Ever since I was a child, I heard my grandmother say that on the night I was born, a very strange thing happened.
That night, my mother was in the hospital while my father paced anxiously outside, sweating profusely. A moment later, my grandfather walked over, leaning on his cane.
"Hasn't she come out yet?"
Looking at my anxious grandfather, my father said helplessly, "Dad, stop worrying. How much time has even passed?"
Hearing my father's words, my grandfather widened his eyes and said with exasperation, "What did you say? Let me tell you, if anything happens to the child and her mother, I'll break your legs! Get your head in the game."
My father didn't dare talk back. Grandfather was old, and if he got so angry that something happened to him, the loss would outweigh the gain. So, he quickly fobbed him off, saying, "I know, I know. You old folks don't need to worry; both the mother and the child will be fine. Besides, it's not a premature birth, there's no need to make a fuss over nothing."
Though my father said this, inside he was more anxious than anyone else; he simply hid it very well.
At these words, my grandfather slammed his cane hard against the floor, making a loud thudding sound. "How can I not worry? You're a grown man and you still don't know what's urgent and important! By the way, has Xiaoli arrived yet?"
My father shook his head and said gravely, "No, none of us told Xiaoli about this. But matters back in our hometown still require her help. Those fruits and vegetables back home aren't easy to manage—with her there, I can rest easy."
Grandfather nodded, agreeing with my father's assessment. His deep gaze looked into the distance as if pondering something. After a long while, he said sternly to my father, "Do not expose our identities. Tonight, we just watch the show and honestly play the role of mere spectators."
My father nodded heavily. "Right, I understand."
At that moment, grandfather's gaze locked onto the village entrance. Though a wall separated them, grandfather seemed able to see right through it. Pulling back his gaze, he said indifferently, "They're finally here. Hmph, courting death."
Hearing this, my father also looked toward the village entrance and then said, "Dad, Xiaofeng is here."
Grandfather nodded, smiling without a word. Then he immediately dropped the smile, put on an anxious expression, and took a heavy puff from his dry tobacco pipe. He inhaled deeply, slowly exhaled a pale blue puff of smoke, and sighed. "Alas, we can only fight for our lives now. Go home and fetch that object; let's hope it's useful."
"Don't! Do not take that thing. These ghosts are here to protect him; doing that will only weaken these ghosts' strength and allow the true enemies to exploit the opening."
A young man stepped out from the darkness and said heavily.
Grandfather and father turned to look at the young man. Grandfather was overjoyed: the young man was my father's younger brother, my Second Uncle. He had been studying Daoism since childhood and almost never came back; the last time he visited was over a dozen years ago. Seeing that it was his younger brother, the stone in grandfather's heart finally fell to the ground.
Grandfather asked doubtfully, "How come you're back?"
Second Uncle said with a serious expression, "Father, Big Brother, let's not talk about that for now. The child will be born tonight, and there is immense danger. Those people have already arrived; if we wait any longer, it will be too late."
My father was sweating profusely with anxiety and hurriedly asked, "What's going on? What kind of people? What kind of danger?"
"Big Brother, don't worry about all that right now. Hurry to the back mountain to pick someone up."
"Pick up who?"
Grandfather raised his cane, struck my father across the leg, and roared, "Why ask so many questions? If you want to save your wife and child, listen to your brother! Go quickly, stop dawdling—if you're any later, it'll be too late!"
My father took off running. The back mountain wasn't all that far, a twenty-minute trip back and forth.
Second Uncle shouted a reminder, "Red clothes, by the locust tree grove! Remember, don't run to the wrong place!"
My father yelled back without looking back, "Got it!"
My father ran all the way toward the back mountain's locust tree grove. Because he was running in a great rush and didn't bring a flashlight, it didn't affect his speed in the slightest; within a mere few breaths, my father disappeared into the brush.
Upon reaching the locust tree grove, a group of people were resting there—about one or two hundred in total. Leading them was a young girl wearing red clothes. The girl tilted her head and looked at my father with curiosity, while the others didn't even glance at him, keeping their heads down attending to their own business.
My father ran up to the girl, looked her over, and said with a feigned, panting breath, "My younger brother Chen Yanfeng sent me to pick you up."
The girl nodded and said coolly, "Lead the way."
Without resting, my father led the group rushing madly toward the hospital. To keep the others from suspecting anything, he kept instinctively regulating his pace.
After some unknown amount of time, the party arrived outside the hospital. The girl said to my father, "You go on up first. No matter what happens, do not come back down. I'll handle whatever is down here."
