Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 20

As a mother of a daughter, Hua Yingpo deeply understands Jiang Huiling’s feelings. If something like this happened to her own child, she would make the culprit’s life more painful than death—forcing them to beg for death while enduring both physical and mental torment day after day.

“Come inside first.”

Jiang Huiling has caused quite a scene, and the neighbors on both sides are already peering over their fences. Hua Yingpo helps her to her feet and leads her into the house, her tone now softer.

If Jiang Huiling had asked for help earlier that day, Hua Yingpo would have refused for the sake of her daughter’s safety. But after hearing Chunming’s words, the couple has found clarity. They no longer oppose their daughter’s involvement in such matters as they once did. Instead, they start thinking about accumulating merit.

Helping an innocent child and a grieving mother seems like a righteous deed.

However, Hua Yingpo isn’t sure exactly what Jiang Huiling needs or whether her actions might make things worse, so she doesn’t promise anything outright.

Jiang Huiling is already exhausted from grief and sadness. She staggers into the main hall, and Sheng Wukun immediately brings her a chair to sit in.

Jiang Huiling looks over at Baobao, a cute little girl about eight or nine years old with a round face. If her own daughter, Lingling, were still alive, she would be the same age as the girl from the Hua family. Lingling had been such a beautiful little baby.

The sight of Baobao brings tears streaming down Jiang Huiling’s face once more.

“What do you want us to do for you?” Hua Yingpo asks, sitting back in her chair, her voice heavy.

Jiang Huiling chokes up as she begins to recount the events that unfolded after Sheng Baobao and Chunming left. Her grief is so overwhelming that she can barely continue at times.

When Hua Yingpo and Sheng Wukun hear how the old woman, once so gentle, has stabbed her healthy granddaughter to death with needles and buried her body under a bridge to be trampled by others, they are nearly consumed by rage. Despite their usually selfish and cold nature, even they could never do something like that.

Not even Sheng Baobao and Chunming can remain unaffected. The little monk silently chants the Great Compassion Mantra, his rosary beads moving with steady hands. Sheng Baobao, her eyes red, has already started wiping away her tears.

How can such cruelty exist in the world? And that person had been seen as a “good person” by others.

How has she managed to pose as a loving grandmother for so many years, right in front of her son and daughter-in-law, who live with her day and night? Doesn’t she suffer nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night to face her own conscience?

“I want to ask you, Lady Hua, to help my daughter be reborn. That woman was her grandmother. If Lingling really killed her, it would be karma. She has suffered enough in this life, so please don’t let her be entangled in karma that might affect her reincarnation in the next life.”

Jiang Huiling’s anger flares, her teeth gritting with frustration. If she could, she would want to see her daughter take revenge on her enemies with her own hands. But more than that, she fears that her daughter will be caught in a cycle of karma, continuing to suffer in the afterlife.

“This favor…” Hua Yingpo hesitates. She has never tried to help wronged spirits be reborn, even if she has helped deceived souls in the past. She doesn’t deal with this kind of work.

She sits in thought, casting a glance at her daughter from the corner of her eye.

Sheng Baobao, recalling the look she exchanged with Lingling when they left Yan’s house earlier that day, feels a sense of urgency. She has a strong feeling that the little girl isn’t completely insane, that her mind isn’t consumed with only thoughts of vengeance.

So Sheng Baobao subtly nods, silently suggesting that her mother agree to help.

“I will try to help you, but I can’t promise success,” Hua Yingpo says with a reluctant expression, prepared to make an exception.

“Thank you, thank you!” Jiang Huiling says, her voice filled with gratitude. She immediately prepares to take them to the county public security bureau, where Lingling’s body is currently held.

Hua Yingpo brings the two children along. Jiang Huiling doesn’t object. She already knows that the Hua family’s children are extraordinary. Earlier in the day, they had simply glanced at the old woman and uncovered the truth. Even some temple abbots seeking fame and reputation might not have such sharp insight.

While Jiang Huiling drives to the countryside to seek Hua Yingpo’s help, Yan Sheng has already arrived at the public security bureau.

He doesn’t come to see the old woman; instead, he has learned that his daughter’s remains are now at the Public Security Bureau and wants to see Lingling.

“Come on.”

Lin Zhong leads him to the room where the remains are being kept. Fortunately, the first thing this man does upon arriving at the bureau isn’t to seek out his mother, or Lin Zhong surely would have lost his temper.

Lingling’s remains have been taken out of the wooden box. After being pieced together, it is a fairly complete skeleton of a young girl, though a rib is missing. The Public Security Bureau has already sent people to dig in the river again, hoping to find the missing bone.

“There were only a few bits of decayed flesh left on the child. When the box was opened, a swarm of leeches and the corpses of fish and shrimp were inside. These creatures had crawled in through gaps in the box. They gnawed at the child’s flesh bit by bit and grew fat, unable to escape, and died inside.”

