Metaphysics’ Public Enemy 19

Chapter 19:

Tormented by an Evil Spirit (Part 2):

It’s an Ancestral Monster!

Li Gang wasn’t sure what it was, the mere mention of it bringing a sense of unease. Supernatural occurrences were beyond his realm of experience. He told Chen Henian, “It started with my son having nightmares…”

Li Gang’s son, Li Qiang, fourteen years old, nicknamed Xiao Qiang, was in his third year of junior high, preparing for the high school entrance exam. He was generally a well-behaved child, and the family doted on him. Life was good.

A week ago, at ten in the evening, Li Gang and his wife were asleep when their son started banging on their door, his frantic cries echoing through the house.

It was half past midnight. Chen Shu, recognizing the fear in her son’s voice, woke up and opened the door. “What’s wrong?”

Xiao Qiang was trembling. “There’s someone in the closet! Locked inside, banging!”

Chen Shu screamed, waking her husband with a slap. “Get up! There’s a burglar!” She then turned to her son, hugging him tightly. “Are you alright?”

Xiao Qiang shook his head. “He can’t get out.”

A burglar, in their son’s room. The couple was terrified. But why would a burglar lock himself inside a closet?

Li Gang, his mind still foggy, grabbed a kitchen knife, and the two rushed to their son’s room. The closet was an ordinary wooden wardrobe, an old piece of furniture brought from their hometown. It had no shelves, just a single compartment large enough to hold an adult.

But when they arrived, the closet was silent. Chen Shu unlocked the door while Li Gang stood ready with the knife. They flung open the doors, but the closet was empty.

Xiao Qiang said, “He was just here!”

They searched the room, but the doors and windows were locked. There was no one else there.

“It’s the middle of the night! What are you doing?! Don’t you have school tomorrow?!” Li Gang was furious. His son was making up stories to avoid school.

“I’m not!” Xiao Qiang insisted. “I really saw him! I saw an eye peering through the crack!”

“Stop it!” Li Gang yelled, his voice laced with fear. It was past one in the morning. Exhausted, he scolded Xiao Qiang and sent him back to bed. But his son refused to return to his room.

Chen Shu intervened, smoothing things over. Li Gang, giving in, woke their daughter, Li Xiaoxiao, and had Xiao Qiang switch rooms with her.

The next day, Li Gang forgot about the incident. Teenagers were difficult. He didn’t want to start a fight. But that night, Xiao Qiang screamed again, just as they were falling asleep. Li Gang, enraged, rushed to his son’s room, but he wasn’t there.

He had followed the sound, but the room was occupied by Xiaoxiao. Where was his son?

He wasn’t in the other bedroom either. As they searched, they heard banging from the closet. Li Gang, his heart pounding, grabbed the knife and cautiously opened the closet door.

Someone was inside.

It was Xiao Qiang, trapped inside the closet.

Li Gang was relieved. “You were trapped inside? Why didn’t you call for help?!”

“I did! I kept calling!” Xiao Qiang said, feeling wronged. “None of you answered.”

The closet door couldn’t be locked from the inside. Who had locked him in? The thought sent chills down Li Gang’s spine. He pulled his son out and woke Xiaoxiao.

“How could you sleep through all that noise?” Chen Shu scolded Xiaoxiao. “Did you plan this with your brother? Locking him in the closet? This isn’t a joke! What if something had happened?!”

Xiaoxiao cried and denied it. Xiao Qiang also insisted he had been sleeping in his room and woke up trapped in the closet.

Li Gang didn’t believe them. He questioned their teachers and classmates, trying to understand their motives, but they insisted they had done nothing.

The situation worsened. Xiao Qiang couldn’t sleep or eat, growing thinner and paler each day, waking up screaming every night, claiming he saw ghosts in his dreams, ghosts trying to eat him, but offering no further explanation.

Chen Shu was heartbroken. “Son, tell us what’s wrong! Don’t hurt yourself!”

Xiao Qiang just shook his head.

Li Gang took him to the doctor, but the examination revealed nothing physically wrong, only stress. The doctor suggested it was exam pressure, advising rest and relaxation. But Li Gang knew his son. Studying was like pulling teeth for him. He never showed any anxiety, even when he failed tests.