My father hurried upstairs and found grandfather at the doorway of the hospital room.
"I told you to go pick people up, where are they?"
"They've arrived. They're downstairs and told me to come up first."
Hearing this, grandfather also let out a sigh of relief. "And Second Uncle?"
Grandfather shook his head helplessly. "Your second younger brother already went down. He told me to wait here until you guys came up."
"Dad, who on earth are these people?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
Just as grandfather finished speaking, countless dogs began barking all around the hospital. Grandfather and father quickly ran up to the rooftop. The scene before their eyes was one they would never forget for the rest of their lives: the surroundings of the hospital were completely filled with dense, countless black shadows.
What surprised the two of them, however, was that these ghosts had their backs turned to the hospital, holding uniform weapons, gazing straight ahead with an intense murderous aura and neatly aligned formations. Every single ghost exuded waves of yin energy that converged into the sky, instantly plunging the temperature of the typically sultry night within a radius of several miles into a drastic drop.
The entire hospital was enveloped by a pale blue barrier of light, cutting off that thick yin energy.
The hospital was the tallest building in the village, so naturally it overlooked the entire settlement. Footsteps sounded from behind grandfather and father. They turned around: the newcomer was none other than my Second Uncle. Second Uncle walked to the edge of the rooftop and muttered to himself, "It has come after all."
"What has come?"
"I don't know clearly either. Coming down the mountain this time was my master's order. Before leaving, Master sternly instructed me:
"Realized Person Daolin: 'Yanfeng, this time when you return to the village down the mountain, you must be extremely cautious. Remember to go to the village hospital on the night of the Ghost Festival to protect two people.'"
"What people does Master want me to protect?"
"An unborn child."
"A child?"
Realized Person Daolin said solemnly, "Yes. Before then, you must ensure the safety of his mother at all costs until the child is born. If necessary, you may ask nearby Daoist sects for help. If you see disciples of Buddhism, stop them by any means necessary—even if it means killing them."
Chen Yanfeng was startled upon hearing this and said anxiously, "Master! Absolutely not! We have no reason to fall out with Buddhism over an unborn child."
Realized Person Daolin said powerlessly, "This is an order from above; I cannot disobey it either."
Chen Yanfeng asked skeptically, "But, Master! Why would there be such an order from above?"
Realized Person Daolin shook his head, looking unwilling to say more. "I don't know either. All we can do is complete the task assigned from above. Say no more, go quickly."
"Yes, Master! This disciple obeys your command." With that, Second Uncle had retreated.
His master watched his departing figure and softly said, "Good luck!"
Second Uncle stopped there. "That's all I know. I must go complete the next task."
Grandfather hurriedly asked, "What's the situation downstairs?"
Chen Yanfeng smiled. "A hundred ghosts surrounding the village—a supernatural phenomenon that hasn't appeared for thousands of years. But don't worry, these are all here to protect this little fellow. This little fellow is extraordinary and is bound to accomplish great things in the future."
"Alright, you two go back quickly. No matter what happens downstairs, do not interfere, and do not go down."
With that, Second Uncle leaped off the edge of the rooftop. Grandfather and father were dumbfounded; they rushed to the edge of the rooftop, leaned out, and looked down, but they couldn't see Second Uncle at all. Both broke out in a cold sweat for him.
Father and grandfather exchanged glances, then turned and walked back inside the hospital.
At midnight, the cry of a child finally rang out from the delivery room. Both father and grandfather let out sighs of relief. Father ran to the door of the delivery room, gazing forward expectantly. At this moment, grandfather pressed his palms together and muttered, "Great, finally safe."
A moment later, the door opened, and a doctor walked out holding an infant. Father took the child with trembling hands, cradled him gently against his chest with a look of utter adoration. Grandfather also hurried over, grabbing the doctor's hands and thanking him profusely.
The doctor smiled. "It's a boy. Mother and child are both safe."
Grandfather thanked him again. "Thank you so much! Whether it's a boy or a girl doesn't matter, as long as the mother and child are safe and sound."
Father carried the child into the ward. Mother was propping herself up hard on the bed, wanting to get up and see the baby. Father quickly comforted her, "Lie back down quickly, your body is still very weak."
"Let me see the child."
Father held the child and leaned down to show him to Mother. Mother tried hard to lift one hand, wanting to stroke the child. Father gently pulled Mother's hand and placed it on the baby's face. A dazzling smile bloomed across Mother's face.
Grandfather watched this scene with an indescribable joy in his heart—so much so that the next day, grandfather hosted a banquet inviting relatives and friends to drink at home, not going to sleep until four in the morning.