Yan Sheng stands there in a daze, staring at the skeleton, while Lin Zhong’s cold, sarcastic voice echoes in his ears.

Lin Zhong says this deliberately. In truth, even if Lingling had been buried in the ground, various microorganisms and ants would have eaten her. But Lin Zhong wants Yan Sheng to understand just how much evil his mother has committed.

“Do you know how many needles we found in the box? A full twenty-four, each one as long as your thumb. Your mother stuck them into your daughter’s body while she was still alive. That’s why she cried every day—because the needles moved inside her. When you held her, trying to comfort her, those needles might have pierced even deeper.”

Lin Zhong, normally a tough man, can’t help but redden his eyes. “Do you know how much children fear pain? My daughter would cry for a long time whenever she had to get an IV drip, just from such a short needle. But what about your daughter? How much pain did she endure, day and night, when she was alive?”

Since becoming a father, Lin Zhong can no longer tolerate seeing children hurt. He truly doesn’t want Yan Sheng to soften and use his connections to reduce Mother Xu’s sentence.

“That’s all I have to say. You stay here with the child.”

After saying this, Lin Zhong pats Yan Sheng’s shoulder and turns to leave. As he steps outside, Jiang Huiling, accompanied by another officer, arrives with Hua Yingpo and the others. The moment Lin Zhong spots Lady Hua, his spirit lifts. He has heard of her power and didn’t expect Jiang Huiling to have brought her along.

Jiang Huiling sees her husband standing in the room, but she doesn’t say anything. As Lingling’s father, he has every right to see his daughter.

“Huiling!” Yan Sheng steps forward, wanting to take her hand, but before he can get close, Jiang Huiling avoids him. She bypasses her husband and brings Hua Yingpo to see their daughter’s remains.

“Why is it locust wood?” Hua Yingpo’s attention isn’t on the bones themselves; instead, she focuses on the wooden box placed nearby. Although they are tricksters, Hua Yingpo and Sheng Wukun have become well-versed in the taboos and rules of Feng Shui through books left by an old Taoist.

The locust tree, also known as the ghost tree, is often planted in mass graves by evil sects. Its damp, decaying wood harbors fungi known as “ghost ear,” which attract souls.

Using locust wood to make coffins can easily produce Yin spirits. When combined with underground caves, many evil cultivators use it to create puppet ghosts or zombies.

In the past, Hua Yingpo and Sheng Wukun regarded the old Taoist books as mere stories. Now that they have experienced such strange powers in the world, they no longer see those stories with the same naive eyes.

Why has the old woman used locust wood to hold the child’s remains? Does she understand what it means?

Hua Yingpo and Sheng Wukun find the situation increasingly strange. If the old woman truly knows such things, why would she have used needles to hurt the child, trying to prevent her reincarnation into the family?

Such cruel methods would only damage her karma. Since Jiang Huiling and Yan Sheng have no other children, the problem is most likely with the old woman.

Sheng Baobao doesn’t expect her mother to notice the wooden box. She, too, senses a strong Yin energy coming from it.

“What’s this?” she asks, pretending to be curious as she picks up a small wooden tablet from the table.

The object makes her feel more uneasy than the box. Her intuition screams that she needs to destroy it.

“Don’t touch it!” Hua Yingpo snaps.

Chunming wants to stop Baobao. He sees that the object she is holding is a Yin-refining talisman, specifically used for refining evil spirits. This is not a spell that ordinary people can perform. The wooden talisman should contain the blood and magical power of the evil cultivator who created it. If handled carelessly, it could result in a backlash.

At that moment, he finally understands why the ghost child harbors such strong resentment. Not every unjustly deceased person can transform into an evil ghost for revenge, especially infants, since they are not mentally developed and don’t possess the concept of revenge. Most infants who die mysteriously only follow the guidance of the reaper and report to the underworld.

The chance of a ghost child appearing is much lower than that of other evil spirits, but once one does, its destructive power far exceeds that of regular ghosts.

The locust wood box, the Yin-refining talisman, and a girl filled with resentment during her life—it all seems far more complicated than they initially realized.

“Crack!”

Unfortunately, Chunming is too late. Sheng Baobao has already snapped the wooden sign in half.

“What’s wrong?” Like a mischievous child who has made a mistake, Sheng Baobao places the two halves of the talisman back on the table, hiding her hands behind her back, looking obedient and sweet, as though nothing has happened.

“You…” Chunming wants to ask if she feels unwell, but when he looks at Baobao, she doesn’t appear to be suffering any backlash. Despite the wooden sign being soaked in water for many years, it is clearly no ordinary object. It is held together by magical power, and it shouldn’t have been so easily broken. Chunming can’t fathom how Baobao’s delicate, tender little hands have such strength. He automatically assumes that her abilities must have been taught by her parents, so Hua Yingpo and her husband receive more admiration from the little monk.

