"Hehe, clever of you. It could attach itself to your brother and talk to us..." Grandpa Li hadn't finished his sentence when I quickly interjected, "No, no, it can't attach to my brother. What if it doesn't leave?"
"Don't worry, this spirit has only practiced for about twenty years, with limited power. Your elder brother, whom I've mentored myself, is strong both mentally and physically. There's no way this spirit can possess him. If there's any danger, I wouldn't make this decision," Grandpa Li explained with a smile.
"Are you sure? Could it attach to me instead?" I still had some concerns.
"Your body is very different from your brother's; he's safer. Trust me, with me here, nothing will go wrong," Grandpa Li reassured, patting his chest.
"When shall we go then?" I asked.
Grandpa Li calculated for a moment, then said, "We should resolve this as soon as possible. The sooner we do, the better it will be for your female classmate. Go call your brother over. We'll go talk to the spirit at midnight."
At midnight, a motorcycle raced down the Jingzhou highway. Despite being close to seventy, Grandpa Li sat on the back like a child, urging Iron Pillar excitedly, "Faster, faster." Iron Pillar glanced at the speedometer; it was already at ninety-five kilometers per hour. Even his face was shaking from the wind, thinking to himself, 'This old man sure is daring.'
Following the motorcycle was a Flying Pigeon bicycle, slowly making its way forward. I rode calmly. When we reached the alley near the school's back gate, my brother and Grandpa Li were already impatiently waiting. "You move like a snail. I've been waiting here for twenty minutes," Grandpa Li complained, puffing on his Hongtashan cigarette while seated on the motorcycle. I looked at this fashionable old man and shook my head helplessly.
Behind the laboratory was a quiet street. The three of us approached the outer wall of the compound. After ensuring no one was around, Iron Pillar took a quick step, pushed off the wall with his foot, and leapt over the three-meter-high wall in one smooth motion. Watching my brother's agility, I couldn't help but admire him, as Grandpa Li had said, he was indeed much stronger than me. Next, a rope was thrown from the wall. Grandpa Li climbed up using the rope with his hands and feet, descending gracefully like a swan laying eggs. After all, he was almost seventy and couldn't jump down like Iron Pillar. Finally, I pulled myself over the wall cleanly using the rope.
After securing the rope, the three of us arrived at the window of the laboratory and entered through the unlocked window. To avoid being noticed, I pulled down the three-layered black curtains inside, though the main door lacked a curtain, so we only lit two candles without turning on the lights.
"This is the pillar." I took out a compass and placed it in front of the pillar. The pointer trembled violently. Grandpa Li nodded knowingly and addressed the pillar, "Brother, whoever you are, we're here to help you, with no ill intentions."
"Can it understand what you're saying?" I asked.
"I don't know if it can understand, but saying this puts my mind at ease," Grandpa Li continued, "Iron Pillar, it's your turn to make it visible."
After acknowledging, Iron Pillar took out a pre-written yellow talisman and stuck it on the pillar with saliva. Then, he formed a hand seal with his right hand, chanting incantations. Finally, he stomped his foot and shouted, "Appear!" The yellow talisman on the wall burst into flames from below, quickly turning into a wisp of blue smoke that dissipated in an instant.
Just as I was astonished by my brother's talismanic abilities, with the smoke dissipating, a pair of enormous eyes faintly appeared in the middle of the pillar. Gradually, the outline became clearer, and eventually, the eyes slowly opened, revealing bloodshot eyes. It stared intensely at the three of us with a deeply malevolent gaze.
The night was quiet, with the dry leaves on the trees making their final resistance against the autumn wind. The stars in the sky seemed reluctant to witness the separation scene, covering their eyes with wisps of white clouds, shrouding everything in boundless darkness. Only a faint light escaped through the glass window of the laboratory door, revealing on the north wall a pair of enormous eyes confronting three figures standing before it.
Stolen story; please report.
Finally, I could feel Sun Li's fear. Even if it were me, suddenly seeing those eyes during class would be frightening. The eyes were filled with resentment and malice, making everyone extremely uncomfortable.
"Brother, please don't look at us like that. We're here to help you. If you have any unresolved wishes or grievances, please tell us. Blink three times if you understand me," Grandpa Li earnestly spoke to the eyes. As soon as he finished, the eyes slowly blinked three times.
