Infant Spirits at Ningchang

When I first started working with my master, I only handled minor cases. He rarely took me along for major ones. It wasn't until my second year that he brought me on a significant job.

The incident occurred in Rongchang, a place between Sichuan and Chongqing. We dealt with a young girl who, according to the employer on the phone, was possessed. My master insisted on seeing it firsthand before making any conclusions. After negotiating the price, we headed to Rongchang.

Upon arriving at the employer's house, I had already developed some habits in this line of work, such as first inspecting the girl's fingers. Her nails were long, indicating they hadn't been cut for some time. They were very white, but her skin was normal. She neither smiled nor spoke, her gaze vacant, sitting motionless. She looked about five years old but lacked the liveliness typical of children her age.

My master examined her and then asked her parents to leave the room, closing the doors and windows. He started by asking for guidance using dice and then walked around the room with a compass. He then whispered to me that this case involved an infant spirit. The name alone frightened me, as I knew it referred to the soul of a child who had died prematurely.

My master had previously explained that such spirits were difficult to dispel because they were essentially like infants and didn't understand anything. He opened the door to inform the girl's parents. Upon hearing this, the mother began to cry, explaining that the girl was their first child. After her, they had another child, but due to various reasons, they lost it.

It wasn't that they didn't want the child; they just couldn't keep it. My master asked how many months old the child was when they lost it. She replied, "Five months." My master instructed the parents to tie the girl's big toes together with a red string he gave them, bathe her, change her into plain clothes, cover all reflective surfaces, and put away any photos.

They were also to buy a rooster and a few eggs. At night, they should keep the windows open and the lights on so the infant spirit wouldn't think another day had passed. After preparing these things, we would return the next day.

After leaving their home, we headed straight to a hardware market, where my master bought six large nails and a bottle of industrial alcohol. That night, he advised me to remain calm and avoid strong emotional fluctuations the next day. He said nothing more, and we went to bed early.

The following day, we returned to the girl's home. My master brought a chair with a backrest and asked the parents to place the girl on it. He then had them kneel side by side about two meters from the chair. He started nailing the corners of the room, connecting them with a red string to form a circle, enclosing everyone inside.

My master then went out to kill the rooster and collect its blood, instructing the parents to stay still. He soon returned with a bowl. The girl remained vacant, seemingly detached from everything happening around her, but clearly very haggard. My master whispered something into her ear, dipped his finger in the rooster's blood, and touched it to her palms, forehead, philtrum, and soles.

He then had me stand in front of the girl, holding her shoulders. Following his instructions, my master placed a bit of soil on the crown of her head, then dripped rooster's blood and alcohol onto it. The liquid mixture soon trickled down her forehead.

At that moment, my master crouched behind her and suddenly shouted, "Ha!" The girl was startled and began to scream, her strength far exceeding that of a normal child. I felt her trying to break free, her blood-streaked face incredibly frightening. She suddenly grabbed my ribs, not painfully, but terrifyingly.

After about two minutes of screaming, she calmed down. A few moments later, she began crying for her parents. My master instructed them to sincerely tell the spirit to leave peacefully. The girl soon stopped crying, seemingly coming back to her senses and a bit scared by the scene.

Finally, my master sighed and said it was over, and the spirit had left. He asked the father for a glass of water and slowly explained the situation. He said he used the nails and red string to trap the spirit in the circle, as infant spirits are known to only attach to children. The notion of them possessing anyone, as depicted in movies, is entirely fictional. Infant spirits seek out those with the closest connection to them, usually through scent, bloodline, or other bonds. This family had lost a child, so the spirit found its way to the girl.

My master explained that the spirit wasn't malicious but simply lingering due to its attachment to the world or reluctance to move on. This child had died before birth but still existed as a life, longing to remain. It didn't possess her out of revenge but a pure desire to stay. The parents were in tears, feeling guilty for not saving their second child.

My master said infant spirits were hard to disperse because they couldn't think independently and only acted on their instincts. Other methods were ineffective; force was the only option. Although there was no real need for the parents to kneel and apologize to their deceased child, my master insisted on it to show respect.

