Volume One, Chapter 21: The Thirteen Ghostly Needles

That day, news spread throughout the village.

Guo Dong had leased a vast stretch of land behind the mountain, ready to embark on a grand endeavor.

To keep Guo Dong from leaving, Meng Tianming even wagered his own daughters.

Guo Dong planned to lead the villagers toward prosperity together.

Various rumors swirled, twisting the story until Guo Dong was forcibly tied to the village collective.

As for Guo Dong himself, he was so excited he couldn’t sleep. Lying in bed, he replayed the day’s events in his mind.

The desire for beauty is universal.

Guo Dong was no exception.

Meng Xiaohan’s charm could captivate every unmarried man in the neighboring villages; there was a reason for that.

If he didn’t like her, that would be abnormal.

He had no money before and felt unworthy, so he suppressed his feelings, afraid to get too close, wary of village gossip.

But now, with Meng Tianming’s assurance, as long as he fulfilled the promises made, Meng Xiaohan would be his bride.

He thought over every move she made, every smile and frown.

Sleep eluded him through the night.

The strange events that had unfolded over the past two days still felt like a haze, as if in a dream.

He held out his palm, staring at the gourd-shaped tattoo etched there, taking a deep breath.

Everything stemmed from that gourd!

If you didn’t look closely, you’d never notice it bore a striking resemblance to the grand shape of Xian Tao Village.

“The ancestors must be showing their blessing!” Guo Dong muttered under his breath.

Only then did he remember the small cloth pouch his grandfather had secretly slipped to him earlier that day.

Since he couldn’t sleep, he got up and retrieved the pouch from his bedside.

When he opened it, he was stunned.

The Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate!

His grandfather had entrusted him with such a precious heirloom!

Sitting at the bedside, his mind swirled with complex thoughts.

He wished he could ask his grandfather what it all meant.

But recalling his grandfather’s hearing loss and habit of ignoring certain questions, he gave up the idea.

“Grandpa, grandpa, are you asleep?”

It was past eleven at night.

Grandpa would have long been asleep.

Normally, he’d wait until morning to disturb him unless it was urgent.

But now, this matter demanded his full attention.

“What’s all the noise? You woke me from a good dream!”

The door opened, and Guo An, dressed in oversized shorts and a jacket, glared at his grandson with irritation.

“Hurry, look at this!”

Guo Dong had no mood to argue and quickly pulled out the cloth pouch.

“My maternal grandfather gave me this—the Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate!”

A sheepskin paper wrapped a needle box, inside which lay thirteen silver needles of various shapes.

Guo An grew anxious, pulling Guo Dong into the main room, turning on the light, and donning his reading glasses.

“Did that old fellow say anything to you?”

After a long moment, Guo An carefully packed away the needles and handed them back to Guo Dong.

“No! He just secretly passed this to me. I was afraid my auntie would get suspicious, so I didn’t dare tell anyone.

Who would’ve thought he’d give me this!”

Guo Dong’s grandfather was a master of traditional Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture, more than anyone in the family.

If his grandfather was a grandmaster of herbal medicine, then his maternal grandfather was a grandmaster of acupuncture.

Though both had different paths, times had changed. Traditional medicine was now seen as superstition, while Western medicine dominated, so they had quietly retired.

Guo Dong had once hoped his grandfather would be a successor, but his maternal grandfather...

“Keep this safe. It’s valuable—an antique.

If you ever need money, you can sell it!”

Guo Dong was speechless.

Hearing such words from his grandfather left him unsure how to respond.

“The Thirteen Needles of the Ghost Gate were created by Bian Que during the Warring States period.

They target ailments caused by malevolent spirits, thirteen needle points in total.

The first needle starts at the Ghost Palace, then proceeds to the Ghost Trust, reaches the Ghost Fortress, and finally the Ghost Heart.

It’s not necessary to apply all needles; five or six suffice,” Guo An muttered as he slowly stood.

Guo Dong had read these lines in medical texts.

Some even claimed the Thirteen Needles belonged to the realm of mysticism, impossible for anyone to perform.

He agreed.

Even his grandfather struggled to apply a single needle, let alone the complex thirteen-needle technique.

“It’s a divine medical skill to dispel disease and evil, preventing relapse forever.

Unfortunately, that old man studied acupuncture all his life, read every related medical book, yet couldn’t perform even one needle.

Heh...” Guo An smiled bitterly.

Patting Guo Dong’s shoulder, he said, “Just take a look now and then, don’t delve too deep.”

With that, he went back to his room and closed the door.

That night, the light in Guo An’s room stayed on, and Guo Dong spent the entire night poring over the sheepskin scroll.

Until dawn, when he carried his medicine bucket to the peach orchard.

There, he met Meng Xiaohan jogging.

She wore her usual running attire—short sleeves and shorts—as if nothing had happened the day before.

Seeing Guo Dong, she ran over immediately.

“Hey, Guo Dong, didn’t sleep well last night?”

Guo Dong scratched his head and chuckled, “I was too happy to sleep!”

Meng Xiaohan’s face flushed instantly.

She had tried to avoid the awkward topic, but it came up anyway.

“I told you, this is an agreement between you and my dad, not me!”

She turned aside and deliberately teased Heizi.

“Hey, how can it not be related? Your dad told me this can’t be backed out of.

I even signed the papers.”

Meng Xiaohan faced away from Guo Dong, suppressing her laughter as she played with Heizi.

One sprayed the fruit with spirit water, the other came to help occasionally.

The rest of the time, they darted around the orchard like little sprites, laughter ringing out.

When some villagers began to rise, Meng Xiaohan reluctantly left the mountain and headed home.

It was the last day!

Two-thirds of the peaches had already been picked.

Looking over the orchard that had brought him wealth, Guo Dong felt content.

Not only was he happy, but Heizi was livelier than before.

Often missing in action, no one knew where the dog ran off to.

From morning till now, Heizi dashed around the orchard, gleeful under the spray of spirit water.

“Stop jumping! This isn’t for you. Come on, let’s go home!”

When in a good mood, everything and everyone seemed more agreeable.

“Oh, isn’t that Min Jie’s car? So early today?”

Guo Dong smiled, glancing toward the courtyard.

Inside sat Xie Minmin and another girl.

The other girl looked younger, wearing a hat, looking around curiously.

Just one glance and a flood of information surfaced in Guo Dong’s mind.

The gourd’s power revealed itself again.

Just like last time, it seemed an inherent ability deeply imprinted in his brain.

This wasn’t a skin disease.

Clearly, her body was ill.

With her condition, seeing a dermatologist would be futile!