Mrs. May’s Survival Diary

Chapter 2 – Ghost Taoist

Rong Yinshuang’s eldest son, Mei Zhouxi, and the younger one, Mei Zhouyuan, were hugging each other. 

 [TL Notes: The elder son, Mei Zhouxi’s nick-name is Da’er, and the younger one, Mei Zhouyuan’s nick-name is Mo’er.]

Da’er’s face was still a little bruised. Rong Yinshuang, who was drying clothes with the help of the fire, looked at her elder son’s face and asked, “Da’er, your face is still in pain?”

Da’er was still feeling the pain, but he didn’t want to worry his mother, so he shook his head and replied, “Mother, It’s not hurting anymore.”

Unwilling to reveal the child’s good intentions, Rong Yinshuang bit her bottom lip and nodded. She thanked God for allowing the two kids to remain by her side in such a terrible situation.

Because it was June, clothes dried quickly, and Rong Yinshuang moved over to the side of the two kids, crouched down, and smiled while asking Mo’er, “Mo’er, Are you hungry?”

In a childlike voice, Mo’er nodded and replied, “Mother, Xiao Dudu, hungry.”

Rong Yinshuang gave him a hug, let him sit on her body, and dressed him before asking, “Really? Then be good; Mom will quickly go and find something to eat for you and your brother. Okay?”

Mo’er smiled innocently, looked at Rong Yinshuang, and said, “Yes, good.”

The clothes had already dried, so Rong Yinshuang put on the clothes of two children and started to put on her clothes, and then she saw a figure wearing a tattered Taoist uniform standing at the door. He was an old person with a sword on his back and a copper gourd hanging from his waist. Rong Yinshuang thought that he was a Taoist priest who was living in this temple.

Thinking of her disheveled clothes, Rong Yinshuang hurriedly put on her skirt. She was still a little scared, but she also understood that this Taoist temple was not her private house, and she had no right to ask other people not to come in.

Seeing the old Taoist priest, Rong Yinshuang was about to turn around, but who knew the figure of the Taoist priest would move in front of her in an instant, scaring Rong Yinshuang. 

“Can you see me?” The Taoist priest exclaimed.

Rong Yinshuang: “Are you a human or a ghost?”

The old Taoist priest frowned and muttered, “You mother and sons are in a Taoist temple, and how can you speak evil words?”

“Ah, you are not a ghost.” Rong Yinshuang said with relief.

Da’er led Mo’er to Rong Yinshuang’s side, pulled her skirt, and asked, “Mother, who are you talking to?”

Hearing the elder son’s question, Rong Yinshuang glanced at Da’er in disbelief. She suddenly remembered the appearance of the blue and white water ghost when she was about to drown in the lake. Rong Yinshuang was shocked, bent down to pick up the two children, and hid aside, staring at the old man in horror. She then saw that the old Taoist priest who was approaching them didn’t have any feet. 

“Ah——”

Rong Yinshuang was really scared and screamed in fright, but the old man suddenly approached, and his face almost touched Rong Yinshuang, so she cried without tears.  She was thinking about what sin they had committed to face such a miserable situation today. 

“Well, although it’s a female, the face is okay.” The Taoist priest stepped back, talking to himself, and then said to Rong Yinshuang in a commanding tone, “Stretch your hand; I’ll look at the palm prints.”

Rong Yinshuang was scared to death and wanted to run away, but remembering that she had to run against a ghost, no matter how unwilling she was, she dared not disobey him at this time, tremblingly stretched out her right hand. 

The old Taoist said again, “Hands.”

Rong Yinshuang bit her lip, had no choice but to put down the two children first, let them grab her skirt, and then stretched out her two hands.

The elderly Taoist bowed his head, studied her palms for a while, and then turned around while muttering to himself. 

Seeing he had turned around, Rong Yinshuang picked up the two children and ran outside, but as soon as she went out, the old ghost stood in front of her again and said to her, “Your family is in trouble, you can meet a noble person, enjoy seven years of blessings, one catastrophe, and one hundred years of wealth and honour after passing through it. I don’t think your palm prints have any ominous features, so it should be fine. Generally speaking, it is a rare and precious life.”

The ghost priest continued to approach Rong Yinshuang, but she continued to back off and ignore what he had to say.

“Do you know why I don’t want to reincarnate here?” he asked.

[T/L: Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical idea that, following biological death, the soul or spirit starts a new existence in a new body.]

“You… do you have an unfulfilled wish?” Rong Yinshuang asked while trying to control her trembling voice.

The ghost Taoist repeatedly nodded, saying, “Ah yes! Although I possess a vast amount of Taoism, no one may inherit it. So how can I reincarnate with peace of mind?”

[T/L: The Chinese philosophy of Taoism, also called Daoism, is credited to Lao Tzu (about 500 BCE). It originated as a folk religion practiced by people in China’s rural areas and later became the official religion of the nation under the Tang Dynasty. Taoism is thus a philosophy as well as a religion. Similar to Confucianism, Taoism is based on the idea of harmonious order in both nature and society. If you are interested in “Taoism,” you can find a lot of information on the web.]

