Kang Fei was happy working as a journalist in Singapore, he was originally from Suzhou, China. He and I were colleagues and very often, he would ask me out for a round of drinks. We could talk about almost anything under the sun, as if we were friends for a long time. Kang Fei had been in Singapore for over a year, and naturally, he missed his home a lot. Our conversations were largely centered on his village in Suzhou. During one of our chats, we started exchanging ghost stories, and he gave me a true account of this incident that happened to his village during his father's time.
A wizard used to stay in the wilderness in the outskirts of Suzhou. He was believed to be over a century old, and was regarded as a wise man. Drought, famine, flood and even epidemic pests were problems that the farmers would bring to the wizard for help. They believed that the old man had supernatural powers, and could perform miracles. He solved many problems mysteriously on a full moon sight. The wizard died. Nobody knew what caused his death. The farmers were upset, knowing that from then onwards, they had to solve their problems without any divine help. However, to show their gratitude to the wizard, the villagers built a temple in his memory. Every year, on the twelfth of December, they would pay a tribute to the wizard, offering a portion from their harvests that year in the form of food and 'hell notes'. The harvests improved year after year, bringing wealth and prosperity to the farmers. Believing that their tribute had pleased the wizard's spirit, the farmers continued the practice. Their faith was strong.
As years passed, their prosperity grew and the farmers gradually forgot about the wizard. The size of their tribute diminished year after year, as well as their faith. Finally on one year, the farmer were so busy harvesting their bumper crop that they forgot about the tribute completely. This act of decadence greatly provoked the spirit of the wizard. he was not expecting the token but was angered that the villagers had lost faith in him. After all, he had worked hard the whole year to bring about their bumper harvest. having received nothing and forgotten by all, he was devastated and furious. At that moment of anger, he decided to teach those greedy farmers a lesson. The wizard began to disturb the farmers in their sleep notoriously by coming into their dreams. One by one, the farmers would be jolted from their sleep, only to be shocked by a horrible sight. The wizard's rotten corpse would be lying next to them, body filled with maggots and giving out a foul stench that filled the house. Screams started to shatter the nights in the village. At their weekly meetings, the farmers realized that the wizard had visited them all, and began to worry about the whole situation. Something must be terribly wrong for the wizard to approach them in that manner. However, none could figure out a solution to appease the wizard.
During that year, they were faced with a lot of problems. It rained non stop for a month. Soon enough, the floods ruined their midyear harvest. That was not the end of the disasters. Drought came shortly following the floods, and there was an outbreak of locusts everywhere, destroying what was left of their crops. As a result, there was not enough food for the people, and a famine followed, claiming hundreds of lives. It was a troubled year for the people of Kang Fei's village. One of the farmers heard about a powerful Taoist priest in another village, powerful enough the change one's destiny. Hoping that the priest could shed some light on the matter, the farmers went to seek his help. Looking at them, the priest could tell that the farmers were down on their luck. He performed some rites and discovered that they were harassed by the wizard's spirit. An attempt was then made to communicate with the wizard.
The wizard's spirit was enraged. The farmers were going to someone else for help when they should be offering, tributes to him. He wanted to show these people who was more powerful, and thus he attacked the priest. Fortunately, the priest had taken precautions when he tried to communicate with the wizard. Standing inside a protective circle of talismans, the priest exuded an aura of peace. The wizard had set his minions, the weaker spirits, onto the priest who shrouded him in darkness. The frightened villagers heard some chanting, and the dark shell shattered into a million shards. Seeing this, the wizard called up a massive swarm of bees. While several farmers were stung by stray bees, the priest stood untouched in his circle. The wizard knew by then that his opponent was a worthy one. After a brief struggle, the wizard gave up. When all had calmed, the priest stepped out of his protective circle and told the farmers that the vengeful wizard had caused all the disasters. He reminded them about the forgotten tribute, citing it as the reason for the wizard's wrath.
The farmers were taken aback by the news. Fearful for their lives, they begged the priest for his help. The priest told them that the wizard would probably be resting inside his temple. If they burned the temple, his power would be greatly reduced. Hearing this, the farmers hurried back to their village by sunset, and set the temple ablaze. The wizard's spirit overheard their plans and had fled into the wilderness for safety, vowing to make them suffer for their disrespect. Raising a brood of vampires, the wizard sent them into the village every night. The vampires attacked everyone who were not home after dark. In no time, Suzhou became a ghost town by night. The teenage girls in the village started to act strangely. Screaming out, these girls would suddenly go into fits of hysterical laughter and sobbing. It was as if these girls had gone mad. Their families devastated, and all were at a loss as to what to do.
