The Tale of the Ghost Eyes Chapter 76 The Magical Ability of the Master Ge

"Who's he?" Shang Haoming asked, looking from the man with the sword to Zhao Jie and then to me.

"He is a powerful master." I told him, with a smile wrestling its way onto my face, "We're saved."

All the panic, the fear, everything faded away.

The rotten corpse stepped backwards, lost its footing and stumbled down the hill. The spirit hovering around it darted backwards after it. The two regained their footing and stood silently by the disturbed mound of sand. Master Ge raised his copper sword and stepped forward.

"I don't know why you harbor so much hatred for the living," He called down to the split creature below us, "But I understand some of your plight." He took another step down the steep hill, sword pointed downwards. "You've died. You were abandoned. You were tossed into the wild like garbage and feasted on by the animals. Your pain is justified, but this is not the way!"

The corpse shook its head from side to side, mirroring the red spirit now hovering beside it. As one the two mouths opened and began shouting at Master Ge. The dead voices mixed into a horrible barking sound that cut through the trees.

Master Ge's face folded into a frown. He raised his free hand and traced a tactic of Taoism. He wiped the copper sword as if to clean it. When his hand slipped past the blade I saw a yellow light gleaming on its surface. A heat resonated from the luminous blade and I knew Master Ge had used supernatural air.

"It's like the sun…" I awed. Master Ge uttered a grunt.

"Focused sunlight, boy." He said, not turning towards me. "This is one of the best ways to use Yang air on ghosts…or zombies."

"Most masters would need a set of trigram mirrors to do that." Zhao Laohei said quietly, "Master Ge, I'm impressed."

Master Ge said nothing.

The old master traced his hand in another Taoist rite. Both versions of the undead child took another step back, this time with a slight delay by the corpse. The air around them seemed to darken like they were pulling Yin air from the very trees.

Master Ge snorted. "Don't think you can use these woods to your benefit. You are no match for me young one. It's a pity you died before testing this life with a will like yours."

Without turning to the group, Master Ge spoke. "Shi Yong, you will stay with me. Everyone else needs to go. Join the villagers at the base of the mountain."

"Stay?" I asked, feeling the muscles in my legs tighten as if to turn and run away. "Are you sure?"

"Master Ge," Zhao Laohei started, "Xiao Yong..."

Master Ge cut him off, "Do you think I can't protect the boy, Zhao Laohei?" The copper sword flashed in his hand. "I have my reasons to keep him here. If you want these monsters gone then you'll heed me and go."

Zhao Laohei scowled at the old master's back. He hesitated for a second and then gave me the peach wood sword. "Take this." He said, "It may not be an enchanted necklace, but it's made of real peach wood."

Zhao Jie and Wang Chunmei approached and handed the copper and compass to me. The small pile of treasures in my hand was warm. "Thank you." I said, not able to find better words for the relief that flooded me.

With the treasures tight in my hand, the pain in my legs seemed to lessen. I stood up straight and walked down the hill to stand beside Master Ge.

When the others were gone from our sight I asked, "Why did you ask me to stay?"

He smiled an old man smile that looked very much like Master Liu's. "Don't worry son, you're not to be bait. I need your power."

"My power?" I asked, "After summoning that spirit, I don't think I have any power left!"

His eyebrows rose in question. "You can summon a god? You're only eleven!"

I nodded. "Master Liu taught me."

He barked a sharp laugh. "If you're that powerful, why didn't you use it to get rid of this whole problem?"

"I..." I started, but he cut me off.

"No matter. I need your help. You can see the spirit," He pointed the sword down the hill where the ghost was flitting around its body. "And I'll wager that you have enough Yin air about you that you'll be able to communicate with it better than I can. I'll walk you through it. When I have it under control I want you to ask it what it wants. If we can help it resolve whatever keeps it here, then we won't have to kill it."

I thought of Master Liu and felt a pang of homesickness. "You're a kind man." I told him. He shot me a glance, but didn't respond.

I tightened my grip on the peach wood sword and thought about how cool I'd look if I had a frock and some paper amulets.

While I was daydreaming, Master Ge was moving. His hand darted in tactics of Taoism and he took out a yellow paper amulet. He rushed down the hill towards the red child just as it moved to hide in the mass of bushes behind it. Master Ge flung the amulet. I watched the red spirit dart away like it was a bullet, but the corpse moved slower. The white zombie shuffled its decayed feet to run, turning only slightly before the amulet took it in the side.

The corpse jolted as if it'd been shot. Its arm flung outwards and its feet tangled together. The small rotten body hit the ground next to the grave and let out a moaning cry.

"He's killed it!" I thought.

"Now the hard part." Master Ge said through gritted teeth.

My grip on the sword was loose with sweat. I steeled myself and started after him.

The red spirit dashed out of the trees and rushed towards Master Ge. It came impossibly fast, screeching all the way. Master Ge raised his sword at the last possible moment.

The blade met the baby's chest with an audible crack. Its shoulders buckled forward where a long black line now connected them, as if his sword had burned it.

The red child loosed another screech and gnashed its horrible mouth at Master Ge, but did not charge.

Master Ge huffed in breath, scowling at the spirit before him. The light emanating from the copper sword dulled from a brilliant yellow to a weak white.

As the sword light dulled, the blackness pulling from the trees seemed to thicken. "Yes, yes," Master Ge said, panting a little. "Take in all the Yin you'd like, you stubborn creature."

The old man's free hand turned into a blur and brandished another yellow amulet. Moving it in quick darting patterns, the amulet began pulsing with the same yellow light as the sword. I gawked uselessly as the light began smoldering, and then smolder became flame. A grunt of effort escaped Master Ge as he flung the blazing amulet. It twisted in the air, turning and stretching into a flaming rope. As it flew towards the red spirit, Master Ge cried, ""In the name of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, I command you! Control!"

The flaming rope danced and stretched in the air until it was a huge burning circle around the red ghost. The remaining red eye darted between the flames and Master Ge while a screech rose from its malformed mouth. Then the eye fell on me.

I watched the spirit shrink away from the fire and a sickening pity filled my head.

"Don't let it fool you!" Master Ge hissed, still darting his hands with the ritual. "Hold your treasures tight and don't let it fool you!"

I shook my head, squeezing the compass and copper in my hand. My stomach flipped and a fog washed over my thoughts, then at once it was gone.

The lone red eye seemed to widen, then blink. Two small fists rose into the air and it screamed into the sky. The ghost rushed towards Master Ge, ignoring the burning rope until it was almost searing the rotting flesh off its face. Little by little, the burning circle tightened. It hovered off the ground barely high enough to hold the red boy.

The scream of rage became a wail. I watched the baby grab the rope and pull back as it was burned. The rotten face folded into a cry of pain and once again I was flooded with pity.

"You are lonely." Master Ge said, shaking his head, "You are in pain. And you do not belong…" He waved his hand once more, tightening the rope until it was almost burning the spirit on every side, "…here."

"Shi Yong!" He cried, "Speak as I speak, and feel it in your heart. We are saving this creature!" He started the incantation. I mimicked his every syllable until it repeated and our words formed into one string of Taoist speech.

The sound of the forest faded. The flames roaring in a constant circle around the infant fell silent. Moment by moment, all noise left the world. Even the pained cries of a baby spirit fell away.

As one, Master Ge and I stopped chanting. I realized my lips had gone numb and the pain in my legs was gone. I couldn't feel the peach wood sword in my hand, nor the compass or copper. My eyes were locked onto the rotting red spirit before me and all I could feel was its pain.

Chapter end