All Chapters of Once Upon a Time: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Just then, I noticed a slight expression of bewilderment on Uncle Quan's face. The woman's story had finally explained why did his teacher treat him with so much love and affection. He must have been about the same age as his teacher's own child. 　　If she had detected the change on Uncle Quan's face, the woman certainly showed no indication of it. Instead, she pressed on bluntly, "But it was none other than my teacher's husband's junior sister who had stolen their baby boy. She had an intense loathing for my teacher's husband – your teacher and her senior brother – who had rebuffed her love for him. Days turned sour and bitter for my teacher and her husband. This went on for many years until the junior sister of your teacher, reflecting upon the horror that she had wrought on the person whom she had once adored and loved, confessed everything to the man, the baby boy she had stolen now grown up, on her deathbed. The man, now middle-aged, came from Shanxi in search of his

And where did the second brother carried the baby to? The market. In those days people were openly trafficked in the market without suffering much scrutiny and stigma. The man found a spot in the market, laid a piece of cloth on the ground and placed his nephew on it, himself kneeling just beside. Anyone walking past him would instantly realize that he was putting the baby up for sale. Before long, troupes of onlookers began clustering around curiously. 　　Oddly, the baby neither cried nor wailed. Some of the onlookers began teasing him, and he laughed adorably like a sacrificial lamb oblivious of its fate. Until suddenly, a manservant plowed through the crowd to make way for his master, a wealthy-looking merchant who had another servant following behind with a large pouch over his shoulder. The merchant marched forward and inquired the second brother of his plight that had led to such a pitiable decision to sell a child. Still on his knees, the second brother gave a deep bow

Old Man Chen had grown up an orphan boy since his youth, knowing only his teacher as a parent figure. Since his boyhood, his teacher had meticulously trained him in the skills of divination and had provided him with the essential fundamentals for his future. He would watch from the side and quietly test his skills whenever his teacher worked his magic for clients and patrons. As time passed, the boy grew up, and so did his skills. He began feeling more and more confident in his abilities and was proud of himself, until Fate grew jealous and vengeful. Old Man Chen was a boy of 12 that year, still an apprentice who followed his teacher everywhere. They had taken up lodging one night at a Taoist monastery when a call roused them from their rest. 　　Religious faiths were viewed as one of the elements of the Four Olds during the height of the Cultural Revolution. A rowdy mob marched up the hills, each brandishing flaming brands in their hands, and arrived at the monastery to burn i

A wave of fear descended on me as what the old university guard said to me gradually sank in. Being in trade of dealing with the supernatural, it was hardly a coincidence that my first thoughts wondered that this might have been the doing of something otherworldly. With hurriedness and concern showing on my face, I muttered to the old man, "I must go up to have a look. My teacher..." But the old man stopped me in my tracks, saying, "She's no longer upstairs. She was the first to be stretchered off into the ambulance that day." 　　I ignored the old man and immediately rushed towards the rooms where training lessons for zithers were held. "Why did no one notice the incongruity and queerness of all the sicknesses? Why was only the students and teachers of the zither class riddled with this strange sickness? Something must be wrong," I thought. 　　As I walked through the doors of the classroom, I met head-on with a young lady whom I asked sharpl

Old Man Xie, as Xie Bingyi was affectionally known as within the walls of the Institute, was hardly a counselor there only because of his medical knowledge and healing abilities. The National Studies Institute, for all intents and purposes, was not a medical institution after all. Old Man Xie was there because of the hereditary wizardly healing skills he inherited from his forefathers—the mystical healing skills of Zhuyou (Shamanistic Healing). 　　Although the technique of wishing is the first of the 13 subjects of ancient Chinese medicine, it is also a cure for the sick, but it is a thing of witchcraft, that is to say, it contains many methods for treating the evil spirits into the body. This is why Comrade Lao Xie can treat many intractable diseases. But this is also one of the reasons why Lao Xietou is not seen by his peers. Other old Chinese doctors chat about things like pharmacy. He is good. Just chatting is a matter of catching ghosts. Who is this? Still waiting for him