother started clanging pots and pans in a frenzy to prepare dinner. Master Huang couldn't have been older than thirty. He stood the same height as my father, but looked less burdened by the weight of time. He wore the familiar Taoist yellow frock, though his still shone bright and eager. The peach wood sword that swung on his hip was longer than I was tall and bore grooved red characters up and down the blade. Gawking at him from my hiding spot in the adjacent doorway I thought, You're no Master Liu, but woof, you sure look capable! The thought of Master Liu brought a bite of disappointment that nestled in my spine and shot waves of bitterness through me. I moved closer to the kitchen doorway. My father and Zhao Laohei were regaling Master Huang with tales of what their naughty children had been up to. I bit my tongue to keep from chiming in. After a moment my father finished, poured a glass of something amber colored and slid it to the strange man, "So Master Huang, what do you think?"Master Huang didn't touch the glass, but waved his hands in the air before him. It looked absurdly like he was washing an invisible window.Zhao Laohei and my father exchanged an incredulous look. Master Huang coughed and waved his palm again, clearing his throat as he did so. "It is difficult to deal with this little ghost. He said in his small voice. I could barely hear him, and didn't believe what I did catch. Give me five hundred yuan. I heard. Not that expensive Use my Taoism to The villagers. A long bit was lost to the sounds of a busy kitchen, and then finally, I only ask five hundred for this deed.My jaw slackened. Master Liu never asked for money! I thought. He even refused it sometimes! The disappointment in my spine was now a cold shock tinged with distrust. I felt hot and angry with an all too real urge to rush into the room and hit the fellow. Zhao Laohei and my father looked exactly how I felt. The young master seemed to sense the tension and gave a melodramatic sigh. Fine. Wang Chunmei and your children are the only ones involved. How about you two provide three hundred, and we'll say the Wangs owe two. Is that fair? Dad opened his mouth, but it was my mom that spoke. "Master Huang, We'll pay you anything as long as you save our children."Master Huang smiled, showing perfect rows of small Chiclet teeth, and then he picked up the glass of liquor and drank it down. "Then there's nothing to worry over. Every ghost I come across must die. I felt my face turn downwards into a frown. Master Liu may handle ghosts violently, but he'd send them away with leniency more often than not. And he would never insist on killing them!Zhao Laohei was way ahead of me. He leaned on the table and seemed to glower at the man. I'm something of a Taoist myself Master Huang, tell me, do you always kill the spirits when you cross them? Surely some of the things you've seen could've beenwell saved? The small gleaming teeth flashed again. "I'm a worldly man. Don't worry yourself on it. I've seen some verytroubled spirits. They got what was coming. Zhao Laohei gave a hesitant nod, but still picked up a glass of his own and thanked the man asking for his money.The evening progressed to meal and then to drinks. Master Huang finished glass after glass of my father's liquor. I watched his face redden and his words loosen, though he wasn't muddled enough to forget his money when it came time to leave. When the new master stumbled out of our front door with Zhao Laohei, I went to my dad, "I don't trust him. Master Liu never asks for money."He looked through his glasses at me. He was wearing them more and more often now. "Not all people are like Master Liu. Maybe this Master Huang is powerful. He said he'd take care of the ritual tomorrow. If he can take care of our new ghost problem, we'll give him the money. If he lies, then we won't. We should let him try though."Zhao Laohei returned from driving Master Huang to Shuang Lin's house. He walked in the door and let out a sigh. Some guy huh? He said to my father, sitting at the table once more. Wang Chunmei was ranting and raving when we showed up at the house, but she quieted almost immediately when Master Huang started praying over her.Dad looked at me, Well, he must be very good then. He said simply, but the look on his face didn't change. Neither did the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I saw the baby corpse again that night. It crawled around my room just beyond my field of vision, wailing like a wounded animal. Again, I stood up and made efforts to practice Da Hong fist and tire my body out enough to quiet my mind. I lay down sweating and exhausted after almost two hours and sleep finally came. The next day Zhao Jie and I were brought to Shuang Lin's house to witness the ritual. Wang Chunmei's aunt and uncle eyed us with contempt when we entered, muttering between themselves. They did this. Her aunt whispered fiercely, jutting her chin towards us from the corner of the room. Wang Chunmei stood in the center of the gated yard beside the house. Her hair hung in greasy black ropes over her face and shoulders. Clutched in her hands was the fabled doll that she dared not part with. I could almost smell the insanity waving off of her. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that she would have lunged at and attacked each of us if Master Huang weren't here. An altar had been assembled before her. Candles and incense littered both it and the surrounding yard. Master Huang held eight paper amulets in his hand. I bared a grin when a thought struck me. Master Liu only ever needed to use one. The paper shapes looked like makeshift toys in the young master's hands. He slowly waved the handful of amulets over a bowl of water on the table. Looking around and counting heads, Master Huang finally spoke, Everyone is here. Tie the girl with the ropes, and keep her still. He nodded to a bundle of rope behind Wang Chunmei. Her uncle did as he was bid. Everyone else, keep quiet. He drew the long peach wood sword with his free hand and held is horizontally over the altar. Then he began to murmur. His voice rose louder and quicker than Master Liu's ever had. A weird excitement bubbled in my chest and I waited for the sword to catch fire like Master Liu's had once before. I squeezed my eyes shut and thought, Rightabout.now! Then I lifted my lids, expecting the brilliance of Taoist rituals. The sword was dark, maybe even darker than before. The amulets were ordinary. I watched his waving hands, but there was no magical power.I squinted, frowned and thought, Why can't my supernatural eyes see it? I looked at Master Huang's concentrated expression.Is it me, or is he pretending? The words almost made themselves known.My mouth did open, but nothing came out. I gaped at the so-called master when I noticed his feet weren't moving. There was no conjuring footwork, no Taoist steps. He was walking casually in a semi-circle back and forth over and over again! I watched him dumbfounded as he delicately lit a paper amulet on one of the candles and averted his eyes from the fire.He held the burning yellow paper amulet at arms length and quenched it in the clean water, being sure not to wet his fingers. He stirred the water with the wooden end of an incense stick, with unnecessarily caution.The bowl filled with paper ashes and rapidly dampening amulets.Unable to restrain myself, I sidled to Zhao Laohei and asked, Why is he doing it so weirdly? Zhao Laohei looked down at me with eyes that said both, Respect your elders, and I know, right? Master Liu does it differently. I said, positive now that something was wrong. Zhao Laohei shook his head and whispered, "I don't know to be honest. Master Liu's taught me of many sects within Taoism, perhaps this master comes from one that we're not familiar with. Hush now, let's see what happens.We both watched on patiently. Master Huang raised the blade of his peach wood sword and pasted an amulet at the point of the blade. He lit it on a candle and then began to dance around the yard, making uneven circles around the tied up girl. He landed suddenly, burying both feet into the rocky sand and slashed wildly with the sword. He dashed forwards and jabbed as if he was fighting something that even I couldn't see. I squinted, daring anything to appear, but nothing was there, absolutely nothing.You bastard! Master Huang shouted, "Leave Miss Wang's body! It is not yours to inhabit! Go now from this place or I'll damn you to the eighteenth hell!"The eighteenth hell? I thought, now holding back a tickle of laughter threatening me. Master Huang turned and darted the sword at the table, masterfully picking up another burning amulet with his blade. He turned around murmuring, "You've chosen your fate, you bastard!"With a brilliant flourish, he threw the sword into the air. It spun twice and came down to the ground point down. The peach wood sword buried itself in the yard right in front of Master Huang. My eyes followed the blade up and then down. When they came back to Master Huang, he was holding a beautifully decorated glass egg. Its jewels gleamed in the midday sun. He raised the jeweled egg, turning the top of it enough that the seam showed on the sides. Unscrewing it, he snapped it open and then immediately closed at the air before him. He raised the egg high, holding it delicately as if it might explode. Then he lowered it, cranked it shut once more, and marched inside the house. Our little party watched in silence, half of our mouths open and or awestruck. Zhao Laohei and I turned towards the door where Master Huang had gone and listened. He was just inside the house, muttering to himself in words I couldn't make out. After a moment he came outside with a box. He opened it just enough to reveal the jeweled egg and then snapped it shut. It's safe now. He said finally. The girl is free. I've captured the spirit.No one said a thing.