The parents wept bitterly, making me feel deeply uncomfortable. Whenever I later dealt with infant spirits alone, I always told the parents to respect every life, especially children. If they didn't plan on having a child, they should take precautions. If they conceived, they shouldn't terminate it. Although I lacked a moral stance on the matter, I believed in respecting every life, no matter how small.

On the train back to Yunnan, my master imparted a profound lesson, emphasizing the seriousness of our work. He explained that these entities weren't as terrifying as portrayed; they were like us, each with their own story. Dispersing them meant finding the root cause and helping them leave on their own. We never harmed spirits unless absolutely necessary and certainly wouldn't harm people. He advised me to always have kindness and respect in my heart.

Despite our work being looked down upon as superstition, we aimed to provide a good ending for both people and spirits. Some said our profession shortened our lifespan, but many of my predecessors lived long lives. My master, who was 44 when he started teaching me, is now 58 and has been retired for six years, living a normal life.

Outside of work, we lived like everyone else, with more free time for leisure and learning. After two years of handling minor cases, my master started involving me in more significant matters. The next story occurred in my hometown, Chongqing.

In Chongqing's east, there's a place called Wuxi, known for its rugged inhabitants, many proudly claiming descent from ancient sorcerers. The culture is a mix of Ba and Wu cultures, with many local legends, especially in secluded areas. This particular case happened in a small ancient town in Wuxi called Ningchang, known for its thousand-year-old salt spring and traditional salt and paper production.

The job came from a relative of a family in this small town. They described a tragic situation where an elderly couple's children had all died young, and even their livestock perished inexplicably. The family was impoverished and desperate, the elders contemplating suicide.

Upon hearing this, my master decided to take the case for free, even covering our travel expenses. On the way, I asked why he wasn't charging. He simply asked if I would charge in such a situation. Arriving at the house, we found the grandmother smoking alone in the doorway, and the grandfather husking corn in the yard. The typical sounds of farm animals were absent, creating a desolate and lonely atmosphere.

My master explained our purpose to the grandmother, who spoke a dialect my master couldn't understand, so I translated. Despite being from Chongqing, their accent was thick and challenging. The grandmother recounted their misfortune: all six of their children had died young, the oldest at only 13. Rural people are simple and accepting of their fate, but when even their livestock started dying mysteriously, a city relative with some knowledge of the occult suspected a curse and contacted us.

My master gave the grandmother 3,000 yuan, a significant amount in 1999. That afternoon, we scouted the area for clues. My master concluded it was indeed a curse.

That evening, my master did nothing but chat with the elderly couple. They revealed that their family graves were behind the house, and a spring had emerged from the grave site one year, which they had redirected to the house, believing it harmless.

The grandmother was from Hubei, and the grandfather was a brave man who had once fought bandits. Their tragic circumstances seemed incongruent with their strong personalities. They mentioned that their eldest son had once caused another child's drowning, which we felt might be connected to their misfortune.

The next morning, my master told the couple he needed to remove their doorstep. Despite their reluctance, they allowed it. We sawed and pried the threshold away, revealing a red oilcloth package about the size of a fist.

My master showed it to the couple, explaining it was likely a curse placed by someone. We unwrapped it in the courtyard, finding a bundle of hair tied with red string, a blackened bone, a strip of cloth, a rusty safety pin, and a scale-like object.

My master identified the bone as a cat's bone and speculated that the hair belonged to the drowned child. The scale might have come from a fish or snake. This confirmed the presence of a malevolent curse.

We decided to burn the items, a common method for dispelling such curses. Despite burning for a long time, the bone exuded water droplets. Once reduced to ashes, we placed them back in the oilcloth, and the curse seemed to dissipate.

The family was overjoyed, and their fortunes gradually improved. Their house even began to look more vibrant and full of life. The couple's children, who had died early, were finally at peace, and the malevolent spirit of the drowned child seemed to have moved on.

This experience left a lasting impression on me about the complexity and depth of our work. It wasn't just about the rituals or the exorcisms but about understanding and respecting the human and spiritual elements involved.