With no physical ailment, Li Gang considered other possibilities, especially with the increasing number of strange occurrences. He placed an ad in the newspaper, hoping for a solution. He believed in metaphysics. Years ago, a master had told him the land had good feng shui, bringing wealth and prosperity. He had built their house there, renovating it several times over the years. He didn’t think the house was the problem.

Chen Henian listened, then asked, “Have you seen the ghost?”

“No,” Li Gang replied dejectedly. “I haven’t seen anything, but things are getting stranger. The plants in the garden are dying. At night, we hear banging on the roof and furniture, but we never find anything. Cups fall off the table for no reason. We must be haunted by an evil spirit. We’ve done nothing wrong, why are we being punished like this?”

“Only at night?” Chen Henian asked.

Li Gang nodded. “So far, yes. The children are sleeping during the day now. Our lives are completely disrupted.”

Chen Henian observed Xiao Qiang’s face, his sunken eyes and dark circles, his already mischievous features now gaunt and pale, the classic signs of a haunting.

“How long has this been going on?”

“A week. We can’t take it anymore.”

Chen Shu asked anxiously, “Little Master, you can help us, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Chen Henian said. “Your house is indeed haunted.”

“Just prepare the money.” He stood up. “My fee is 30,000 yuan, as you advertised. Not a penny less.”

His words reassured the couple. 30,000 yuan was nothing compared to solving this problem. They watched him go upstairs without a word.

The house was dimly lit. Chen Henian quickly found Xiao Qiang’s room on the second floor. It was a large room, but the windows faced west, receiving no sunlight, a classic yin room.

He took out his compass, placing it on the floor. Strangely, it barely reacted. Yin energy permeated the room. It was the fifteenth day of the month, a full moon, when yin energy was at its peak, affecting his compass.

He switched tools, taking out the mirror and tapping it. “Time to work.”

The mirror ghost didn’t respond, playing dead.

“Come out,” Chen Henian repeated.

The mirror in his hand remained still, but the mirror on the opposite wall buzzed, a figure flickering on its surface. A hand gripped the edge, hair emerging like a swarm of ants, followed by pale, grotesque hands with long, black fingernails.

It crawled out of the mirror, its hair covering its face, then scurried towards Chen Henian like a centipede.

Chen Henian didn’t move, his eyes cold. He raised his hand and slapped the ghost, scattering it into mist.

The mirror ghost’s true form was revealed. It quickly retreated, pretending innocence, its disguise convincing, but its scent couldn’t fool Chen Henian. Between a slap and an order, it chose the latter.

“Is the ghost in this room to your liking?” Chen Henian asked.

“You want me to eat it?” The mirror ghost was surprised.

“Eat it or not.”

“Eat,” the ghost replied quickly.

“Help me, and it’s yours.”

The mirror ghost snorted. “Even if I ate it, it’s just a small fry. It’s probably hiding somewhere, too afraid to come out.”

“I’m not worried about that. We’ll deal with the troublesome ghost tonight.” Chen Henian picked up his suitcase. “I have other questions for you.”

The mirror ghost eyed him suspiciously. “What do you want to say?”

“Something interesting.” Chen Henian’s tone changed. “Since you’re so afraid of that ghost, you must have learned something from your encounter.” He stared at the mirror ghost, his voice probing. “How powerful is it? How long has it been a ghost?”

The mirror ghost flinched, its eyes darting away. “Are you trying to harm me again?”

“This is important for both of us,” Chen Henian said. “If it wants to kill me, wouldn’t crushing you be a trivial matter?”

The mirror ghost was furious. “Then why did you provoke it?!”

Chen Henian ignored its anger. “Tell me.”

The ghost exploded. “You want to humiliate me, don’t you?! Fine! My centuries of cultivation are nothing compared to it! It’s a monster! A thousand years, at least! It’s our ancestor!”

“A thousand years…” Chen Henian’s eyes widened, a look of understanding on his face. He seemed to agree with the assessment. The mirror ghost was stunned that he could still smile. He said cheerfully, “A thousand years ago… when was that?”