After a full day of running around with Little Fatty, I had a hearty meal and went straight to bed. No one could have expected that after I lay down, I would never wake up again—and what happened afterward was even more bizarre.
My family didn't notice anything unusual, but Granny Liu grew increasingly uneasy. She had a nagging feeling that something ominous was about to happen.
After all, today was supposed to be the day of my destined calamity. How could it possibly pass so peacefully?
Unable to relax, Granny Liu hung a few special bells at the courtyard and front doors before bed. These bells wouldn't ring in the wind, but would chime sharply if any supernatural presence approached.
Earlier that day, she had already placed ghost-repelling wood at the front gate and sprinkled chicken blood at the threshold. Under normal circumstances, no ordinary spirit should have been able to get near the house.
Still, she wasn't at ease and added another layer of protection.
Back in her room in the west wing, Granny Liu lay in bed, tossing and turning. Old age made it hard to stay awake, and she eventually dozed off.
Around midnight, a voice echoed faintly in her ears:"He's coming... He's coming..."
At first, she thought it was a dream. But then the temperature dropped suddenly, making her shiver so hard she snapped awake.
Scratching sounds came from the door, and shadowy figures flitted past the window. Outside in the courtyard, the bells rang out in an eerie clamor—ding-ding-ding, nonstop.
Granny Liu jumped up, terrified. She didn't even stop to put on shoes before opening the door.
To her shock, the courtyard was crawling with yellow weasels and foxes. A few stood right at the doorway, scratching at it with their claws.
What startled her most wasn't the creatures—but how she hadn't woken up earlier despite all the noise.
A chill ran down her spine.
That voice in her dream—it had to be the guardian spirit she worshipped, warning her.
The bells ringing at both the courtyard and main doors meant only one thing: something evil had arrived.
Her first instinct was to check the ghost-warding wood on the gate. When she saw it, her face turned pale.
Two charred black footprints had been burned into the wood. The symbols drawn in chicken blood were all scorched and discolored.
This ghost-warding wood was carved from a ten-year-old peach tree, which evil spirits dared not cross. But this entity had walked right over it—and left clear footprints.
Clearly, this wasn't an ordinary ghost.
"Something's really wrong," Granny Liu muttered, heart pounding as she rushed toward my room.
She shouted, "Brother Wu! Wake up! Something's happened!"
But no matter how loudly she called, neither my grandfather nor my parents stirred.
With no time to waste, Granny Liu stormed into my room.
By then, I was nine and had been sleeping in my own room for a while.
What she saw made her blood run cold—my entire body was flushed red, especially my face, which looked like a ripe apple.
She reached out to touch my forehead—it was burning hot.
Just as she pulled her hand back, I suddenly let out a hoarse, raspy cough—like an old man in his seventies or eighties.
Granny Liu's heart skipped a beat. Her first thought: I had been possessed by something unclean.
But how could that be? I had a guardian spirit living inside me—a thousand-year-old immortal. With such a powerful entity protecting me, how could any spirit take over?
Still shaken, she placed her palm on the crown of my head and murmured an apology to the guardian spirit before chanting a spell.
Her voice trembled as she recited the incantation. A moment later, she pulled her hand back, her expression grim.
She could barely sense the presence of the immortal anymore—it was faint and nearly undetectable.
What she felt clearly instead... was another being, vigorous and forceful.
I had indeed been possessed.
Then she remembered the raspy voice—exactly like the one she heard earlier that day at the hospital from Old Man Wang.
Could it be him?
Was he the one destined to clash with Wu Jie?
He had seemed like an ordinary old man. He hadn't been dead long, yet he could overpower a powerful guardian spirit and walk right past every barrier and charm. He hadn't even waited for the traditional seven days to pass after death—he came immediately.
Even Granny Liu, experienced as she was, didn't know what to do.
Panicked, she rushed to my grandfather's room, banging hard on the door.
No response.
She immediately called upon her guardian spirit. Her eyes flashed with ghostly green light, and with a powerful slam, she broke the door open.
A wave of cold, damp air hit her.
She looked up and saw a thick red mist—death energy—hovering over my grandfather's bed, directly over his head.
Only then did she understand why no one had woken up—this wasn't natural sleep. The death energy had numbed their senses.
She hurried over and shook my grandfather. "Brother Wu! Wake up!"
He opened his eyes groggily. "What's going on?"
"It's Little Jie! Something's happened!"
Startled, he jumped up. "But he was perfectly fine earlier!"
"No time to explain. Get dressed and wake up his parents too!" she urged.
He instinctively reached for his knife—his weapon and his courage. As long as he had that blade, he feared nothing.
But Granny Liu stopped him. "Don't bother. That knife won't help this time. Wu Jie's been possessed."
My grandfather's expression turned grave. He threw down the blade and rushed to my room.
When he saw me lying there—red all over—he gasped.
"But we had the ghost wood at the gate! And the chicken blood! How could this happen?"
Granny Liu gritted her teeth. "I suspect it's that old man from the hospital—Wang."