Half-Tried Deity Chapter 1

The p.r.i.c.kling glare of sunlight penetrates through the spa.r.s.e trees.  Cicadas perching on trees sing their lungs out, making people feels irritated for no particular reason.

Qing Tang is a really small village.  It’s original name wasn’t really Qing Tang. Legend says that a celestial was once here and left behind a treasure sword called Qing Tang.  From then onwards, the village changed it’s name.

That afternoon was originally super hot, the kind that was unbearable to people, but it suddenly changed.  Black clouds fills the sky and after a thunder strike, heavy rain pours in.

The village’s market which was originally bustling was put to a stop.  Many vendors didn’t manage to go home so the bunch of them gathers at a nearby tea shop.

“Auntie Li, did you hear, the Song Residence in the east of our village is haunted!” Qi family’s wife whispers to the 50-years-something woman next to her who is wearing a flowery scarf.

“For real?” The woman called Auntie Li furtively glances around before she whispers back.

“Of course it’s real.  The Song Family even asked a couple of senior immortals to perform exorcism, but I heard the ghost was too vicious.  Those immortals weren’t able to do anything.”

“The Song Family did too many wicked deeds.  That ghost is probably Liu Erniang, tsk tsk.   She was wronged and died so horribly that year.  No wonder the Song Family is being haunted by her.” Auntie Li’s voice is raised.

“Shh—— things like this cannot be said so simply!  If someone from Song Family hears us, it wouldn’t do us any good.” Mrs. Qi looks around and is relieved when the others didn’t seem to hear them.  She adds, “But from how I see it, the Song Family really gets it this time.  If they hadn’t forcibly took Liu Family’s residence back then, this wouldn’t be happening to them.”

“This is their sin-ah,” the two people sighs at each other.

About an hour later, the weather gradually turns better.  Sun peeks out from behind the clouds.  The pebbled road that has been soaked by rainwater shows it’s original grey and green color.  The vendors quickly heads out once more, picking spots that are the least wet.  Their goods that they had stored away just now are displayed once again.  Not too long later, the bazaar is enveloped with noise once again and the town resumes it’s liveliness.

At that very moment, the Song Residence is in a palpable silence. The old and young, close to thirty family members are sitting helplessly in the big hall.  The Song old master is sitting in the middle, sporting two dark circles in his eyes.

“Laoye-ah, you need to think of a way.  If this persists, none of us will be able to sleep!” his second concubine sits on his right side, lamenting with a pale face.

“Think of a way, think of a way!  Just what way do I have right now!  I’ve invited four immortals but everything is useless!” the teacup in the old master’s hand is placed haphazardly.  He has lived here for years, why is there suddenly a ghost disturbance now?

It begun when their servants started seeing someone in the backyard.  He didn’t believe them at first.  He thought the servants were just trying to start a fanfare.  In the end, when he woke up on that parti
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cular night to go to the outhouse, he actually saw someone standing by the well!

The sky was dark back then.  He could only see the faint silhouette of the person; she was wearing a light white clothes, was bald and was making a bloodcurdling sound with her mouth.  He was scared to half death!

Actually the old master was a wicked and merciless person in his youth.  This Song Residence wasn’t initially a Song’s, but rather a Liu’s.  The number of family members in Liu Family was little.  The old master sent people to seduce the Liu Family’s maiden daughter, Liu Erniang.  And then he took advantage of Liu Erniang’s date with her lover and caught them in the act with his people.

An umarried maiden caught fooling around with a man, in the end, she became the talk of the town.  The Liu Family’s old master died in anger.  After the death of her only relative, Liu Erniang went to find her lover but instead found out that her lover was actually a married man.  In the end, she shaved her head and became a nun.

After that matter pa.s.ses, the Song old master bought the residence with low price and changed it from Liu to Song.  Liu Erniang’s lover became the housekeeper.  Up until that point, everyone finally understood that everything was old master Song’s scheme, but it was too late because by then, Liu Erniang had committed suicide in the nunnery.

So after the old master saw the bald head, he instantly knew it was Liu Erniang coming back for her revenge.

After that day, strange things began happening in the residence.  The livestocks that their cook reared disappeared without a trace.  And then, their firewood stock was caught on fire.  The scariest thing was when Song Family’s big madam was praying in the temple.  Her offerings actually vanished.

