The gluttonous little boy is four and a half years old, and even the wealthy family kneels down and

Vashana took a thin red rope from the drawer, dipped it in a porcelain bowl containing rooster blood, and then pulled it out, still wet.

She first wrapped her arms around the male puppet's left ankle three times, then took the female puppet's right ankle and wrapped it around it three times as well, finally tying a knot in the middle.

"Left foot leading right foot, a thousand miles in a single step." She murmured as she tied the knot, her knuckles tightening. "Red thread binds yin and yang, life and death share this path."

After tying the three knots, she placed the two wax figures face to face into the black wooden box.

He then grabbed a small handful of dark brown soil from the iron can under the offering table and spread it on the bottom of the box, and also sprinkled in the ashes from the burnt note that Wenwen had brought.

She looked up at Wen Wen and held up one finger.

"hand."

Wen Wen paused for a moment, then reached out her hand.

Vashana pinched her index finger, picked up the thin needle with her other hand, and quickly pricked her fingertip.

Wen Wen gasped softly in pain, and a drop of blood oozed out.

Vashana pinched her fingers and tapped each of the two wax figures on their foreheads before closing the box.

She placed her hands on the box, closed her eyes, and her lips began to tremble rapidly.

This time she read for a long time, her voice rising and falling.

Wen Wen noticed that the smoke from the black incense stick on the altar, which had been rising straight up, was now swirling and turning, as if something invisible was moving around in the room.

Vasana opened her eyes.

"alright."

She handed the black wooden box to Wen Wen. Wen Wen reached out and took it; the box was cold to the touch and heavier than she had expected.

"Remember," Vashana's voice suddenly turned cold, "once you take the box back, always keep it in a dark, draft-free place."

Wenwen nodded.

"Every night around midnight, light three black incense sticks outside the box. The incense must burn completely, and not a single one should go out."

"When you light the incense, recite the incantation I just chanted."

"You can only do it after reciting it for forty-nine days."

"Then..." Wen Wen opened her mouth, "What if I accidentally forget?"

Vashana looked at her but didn't smile.

"If you forget," she said calmly, "the backlash won't be on the contents of the box, it will be on yourself."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Wenwen felt a chill run down her spine and hugged the box tightly to her chest.

"I understand," she said.

Vasana waved her hand, as if shooing away a fly, "Let's go."

-

The next morning, with the rooster's crow, the sun shone brightly on the earth.

Yun Zi'ang frowned and mumbled indistinctly, "So noisy!!"

Xiao Jin was sleeping sprawled out, her feet resting on Yun Ziang's chest, her whole body lying sideways.

Yun Ziang pulled the blanket up over his head and mumbled incoherently, "I'm not eating anymore... just five more minutes... just five minutes..."

Xiao Jin had already nimbly crawled out of bed, her hair sticking up in all the while, and ran into the yard in her little slippers.

There was an open-air pond in the yard, with a rusty water pipe sticking out from the wall. She stood on tiptoe, turned on the tap, scooped up a handful of cool water and splashed it on her face, making a "chirp" sound. Then she rolled up her sleeves and carefully rubbed her chubby little hands.

Breakfast had already been laid out in the main room.

Sun Liqiang's wife cooked white porridge, steamed eggs, chopped a small dish of pickled vegetables, and reheated the leftover stir-fry from last night before serving it.

The table was wiped clean, and the bowls and chopsticks were neatly arranged.

Xiao Jin climbed onto the long bench and sat down. Her two short legs could barely reach the edge of the bench. Holding a white porcelain bowl that was bigger than her face, she slurped down her porridge.

Kong Zheng sat next to her, eating quietly.

With half an egg stuffed in her mouth and her cheeks bulging, Xiao Jin still managed to pick up some pickled vegetables with her chopsticks. After taking a bite, she found it too salty, turned around, picked up her water glass, and gulped it down.

Sun Liqiang and his wife sat opposite each other, and seeing Xiao Jin eating with relish, they both had a smile on their faces.

Halfway through the meal, Kong Zheng put down his chopsticks and took out a piece of finely drawn paper from his cloth bag. The paper depicted the image of the Copper Scale Talisman.

A scale-patterned talisman the size of a copper coin, with cloud-shaped patterns along the edges and a slanted engraving in the center.

He pushed the paper in front of Sun Liqiang and asked politely, "Mayor Sun, there were originally twelve bronze scale talismans in the well of the Dragon Locking Well, but now four are missing."

"This is what the talisman looks like. Could you ask the villagers to look for it? I'm afraid that once it's taken down, it might be mistaken for something valuable and taken away to play with."

Sun Liqiang took the paper, looked at it, frowned, and asked, "What is this? Is it gold or copper?"

Kong Zhengwen explained gently, "It's neither gold nor bronze. It's just an ancient talisman used to suppress evil spirits in wells. Carrying it on your person is not a good thing; on the contrary, it will bring misfortune."

"If someone mistakenly takes it, over time, it will harm their health and luck. It's best to find it back as soon as possible."

Upon hearing the word "trouble," Sun Liqiang's expression immediately turned serious, and he folded the paper neatly and put it in his pocket.

