The Last Taoist

In the early 1990s, in Dianjiang, Chongqing, there was a village called Zhangjiakan where a bizarre incident occurred. Zhangjiakan was home to a wealthy family. The head of this wealthy family was surnamed Zhang, known for his generosity. With 120 households in Zhangjiakan, most villagers held great respect for the Zhang family. During festivals, when not every family could afford meat, the Zhang family would provide some to the less fortunate. Three generations of the Zhang family lived together, including a grandmother in her seventies. Unable to move around easily due to her age, the elderly woman spent her days in her small house, accompanied by a black cat she had adopted. In the summer of 1991, the time finally came for the elderly grandmother to depart from this world. The members of the Zhang family dressed the elderly woman in funeral attire and placed her on a bamboo couch in the main hall. For two days, the grandmother's breath remained faint, and although she could not swallow, she refused to let go of her last breath, causing anxiety among the Zhang family. A fellow villager in his seventies, upon hearing of the situation, approached the elderly grandmother and asked, "Sister, is there someone you still want to see?" The elderly woman looked towards her regular living quarters, tears streaming down her face, but she remained silent. The villager then asked the Zhang family, "Is there anything inside Sister's room?" After some thought, the Zhang family's eldest son, feeling ashamed, said, "Uncle, we've been busy with business. Usually, only a black cat accompanies my mother. Perhaps she misses the black cat, but we can't bring it here to see her." Upon hearing this, the villager nodded in understanding. It was right not to let animals near a dying person; it was believed that encountering animals like cats or dogs, or even rats, could intercept the person's vital energy. This vital energy, invisible and intangible, sustains a person's life; when it leaves, life ends. If, by chance, a cat or dog were to intercept this vital energy, it could become a malevolent spirit, causing harm or even death. So, when someone was nearing death, the household animals had to be kept away. However, the elderly grandmother's affection for the black cat ran deep. Unable to see the cat, she couldn't let go of her final breath, which posed a dilemma for everyone. The eldest son of the elderly woman sighed and reluctantly sent his son to fetch the black cat. The eldest son, now in his forties, had a son in his twenties. Upon hearing his father's words, the grandson fetched the black cat and brought it to the elderly grandmother. Tearfully, the elderly grandmother glanced at the black cat before exhaling her last breath and closing her eyes in death. However, having spent many days with the elderly grandmother, the black cat had formed a bond with her. Now, witnessing her death, the cat cried out as if mourning. Seeing the grandmother take her last breath, the family placed her in the coffin. However, as soon as they placed her in the coffin, the black cat broke free from the grandson's grasp and leaped into the coffin. This startled everyone. The eldest son of the elderly woman grabbed the cat, angrily slammed it to the ground, spat out a curse, and muttered about ill omens. As the family prepared to seal the coffin, suddenly, the elderly grandmother sat up. This unexpected turn of events startled everyone, thinking she might be pretending to be dead. However, when the eldest son approached to greet her, he realized she was still alive. Embarrassed by the situation, the family decided to retract the funeral arrangements and bring the elderly grandmother back to her room. However, strange occurrences followed. Despite the daily meals brought to the elderly grandmother, she refused to eat. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to suffer from hunger, and all the pests in Zhangjiakan disappeared. Some even witnessed groups of mice fleeing Zhangjiakan as if escaping a disaster. More unsettling events followed. Children in Zhangjiakan began inexplicably disappearing. Within a week, three children had gone missing, and some even claimed to have seen the elderly grandmother wandering around the village at night. Though incredibly eerie, no one dared to inquire about the matter in the Zhang family. While the surrounding villagers dared not ask, the Zhang family itself felt the unease. The elderly grandmother had two sons and a grandson. The elder son was named Zhang Zhenguo, the second son Zhang Zhenxing. Both were engaged in business outside the village. The eldest grandson was named Zhang Feng and was in his twenties. One day, Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Zhenxing, after discussing among themselves, sensed that something was amiss with their mother. Zhang Zhenxing suggested, "Brother, why don't we invite a Taoist master to take a look?" "Alright," Zhang Zhenguo nodded. Despite the scientific era's advent after the Cultural Revolution, with a call for belief in science and the debunking of feudal superstitions, strange occurrences still happened in rural areas. In such cases, Taoist masters were relied upon to resolve them. Later that evening, Zhang Feng set out to the market and returned with a Taoist master in his fifties. This Taoist master wore a simple blue Daoist robe and carried a bag on his waist. He didn't exude an air of mystique; instead, he resembled an ordinary farmer. Upon entering the Zhang family's home, he furrowed his brows. Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Zhenxing had been waiting in the hall for some time. When they saw the Taoist master arrive, Zhang Zhenguo politely asked, "May I ask for your name, sir?" "I am Wang Jidao. I've heard about the situation from this young man," Wang Jidao replied, glancing around the Zhang family's residence, his brows still furrowed. Zhang Zhenguo inquired, "Sir, what is it?" "It's no wonder your family is in trouble. When I entered, I noticed that the entrance to your courtyard is taller than the entrance to your hall," Wang Jidao remarked. "Sir, is there any significance to that?" Zhang Zhenguo asked politely. "A gate higher than the hall, descendants fewer than the number of people crying; a gate higher than the wall, more family members weeping," Wang Jidao explained. "Did you offend a carpenter who deliberately made your hall lower than your gate?" "This... what should we do?" Zhang Zhenguo, nearly fifty years old and believing deeply in Feng Shui, was concerned. Wang Jidao said, "First, deal with the monster in your house. Your residence is a minor issue compared to that." "Has my mother really turned into a monster?" Zhang Zhenxing, who had been silent until now, asked. "Whether she has or not, you'll find out when night falls," Wang Jidao chuckled. "Wait until dark, and then come with me." Wang Jidao was rumored to be an extremely powerful Taoist master in the vicinity. During the Cultural Revolution, his talents nearly cost him his life at the hands of the Red Guards. In the dead of night, Wang Jidao, accompanied by Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Feng, waited outside the elderly grandmother's door. Zhang Zhenxing, occupied with a business negotiation, had gone to the town and did not remain at home. The grandmother's courtyard was silent. Wang Jidao sat quietly at the door, while Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Feng felt somewhat afraid. They had previously checked the house, and the elderly grandmother was not inside. Where could this elderly woman, in her seventies, be going at this hour? At midnight, the silent courtyard outside suddenly echoed with slow footsteps. Soon, the group saw the elderly grandmother limping into the courtyard through the gate. The night was dark, and the elderly grandmother did not notice Wang Jidao and the others. Approaching the door, Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Feng finally saw that the grandmother's mouth was full of fresh blood, as if she had been drinking blood. The left side of her face was bruised, and the right side was half feline, with long, blackened fingernails. When the elderly grandmother noticed Wang Jidao and the others, her expression turned fierce. She opened her mouth, emitting a strange, cat-like cry, and then lunged towards Wang Jidao. Wang Jidao wielded a peach wood sword and thrust it towards the grandmother's chest, but the sword couldn't pierce her body. The elderly grandmother suddenly grabbed Wang Jidao's arm with both hands, her nails piercing into his flesh, causing blood to gush out. Wang Jidao grimaced in pain. As for Zhang Zhenguo and Zhang Feng, they were so terrified that they trembled in a corner, realizing they could offer no assistance. Wang Jidao bit his tongue, causing blood to spurt out, and spat it onto the grandmother's face. Upon contact, the blood caused the grandmother's face to emit a green smoke, and she let out a wail of agony. Ignoring the pain in his arms, Wang Jidao rushed forward and pinned the grandmother to the ground, shouting, "Bring me some rope!" Though frightened, Zhang Feng cautiously approached with the rope and handed it to Wang Jidao. Wang Jidao tightly bound the grandmother. "Prepare some peach wood and burn her," Wang Jidao instructed, exhausted. The grandmother, struggling on the ground, continued to wail and scream as the flames engulfed her, causing her body to thrash violently. After burning for ten minutes, she finally quieted down. But at this moment, Liu Cui, Zhang Feng's wife, was about to give birth. Wang Jidao, concerned about another mishap, stayed outside the delivery room with Zhang Feng. "Sir, is my wife going to be okay?" Zhang Feng anxiously asked Wang Jidao. "It's hard to say. Your child hasn't even been born yet. That gust of Yin energy forced him out prematurely," Wang Jidao shook his head. "We'll see." "Oh no, she's having difficulty giving birth. We have to prioritize the safety of one," the midwife suddenly rushed out, Zhang Feng quickly decided, "Save the child." "Save the mother," Zhang Zhenguo stepped out and argued, "This is my grandson. How can I let him die?" "Dad, you're being feudal. We can have more children," Zhang Feng fretted. "Save the child," Wang Jidao said firmly. "This child was forced out by a gust of Yin energy. If he dies in the womb, unable to be born, the accumulated resentment might turn him into a vengeful ghost that I cannot control." "Understood," the midwife nodded and went back inside. After a while, cries of a newborn echoed from the room. Wang Jidao wasted no time and rushed in first. Taking the baby from the midwife, he found the child's eyes wide open, one black and one white. "As suspected, there's a problem," Wang Jidao frowned. Panicked, Zhang Feng and Zhang Zhenguo thought to themselves that this was not good. Zhang Feng hurriedly asked, "Master, what's wrong with my child?" "Black and white eyes, Yin and Yang eyes. This is a big problem," Wang Jidao sighed. After some thought, he took out a jade pendant, "Make sure this child wears this from a young age. He mustn't be without it. Before he turns twenty, every Ghost Festival on the fifteenth of July, bring him to me. Missing even one year is unacceptable. Otherwise, his life will be in jeopardy." "Yes, understood," Zhang Feng took the jade pendant and rushed to Liu Cui's side, hoping to see his wife for the last time. But by then, Liu Cui had already passed away. Subsequently, the Zhang family arranged a funeral, and they compensated the families of the three children who had disappeared in Zhangjiakan. The incident was soon forgotten by the Zhang family, and no one dared to mention it again. Why did I say this incident actually happened? Because my family is from Zhangjiakan. Zhang Feng is my father, and I am the child Wang Jidao instructed to bring to him every fifteenth of July.