Elsewhere, Jikong is fighting with his senior brother. Jikong has the help of talismans given by Hua Yingpo, which help him restrain some of his senior brother Jixing’s disciples. Unfortunately, despite this, Jikong is still at a disadvantage in the fight. His senior brother, though less talented than him, has had some strange encounter that drastically improved his magic power, making it far superior to Jikong’s. Additionally, Jixing wields a Buddhist treasure, which turns the tide in his favor.

But soon, the situation takes a sudden turn.

Jixing suddenly vomits blood, as though he has suffered a severe injury.

“Senior brother, you’ve actually been refining ghosts!” Jikong feels a dark aura and realizes that his senior brother has hidden it well before. He hasn’t realized that Jixing has already abandoned the Buddhist path and entered the demonic way.

“How is this possible? How could anyone break my Yin-refining talisman?!” Jixing is still in disbelief. He has cast a ghost-raising spell from a hundred miles away, and now someone has broken it. This is a talisman he has created with his own blood, and the person who disrupted it has pure magical power. All the backlash from the spell has fallen onto him.

Jixing is enraged and vomits another mouthful of blood.

That was a powerful subject he had discovered by chance. When passing through Rangping, he found an old woman haunted by the ghost of her blood relative. The ghost child harbored great resentment in life, but because she had just died, her power wasn’t strong.

Jixing approached the old woman, telling her that she was haunted by her granddaughter’s ghost. He instructed her that to suppress the ghost, she had to dig the child’s body out of the grave, place the talisman he gave her on it, and then seal the body in a locust wood box before sinking it into a pond under a bridge.

The ghost child, tortured in life and trampled upon in death, would grow more resentful. After thirteen years, the child would become the most powerful puppet ghost in his possession. By then, Jixing planned to return to the temple and claim two more treasures.

Unfortunately, Jixing hadn’t anticipated the collapse of the old bridge in the ninth year, which led to the ghost child’s remains being discovered. On top of that, Sheng Baobao, an unexpected variable, has disrupted his plan and severely injured his energy at such a critical moment in the fight.

Old Monk Jikong seizes the opportunity and throws a thunder talisman.

This is the moment he has been waiting for. When Jixing’s Yin energy leaks out, the thunder talisman will be able to unleash its full power.

“I won’t accept this! Why did the master pass the position of host to that fool Jixin? The master is biased! I won’t accept it!”

Jixing’s body is covered in more wounds, his hands and feet torn open, revealing the white bones underneath.

He realizes then that he is no match for his junior brother, Jikong.

Jixing makes a quick decision, tearing the six-character mantra beads from his hand. He stuffs the main bead into his pocket and scatters the rest around him.

The treasures of Buddhism should not be tainted with bad luck. One of the beads lands near a roadside manure tank.

In his attempt to protect the beads, Jikong can only watch as Jixing makes his escape.

Who has ruined his plans?

Jixing retreats to a safe location, spitting out blood. His eyes are filled with a grim, terrifying determination—he will definitely return.

Sheng Baobao has no idea that she has unintentionally saved the old monk’s life.

In his previous life, Jikong is gravely injured in a battle with a female ghost and spends three years recovering in the area. By that time, Jixing has already switched allegiances. It isn’t until another year later, when Jixing’s ghost child is fully refined and he returns, that Jikong discovers his second brother has betrayed the Buddhist path.

At that point, Lingling has killed her grandmother with her own hands. But thanks to the Yin Refining Talisman, she has become nothing more than Jixing’s puppet ghost.

Jikong, unable to match his senior brother, eventually meets his end at Lingling’s hands in their final confrontation.

Now, everything is unfolding differently.

“The ghost child is still with that old woman.”

After receiving her daughter’s hint, Hua Yingpo realizes that the ghost child still resides with Mother Xu’s body. If they are to save the little ghost, they have to see Mother Xu first.

“I’ll take you there.”

Lin Zhong immediately agrees, and the group heads to the room where the prisoners are being held.

Yan Sheng hesitates for a long time but finally chooses to follow.

Mother Xu is locked in a solitary room. Since being taken from her home, the pain in her body has grown more intense and unbearable. She can do nothing but roll in agony and groan.

In fact, when she first develops this strange illness, she already suspects it is the revenge of her granddaughter. However, she has been too afraid to tell her son or daughter-in-law. Along with her lingering hope, she has placed her trust in various doctors from different hospitals, believing they might cure her condition.

“Xiao Sheng, Xiao Sheng, Mommy is in pain…” The old woman cries out, wondering why her son hasn’t come to help her.

Her heart aches as much as her body does. She has done everything for him, so why does he hate her so?

Mother Xu is suffering intensely.