A Prophet - Chapter 3 (Part 5)
Chapter 5 - Vampire Bats
This time, Grandfather chose the Second Boss again. However, the Second Boss did not handle this operation personally; instead, he handed the business over to "Immortal Hands." Because "Immortal Hands" had just assumed the position of Seventh Boss, his foundation was shaky, and as a newly appointed official eager to make a show of force, he needed to use this operation to firmly establish his footing within the faction. "Immortal Hands" was, of course, fully aware of the stakes involved!
He and the Second Boss analyzed the situation. Zhang Ergou wanted revenge and was determined to drag the Li family down to ruin, but the Zhang family had already declined and could not cough up much silver. True to Grandfather's words, if they could pull off a double-sided trap—collecting silver from the Ergou household while simultaneously fleecing the Li family—that would be the mark of truly superior swindling craftsmanship, just like the Daoist predecessor of years past. Later events proved that "Immortal Hands" was ruthless, cunning, and vicious enough! This time, the operation invoked the method of "executing the kill," and moreover, an "absolute kill" that wiped people out entirely. Once he received his orders, "Immortal Hands" began laying out the trap. First, he orchestrated a bat-driven "ghost knocking on the door" stunt to manufacture an atmosphere of terror and frighten the members of the Li family. The swindling techniques used were also top-notch, representing the absolute peak "flying paper" arts personally passed down by the Second Boss. This stunt required a specific prop: rice eels. The blood of rice eels possessed an intensely pungent, fishy odor capable of attracting bats from miles around. If one smeared eel blood across a family's front gate at night, nearby bats would catch the scent and come flocking, beating their wings frantically and crashing against the door. The residents inside would think someone was knocking, throw on their robes, and walk out holding lanterns. The moment they opened the door and the lantern light flashed—since bats despise darkness and fear light the most—the entire flock would vanish in a flash. Finding nothing outside, the family would assume they had misheard and return indoors. Just as they were about to fall asleep, they would hear the exact same knocking again. Getting up once more to check, they would still find nothing. After being put through this agonizing cycle a few times, the family would completely break down psychologically! When dawn broke and they went out to inspect, they would still find nothing, because bats fly away just as the first glimmer of dawn appears. The only visible evidence would be bloody, giant handprints smeared across the front gate, looking as though a ghostly hand had slapped the wood. In reality, these were simply shapes deliberately painted by the perpetrators while applying the eel blood. To ensure the trap went off without a single flaw, "Immortal Hands" personally carried a small bucket of eel blood, bringing along two errand boys as they slipped through the pitch-black night to smear the front gate of the Li residence. When they set out, the small bucket of eel blood had its lid tightly fastened. Once opened, a pungent, fishy stench assaulted their nostrils, and "Immortal Hands" used a paintbrush dipped in the blood to apply it himself. In less than the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, the job was done.
On the way back, the group felt exceptionally relaxed. They had barely walked half a mile when they sensed a swarm of creatures following them, circling right above their heads. Just as they raised their heads to look, the creatures plunged downward in a vicious dive, and the men instantly realized what they were: vampire bats! Swatting frantically at their heads, they fled for their lives all the way. After sprinting over a mile, they finally ducked into a blacksmith's shop and found safety. In truth, bats possess tiny teeth, and the wounds they inflict when biting through human skin are extremely small. They are nothing like the legendary monsters capable of sucking a person dry in an instant; their feeding is quite slow, and only when a person is fast asleep or dead drunk, and extremely unlucky besides, will they have a tiny amount of blood drawn. Furthermore, the moment a person feels the sting of pain, they snap awake immediately, rendering the bats unable to continue feeding. The reason "Immortal Hands" and his men had fled in such a panic was simply because they found the creatures utterly filthy and ghost-like, thoroughly revolting. Upon returning to the faction's headquarters, "Immortal Hands" discovered that a patch of skin on his forehead had been grazed by a bat, drawing a little blood. He racked his brain trying to figure out why the bats had tracked them down. They had been extremely cautious before setting the trap, and all the props had been discarded afterward—so how could bats still have followed them? Later, the two accompanying errand boys reminded him, "When you were smearing the eel blood on the gate, you probably started sweating from tension and wiped your forehead with your hand. That's most likely when you accidentally smeared eel blood onto your brow. Or perhaps the eel blood's fishy odor was simply too strong; while you were painting the gate, the scent soaked into your clothes and couldn't evaporate in time, drawing the bats right to us." "Immortal Hands" laughed it off. "It's nothing! What's a scratch like this?"
This "bat trap" proved utterly effective, throwing the Li family into a panic. As a household with deeply entrenched superstitious beliefs, this ordeal sent them scrambling once again to "seek medical help and consult healers." At this juncture, the informant managed by the Sixth Boss, "Wind Child," began playing his part, informing the Li family that there was a grand master living in a nearby town who specialized in dealing with such malevolent and eerie specters. Possessing profound Daoist arts, he could be invited to come take a look. Before long, "Immortal Hands" was invited to step forward. Li Qiming, the head of the Li family, described the entire sequence of events to "Immortal Hands" and even showed him the ghostly bloody handprints on the front gate. Inwardly, "Immortal Hands" cracked a silent smile. Putting on a theatrical act, he shook a bronze bell and strolled around the Li family courtyard before turning to announce with grave solemnity, "An evil spirit has entered your residence!" Upon hearing this, Li Qiming shuddered with fright. "Might I ask, Master, where did this thing come from?" "Immortal Hands" replied that he needed to divine the omens through incense, prompting Li Qiming to hurriedly fetch an incense burner. "Immortal Hands" lit a bundle of incense sticks and inserted them into the burner. After a short while, the burning incense formed a well-like crater shape—dipped low in the center and high around the edges. Pondering for a moment, "Immortal Hands" said gravely, "Mr. Li, if I may speak bluntly, you have committed some wicked deeds!" Li Qiming trembled violently. "What makes you say that, Master?"
