Chapter 121
121 Which Mischief Ghost
Li Yu had been busy catching thieves when she returned and had forgotten to find Ruyi to get the dozen or so stalks of rice.
Li Yu said to Ruyi, “Ruyi, bring me those dozen or so stalks of rice. Remember to take a look at the yield of those two acres of farmland and those wild rice when you go to the farm.”
“I’ll remember that, Miss. Please wait a moment. I’ll go get the rice grains now.”
Li Yu nodded and recalled when she picked those wild rice last year. She thought to herself that the wild rice in the mountains should be ripe and she should go up the mountain again to pick more wild rice for breeding.
Ruyi brought over the rice grains and handed them to Li Yu. After Li Yu took the rice grains, she opened them and counted them. There were two stalks with more than 110 grains. The rest were between 90 to 100 grains.
Li Yu returned to the house and placed the two stalks with 110-odd grains separately in the bag before hiding them in the space. Then, she changed her clothes and carried the cloth bag and backpack up the mountain.
At the end of the afternoon, Butler Ye invited Taoist Wei from Clear Wind Temple.
The Ye family’s neighbor saw that this Taoist Priest Wei had white hair and a beard. He was wearing a green Taoist robe and holding a horsetail whisk. He looked like a sage. He said to the women who were watching the commotion, “This old immortal looks like he’s capable. He should be able to drive away the evil. Otherwise, it would be a little scary to live next door to the Ye family.”
A woman curled her lips. “His family is sinister and must have received retribution for their sins. His family won’t be at peace.”
The neighbor lowered his voice. “Who asked them to have the ability to obtain an academic title? It’s better for us commoners not to provoke these people.”
Butler Ye pointed at the door and said to Priest Wei, “Taoist, look. There was knocking on this door all night last night and only calmed down at dawn. I wonder what evil creature it provoked.”
Priest Wei looked at the door. “Householder Ye, please bring me into the residence first.”
Butler Ye bowed and invited Priest Wei into the Ye residence. He pointed at the crows circling on the roof. “Taoist Priest, please take a look. Those crows have been circling the roof since this morning.”
Priest Wei walked around the courtyard, calculated with his fingers, waved his whisk, and sang, “Supreme Grand Unity Heavenly Venerate, High Scholar Ye has provoked a malicious ghost for revenge. It’s extremely dangerous. If I want to open the altar immediately, I have to erect a Tao Field for 49 days to expel it.”
Butler Ye felt a chill on the back of his neck when he heard that. He hurriedly bowed to Taoist Wei. “Daoist, please wait for a moment. I’ll report it to Master.”
Priest Wei nodded and smiled. “Go!”
After Ye Gui left, Priest Wei looked at the roof and smiled. He walked to the door and wiped his finger on it. He placed it under his nose and smelled it. He thought to himself, “Which mischievous person did this? He thought of such a secret method to teach the Ye family a lesson. However, it really fits the saying that he who has never done anything wrong in his life is not afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night. It seems that the Ye family has done a lot of dastardly deeds.”
Butler Ye walked into the main room and bowed. “Master, the Taoist priest said that you provoked a malicious ghost and it’s extremely dangerous. You need to do 49 days of ritual to get rid of it.”
Madam Ye looked at High Scholar Ye with red and swollen eyes. High Scholar Ye hid on the bed and gritted his teeth. “Tell, tell the Taoist priest that it’s best to destroy its soul.”
“Yes, Master.” Butler Ye bowed and left, telling Priest Wei about High Scholar Ye’s decision.
Taoist Wei walked out after hearing this. “There’s no time to lose. Follow me back to the temple to obtain my Dharma artifact.” The two of them went out and got into the carriage to rush towards Clear Wind Temple.
After Li Yu went up the mountain, she hunted a few pheasants and went to the warthog’s nest at the foot of the slope. She saw that the warthogs were indeed sunbathing there again.
Li Yu looked at the silly-looking warthogs and realized that there were more and more warthogs. She thought to herself, Heh! The family is getting stronger and stronger! Too many members fighting for food will easily affect the principle of harmony. I’ll help you resolve the hidden danger.
Li Yu raised her bow and shot five warthogs in a row. The others roared and crawled into the hole.
Li Yu put the warthog into her space and climbed up the mountain to the pine forest. She went downhill to the pond to see that the group of wild ducks was still there. Thinking that her family was busy farming, she wanted to catch a few more to improve their lives. If only she could encounter wild boars.
Li Yu took out a crossbow from her space and walked to the side of the pond from the back of the forest. She shot more than ten in one go before stopping. She walked over and picked up the wild ducks and placed them in her space. She then picked up some wild duck eggs before walking along the ditch to the place where she picked the wild rice last time.
On the way, she hunted a few hares and pheasants and arrived at the ravine. Seeing that the wild rice was still growing sparsely, Li Yu put down the backpack and took out the cloth bag. She plucked the ripe wild rice and placed it in the cloth bag. It took more than an hour to finish picking all the ripe wild rice before she turned around and walked back with the backpack on her back. Halfway there, she took out the prey and placed it in the backpack before carrying it home.
Li Yu carried the prey to the Zhou family’s kitchen. Auntie He saw that Li Yu was carrying a warthog in each hand, and her backpack was filled with prey. She hurriedly helped put down the backpack. “So many things again! Miss, those warthogs in the mountains have become your pets!”
Li Yu smiled and said to Auntie He, “Auntie He, there are five warthogs this time. Pack up the warthogs and send one to my aunt’s house. Then, take two wild ducks and pheasants. Pack up the rest and add these to the food for the servants and the long-term workers.”
Auntie He saw that Li Yu was sweating profusely and handed her a cup of herbal tea. Her heart ached as she said, “Hurry up and wash up and change into a thinner dress. It’ll cool you down.”
Li Yu also felt that her clothes were stuck to her body and she was covered in sweat. She took the herbal tea. “Alright, just make the arrangements! Don’t tire yourself out.”
“I know. You take care too.” Auntie He sent Li Yu back to the kitchen and chose two fat wild ducks and a pheasant to put aside. She began to pack up the warthogs and send them to Li Mei’s house.
Old Madam Liu counted. “Yo! There are seventeen wild ducks and so many pheasants and hares. This food is better than the landlord’s!”
Old Madam Peng laughed. “We eat good food every day now. It’s really better than the food of those small landlords in the village.”
Old Madam Yang smiled and sighed. “That’s right! Who knew that I would have a good life when I am old?”
Auntie He looked at the old women. “Miss and Young Master are kind to us, so we have to cherish them. Don’t take it for granted. Let me tell you, Miss and Young Master can’t be trifled with. Once you commit a crime, you can only be sold .”
Old Madam Liu and the others said to Auntie He, “Auntie He, don’t worry. We know very well that Miss bought us back out of kindness. I won’t let anyone who dares to do anything to Miss and Young Master off.”
Li Yu didn’t know that after she left, Auntie He gave the old women a political lesson. It seemed to be very effective.