During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, the country was in decline, corrupt officials were rampant everywhere, and the British and French allied forces invaded China, burning, killing and looting everywhere. Hateful, at this time, ghosts and ghosts also appeared frequently, killing the people everywhere, and the people were in dire straits. People living in Jiacailing, Dengjia Village and several nearby villages in the northern mountainous area of Linwu, Hunan, dare not go out of the mountains alone during the day and live alone in a room at night under the threat of “long-tongued ghosts”.
The long-tongued ghost, who can speak human language, can change, is more than ten feet tall, has a ferocious face, a tiger-headed snake face, a few sharp teeth protruding from the mouth, and spits out a tongue nearly two meters long from time to time. During the day, it hides among the bushes on the rugged mountain road near Jiacai Village Ridge, looking for lone pedestrians to compare their tongues. How can the tongue of ordinary people compare with his, so most of the people who encounter it are called Dig out the heart, suck out the bone marrow, and become its delicacy. In less than a year since the long-tongued ghost appeared, dozens of people have been killed. The blood dripping on the side of the road and the broken bones scattered on the road have already made everyone tremble with fear and turn pale when talking about ghosts.
The villagers spent a lot of money to invite “Sigong” who can catch ghosts from other places, but after “Sigong” entered the mountain, he never came back. Some people say that “Sigong” is a fake, and they are also afraid of gossip ghosts, so they took the money and fled when there were many pedestrians in the past; He tried all means but failed to fight the ghost, and was eaten alive by the ghost. So far, no one dared to mention the matter of asking people to catch ghosts. In desperation, and in order to reduce the occurrence of tragedies, the villagers had to invite masons to carve a stone tablet on the stone wall next to the entrance and exit of the mountain to warn passers-by and villagers.
It is written on the stone tablet: “Long-tongued ghosts” often appear here, and several people have been killed. Villagers and pedestrians should not go out alone at night, but should go together during the day. Please pass it on to everyone and keep it in mind.
Hundreds of years have passed, and the “Long Tongue Ghost” has long been wiped out. Generations of newcomers have replaced old ones, but this stele has gone through wind and rain. Although the handwriting on it has been blurred, it is still preserved as a historical witness. On the stone wall next to the entrance and exit of the mountain road.
So, how was the “long-tongued ghost” eliminated?
It’s a long story, and it has to start from the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. In the late Jiaqing period, the country began to decline, and the society was in turmoil. A Taoist named Deng Fa was born in Dengjia Village during this period. He has two brothers, he is the eldest, born smart, lively and active, he learned martial arts from his father when he was only sixteen years old. He is upright and good at fighting injustices, and he is deeply loved by the people. When he was 18 years old, something unfortunate happened. His most admired father went out to be possessed by an evil spirit, and died soon after he returned. He was very sad and vowed to learn the skills of eliminating ghosts and evil methods. After he settled his mother and younger brother and took care of his father’s funeral, he packed his bags and went out to study art. This trip has been going on for more than 30 years, and there has been no news.
Besides, after Deng Fa walked out of the mountains and his hometown, he traveled all the way to the provincial capital. Here, he quickly found a job in an escort agency by virtue of his good martial arts. While teaching martial arts, he sought Taoists who knew magic. Two years passed in a flash. One day, after shopping, he was about to go home when a white-haired old man suddenly came out of a shop in front of him, stopped him, whispered something to him, and then disappeared.
The next day, Deng Fa resigned from the Escort and disappeared from the provincial capital. It turned out that the old man was exactly the spell expert he was looking for.
Time is like an arrow, and the sun and the moon are like flying. Before he knew it, it was Deng Fa’s third year of learning Taoism in Xiandong, and he had completed his Taoism. There is a saying that one day in the sky and one year on the earth. In a blink of an eye, it was the Xianfeng year. In the evening, Master called him to his side and told him solemnly that the country was in turmoil and people in his hometown were being killed by ghosts, and he was told to go home quickly. Deng Fa bid farewell to Master with tears in his eyes and set off overnight.
I don’t know how long it took, and finally returned to my hometown where I had been away for many years. It was already another late night. Thirty years later, my hometown is very different. He walked around the village several times, and finally found his own yard. He longed to see his mother and brother whom he hadn’t seen for many years soon. He knocked eagerly on the door for a long time, but no one opened the door. He could only hear his mother’s mournful and low-pitched scolding in the room: “Long-tongued ghost, you Come on, my old lady’s meat, do you want to eat it too? There will be no good end for the evil spirits, get out. —Woo—” “I, I’m Fa’er, mother, I’m back.” Deng Fa shouted , Tears can’t help but flow out. Nearly all the neighbors were awakened, but they couldn’t believe it, worrying that it was a ghost changing to deceive people. Deng Fa had no choice but to sit down in front of the door until dawn. After dawn, the villagers made sure through observation that it was not a ghost with a long tongue, so they slowly approached. The old man in the village finally recognized that the Taoist-looking man in front of him was Deng Fa, the son whose mother Deng had been looking forward to returning day and night for more than 30 years; Feeling curious, I kept comparing and pointing with my hands.