"Immortal Hands" glanced at him and said, "This incense has burned low in the middle and high on the edges, suppressing the incense head. You must have committed a monstrous sin, suppressing someone else's incense head or tamping down someone's ancestral graves..." With that, he stared fixedly at Li Qiming. Sweat beaded directly on Li Qiming's forehead as he stammered, "Master... you are truly formidable... I... I'll tell you the honest truth..." And so, just like Zhang Ergou before him, Li Qiming recounted the entire history of the feuds and sorcery battles between the Zhang and Li families from beginning to end. Listening to it all, "Immortal Hands" felt a wave of sheer delight washing over him, thinking to himself, What a pair of fools! Finally, Li Qiming asked if there was any way to resolve the crisis. Stroking a fake beard, "Immortal Hands" declared, "You must buy back your life with money! For over a decade, you suppressed them with a head-pressing stone, leaving the deceased unable to transcend and turning them into wandering ghosts while bringing endless misfortune and disasters to the living. Your sin is simply too massive! As you yourself just said a moment ago, the other family recently discovered the head-pressing stone while moving their graves. The moment that head-pressing stone was removed, Zhang Zhongjin's lonely spirit broke free and came to exact its debt of blood!" Hearing this, Li Qiming was terrified out of his wits. "Save me, Master!" "Immortal Hands" instructed, "You must buy your life with money. A portion of this silver will be used to repair the Zhang family's ancestral graves—build them a grand ancestral hall! The other portion will cover my services in performing the ritual for you! You build the hall, and I drive away the ghost; working in tandem from within and without, we shall respectfully invite Zhang Zhongjin's wandering spirit back to rest!" Li Qiming was stunned. "Build an ancestral hall for him? He committed plenty of wicked deeds himself! Who is going to punish him?" "Immortal Hands" abruptly fell silent, staring fixedly at a spot behind Li Qiming as he brought a finger to his lips. "Shh—" he signaled for Li Qiming to remain quiet. Startled, Li Qiming asked, "What is it?" Staring blankly ahead, "Immortal Hands" whispered, "He is standing right behind you!" Hearing this, Li Qiming nearly jumped out of his skin in fright and spun around in a hurry. "Where? Master, please don't scare me like this."
"Immortal Hands" continued, "You cannot see him, but I can. Stop speaking ill of him right now! He is glaring at you with murderous rage." Suddenly, "Immortal Hands" whipped a yellow cloth pouch out from his waistband, let out a thunderous roar, and bellowed, "Vile demon! By the decree of the Supreme Lao Jun, how dare you commit atrocities! I shall capture you right this instant!"
With that, he leaped nimbly onto a table, swept his hand outward, and opened the pouch. A flash of fire danced within it before he cinched the pouch shut, tied it tight with a red cord, jumped down from the table, and declared, "Do not be afraid, I have temporarily locked it inside!" Before his words had even faded, the pouch suddenly began to thrash violently. "Immortal Hands" gripped the pouch for dear life, yet he could barely hold onto it as something inside seemed to be shoving outward. With a sudden whoosh, the pouch flew forward, its opening snapping wide open, prompting "Immortal Hands" to cry out in alarm, "It escaped, it got away!" Utterly bewildered by the spectacle, Li Qiming had no idea whether it was real or fake. Yet things often work this way: when something is made to look too authentic, it becomes inherently suspicious. Those incense sticks had been tampered with from the very beginning; the sticks in the center were made of superior aromatic wood, burning fast and steady, whereas those around the edges were mixed with soil, naturally burning much slower, which was precisely how the well-shaped crater was produced. As for the demon-subduing pouch, its interior had been coated with a luminescent agent designed by the Fourth Boss, which glowed the moment it was exposed to the air upon opening, while the subsequent scene of the pouch wriggling free from "Immortal Hands" was simply a sleight-of-hand trick. Any stage magician could pull it off; a common variation involved placing a handkerchief in your hand to look like a mouse, flicking your thumb and weaving four fingers to make it scurry about with startling realism. It was just that "Immortal Hands" executed the trick with far greater finesse—otherwise, why would people call him "Immortal Hands"? Inheriting the style of his late father Li Wencai, Li Qiming operated on the principle of withholding payment until results were seen, refusing to let loose his hawk until he spotted the rabbit. At that moment, his crafty eyes were darting back and forth, suggesting he still harbored a shred of skepticism toward the unfolding drama. Anticipating this exact reaction, "Immortal Hands" and the Second Boss had already prepared a countermeasure, immediately launching the second phase of their plan. This time, they were going to make him refuse to shed tears until he actually saw his own coffin!
"Immortal Hands" said, "Mr. Li, take your time to consider it. Resolving a disaster of this magnitude is no small expense, but since your life is on the line, caution is certainly wise. Still, I must remind you to pay close attention to the safety of your family members recently and guard against the ghost claiming your life. For now, I will grant you five protective talismans. You and your family should carry them on your persons to fend things off temporarily, though this is by no means a long-term solution!" With that, he produced five spirit talismans and handed them to Li Qiming. Li Qiming showered him with profuse expressions of gratitude, yet he still stubbornly avoided mentioning money. "Immortal Hands" was in no rush; he knew the score, and the real show was about to begin. Because the informant had previously provided intelligence detailing the exact number of people in the Li household, the talismans "Immortal Hands" handed over were guaranteed to fall short of the total headcount. That meant certain household servants would inevitably be left without one, and if one of those servants suddenly met with a mishap, the whole affair would appear terrifyingly authentic.