As I spoke, I pretended to eat while avoiding direct eye contact with Ku Quezi, because I was lying and feeling a bit nervous.

Ku Quezi lightly tapped on the table and calmly said, "If I'm not mistaken, the bruises on your face were caused by Heizi, right?"

Ku Quezi was indeed clever, and his words immediately exposed my lie. I couldn't help but tremble.

Grandfather, hearing this, immediately became angry and asked me, "Yang Cheng, did that little brat Heizi bully you? How dare he hit my grandson! Come, let me take you to settle the score with him. I've even slapped his father, let alone that little brat Heizi!"

Ku Quezi stopped Grandfather and advised him not to get angry.

Then Ku Quezi continued to speak to me, "Heizi beat you, and in retaliation, you summoned the Five Ghosts to scare him away. Am I right?"

Grandfather looked confused, "Yang Cheng, what's really going on? Tell me the truth!"

Ku Quezi had brought the matter to this point, and further denying it wouldn't make sense, so I had to explain the whole story in detail.

Of course, I wasn't a fool. I didn't mention the incident of burning down the house a few days ago. I only said that when I left the village gate this morning, I encountered Heizi. Seeing that I was alone and easy to bully, he demanded money from me to buy cigarettes. When I refused, he beat me and took the money I had on me. I got angry and summoned the Five Ghosts to scare him away.

Grandfather angrily said, "That little brat Heizi is truly lawless, actually bullying Yang Cheng like this. Ku Xiansheng, I believe my grandson did nothing wrong!"

Ku Quezi said seriously, "Indeed, Yang Cheng is not at fault, but... the situation has become serious now. Heizi has been frightened to the point that he has lost his soul. A person has three souls and seven spirits, and now Heizi has lost two souls, with only one soul left keeping him alive. If we can't retrieve the two lost souls within three days, his soul will never return to his body, and he will be like a fool for the rest of his life!"

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I was shocked. I didn't expect the situation to be so severe.

Grandfather was also startled, "Is it true? Is it that serious?"

If Heizi really became a fool, would we have to take care of him for the rest of his life?

Grandfather quickly asked Ku Quezi, "Ku Xiansheng, what do we need to do?"

Ku Quezi said, "Prepare a few things: a three-color rooster with its tail feathers in three different colors, called a 'three-color' rooster. Also, prepare a small bag of high-quality white rice to feed the rooster until it's full! Start preparing now. I will go to Heizi's house to find out his birthdate and eight characters."

Grandfather searched through our chicken coop but couldn't find a three-color rooster. So he took some money and went around the village, eventually buying a "three-color" rooster at a high price from a villager. Then, following Ku Quezi's instructions, he fed the rooster with the best white rice from our house. The three-color rooster ate its fill and proudly walked around the yard, like a proud general.

Later in the evening, Ku Quezi arrived, holding a yellow talisman with Heizi's birthdate written on it.

Ku Quezi asked me to bring a bowl and filled it with spring water.

Ku Quezi ignited the yellow talisman and mixed the ashes into the water, quickly turning it turbid.

Ku Quezi placed the talisman water in front of the three-color rooster. The rooster, perhaps feeling thirsty after eating, gulped down the bowl of talisman water.

I asked Ku Quezi what to do next, and he said, "Wait!"

Wait?

I was curious about what we were waiting for.

Ku Quezi said, "Wait for the rooster to crow! As long as Heizi's soul hasn't strayed too far, when the three-color rooster crows tomorrow morning, his soul will hear it. This is called 'the rooster crows'!"

I found it strange and asked, "What if his soul has gone too far?"

Ku Quezi said, "Then you better prepare a large sum of money!"

I scratched my head, wondering why I had to prepare money.

Ku Quezi said, "If his soul has gone too far and can't be retrieved, be prepared to take care of Heizi for the rest of his life!"

Upon hearing this, I almost burst into tears.

Ku Quezi comforted me and said, "It's only been one day. In theory, his soul shouldn't have left the village yet."

Ku Quezi told me to go rest in the house and come out when the rooster crows.

But I couldn't sleep at all. I was drowsy and finally managed to hold on until dawn. Finally, the three-color rooster in the yard proudly raised its neck and let out a clear cry, "Ko-ko-ko—"

I immediately woke up, sprang out of bed, and rushed to the yard.

I saw Ku Quezi standing in the yard, holding a yellow talisman in each hand, and shouting, "Collect!"

I nervously looked at Ku Quezi and asked, "Ku Xiansheng, did it work?"

Ku Quezi slowly put away the talismans and said, "Kid, consider yourself lucky. We've retrieved everything Heizi lost. Now I will go to Heizi's house and help him regain his soul!"