“Sister-in-law, open the door, your son is back.”
“Mother, I, I’m back”.
“what?”
“Your son is back.”
“Really?” Deng’s mother moved and slowly opened the door. Deng Fa rushed forward, holding his white-haired mother and weeping bitterly, tears pouring down like rain. Deng’s mother stroked him with her withered hands and told him that his younger brother went out to look for him the year before last and hadn’t come back yet. After a while, Deng Fa came to his senses, wiped away his tears, and told his mother and villagers in detail about his experiences outside these years. Everyone also said what you said, and couldn’t wait to tell him about the gossip ghosts who came out to compete with people and eat people in recent years. Deng Fa was very angry and told everyone on the spot that he would definitely eradicate the gossip ghost and eliminate harm for the people. Everyone is very happy, but still a little worried.
That night, Deng Fa summoned the leaders of several nearby villages to his home and made some arrangements for them. Near midnight, he gave his mother a trumpet made of ox horns, and asked for her three-meter-long red belt. Go to places where ghosts often haunt…
“Huh, huh, huh…, huh, huh”, the nearby vegetation is very lush, and the mountain rats on the side of the road are running around in the quiet night, adding a bit of frightening murderousness. “Hahaha…, haha, haha…” Deng Fa made some noise on purpose. “Ghost, why don’t you come out?” Just as he was thinking, there was a sound of “huh” from behind, and he turned around hastily, only to see a tall monster with a tiger’s head and a snake’s face flashing out of the bushes. Ugly, big blue eyes glaring fiercely were staring at him, ready to swallow him up. Although he had seen many ghosts and monsters in the process of cultivation, his heart was still shaken at this moment, and he was secretly startled: such a vicious and terrifying ghost, but he immediately calmed down.
“Put out your tongue, I will compete with your tongue. If you lose, I will eat your heart and liver.” The two sides stalemate for a while, and the long-tongued ghost couldn’t hold back.
“Compare, but there are some things that must be explained first.” Deng Fa did not show any weakness. “I won, so what should I do? I will carry you home back to back and let people see you. Do you agree?”
“Ha…ha…ha, no one can beat me yet, you won’t win, look at those, those bones — your tongue is longer than mine, I’ll let you handle it.” Long Tongue Ghost said confidently and proudly Pointing at a pile of white skeletons in the distance with his claw-like fingers, he sneered and roared.
“Okay, don’t go back on your word.”
“I don’t regret it–oh-oh–, look–poof!” Before finishing speaking, a big red tongue spit out from its big ugly mouth, almost It hangs to the ground and is more than two meters long.
“You also look at—” Deng Fa raised his right hand, bit the end of the red belt hidden in the sleeve of his right hand with his teeth, pulled it hard, and waved his right hand, a bright red belt more than three meters long” The tongue was “all” spit” out of the mouth, forming several big red circles on the ground.
“Ah? Oh, you, you, what kind of god are you, how can you have such a long tongue?” The long tongue ghost was a little scared.
“I was sent by the heavens to control you. You, you lose, listen to me, I will carry you.” Deng Fa dashed behind the ghost with a stride. The ghost conceded defeat, but was obedient. According to the previous agreement, he lay on his back on Deng Fa’s back and agreed to let him go home with his back on his back. Since a ghost has no weight, even though he is big, he can walk very fast with the ghost on his back. It took less than a meal to arrive at my door. “Mother, mother, blow the horn three times quickly.” When the mother heard her son’s cry, she blew the horn three times with all her strength. After hearing the trumpet, the villagers hiding in their homes shouted “Zhong Kui kills ghosts” seven times together. The whole village suddenly boiled, and the cry broke the bleak night scene for several years. The ghost on the back felt tens of thousands of steel swords stabbing him, and struggled painfully. Deng Fa turned sideways and threw the ghost to the ground. “Aww!” the long-tongued ghost instantly turned into a coffin board. Deng Fa immediately took out a statue of Zhong Kui made of crystal stone from his pocket, drew a few talismans, pressed the statue on the wooden board, and placed them in an unknown place. Since then, there have never been any incidents of long-tongued ghosts and long-tongued ghosts harming people in this area.
Deng Fa used his wisdom and magic to eliminate evil spirits, and later punished several corrupt officials for the people, winning the respect and love of the local people. His deeds were compiled into stories about “long-tongued ghosts” and passed down from generation to generation. It came down, and the existing warning stele became a strange physical evidence of that story.