Zhang Jinya

After swaying on the train for a full twenty-five or six hours, we finally arrived in Nanchang at around one o'clock in the morning the next day. We grabbed a quick bite at the train station and hurriedly boarded another train to Yingtan City. By the time we got there, it was already dawn. After all the hassle, the three of us were extremely exhausted and didn't have the energy to wait at the bus station anymore. So we decided to spend four hundred bucks and take a taxi straight to our destination.

...

Yujian County is a small county under Yingtan City, just a few dozen kilometers away, quite remote. It's called a county, but it's built like a rural area, considered one of the nation's backward and impoverished regions.

When we arrived at the outskirts according to the address provided by Mr. Zhou, it was already past nine in the morning. After asking around, we found out that this Zhang Jinya was actually quite well-known locally!

But it wasn't for anything good. As soon as his name was mentioned, everyone avoided us like we were contagious. In the end, Uncle Li had to spend over a hundred bucks to find a guide, who took us there on his ox cart.

Curious, I asked the guide what the deal was and why people around here immediately avoided us when they heard about Zhang Jinya.

The guide, a middle-aged man with a weathered face and rough hands, fell silent at my question. He chewed on his dry tobacco as he drove the cart, and after a good ten minutes or so, he spoke in Mandarin with a heavy local accent, "You guys coming to find Zhang Jinya, eight out of ten times, it's because you've run into some evil trouble, right?"

I nodded and asked him how he knew.

"This Zhang Jinya usually just idles around, only doing exorcism stuff. What else could it be if you're coming to him besides encountering some evil?"

The guide shook his head and continued, "But I can see you three are not bad people, so let me warn you beforehand. When you deal with Zhang Jinya, you need to be careful. He's not an upright person."

At this, Uncle Li became interested and asked, "What's Zhang Jinya's reputation like around here?"

"It's not just bad, he's scum, a lowlife!"

The guide sighed, "That guy may have some skills, but his heart is black. He only cares about profiting from others' misfortunes! If people around here encounter evil, they'd rather not seek him unless it's a matter of life and death, because dealing with him means they'll either end up dead or lose all they have! Over the years, many families have been ruined because of him."

I was stunned and hurriedly asked, "Just how bad is this guy?"

After all, it concerned my own well-being. I needed to be cautious, or when I went to find Zhang Jinya, I might end up being skinned alive by him.

The guide sighed, "Let me tell you something that will show you just how bad Zhang Jinya is. Just last year, a family from a neighboring county accidentally desecrated another family's ancestral grave while visiting their own. As a result, they were haunted by spirits. They tried all sorts of experts but to no avail. Seeing their child on the brink of death, they had no choice but to seek Zhang Jinya's help. After looking at the child once, Zhang Jinya said he could save him. But he didn't ask for money; instead, he demanded half of their hundred acres of high-yield rice paddies for this year!"

I couldn't help but gasp. In Yingtan, where farming is the main livelihood, asking for half of someone's annual harvest was practically a death sentence. With just one gesture, that family would be living in hardship for the entire year. This was beyond black-hearted; it was downright evil.

"And that's not all. This guy's character is also extremely despicable."

The guide suddenly opened up, and what I heard next made me realize—Zhang Jinya wasn't just dark-hearted, he was a downright perverted, disgusting freak!

In his spare time, he would sneak into the women's restroom. He had made life miserable for women in the surrounding area. Over the years, he had been chased out of the women's restroom hundreds of times. Calling him a pervert was an understatement. It was lucky that the local folks were simple and lacked education; otherwise, they would have reported him to the police for sexual harassment long ago.

After hearing what the guide said, Uncle Li and I were thunderstruck. What kind of person had Mr. Zhou recommended to us? He said this guy was alright, not a bad person. This was just plain crazy. I immediately discussed with Uncle Li whether we should find someone else. I couldn't trust my life with such an unreliable guy. Uncle Li also fell into thought.

"You can't go back!"

Suddenly, Xiao Zhou Jing, who had been silent on the sidelines, spoke up, staring at me and saying, "You can only survive here."

I was puzzled and asked him what he meant.

"I just read your face. After you came here, there was a faint red light in your life palace, indicating that the signs of yin debts haunting you were slightly suppressed. This shows that you've met a benefactor."

Xiao Zhou said, "I think that Zhang Jinya should be the benefactor in your destiny."

Although I wasn't too fond of this kid, his fortune-telling skills were definitely impressive. I felt a bit skeptical, so I asked Uncle Li what he thought.

"Since Xiao Jing says so, let's go and see!"

Uncle Li sighed, "We've come all this way, if we don't go, wouldn't it be a waste?"

I thought about it and felt there was some truth to it, so I agreed.

Where Zhang Jinya lived was extremely remote, almost on the outskirts of Yujian County. There were few people around, and his house was fenced off, with five somewhat old-looking houses inside.

At the gate, a young man in his late twenties, dressed in a rustic manner, was sitting on a stone picking his feet and basking in the sun. He had a bird's nest hairstyle and occasionally grinned at the passing girls, revealing a big gold tooth in his mouth that gleamed in the sunlight, emitting an indescribable creepiness. The girls were scared off and ran away as soon as they saw him...

No need to ask, this person must be Zhang Jinya, the one we were looking for.

After paying the cart fare, the three of us walked towards Zhang Jinya. Uncle Li greeted him, confirmed his identity, and then explained our purpose.

"Are you the three recommended by Mr. Zhou?"

Zhang Jinya was a bit surprised, then asked, "Which one of you is a descendant of the Ge family?"

From his tone, I could tell that Mr. Zhou had probably already reached an agreement with him. I stepped forward, "Hello, I'm Ge Tianzhong."

"Hello, hello."

Zhang Jinya's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he reached out his foot, which he had just been picking, to shake my hand.

I felt a wave of nausea, but out of politeness, I shook his hand. I was already thinking of washing my hands as soon as possible. This guy probably hadn't washed his feet in who knows how long; I could smell a sour odor from afar, truly nauseating.

What I didn't notice, however, was that Zhang Jinya's face changed noticeably the moment he shook my hand.

Then, he made a series of clicking sounds with his tongue as he circled around me. Suddenly, he asked, "Kid, you've got some real luck to come here alive!"

I was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't realize it at first, but I felt it the moment we shook hands. There's a heavy stench of death on you. You must have left an impression from dirty things. It's quite a miracle you made it here alive!"

Zhang Jinya grinned, stuck out his tongue and licked his gold tooth, then casually draped his arm over my shoulder, "It's already noon, let's eat first. My treat. We'll talk while we eat!"

Initially, I found this guy quite disgusting. I could smell a strong sour odor from him, and I could only imagine how long it had been since he last bathed. But when he mentioned the stench of death on me, I forgot all about it. After all, my life was at stake, and I couldn't afford to offend Zhang Jinya. I just let him put his arm around my shoulder and followed him to eat.

I knew what that stench of death was; it was a mixture of bacteria and the rotting smell of corpses. It was harmful to the human body. Inhaling too much of it could kill a person or turn them into a zombie, as people commonly say. For the sake of my own life, I couldn't afford to offend Zhang Jinya.