Knowing the power of the cat demon, Huzi did not dare to hesitate and immediately started knocking on every door.
At first, no one dared to open their doors, so Huzi went to find the old village chief, first convincing him, then going with the old village chief to persuade the others.
It took quite some time and a great deal of effort to gather everyone at the injured person's house.
Most of them were the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, huddled in the room, shivering with fear.
Afterwards.
Huzi went to the car and brought all the water, distributing it to everyone.
After all this hustle and bustle, Hu Zi was so parched that he opened a bottle of water and chugged it down.
"What on earth is that thing? Is it Old Gen's mother come back to take revenge?"
"It's not our fault for desecrating the grave and burning the body. What state has our village been reduced to? It was that old Taoist who told us to unearth the bones!"
"In the end, it's all because of Old Gen's unfilial son. He didn't settle his mother properly and now the whole village is suffering!"
"Thank goodness for Hu Zi and this young boss, or there would have been a real tragedy!"
The elderly were still trembling with fear, stomping their feet and cursing loudly.
Lu Fei looked at them and explained, "Uncles and aunts, it wasn't Old Gen's mother come back to take revenge, but a malevolent spirit called Mao Sha."
He then briefly explained the origin of the Mao Sha.
"The Mao Sha came for Uncle Old Gen. Mother Old Gen didn't enjoy the happiness of family during her lifetime, and after her death, her remains were burned. I guess it was the big tabby cat using her body to seek revenge."
"It couldn't find Uncle Old Gen, and after being outwitted by us, it went on to cause trouble for others."
The villagers were stunned, their eyes wide open.
"Where did the dead person come from? All those who died in our village later were cremated, for fear of any mishap."
Then, someone seemed to remember something.
"I peeked through the door crack a few times. The clothes on the malevolent cat looked like what Old Gen's wife wore when she went back to her parents' home."
"Ah? Wasn't she eaten by the dry bone burial?"
Hearing this, Lu Fei suddenly understood.
The disappearance of Old Gen's wife was not due to being eaten by the dry bone burial, but because of some reason that led to her death, and her body was then possessed by the big calico cat to become a malevolent spirit.
From this, it seems her death should also be closely related to the big calico cat.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence that when she died, the big calico cat also just happened to die.
"In the end, it's still Old Gen who caused all this!"
"Where is he? Why can't I see him?"
"I saw him leave the village early this morning. Most likely, he knew that the Cat Demon was coming for him and went to hide somewhere outside."
"Well! He went to hide on his own without even telling us!"
The elders were both angry and resentful, staying anxious all night long; no one dared to sleep, all of them forcing themselves to stay awake with their eyes wide open.
Fortunately, the Cat Demon didn't show up again in the latter half of the night.
As dawn broke, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
The injured were still running a fever, so Hu Zi took the opportunity to drive them to the town's health clinic.
Lu Fei stayed behind with the remaining elders.
"Uncles and aunts, please listen to me for a moment."
"This Cat Demon harbors deep resentment and will not stop until its goal is achieved. The one who tied the bell must untie it. To resolve this malevolent spirit, we need to bring back Uncle Lao Gen."
"The Cat Demon doesn't dare to come out in the daytime, we must hurry and get prepared."
Although we don't know what caused the persistent drought, the most pressing matter now is to deal with the Cat Demon, otherwise, everyone in the village will be in danger.
"Young Boss, rest assured, even if we have to tie it up, we'll bring that menace back!" The village chief and a few spry elders left the village to look for Uncle Lao Gen.
Then.
Lu Fei instructed the others to gather all the water in the village and concentrate it at Uncle Lao Gen's house.
The Cat Demon is afraid of water, but the village is suffering from a severe drought, and there isn't enough mineral water for everyone to drink, let alone to use against the Cat Demon. It would be too wasteful.
Therefore, after Hu Zi returned, Lu Fei had him drive to the river and fetch several jars of water back.
Lu Fei himself was not idle, he gathered cinnabar and yellow paper from around the village and wrote dozens of ghost-repelling characters.
Fortunately, his magic power was now abundant, and writing so many characters in one go was not a strain.
The village elders were initially skeptical about this young, tender-skinned city boss, but seeing how calmly and methodically he handled everything, they gradually began to believe in him.
Whatever Lu Fei asked them to do, they all cooperated.
After completing all the preparations, it was already past noon.
The elders, having stayed up late and worked for a long time, were utterly exhausted.
Lu Fei arranged for them to rest and he and Hu Zi also took a short nap.
In the afternoon.
The old village chief and a few others finally brought back Old Gen Uncle.
"This old man, he hid at his brother-in-law's house. Fortunately, I know someone in their village, otherwise we really wouldn't have found him!"
Old Gen Uncle was dejected, with his hands tied by a rope; he was indeed brought back in this manner.
The old village chief and the others had walked quite a distance under the scorching sun to find him, and their lips were chapped from the heat.
"Uncles, you've worked hard! It's hot outside, come in and rest." Hu Zi hurriedly offered them water and food.
"What's the point of bringing me back?" Uncle Laogen squatted by the house, his voice full of resentment, "Coming back is just to die! My old mother is after my life, and your legs are on your own bodies; can't you run away on your own?"
"Zhao Laogen, are you even speaking like a human? Your family's problems have caused unrest in our entire village!" The village chief shouted sternly.
"Laogen, you don't know yet, that's not your old mother, it's your wife!"
"What?" Uncle Laogen was stunned.
Due to his guilty conscience, when he saw the cat spirit wearing women's clothes the other night, he assumed it was his old mother. In reality, he didn't see clearly at all.
"It's not entirely your wife! It's your big flower cat, possessed by her! Your old mother loved the big flower the most, and this is the big flower seeking revenge for her!"
"You two are even worse than a cat!"
"If we can't find you, the big flower will take it out on us!"
"How did our village end up with a family like yours, causing such trouble!"
Hearing this shocking truth, Uncle Laogen collapsed to the ground, as if his soul had left him, completely dazed.
Everyone scolded him, but he acted as if he couldn't hear, showing no reaction.
Finally, the village head waved his hand.
"Alright, everyone, save your energy! Let's follow what the young master said tonight, and hope our village can safely get through this ordeal!"
The crowd fell silent at once.
They looked at the dimming sunset outside, wishing the sun would never set.
But the sky does not change according to human will.
Night arrived as expected.
There were no more poultry or livestock left in the entire village, only a group of nervous and anxious elderly people remained.
Old Gen's house had its lights on, yet it appeared dark and gloomy.
No one said a word; although the weather was stifling, they huddled tightly together, as if only by doing so could they endure.
Ow——Ow——
A sharp cat's wail suddenly broke the silence of the village.
"It's here!"
Everyone instantly became tense, their faces showing fear.
"Don't be afraid, everyone. As long as you follow my instructions and hide behind these water jars, the cat spirit won't dare to come near," Lu Fei said to reassure them.
The elders swallowed hard, clutching the ghost-repelling characters in their hands, giving each other encouragement as they huddled behind the water jars.
Only Uncle Laogen was left outside.