Master Liu didn't stay at Zhao Laohei’s home, but came to our house after he expelled the evil being from my body.

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My family welcomed Master Liu because he had saved me, despite his oddities. My mom even cleaned out the spare room for him. The dirty room on the barn side of the house was full of many sundries because we’d never had a guest pop up before, particularly after a steamy exorcism. My mom apologized when she showed him the room and the droppings of its previous inhabitant.

 

But Master Liu didn't mind the environment. He walked into the spare room with a bag in his hand and a worn out smile on his face.

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After he had settled in, he called Zhao Laohei and Granny Hong Rong to his new chambers. They spoke in heated whispers for only a few moments and then he let them go.

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After they left, Master Liu asked my mother to cook for him, she obliged politely, though I could tell she didn’t want to set a precedent for this strange old man. Still, he was our guest and respect was due. He watched her prepare a light breakfast and spoke to no one in particular about how he wanted to drink with my dad when he returned from the school.

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My mom agreed with him happily. “I think Zhao Laohei and his family will join us as well.” She called cheerfully, and then left the house to gather supplies for our dinner.

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Mom returned with vegetables and two bottles of liquor. Master Liu’s eyes glowed when he saw the bottles in her arms. Zhao Jie's mother walked in behind her and said, “We’ve got some pickles to match that liquor.” Master Liu nodded eagerly.

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While Zhao Jie’s mother and mine began cooking in the kitchen, Master Liu called us to him, “Zhao Jie, am I not a powerful Taoist?” Zhao Jie nodded so fast his chin bumped against his chest with a meaty ‘thunk’ sound.

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Master Liu laughed at the praise. His smile was as sunny as mine when my mom brought home gifts on my birthday.

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Then Master Liu called to me. “I will cure your sight my boy,” he told me and beckoned me closer. I knew he was capable so I smiled and sat down on the leg that he was tapping.

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The master opened my eyes with his thumb and index finger and gazed into them for a long time. "He is fine.” He called from where we sat. “You can help me even before you recover. During lunch, I will tell your parents about my upcoming travels, perhaps they will let you join me and see the world."

I was stunned by the word "world". In the movies, the men who traveled the world were masters. I thought about the fighting movies my father watched and asked, “Is your kung fu unbeatable like Buddha kicks, head butt, and iron palm…?” He cut me off before my list could cover us all.

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"I have learned a Kung-fu named Da Hong Fist and trained for dozens of years. I have earned some achievements in my time. If you want to learn, I can teach you."

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I had never heard of Da Hong Fist, but I nodded immediately. If anyone practiced for many years, they must be very skilled! Zhao Jie looked at my would-be master and chimed in before he missed his chance. “I want to learn too!” Master Liu agreed with a smile.

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A thought came to me that I couldn’t repress. “What happened to Xiao Chun’s mother?” Master Liu looked at me but said nothing at first. “The ghost inside of me wasn’t…” I stopped. “It wasn’t Xiao Chun’s mother, nor was it Uncle Sun, but they didn’t know that there was more than one ghost in our town. Who was the strange man that controlled my body?” I thought.

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Master Liu touched my forehead with a smile. "Xiao Yong, don't worry. As long as I am here, Xiao Chun’s mother wouldn’t dare bother you."

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I knew he was capable, and I began to trust Master Liu.

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Zhao Jie's mom came into the room we sat in with a plate of pickles. She nodded to the master respectfully and welcomed him.

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My father returned at lunchtime and my mom regaled him with our morning antics. After listening with rapt attention, my father strode from the kitchen and immediately bowed with deep respect to Master Liu. He raised two glasses and toasted him. “To the man who saved my son.”

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Master Liu smiled grandly and took a glass of some purplish liquid. “How could I refuse?” He replied and downed a gulp of wine, following it with an appreciative smack of his lips.

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Soon after, the whole family of Zhao, the Village Head, and Granny Hong Rong sat around our table.

Conversations racked the house and the meal began. While dining the most common subject brought up was Xiao Chun’s mother. Each time the topic was raised and voices became stressed Master Liu reinstated "Don't worry, I am here."