"Hehe, Aiming, did you see that? It understands what I'm saying!" Grandpa Li turned to me, then addressed the eyes on the wall, "Alright, now that you understand us, let's cooperate. Later, I'll let you use my disciple's body to speak your mind. Let's see if we can help you." He paused for a moment, then his tone suddenly changed, "But you must behave. If there's any mischief, beware I'll scatter your soul."
The eyes blinked again. Grandpa Li inspected them and took out eight copper coins from his pocket, arranging them in a circle about a meter in diameter around the pillar, following the directions of the Bagua. "I've set up the Gathering Array. The spiritual energy around this pillar is weak; we must gather the surrounding qi for it to resist the qi in the human body and possess someone else."
"So, if it wants to occupy my brother's body and not leave, we just need to disperse this array, and it will automatically leave?" I asked.
"Yes, now do you feel reassured? Don't worry, I won't let your brother do anything dangerous," Grandpa Li examined the copper coin array, "Hmm, gathering energy within a radius of one hundred meters should be sufficient for it. Alright, Iron Pillar, enter the array!"
Iron Pillar handed two talismans to Grandpa Li, then walked into the array and sat cross-legged. Grandpa Li first applied a paralyzing talisman to Iron Pillar's forehead, ensuring that after the spirit possessed him, Iron Pillar could only speak and not move freely, further ensuring his safety. Next, he affixed a guiding spirit talisman to the pillar, then placed a small incense burner in front of Iron Pillar and lit an incense stick on it.
With everything prepared, Grandpa Li adjusted his clothes, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and chanted, "Ming Zhi, supreme spirit, capture the demon, enter my gate, change the array!" All eight copper coins on the ground stood upright, rotated counterclockwise two positions, then simultaneously lay back down. I recognized that the entrance array had just been moved below the pillar, allowing the spirit door to enter the array.
With the entrance position set, Grandpa Li changed hand seals and continued, "Qing Long resides on my left, Bai Hu serves on my right, Zhu Que guards my front, Xuan Wu stands behind me. Four divine generals, protect my primordial spirit, spirit swiftly come, go!" As the incantation ended, the yellow talisman on the pillar ignited itself, and the eyes on the wall disappeared.
In the spacious laboratory, lit only by two candles, everything seemed dark.
Iron Pillar sat cross-legged on the ground, slowly opening his eyes and examining Grandpa Li and me. Then he spoke, "Thank you, old man!" His speech was extremely slow, almost word by word, and his tone was deep and unfamiliar, completely unlike Iron Pillar's voice. I understood clearly; the person in front of me was no longer my brother.
"Alright, you have the time it takes for one incense stick. Quickly say everything you want to say!" Grandpa Li pointed to the incense stick in the burner.
"My unjust death!" The spirit spoke in a very hoarse tone, recounting a story from over twenty years ago.
It turned out that when this spirit was alive, he was named Zhang Guodong and lived in Zhoukoudian. In 1965, at the age of thirty-two, he worked at a nearby coal mine in the mountains. At that time, working in the coal mine was extremely dangerous, with few safety measures compared to today. However, with an elderly mother and two children to support, he had no choice but to take on the risky job.
Every day, he worked hard underground just to make ends meet. The following year, his wife broke her leg while gathering firewood on the mountain, further adding to Zhang Guodong's burdens. However, fate provided a slight opening. While mining one day, he accidentally discovered a passage in the mine containing a large tomb chamber with many valuable burial goods. Zhang Guodong was an honest man and initially didn't want to disturb the items in someone else's tomb. But with his family's desperate situation, he reluctantly took a few gold ingots from the tomb, planning to sell them outside to alleviate their financial crisis.
Unfortunately, during that era, purchasing rice and flour required ration tickets. Selling gold privately was illegal. Zhang Guodong had to wait for the right opportunity to sell the gold. Coincidentally, a week later, heavy rain caused a flash flood that collapsed the tunnel of the tomb, covering up the entire entrance. The local police had been watching the collapse of the tomb, which the Zhang family considered a serious crime.
But one day, a young project manager named Sun Zhongquan was transferred from above, and his arrival completely changed Zhang Guodong's fate. Upon his arrival, Sun didn't immediately inspect the progress of the project. Instead, he privately gathered everyone and claimed to have a relative in the city who held a high position and enjoyed collecting antiques and calligraphy. He offered to appraise any items people might have, promising a high purchase price without any complications. This assignment was specifically delegated by the high-ranking official to oversee the project.