"I'll use the loudspeaker to announce to the whole village in a bit that if any kids have taken it, they should hand it over right now, or don't blame me, the town mayor, for not warning them if something happens."

After he finished speaking, he thought for a moment and then asked, "If it's found, who will it be handed over to?"

"Leave it to me," Kong Zheng said.

Sun Liqiang nodded and was about to get up to get the loudspeaker when Kong Zheng called out to him again: "Mayor Sun, please sit down. There's something else I'd like to ask you."

He went back to his room, took out the elementary school graduation photo, walked back and placed it on the table, pointed to the only girl among the six children who was looking out of the camera's view, and asked:

"Do you remember who this girl is? Where is she now?"

Sun Liqiang took the photo, squinted at it for a few seconds, opened his mouth, and frowned in a troubled expression:

"This photo is so old that it's a bit blurry, I couldn't recognize it at first glance."

He flipped the photo over and over again, as if he was really trying hard to recognize it.

Kong Zheng did not back down, his tone still gentle but with a hint of insistence: "These are all your son's elementary school classmates, there are more than twenty students in one class."

"And look, these six children are standing in the middle, holding hands, they must be playing very well. This girl, think about it carefully again."

Sun Liqiang looked at it for a while, then suddenly hissed and pointed at the photo with his finger:

"Now that you mention it, I remember. This seems to be one of my son's classmates, but what's his name... Oh dear, I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be."

"My son was very mischievous when he was little. He got along with everyone and had many classmates. How could I possibly remember them all?"

Kong Zheng looked at Sun Liqiang, seemingly trying to discern the truth or falsehood in his words.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Alright then."

As he spoke, he reached for the photo, but Sun Liqiang instead placed it on the table and sighed with some regret.

"Why don't I keep this photo for now? When I go out for a walk later, I can ask around and maybe someone will recognize it."

Kong Zheng stared at him quietly for a few seconds, then withdrew his hand and nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble Mayor Sun."

Xiao Jin looked up from the edge of the bowl. "What kind of photo is it? I want to see it too."

She stood up, peered at the photo in Sun Liqiang's hand, her expression faltering for a moment, then looked at Sun Liqiang's face, a complex look flashing in her eyes.

Xiao Jin didn't say anything, sat back down in her chair, lowered her head and continued to gnaw on the egg, scooping out the yolk and dipping it in some pickled vegetable juice, eating it with relish.

Kong Zheng seemed to remember something and casually asked, "By the way, when is your son arriving?"

Sun Liqiang paused, looked up at Kong Zheng, and looked somewhat surprised:

"My son? He's coming back?"

Kong Zheng was slightly taken aback, then said apologetically:

"I came home late last night and happened to overhear your wife talking to your son on the phone in the main room. I didn't mean to eavesdrop; the call was just on speakerphone."

He paused, then said sincerely, "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

Sun Liqiang's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered, though his smile was somewhat forced: "No, you misunderstood. My son has been very busy in the city lately, he doesn't have time to come back."

He put down his chopsticks and smoothly changed the subject, "Master Kong, you've been here for a day now, have you found anything out? We're all very worried. I haven't been sleeping well at night either, I keep hearing noises outside."

He leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "Is there really some evil spirit causing trouble? How about we hold a ritual to cleanse the village of bad luck? You don't need to worry about the fee; we'll prepare everything properly."

Kong Zheng did not respond immediately.

He slowly put down his chopsticks and said, "The ritual can be performed. Before we leave, I will hold a blessing ceremony in the village."

Sun Liqiang, however, seemed very impatient: "Why don't we do it today? How about noon? The yang energy is strongest at noon, wouldn't that be perfect?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at the sky outside. "Look at the weather today, it's nice. Once the sun comes out, all the dirt should run away."

Kong Zheng glanced at him discreetly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but simply smiled and said, "Mayor Sun, some things can't be rushed. I need to prepare all the necessary items for the altar first. Also, the prayer ceremony is best held in the early morning or at dusk; the yang energy is too strong at noon, which is not suitable. Let me check the date again."

He paused, looked into Sun Liqiang's eyes, and said, "If you're really worried, I've already hung a copper bell in the yard. If any evil spirits approach at night, the bell will ring, and you can just go to sleep."

Xiao Jin looked at Kong Zheng with some surprise, "Kong Kong, when did you hang it up?"

Kong Zheng replied, "Last night."

"Oh..." Xiao Jin responded softly, somewhat absentmindedly.

Upon hearing this, Sun Liqiang glanced subconsciously towards the courtyard, his expression softening slightly. He nodded repeatedly, "Alright, I feel much more at ease knowing you say that."

As he spoke, he stood up as if suddenly remembering something. "Then you guys take your time eating. I'll go get the megaphone and tell everyone to look for that... Copper Scale Talisman."

He grabbed the photos from the table and quickly walked out of the main room.

Soon, Sun Liqiang's voice blared from the loudspeaker in the courtyard, its static carrying far through the village in the early morning.

Xiao Jin finished the last mouthful of porridge, looked down at the empty bowl, and muttered something under her breath:

He just lied.