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He put the subject down very quickly, like he didn’t want to speak of the old woman’s spirit in front of us.

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Master Liu drank quite a bit during lunch. After lunch, stumbling and laughing with a face as red as the sun, my father helped the old man to our spare room where he slept the day through, all the while spouting a thunder of snores. Zhao Jie and I played games together in the yard. Our mothers called us inside at dusk when everything but our smiles were tired.

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My mom woke the snoring Master Liu to offer him dinner. The sleepy eyed man shook his head, picked up a flapjack from the table and took shallot off of my plate. He didn’t say a word, just stumbled into the wall, blinked a few times and went outside.

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“Where are you going at this time of night?” She called after him. He took a bite of the flapjack and grumbled back at her, "Heaven’s secrets must not be divulged."

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“I want to see heaven’s secrets!” I thought, “But it might have to do with Xiao Chun's mother.” The master smiled back at me without any intention of letting me come along.

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My mom tucked me in that night, kissing my forehead and shushing me to sleep. Master Liu hadn’t come back yet and I was determined to stay awake. “Was he was eaten by Xiao Chun’s mother?” I whispered to her with a bit more fear in my voice than I meant to include. My mom rapped her knuckle on my forehead said, “Naughty boy, why don’t you try to be positive for a change? If your master was eaten by Xiao Chun’s mom, nobody will protect you.” She followed this with a ghostly “Oooooooooohhhh” sound and winked at me.

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I nodded and my eyes got three times bigger. "Um, he must be fine! It's late though, why hasn’t he come back yet?”

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She shushed me again. “If you fall asleep, he will be here when you wake up.”

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Normally I fall asleep very fast. For a while that night though, I couldn’t. Looking up at the ceiling I thought of ghosts, swords, and flowers. At last I dropped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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I awoke to chatter between my mom and dad. They were talking about Master Liu, so I climbed out of my quilt, and asked, "Did he come back?"

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My mom nodded to me, her face slightly grave. "Master Liu slept in Xiao Chun’s home last night. He’s resting in our spare room now. Don’t bother him, sweet one.”

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The rest of the day was peaceful. Zhao Jie and I played games in the yard. Every now and then we were chastised for making too much dust or what she called ‘inappropriate noises’.

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Master Liu casually joined us at the dinner table that night. Once again, he rose and started outside after the meal. “Are you going to Xiao Chun’s house again?” I called after him.

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“Do you want to join me tonight, young lad?” He smiled back at me. I shook my head immediately.

The story of Master Liu sleeping in Xiao Chun’s home spread throughout our village quickly. Some of the braver young men grew curious about what he did in there at night. They began to sneak and see what the elder master could get up to in the house of a dead woman. More than one of them spoke of seeing a gray old man sitting steadily in the room of Xiao Chun's mother, surrounded by flaming candles. He looked like a dead man.

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Others said Master Liu shouted endlessly in the haunted house. They said that he screamed and what came back were sounds of dying animals or mountain cats searching for love.

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No one could truly say what went on. No one dared to get close to the house except Master Liu and Xiao Chun himself.

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Two weeks later marked the start of summer holiday. My dad no longer had to commute to school every day. Zhao Jie and I could play with the older boys since they were out of class. During the summer months all the kids were free to play, but parents would not worry about them. The children of our village took care of each other.

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Although I was terrified of Xiao Chun’s mother, I didn’t have to worry much that summer because Master Liu was there to protect me. Her ghost never once appeared and my mind eased, at least a little.

One day, I went to pick up leek flowers with Zhao Jie, his sister Zhao Yuan, and another girl I didn’t know. The leek flowers were a kind of wild white flower that could be fried and eaten.

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Zhao Jie and I wanted to play with the other boys in the village, but they said we ran too slowly and couldn’t keep up. Downtrodden, we sought something else to do and ended up hunting flowers of all things.

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“Did you hear about the lunatic?” The girl I didn’t know began, “He’s going crazy for no reason.”

“Going mad is so horrible,” Zhao Yuan added.

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I thought about Xiao Chun’s mother for the first time in weeks and my skin went cold. “She can’t be back,” I thought, “Can she?”