Rong Yinshuang bravely stated, “Master thinks that I…am suitable?”

The ghost priest gave a firm handshake and said, “Not suitable.”

Hearing those words, Rong Yinshuang was relieved and exhaled.

The ghost Taoist thought for a while and continued, “But others can’t see me! My mahogany wood sword and copper gourd are buried in the grave next to the Shili Pavilion. And there is also a book written by myself. It is divided into spell chapters and soul suppression chapters. You take it first, and I will teach you the method.” 

Rong Yinshuang wanted to deny the ghost priest’s order, but she was too scared to take a risk. So she went to hug her two sons to take them with her, but she heard the Taoist ghost say, “Go by yourself, go quickly. This Taoist temple is much safer than outside, so keep your children here and go.”

Rong Yinshuang didn’t want to leave the two children behind, and when she was going to speak, she saw the ghost priest waving his hand, and a golden light appeared in the dilapidated Taoist temple. Then Da’er and Mo’er suddenly fell asleep. Rong Yinshuang was shocked. “What are you doing? Da’er, Mo’er, wake up quickly.” 

The ghost priest floated in front of her and said, “Don’t worry, it’s just two sleep talismans, you go quickly; I don’t have much time, your two sons sleep here, I will put a vajra cover on them, even if all the ghosts from the underworld crawl out, they can’t hurt them.”

[T/L: “Vajra cover—classic brocade protective case.]

Rong Yinshuang was still unsure, but she knew in her heart that if the ghost priest truly meant to murder their mother and sons, he wouldn’t bother with them so much. 

The ghost priest appeared in front of her once more, obscuring her view, and said, “Go quickly and return. Don’t delay, as the night will become more vibrant outside, and I’m concerned you won’t be able to handle it.”

Rong Yinshuang returned her gaze to her sons, who were sleeping soundly on the haystack, and finally exited the Taoist temple, heading towards the Shili Pavilion.

She had been to Shili Pavilion with her husband back then when they went out of the city to play. But she didn’t know that there was a lonely grave behind the pavilion, and the person buried there was a Taoist priest.

Thinking back over the years, the husband treated her like a pearl, like a treasure, and never let her feel wrong, but now the two were separated by death, stumbling her peaceful life down. On the way, she could feel a few creepy things standing on both sides of the road, but Rong Yinshuang didn’t dare to stare directly, so she had to conceal her head and keep moving forward.

When she arrived at Shili Pavilion, there was no way out behind the pavilion; she had to pass through the haystacks. All types of weeds scraped on her hands and body; it was a horrible experience. But when she remembered that her sons were with the ghost priest, she gritted her teeth and moved forward. 

Finally, the weeds were pushed away, and Rong Yinshuang saw the lonely grave with a picture of eight trigrams engraved on the stone tablet in front of the grave, with no name or surname, and no one knew who set up the grave for him.

[T/L: The eight diagrams represent the following natural phenomena: the sky, the earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, and lake. Therefore, the image portrayed ancient Chinese knowledge of the universe.]

She dug up the soil three feet in front of the grave, as instructed by the ghost Taoist priest, and she spotted a long oilcloth parcel. Then she took it with trembling fingers and opened it. 

There was an old wooden sword without a scabbard, black and glossy, surrounded by runes, and a copper gourd. There was a book beneath the sword and gourd as well.

It was pitch black all around, and Rong Yinshuang stood up with the things. When she turned around, she met a pale face bleeding from seven holes.

“Ah–“

She was so terrified that she fell to the ground. Rong Yinshuang leaned back against the stone tablet in front of the ghost priest’s grave and covered her eyes with her palms, but she didn’t dare to close them completely since the evil spirit was rushing towards her. Panicked, Rong Yinshuang touched the sword, raised it, and dropped it. The sword stabbed the ghost’s shoulder, emitting a golden light through it. The evil spirit roared ferociously, but in an instant, it vanished, and a few hard pieces fell down.

Rong Yinshuang was so frightened that she couldn’t help panting, her forehead was soaked in cold sweat. She looked down at the mahogany sword in her hand, swallowed with a shock, then leaned against the stone tablet behind her and stood up.

Picking up the parcel scattered on the ground, she didn’t dare to put the sword in again, so she directly held it in her hand for self-defense. As she was about to leave, she saw something where the evil spirit had disappeared before. She hesitantly took a step towards that and saw that they were some copper coins. She picked up the coins and looked at them with shock. ‘Did the ghost turn into money?’

Remembering what her younger son told her earlier that he was hungry, she couldn’t care less anymore how scared she was and carefully picked up all the money scattered on the ground one by one. There were thirty-two coins in total. Even if it was not a large amount, it was a timely gift for Rong Yinshuang at this time. She carefully hid the coins in her purse and then returned to the Taoist temple.