Immediately, Wan Ruo followed Granny Yin's footsteps and helped her to Old Li's house at the east end of the street.
Old Li's son seemed to be in a worse condition. The young and strong lad had been tortured beyond recognition. Lying in bed, he was delirious.
Granny Yin walked in and took a look. The young man was sweating profusely, his whole body soaking wet as if he had just come out of the water. His sweat had soaked through the bedding, leaving a wet circle around him.
"We just changed his bedding and clothes, but they're soaked again so soon," his mother said helplessly.
Wan Ruo was listening to them when suddenly, something grabbed her hand. She shivered and let out a scream, "Ah!"
It was the young man in bed who had grabbed her hand randomly, scaring her for nothing.
"Oh my god! I thought the corpse was coming back to life! I was scared out of my wits!"
"Water. I want water!" the young man in bed murmured weakly in a daze.
Hearing her son's request for water, his mother quickly handed him the water prepared on the bedside table. She was very proficient in this process. "Alas! He has to drink water almost every half an hour..."
The weak young man's body was soaked in sweat, sticky like a dehydrated fish. He seemed extremely satisfied after drinking the water.
With the bedding and clothes so wet and him severely dehydrated, it was no wonder he was thirsty.
"How long has he been like this?" Granny Yin asked gloomily.
"It started yesterday. He was fishing by the river and somehow fell into it. Fortunately, a passer - by found him in time and saved him. But since he came back, he's been like this. We thought he just choked on water, so we invited a doctor and gave him medicine, but it didn't help."
"It's really strange. Our son has always been a good swimmer. How could he drown..."
As the old couple spoke, their voices were tinged with sobs. "A healthy young man has been tortured like this!" Looking at their haggard son in bed, they couldn't help wiping away their tears.
Since entering the house, Wan Ruo had been covering her nose. Finally, she couldn't hold it anymore. She gasped and whispered in Granny Yin's ear, "Granny, I smell something strange! Can you smell it?"
This time, she was smarter and very low - key. As she spoke, she frowned.
Hearing what Wan Ruo said, Granny Yin was even more certain that the evil thing must be here.
Granny Yin walked around Wan Ruo and turned over the young man's hand. His palm was pale and his fingers were wrinkled. She lifted the quilt and looked at his feet. They were the same, as if he had been soaking in water for a long time.
Seeing this, Granny Yin was even more certain. Her face was gloomy and full of worry. She whispered, "This lad may be in great danger! A water ghost has attached itself to him!"
As soon as she said this, everyone was shocked. "What? A water ghost? ... What should we do?" The old couple looked at each other in disbelief.
"Since Granny Yin can tell that it's the work of a water ghost, she must have a way to save my child!"
Moreover, judging from Granny Yin's expression, the situation seemed very tricky.
"Under the current circumstances, I'm afraid... I'm powerless!" Granny Yin said coldly.
She was right. Granny Yin was just a fortune - teller. If it were an ordinary wandering ghost, she could burn some paper money and offer sacrifices to deal with it. But a water ghost was different.
A water ghost was a kind of ghost that came to claim lives. Its purpose was to find a substitute, so it was not easy to deal with. If the water ghost accepted the offerings, it might spare the child. But if it was determined to claim the life, they could only try to destroy it.
In the current situation, it was hard to say. She could expel evil spirits, but as for subduing demons...
Hearing what Granny Yin said, the old couple quickly knelt on the ground. "Granny Yin, please save our son! Please..." They begged and kowtowed.
Although Granny Yin said so, the couple thought that if she couldn't handle this matter, they might not be able to find anyone else.
Looking at the parents kneeling on the ground, the child in bed, and her granddaughter beside her, Granny Yin hesitated for a long time. Finally, she agreed.
"Alright, I'll give it a try." Granny Yin stepped forward and helped the two of them up.
Then she rummaged in her pocket and took out a paper figurine. She wrote the young man's birth date on it with cinnabar.
Immediately, Granny Yin pricked the young man's finger with a needle. The red blood bead was imprinted on the paper figurine. She gently held the paper figurine in her left hand, and with two fingers of her right hand, she twirled them above the paper figurine. Her lips seemed to be muttering something, but no sound could be heard.
Then something amazing happened.
The paper figurine seemed to come to life. It slowly rose from the palm of her left hand and hovered in mid - air.
Even more strangely, the sweat on the young man in bed seemed to be sucked dry by something. All they could see was a pair of wet footprints on the ground below the paper figurine.
The room was filled with strange giggles. As the paper figurine moved forward, the pair of footprints also followed it out of the room.
The old couple had never experienced such a scene. Their legs went weak, and they sat down on the ground, quickly backing away.
They didn't even dare to breathe. Their hearts were in their throats. Their eyes were wide open, and they curled up in the corner, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
After the paper figurine walked out of the room and they were sure it had left, the old couple swallowed hard and then stammered, "What... What was that?"
Wan Ruo had also never encountered such a thing before. Her eyebrows were tightly knitted as she whispered, "Granny, was that just now the water ghost?"
"Yes! I just used the paper figurine as a substitute. The water ghost thought the paper figurine was your son, so it attached itself to it. But this method is only temporary. It can only deceive it for a while..." Granny Yin frowned and explained in a low voice.
Hearing Granny Yin's explanation, the others seemed to understand.
"Granny Yin, is my son okay now?" the young man's father asked anxiously.
Granny Yin rummaged through her clothes and took out a talisman. She handed it to the man.
"Cough! Cough!" Granny Yin coughed twice. "This is a talisman. Let him wear it. It can temporarily keep him alive. ... Cough!"
Seeing Granny Yin cough, Wan Ruo quickly stepped forward and supported her arm, asking with concern, "Granny, are you okay?"
Looking at Wan Ruo's worried expression, Granny Yin took her hand, shook her head with a smile and said, "I'm fine. By the way, we have to go to the river quickly to deal with that evil spirit. If it realizes it's been tricked, it may be hard to get rid of. Let's go quickly!"
"Okay!" Wan Ruo quickly supported Granny Yin and walked quickly towards the river. Just as they were about to reach the river, Granny Yin suddenly said, "Oh! I just remembered. I didn't bring enough talismans. You go back quickly and get them for me. I'll wait for you here!"
Just when they were about to reach the river, and Granny Yin suddenly asked Wan Ruo to go back for something. She was a little worried.
Seeing Wan Ruo standing still, Granny Yin urged, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up!"
"Okay! I'll go right away. You wait for me here... Wait for me!" Wan Ruo shouted as she ran while looking back.