The hauntings turn their entire family upside down.  n.o.body dares to sleep at night anymore.  He actually tried inviting a couple of immortals who was said to be really powerful, but everytime the immortals said that the ghost had been eradicated, someone will have another sighting of the ghost by the well the next night.  Now n.o.body dares to step into the backyard, not even the servants.

“Father, say something, we can’t just wait for our deaths here.  Who knows when the ghost decide to lifts it’s hands against us.” The eldest young master said with an unpleasant face.  After he said that, the rest of the people in the big halls speaks up, asking the old master to solve the issue.

“Right, how could I forgot about Xiao Qiao?  Song Zhi, hurry and go to Mount Cang Lan and search for your aunt!” The old master suddenly remembers his younger sister.

The Song Family originally didn’t have much influence.  What made them famous was one thing; fifty years ago, a celestial being visited Qing Tang Village and took Song Family’s only daughter, Song Qiao Er as a disciple.  After that, the Song Family became a big clan in the Qing Tang Village.  After all, the Song Family has someone who was looked upon by a celestial.  That was how the entire Song Family ride on another’s success.

Song Qiao Er has been away for years.  She visited them once.  By then, the old master was already on his fifties and yet she still looked like she was only in her twenties.  That made the old master a firm believer of celestial beings.  Being a celestial’s disciples allows to you live forever without ageing ah.

Before she left, she told her brother that she was cultivating in Mount Cang Lan’s Wu Lan Guan.  Now that the Song Family encounters something like this, he suddenly thinks of his sister.

Song Zhi hears his father’s order and immediately rides to Mount Cang Lan.  After a day, Song Zhi returns but Song Qiao Er is not with him.  The old man’s heart becomes displeased when he realized that Song Zhi returns alone.

“Song Zhi, where is your aunt?” the old master grabs his travel-worn son and whispers.

“Father, I didn’t go to Mount Cang Lan, I b.u.mped into a celestial in the middle of the way.  I invited the celestial over,” Song Zhi explains with laughter.

“Preposterous!  I can’t even see his shadow!” The old master actually thought his son was going to make him happy.  He hits him in the face.

Song Zhi looks wronged by the hit, “The celestial said he will come tonight……”

After hearing a hyped description from his son, the old master finally believes that he invited a real celestial.  Song Zhi initially wanted to go to Mount Cang Lan.  He was traveling through a dark forest in the middle of the night when he saw a green-clothed Taoist priest landing from the sky.

After seeing the Taoist priest, Song Zhi didn’t care if they know each other or not, he immediately rush to him while weeping.  After hearing Song Zhi’s deplorable complaints, the Taoist priest decided to come with him.  So in the end, Song Zhi didn’t go to Mount Cang Lan and immediately heads home.

Deep in the night, the Song Residence’s backyard is empty.  Light wind blows into the willow tree by the pond.  Under the dim moonlight, a figure can be seen standing next to the well.

Upon a closer look, one could see that the person is actually——– bathing!

In fact, that person is bathing while humming a song!  Upon closer inspection, the sound that almost kill the old master is actually ‘I love bathing , my skin feels good~’

“Ya, if only I have a shower gel~” she used the soup ladle she ‘borrowed’ from the kitchen and used it to scoop water.  She pours the cold water onto her body while sighing, “Bathing with uncontaminated water is really comfortable ah!”

Upon finishing, Qi Huan happily puts on a large white ‘bath towel’.  She was lucky she managed to grab her bedsheets along with her when she time travelled.

Qi Huan, 23 years old.  She was a freelancer working from her home prior to time travelling.  Qi Huan’s greatest aspiration in life would be lying in her bed all the time.  So naturally, she was on her bed when she time-travelled.

Because of that, she managed to get herself this one big ‘loincloth’.  She herself was puzzled, why did she lost her clothes after time travelling.  Actually, never mind that!  Why did her hair, her eyebrows disappears as well?  This is too much!  Even though her extreme beauty that outshines even the moon (it’s a self-given t.i.tle) can bear to lose a couple of hair, but losing them all so thoroughly like this is a little too  much!

Lucky she landed in the dark firewood storeroom of the Song Residence.  If other people sees her, she would be even more miserable.  If a handsome guy saw her then never mind, but if that old guy saw her, she wouldn’t want to live anymore!

She touches her head that is starting to grow some hair.  Qi Huan sighs.  They all time-travelled but the female leads in novels always b.u.mped into peerlessly beautiful men, why didn’t she have the same luck?