Country Stories

My name is Zhuge Liuyun, and I have been traveling around the world with my master, Taoist Master Xuanchen, since I was sixteen years old. It has been twenty-seven years in total. In the past twenty years, I have seen the bones of Qing soldiers who have been guarding for a century under the old locust tree in Qingfengling, holding half a jade pendant waiting for a belated bow; I have also seen the bone flute in Luomapo leading zombies to jump over the grave under the moonlight. ; There is half a hosta hidden at the bottom of the lotus pond in Lianhuawu, and hands that are white with soaked water are stretched out from the coffin, just waiting for a lifelong "I'm sorry"; there are also paper figures in Shipan Village with locks of hair stuffed in their wedding dresses, and the scarecrows in Dumb Valley have wooden figures with needles wrapped in their stomachs... Master always said that most of the evil spirits in the world are the scabs of the human heart. When greed arises, it will lead to grave-digging disasters; when debts last for a long time, resentments will develop to demand debts. I followed him to pick out paper figures with a peach wood sword, sprinkle glutinous rice over corpses, and calm down resentments with yellow talismans. But in the end, I found that the most effective thing was never these magic weapons - it was to repay the debts that should be paid, to admit the mistakes that should be made, and to break the obsessions that should be made. These words remember the ghosts I have seen, and even more so the people I have met. Those anecdotes hidden in the corners of the countryside are, in the final analysis, the unexplained human heart and the unfinished cause and effect. Now that Master has long since emerged, I have clarified these things clearly, and I should serve as a reminder to future generations: there is God in the three feet above your head, and there is cause and effect in every inch of soil under your feet. When you are a person and do things, you must keep a certain amount of reverence, so that you can go a long way.