After a while, the girls got worse. They got more violent, screaming and breaking things in the house. Blood began to ooze from their heads, through the eyes, nostrils, mouth and ears. These girls were dying from internal bleeding. The troubled farmers had no choice but to approach the priest for help for the second time. He blamed the vengeful wizard once more. This time, he told the villagers that they had to vanquish the wizard once and for all. Together with a handful of the farmers, the priest set up an altar in the middle of the harvest field. After everything was arranged, they had only to wait for night to descend upon them. The wizard's spirit, thinking that the people had learnt their lesson, went to the village to collect his tribute. When he saw the priest, his fury knew no bounds. It was night, and the wizard's evil powers were at their peak, matching him to the priest in strength. he sent his army of vampires upon the priest.
Fortunately, the priest had anticipated this and together with some talismans and a peachwood sword, he vanquished the vampires easily. Seeing this, the wizard made a call to all the teenage girls in the village. Like zombies, these girls appeared from their homes and headed into the field. Moving towards the priest, they started to scratch at him. The farmers were very scared, seeing their teenage daughters possessed. The priest then shouted to them to restrain the girls while he went around chanting, and using talismans to calm the girls down. Summoning so much magic, the wizard had grown tired. The priest however, was unperturbed. The two circled one another warily. The wizard was the first to strike, lunging at the priest who dodged his blows easily.The fight only lasted a short while. The wizard had got careless, and gave the priest an opportunity to slide the blessed peachwood sword through him. Sticking a talismans on the sword quickly, the priest chanted rapidly.
Kang Fei's father was out there in the field. He recalled the expression of disbelief on this wizard's face, just before his soul dispersed into oblivion. The farmers were overjoyed by what the priest had done. They were saved from the revengeful wizard's ordeal.
The wizard's spirit was enraged. The farmers were going to someone else for help when they should be offering, tributes to him. He wanted to show these people who was more powerful, and thus he attacked the priest. Fortunately, the priest had taken precautions when he tried to communicate with the wizard. Standing inside a protective circle of talismans, the priest exuded an aura of peace. The wizard had set his minions, the weaker spirits, onto the priest who shrouded him in darkness. The frightened villagers heard some chanting, and the dark shell shattered into a million shards. Seeing this, the wizard called up a massive swarm of bees. While several farmers were stung by stray bees, the priest stood untouched in his circle. The wizard knew by then that his opponent was a worthy one. After a brief struggle, the wizard gave up. When all had calmed, the priest stepped out of his protective circle and told the farmers that the vengeful wizard had caused all the disasters. He reminded them about the forgotten tribute, citing it as the reason for the wizard's wrath.
The farmers were taken aback by the news. Fearful for their lives, they begged the priest for his help. The priest told them that the wizard would probably be resting inside his temple. If they burned the temple, his power would be greatly reduced. Hearing this, the farmers hurried back to their village by sunset, and set the temple ablaze. The wizard's spirit overheard their plans and had fled into the wilderness for safety, vowing to make them suffer for their disrespect. Raising a brood of vampires, the wizard sent them into the village every night. The vampires attacked everyone who were not home after dark. In no time, Suzhou became a ghost town by night. The teenage girls in the village started to act strangely. Screaming out, these girls would suddenly go into fits of hysterical laughter and sobbing. It was as if these girls had gone mad. Their families devastated, and all were at a loss as to what to do.
After a while, the girls got worse. They got more violent, screaming and breaking things in the house. Blood began to ooze from their heads, through the eyes, nostrils, mouth and ears. These girls were dying from internal bleeding. The troubled farmers had no choice but to approach the priest for help for the second time. He blamed the vengeful wizard once more. This time, he told the villagers that they had to vanquish the wizard once and for all. Together with a handful of the farmers, the priest set up an altar in the middle of the harvest field. After everything was arranged, they had only to wait for night to descend upon them. The wizard's spirit, thinking that the people had learnt their lesson, went to the village to collect his tribute. When he saw the priest, his fury knew no bounds. It was night, and the wizard's evil powers were at their peak, matching him to the priest in strength. he sent his army of vampires upon the priest.
Fortunately, the priest had anticipated this and together with some talismans and a peachwood sword, he vanquished the vampires easily. Seeing this, the wizard made a call to all the teenage girls in the village. Like zombies, these girls appeared from their homes and headed into the field. Moving towards the priest, they started to scratch at him. The farmers were very scared, seeing their teenage daughters possessed. The priest then shouted to them to restrain the girls while he went around chanting, and using talismans to calm the girls down. Summoning so much magic, the wizard had grown tired. The priest however, was unperturbed. The two circled one another warily. The wizard was the first to strike, lunging at the priest who dodged his blows easily.The fight only lasted a short while. The wizard had got careless, and gave the priest an opportunity to slide the blessed peachwood sword through him. Sticking a talismans on the sword quickly, the priest chanted rapidly.
Kang Fei's father was out there in the field. He recalled the expression of disbelief on this wizard's face, just before his soul dispersed into oblivion. The farmers were overjoyed by what the priest had done. They were saved from the revengeful wizard's ordeal.
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